Film: Andre Rieu 2021 Summer Concert: Together Again (Encore)

The only matinée I was interested in today was Andre Rieu 2021 Summer Concert: Together Again (Encore), which was showing in the Omniplex - and damn near sold out already, when I looked! So I booked, despite the high ticket price - what the hey! It'd be the first time I'd ever have watched a concert in the cinema. This concert was showing in cinemas, this weekend only..

The day started with a belated call from the Garda to whom I reported my mother's phishing attack, who finally got back to me with the reference number. So that's been sent to the bank, and I'm awaiting developments. Meantime, I took myself in to the Omniplex - had ideas of dropping off the recycling on the way, but the recycling bins everywhere are alive with wasps! So, that's still awaiting removal..

Parked at the cinema in time to run to Tesco first, for bits and pieces - then dashed into the cinema, just in time. I had my ticket scanned, and headed for the screen - she had to chase after me with the playlist, which is distributed to attendees! An usher showed me to my seat - and I noted that, although I'd had to take the seat on the end of the row, not a single other seat in that row was occupied. Gee, there must have been a few people that didn't show - and at that price, it's a shame if they'd been held up! The row never did fill any more, despite several latecomers.

No trailers - we were straight into the show, which started off primarily hosted by Andre Rieu's son, who described Andre's orchestra (the Johann Strauss Orchestra) coming together again for the first time since the pandemic, at a scenic restaurant. And it's from there that the film is introduced - a montage of performances from different locations around the world. Speaking of which, I think it would have been kind to provide a translation of the non-English sections, considering how much he interacts with the audiences..

This orchestra is known for playing popular pieces, and he has fun with the staging. And after every single piece, I gave a quiet little clap - it just didn't seem right not to! The ladies in the orchestra - as always - wear brightly coloured ballgowns appropriate for the period when Strauss lived - although the soloists do shake it up a bit, with a variety of outfits. And over it all, Andre Rieu presides with a twinkle in his eye and a cheeky grin.

I didn't recognise most of the pieces from the first part - although the first, 76 Trombones, is a staple of his, as he marches onstage through the audience. Habanera is one of several Spanish-flavour pieces that follow, along with a performance of The Rose, before we get to Kalinka, which I love, and which was my favourite from this first part. And the first to get me rocking back and forth in my convenient, rocker seat! Part I finishes with a performance of I Could Have Danced All Night.

Which got the toes tapping for a 10-minute interval, towards the end of which we get more fun clips of Andre.

Promptly on the 10-minute mark, Part II starts with a beautiful performance of The Lonely Shepherd. More famous pieces in this part - and the audience is practically forced out of their seats for The Blue Danube. And there they stay, dancing in the aisles.. something I haven't seen since I saw the late, great Leonard Cohen in Kilmainham, years ago.. Waltzers are also visible to the rear of the orchestra, and in a nice touch, scattered through the audience, partnering those without partners.

O Fortuna was always going to be a highlight for me - and they give a thrilling performance. And after some more standards - they're into pop! The Macarena, anyone? And Lou Bega even comes on with Mambo No. 5..

Ah, it is most enjoyable. Even if it is just a collage of previous films. As I say, I hadn't seen a concert in cinema before, so it was cool.. even if I didn't feel I could clap out loud. Certainly, it's the closest I've been to a concert experience in a long time. Enjoyed myself, and was back good and early.

Tomorrow, all that suits is - finally - Stillwater, showing in the Arc Cinema in Ennis at 5.30. Matt Damon stars as a redneck American dad, who heads to France to try to help his daughter, Abigail Breslin, who's in prison in the den of iniquity that is Marseille, convicted of a murder she swears she didn't commit. Could be decent. No longer showing in the Omniplex - I'm lucky to get to see it. Films don't show here for as long as in London.

And on that note, it'd better be good, because it's the last thing on the current listings that I want to see! Between shorter showing times than I'm used to, and a much smaller range to start with, of course, I've completely exhausted everything I could be bothered seeing! Sorry, but not even desperation is going to make me try the dubious comedies that provide the only alternative to all the kids' films.. Roll on Friday, and a new film list. In the meantime, I'll be sourcing stuff online again.. in between all the errands I have to run, this week!

Films: Candyman (2021) & Postcards from the Edge

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..

St. Patrick's Festival: Guided Walks

So - another terrible Friday night for tv! You win some, you lose some.. I ended up with the St. Patrick's Festival website, where I seem to have got onto the guided walk section. 

First up was the Shenanigans Walking Tour, with ISL. Wow, what a nice change to have a tour outside of Dublin! This one is in Kilkenny - a lovely, medieval city that I only visited once. And he's an entertaining guide. It lasts under 15 minutes, and is only a taster - but still, I'm a bit miffed that the snippets of information promised to us in the blurb weren't delivered: such as how the city got its nickname, City of the Cats!

Next up was Sligo Walking Tours - out of the capital again, and with ISL. This is a town I've driven through, but never stopped in. To be frank, from the looks of this tour - again under 15 minutes - I don't think I'll ever be spending much time there; the amount of information provided just about filled the time available, but I don't think there can have been much more of interest to say. Certainly, this is less fun than the Shenanigans tour - the guide sounds like she's moonlighting from being a Garda, TBH; they have a stereotypically bland way of speaking.

Finally, a pair of guides took us on a Guinness in the Liberties Walking Tour - a tour of the historic Liberties area of Dublin, with a particular emphasis on the effect that the Guinness family had on the area, with their famous brewery. Fascinating to hear the history - and frankly, nice to be back in the city again, after the Sligo tour..

Tomorrow, I guess I'll try the car guy again for valeting - which means I'll be sourcing a film in Ennis. There's only one matinée that I haven't seen - happily, it's one I'm interested in. The new Candyman is - they say - more downbeat than outright horror. But I liked the original, and it's co-written by the talented Jordan Peele, and is an apparent update to the original. So yes, on my radar.

It's also on late enough that, with luck, I'll get to the Garda station - to report that my mother's bank account was phished last week. Yes, on my watch - mea culpa. You've heard of the Amazon scam, right? So, the idea is, they pretend to be from Amazon, and are ringing to thank you for resubscribing to their service. Press 1 to cancel. If you do, you're taken down a rabbit hole where they get you to install spyware on your computer, then fill out a refund form online. Lo and behold, there's an "error" in the form, where it refunds you too much! So you end up agreeing to transfer the money back. Of course, you end up transferring too much.. and they made sure to keep me away from the computer while that was happening, "to improve reception".

I should have known better - but was wrongfooted from the start, with my mother screeching at me to fix it, that they'd taken money from her account.. and up to a point, everything seemed reasonable.. well, the bank's been informed, they've passed the information on to the fraud office, and asked me to report it and get a crime reference number for them. I haven't had a chance yet. Oh Lordy, what a couple of weeks.. and what's more, ever since, we've been plagued by phone calls of the same nature, all from different numbers. I've been very busy blocking them.

On Sunday, 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.

Films: The Night House & Spanglish

Today's film: well. No matinees that suited - all films left that I haven't seen are for a MUCH younger demographic. So I broke it to my mother that it'd have to be an early-evening film. So she'd have to do without me for a few hours in the evening. Now, going on IMDB ratings, the top two films in the area are - films I'm just not interested in. Third up is The Courier, a Cold War spy film with Benedict Cumberbatch - but the showings are later than I'd hoped, heading towards the 7pm mark.

Would you believe, next on the list was a horror film! The Night House has a rating of 6.9, which is much higher than horror films typically reach.. Rebecca Hall is a young woman whose husband inexplicably committed suicide. She seeks meaning behind what happened by going through his things, in the lake house he built for her. Things get weird. Watch some pretty scary trailers, you'll see what I mean.. I'm not going to give anything away, I'll just say that it reminds me of a seriously weird book I read, whose name escapes me, which was recommended on a list of scariest books of all time. The subject was a house of multiple dimensions.. I booked that film, at the Omniplex.

Ah, it was really nice to have a relaxing afternoon, not rushing to do anything - I even got some overdue work done! Headed off in good time, and had time to run to Tesco before it started. No annoying usher to greet me this time, and I made my own way to the screen, taking my seat, dead centre. 10 seats had been blocked off around me - three back and front, and two to each side. Not that that stopped a couple who came in slightly late taking seats right in front of me - or another couple of girls taking seats in the row in front of them. Nor the teenage girls, probably below the film's age rating, who snuck in after a while - although one jumped up and nearly left at a scary scene, both eventually left during a quiet bit, after deciding that it wasn't thrilling enough.

Sure enough, it's a slow burner: although I did enjoy the scene where the young widow returns to work - she's a teacher - just in time for the end of the school year. She's been sleeping badly, and dozes off in her classroom mid-afternoon, to be awakened by a mother who's come to discuss her son's grade. She can't initially remember who he is, but it comes to her that this student never submitted his final assignment - hence the low grade. The mother explains that he did, on the last day of teaching - the widow explains that she was out that day, for personal reasons. "You know what?", she says, "Let's just excuse him." She ups his grade to a B. The mother protests that that's not why she came - the teacher calls her on it. "That's not why you came?" The mother starts to say that she just wanted to know.. the teacher interrupts her to tell her that on that particular day, her husband blew his brains out. The mother is shocked. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know." "Yes, that's why it's a personal reason." Yeah, something like that is a handy way to get around annoying parents (said the ex-teacher).. It's about the only way of doing it. I'd hate to be in the business again.

Rebecca Hall does a really good job of being almost the scariest person in the film - intense throughout, she's impatient with people tiptoeing around her, and alienates most of her friends that way. Finding some weird stuff among her husband's belongings, she is determined to get to the truth - well, she does that and more. The "night house" of the title isn't actually the house she's living in - it's one across the lake, whose lights she can see at night, and which turns out to be a mirror image of her own! Funny though, it's almost impossible to find in daylight, and when she eventually does, it's a ruin..

It's actually a really well-made film, with a coherent plot and some absolutely kickass special effects, the likes of which I haven't seen before. Some genuine jump scares, mostly flagged in the trailers. But it seems to shy away from truly scaring the audience, apart from a couple of scenes. What a missed opportunity.. I can only hope to see this level of originality in SFX in horror films from here out.

Back to my mother's again, and the evening film on tv was Spanglish, in which a wealthy couple, Adam Sandler and Téa Leoni, hire a Mexican housekeeper who doesn't speak any English. The wife, here, is a real problem - demented, probably bipolar, flying into panic attacks for no reason, rapid bouts of depression, fits of manic behaviour. Her husband is a mild-mannered chap who's stressed out from having to handle her, and is protecting their daughter from her as much as he can. It's no wonder that he falls for the more level-headed housekeeper.

It's enjoyable enough - the problem is that it takes nearly 2.5 hours to resolve itself. Which is easily more than an hour too long for something with so basic a plot. Things happen REALLY slowly in this film - to the extent that I got bored waiting for anything much to happen, and started reading the paper. When I checked in, every now and again, it was to discover that I could pick up anything I'd missed in under a minute. Yawn - where were the scissors when they were editing this? For a comedy, it also has few laughs. I like Adam Sandler, I liked the plot - I just couldn't have stuck giving it my full attention for that long.

Well, on Saturday I guess I'll try the car guy again for valeting - which means I'll be sourcing a film in Ennis. Whatever that might be..

Films: Paris Can Wait, Sweet November, The Italian Job (2003), & Reminiscence

Wow, for once, yesterday's tv was a bonanza of decent films! I watched three back-to-back.

First up was Paris Can Wait, in which Diane Lane is married to busy film producer Alec Baldwin. (Given that the writer / director is Eleanor Coppola, who's married to Francis Ford Coppola, I have to wonder whether it isn't a bit autobiographical. But anyway.)  She's come to France to be with him while he works. They're in the south of France, due to travel to Paris - but he is called away elsewhere, and tells her to head on without him. However, she has an ear infection, and doesn't fancy flying - never fear, his solicitous French colleague offers to drive her, and won't take no for an answer.

So begins a languid road movie. He's a gourmand, and knows every interesting detour - so that she's very late getting to Paris, and her husband gets rather suspicious. (He doesn't appear after the beginning of the film, except for sundry tetchy phone messages, warning her about her driver.) The subject of the film is the growing relationship between her and her driver - but the film is more interesting, in general, as a travelogue, with some lovely settings. To the extent that I'm vaguely thinking of a break there for my birthday. Watch this space. Her companion is unfailingly charming, and the trip is a most watchable one. Recommended.

Right after that was Sweet November, in which Charlize Theron dates a different man every month, fixes their faults, and sends each back into humanity a more empathetic person. She rather meets her match, however, in Keanu Reeves, a workaholic exec. Jason Isaacs also shows up as one of her friends. It's a sweet film, in fact, and the relationship between them is touching.

Finally, I should have gone to sleep - but got hooked into another film of hers - The Italian Job (2003). An all-star cast for this remake, in which she is a safecracker, whose boyfriend (Mark Wahlberg) leads a gang of thieves planning to rob Edward Norton (my favourite actor of all, alongside Andrew Scott.. jeez, if they were ever in a film together, I wouldn't know where to look!). Donald Sutherland plays her safecracking father, who taught her everything she knows, and is a mentor of her boyfriend. Also in the gang we have Jason Statham - whom I've never ever seen in a film before, action films not being my thing - as a driver.

It's a long time since I saw the original - all I could remember of it was that it was a heist film, with Michael Caine, and a fabulous car chase in Mini Coopers. Well, this one doesn't disappoint - the action comes thick and fast, with some great performances, and just like the original, the theft occurs during a traffic jam, and there is a knockout chase in Mini Coopers! (Small and manoeuvrable, you see.) Terrific fun.. anyway, it didn't finish until after 3, and I was too tired to blog.

Today, I decided to head back to that nice chap outside Ennis, who took such pains over washing my car (which already had cobwebs on it again - that's nature for you!), to see about getting it valeted. Which meant I had to clear the rubbish out of it first.. I also looked at what's on in the cinema there - and what appealed was Reminiscence, set in a dystopian, flooded future, where people like to live in their memories, and Hugh Jackman is a "detective of the mind", who has some fancy machinery to bring their memories to life. Thandiwe Newton is his assistant, Rebecca Ferguson the femme fatale. Showing late afternoon, so if I got to that nice man early enough - well, it shouldn't take as long as washing the car did! I'd have to pay for parking, but it isn't much, and he doesn't work Sundays.

Ah well, he wasn't working when I got there either - his little shed was bolted up, and there was no sign to say when he'd be back. Nuts - but I have time before the test, and I'll try him again. At least I got it cleared out at last! And since I wasn't having the car valeted, I had that much more time before the film - plenty of time to trail around Abbey Street Car Park, which was full again, and head back to where I'd come from.

I made the cinema in time - an usher again insisted on showing me to my seat. When we got there, it was to find another couple occupying my seat (and one beside it) - he asked them to move, which they happily did. As they said, they'd thought they were going to be the only ones there, and had moved more centrally. Fair enough. Ironic though, I thought, that I was just asked to sit in the seat that had just been vacated - so much for cleaning the cinema between viewings, so we don't catch each other's germs!

So, this is a film noir with a backdrop of flooding - it's set in Miami, but the low-lying streets are flooded, and, except in dammed areas, people travel in boats: reminiscent of Venice, but not as pretty. There's also a brief nod to temperature increase, as Hugh mentions that it's so hot during the day that people tend to sleep, and live their lives at night. It's a cute idea, but apart from reminding us of the perils of climate change, serves little purpose in the film. Apart from a vague description of how the impending flooding led to war, in which he and his assistant both fought - which explains why she's so handy with a gun.

The other futuristic gimmick, of course, is this mind-reading device, which forms the backbone of the plot - people can come to this chap and relive memories, which can then be viewed and recorded. They have to lie in a water bath to do this, for some reason - electrodes attached to their heads, and to a machine that delivers a low voltage. He speaks softly into a microphone to direct their thoughts, and the results are displayed on a kind of stage, and recorded. Lovely for people to relive past happiness, in what is a miserable age - also very handy if you've lost something and want to remember where you put it!

The plot basically centres around some bad people wanting access to other people's memories, for nefarious reasons - the recordings are stored on nifty transparent plates, sort of like mini floppy discs. Rebecca Ferguson plays a singer again, as she did in her other film with Hugh Jackman, The Greatest Showman, but this time she does her own singing! And is quite passable. Dunno whether he had anything to do with the writing and sketching in his notebook, though. Anyway, aside from the mind-reading aspect, it's pretty straightforward film noir, so if that's your bag you should enjoy it.

Stopped off at An Teach China again on the way back, ordered the same delish meal.. someone ordered satay while I was waiting, I might have that next time! They didn't have the dessert I wanted, so I chose an alternative - but she assured me that they'd have mine back next week!

Tomorrow's film: well. No matinees that suit - all films left that I haven't seen are for a MUCH younger demographic. So I've broken it to my mother that it's going to have to be an early-evening film. So she'll have to do without me for a few hours in the evening. Now, going on IMDB ratings, the top two films in the area are - films I'm just not interested in. Third up is The Courier, a Cold War spy film with Benedict Cumberbatch - but the showings are later than I'd hoped, heading towards the 7pm mark.

Would you believe, next on the list is a horror film! The Night House has a rating of 6.9, which is much higher than horror films typically reach.. Rebecca Hall is a young woman whose husband inexplicably committed suicide. Seeking to make sense of what's happened, she goes to stay in the lake house he built for her. Things get weird. Watch some pretty scary trailers, you'll see what I mean.. I'm not going to give anything away, I'll just say that it reminds me of a seriously weird book I read, whose name escapes me, which was recommended on a list of scariest books of all time. The subject was a house of multiple dimensions.. I've booked that film, at the Omniplex.

St. Patrick's Festival: Guided Walks around Dublin (with ISL)

Well, what with The Purge on Amazon Prime, it's been a long time since I looked at the St. Patrick's Festival website. Which I'm happy to say is still there, and proved very useful during a hole in programming today! I watched two guided walks around Dublin, based on famous people, and featuring ISL (Irish Sign Language). Both around 15 minutes.

First up was In the Footsteps of St. Patrick, in which we're led around sites associated with the saint, and learn sundry interesting facts about him. Which was followed by a rather more animated rendition of the Oscar Wilde Walking Tour, which also concerns his Dublin years, and in which a variety of sites associated with him are visited. Both very interesting, both recommended for fans of the subjects.

Now, tomorrow I'm thinking of heading back to that nice chap outside Ennis, who took such pains over washing my car (which already has cobwebs on it again - that's nature for you!), to see about getting it valeted. Which means I have to clear the rubbish out of it tonight.. also means I'm looking at what's on in the cinema there - and what appeals is Reminiscence, set in a dystopian, flooded future, where people like to live in their memories, and Hugh Jackman is a "detective of the mind", who has some fancy machinery to bring their memories to life. Thandiwe Newton is his assistant, Rebecca Ferguson the client who disappears, but with whom he apparently becomes obsessed. Showing late afternoon, so if I get to that nice man early enough - well, it shouldn't take as long as washing the car did! I will have to pay for parking, but it isn't much, and he doesn't work Sundays.

Film: Free Guy

Yesterday - now that I'm mobile - I promised to take all those empty wine bottles that had built up, down to the bottle bank. And wouldn't you know it, that's on the way to Limerick. ;-) Now, as I waited for Saturday's film, I watched a trailer for Free Guy, which made me feel like I might like to see it. I wasn't sure at first about this comedy where Ryan Reynolds plays a videogame character (called Guy) that's happily going about his daily business, until one day he discovers that he is actually in a videogame.. but the trailer looked decent, and goodness knows, he's easy on the eye. With or without glasses. And they're showing Free Guy in Limerick Omniplex. So I booked it, for late yesterday afternoon. Well, it's free to book, there.. and I was getting worried, with all the seats that are blocked off as soon as any seats are booked.

Of course, I left it late enough to leave that I didn't have time for the bottle bank. At the cinema, parking wasn't a problem - at the entrance, I was accosted by an usher who, quick-fire, asked had I prebooked my ticket? Had I booked food and/or drink? Did I want any? ("Yes, No, No".) She then shooed me - unnecessarily - towards the ticket check. Where my code - which showed up in the email, this time! - was scanned, and I made my way to the cinema screen. I'd chosen a snug seat at the side, away from the main section, where quite a few seats were occupied. Ooh, and I'd forgotten the lovely, leather, rocker seats they have here..

I loved this. So glad I gave it a go! We already know, from the Deadpool films, that he's a terrific comedic actor - and he doesn't disappoint. He's an NPC - non-playable-character - in this game, which means he's basically a background character, added for colour. Specifically, he gets up every morning, puts on an identical outfit to the day before, says hi to Goldie the goldfish, has breakfast, grabs a coffee (medium, two sugars) at the coffee shop, and goes to work as a bank teller. His catchphrase is "Don't have a good day - have a GREAT day!" And every day, the surrounding mayhem - car chases, explosions, and the daily armed robbery of his bank - phase his cheery demeanour not at all.

The significance of the glasses is that those wearing glasses are actual players - and as his friend, the equally cheery and unphased security guard, says, the likes of them don't mix with glasses-wearers. So it's quite an event when a sexy young lady (Jodie Comer) catches his eye - a young lady who happens to be a glasses-wearer. She chats to him, and - thinking he's also a player, as he's wearing glasses he took from the most recent bank robber - remarks that he's at a very basic level (as she can tell from the information imparted by the glasses he's wearing). She advises him that he can increase his points score by killing people - but he's not into that, he's too nice - so she remarks, "Well, you can do it by performing good deeds, although hardly anyone chooses to do that." So he turns into a sort of superhero..

Back on the other side of the screen, IRL, we meet the young female avatar's alter-ego, a young lady who designed a complex videogame with her partner at the time. They then sold it for a lot of money to the company that now runs "Free City", the game that Guy is a part of - her partner works there too now, but she doesn't, and is in fact taking a lawsuit against the owner because she thinks he's illegally using the software that they designed, but not for the purpose for which it was intended..

I love the interaction between the game and real life. Reminds me of Tron, a film I adored as a kid (but with much more realistic graphics). In both cases, someone IRL is looking for evidence in the computer world, and needs the help of a character to do it. Also needs to go in themself, which is much easier in this film than it was in Tron. And again, there's romance between a human and a computer character..

Ryan has great fun, zipping around the place with superpowers (when wearing glasses), and learning to play the game like any of us might. And I had a ball watching him, and loved the references to other films. Highly recommend this film to anyone with a gaming obsession, who likes Ryan Reynolds. I tell you this though, I wouldn't recommend it to the army of small kids who attended that screening - older kids yes, but younger kids wouldn't play this kind of game, and probably wouldn't have got much from this film - not all games are equal, you know!

Afterwards, I headed back - there's no longer anywhere to sit and eat at that shopping centre. And yes, I did get to the bottle bank on the way back.. Didn't have time to blog though, as I had to be up early today.

Still here for the time being, waiting to get my car tested on the 3rd. So for the weekend, I'll be hoping for more fare from the local cinemas, but no showtimes have been announced yet..

Films: Don't Breathe 2 & Unless

Ah, it's great to have my car fixed! Whee, serviced n all, and sitting outside. So the plan for today was to go get it washed - as my taxi driver friend remarked, it was so green it looked like Kermit's car. Now, there's an excellent handwash car service - cheap too - on the way in to Ennis. So I thought.. if I got done in time, Don't Breathe 2 has a matinée showing at the Arc Cinema in Ennis.. I wasn't so impressed with the original, but what the hey, I said I'd give it a go. Again, with hardly any seats booked, I thought I could afford to head in without booking. Of course, parking isn't free on Saturdays, nuts - would just have to grin and bear it. (And I'd be tempting fate, because I was at a film in the same cinema, the day my car broke down. Ah well..)

I wasn't even sure the carwash was open - you can't see it as you approach. So it was with some relief that I saw a queue, which I joined. Shortly, I was second in line - and I could see the sole carwash worker giving me the odd look. He was done with the car in front in about five minutes - it was hardly dirty - and I drove forward and parked where he indicated.

And that's when he got a proper look. He spent about five minutes just scratching his head, looking at it, walking all around, scrubbing at some of the dirt with his hand. He duly ran off to get his mobile and take a photo of it. He felt obliged to ask me how on earth it got in this state.. um, parked under trees? I mean, over the last year and a half, it hasn't had much exercise, and has indeed been parked under - and near - greenery, as opposed to outside my taxi driver's house, where it is when I'm in London, and where there isn't as much. Well, he duly started his task.

15 minutes into the wash, I was texting my taxi driver - for something to do - to let him know it was getting washed at last. It took 40 minutes in all, and he charged me just under double the basic price for a small car. (Well, it does say "from.." on the price list.) Well worth the money - an automatic carwash would never have managed it! The car that came in behind me gave up and left - the car behind that one stayed, the driver taking the opportunity to do his shopping in the adjacent store, pump his tyres with the convenient airpump beside him.. Water-blasted, washed and waxed, I rolled out of there in a sparklingly clean car. Unreal. The environment had better keep away - next up is valeting, and the test is scheduled for the third of next month; Ennis is the more convenient centre, but didn't have availability before that week, which I conveniently have off - and didn't have a convenient time until that day.

Right! That sorted, I had about an hour before my film - drove around and around Abbey Street car park, but couldn't get a spot, and finally parked a bit further away - it's not a large town anyway. Waited a bit - I didn't want to pay too early, as there's only supposed to be two hours' parking, and the film wouldn't be over by then. Not that anyone probably checks, but wouldn't that be just my luck.. Parking in that part of town is just €1 for two hours, and I headed off in due course, bought my ticket (and a packet of chocolate M&Ms, just because it's been so long), and the lady who took my ticket actually took it upon herself to show me to my seat! There were a few people sat at the back - wow, that made the screen feel positively crowded..

I had just settled myself when the lights went down. They don't have a long ad program here, but what they did show was a trailer for Free Guy, which has made me feel like I might like to see it, now. I wasn't sure at first about this comedy where Ryan Reynolds plays a videogame character (called Guy) that's happily going about his daily business, until one day he discovers that he is actually in a videogame.. but the trailer looks decent, and goodness knows, he's easy on the eye. With or without glasses.

And so, without delay, to the main feature. Now, the original film has a blind guy, ex-military, providing more than able resistance to the gang of thieves that invade his house. He also has a fixation on getting another daughter, to replace the one he lost in an accident. Well, in the sequel, he has one - and I have to say, Madelyn Grace is the most bright-eyed and bushy-tailed youngster I can think of since Shirley Temple! Not that he'd know that, being blind. Anyway, unsurprisingly, she's not actually his - he found her after a house fire, and pretended to be her father as he raised her, and taught her survival skills. It's not much of a spoiler to reveal that her real father shows up - but is he really any more fit to raise her than the man who did..?

So, it's better than the original - the blind man is more sympathetic here, there's more of a plot (even if it is over the top), and it's a bit less gruesome. Still not terrific, but interesting - and a couple of beefy dogs for the aww factor. I wouldn't rush to see it, but it's not terrible.

Rising quickly to leave (I wanted to get back to the car), I was surprised, when I looked around, to see that all the others had beaten me to it! Crikey, they moved fast. Anyway, I got back to my unrecognisably clean car - this was the first proper look I'd got at it since - to find.. that no-one had penalised me for overstaying. Gee.

My mother was spoiled when I brought back prawn crackers from my last trip - they're good at An Teach China, the closest Chinese to us, and I'd promised her I'd stop there again. Didn't fancy the same as last time, so I decided on fillet beef szechuan (always go for the fillet, it's melt-in-the-mouth). Mind you, the young lady they had behind the counter was completely stumped when I ordered the mint trufito - just as well I had a poster I could point to! She had to bring out the manager. Nonetheless, I was served quickly.

An uneventful drive home - the car survived - the food was still hot when I got it back, and ooh, was I right in my choice! Delish. I was stuffed - couldn't manage the trufito, which is still in the freezer, and we only had some of the prawn crackers - but they kept for several days the last time, so we wrapped them up and will eat them as we feel like it.

Tonight's late-night film was one I just had on tv in the background, but soon paid more attention to. Unless has Catherine Keener as a middle-aged woman whose happy life is turned upside-down when her and her husband's eldest daughter suddenly drops out of college to go and sit on the side of the road and beg. Refuses to communicate with anyone. Sleeps in a shelter.

My attention was immediately caught when I heard a Leonard Cohen track playing, close to the start of the film. A very easy way to get me onside. But although no more of his music was on the soundtrack, I found this a compelling and intense watch. Silence is always powerful, and that of this girl now sitting on the pavement is complete. The family has to deal with a host of people who don't understand, and with a lot of useless advice - as for the girl who's caused all the trouble, everyone can only speculate why she's doing what she's doing. We do get an explanation at the end - but the film is more powerful while she remains a mystery. I really liked this - watch, if you get the chance!

Well, tomorrow - now that I'm mobile - I've promised to take all those empty wine bottles that have built up, down to the bottle bank. And wouldn't you know it, that's on the way to Limerick. ;-) And they're showing Free Guy there. So I've booked it, for late tomorrow afternoon. Well, it's free to book, there.. and I was getting worried, with all the seats that are blocked off as soon as any seats are booked.

Series: The Purge (Season 2, Episodes 9 & 10)

At last, tonight, I got back to Season 2 of The Purge, on Amazon Prime. Episode 9 was next up.. and what a riot of action, as the programme whips from one story to another, each at a critical moment. For the duration. I was seriously stressed by the end of it, as - as usual - we don't know who will survive, or even entirely what is going on, just yet.

And so - nervously - into Episode 10, which opens with a scene of them testing the security of the NFFA broadcast room, just prior to the very first Purge. Unfortunately - as with so many tech demos - it doesn't work, and the guy demonstrating is reduced to nervously video-calling the guy who installed the system. Who looks strangely familiar - it's Ethan Hawke! who starred in the first two films of the series. Fancy. You see, there is a logical timeline to the Purge - check it out on their Wikipedia page, linked to above (contains spoilers - don't read if you haven't finished the tv series). Anyway, nice throwback.

And then we're into our familiar characters' stories again, which start to make more sense, and start to join together. By the time we're substantially into the episode, it's apparent that this is the last in the series. :-( Aw nuts, two episodes fewer than the first season!

Anyway, not everyone survives - which is good, I hate an ending that's too happy. But the stories are nicely concluded, and we finish with the start of an anti-Purge movement - this links nicely into the timeline, coming just before the major anti-Purge swing in The Purge: Election Year. Man though, I'm really gonna miss having this to watch - especially when Season 2 has fewer episodes than I expected. Ah well.

Hey, in better news - my car is fixed! Whee, serviced n all, and sitting outside. So the plan for tomorrow is to go get it washed - as my taxi driver friend remarked, it's so green it looks like Kermit's car. Now, there's an excellent handwash car service - cheap too - on the way in to Ennis. So you know what I'm thinking.. if I get done in time, Don't Breathe 2 has a matinée showing at the Arc Cinema in Ennis.. I wasn't so impressed with the original, but what the hey, I'll give it a go. Again, with hardly any seats booked as of now, I think I can afford to head in without booking. Of course, parking isn't free on Saturdays, nuts - just have to grin and bear it. (And I'll be tempting fate, because I was at a film in the same cinema, the day my car broke down. Ah well..)

Series: The Purge (Season 2, Episode 8)

Now, one point today saw programmes that I'd be happy to watch, showing on three different tv channels. I know this, because they were all repeats of episodes I'd seen before! Seriously, there are so many repeats it's ridiculous. So I squeezed in another episode of Season 2 of The Purge, on Amazon Prime.

Each episode in the series starts with a kind of general observation on the Purge, unrelated to any of the specific characters. This one has the world's weirdest teenage dress-up party, with the girls donning crazy, sexy outfits - and masks, of course. When the dad of the girl whose room it is makes the mistake of knocking on the door and opening it, he's faced with her swinging a silver morning star and threatening him that he'd better get out NOW! which he hastily does. Ah, teenagers, eh?

Why are they trying on outfits? Well, welcome to the next Purge Night! The season takes us through a whole year, Episode 8 starting on the next Purge, a year after the one in Episode 1. And how things have changed, for all our characters. Not all are still alive - of those who are, a couple finally know who tried to purge them last year, a few others have had their entire world-view changed.. and one has gone postal, ultra-violent. And as we hunker down for another night of threat and menace, it turns into a mini-horror film. The suspense is dreadful - and by the end of the episode, we're still only a few minutes into the Purge. And because we've spent the whole season with these characters, acting out fairly normal plots (apart from the intense plot twists), being dropped back into the mayhem is all the more frightening. And we care about them from the start, as they barricade their windows and arm themselves..

Awesome series, and I'm still dying for the next episode.

Still waiting for my car to be returned - it's to be serviced as well before he gives it back, and as soon as I get the ok that nothing remains wrong with it, I can book a car test. And then, all sorts of things become possible..

Series: The Purge (Season 2, Episode 7)

This weekend, tv kept me well-occupied with the Olympics. Ireland had its largest team ever, and for once, it was terrific that we had someone in action every day! First time that's happened, and our first time in a number of disciplines. And well done, all! Anyway, no time for Season 2 of The Purge, on Amazon Prime. But I sneaked in an episode today, finally. ;-)

In the time-honoured tradition of including something political at the start of each episode, Episode 7 starts with a mask company - that produces masks for the Purge - basing a new design on that of a real-life serial killer. Ooh, tasteful.. as the episode progresses, the different stories start to coalesce, and at least one thread gets resolved. Not that that's the end of the story! As usual, these are terrific storytellers, and the plots are truly unexpected.

Looking forward to continuing the stories..

As to what is happening next - the car can be fixed with an alternate cable, as he finally told me when I asked. It'll be drivable, but the gearstick will feel a bit looser. The proper cable needs to come from the UK - and because of the ever-troublesome Brexit, will take weeks to arrive! So, he asked, do I want the alternative cable? Duh, YES! And why he had to wait for me to message him in order to tell me that.. So, watch this space, everything is up in the air.

Series: The Purge (Season 2, Episode 6)

I sneakily squeezed in another episode of Season 2 of The Purge, on Amazon Prime. Episode 6 begins with a scene that introduces another cute Purge idea.. the new symbol of social status is this website where you can track how many people want to purge you! (i.e. kill you on Purge Night). So, we have one radical spokesperson, who attracts a lot of opposition, and is only thrilled to have over a million hits! Oh well, each to their own..

Later in the episode, there are plenty of "ooh" moments, as the stories take unusual twists. Terrific storytelling, as usual - and one chase scene that's straight out of a thriller, someone trying to evade capture on a street full of pursuers. Yep, a real must-see, this..

And with the car still at the garage, and no news, and Cultureseekers having moved their quizzes midweek in favour of in-person Meetups at the weekend - this will be my main diversion, for now!

Series: The Purge (Season 2, Episodes 4 & 5)

I've squeezed in a couple more episodes of Season 2 of The Purge, on Amazon Prime. The angles that the series takes continue.. Episode 4 starts with a viciously hard-hitting "remembrance day", taking place three months after Purge Night, where families who have lost loved ones are presented with a finely crafted souvenir box, containing a framed photo, and an urn of ashes, among other things, and are thanked for their "sacrifice".

Meantime, our characters' stories continue, with ever-more intriguing twists and turns (as seen in Season 1). Honestly, I keep changing my mind about which story is most interesting to follow. A couple of them, however, examine the NFFA claim that Purge Night leads to a decrease in violence for the rest of the year.. expect more intriguing developments on this theme, I think. And ooh, I'm dying to see how they turn out, unconstrained as they are from having to take place over one night, now!