Film: Everything Everywhere All at Once

Well, on Sunday night I seemed to hit the jackpot. Found an ideal rental property, at a good price - jumped while the iron was hot, and paid a booking deposit. Arranged a viewing for Friday. Red flags, however, started to be raised when she asked for an additional amount, because "someone else had offered three months' rent on top". I let myself be persuaded into paying the extra, which was going to a different account.. however, the bank didn't like it, and blocked the payment. I'm now trying to fob her off until I've had the viewing..

Last night, I headed to a film - Everything Everywhere All at Once is a Chinese English-language comedy about a woman (Michelle Yeoh) travelling through multiple alternate realities. James Hong is her father. Jamie Lee Curtis shows up too, kind of as the bad guy (in multiple multiverses). Previews last night. Nearest showing to me was in Hackney Picturehouse, and I booked because it was booking heavily.

It wasn't on until late, so I decided to take a trip out to that rental property, see whether I could find anything out. Found the apartment, rang the bell and spoke to someone there, who had "no idea" whether they had a room to rent! Helpful. She suggested I try Flat 1 (?), which I did - and the lady there suggested I try Flat 2, from which there was no answer. I decided I'd get no more information there, and left. Have to say though, that Hopper fare earned its worth - I took two buses to get there, two more buses from there to the cinema, and paid just a single fare for all four journeys! Saw a lot of London too, of course.

So, I had a little time to spare at the cinema - but no time to eat anything really, and grabbed a bag of Maltesers to take to the till, where I ordered a wine as well. And had to ask where the film was showing - I'd screenshotted the QR code (which no-one ever asks for, here), but no other information! Screen 3 it was, but the usher at the entrance to the screens said it wasn't ready yet, and to take a seat. I did, but it wasn't long before he alerted me that the screen was ready, and I should go in. Of course, the signposting here is woeful, so he had to direct me to the back stairs that led up to the screen. Where I located my seat without too much trouble - I remembered it anyway. And I needed the number, because the screen was very nearly booked out!

Aw man, this is terrific! The entire, packed house had a great time, plenty of laugh-out-loud moments - because This. Is. Completely. Bonkers. Simon Pegg crossed with The Matrix, written by Douglas Adams. We see bits of sundry multiverses throughout, but the thread that runs through them all is her relationships with her husband and their daughter - very strongly conveyed. Which lends it gravitas. However, I suspect that what will remain with the audience long after is, firstly, the way she hops around the multiverses, picking up skills from sundry other existences (think Neo in The Matrix, plugging his brain into the system to pick up skills). Hell, like him, she learns Kung Fu.. Second is the way you can jump from one to the other, by doing something statistically improbable. Which is generally deliciously odd..

We see lots of multiverses, as I say, but as a Douglas Adams fan, my absolute favourite has to be the one that doesn't support life, so she and her daughter appear as rocks. That can think at each other. Oh, I have to love where they go with this.. Seriously the oddest film I've seen in years, but this one works! Highly recommended.

My trip home would have been shorter if Google Maps hadn't suggested getting off the #55 and getting the #N26 - which wasn't due for 25 minutes, it turned out! I ended up getting back on the #55, for another change further down. 10 minutes wasted there. And back too late to blog, as I had an early-morning meeting scheduled - which didn't happen in the end, my computer was playing up!

Tonight, I had what was probably my last event rescheduled because of Covid - I was headed to the postponed Tarot, at Soho Theatre. Wow, it's over two years since I was there last.. (and now TAC have tickets, blast.) But then it was cancelled, and now I'm headed - with TAC - to Death and the Maiden at The Tower Theatre.

Tomorrow, back with TAC - for another operatic evening at Hoxton Hall. National Opera Studio is presenting Mozart: Secrets and Seduction. (So much for Meetup being busy on Wednesdays!) So, two days in a row with them - ironically, Guided Walking Tours in Brighton and Sussex have online talks scheduled for both nights - and I would have gone to either, or both, but the links weren't working! By the time the organiser updated them, I'd booked for the other events.

On Thursday, my only Meetup of the week - I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats, to see a performance of As You Like It at Wilton's. Went for a slightly more expensive seat than usual, this time - I'm sick of straining my neck.

Then back to Ireland for the weekend - would you believe it, I've exhausted the films showing locally that I'm interested in! So it'll be a quiet one.

On Monday, headed to Middle, at the National.

Next Tuesday, back with Civilised London for a meal at last - this one is at Mestizo (Mexican). Not usually my favourite, but I'll give it a shot. Meeting beforehand at the Crown & Anchor.

On the 18th - well, I saw on Meetup that a group called Get a Tech Developer Job has a free webinar, Learn Web Scraping with Python! Now, we're expected to use Python in my new job, and I never have - so this could be very handy indeed.

On the 19th, I'm headed to the Crick Crack Club again, for Astray, at Rich Mix. A storytelling double bill, both Irish ladies telling Irish myths!

On the 20th, headed to Marys Seacole, at Donmar Warehouse. Based on a true story. I've heard mixed reviews - we shall see.

And on the 21st - well Lordy, I've booked for the Roman London Walk, with Walk About London (also advertised on Walks, Talks & Treasure Hunts - both linked to London Guided Walks). Now, I missed the last two I was booked on with this company - third time lucky?