Category Archives: Books

Why vet and author James Herriot never got rich

Posted on February 24, 2015 by admin

By Ray Bennett The stories of veterinarean James Herriot, who wrote “All Creatures Great and Small” and died 20 years ago today aged 79, remain immensely popular and they attract many tourists to Yorkshire but they did not make him … Continue reading →

Warrior Andy McNab loves a good story like ‘Mamma Mia’

Posted on February 2, 2015 by admin

By Ray Bennett Things you might know about Andy McNab: He was a highly decorated SAS soldier; he wrote the bestselling “Bravo Two Zero” about his time in combat in the Gulf War; and he writes action thrillers, the latest … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Interviews, Television | Tagged 'Brute Force', 'Tour of Duty', Andy McNab | Comments Off

TIFF 2014: A tale of three Equalizers

Posted on September 7, 2014 by admin

By Ray Bennett File under “it’s a small world”: I’m at my old pal Ron Base’s place in Milton for a Sunday brunch chatting with another guest, Hans Gerhardt, who ran the Sutton Place Hotel in Toronto when it was … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Film, Interviews, Memory Lane, Television, TIFF Toronto International Film Festival | Tagged 'Sanibel Sunset Detective', 'The Equalizer', Antoine Fuqua, Denzel Washington, Hans Gerhardt, Michael Sloan, Ron Base, Sutton Place Hotel, TIFF, Toronto Inernational Film Festival | Comments Off

THEATRE REVIEW; ‘Vernon God Little’ at the Young Vic

Posted on February 12, 2011 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – The Young Vic’s new production of “Vernon God Little”, based on DBC Pierre’s 2003 Booker Prize-winning novel, tries to jam in as many of its characters, incidents and ideas as possible, but ends up in … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Reviews, Theatre | Tagged 'Vernon God Little', DBC Pierre, Joseph Drake, Lily James, Rufus Norris, Tanya Ronder, The Young Vic | Comments Off

Magic and mischief in Ron Base’s novel, ‘The Strange’

Posted on June 18, 2009 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Few writers know Hollywood better than my Canadian friend Ron Base. As a reporter, film critic, magazine writer, screenwriter and novelist, he has explored the magic of the movies in many ways. But Toronto-based Base … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Reviews | Tagged 'Magic Man', 'The Strange', Ron Base, West End Books | Comments Off

Sean Bean is up to his old tricks in ‘Sharpe’s Peril’

Posted on November 2, 2008 by admin

By Ray Bennett Sean Bean admires Bernard Cornwell’s novels about the swashbuckling soldier he plays in the Sharpe films but he takes great delight in the slight change he made to the character. “He’s supposed to be from London,” grins Bean. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Reviews, Television | Tagged 'Sharpe's Peril', Beatrice Rosen, Bernard Cornwell, Celtic Films, Daragh O'Malley, Malcolm Craddock, Muir Sutherland, Picture Palace Films, Russell Lewis, Sean Bean, Tom Clegg | Comments Off

Norman Mailer’s writing skill on display in ‘The Fight’

Posted on November 10, 2007 by admin

By Ray Bennett The books of Norman Mailer, who died today at 84, proved of such little interest to filmmakers that he directed adaptations of some of them himself including “Maidstone” (1970) and “Tough Guys Don’t Dance” (1987). Lawrence Schiller … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Comment, Film | Tagged 'The Fight', George Foreman, Muhammad Ali, Norman Mailer, Rumble in the Jungle | Comments Off

BOOKS: On surviving icepicks in the brain: ‘My Lobotomy’

Posted on September 27, 2007 by admin

By Ray Bennett Charles Fleming, journalist, novelist and one of my very best of friends, has a new book out titled “My Lobotomy” written with a man named Howard Dully who underwent the most hideous surgery you can imagine when … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, News | Tagged 'My Lobotomy', Charles Fleming, Howard Dully | Comments Off

‘Amazing Grace’ endures while slavery continues

Posted on April 8, 2007 by admin

By Ray Bennett Michael Apted’s “Amazing Grace,” which tells how the British Empire put an end to the slave trade that had helped it dominate the world, has grossed nearly $18.25 million in its first 38 days of U.S. theatrical … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Comment, Film | Tagged 'Amazing Grace', Benedict Cumberbatch, Ioan Gruffudd, Michael Apted, Ramola Garai, William Wilberforce | Comments Off

FILM REVIEW: Steven Soderbergh’s ‘The Good German’

Posted on March 10, 2007 by admin

By Ray Bennett If ever there was an example of false advertising it is to place on current paperback editions of Joseph Kanon’s terrific novel “The Good German” the key art for Steven Soderbergh’s wretched vanity film version. Why Soderbergh … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Comment, Film, Reviews | Tagged 'The Good German', Cate Blanchett, George Clooney, Joseph Kanon, Steven Soderbergh | Comments Off