Musical: The Grinning Man

On Sunday, Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) was watching The Grinning Man, courtesy of Bristol Old Vic. This is a common horror trope, which made me interested.. of course, they would be watching at a time that didn't suit, so I watched on my own again.

Would you believe, with one thing and another, I literally only just now finished watching it! To be fair, it's slightly long, at 2.5 hours.. but this one, I made the effort to watch to the end. I loved it! Starts out wonderfully macabre, with a gloriously Gothic narrator, and turns out to be based on a book by Victor Hugo. The story concerns a young man, hideously disfigured, his face slashed into an exaggerated, and permanent, smile. Desperate to revenge himself on whoever did this to him, he travels the country with a freak show; he's in love with the young blind girl, Dea, that the show's manager rescued as a child and took in - like himself. But you'll never believe what happens next..

Interestingly, it seems that the original story was set in England, during the reigns of James II and his daughter, Queen Anne, respectively - and the royal family certainly don't come well out of this, portrayed as megalomaniac despots, spoiled and petty, dispensing death as easily as honours. (And she dispossessed her brother in real life, too..)

A beautiful score is beautifully sung - particularly sweetly by Dea, played by Audrey Brisson. A gorgeous show, with a sinister feel throughout - what's not to like?! Very highly recommended - but you'll have to hurry, it's only available till 6pm Friday (UK time).

On Saturday, there still isn't anything I can make on Meetup. But on Friday, UITCS is watching Les Blancs, streamed by the National Theatre. Unable to make it on Friday, I might watch it on Saturday instead..

Films: Into the Woods, Viceroy's House, & The Last Act

I was thinking film again today - best on Mubi at the moment (that I haven't seen) is still Woman at War. But you might have guessed that I'm not honestly that keen on seeing it - today's episode of Midsomer Murders was more appealing, to be honest. Especially considering that tonight's schedule was just a conveyor belt of films..

So yes, I ended up watching three films in a row (with breaks for the lotto and news). First up was Into the Woods - film of the musical, soundtrack by Stephen Sondheim. I couldn't actually believe how star-studded it is. It's basically a mish-mash of classic fairytales - a baker (James Corden, father played by Simon Russell Beale) and his wife (Emily Blunt) are cursed to be childless (a common theme), but the curse can be reversed if they assist the witch who caused it (Meryl Streep) in preparing a potion to restore her youthful good looks. The items they must collect, in no particular order, are - a cow as white as milk (Jack and the Beanstalk), hair as yellow as corn (Rapunzel), a cape as red as blood (Little Red Riding Hood), and a golden shoe (Cinderella). And yes, they're all to be found in the woods..

Cue some more stars popping up - Jack's mother is Tracy Ullman (wow, it's ages since I saw her!), and it's the baker's wife that persuades Jack to sell the cow for magic beans - and Johnny Depp is Little Red Riding Hood's wolf. Christine Baranski is Cinderella's stepmother, with Chris Pine as Prince Charming (who, by the way, is Rapunzel's prince's brother). As we discover when they ride past each other in the forest, headed in different directions on their respective quests, then backtrack as they recognise each other!

I adored this. The singing is surprisingly good, the lyrics as clever as you'd expect from Sondheim. It's been too long since I heard a musical. And the plot is hilarious - the fairytales aren't told in full, just hinted at as we follow the baker and his wife. So, they meet Jack, buy the cow (actually a bull), then are plagued with Jack trying to buy her back with giant-sized treasures! Little Red Riding Hood puts up something of a fight when the baker tries to run off with her cloak - the wife persuades Rapunzel to let down her hair, then cuts off a big hunk of it, which she wears like a scarf as she hikes around looking for the other magical items: and all we get of the Cinderella story, pretty much, is her constantly running out of the palace. On one of these occasions, the baker's wife notices Cinderella's glittery, golden shoes..

Which is where I have my only quibble. See, the baker's wife had one bean left over after buying the cow - and offers it to Cinderella in return for a shoe. Cinderella, now, is not impressed with this talk of "magic beans" - she flings it into the undergrowth, where it takes root. And turns into another giant beanstalk, which another giant finds (actually, a giantess) and causes no end of trouble - the end of the film turns into an action-adventure, which I'm not keen on. Mind you, there is an interesting tendency to mess with the fairytale storylines as the film comes to a close - which is fun. Ah, but I did enjoy it..

Next up was Viceroy's House, about the last months of British rule in India, and focusing on Louis Mountbatten, the last viceroy - played by Hugh Bonneville, with Gillian Anderson as his wife. Lily Travers plays their younger daughter, Pamela. Michael Gambon plays Lionel Ismay, born in India and now part of the military establishment, and Mountbatten's Chief of Staff. Simon Callow plays Cyril Radcliffe, the hapless civil servant that was flown out and given the impossible task of taking the map of India - a place he'd never been to before - and drawing a partition line on it, although he was no cartographer. Despite infinite boundary disputes. In two weeks.. And Om Puri plays a local Muslim man, part of a side story where his daughter falls in love with a Hindu, despite being betrothed to another man, who has been away fighting in the British army.

It's not bad, this. Of course, the last thing I saw on this subject was Drawing the Line, taken from the point of view of Cyril Radcliffe - and it is interesting to get different perspectives. The film highlights the plight of the millions displaced as a result of partition - keep watching over the closing credits, as the director's grandmother apparently made the trip, and had a baby starve to death en route. However, the film is quite sympathetic to Mountbatten, portrayed as a pawn in Churchill's machinations. So here, we get a bit more explanation of British policy than in Drawing the Line - and a shot of Lady Mountbatten, helping with the relief effort afterwards. Nicely mixed with real newsreel footage, the film gives us a sense of watching history in the making. And that love story, to the side, against impossible odds, provides some relief from the momentous events in the viceroy's residence.

My final film of the night was an odd one - and I actually only watched the second half, not being that interested, and being a bit filmed-out. The Last Act, it was - but not the one of the same name that was advertised. No, the one you're looking for is also known as The Humbling, and stars Al Pacino as an ageing actor with a tenuous grip on reality. So it doesn't help when he gets into a relationship with a much younger woman, who hardly knows her own mind! Dianne Wiest plays her disapproving mother. It's a pleasant film to watch - he's always watchable, and the film ambles along at a leisurely pace, as he has surreal conversations - with others, or himself - and you wonder what is reality and what is fantasy. Doesn't merit serious study, I think, but quite funny..

Tomorrow, Up in the Cheap Seats is watching The Grinning Man, courtesy of Bristol Old Vic. This is a common horror trope, which makes me interested.. of course, they would be watching too late for me, so I'll be watching on my own again.

Film: The International

So - very delayed, on account of the Irish Comic Relief, which ran much later than advertised - the late film on telly tonight was The International. I was rather glad they still showed it, because this is one I noticed, but never did get to. So, given that I don't have to be up early tomorrow, I watched it.

This is the one where Clive Owen is a rogue Interpol agent, and Naomi Watts the Manhattan Assistant District Attorney. They're collaborating on trying to bring down a bank involved in money laundering - one of the chief bank officials is Armin Mueller-Stahl.

Fair dues to the filmmakers for constructing a decently complicated plot. We get a thorough explanation of the bank's nefarious dealings - and motives - early on. But never fear, you only need to know they're the bad guys. We also get a whole ring of complicated associations - but never fear, everyone that contacts the investigators gets killed pretty quickly. To tidy up loose ends, the assassins also get killed pretty quickly after.

I found the plot more interesting than the action sequences - although one prolonged shootout did make me wonder how, and from whom, the third parties involved would recoup damages afterwards! Despite all the damage, I suspect it'd be pretty tricky to determine liability. Anyway, Naomi Watts gets to avoid all the violent bits - apart from a lame attempt to run her over (and how is it that they're so good at killing trained assassins, but so awful at killing the investigators?).

Whenever the action happens, she's incapacitated (sprains her wrist after the attempt to run her over and has to rest up), or her boss has pulled her off the case, figuring that they'll never bring down such a powerful bank, or Clive Owen tells her to stay out of it, if not for her own sake, then for that of her family. Yes, the token woman has a token family - just the one child, it seems (otherwise, how could she be so successful?), and a suitably hands-on dad. So we have sympathy for him, and we don't want to see him hurt either. Cue her exit from the story, and the progression of the action, and shootouts. She appears just once more, brought on to look concerned when Clive Owen seems to have had a breakdown. (And to give him the means and motivation to progress to the next level of the game..)

The film is suitably international, taking place in New York, Luxembourg, Berlin, Italy (I missed where exactly), and Istanbul. And it was made in 2009 - I looked it up, after seeing Naomi Watts use a Blackberry! If not for that, you probably wouldn't notice much difference from the present day. And if not for all that action they had to choreograph, they'd have had more time for the plot, and I personally would've been much more interested. Do watch over the closing credits - they cleverly display a variety of financial newspaper stories, to summarise what happens next.. Glad I didn't pay to see it, though.

Probably film again tomorrow - best on Mubi at the moment (that I haven't seen) is still Woman at War. 

Musical: The Hired Man

Today, Up in the Cheap Seats was watching The Hired Man - too late in the day for me, so I thought of watching it earlier. Who knows when I'll get to a Meetup again..?

In the end, I started to watch it quite a bit later than they did - too late to be able to watch all of it, but I figured I could catch up later. Well, I got to see about 45 minutes' worth. And based on what I saw - despite all the positive comments below the video - I couldn't be bothered watching the rest.

I'll give it this, the music is catchy - but although I do admire actors who also sing and play instruments, this singing wasn't great. There was, in fact, one duet where I actually cringed, they were both so incapable of carrying it off. And although I'm sure the story grew legs eventually, all that happened in 45 minutes was that we were introduced to the main characters, and the wife fell for the local bigshot while her husband was away. Maybe I fell asleep without noticing, but I didn't notice them starting an affair, as was hinted at in the duet. It would've livened things up. As it was, every few seconds, they seemed to launch into another blasted song about how great rural life was. No wonder it was taking forever! Sorry, I just couldn't get into it.

Probably film again on Saturday - best on Mubi at the moment (that I haven't seen) is Woman at War, again. 

Film: Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool

One of this evening's films on telly was Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool. Which, again, I never saw, so I determined to see it this time.

It zips back and forth in time, telling the tale of Annette Bening and Jamie Bell, both actors who fall for each other despite the age difference. Short story - it's a volatile relationship, she's quite the diva on occasion and quite sensitive about her age, and then she gets cancer. He's from Liverpool, and she gets it into her head that she needs to go there to recover. So - FFS - she moves herself in with his family, who end up helping him to care for her. Honestly, you can't account for these film stars!

Quite honestly, I just saved you from watching it. It really made no impression on me whatsoever. I found her character annoying, he was the only one who seemed to be taking the relationship seriously, his family are almost cardboard characters. We know she's dying for the entire film, so it's no shock, and I found no emotional pull in this whatsoever. Should have started as a tv movie - thank goodness I didn't pay money to see it. And at least my curiosity is satisfied.

Tomorrow, Up in the Cheap Seats is watching The Hired Man - too late in the day for me, so I'm thinking of watching it earlier. Who knows when I'll get to a Meetup again..?

Film: Mulholland Drive

What's on Mubi was relevant for today, as Meetup's only offerings for the day are in person (which I can't yet get to, with travel restrictions), or on BBC's iPlayer, which I can't access from abroad. The next-highest rated offering on Mubi was Woman at War, an Icelandic film about a woman whose environmental activism may threaten her ability to adopt a child. But gee - they just uploaded Mulholland Drive! A David Lynch film, it stars Naomi Watts as a Hollywood ingenue who gets involved with trying to help a young woman who's been in a car crash recover her memory. And somehow, I missed seeing it.. well yes, that was quite acceptable! What excellent timing..

I had some buffering issues, but nothing major. And as I watched the rain lash the window, it felt just right to be watching a film.. And wow, what a film. Award-winning, and apparently featured on various "favourites" lists, it's surreal, vivid, sexy, completely unexpected. Everything is exaggerated, it feels as though the emphasis is always placed on the wrong thing. It's film noir, but with some hilarious scenes - and as the story reaches an end, you might wish it reached a conclusion.. instead, you must hope that you paid enough attention throughout, as it gets quite confusing. In fact, there's an in-depth analysis of characters and possible plot on the Wikipedia page devoted to the film.

Not for everyone, but if you don't mind being confused by a film, this may well be the film for you! I adored it. Available for the next 30 days on Mubi.

Tomorrow, Up in the Cheap Seats is watching The Hired Man - too late in the day for me, so I'm thinking of watching it earlier. Who knows when I'll get to a Meetup again..?

Film: Galileo

So many programmes, so little to watch. So I took to my film list instead. Now, trawling through, I noticed that The Life of Galileo was quite highly rated - and searching on YouTube, I found a copy. So I just watched that. Lots of famous people in it - turned out not to be the one on my list, but it did pass the time.

Based on a play by Brecht, it follows Galileo through the years between his pioneering of the new-fangled telescope to the University of Padua, where he was working at the time, and his smuggling out of his new book of scientific theories while under house arrest, decades later. So, a potted history of his scientific career, showing some experiments in between his clashes with the Church, which disagreed with his idea of the Earth rotating around the Sun. And you just didn't disagree with the Church, in those days.. not with the threat of the Inquisition hanging over you..

First thing that struck me about this version on YouTube, in retrospect, is that the initial link you follow is only good for about 1 hour and 8 minutes, after which the rest of the running time is taken up with a mish-mash of previous scenes! Luckily, I checked the comments - where someone had warned about that, and in the replies to the comment was a link to "Part 2". Which picks up where the other left off, and curiously also runs for about the same time, with nearly half an hour afterwards of mixed-up scenes from earlier.

Galileo is played by Topol - Edward Fox is the Cardinal Inquisitor, and other famous Cardinals are Sir John Gielgud, Patrick Magee, and Michael Lonsdale, who has an interest in science himself, which only proves a burden when he becomes Pope. Margaret Leighton shows up as an elderly lady at the Florentine court.

It's played quite stiffly in general, which dates it - Topol does a decent job though, portraying an enthusiastic scientist who turns into a rebellious old man by the end. The Church comes off quite badly, naturally, with a snide dismissal of fact in favour of belief and tradition. One thing did annoy me enormously - what, oh what, do we need the trio of boys for, popping up at regular intervals to sing a summary of where we are in the story? Wouldn't have annoyed me nearly as much if I'd understood more than about half of what they were singing.

What the hey, the story is enduringly interesting, and a tribute to the tenacity of scientists who propose unpopular theories.

What's on Mubi could be relevant for tomorrow, as Meetup's only offerings at the moment for that day are in person (which I can't yet get to, with travel restrictions), or on BBC's iPlayer, which I can't access from abroad. If I'm back on Mubi, the next-highest rated offering was Woman at War, an Icelandic film about a woman whose environmental activism may threaten her ability to adopt a child. But gee - they just uploaded Mulholland Drive! A David Lynch film, it stars Naomi Watts as a Hollywood ingenue who gets involved with trying to help a young woman who's been in a car crash recover her memory. And somehow, I missed seeing it.. well yes, that'll be quite acceptable!

Film: Outrage

One of tonight's tv films sounded vaguely interesting, so I ended up watching Outrage, in which Rob Lowe is an upstanding citizen who finds himself targeted by a group of malicious, wealthy, self-entitled, layabout teenage boys. Boo hiss, we all know where that's going, huh?

It all starts when he's driving by as they're breaking into a car. They spin a good enough story that he leaves them alone. They also note his license plate, find his car afterwards (he lives nearby), break into that, get his license and registration and therefore his address.. and so his harassment begins. He has a pregnant (and nervy) wife, which makes things worse.

This would have been so much better if it had followed some particular conventions. Firstly, he's not squeaky clean himself - seems he has anger management issues, and his wife's friend thinks she'd be better off without him. Secondly, only one of the teens is a verifiable sociopath - the others are just along for the ride, and quickly get squeamish. So the film quickly deteriorates into a 1-1 battle of wits between Rob Lowe and the sociopath. Nothing to say about society then- apart from being rather critical of lawyers who get the guilty off, while the innocent have to pay. I see it started life as a tv movie - and it shows. What the hey, it killed a couple of hours.

What's on Mubi could be relevant for Saturday, as Meetup's only offerings at the moment for that day are in person (which I can't yet get to, with travel restrictions), or on BBC's iPlayer, which I can't access from abroad. If I'm back on Mubi, the next-highest rated offering is Woman at War, an Icelandic film about a woman whose environmental activism may threaten her ability to adopt a child.

Film: The Past

Today was film; Meetup isn't exactly hopping with events. I Vitelloni is no longer showing on Mubi - but the next-highest rated is The Past, which is still showing, and which I was actually much more interested in, having seen a couple of the Iranian director's previous offerings.

It was a little late in the afternoon when I started watching - but as I say, I was keen. Now, I adore films that tell a story without talking - and, as shown here, Asghar Farhadi is a past master at it. The film opens with a woman picking up her estranged husband at the airport and driving him back to her place - and for minutes, there is no dialogue. They're on the opposite side of a partition when we first see them, and afterwards it's the sound of the pouring rain, the traffic.. When they get back, almost the first thing she does is dry her hair, and all we can hear for a bit is the hairdryer. It happens again several times throughout the film - no dialogue for a bit, just background noise. Fantastic stuff - when we don't need dialogue, there is none, and we have a chance to absorb what's happened so far, and to observe the characters.

So, the story is, she's asked him to return to France (where the film takes place) to finalise their divorce. He's Iranian, you see, and apparently returned there when they split up. However, he discovers he's walked into a minefield - nobody seems to be telling the truth (or at least the whole truth); he asked her to book him a hotel and she didn't, but is putting him up instead; she has a new partner she didn't tell him about (who's living with her!); the new guy has a son, and a wife in a coma; she didn't tell the kids he was coming; and her elder daughter, who knows him from before and missed him, has taken to staying out all evening because she disapproves of her mother's new relationship, only coming back to sleep..

And believe me, that's not the half of it - the divorce turns out to be the least complicated part of the whole thing. He asks her, in one scene, why she dragged him into all this.. his being there makes things more complicated, of course, with the new partner being jealous and the teenage daughter taking her stepfather's side against her mother. But you know what? He's the sanest person in the film. A good cook, a good listener.. and as the story unravels, he unwittingly becomes the catalyst for the opening of a whole Pandora's box. The rows, later in the film, are a perfect contrast to the long periods of silence.

It's a beautiful character study, with a nice detective story thrown in there to keep our attention (why is the guy's wife in a coma?). Elegant and stylish - highly recommended. Available till Saturday on Mubi.

What's on Mubi could be relevant, as Meetup's only offerings at the moment for that day are in person (which I can't yet get to, with travel restrictions), or on BBC's iPlayer, which I can't access from abroad. If I'm back on Mubi, the next-highest rated offering is Woman at War, an Icelandic film about a woman whose environmental activism may threaten her ability to adopt a child.

Dance: Matthew Bourne's The Nutcracker

Today, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for - ooh! Matthew Bourne's production of The Nutcracker! Delighted with this  - I love Matthew Bourne, and hadn't seen this.

Unfortunately, the house WiFi crashed yesterday, and isn't back yet. I've logged a fault - jeez, it's one thing after another with them! Anyway, I'm managing on my mobile internet, but the upshot is that I didn't start watching in time to join the group for the chat afterwards. Which is a shame, but can't be helped.

I did manage to watch the production, though. And what a joy it is!  :-) Packed with Matthew Bourne's trademark sense of humour, this version - quirky as ever - starts in a Dickensian children's home. More depressing than your standard version of The Nutcracker then, with bleak, dark surroundings and draconian characters in charge - but retaining the glorious score of the original throughout.

Things begin to look up when the home gets a visit from some VIPs, who bring Christmas presents for the children. Clara, of course, grabs the nutcracker doll. But things really start to look up when they all go to bed, and she dreams herself into a fantasy land, where the nutcracker has turned into a dashing hero..

Now, it wouldn't be a Matthew Bourne production if he didn't turn some things on their heads. And - well, in this version, the nutcracker isn't exactly the knight in shining armour that you'd expect. No, he - er - runs off with the sugar plum fairy, leaving a bereft Clara stamping her feet.. Never mind, tomorrow is another day!

Loved it - highly recommended, as always with Matthew Bourne.

Tomorrow - probably film; Meetup isn't exactly hopping with events. I Vitelloni is no longer showing on Mubi - but the next-highest rated is The Past, which is still showing, and which I'm actually much more interested in, having seen a couple of the Iranian director's previous offerings. 

Film: Watermelon

Friday night, and the tv schedulers gave us a small selection of films to choose from. With Watermelon starting just when I was looking for something to watch, I said - ok! And so I watched it.

Based on a book by Marion Keyes, so you could call it a chick film. Perfect for a light, Friday night film. Stars Anna Friel, who moves to London, quickly falls in love with James (Jamie Draven), then discovers she's pregnant. Ideal, right? Nope. Suffice to say, she ends up running back home to Dublin, to her parents, Brenda Fricker and Sean McGinley. A young lady with a habit of embellishing the truth, what is she to do now?

The beginning of the story, at least, does deviate from the book - in the book, it seems she's married to James, and on the day she gives birth to their first child, she discovers he's having an affair, which is why she leaves. In the film, on the other hand, she actually comes over with her boyfriend, Ciarán McMenamin, who's under the impression that she's secured a good job, and is considering moving over with her. When he discovers that all she had was an interview - which she blew - he stomps back home in a huff, to safety. She soon hooks up with James - then discovers she's pregnant. By her ex. She starts to tell James - but he gets all excited at the idea the baby is his, and she doesn't have the heart to tell him the truth: not with him inviting her to move in n all. It's not until the day of the birth that he finds out, and sends her packing - so she slinks home, tail between her legs.

What the hey, I really enjoyed it. Anna Friel is very appealing - despite struggling with the Irish accent. Jamie Draven is suitably cute. And while the story is a mite predictable, it's heartwarming, the actors are great, and it's really funny. Also interesting to notice the cultural differences, even in this time frame - it's 17 years since this came out, and while mobile phones were around, not everyone had one. (Like, for instance, our heroine.) So when anyone is trying to contact her - or she's out and about and trying to get in contact with someone - they have to do inventive things. Like, you know, knocking on a door and asking for the person. Or paging them.. Anyway, highly recommended for sheer entertainment value.

Tomorrow, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for - ooh! Matthew Bourne's production of The Nutcracker! Wow, delighted - I love Matthew Bourne, and haven't seen this. And hopefully, the audio issues from last week will be sorted! That doesn't usually happen.

Film: The Cassandra Crossing

Today, I was thinking of film again - Mubi's highest rated offering is still I Vitelloni. But I have to compliment the tv schedulers - the listings today were excellent! In particular, my afternoon was mostly occupied by The Thorn Birds, which they're showing weekly, starting today. Always worth a look.

Tonight's film - also on tv - was The Cassandra Crossing. A couple of activists break into an American medical research institute in Geneva. In the ensuing gunfight, they are exposed to a virus (v topical). One is captured, and soon dies - the other makes it onto an international express train. Once the military - who never thought to mention to anyone that they were storing a deadly virus - find out, they deny permission to let anyone off, and divert the train - using the Cassandra Crossing - towards an isolation camp in Poland.

So - for a start, it ain't actually a virus: but then, it was the tv schedule that said it was. They probably have viruses on the brain. Nope, this is, apparently, pneumonic plague. (This is the most contagious kind and kills the fastest, which is probably why they used it for the film.) And if that's what it is, then they're incorrect in observing a dog that has contracted it. Apparently, this is the one type of plague that dogs actually don't tend to get. (I looked it up.) But what the hey.

Packed with stars, this - but much better than the other star-packed train film I saw recently, Murder on the Orient Express. Burt Lancaster is the colonel, directing operations from Geneva. Onboard, we have Richard Harris as an internationally renowned doctor - apparently the only doctor on the train, of all the 1,000 passengers. And isn't it handy that he hasn't forgotten his GP skills, despite being a neurosurgeon in his day job! His ex-wife, Sophia Loren, is also there. Ava Gardner is a passenger, accompanied by her toyboy, Martin Sheen! Almost didn't recognise him, with the long hair. Lee Strasberg does a nice turn as the camp survivor, who has terrible flashbacks when they stop the train at a remote location, to nail shutters on the windows. And yes, that is O. J. Simpson, as the wisecracking priest.

Very stylish, good plot development, very watchable. Nice little digs at the Americans for storing deadly compounds on foreign soil without mentioning it to anyone, and at the military for being more concerned with the news leaking out than with the welfare of the passengers. Dunno about their theory of how it can be treated, or indeed what the logic is of how the passengers try to stop the train - but never mind, just trust the main actors, you'll sail through. Enjoyed this film.

London Literary Walks' music quiz is still running.. haven't yet done the latest round of questions, I must get around to it! He's just mailing us the questions now, can't schedule as a new event unless he organises it on a video-sharing platform, apparently. Rules of Meetup.

And on Saturday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for - ooh! Matthew Bourne's production of The Nutcracker! Wow, delighted - I love Matthew Bourne, and haven't seen this. And hopefully, the audio issues from yesterday will be sorted! That doesn't usually happen.

Film: King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

So, the only one of the mid-evening tv film offerings that I hadn't seen was King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. A King Arthur story? Ok..

Turns out to be directed by Guy Ritchie. So ok, we know it's gonna be fast-paced, lots of action. And so it proves. No interest whatsoever in what happens after, this film just concerns itself with Arthur getting the throne. Plays around with the story a bit - Camelot wasn't built by Arthur, but already existed, and Mordred, rather than being Arthur's evil wizard son (or nephew), is actually a contemporary of the previous generation. Seems that humans and magi were allies until Arthur's wicked uncle (Jude Law) conspired with Mordred and caused a battle, during which Uther was killed and Jude Law took the throne. Arthur was spirited away and brought up in the slums - now a strapping lad, he must defeat both his uncle and Mordred to take the throne. Once he can be convinced that he wants it, that is.

The look of it owes much to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, IMHO, and the feel of it is more Robin Hood, with Arthur assembling a band of merry knights (lots of Northern English accents) before ever taking the throne - one of whom is played by Aidan Gillen. The costumes are 14th Century, the women's hairstyles earlier - 11th, maybe, or earlier. After that, they were covering their hair - married ladies, at least, in public. So, fantasy rather than historical - but none of the Arthurian legend is really history anyway.

The CGI is great, the omnipresent fight scenes are cleverly choreographed. The magic, in my opinion, isn't used often enough, but is rather cool when it happens. So yes, I enjoyed it as a piece of mindless entertainment - but for me, the definitive King Arthur story is still Excalibur. Mostly authentic feel, sticks to the legend - and who can beat O Fortuna for a repeating theme in the soundtrack?

Tomorrow, thinking of film again - Mubi's highest rated offering is still I Vitelloni.

London Literary Walks' music quiz is still running..

And next Saturday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for - ooh! Matthew Bourne's production of The Nutcracker! Wow, delighted - I love Matthew Bourne, and haven't seen this. And hopefully, the audio issues from earlier will be sorted! That doesn't usually happen.

Musical: Reasons to be Cheerful

Today, I was back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for another musical - Reasons to be Cheerful. It's also available on YouTube. Interestingly, for the talk after, we were supposed to be back on Jitsi again..! 

I was a little late starting, this time - stuff got on top of me, and I joined as soon as I could. Now, I don't know much about Ian Dury and the Blockheads, on whose music this is based - for a start, the title is taken from one of their hits. As the show progressed, though, I did recognise some. The performance was given at the Theatre Royal, Stratford, by Graeae, an acting group with disabilities - some missing limbs, or deaf. Interestingly, the name comes from Greek mythological sisters, who share one eye and one tooth among the three of them..

Anyway, they do an excellent job in what's basically a jukebox musical. The story is simple but poignant - the main characters are massive fans, but haven't managed to get tickets to the band's sold-out gigs. But fate intervenes - and it looks like they can get enough tickets to take along the main character's dad, who's dying of cancer. Turns out to be a memorable night..

Protest music, this. A little before my time - but still highly relevant. I was also living in another country at the time, and didn't have the exposure - but hey, I did know some of the songs, and they're all well performed and catchy. With a decent storyline, this does make for an entertaining session.

The talk afterwards wasn't entirely successful - I'd thought we had a Jitsi link, then it turned out to be Zoom - and our host had audio problems. Ditto when we switched to Jitsi - as someone remarked, wasn't the quality better at the start of lockdown?! So, not ideal - but still, it was good to chat to people, and to hear that everyone enjoyed it. Showing till the 3rd of August. Includes subtitles.

Tomorrow, thinking of film - Mubi's highest rated offering is still I Vitelloni.

London Literary Walks' music quiz is still running..

And next Saturday, back with the same UITCS organiser for - ooh! Matthew Bourne's production of The Nutcracker! Wow, delighted - I love Matthew Bourne, and haven't seen this. And hopefully, the audio issues will be sorted! That doesn't usually happen.

Film: Suburbicon

Not much on tv tonight. Until suddenly there was.. Suburbicon, directed by George Clooney and written by the Coen brothers, sounded interesting, and was one I hadn't seen. So I watched that.

Matt Damon is a resident of this neat, modern 50s American housing development. He's VP of finance in some large corporation or other - it looks like a well-paying job, and it'd have to be for him to live here. Julianne Moore plays both his wife (blonde) and sister-in-law (brunette). And he has a little boy, Noah Jupe. It's a picture-perfect scene. Until the (whisper) black family moves in next door, to everyone's shock. How topical. But while the community protests against their new neighbours (after all, as they say, black people never try to improve themselves - they're a bad influence), are they looking in the right direction for what's wrong in the neighbourhood?

With the Coen brothers in charge of the script, it was never going to be a straightforward story - and there are enough OTT twists and turns to keep anyone entertained. It's billed as a comedy, but played very straight - I didn't laugh through the entire thing, although I gaped in disbelief through much of the latter half. The disbelief, of course, was down to the plot twists - I have to wonder whether, had the Coens themselves been directing, it'd have been funnier. Certainly, I tend to find their films funnier than this.

Don't get me wrong - that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it! Julianne Moore, in particular, is excellent, and there's a terrific juxtaposition between the protests against the unfortunate black family, and the insanity that's quietly happening next door. It just feels like a little bit of a lost opportunity - it falls kinda flat. Never mind, it's interesting enough to have a look, if you come across it.

Tomorrow, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for another musical - Reasons to be Cheerful. Interestingly, for the talk after, we're back on Jitsi again..!

Storytelling: Wise Words

Well, it was actually Midsomer Murders that put it in my head. See, they were solving the case of the murder of a folk singer - and some folk songs were sung. And it's been a while since I listened to any. So, once it was over - well, I had the idea, finally, to check out the Crick Crack Club's online page. Now, they said they were going to change one of the stories each week - but I swear, they haven't got around to it yet! Still, I was glad to get to these before any changes were made.

The shortest also sounded the most attractive. Wise Words is a double-hander, with Jan Blake & TUUP, about 20 minutes long, allowing for one story each. Jan is up first, with the intriguing story of a man with a tree growing from the top of his head - TUUP's I'd heard before, the one about the woman who seeks a love potion to make her husband notice her, and is told that the one essential ingredient is a tiger's whisker..

Sound quality is decent, and they're great to listen to. The only thing is - I do think they lose a little from not having visuals. Still, these days, what can you do? By all means though, do check out the artists' insight videos, at the side. And I'll certainly be back for more of these. Soul food, you know?

On Saturday, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for another musical - Reasons to be Cheerful. Interestingly, for the talk after, we're back on Jitsi again..!

Film: Murder on the Orient Express

Tonight's bank holiday film on RTÉ1 was the latest, star-studded version of Murder on the Orient Express, released a few years ago. I never did see it, so this was a good opportunity.

It starts out with Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) blithely solving a crime in Jerusalem. He also directs, and I think it shows here - this section isn't part of the original story, I think, and has a completely different tone from the rest of the film. There's almost a Keystone Cops feel as he dashes merrily around - very Kenneth Branagh, not very Hercule Poirot. I suppose it satisfied his sense of fun.

So he eventually gets onto the Orient Express. I dunno - I've seen other versions of this, and I was expecting it to be more luxurious. Anyway. There's a trainload of recognisable characters - Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Judi Dench (with Olivia Colman as her lady in waiting), Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Derek Jacobi, Daisy Ridley (in much more conventional dress than her usual garb in Star Wars) - jeez, imagine wandering into the dining car at dinnertime, you wouldn't know where to look! Johnny Depp is soon murdered, just before the train is derailed and they're stuck in the snow, awaiting rescue, and with time to figure out what happened.

Kind of the victory of style over substance - there's a lot of posturing, a lot of odd accents, but although I followed the story, I never thought it took centre stage. People have also pointed out the inconsistencies in M. Poirot's moustache - which, for someone with OCD, is rather unpardonable. Nah, for all that, I found it most underwhelming - did like the mountainous, snowy backdrop they were stuck in, though. Happened to me in the Tyrol, once - without the murder, I should add. No, we were just headed through the Alps on a very cold morning, and the engine froze, leaving us stuck at the side of a mountain for a considerable time. So, that's what I spent most of the film thinking about. The murder? Meh. Couldn't really give a fiddler's. Watch one of the other versions - for all the star content, this is completely forgettable.

On Saturday, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for another musical - Reasons to be Cheerful. Interestingly, for the talk after, we're back on Jitsi again..!

Film: The Stranger (1991)

London Literary Walks has now given the results to the final (sigh) round of their quiz.. or is it? Given that he's moved the date forward again! Now, today is actually a bank holiday in Ireland. And gee, for me too, as my company introduced an extra day off some years back, in return for overtime worked to get a release out - and decided to keep the tradition! And that bank holiday happens today. So I get two in a row, hah! Looking for something to do tomorrow afternoon, I decided to watch something on Mubi. Highest rated film currently showing is The Stranger (1991) - an Indian film about a well-off family that receives a visitor, claiming to be a long-lost relative..

And then I ended up watching it last night! Lordy, I had trouble sticking with it, TBH - it trundles along languidly, as this guy rocks up, is perfectly charming, answers only the questions that are put to him. It is, in fact, like a dinner party, where he proves the perfect guest - erudite, well-travelled, philosophical. Throughout, his niece and nephew are dubious about his identity, and produce a variety of acquaintances to question him in a way that they can't, out of politeness - and still they doubt him. Matters are finally resolved at the end, you'll be glad to hear.

Gee, I just can't find much to recommend it, though! There isn't really anything revolutionary in it, nothing we haven't heard before - technology doesn't provide all the answers, we need to get back to basics, civilisation is overrated. He doesn't seem terribly wise to me - "temperamental", they call him at the end, and I agree. Shies away from difficult situations, which is probably why he took off in the first place. There's nothing funny in the film, nothing really sad, nothing very dramatic.. the only point in the whole film at which I engaged was one beautiful scene where the wife plays a tanpura and sings. Anyway, if you fancy a look, it's also available on YouTube.

Highest rated film now is I Vitelloni, a 50s Fellini coming-of-age drama about five young men.

And on Saturday, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for another musical - Reasons to be Cheerful. Interestingly, for the talk after, we're back on Jitsi again..!