Film: The Martian

Ah, finally, finally, I got to see The Martian! Good gracious me, such trouble I had when I wanted to see it during the week, what with cinemas all showing it too early or too late. It's a long film, and nowhere could I see it, if I had to be at work both that day and the next. However, I had great hopes for yesterday, being the weekend.. and sure enough, not only was my local cinema showing it at a time I could manage, but one I could have managed during the week, even! Grr..

As usual with Vue, I got a cheap ticket with Yplan. Delighted to see they're now emailing the tickets, for the benefit of those of us who can't get the app on our phones. Much easier to print. There was only one showing, at 7:50, finishing at 10:30 - which just suited nicely. So again, I ate at home, and headed out in the evening. I could see it was foggy, as it had been all day - boy though, was it cold!! Yes, it is November.. I'll have to dress a bit warmer from now on.

With Yplan, you can't book your seat in advance - the ticket is subject to availability at the cinema. As I was choosing my seat, the seats were being booked before I could choose one! Selling fast, as I remarked to the person at the till.. so I ended up in a seat by the wall, with a slightly side-on view. But it was fine.

Plenty of action-adventure trailers, including one for the new Star Wars film - I hadn't seen that trailer before. The music did bring back memories.. Before the main feature started, the screen went black, and a deep voice said, "HELLO!". It's a new anti-phone ad - the narrator goes on to point out how striking a dark screen is, and how distracting a mobile phone screen can be. Well said - we'll see whether it has an effect, though.

The Martian - based on a book - has a stellar cast. Directed by Ridley Scott, so you know you're in for a good time! As I'm sure you're aware, Matt Damon plays an astronaut who's left for dead on a Mars mission, when a storm hits. Jessica Chastain, his mission commander, is devastated at leaving him behind, and takes personal responsibility. (Nothing romantic there - she has the hunky Jonathan Aris waiting - patiently - for her at home.)

Kristen Wiig plays the head of NASA PR - with a difficult job, first to explain to the public that an astronaut has been killed, then that he's still alive, and what's being done to save him. Her job isn't made any easier by the eminently political Jeff Daniels, director of NASA, who has sympathy for the astronauts, but has other considerations that they'll never be party to. Michael Pena and Sebastian Stan also show up as members of Matt Damon's team. Now, we're briefly given people's job titles at the start, but they're hard to remember - I had to look up Sean Bean's title of flight director! So he has personal authority over the astronauts. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Vincent Kapoor, head of Mars operations at NASA. This character was originally written as "Venkat Kapoor", and supposed to be Indian.. Benedict Wong is the JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) director.

Crikey. That's a lot of famous people. And the director has a lot for them to do.. this is a long film, as previously mentioned, because so much happens in it. First, you have a terrible storm - apparently fatal. Then you see how Matt Damon survives. Then - having had a lovely funeral for him - NASA discovers that he's alive! which is great, but creates, among other things, a PR nightmare.. Then they have to figure out how to get him back. O me o my, they go through a lot.

Any good? You betcha! Mars, I must say, looks stunning - filmed in Wadi Rum (avoiding any vegetation). The special effects are amazing. The contrast is marked between overcrowded Planet Earth and the isolation of Mars - and of space. Speaking of which.. shades of Gravity near the end, with its vertigo-inducing spinning - I had to watch behind my hand, thinking, oh no, not after everything else! Don't put us through this too..

Basically, this is high entertainment. It's edge-of-the-seat exciting, it's consistently funny - particularly Matt Damon's video diaries - and by the way, geeks will love it. They are the absolute heroes of the film! And the film pays them due homage. Really, if you have any interest in science of any form, you need to see this. The science is mostly accurate, following consultations with NASA - although they do concede that the ferocity of the storm had to be exaggerated - winds on Mars don't get that strong. Also, it apparently only takes half as long to get there as depicted in the film. Well, all in the interests of dramatic tension. Oh, and I love the soundtrack - including the music library that Jessica Chastain leaves behind, and Matt Damon keeps complaining about.

On my foggy way home, there was an interesting encounter with a black cat. Not my encounter - I was just a witness. So, I was walking along the road, and saw a large black cat sat right in the middle of it. Heard a car coming - o dear, the cat showed no sign of moving! As the car approached, the cat just turned around and glared at it..! Fortunately, the car stopped.. cat glared.. I didn't see what happened, but the car eventually moved on. No sign of cat. Imagine - the night after Hallowe'en, dense fog, and a large black cat sat in the middle of the road, glaring at you. Hope the driver wasn't too spooked!

By the time I got home, it was already past 11 - too late to blog. Anyhoo, back to U2 tonight, and tomorrow. The boss & his wife are coming too - assuming he doesn't have issues; I got a mysterious text from him saying there's a small chance he might not make it. Flu, perhaps? We'll see. Tomorrow, I have a flat viewing before the concert - timing should be ok. And on Wednesday, the London European Club is organising a trip to the Frontline Club, for a discussion on the Dayton agreement, 20 years on. Which sounds interesting, so I booked.