It was to be a film today, and I spent a great deal of time - as usual - sorting my film list to see what was top, in terms of IMDB ratings. Eliminating those available on Amazon.. I came up with Brooklyn. Now, this is an interesting film. I thought the trailer hinted at a film that might be mawkish. However, I watched as its rating climbed, and climbed - and believe me, that's rare. Finally at the top of my film list, it demanded to be watched.
The closest showing to me was in the Vue Fulham. Again, I had plenty to keep me in the office, and said I'd leave from there. Unfortunately, the only showing of the day in that cinema was at 5:50, and that was around the time I ended up leaving.. I decided that the Tube from West Kensington - the closest to the office - would be quicker than walking to Earl's Court.
The main road had to be crossed. A mad, diagonal dash got me across the first half to the traffic island, where I had to wait for several minutes for the all-clear. Into the station and down to the platform - unusually for here, I got the internet to work on my phone, and determined that the next Tube wouldn't be there for six minutes. Oh dear.. while I was trying to figure out whether the wait would be worth it, one arrived. Finally, a Tube prediction error in my favour!
Two stops in the tunnel leading to Earl's Court, while we were waiting for a free platform, and now I pretty much knew I wasn't going to make it. When we did get there, I had to change platforms, and again - like last night - no sign of the Tube I wanted. Resignedly, I tried to look up the cinema listings on my phone, to see where else it might be showing. Ah, no internet.. well, I could connect to Virgin, which is installed in so many Tube stations - but I'm not a Virgin customer, and it wasn't recognising my (Irish) phone number format, to connect to my provider..
Exasperated now, I watched as people crammed onto the Wimbledon-bound train - the one I'd have to get for the cinema I wanted. Well, or they tried - I'd never have fitted. So I mooched off home instead, spending another eternity trying to cross Old Brompton Road, where they've removed the temporary lights that they had for roadworks, but not yet got the regular crossing lights working again.
At home, I also had internet problems. However, I did finally get more listings for Brooklyn - ten minutes before a showing was due to start (at 7:50) in the next nearest cinema, the Vue Shepherds Bush! Did a quick calculation - taking advertising into account, I should make it in time. Google Maps said there was a 7:48 Overground from West Brompton - I scuttled off, arriving there at 7:47, just as the 7:47 was leaving, with the next due at 7:53. Bah humbug, Google Maps!
The promised rain arrived as I was making my way across the junction at Shepherds Bush, the cinema in sight. Upstairs at the cinema, there were just two ushers.. a long queue at one desk, just one person at the other. Of course, I should have gone with the queue - there was a reason for it. The usher serving at the desk I was standing at seemed terminally slow - or maybe I should've blamed the lady in front of me, who wanted nachos - which had to be assembled from several different parts of the serving area: and a drink, which had to be poured from the next dispenser down, for some reason.
It was 8:06 by the time she got to me, and I was on the verge of giving up. Anyway, I ploughed on - Yplan's very handy offer on Vue cinema tickets seems to have expired, but I did have a creased old Vue voucher that I'd found in my wallet, and that she accepted for a £1.50 discount, although as she said they don't distribute them any more. Which kind of made up for her asking whether I wanted a senior ticket (!). I ask you, I know I must've looked harrassed, but really! With no-one checking tickets, I found my own way to the cinema - and arrived, not only in time for the film, but even for the trailers! 25 minutes, they run the ads for here - I made a note of when the film actually started.
It stars the ever-watchable Saoirse Ronan as an Irish immigrant (to Brooklyn, natch) in the 50s, who gets over her initial homesickness to find that life in the big city can be quite exciting. A galaxy of stars has turned up for the ride (mostly Irish) - Bríd Brennan as her catty employer back in Ireland, Jim Broadbent as the Irish priest in Brooklyn who makes her feel at home, Maeve McGrath as her co-worker in Ireland (and much fatter than the last time I saw her!), Julie Walters as the lady in charge of the boarding house in Brooklyn, Domhnall Gleeson as the young man that might tempt her back to Ireland, with Gary Lydon as his dad. Based on the novel by Colm Tóibín.
The upshot? It's terrific. Not to everyone's taste, to be sure - no action sequences, no real bad guys, not much sex. (Well, it is the 50s.) But Saoirse Ronan is luminous, and while I'm no expert in film stock, whatever they shot this in, there was one beach sequence that looked straight out of a set of old John Hinde postcards, and I did start to wonder whether this was deliberate.
The story also rang very true, and some images in it were so evocative of my own experience, as an Irish emigrant. I can't speak for Enniscorthy, where she's supposed to be from - I've never been there - but I can testify to the suffocation of small-town life that she was so desperate to leave behind: the judgemental gossip, the begrudgery, the favouritism. Oh, and I did find it interesting that it was raining when we were introduced to her hometown.. Contrast all of this with the big city - the excitement, the anonymity, the crowds. It's beautifully evoked, and as people have remarked before, she conveys so much with the slightest expression..
She has to return at one point, because of a family crisis; suddenly, the sun is out, the horizons are broader, and heavens, people are going around in short sleeves, without coats on! Steady on - I know it's supposed to be the sunny south-east, but the weather is NEVER that warm in Ireland! What the hey, that implausible image apart, this is a beautiful film - don't forget the tissues.
Afterwards, I nipped into Morrison's, downstairs, for some dinner - and did quite a large shop, being out of practically everything! I do just have to give special mention to their excellent "triple Belgian chocolate fudge Christmas log". Which does exactly what it says on the box..
Tomorrow, I'm back with Let's Do London - for Less!, for more Irishness; they're off to Soho Theatre to see a comedy entitled "How to Keep an Alien" - the foreign kind, not the kind with tentacles. On Friday, the organiser of the Kensington Classical Music group has very kindly invited me - as her guest - to another classical concert. On Saturday, I'm headed with the London European Club to a carol service with a difference, at a Romanian church in town. And on Sunday, I have an overdose of Anthony; Let's Do London - for Less! is off to a matinee of "Your Last Breath" at Southwark Playhouse - based on the true story of a Norwegian woman found trapped in the ice - and in the evening, London for Less Than a Tenner is off to a concert in Cadogan Hall. Actually, so is Let's Do London - for Less! but there's no conflict.. guess who's in charge of both?! So I can blithely pick the cheaper group. ;-)
Showing posts with label Morrison's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Morrison's. Show all posts
Wednesday, 9 December 2015
Saturday, 4 July 2015
Film: Mr. Holmes
With everything else I had to do this week, it took days to go through the list of films showing, check their ratings (and whether I could see them cheaper online), and list them in my spreadsheet. It was a relief to get it done in time for yesterday evening! Top of the list for yesterday was The Look of Silence, which I passed on for Wednesday because of the hardship of trekking across town to see it, what with the terrible heat. Well, it was showing closer to home last night - and the weather was cooler anyway - but the problem was, it was only on quite late, and while that normally wouldn't be a problem on a Friday night.. I had to get up early this morning in case the washing machine guy came early!
Mind you, I was quite happy with what came next on the list. Mr. Holmes was rated much higher when it initially opened, and has dropped a bit, but there still wasn't anything else ahead of it for last night. It's been out a little while now, and there isn't quite as much choice of places to see it - but the closest was the Odeon Kensington, at 5.50, and I decided to go there. But then I got caught up at work, didn't get finished until after 6, and the 20-minute walk from the office to the cinema meant that showing wasn't feasible. It didn't have a later showing there, so I checked, and found that it was showing in the Vue Shepherd's Bush at 6.45. Perfect!
I actually had my computer shut off when I remembered that Yplan sells discounted Vue tickets (the offer ends on the 7th, as I recall). Debated whether it was worth waiting for it to reboot, decided it was, and duly logged on, purchased a ticket, and after a short but anxious wait, printed out the reference code and barcode to show at the cinema. You're really supposed to have it on your phone, but the app isn't compatible with mine - my phone is probably considered too old. Anyhoo, it printed decently, and off I went to walk to this cinema instead, in brilliant sunshine. It was slightly longer walk, but I'd get the Overground back home.
It's been a little while, but I remembered the way, and the walk was pleasant enough, apart from the distressed-looking lady who asked whether I'd any cash, as someone had just taken her bag. Sorry ma'am, I've heard of that scam before - someone in the office saw a woman trying the same thing, then saw her on the same street the next day, pleading the same problem. She actually called her on it. And before that, I fell victim to the same thing myself, when I fell for a sob story and gave someone some cash, which she promised to pay back into my Paypal account. Needless to say, months later, I'm still waiting for that. I'm not holding my breath.
I got to the cinema just in time, and after a short queue, was able to present my printed pages to the guy at the till, complete with explanation. (I always print both the barcode, which they're supposed to scan, and the reference number, because the barcode prints too big, and they don't always like to try to scan it.) The code scanned this time, I dumped the printed pages on him, and went to the screen - as usual, I didn't like the seat I'd chosen once I saw it, and sat in the one behind, willing no-one else to have selected it so I'd have to move. They hadn't, it seemed, and I didn't.
After several trailers for films that look rather good (the summer is looking up!), the feature started. Now, this Holmes tale, starring Sir Ian McKellen, deals with the detective in old age, reminiscing about his last case - which was his last because he didn't solve it, so he quit. He now spends his time tending his bees at his house in the country, cared for by his housekeeper, Laura Linney. He becomes close to her son, who encourages him to continue the story he's writing about this last case.. and over the course of the film, flashbacks tell us what happened in it.
It's a beautiful film. It's no wonder the man was knighted - he's a wonderful actor, and a joy to watch. His role changes between his doddery, forgetful, older self, and the still old, but sprightlier, younger and more dapper version of himself, in top hat and tails rather than the scruffy cardigans and pyjamas of his later years. The change is obvious, but perfectly seamless - indeed, you can see how the younger version melded into the older. Yes, by the way, top hat and tails - much of the film deals with the legend of Sherlock Holmes, and according to this version of the character, he never actually wore a deerstalker - that was a figment of Watson's imagination (who, of course, is supposed to have written the tales). Oh, and he used to smoke a pipe, until he became famous for it, and switched to cigars. And the address was faked, for privacy - too many American tourists wanted to visit! ;-) His actual offices were across the road.
There's very little actual detective work in this - it's more the great man coming to the end of his life, and musing that although he understood human actions, he never really understood human nature, and now he finds himself quite lonely. But the film is an absolute delight, and I loved it! Recommended.
On the way out, conscious that I didn't have time for a large meal before bed, I popped into Morrison's, just below the cinema, and bought a chicken roll. Very tasty, and also recommended! Too late to blog last night, of course. And here I am today, and as yet, there's no sign of the washing machine guy, nor any word when he might be coming. So I still don't know what I'm doing today. But at least tomorrow I'm meeting the London For Less! group for the Pop-Up Opera's production of "L' Italiana in Algeri". Despite the best efforts of Meetup, apparently, to hide all mention of the group..! I have reported the issue.
Mind you, I was quite happy with what came next on the list. Mr. Holmes was rated much higher when it initially opened, and has dropped a bit, but there still wasn't anything else ahead of it for last night. It's been out a little while now, and there isn't quite as much choice of places to see it - but the closest was the Odeon Kensington, at 5.50, and I decided to go there. But then I got caught up at work, didn't get finished until after 6, and the 20-minute walk from the office to the cinema meant that showing wasn't feasible. It didn't have a later showing there, so I checked, and found that it was showing in the Vue Shepherd's Bush at 6.45. Perfect!
I actually had my computer shut off when I remembered that Yplan sells discounted Vue tickets (the offer ends on the 7th, as I recall). Debated whether it was worth waiting for it to reboot, decided it was, and duly logged on, purchased a ticket, and after a short but anxious wait, printed out the reference code and barcode to show at the cinema. You're really supposed to have it on your phone, but the app isn't compatible with mine - my phone is probably considered too old. Anyhoo, it printed decently, and off I went to walk to this cinema instead, in brilliant sunshine. It was slightly longer walk, but I'd get the Overground back home.
It's been a little while, but I remembered the way, and the walk was pleasant enough, apart from the distressed-looking lady who asked whether I'd any cash, as someone had just taken her bag. Sorry ma'am, I've heard of that scam before - someone in the office saw a woman trying the same thing, then saw her on the same street the next day, pleading the same problem. She actually called her on it. And before that, I fell victim to the same thing myself, when I fell for a sob story and gave someone some cash, which she promised to pay back into my Paypal account. Needless to say, months later, I'm still waiting for that. I'm not holding my breath.
I got to the cinema just in time, and after a short queue, was able to present my printed pages to the guy at the till, complete with explanation. (I always print both the barcode, which they're supposed to scan, and the reference number, because the barcode prints too big, and they don't always like to try to scan it.) The code scanned this time, I dumped the printed pages on him, and went to the screen - as usual, I didn't like the seat I'd chosen once I saw it, and sat in the one behind, willing no-one else to have selected it so I'd have to move. They hadn't, it seemed, and I didn't.
After several trailers for films that look rather good (the summer is looking up!), the feature started. Now, this Holmes tale, starring Sir Ian McKellen, deals with the detective in old age, reminiscing about his last case - which was his last because he didn't solve it, so he quit. He now spends his time tending his bees at his house in the country, cared for by his housekeeper, Laura Linney. He becomes close to her son, who encourages him to continue the story he's writing about this last case.. and over the course of the film, flashbacks tell us what happened in it.
It's a beautiful film. It's no wonder the man was knighted - he's a wonderful actor, and a joy to watch. His role changes between his doddery, forgetful, older self, and the still old, but sprightlier, younger and more dapper version of himself, in top hat and tails rather than the scruffy cardigans and pyjamas of his later years. The change is obvious, but perfectly seamless - indeed, you can see how the younger version melded into the older. Yes, by the way, top hat and tails - much of the film deals with the legend of Sherlock Holmes, and according to this version of the character, he never actually wore a deerstalker - that was a figment of Watson's imagination (who, of course, is supposed to have written the tales). Oh, and he used to smoke a pipe, until he became famous for it, and switched to cigars. And the address was faked, for privacy - too many American tourists wanted to visit! ;-) His actual offices were across the road.
There's very little actual detective work in this - it's more the great man coming to the end of his life, and musing that although he understood human actions, he never really understood human nature, and now he finds himself quite lonely. But the film is an absolute delight, and I loved it! Recommended.
On the way out, conscious that I didn't have time for a large meal before bed, I popped into Morrison's, just below the cinema, and bought a chicken roll. Very tasty, and also recommended! Too late to blog last night, of course. And here I am today, and as yet, there's no sign of the washing machine guy, nor any word when he might be coming. So I still don't know what I'm doing today. But at least tomorrow I'm meeting the London For Less! group for the Pop-Up Opera's production of "L' Italiana in Algeri". Despite the best efforts of Meetup, apparently, to hide all mention of the group..! I have reported the issue.
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