Category Archives: Review

Book Review: Helen Cresswell ~ Bagthorpes Unlimited (1978)

Posted on March 26, 2020 by odeboyz

Coronavirus fatigue makes you want a laugh, a ‘laugh out loud’ laugh. Helen Cresswell’s series The Bagthorpe Saga was my first point of call. Bagthorpes Unlimited is her third book and is a total joy from start to finish. The … Continue reading →

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Film Review: The Irishman ~ (Robert de Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci) (2019)

Posted on March 9, 2020 by odeboyz

Robert de Niro and Martin Scorsese have had a long, profitable and illustrious career together. Their latest film, The Irishman, is astonishing. Although I dislike gimmick laden films this one is different. Here the gimmicks are central to the purpose … Continue reading →

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Book Review: David Graeber ~ Bullsh*t Jobs: A Theory (2018)

Posted on March 2, 2020 by odeboyz

Freakonomics (2005) unleashed populism amongst university professors. They realised they could sex up their academic work by judicious selection of the bizarre and get a best seller, fame and fortune. Graeber’s an LSE professor of anthropology has joined in. A … Continue reading →

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Film Review: Souvenir (Tom Burke and Honor Swinton Byrne) (2019)

Posted on February 20, 2020 by odeboyz

If you’re bored with franchise CGI films, find ‘Look at me Mum, I’m brave’ documentaries tedious, dislike political satire, hate ethnic films, or reading a novel whilst watching a film – reading at the cinema?- then Souvenir is for you. … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Abhijit V Banerjee and Esther Duflo ~ Good Economics for Hard Times – Better answers to our biggest problems (2019)

Posted on February 10, 2020 by odeboyz

It’s easy to feel intellectually intimidated by a book by two Nobel Prize winners and perhaps that’s the right response sometimes. On this occasion it isn’t.* This is a readable and homely book written in an accessible way. The ‘biggest … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Robert Harris ~ The Second Sleep (2019)

Posted on February 3, 2020 by odeboyz

Harris leaves me gasping. He’s so prolific and intelligent that it’s almost intimidating. The Cicero trilogy was a triumph on which his entire reputation could have stood but, of course, there’s more, much more. The Second Sleep is a reverse … Continue reading →

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Film Review: The Gentlemen (Michael McConaugh and Hugh Grant) (2020)

Posted on January 27, 2020 by odeboyz

Recently I saw The Irishman, which has been lauded as yet another example of Scorsese’s genius. Where does this leave Guy Ritchie? It’s easy to mock Ritchie’s so-called ‘geezer’ movies. The infamous role he gave to Vinnie Jones in Lock, … Continue reading →

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Book Review: A A Dhand ~ Streets of Darkness (2016)

Posted on January 20, 2020 by odeboyz

The ever popular maverick Detective Inspector genre attracts some of Britain’s best writers. I suppose they’re like bank robbers: they go where the money is. Dhand’s creation is the Sikh Harry Virdee, who’s married to a Muslim. His brother, Ronnie, … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Leslie Thomas ~ Virgin Soldiers (1966)

Posted on January 13, 2020 by odeboyz

Spike Milligan wrote his brilliant war autobiographies1 to considerable acclaim but he was building on this autobiographical novel by Leslie Thomas. Unlike Milligan Thomas took part in one of a series of grim colonial wars, which are now forgotten. The … Continue reading →

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Spotify quantifies the Top Beatles Album

Posted on January 9, 2020 by odeboyz

What’s the best Beatles album?  This is a question any self-respecting fan wrestles with on a regular basis.  What criteria do we use to decide?  Level of experimentation and growth?  What we revisit the most?  The album with the most … Continue reading →

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