Articles written by Jem Bloomfield
Showing 1-100 of 182 Articles
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Wrong Turn
Wrong Turn, starring Eliza Dushku and Desmond Harrington, is a rather tired reworking of the stalk'n'slash genre.
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The Beginning of The Wire, Season One
David Simon's precise writing demonstrated from the very beginning that "The Wire" had serious ambitions.
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Daniel Craig in Quantum of Solace
Daniel Craig is either the latest Bond, or the first, depending on your viewpoint
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Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The new Indiana Jones movie was almost bound to be a let-down
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Mouth to Mouth
Mouth to Mouth is a superb new comedy pilot, recently screened on BBC Three.
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Blithe Spirit at the Barnfield Theatre
The Exeter Little Theatre Company give a likeable performance of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit at the Barnfield Theatre, under the direction of Margaret Bond.
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Shakespeare and Film Genre
Some of the best film versions of Shakespeare involve presenting them in genres which have been developed by cinema itself.
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The English Game by Richard Bean
The English Game is either an important play about the state of Britain - or a cleverly observed portrait of male friendship and failings.
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David Tennant as Hamlet
An all-star cast at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford produces a vibrant and engaging version of one of the most famous plays in the canon: Shakespeare's "Hamlet"
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Wilde's An Ideal Husband - on Film
A lively and entertaining film version of Wilde's "An Ideal Husband" stars Rupert Everett, Cate Blanchett, Minnie Driver and Jeremy Northam.
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The Death of Dalziel
Reginald Hill excels himself in "The Death of Dalziel," which begins with Dalziel himself being blown up, leaving Pascoe to investigate a complex series of crimes.
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Sherlock Holmes - The Sign of Four
Still a detective classic, "The Sign of Four" by Arthur Conan Doyle features his world-famous detective Sherlock Holmes.
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The Darkness Gathers
The Darkness Gathers by Lisa Miscione is a fast-paced thriller with plenty of Glocks and Sigs, but may leave readers asking what they missed when the smoke clears.
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The Canonization - Stanzas 4 & 5
John Donne's poem "The Canonization" deploys some striking rhetorical turns, a bilingual pun, and some memorable images to praise immortality achieved through art.
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Dangerous Sea by David Roberts
David Roberts adds politics and intrigue to his 1930s murder mystery - but the results are disappointing.
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Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is an instantly recognisable figure, and was one of the first great fictional detectives.
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The Lost Luggage Porter
Andrew Martin's railway detective Jim Stringer gets involved in murder, safecracking, and childbirth in this engaging historical thriller.
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The Canonization - Stanzas 1 & 2
The first two stanzas of John Donne's poem "The Canonization" turns Petrarchan conceits inside out, to glorify Donne's love.
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Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse, created by Colin Dexter and played by John Thaw, is a cerebral and isolated figure - as much an enigma as the cases he solves.
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Billy Bunter
Unlike the heroes of school stories like Tom Brown, Billy Bunter's school career is a long series of stolen cakes, cunning plans, and being booted for his misdemeanours.
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Hand in Glove by Ngaio Marsh
Ngaio Marsh's detective novel "Hand in Glove" provides the traditional mixture of clues, alibis, and entertaining snobbery.
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The Beaux' Stratagem by Farquhar
George Farquhar's comedy "The Beaux' Stratagem" combines highwaymen, marriage-hunters, a French chaplain, a locked moneybox and a lot of odd disguises...
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Names in The Beaux Stratagem
Farquar names his characters in The Beaux Stratagem with a light touch - names like "Aimwell" and "Boniface" are ambiguous rather than allegorical.
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East and West by Chris Patten
Chris Patten's book "East and West" is a carefully thought defence of liberal democracy, and an interesting account of his negotations with China.
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The Belles of St. Trinian's
Based on the drawings by Ronald Searle, "The Belles of St. Trinians" shows a girls' boarding school overrun with gambling, intrigue and home-brewed Gin.
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Ian Richardson in House of Cards
Andrew Davies adapted "House of Cards" from Michael Dobb's political novel. Ian Richardson's performance made it into a mesmering and chilling drama.
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The Origins of the Apostrophe
Argued over and insisted upon, the apostrophe is one of the favourite issues of grammar pedants. But they may not be as correct as they think...
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Notes From A Small Island
"Notes From A Small Island" sees Bill Bryson travelling around Britain, mocking, admiring and denouncing it with equal verve and humour.
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Arcadia by Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard's play "Arcadia" juxtaposes two stories in two different centuries in an intellectual game of surprising emotional power.
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Staging Aristophanes Today
The comedies of the Ancient Greek dramatist Aristophanes are enjoying a comeback - but there are risks attached to their popularity.
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The Frogs by Aristophanes
Aristophanes' play The Frogs shows the ancient heroes and tragedians of Athens as greedy, randy scoundrels. It has some singing amphibians too.
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Agatha Christie's Marple
A very new take on Agatha Christie's Miss Marple stories, featuring an all-star cast: Simon Callow, Richard E. Grant, Dawn French, Catherine Tate...
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Property and the Feelgood Factor
TV programmes and colour supplements have made rising house prices feel like a right for Britons. Faced with a credit crunch, that surely can't be a good thing...
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Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves
Historical accuracy loses out to sheer all-action fun in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
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Drop Dead Gorgeous
Drop Dead Gorgeous, starring Kirsten Dunst, takes a bitingly satirical look at small town America through a fictional dcumentary about a beauty pagent.
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Scream: A Post-Modern Horror Movie
Now ten years old, Wes Craven's postmodern slasher flick Scream still gives laughs and thrills with its knowing and ironic style of horror.
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Bobby and J. Edgar by Burton Hersh
Burton Hersh's book "Bobby and J. Edgar" leads the reader expertly through the tangles and intrigues of the Kennedy years.
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Miss Marple of St. Mary Mead
Agatha Christie's Miss Marple, with her knitting, gardening and shrewd view of human nature, solved crime based on her experiences in the country village of St. Mary Mead
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Lord Peter Wimsey
Dorothy L. Sayers created the complex and dashing detective Lord Peter Wimsey - and according to some critics, fell in love with him.
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Hercule Poirot
An enduring figure in crime fiction, Agatha Christie's detective Hercule Poirot is one of the most famous characters of the "golden age" of the whodunnit.
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Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael
Ellis Peters' detective novels created the sleuthing monk Brother Cadfael, who has since been played by Derek Jacobi in the television adaptations.
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Interpreting Hamlet
Our image of Hamlet is a durable one - but does it have any basis in the play Shakespeare wrote?
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Death Be Not Proud by John Donne
In "Death be not proud" (Divine Sonnet X), Donne turns his rhetorical skills on his greatest poetic adversary - death itself.
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At Grass by Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin's poem "At Grass" employs his sensitive poetic technique to reflect on a field of aged racehorses, and on the practice of poetry.
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John Donne's Divine Sonnet VII
John Donne's "Divine Sonnet VII" shows us both a grand vision of the end of time, and a poet who is uncertain of his worthiness to meet God.
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Meyer's "D.C. Confidential"
Sir Christopher Meyer's book "D.C. Confidential" gives worthwhile and sympathetic insights into American politics and diplomacy.
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Anchorman, Starring Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell's comic blockbuster "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" was a huge success, but its sketch-style comedy won't suit everyone.
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Napoleon Dynamite - Review
"Napolean Dynamite", starring Jon Heder, has been a runaway comedy success, even if no-one can quite explain what the joke is.
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To His Coy Mistress vs The Flea
To His Coy Mistress shares the same poetic tradition, and the ultimate aim of seduction, with The Flea, but Marvell and Donne are very different poets.
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The Sun Rising by John Donne
John Donne's poem "The Sun Rising" employs techniques of apostrophe and hyperbole whilst reshaping the genre of aubade. The results are passionate and exhilarating.
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Religious Language in The Flea
"The Flea" by John Donne employs religious terminology in a poem of seduction - treading the fine line between wit and blasphemy.
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Maiden Name by Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin's apparently straightforward poem "Maiden Name" tackles some weighty issues, such as identity and the workings of language, with characteristic subtlety.
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The Flea by John Donne
John Donne's "The Flea" deploys puns, logic and a metaphysical conceit in an attempt to seduce the listener.
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Plight of the Troubadour
Billy Collins' "Plight of the Troubadour" expresses an unease about poetry's ability to communicate across time.
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Death in Ecstasy by Ngaio Marsh
Ngaio Marsh blends murder, religion and skulduggery into a puzzling mix in this 1930s whodunnit.
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Hamlet and Madness
A comparison with revenge dramas like "The Spanish Tragedy" and "Antonio's Revenge" can help elucidate the vexed question of Hamlet's madness.
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Annus Mirabilis by Philip Larkin
"Annus Mirabilis" deals with a similar topic to Philip Larkin's more famous poem "High Windows", and employs his customary irony and deft technique.
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The Jeremy Kyle Show Controversy
The recent controversy surrounding "The Jeremy Kyle Show" has put its government-funded sponsor in an unusual position...
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Shakespeare's Sonnet No. 130
Is Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 a moving and radical attempt to write a realistic love poem, or an attack on his work of his poetic contemporaries?
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Shakespeare's Sonnet No.4
Shakespeare combines themes of inheritance, usury and sexual innuendo whilst urging the beloved to marry.
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To Be Or Not To Be
Shakespeare carefully hones his language to illustrate the movements of Hamlet's mind in this famous speech.
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Promise Me by Harlan Coben
Harlan Coben's first "Myron Bolitar" novel in six years is an exciting and well-plotted thriller, but possibly tries to pack in too many themes and subjects.
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The Groves of Academe
Mary McCarthy's campus novel The Groves of Academe still retains its satirical and comic bite fifty years on.
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This Be The Verse by Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin's "This Be The Verse" which opens "They f*** you up, your mum and dad", is a careful and ironic comment on the problems of both family life and and poetry
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The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson's verbal brilliance and wit are amply demonstrated in The Lost Continent, but he is also seriously concerned about the state of his country.
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Legacy of Ashes by Tim Weiner
"Legacy of Ashes", Weiner's polemical history of the Central Intelligence Agency, is fiercely argued and impressively detailed.
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Robert Kennedy, His Life - Review
Evan Thomas offers a personal and detailed account of Robert Kennedy's life, but provides little analysis of his political thinking.
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Importance of Being Earnest Tour
Peter Gill directs a charming production of Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest", and has the audience laughing out loud.
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The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Donna Tartt's first novel blends erudition with suspense to produce a satisfying and likeable novel in "The Secret History"
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Black Ajax by George MacD Fraser
George MacDonald Fraser has stepped up a level with his new novel "Black Ajax", an examination of prizefighting and race in Regency England.
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James Bond in Casino Royale
The controversial new Bond movie "Casino Royale" takes James Bond back to the beginning of his career as 007 - and back to gritty basics.
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Tom Brown's Schooldays
Almost every boys' school story in the English language owes something to Thomas Hughes' novel "Tom Brown's Schooldays".
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Daisy Pulls It Off
A surprise hit in the West End, Daisy Pulls It Off celebrates the world of the traditional girls' boarding school story.
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The Molesworth Series
Nigel Molesworth, hero of the hilarious series by Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle, is everything a schoolboy shouldn't be - irreverent, cynical, mordant and amoral.
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America's Secret War
Combining historical insight with geopolitical analysis, America's Secret War discusses the origins and operations of the modern "war on terror".
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Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis
Defiantly in favour of jazz, beer and pulling faces, the hero of "Lucky Jim" struggles through 1950s Britain in a rage at the pretension around him.
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Tricky Words in Shakespeare
Definitions of words used in Shakespeare that have changed meanings in modern English and frequently trip up unwary readers.
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More Political Cliches
A discussion of two more phrases which appear frequently in British political discourse, used both by journalists and politcians: "politics as usual" and "spin."
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Imperium by Robert Harris
Another historical thriller from Robert Harris combines a gripping plot with historical accuracy and some reflections on modern politics.
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Rumpole and the Reign of Terror
The long-serving barrister Horace Rumpole becomes involved in defending a case under the Terrorism Act: John Mortimer is on typically enjoyable awkward-squad form.
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Andrew Lloyd Webber's By Jeeves
A collaboration between Alan Ayckbourn and Andrew Lloyd Webber, By Jeeves doesn't quite hit the spot.
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Shakespeare and Poetic Effect
The difficulty of Shakespeare's words can provide poetic effects, as well as a dash for the dictionary.
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Mike and Psmith by P.G. Wodehouse
The incongruous and hilarious "Mike and Psmith", by P.G. Wodehouse, shows the novelist developing the debonair comedy of his later works.
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Misunderstood Shakespeare
Shakespeare's lines are being quoted all the time, but not always in the sense in which he meant them...
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Understanding Shakespeare's Words
Students often find themselves puzzled by Shakespeare's language and his inventive use of words. In fact, his contemporaries may well have had similar problems.
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The Quality of Mercy Is Strain'd
Portia's "quality of mercy" speech from The Merchant of Venice is a brilliant example of rhetoric, but has troubling overtones of contemporary antisemitism
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Benedick and Speech in Much Ado
Benedick's name suggests Shakespeare's concern in Much Ado About Nothing with "speaking well", and its moral, social and entertaining consequences.
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Names in Twelfth Night
By paying attention to the names Shakespeare gives to his characters, new ways of reading of the Twelfth Night can be opened up.
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Antonio's Fate in Twelfth Night
How a director chooses to interpret Antonio's silence at the end of Twelfth Night can affect the whole resolution of the play.
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Antonio in Twelfth Night
The character of Antonio in Twelfth Night has caused disagreement: is he a bluff comrade of Sebastian, or tormented by a homoerotic attraction?
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Ben Kingsley as Feste
Ben Kingsley played Feste in Trevor Nunn's 1996 film version of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, giving a truly engrossing portrayal of an elusive character,
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Feste in Twelfth Night
Feste in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, is an fascinating character: a fool who seems to know more than most of the people around him.
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Malvolio in Twelfth Night
Malvolio, played by Nigel Hawthorne in the Trevor Nunn film of Twelfth Night, is brought down by his own hypocrisy and weakness.
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Internet Censorship
Vint Cerf's recent claim that the Internet is a "reflection of the society we live in" is a dangerously simplistic approach to a complex question.
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Bridget Jones' Diary on Film
Starring Colin Firth and Renee Zellweger, the film of Bridget Jones' Diary provides plenty of laughs and hilariously memorable lines.
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Racism and The Lord of the Rings
It is the changing cultural situation, not the original texts, which have led some people to identify possibly racist elements to the Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
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Sense and Sensbility on Film
Jane Austen's classic novel "Sense nd Sensibility" is made into a poetic and moving film by the collaboration between Emma Thompson and Ang Lee.
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Questions of Trust at the BBC
We should be careful not to confuse criticisms of the BBC's editorial stance with the recent scandals over the apparent faking of contests.
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Shakespeare and Puns
Shakespeare's puns range from witty to bawdy to poetic. But why does he use them, and what are their effects?
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The Quality of Mercy
Often confused with a soliloquy, Portia's speech "The quality of mercy is not strain'd" is a clever piece of courtoom oratory.
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