Election

Greetings, ‘Election’ is a 1999 dark comedy film that was directed by Alexander Payne, the filmmaker who would later become known for directing ‘Downsizing’ in 2017 and modern Christmas favourite ‘The Holdovers’ in 2023. The screenplay, which was scripted by himself and Jim Taylor, was based upon a novel of the same name that was written by Tom Perotta and was released a year before the movie debuted. The story of ‘Election’ didn’t end there as Perotta published a sequel to his hit book named ‘Tracy Flick Can’t Win’ some decades later in 2022. The latest novel focuses on the breakout character of the first instalment. The 90s film stars Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon, Chris Klein and the late Jessica Campbell in the main roles. Supporting cast includes Molly Hagan, Delaney Driscoll and Phil Reeves. The soundtrack was composed by Rolfe Kent who was involved in numerous notable works such as ‘The Men Who Stare At Goats’, ‘Freaky Friday’ and ‘Thank You For Smoking’.

The plot is set in a Nebraskan High School and the titular ‘election’ is for the student government president which most pupils are understandably unenthusiastic about. There is one student who can’t be described as unenthusiastic. That pupil is Tracy Flick, an ambitious high achiever, who is being encouraged to excel academically by her equally driven mother. Running unopposed, Tracy is guaranteed to get the presidential position. This is much to the distaste of her US History and Civics teacher who is named Jim McAllister. Jim is able to hide his dislike of Tracy who he finds to be an annoying ‘know it all’ but the cause of his ill feeling goes further than that. Some months prior to the election, his best friend and a fellow teacher at the school called Dave became smitten with Tracy and entered into a romantic relationship with her. The relationship was eventually discovered. It resulted in Dave being fired, divorced from his wife and relocating to another part of the country while Tracy suffered no fallout. Jim recognised that Dave, being the adult in the situation, was in the wrong but he was irked by how Tracy continued as if nothing had happened while he lost a valued friend.

The reasons behind McAllister’s discomfort is deeper still. Struggling to conceive a child with his spouse, Jim has confused sexual fantasies about Tracy and realises if she wins the presidency that he will be spending a lot more time with her. Fearing he could be seduced down the same path that ruined his best friend’s life, Jim plots against Tracy by enticing the dim-witted football player Paul Metzler to throw his hat in the ring. Since he broke his leg in a skiing accident, Paul has a lot of free time on his hands and is excited to apply himself during the campaign which gets under Tracy’s skin. Another shock candidate comes on to the scene as Tammy Metzler, the adopted sister of Paul, announces her bid to spite her brother. Unbeknownst to Paul, Tammy had a secretive girlfriend who had broken up with her after denouncing their relationship as an experimental fling and started dating him instead. Tammy has no interest in the election and delivers a fiery speech promising to dissolve the whole student government should she be elected. Her proposal is met with rapturous applause by her fellow students which sends the teaching staff into a panic, confuses the hurt but good natured Paul and rattles the picture perfect Tracy.

I knew very little about ‘Election’ before going into it but I can confidently say that it is easily one of the best films I have seen in quite a long time. It never dragged once and kept me entertained from the opening titles to the closing credits. Part of the reason for this high praise is that the characters, in particular Tracy and Jim, feel very realistic and resemble people the audience could cross paths with in the real world. A lot of this is thanks to the stellar work of the actors and actresses involved, specifically Witherspoon’s transformation into the uptight Tracy. Payne and Witherspoon are due to collaborate once again as there are plans to adapt the sequel novel into a follow up movie which I am interested in seeing once it has been released. I’m also keen to read the two books as well, seeing how the original compares to the movie, and checking out more of Payne’s directorial efforts.

Plot=10/10

Characters=10/10

Special Effects=10/10

Overall=10/10

Quote of the Day

Charles, I will not stop living and breathing art just because you need to relax. I'm here with you. I will live with you in this hellhole, but I must express myself. If you don't let me gut out this house and make it my own, I WILL GO INSANE AND I WILL TAKE YOU WITH ME!!!

Delia Deetz

Beetlejuice

The Singing Detective

Greetings and welcome to the first blog update of 2026! I’m kicking the year off with a review of ‘The Singing Detective’, a six part BBC drama series from 1986 that was written by Dennis Potter and directed by Jon Amiel who went on to direct ‘Copycat’ some years later. The mini-series, which was polled as the 20th greatest British TV programme ever made at the turn of the century by the British Film Institute, is headlined by prolific actor Michael Gambon. The late Gambon is the most famous of the cast but he is supported by some familiar faces such as Joanne Whalley, Patrick Malahide, Janet Suzman, Jim Carter and Imelda Staunton. The soundtrack is comprised of many songs from the 1930s and 40s by numerous artists including the Andrew Sisters, the Mills Brothers and Al Bowlly to name but a few.

The story follows the ill-tempered Philip E Marlow, an ageing mystery writer with a bad case of writer’s block and an even worse case of psoriatic arthropathy. The aforementioned condition is a chronic skin and joint disease that causes lesions to erupt all over his body as well as causes intense pain in his hands and feet. Unable to move unassisted, Marlow spends most of his time trapped in a hospital bed surrounded by fellow infirm patients that he barely tolerates and is occasionally visited by his ex-wife whom he frequently clashes with. He is physically unable to write any new works and his bored mind begins rewriting his previous stories. Marlow’s grasp on reality is loose as he is often involuntarily whisked away into feverish dreams as a result of his poor state. During those delirious episodes, he is transported into the world of a novel he wrote many years prior. That novel is ‘The Singing Detective’.

Set in the darkened and fog filled streets of 1940s London, Philip imagines himself as the protagonist of his novel with which he seemingly shares a name. This pencil moustached Philip is a crooning entertainer in a dance hall alongside his big band and moonlights as a witty trench coat wearing detective. After the body of a Russian prostitute is found in the Thames, Philip tries to uncover the truth behind her murder and soon finds himself entangled in a perilous web in which various intelligence agencies are lurking. As well as fantasising about his gritty fictional world of singing private eyes and unscrupulous spies, the real Philip is haunted by his most unhappy childhood spent in wartime England. He grimly recalls his parent’s marital breakdown, who were an entertainment duo, while his past, present and make believe world all begin to merge into one.

Those hoping for a standard mystery case with thought provoking clues and solid answers are not going to find any of that in this show. It becomes increasingly clear that ‘The Singing Detective’ has no interest in following a tried and tested path. Instead, it is a confused thread of multiple storylines that is more focused on how Philip was shaped into the cantankerous man he is by his troubled past. The show was later adapted into a film in 2003 starring Robert Downey Jr and Mel Gibson although it had been thoroughly Americanised and takes place in the USA. The movie is generally considered a big step down from the source material that inspired it. I can see why the mini-series is as highly thought of as it is and Michael Gambon’s performance is especially noteworthy as he plays the two differing characters perfectly.

Plot=7/10

Characters=7/10

Special Effects=6/10

Overall=7/10

Quote of the Day

This fantasy has been a profound disappointment.

Dilbert

Dilbert

Happy New Year: 2025 Review!

Greetings, as difficult as it is to believe these are the final hours of 2025 and a brand new year of great opportunities and exciting experiences lies ahead. This year has absolutely flown in, as has the decade itself in which we are now very firmly in, and I’m leaving it behind with some fond memories. As usual, I’d like to send off 2025 with my top choices for entertainment that I reviewed on this site during the year. If you’d like to give a shout out to anything in particular that grabbed your interest these past 12 months, feel free to mention it in the comments.

Television Show of the Year: The Twilight Zone

A show so iconic that its very name became a shorthand for someone experiencing a bizarre or strange scenario that defies explanation. The first incarnation of the science fiction and horror anthology series ran from 1959 to 1964 and was presented by the always smooth Rod Serling. 156 episodes were broadcast in that time and I’d be hard pressed to mention any that irked me as the level of quality was fairly high throughout its run. Being a black and white show certainly dates ‘The Twilight Zone’ but it also adds to the bountiful charm it has as does the number of old high profile actors or actresses who made appearances.

Book of the Year: Joyland

Published in 2013, this is a short and sweet novel straight from the mind of Stephen King. This one might be easily lost among the sprawling bibliography of King’s but I found it enthralling nonetheless. The story follows an early twenty something called Devin Jones in the summer of 1973 as he tries to forget his cheating ex-girlfriend and attempts to hold down a summer job in an amusement park. This isn’t any ordinary amusement park as there had been a grisly murder of a young woman in the Horror House attraction a few years prior. It is rumoured that the ghost of the woman occasionally appears at the site of her unhappy end.

Game of the Year: Minecraft

The Swedish sandbox game from 2011 which took the world by storm and didn’t let up. It still retains its crown as the bestselling video game in history to this day as countless players roam their custom maps, building the expansive structures of their imagination. There are no shortage of players who have needed to battle against Creepers, Zombies and Spiders, to name a few of the deadly enemy AI, only to end up losing their hard earned items once slain. This is one game that will continue on well into the future as it constantly reinvents itself with new updates every few years.

Film of the Year: Duel

Released in 1971, ‘Duel’ is among one of Steven Spielberg’s first forays into directing and is a clear indication that he had a bright future ahead of him. With a small cast of characters, Spielberg is able to conjure up a tense movie about a driver trying to survive a cat and mouse game with a trucker who has a bad case of road rage. The lead character of David is played by Dennis Weaver while his deadly adversary is never fully revealed as the audience only catches glimpses of him. After watching this one, some viewers might think twice about overtaking a truck any time soon.

There we have it! We have reached the end of the blog update and the end of the year. I’ll be enjoying a bit of a break after something of a busy period these last few weeks but I’ll soon be hard at work on my next update for the site in January. I’ll also be tending to some future Write Wise entries that are already being planned out as you read this. Those should prove to be enjoyable additions to an ever growing bibliography. I’m hoping that 12 months from now we will all be looking back on a prosperous and significant year. Have a happy New Year and a great 2026!

Quote of the Day

These go to 11.

Nigel Tufnel

This is Spinal Tap

Merry Christmas 2025!

Greetings, this is just my usual post wishing you a Merry Christmas as the big day is only one sleep away. Have a great day tomorrow and hopefully you’ll get all the presents you are wishing for. I’m already looking forward to drinking copious amounts of mulled wine, tucking into some good food and snacking on more sweets than I should. Falcon’s blog will be back on New Year’s Eve with the traditional annual round up.

Quote of the Day

Sorry. Checkout lines were worse than rush-hour on the 95. If I heard "Silent Night" one more time, I was gonna start taking hostages.

Dana Scully

The X-Files

Minecraft

Greetings, ‘Minecraft’ is a sandbox game from 2011 which needs no introduction. It was developed and published by Mojang Studios with Swedish designers Markus ‘Notch’ Persson and Jens ‘Jeb’ Bergsten being cited as the main creators. Despite being released 14 years ago, the game is still receiving major updates as of last year. Few games can be considered as equivalent or boast of the same colossal cultural impact this one has had. It is the bestselling video game of all time with over 350 million copies sold as of 2025 and 140 million active players were running around in 2021, most of which would probably skew younger in age ranges. A large part of ‘Minecraft’s’ appeal is the chilled out instrumental score by German composer Daniel Rosenfeld, better known as C148, which is instantly recognisable even years after not having emerged oneself in the game.

The idea behind the game is as simple as it is addictive and it can be played in either two modes. Those modes are ‘survival’ and ‘creative’ which can be played as a solo experience or co-operatively. In the former, players are given free rein to explore effectively never ending maps, extract resources from the world around them, craft items based on the acquired resources and build structures that are only as limited as their imagination. While out scavenging, players will have to satiate their hunger and avoid being killed by the vast array of dreaded monsters, such as the explosive Creepers, that mainly come out at night. There are other mobs in the game that are neutral or willing to trade with players such as the oddly proportioned race known as Testificates while others, such as wolves, can be tamed and assist the player.

As if seemingly infinite maps weren’t enough, there are also other dimensions such as the Hellish realm known as the Nether which has many flowing rivers of lava or the End. Both of these dimensions are accessed through portals and have unique mobs of their own which are often hostile. Venturing through the End dimension and slaying the Ender Dragon roaming within causes the credits to roll so ‘Minecraft’ arguably has a simple story connected to it and a proper finale. After defeating the winged creature, players respawn in the same map to play on as long as they wish to. The aforementioned ‘Creative Mode’ removes any dangers to the player and provides them with an inexhaustible supply of every resource as well as gives them the ability to fly. It is very much intended for players who just want to create buildings.

‘Minecraft’ has spawned urban legends such as the ghostly Herobrine said to be lurking within the game, launched the Youtube careers of many notable internet celebrities and has its own fan conventions that draws in significant numbers. There are also several spin-off games such as ‘Minecraft: Story Mode’ which was published by Telltale Games in late 2015 and early 2016. In addition, it had its own panned movie adaptation released this year with Jack Black and Jason Momoa among the primary cast. ‘A Minecraft Movie’ plagued the internet for a few months with awful memes and was infamous for the atrocious behaviour of young fans causing disturbances in many cinemas. Unruly children who enjoy it aside, there is much to like about ‘Minecraft’ and I’ve whiled away many an hour mindlessly and therapeutically mining away in the depths of its worlds.

Plot= 5 /10

Characters = 5/10

Graphics = 6 /10

Overall = 8/10

Quote of the Day

I am your number one fan. There is nothing to worry about. You are going to be just fine. I am your number one fan.

Annie Wilkes

Misery

The Quiz Part 17

Greetings, the cold November nights are upon us once again and coming alongside the chill in the air is the Annual Quiz! As usual, there are 10 questions covering a range of topics from history, entertainment, Write Wise and a little bit of geography this time around too. The answers are hidden below and don’t forget to write your scores in the comments. Mark managed to squeak out a win last year with a score of 7 while Aaron and Joh settled on 6 but it could all change with this quiz. Best of luck!

1. Who is the American aerospace engineer, business tycoon and film producer that became increasingly reclusive and eccentric in his old age and is also the subject of the 2004 biopic ‘The Aviator?’

2. Who said this? – “Good grief.”

3. Following the defeat of the Third Reich in the Second World War, Berlin was divided into four sectors that were controlled by the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union and which other Allied power?

4. Put these British cities in order from northern most geographical location to southern most – A. Belfast B. Cardiff. C. Edinburgh. D. York. E. Ipswich

5. Peter Sellers plays the clumsy Inspector Clouseau in the ‘Pink Panther’ films but what actually is ‘the Pink Panther’ that the movies derive their name from?

6. Which Irish coastal town is subtly referenced in the opening scenes of ‘The Kepler Experiment’?

7. Name the characters.

8. Unscramble the letters to reveal an actor – ADOLDN ADUESRTHLN

9. Mark wrote a total of 7 books for Write Wise, 2 of which belong to a single series, but what is that series called?

10. Prior to becoming the 39th President of the United States and a centenarian in 2024, what legume did Jimmy Carter farm in Georgia?

Spoilers!

1. Howard Hughes

2. Charlie Brown

3. France

4. C. Edinburgh, A. Belfast, D. York, E. Ipswich, B. Cardiff.

5. A pink diamond

6. Dingle

7. Sabrina Spellman and Salem Saberhagen

8. Donald Sutherland

9. Hunted

10. Peanuts

Quote of the Day

Would you like a closer look?

David Lincoln

Waxwork