Today, the idea was to try the car guy again for valeting - which means I'd be sourcing a film in Ennis. There was only one matinée that I hadn't seen - happily, it was one I was interested in. The new Candyman is - they said - more downbeat than outright horror. But I liked the original, and it's co-written and produced by the talented Jordan Peele, and is a sequel to the original. So yes, on my radar.
When I got to the car, I appraised the state of it - and concluded that, you know, it could do with another wash! Not as dirty as last time, it was still green-spotted along the side, with various bits of dirt scattered along the roof - this is what you get for parking near trees. Well, that would give me a good excuse to stop at the carwash, even if I was unsuccessful with my valeting request! Happily, he was there today, with his female helper (wife, sister, cousin, girlfriend..?). Hence, the queue stretched nearly to the road - I was lucky to be able to slot myself in at the end of it. The car that came after me had to park beside me, or stick out into the road.. everybody knows this guy is good!
With three cars ahead of me, it was a long, hot wait in the sun. I had the radio on, and was glad to hear a favourable review of Candyman! "Very clever", he said. The programme after that even had interviews with the crew that worked on it, and someone explained how they'd gone to great pains to stick to the story of the original, which they've updated. Good omens, certainly. When it was my turn for the carwash, I decided to let them at it and mention the valeting when the man was asking for payment. When I asked him about valeting, however, he gazed up at the sky and exclaimed "Not today!". Fair enough, it was sweltering - not to mention the queue of cars behind me, which still stretched to the road. I asked whether he could fit me in on Monday (a bank holiday in the UK, so I'm off work) or Tuesday (I'm actually taking the rest of this week off - a good thing, with so much else to do!). So we agreed on Tuesday morning. (Later on, I remembered that's when we get our Tesco delivery - but I managed to switch that to later.)
After that, I got petrol and bought a paper in the shop - it can be hard to get them in town. And the whole while, that queue for the carwash never got shorter. Testament to customer satisfaction..
With Abbey Street car park full as usual, and not fancying wasting time waiting for a free space, I parked in my usual spot - handy for everywhere I had to go, including Tesco, which is just across the road. And I had enough time to get to the Garda station - to report that my mother's bank account was phished last week. They took the details, and said they'd ring me with the crime reference number - of course, they didn't. But I did get the Garda's name.. hope that'll do the bank. Unfortunately, they also said that they'll have to interview my mother too - damn it, she has no idea what's happened (apart from the nuisance calls). What's more, when I said that she wasn't really mobile, they said they'd send someone out. Gee, that'll provide weeks' worth of gossip for the neighbours, a squad car parked outside our door.. and I'll have fun, trying to keep as much from her as possible.
Well, that didn't take too long, and I made it to the cinema on time. And on a day when I could really have done with an ice cream, they didn't have a single one. So I had a Sprite. Again, I was told I'd have the screen to myself - and when the usher led me there, it was to find the lights on, and the cleaners still busy. The usher exclaimed that he'd TOLD them to leave it; they said, well, the left side is dry.. he informed them that I was waiting, and when one asked whether it was too late to clean, he said yes, well, the film is actually starting! Sure enough, during this conversation, the ads started to roll. It wasn't too long before they exited apologetically, one showing me to my seat - or well, the closest to it on the left..!
When the film started, I noticed it was back to front - all the film company titles were reversed! I thought about complaining, but figured that as long as I didn't have to read anything through the film, it'd be OK. And I didn't, and it was. And.. you know what? Watching the trailer again, I realise that that was actually intended! You see, the premise of the film(s) is that the Candyman is summoned by looking in a mirror and saying his name five times. So, the opening credits literally reflect the mirror theme..! Hell, one of the reversed film company credits even appears in the trailer - I just never paid any attention before.
Yes, I liked this very much - Jordan Peele is on form! It's gruesomely violent, but not gratuitously, and while a few scenes made me cringe, the camera usually teases rather than exposes the gore. I do wonder whether the man has something against artists - the film is set in the art community, centring on an upcoming young artist and his art gallery curator girlfriend, who've just bought one of the expensive new apartments in the neighbourhood where the events of the original film occurred. Anyway, her brother starts the whole thing off with this ghost story about the Candyman, and the upcoming artist - Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, very easy on the eye - finds himself becoming obsessed with the character. The film takes a somewhat critical tone against artists, for exploiting urban grime, and sure enough, we're soon at an art show, featuring the work of this guy: a mirror, with an explanation of how you should say "Candyman" into the mirror five times. The mirror can be opened to reveal a darkened room with his artworks. Is it a coincidence that the first killings of the film happen at the art show?
Wow, reading the summary of the original film, I can see how closely they stick to the story - which they also explain in this film, in case you're not familiar with it. (It's too long since I saw it, I hardly remember it at all.) Kudos, I do like consistency. Why, even the protagonist - Anthony - is the grown-up baby from the original. Mind you, for someone who's had as much trouble with bees as we have lately, the Candyman is even more disturbing, surrounded by bees as he perpetually is. Highly recommended - don't believe anyone who tells you this isn't a horror film though: why, they even give us a sacrificial group of schoolgirls, blithely showing their courage by playing the Candyman game.
Afterwards, back to An Teach China again, where I ordered the same as last week - I had been going to change, but got a yen for fillet beef szechuan at the film! And wow, was I right - it was as delicious as ever. It wasn't until I got home, though, that I realised that I hadn't been given the dessert I'd ordered! Nuts.. but I would've been too full this evening anyway.
Tonight's late tv film was Postcards from the Edge, which I'd never seen. This is based on Carrie Fisher's novel, in turn based on her volatile relationship with her mother, Debbie Reynolds - in this film, an all-star cast features Meryl Streep as "Carrie", Shirley MacLaine as "Debbie", Dennis Quaid as the guy Meryl gets involved with, Gene Hackman as her director, and Richard Dreyfuss as a star-struck doctor at the hospital where she's taken with a drug overdose.
Anyway, I always kind of avoided it because I was afraid it'd be as mawkish as many a similar offering - after watching it for a very short time, I was delighted to discover that it's simply entertaining! The banter is sparky, the lead characters are born performers, and it's fun to watch, even when they're at their lowest. Also highly recommended, should you come across it.
Tomorrow, the only matinée I'd be interested in is Andre Rieu 2021 Summer Concert: Together Again (Encore), which is showing in the Omniplex - and damn near sold out already! So I booked, despite the high ticket price - what the hey! It'll be the first time I'll ever have watched a concert in the cinema. This concert is showing in cinemas, this weekend only..
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