Monthly Archives: August 2017

Logan Lucky – a review

Posted on August 27, 2017 by Grouse Beater

I think Hollywood categorises this out-of-unhappy-retirement film directed by Steven Soderbergh as a zany comedy about no hopers with ambitions way above their abilities. As it is, it’s an enjoyable romp elevating the ordinary to the extra-ordinary. And you get … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

War for Planet of the Apes – a review

Posted on August 26, 2017 by Grouse Beater

This latest simian epic could be entitled ‘Apes of Wrath’ so angry are the aboreal primates at the way we treat them. What you see in this entertaining – if man killing ape and ape killing man can be described … Continue reading →

Posted in Film review | 8 Comments

Debeaking Wings

Posted on August 23, 2017 by Grouse Beater

  “An hubristic journalist seeking revenge for some perceived hurt is a minor annoyance compared to the power of mega-wealthy media owners, harvesters of lonely Internet souls. Facebook and Twitter have become Purgatory, the place where you must wait indefinitely until judged innocent or … Continue reading →

Posted in Scottish Independence Referendum, Scottish Politics | 42 Comments

A Bridge Too Far

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Grouse Beater

How did a bridge nobody asked for, festooned with shrubbery, get cancelled losing millions of pounds of public money, including Scotland’s taxes? It’s Scotland’s money, stupid! Scotland’s Queensferry Crossing, built on time and on budget, funded entirely from Scottish sources, attracted … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Scottish Politics | 6 Comments

Atomic Blonde – a review

Posted on August 14, 2017 by Grouse Beater

If readers want to avoid reading this review here it is on a postcard: Atomic Blonde is another Hollywood boilerplate story about 100 different ways to kill a man, and one way to kill a woman. What brains it has … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

England’s Neo-Colonialism

Posted on August 12, 2017 by Grouse Beater

Or, How to Decolonise Your Mind In my opinion the seminal document of the first Independence debate was Alasdair Gray’s essay “Settlers and Colonialists“, a document equal in power to the government’s White Paper. It took careful aim at the Scottish arts establishment. … Continue reading →

Posted in Scottish Independence Referendum, Scottish Politics | 21 Comments

Valerian – a review

Posted on August 7, 2017 by Grouse Beater

I still think of Luc Besson’s Léon, (1994) with affection despite the plot being one hell hole of an immoral tale. A solitary professional hit man, (the great Jean Reno, chin stubble de rigueur) reluctantly befriends a little girl, (12 … Continue reading →

Posted in Film review | 2 Comments

A Scottish Nurse

Posted on August 5, 2017 by Grouse Beater

An occasional series on Scots of singular merit, ignored or forgotten It’s a measure of Suzy Wighton’s modesty, of her steadfast commitment to her work first in Lebanon and then in the UK, and an avoidance of shallow celebrity, that … Continue reading →

Posted in Scottish Politics | 1 Comment

Car News: Tesla’s Latest

Posted on August 5, 2017 by Grouse Beater

Your weekly guide to all that’s rotten in the auto industry, plus some good bits A quick guide to Elon Musk’s latest street legal leccy car. Much to their competitor’s chagrin – hell had reigned while Tesla ramped up manufactured … Continue reading →

Posted in Transportation | 11 Comments