Film: Red 2

I haven't seen Red, but somehow didn't expect that would be a problem when it came to Red 2, which I saw tonight. I don't remember why I didn't see Red - possibly just wasn't interested.

Walked to the cinema, it being a pleasant evening. Ate in Nando's, a couple of doors away from the cinema, beforehand - I do like them, they're reasonably priced and good quality. Tonight, I splashed out - the house white, Cara Viva, can be a bit watery, so I went for the Spier Chenin / Sav Blanc from South Africa, which was lovely, and well worth the extra 10p. And - would you believe it - despite them having the best chocolate cake I've had anywhere, I didn't fancy any! Well, it is very heavy.. don't worry, I shan't make a habit of that.

Had a nice surprise when the ticket machine at the Odeon did what it was supposed to, and spat out my tickets for all three nights! Now all I have to do is not lose them. And had no surprise at all when I was left waiting for several minutes for anyone to take my ticket. Honestly, what is it with them?! Of course, the solution is easy - just make your own way in and they will magically appear. I actually wondered whether even that would work this evening, as I had got halfway up the stairs before I heard someone behind me call, "Excuse me, can I take your ticket?" "Finally!" I said as I gave it to him. No response, of course. Wonder if they'll make it three nights in a row for that. We shall see..

This was in Screen 1. I know it's a Tuesday night, but it still felt deserted - there were about a dozen people there, I guess. Don't know what it was, but I felt my seat strangely uncomfortable tonight. No lower back support. Didn't have that problem when I was last here, in the same screen. Maybe it's me. Anyway, so to the film.

Yep, I was right, I didn't need to have seen Red to understand Red 2. Neither did I need to actually pay attention tonight to understand what was going on, although there was a plot that was decently complicated, if you cared. Nah, but it was good fun, though. The ladies - particularly Helen Mirren, who's always a joy to watch, and Mary-Louise Parker - played a blinder. I was a bit worried at the start, because it was a bit po-faced and the humour hadn't properly engaged yet, and there was a bit too much Bruce Willis (I'm automatically suspicious of any film where he stars, I'm fairly guaranteed not to like it), and there was a bit too much action - I tend to find action sequences very boring. But then the humour kicked in, and things started to happen, and even I got engaged in the action sequence at the end, which has some iconic shots. Recommended, for a fun couple of hours.

Tomorrow, I get to see - on its first day of release - Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa. Holy moley, I have never seen a film's ratings plummet so fast on IMDB! It started at 8.3, then went to 8.4, where it was when I booked it - must have been Thursday. Now, I only booked it because I got a discount.. and in the meantime, when I checked yesterday it was at 7.8, and now.. 7.1! I mean, I'd still see it at that, and it's booked anyway - but what a fall. Well, again, we shall see..