Film: Scream VI

Back to Ireland for the weekend again. And hallelujah praise the Lord, Scream VI is still showing in Limerick! Earlier in the Omniplex, so I booked before they got the chance to &^%^$ change it again.. It moves the action to New York, where survivors have moved to start a new life - still has Courteney Cox, of course, and the classic Scream masks.. Contains strobe lighting.

Had to pick up my mother's pension first, so it was a rush - and wow, traffic in Limerick was dire! Turned out there was a match in town.. Well, of course I was late. Parking at the cinema wasn't hard, but by the time I got in, it had started. Black as pitch in the screen - no chance of finding my seat. I stood by the entrance for what I think was the opening scene - and first kill. I was waiting for the screen to brighten. The title came up - and I realised there would probably be no scenes bright enough. I thought about lighting the way with my phone, but finally just crept my way to the nearest seat, which - mercifully - was empty. (As it happened, I was just across the aisle from the seat I'd booked - close enough.)

Meh, I never was into action films - and gore leaves me cold. But I have to say, after the initial bloodbath, it calms down a bit, and we get a bit of dialogue. As the protagonists realise that the horror has followed them, one comes up with the usual theories that the franchise loves - what makes these films unique, of course, is the fact that we generally have at least one in a film class, and familiar with the classic rules of horror films. Which are then played with over the course of the film. Well, we get them again here.. but as usual, don't expect them to make it that obvious. I was certainly surprised when I found out who the killers are..

Yes, there are jump scares, but they tend to sigue straight into chases, so they're not throwaway. And the chases are terrific - really well-thought out, well developed, unpredictable, and extended. Lots of attractive actors, of course. But this probably won't convert anyone to the franchise - it's only going to appeal to existing fans. High body count, and lots of gore - as to be expected. As for the actors themselves - well, I cared about some of them, at least, and whether they survived.. not all though, which is always a shame. But at least I finally got to see it!

Back to London tomorrow, phew. On Monday, I booked with the Happy Positive Group! For their weekly Monday trivia night! They seem to be completely online. But wow, looking at it lately, they seemed to have switched that week to the next day! Although, having cancelled my attendance, I then noticed that all Meetups were displaying in the wrong time zone, so were shown as starting five hours later than they actually were.. I complained, and they did fix it. Well, I probably wouldn't have gone anyway.

The best Meetup left for that day is with the Shanty Singers Colliers Wood. This is another of those things I once booked and ended up cancelling, so I said I'd hold off on booking that till nearer the time. But you know, when I looked more carefully.. this is a big complicated affair, with "warming up exercises", a vocal coach, a "practice session".. for goodness' sake. The more I read, the less enthusiastic I felt.

I finally gave up on Meetup, and have booked with TAC, for a Kirckman piano concert at King's Place. Should be nice, and is definitely close.

On Tuesday, I've booked for Phaedra, at the National.

On Wednesday, I'm going with Up in the Cheap Seats to Sadler's Wells - first time in an age - for Creature, by Akram Khan! I absolutely love his work. Handily enough, I used my latest Theatre Token for this - would have used it for Phaedra, but while neither theatre takes them online (you have to phone if you want to use a token), the National charges extra for phone bookings. So I used it for this instead.

On Thursday, back with the London European Club, at somewhere called the Ugly Duck, for Synchrony, a female 12-piece string ensemble. Tickets from Eventbrite. As hosted by Eleanor Salter Thorn again! So glad to see her hosting events in more central locations..

I was keeping Friday free because Ivan is feeling thirsty again. :-) And for once, he seems to be sticking to the date, having booked us a table at The Lucas Arms (which, as he pointed out, has a smoker's area). We're hoping to have Martin - my other friendly ex-boss - join us, but he has more family commitments, which he's trying to juggle - we've told him to join us whenever. And this looks like turning into the first zapoi in a while - Ivan is talking about booking a studio, where we can drink overnight. Oy ve, watch this space.. So, not pushed about doing anything extra next Saturday.

And on the 2nd, I'm back with the Crick Crack Club, for Orpheus Dismembered, at the British Museum, courtesy of Ben Haggarty. The event there that I'd already heard of..