Angels and Demons ***

Review by Samatha Collins

Director – Ron Howard
Cast: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer

Following the death of the Pope, this much hyped sequel to the Da Vinci Code sees unflappable Professor Robert Landon (Hanks) brought to Rome to help the Vatican Police. 4 cardinals have been kidnapped by the ‘Illuminati’, a group of intellectuals persecuted by the Vatican centuries before and threatened with public execution. A stolen capsule of antimatter with enough explosive power to destroy half of Rome and a packed St Peter’s Square full of Sistine Chapel smoke watchers are not helping matters in the race against time to crack the codes.
On a positive note, the cinematography of Rome is breathtaking with scenes set around Piazza Navona, Piazza Del Popolo, Castel St Angelo, the Pantheon and of course the Vatican. For this reason alone the film deserves at least 4 stars. However, the plot is so far-fetched at times that it borders on ludicrous, not only in the ease with which Landon and the impossibly talented science researcher Vittoria Vetra (Zurer) solve the clues but in their ability to cross Rome during a Papal Conclave in less time than it takes to try and get aboard the 64 bus. Add in Ewan McGregor as Assistant to the Pope who can also conveniently fly a helicopter and parachute jump, and well, you get the general idea.
Angels and Demons, (Original Language Version) now showing at Warner Village, Piazza Republic.
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State of Play ****

Review by Samatha Collins

Director – Kevin MacDonald
Cast: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren

A young man is shot dead, a pizza delivery boy is left in a coma, a young woman dies falling from a subway platform into the path of an oncoming train. These fast moving opening scenes set the tone for this political thriller centred around Washington, the unfaithful Congressman Steven Collins (Affleck) and investigative reporters Cal McAffrey (Crowe) and Della Frye (McAdams). As well as being caught with his pants well and truly around his ankles, Collins is also in charge of an investigation into defence contractor Pointcorp, part of a US national security privatisation programme worth $40bn a year.
Originally written for a 6 part BBC mini-series set in London, this film adaptation is fast paced, with strong performances by Affleck and Crowe, although Crowe’s larger than usual hairstyle does at times distract from the plot. Cue some clichéd scenes – the race against the newspaper deadline, the underground car park with a psycho gunman, and the inevitable young sexy assistant reporter with perfect mascara - but overall a tense drama that keeps you guessing to the end. Definitely one to see, but be warned. You will never stand quite so close to the edge of the platform on Metro B in the rush hour again....

English Version of the Film currently showing at the
Metropolitan, Via Del Corso
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Italian bookshelf
The Monster of Florence

By Aniko Horvath

Bestselling thriller writer Douglas Preston moved with his family to a villa at Giogoli outside Florence in 2000. Chance would have it that Preston met a local Italian journalist Mario Spezi, who told him the olive grove next to his home had been the scene of a horrific double murder committed by a serial killer known as the Monster of Florence. The brutal killer, who ritually murdered fourteen young lovers over e period from 1974 to 1985, has never been caught. Preston and Spezi decided to team up and investigate the case.
All the murders bear a chilling similarity. All have occurred on moonless summer nights between 10pm and midnight. The victims were couples who had parked at secluded spots in the hills outside Florence. In each case, police believe, the man was killed first. The woman was then shot and, with the exception of one attack, sexually mutilated. The same Beretta automatic was used in all fourteen killings.
The case became the longest and most expensive criminal investigation in Italian history. Various men were accused, imprisoned and then released. Suspects in the case have included members of a clannish group of immigrants from the island of Sardinia, and a peasant farmer who was tried, convicted and then acquitted on appeal. Police methods were ridiculed for incompetence and corruption.
One of the principal judges heading the investigation believes the killings were the work of a Satanic sect, dating back to the Middle Ages, that needed female body parts as offerings to the devil in Black Masses. Preston and Spezi think this theory is rubbish and have said so. They also put forward the name of who they believe is the real Monster of Florence. The suspect they name has never been arrested.
This is the true story of their search to uncover and confront the man they believe is the Monster. But it is also a gripping account of how Preston and Spezi themselves become targets of the police investigation. Preston had his phone tapped, was interrogated for alleged obstruction of justice and told to leave the country. Spezi was arrested and thrown into prison for three weeks.
The Monster Of Florence tells a dark and bloody tale involving ghoulish ritual murder, suicide and revenge – with Preston and Spezi caught in the middle. Is their solution true? Time will tell, perhaps.
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Italian Bookshelf
The Book of Unholy Mischief

By Nicolas Stark

This first novel by American author Elle Newmark is set in Venice on the eve of the Renaissance, when the Serene Republic is at the height of its power. It is a city of excess: beauty vies with squalor, abject poverty lives side by side with extravagant wealth. Rife with vice and ridden with corruption, Venice is governed by a clique of autocrats, whose enforcers, the black-cloaked secret police, or Cappe Nere, rule the city through torture and fear.
The book’s hero and narrator is a penniless street urchin, Luciano, who survives by his wits. Caught stealing a pomegranate by the Doge’s grand chef, he is plucked off the streets and taken back to the palace kitchen to serve as an apprentice.
While learning the art of cooking, Luciano quickly finds himself entangled in the search for a mysterious book said to hold the key to untold power. Rumours suggest the ancient tome offers the secrets of alchemy and a potion to ward off illness and death. Powerful men will stop at nothing to possess it, and those who have it must risk their lives to protect it.
Luciano comes to suspect the chef, his maestro, may be concealing vital information. The chef gradually takes Luciano into his confidence until the pair are allies against the dark forces who are desperate to possess the book’s knowledge.
The pair finally find themselves alone and pitted against implacable opponents for whom human lives count as nothing and power is all.
Newmark’s triumph in the The Book of Unholy Mischief lies in her superb recreation of 15th century Venice: the sights and sounds and smells of everyday life, the squalor and the glory, of this unique city at a special time in its history.
And when it comes to food, Newmark – whose father is a masterchef – excels. There are lavish descriptions of food and its preparation, as the Doge’s chef patiently instructs Luciano in the culinary arts. “Never forget Luciano,” admonishes the chef. “Animals eat, but men dine.”
As the book races towards its climax, the chef and Luciano will face deadly danger. As they seek to save their lives and preserve the book, it becomes clear that much more is at stake. Truth, love and simple virtues are opposed to tyranny, vice and cruelty.
The Book of Unholy Mischief offers a celebration of love, freedom, the courageous defence of new ideas and, above all, the civilising pleasure of creating and sharing fine food. Newmark has served up a deeply satisfying read.
Buon appetito!