Film: A Guilty Conscience

This evening, back in London, I planned film. And with the London listings finally out (partially), I plumped for A Guilty Conscience, a Hong Kong film about a lawyer whose negligence gets an innocent woman convicted - so he sets out to put things right. Showing in the Odeon Haymarket - cheaper to book online, so I did.

The last showing of the day was quite early - so I nipped out a bit early from work, and got there slightly late, arriving during the ads. Being a Luxe, I could have a glass of wine, and I did - he didn't ask what film I was going to until I ordered that. Wonder whether they wouldn't let me take it into a film for kids..? Anyway, I settled into my comfy recliner. Which was fine, until some guy sat in the seat beside me, and mansplained.. you know that phenomenon on planes, where people in adjacent seats end up fighting over the armrest? Same - he even spread his legs off his recliner to the side. And proceeded to check his phone, all through the film. There are no words..

Well. This is a cracking story, for sure - what starts out as an open-and-shut case turns out quite different, and when our protagonist starts getting invested in it, he uncovers web upon web of deceit. The audience is kept guessing, too - the story is worthy of Agatha Christie. A real edge-of-the-seat drama, to the end, and while many leads could result in the result being overturned, what actually happens is quite poetic. And that's why it has such a high rating. Only thing is, they kind of overplay it - yes, the story is excellent, but gee, the soundtrack is melodramatic! Add to that a completely OTT scene with a Hong Kong gang threatening him, in an incident totally unrelated to the main story, and a hammy performance from the American guy - and it's a shame, because, just toned down a bit, this could have been so much better. Still worth seeing for the plot alone, though!

Afterwards, I didn't fancy eating anywhere around, when I knew I could be fed better, and cheaper, at O' Neill's, which was on my way - so that's where I went. Thought I'd never get there, mind, the traffic was so bad..

Tomorrow, I was to go with The Hideout: Horror Sci-Fi Club London to a talk at the Horse Hospital, entitled Raising Hell, about horror and the British film industry in the 1980s. Bought a ticket - and then the organiser said he can't make it. I already have a ticket, of course - so I'll be going anyway. And the annoying thing is, he's deleted the event completely! It might have been nice to meet others who could still make it, you know..! This isn't the first time he's done this, apparently. Well, at least it's really close to me.

On Wednesday, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for Medea, with Sophie Okonedo, at Soho Place.

On Thursday, it's back to the Vault Festival - for Happy Factory, who have an airealist show. Not suitable for young children, apparently..

Now, Friday is Paddy's Day. But for once, I'm not doing anything related - I'm back with the Crick Crack Club (CCC) for a performance of Beowulf, at King's Place. Two Danish storytellers, it seems.

On Saturday - awesome! Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners have a walk I haven't done, and which is scheduled for a day I can make it. How unusual.. This is Clubland: Secrets of the Gentleman's Clubs. I hear there was supposed to be yet another rail strike that day, but not now.. and the poor chap seems to be having terrible trouble getting people to confirm whether they're coming for lunch after. I know that feeling..

And what a very good job it's in the afternoon - because that evening is a performance, in conjunction with the CCC, of Medusa, again at King's Place! An unusual take on it, from the evidence of Wednesday's storytelling..

On Sunday, London Walks, Art & Culture Explorers are going on a Quirky London walk. And so am I.

Next Monday, back with UITCS for a play called Women, Beware the Devil, set in the year 1640 - showing in the Almeida.

On the 21st, I've booked with The London Palestinian Rights Meetup Group for Taking Sides – A Conversation about Love, War, and Changing the World. Happening at Amnesty International UK. But you know, I might just go to a film instead.. you'll have gathered by now that I didn't get to Scream VI yesterday, I figured it'd be too much of a rush. Currently still top of the list, so if nothing exceptional knocks it off its perch, that might be a good day to see it..

Back with UITCS for the next two days - on the 22nd, it's for comedian Rosie Holt at the Leicester Square Theatre.

On the 23rd, I'm at Further Than the Furthest Thing, at the Young Vic. Then back to Ireland for the weekend again.

On the 27th, I booked with the Happy Positive Group! For their weekly Monday trivia night! They seem to be completely online. But wow, just looking at it, they seemed to have switched that week to the next day! Although, having cancelled my attendance, I now notice that all Meetups are displaying in the wrong time zone, so are shown as starting four hours later than they actually are.. 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'll hold off on booking that till nearer the time. As is becoming usual.

On the 28th, I've booked for Phaedra, at the National.

On the 29th, I'm going with UITCS 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 the 30th, 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 the 31st 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, so we'll just have to wait and see. And this looks like turning into the first zapoi in a while - he's talking about booking a studio, where we can drink overnight. Oy ve, watch this space.. So, not pushed about doing anything extra on the 1st.

And on the 2nd, I'm back with the CCC, for Orpheus Dismembered, at the British Museum, courtesy of Ben Haggarty.

Films: The Sparring Partner & Fanny och Alexander (Fanny and Alexander)

These three days, with nothing on Meetup that I fancy (and can make), I decided on film. Top of the list for Monday - that I could make, and looked like I might actually enjoy it - was The Sparring Partner, a Hong Kong film based on the true story of a young man who conspired with his friend to murder, and dismember, his parents. Closest showing was in the Odeon Luxe Haymarket - unfortunately, for days, I could neither confirm the times, book a ticket, nor see how it was booking, because the website wouldn't let me in! Even when I got access on my phone, it didn't work right - I always have trouble with Odeon. Apparently, I wasn't the only one - they were advising people to try to use the website incognito.

The website finally worked - on Monday! - only for me to see that the film was nearly sold out. So I booked in a hurry - getting half-price because I signed up as an Odeon member 10 years ago, when I first came to London! Anyway, I tried to get into O' Neill's again to eat - no such luck. The downstairs was packed, but the upstairs was open - but lo, they told me they were only taking bookings. Sod that, I made for the cinema.

Mercifully, it hadn't snowed any more - and hasn't, at time of writing - and the pavements are getting ever clearer, from constant footfall. The West End is particularly clear, given the volumes there. Realising I'd be crossing the Trafalgar Christmas Market, I thought I'd try for food there - I had time. Sadly, no mulled wine - but I had a very welcome burger. Caveat - if that's what you want, go to the stall in the middle of the market - it's £1 cheaper than the one at the edge. Location, location, location.. And after that, I treated myself to some churros - delighted to see these at all the markets now! Yummy. And very welcome in the cold we had that night..

And so to the cinema, where the screen wasn't open yet. They had pinot grigio on the shelf, so I asked for some of that - it was later that I saw sauvignon blanc on the menu. The pinot grigio wasn't great, TBH. Anyway, it wasn't long before the screen was open, and I headed in. All the seats here are recliners, nicely - there's a switch on the side that makes the back lower and the footrest rise. Which meant that all you could hear at the end of the film was the click and whirr of people's chairs being returned to an upright position.

So - it's an interesting film, about an interesting case. Nobody doubted that the victims' son was guilty - for reasons of his own, among them, obviously, a mental disorder, he had committed this crime. It happened in the other guy's flat - the big question at the time was: to what extent was he culpable? The victims' son claimed that the other guy was the ringleader, putting the idea in his head; conversely, the friend, who seemed to have a mental deficiency of his own due to a suicide attempt some years back, claimed he'd known nothing about it until he got home, whereupon the son made him help dispose of the bodies. The truth? probably lies somewhere in between.

The film is based around the lawyers' arguments and - more particularly - the jury deliberations. All sorts of possibilities are entertained - for instance, was the friend faking stupidity? Someone remarked that it's much easier to do that than to fake cleverness. Or perhaps he was just duped by the victims' son, who wanted someone to share the blame. I remember the same deliberations at the time. Go watch it - see whose story you believe, or whether you can come up with an alternative theory..

Again, it ran too late that night to blog, as I had to be up early.

Yesterday - hellfire, if the best thing on Meetup wasn't Free Stuff and Free Events, with another online singalong. I decided on film again - and this time, it was Ingmar Bergman's film, Fanny och Alexander (Fanny and Alexander), which is showing at the BFI. Which has a tendency to sell out - and sure enough, when I checked on Monday, it almost had. So, again, I booked.

I'm in a completely pointless set of sales meetings this week - should have been watching one while writing this, actually. It's part of everyone's induction, but completely pointless for me - the idea is to let everyone know the kind of things that the sales team finds important. So anyway, they're timed to suit the US, where most of the trainers and sales team are - which means they run really late into our evening. So I wasn't expecting to have time to eat - mercifully, one of the speakers couldn't make it, so I just about had! I ran to GBK - which is on the way, and - was completely empty!

Tight on time, I ordered and paid straight away - and gee, they had onion rings. For once. The guy warned it'd be about 10 minutes for the burger - what actually happened was the onion rings arrived after 10 minutes (he muttered something about bringing me a plate, but never did), with the burger not arriving until 10 minutes after that. By which time I'd eaten most of the onion rings. Well, I wolfed down the rest (which was very nice) and raced off, arriving just in time for one of the buses I could get to the cinema. And all was going well.. until we hit dreadful traffic in Aldwych. Including a wheelchair passenger - nothing against the guy, but it was another delay. Finally, when I got to the cinema, and tried taking the river entrance - I was blocked by an attendant who explained that there was a private function and it was blocked that way! So I had to go around. Was 6 minutes late - which, for the BFI, isn't good. Mercifully, they don't seem to have ushers on the doors, blocking latecomers, any more - and this is precisely why I booked an aisle seat. So I took my seat as unobtrusively as possible.

The film opens - well, the bit where I started opened - at Christmas 1907, in Sweden, in the sumptuous (and rather claustrophobic) household of a theatrical family, of which Alexander is one of the youngest members. Fanny is his sister, who doesn't get much of a look into the plot. Frankly, it's something of a relief to get to the next day, when most of the decorations have been removed, and the decor follows cooler, Scandinavian lines. Alexander is a dreamy young soul, but his and Fanny's happy childhood is disrupted by the death of their father, whereupon their pretty young mother marries a local bishop: a nightmare of a man, who sees Alexander's flights of fancy as lying, and disrespectful, and who lives a spartan lifestyle - a complete contrast to the luxurious life they've left behind.

It's a long film, coming in at three hours - a woman behind me remarked to her companion, at the end, "Well, that was long!". I didn't feel it, to be honest. Very glad to have seen this - it's beautifully shot, the characters frequently shot in closeup, continually holding our attention. I became completely engrossed in each aspect of the story. The conclusion of the story is delightful - but the plot isn't really as interesting as the characters living it. I actually really enjoyed it. 40 years old now, imagine.. And I had to be up early again, hence the delay in the blog.

Tonight, I'd arranged to attend another carol service - at St. Stephen's Walbrook - with an ex-flatmate. As advertised by London Cultureseekers. Started at 6pm. But wouldn't you know it - this blasted meeting ran on till practically then. And while I might not be paying attention, it's another thing entirely to sign off! So, so much for that. Instead, I'm at the cinema again - top of the list now is a Turkish film, Elif Ana. Based on a book, it tells the story of a little girl who grows up to be a healer. Full of music, by the looks of the trailer - and music that I like. Actually higher rated than Fanny och Alexander - but I didn't know it was on, not having redone the list yet, when I booked that! Well, tonight's film's closest showing is in Cineworld Wood Green - at 8.20, so I should be ok. Might get food up there somewhere - there's no earthly point in going to O' Neill's.

Tomorrow, back with the Crick Crack Club, yay! for The Winner Takes It All at Rich Mix. This, the club's last performance of the year, is performed by a congregation of souls known as Pandvani 108, comprising Ben Haggarty, Emily Hennessy, and Sheema Mukherjee, among others.

And then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend - just worked out that way - coinciding perfectly with a train strike! So I've booked a ticket on the bus - will just have to take that evening's meeting on my phone! If it even happens.. since I started this job, there hasn't been an evening meeting! Fingers crossed.. And would you believe it, there isn't a single film showing in any of my local cinemas in Ireland at the weekend that I haven't seen and want to see.. Bah humbug! Just have to go Christmas shopping. ;-)

On Monday, back with London Baroque Music Lovers for the first time in months! This time, we're back to see Les Arts Florissants, who are performing Charpentier's Christmas music at the Barbican.

On Tuesday, couldn't see anything on Meetup, again - so I'm with TAC for The Grotto, a Christmas comedy at the Drayton Arms, which was local to me, many years ago!

Next Wednesday, back with London Classical Music and Theatre Group - we're going to St. John's, Smith Square to hear the Tallis Scholars. Which should be lovely!

And - last London event of the year, on the 22nd, goes to (drum roll).. Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners!! Oh, it'll be so good to see them again - I'm taking the day off specially. It's for Dickens in the City - a Festive Walk. Ah well now, I wouldn't miss the last of the year.. Starts nice and close to me too, at the Shakespeare's Head pub. And it's full, with four on the waitlist. Nice way to finish the year - I can't go on his walks so much now, while I'm working and he's only scheduling them during working hours..

On the 23rd, it's back to Ireland for Christmas. See you on the other side..! Have a very merry one.

Film: Loving Vincent

Today, Meetup was proving pretty unproductive, so I decided to go to a film. Top of the list, in terms of IMDB ratings, was Loving Vincent - a documentary about Vincent van Gogh, filmed completely as an artwork, oil paintings having replaced the film frames. Word has it you'd do better with this if you don't know much about him: which is perfect, as I knew very little. It's at the Odeon Panton Street, and I'd normally book, for the online discount, but frankly, the ticket price there is so low that the booking fee I'd have to pay with online booking is more than the discount I'd get!

God, I'm tired today. See, not only was I up late last night blogging - be glad of an early night tonight - but just as I was finally getting ready for bed (at nearly 2am), I got a crazy Meetup message from someone I would have considered a friend, accusing me of things I was completely innocent of, and calling me every name under the sun! Now, I wasn't letting that go - so I defended myself, posted proof of my side of things online, and promptly blocked her both on Meetup and as a contact on my phone. Someone said today that I should have given her a chance to apologise - but frankly, some things that are said can't be unsaid, and the way she's acted is just unstable. I can do without that stress in my life - goodness, I'd always be watching for her to do something like it again! Better off without her. Unfortunately, she's booked to go to a couple of Crick Crack Club things I'm going to, before the end of the year.. well, at least other friends of mine are going too, so I'll have some moral support!

Anyway, not only was I late to bed, but slept badly, and yawned my way through much of today. Including our late meeting, which ran even later than scheduled. Still, it's under 10 minutes' walk to the cinema, so I made it more or less in time. From Shaftesbury Avenue, just head south on Wardour Street until you see the Odeon sign. Now, I bought my ticket from a machine in the foyer - but used my loyalty card to pay, knowing I had enough points. Jeez though, it was a complicated operation! User Interface design obviously isn't the strong point of these machine manufacturers. Managed it in the end, got my ticket for free, and made my way into a fairly full screen, just in time for the trailers - which was nice, as I saw trailers for a few films I've heard the names of but nothing else about.

So the film stars Douglas Booth as the son of Chris O' Dowd, sporting an impressive beard, who plays the postman who ferried letters between Vincent and his beloved brother. The story takes place a year after Vincent's death, when the postman entrusts his son with finding the brother, to give him one last letter from Vincent, never delivered. Turns out the brother died not long after - they were very close, and it was thought he just couldn't bear to live without him - so the postman's son travels to Auvers-sur-Oise, where Vincent spent his last years, in the hopes of finding people who knew Vincent, and might know where to find Vincent's sister-in-law. Along the way, he meets a chest of characters who knew Vincent; Aidan Turner is the local boatman, Saoirse Ronan is the daughter of the homeopathic doctor who befriended Vincent, and whom Vincent was rumoured to be in love with, Helen McCrory plays his housekeeper. Also stars John Sessions and James Greene.

And you get to see them all as oil paintings! Now, not the entire film is depicted this way - the flashbacks are in charcoal. But my God, it all looks fantastic! The story moves along pleasantly enough - but it's such a delight to look at. With 100 artists working on it, it is so obviously a labour of love - to see the detail as they move from frame to frame, catching all the subtle character movements; the movement is so fluid and true-to-life that you nearly forget you're watching an animation. And the work that must have gone into depicting so many individual frames, just to achieve that reality.. and all in the style of van Gogh!

It's an absolute joy - and it's well worth staying for the first part of the end credits, where they explain how pretty much every character, every extra, their look, their costume - were based on paintings by van Gogh, showing the paintings side-by-side with photos of the actors. That, for instance, is why Chris O' Dowd has that big, impressive beard! This film is an absolute marvel, and I'm so glad I saw it.

Tomorrow, I'm with TunedIn London at Sands Films again, with Jean Paul Samputu, a Rwandan singer songwriter. Advertised via the World Music Meetup.

On Thursday, Let's Do This is at another classical concert - this time, at Morley College, for a Beethoven piano recital. Cool - I love Beethoven, but don't hear him enough. 

On Friday, the Crick Crack Club is back at Rich Mix, where Ben Haggerty, one of the co-founders of the club, is retelling the story of Frankenstein. Suitably spooky in this spookiest of months.. and I can think of no better performer to set the scene!

On Saturday, Spooky London Pubs is off to a "Pre-Hallowe'en" Psychic Fair at the King and Queen pub, just down the road from me. Free entry - well, I couldn't say no to that! Can always leave if it's not interesting. That's in the afternoon - that evening, I'm off to Oslo. The play, not the city! (Despite all my Scandic jaunts of late!) Taking place in the Harold Pinter Theatre, it tells the story of the Oslo peace accords. Has rave reviews. Cheapest tickets were with Amazon Tickets.

On Sunday, I'm with Walking in London (a Funzing group) for Southwark's Saucy Secrets.. Hope I can make this one in time!

On Monday, back with the Crick Crack Club - at Soho Theatre this time, with Nell Phoenix telling us all about Tricksterland: a favourite theme of hers! Don't worry - the crazy lady isn't coming to either of these, far as I know.

Next Tuesday, the London European Club (first time in ages!) - we're off to the Barbican for a dance production by the Michael Clark Company.

On the 25th, Walking Victorian London is doing a walk called Alexander Pope's The Dunciad.

On the 26th, Up in the Cheap Seats is off to Albion, at the Almeida. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again - hopefully, by that stage they'll have cleared the roads following Storm Ophelia.

On the 30th, I finally get to see Apologia, at Trafalgar Studios - London Dramatic Arts was going to this a while ago, but it was far too expensive on that occasion. Well, that's what you get for having Stockard Channing and Laura Carmichael in it! Amazon Tickets again.

And finally, I'm hoping for a nicely scary Hallowe'en.. when I heard that they were doing the first-ever stage production of The Exorcist - and what's more, it's on in the Phoenix Theatre, right behind the office.. well, that was fate, wasn't it?! I jumped to get a ticket for that, as soon as they went on sale - after all, Hallowe'en has to be its most popular night!

Film: We Are Many

Ah, finally I got to see We Are Many! Seriously, it's been the top-rated film on my list for ages, and I was to see it last week, but then an ex-colleague swung by and I ended up going for drinks instead. But last night, I took myself along to the Odeon Panton Street to see it.

There was a slight delay on the District Line (when is there not?), but I wasn't worried, as this was a regular cinema showing and there'd be trailers beforehand. When I exited at Piccadilly Circus, it was to the strains of a bagpiper at the side, with a sign in front of him that said he was saving for an engagement ring! Aww.. and as I made my way down Haymarket, before he faded out of earshot, his repertoire ran through the Star Wars theme, Happy Birthday, and Thunderstruck (AC/DC). Nothing if not versatile.

This cinema is definitely one of the cheapest in London - tickets for all shows now only £6 Mon - Thu. I seemed to be just in time for the trailers, which is fine. Took a seat at the side - the cinema was mostly empty, this has been out for a while - and waited for it to begin.

Well, We Are Many deserves its high rating. It's a fabulous film - from the very start, the score and the camerawork let you know you're in for a treat. Some films just are good. This is a documentary about the Stop the War coalition's worldwide campaign against the Iraq war in 2003. But no staid presentation of facts, this - no, it's really moving, packed with interviews with organisers, protesters, demonstrators, politicians.

Many interesting points raised, of course. The first thing that really struck me was an Evening Standard headline from the time, trumpeting that Iraqi missiles were "45 minutes" from the UK. Then, of course, you had a plethora of experts interviewed, saying that was nonsense. Worth remembering that there are sections of the British media you just can't trust - of course, they're not alone in that. Of course, these were the WMDs that didn't even exist! There was an extensive interview with one of the weapons inspectors, who describes sitting opposite Colin Powell, incredulously listening to him describe how intelligence predicted that there were weapons. "Seriously?" he was thinking to himself - because they hadn't been able to find any. Consensus was that Powell really believed this, and was fed misinformation by those pushing for war.

Watching these fervent campaigners enthuse about the excitement of mobilising a campaign against the war brought a tear or several to my eye. I wasn't alone - they were crying on screen as well, as they described how the protests spread to every continent on Earth - even Antarctica! Yep, they had a protest down there, if you recall. They interviewed a couple of the people who took part - one of whom remarked that he hadn't known you could lose your job for that. Which he did. But if he had known, he'd have done it anyway.

They were overwhelmed by the support they received. They set out to raise £4000 for an advertising campaign - they raised £40,000. A stunning sequence in the film shows the spread of the marches as they moved with the sun - New Zealand, Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe, North America. There's a funny piece about the guys who painted "No War" on the roof of the Sydney Opera House! Also a funny interview with an Egyptian who, with his countrymen, was very mad that they could protest in the rest of the world but not there - as he puts it, the attitude was "these white, whiskey-drinking infidels are campaigning on our behalf and we can't!"

Rome - they were in a huge group, met another huge group at a junction and wondered who they were, and realised they were there for the same thing! Madrid - as she said, you could call it a march, but you couldn't march! There were too many people, you couldn't move. London - 1.5 million people marched, and as they described it, there rose the sound of a feral howl. In New York, they described how they just couldn't wait for it to be their turn!

And all the while, they were all thinking - surely, with all this support, the politicians would have to listen. Surely, democracy would count for something. And, as we know, that's not what happened - cue footage of Blair ignoring all protests as he sticks to his guns, and Bush joking about the missing WMDs. And so the war started.. and there are films of bombings, and protesters looking sad. And plenty of stuff about how it was not sanctioned by the UN - even footage of Kofi Annan, interviewed saying that it was a war crime. Despite what the British government has to say.

Now, of course, the war inspires disgust. There's a statistic that the residual radiation in Fallujah is more than was in Hiroshima. One anti-war campaigner describes how people tell her, oh, we didn't know! Had we known what the truth was, we wouldn't have supported the war. She calls them liars. Everyone knew the truth, everyone knew that the war was started on a lie. And yet, there's no Nuremberg trial.. no accountability, no justice. Mind you, there is a really interesting woman, interviewed at points throughout the film, who is also shown at a couple of functions. See, what she does is to follow people like Donald Rumsfeld around and shout to all and sundry that here is a war criminal! Unpunished! and give a list of his crimes. She keeps getting dragged out of places, shouting all the while..

But you know, they may not have stopped the war, but that doesn't mean they didn't achieve anything. One of the protesters, interviewed, explains how he was moved to found 38 Degrees. They point out how, 10 years on, the House of Commons voted against war with Syria - the first time they'd voted against war in 231 years. They put that down to the vehement opposition to war with Iraq. There's footage of American veterans of the War on Terror, throwing away their service medals at a public rally. Then there's a big piece about how the years after 2003 led to a groundswell of public discontent in Egypt, that ultimately led to the revolution there. Mind you, I guess the film was made before that started to turn sour..

Fabulous film, go see. Of course, it was too late to blog last night - late showing of the film - so here we are.

Well, that London for Less Meetup group seems to have the same eclectic taste that I do! Tonight, they're headed to King John at the Globe, and tomorrow night to see the Circus Geeks show, Beta Testing, at the Udderbelly festival. Both - as with many London for Less events - are sold out: but that needn't stop me! Although tickets are cheaper with the group - as the name implies - I can of course buy my own. Having said that, tonight's was also sold out on the official website - but I nabbed a ticket on LoveTheatre: and my experience of them is that they provide excellent seats! They have a sale running on this show till Sunday. I've also got the organiser to tell me where they're meeting afterwards, so I can maybe join them for a drink. Tomorrow night's doesn't seem to be selling out, so although the intention is to get a ticket from the official vendor, I haven't committed myself yet.

Film: The Falling

So, the Meetup Film Nite group organiser specifically invited me to come see The Falling with them tonight, in the Odeon Panton Street. Maybe, I thought - this is a nice bunch of people, although the film isn't rated too highly on IMDB. So I thought I'd see what else was on. When it was looking like a film anyway, I decided, what the hey, I'm not that pushed about what's top of my list, I might as well go to this.

Now, the organiser of this group is a decent chap, but not the best organiser I've seen. He advertised this as "Free!" But in the next paragraph, he mentioned how cheap the cinema was.. now why would he do that, I thought, if it's free?! So I checked with him, and sure enough, we had to get our own tickets. It was free in the sense that he wasn't charging anything himself.

Could I have predicted the storm my question would provoke? I'd asked, and he answered, on the event page, so other members could see. In a furious exchange today, two members cancelled, as a direct result: one because she had thought it was free, and now felt ripped off, and the other because she hadn't noticed the word "free" till I mentioned it, and although she didn't mind paying, she thought he answered her in a "smart ass" way when questioned about it. O dear. I still intended to go, and booked a ticket - no booking fee, and handier than buying on the spot - and even put the cheap ticket price (£6) on the site to try to mediate, but the damage was done. He really needs to be less ambiguous.

I've been here several times before, but it's been a little while, so I did just need to check which street (Haymarket) I needed to turn down from Piccadilly. Setting out, I just missed a train and had to wait five minutes for another, but it's really not that far, so I didn't worry too much. The Piccadilly Line was as crowded as ever, especially with the deluge that joined in Knightsbridge - and there was an incident at Green Park, where a party got separated, not all able to get on at the same time. One guy tried to get the doors open again, but eventually had to give up. I had to push through a crowd when we got to Piccadilly, and had visions of not being able to get off before the train left again - but I managed.

Amazingly, I found the right exit - initially, take the one for Eros, it branches to give you the one for Haymarket. And you climb out through Cool Britannia - well, it is actually the closest exit. It took forever to cross the road, but I finally made it to the cinema, picked up my ticket, and made my way straight in - I couldn't see anyone I knew. I did later spy the organiser, sitting in the very front row, and another person I knew from the group sitting behind him, but didn't speak to anyone until after.

This film deals with a fainting epidemic in a girls' school in the late 60s. I wasn't expecting too much from it - it has a bad rating on IMDB, and I was dreadfully afraid it was going to be similar to other things I'd seen. I've seen it described as a psychological horror - any horror in it is far too weak to earn it that title. But I am pleased to say that it's not at all as bad as I feared. It's very sensually shot, and there's a very cloying atmosphere to the film, as epitomised by the relationships between the girls. All very touchy-feely, in a way that I found uncomfortable. However, the story does eventually resolve and make sense - it's just a shame they couldn't have got to the point sooner.

Afterwards, four of us met in the lobby. One had left early in the film, and gone to see Whiplash instead! None of us were that impressed with The Falling, which should make the talk about it next week more interesting. (If it happens - I can't find any mention of it now.) Anyway, we moseyed along to a café our host recommended - turned out to be a little Vietnamese BYOB place - Viet Pho. So we B'd our OB, and took a table near the kitchen. It's a tiny place, with hard seats, but decent food at reasonable prices. Family-run, I believe. The conversation was good, and the meal was a great way to round off the evening.

I was back on the Tube with the organiser, and we had a good chat about this and that, but the kerfuffle on Meetup never came up. And, of course, he's already trying to get me confirmed for next week's meeting (which, as I say, I now can't find on Meetup..) Anyhoo, for tomorrow I would've liked to go to a piano recital, but they only had £50 tickets left, and I wasn't THAT pushed. They're sold out now anyway. So it's another Meetup, with the Crick Crack Storytelling Club again. They're meeting in Camden (another long trip) to tell the tale of Robin Hood, and other English tales of dissent..

Film: It Follows

Oh, I'd missed going to films.. as I realised at the film talk last Tuesday. So I was delighted to get to a film tonight - so was my foot, which is getting better, mind. Anyway, when I did out the list of currently showing films, ranked in order of their IMDB rating, the two at the top of the list didn't really appeal. Marvellously, that left It Follows. This horror film has got great reviews, and started unusually high in the ratings for a horror film. And then it went up! So that made it a must-see.

It's only still showing in three cinemas in town, and the nearest to me is the Odeon Panton Street, where it was showing at 8:50. So I had time to eat at home.. and still ended up rushing, of course! And at the last minute, I remembered I'd forgotten the way to the cinema, except that I had to go to Piccadilly Circus.. so I snatched a look at Streetview, reminded myself that the road I had to go down was beside the fountain (but forgot to look up the name of the road), and scurried off.

The spookiness started early - as I made my way towards the station, I could've sworn I saw a train approaching. So I made a run for it, expecting the train to be pulling in as I swiped through the barrier. Except, when I got to within sight of the tracks.. no train at all! Anywhere. Hmm. Anyway, one was due in 1 minute. And when I changed at Earl's Court, a train had just pulled in as I arrived on the platform. The only delay was the stop of over a minute further down the line - it had to happen somewhere. I knew I'd be tight on time.

As I finally panted my way to the cinema and asked for a ticket, she remarked that it was just about to start. Interestingly, the website had advertised it as showing in Screen 1, but it turned out to be in Screen 4. And after I finally climbed all the stairs to it, praying all the time that I wouldn't miss the start - I hate that - it turned out that the trailers were still showing. I walked in on one for the new Poltergeist - hadn't known that was happening! Then there was one for a new horror film about Skype or similar, called Unfriended. And then the feature started.

The plot of It Follows isn't unfamiliar - a teenage girl has sex, and catches something unexpected: a bad case of demonic possession. Apparently, the demon can take any human form it pleases, and once you have it, it'll come after you - until either it kills you, or you have sex with someone else to pass it on. There's a catch - when it manages to kill the last person in the chain, it starts working its way back to the start. So, for instance, if everyone you have sex with gets killed before having sex again, or they and everyone they do have sex with gets killed.. well hello, it comes for you again.

First thing I noticed about the film was the soundtrack -very full-on, very Hallowe'en. But I soon discovered that wasn't typical of the whole film. In fact, the only generalisation you can make about the film is something I didn't figure out until I got home. The horror genre is full of clichés - and this film uses none of them. And I mean none.

There are scenes where scary music means something is about to happen. There are scenes where scary music is a red herring. There are quiet scenes where absolutely nothing happens. There are quiet scenes that descend into horror. The demon generally appears as a normal person. Except when it doesn't. The genius of the film is to make you scared of the everyday, so that you take nothing for granted. Which means that you are suspicious of every scene, you're always on edge.. and it's relentless.

Even the ending was just so odd, the handful of us at the screening laughed. But I had the jitters all the way home. It's brilliant, and highly recommended - to those with strong nerves.

Tomorrow is looking like another film, specifically The Forecaster - a documentary about a guy who works out the markets mathematically, and fell foul of the US government. The film is banned in the States, interestingly.. and only showing in the Curzon Bloomsbury, which was the Renoir, last time I was there. I see they have a dedicated documentary screen now, which is where this is showing - and they have discounted rates for that screen. Cool!

Film: The Grand Seduction

Yes, yes - I actually did go out last night- just haven't had a moment to write about it till now! This was pretty much my last chance to see The Grand Seduction - at 7.3, it was the highest rated film for yesterday, but as of tomorrow, the highly rated documentaries are back and it probably wouldn't have a look-in. Autumn is upon us, eh? Anyhow, the closest place it's showing is the Odeon Panton Street - it's not widely available. So I checked to see how many Odeon points I'd saved, and was delighted to discover I had enough to get me in for free. That's two free films in a row, then..

I arrived slightly after the scheduled start time, in the middle of an ad for A Walk Among the Tombstones. So I can't testify as to how that looks - I didn't see enough. Soon enough, we were into the main feature. I was slightly dubious about seeing this, following a pretty terrible review of it in Friday's Standard, which can be best summarised as "Brendan Gleeson has a most peculiar accent, and it just isn't funny". Unfortunate, given that it's a comedy.

Well, it just goes to show that comedy is subjective. I was hooked from the start. The story is set in a little Newfoundland fishing village, starved of work and desperate to attract a new factory to the area. One of the conditions is that they have a full-time doctor, and when they see a chance to attract a young doctor to the area, they jump at it, determined to make him fall in love with the place.

The humour is quite daft, the ploys they use are plain silly, and some of the plot points are too pat. But who cares - I thought it was hilarious, with a sweet, gentle humour and some gorgeous scenery. As for Brendan Gleeson's accent - not OTT for Canada, I would've thought, although I haven't been to Newfoundland (yet). And more to the point, it didn't stand out from the accent of his (Newfoundlander) co-star. Nuts to any bad reviews - go see.

Well, I barely have time to turn around before I'm off to King Charles III at Wyndham's Theatre tonight! You might recall, I got a cheap ticket for this from a Time Out offer, since expired. We shall see what they give me.. at least it's been a cheap week so far for me!

Film: Omar

Well, it's about time I got to see Omar. It's been at or near the top of my list since last week, and I finally got around to it last night. Only showing, like the film the night before, in the Odeon Panton Street.

I forgot to mention, in my last post - when I was describing directions to here - when you're exiting Piccadilly Circus station for Haymarket, don't take the Haymarket exit. It just brings you up through Cool Britannia - which is fine if you want to buy something, but is otherwise irritating. Come up through the Eros exit instead - this brings you up by the Eros fountain, which is just a few yards further along.

After last night, I've finally earned enough Odeon points for a free film. :-) Although, knowing my luck, it'll be ages before I go to the Odeon again..

Right then, to the film. Kudos to the filmmakers. This is, without doubt, the paciest and most exciting thriller I've seen in YEARS! The action centres on Omar, a young Palestinian fellow living in the West Bank. By and large, he's an upstanding citizen. He holds down a steady job, and he fancies the pretty sister of a childhood friend of his. He's been carefully saving money to build a home for them, so he'll have the right to ask for her hand in marriage.

Thing is though, her brother is leader of the Jerusalem branch of the PLO. Or some offshoot of it. Anyway, he ropes Omar and another childhood friend into an attack on an Israeli army base, during which they shoot and kill a soldier. Predictably, all hell breaks loose. Shin Bet comes looking for suspects, and Omar is arrested, incarcerated, and rather graphically tortured. He's not the one that pulled the trigger, but he won't betray his friend, of course. Here begins a game of cat-and-mouse, with the Israelis trying to get him to give up his friends, and his friends wondering whether he's already done so. Meantime, he's afraid to tell his girlfriend anything, she's beginning to wonder what he's hiding, and we, the audience, are left completely unsure which side he's going to come down on! Or indeed, who's really telling the truth at all.

It's pacy, as I say; it's exciting, and the chases take place on foot through the back alleys of the West Bank. And on top of walls, and on rooftops. Omar is spectacularly good at free-running, might I add. All that climbing that he has to do over the separation wall, to see his girlfriend, undoubtedly helps. And for all the gritty story of the fighting and imprisonment, there's a parallel love story that's really sweet, betraying what a young lad he really is.

Go see this if you get the chance, it's excellent.

Of course, it was over too late to do the blog last night, hence the delay. Tonight, the plan is to head back to The Scoop, weather permitting - it was looking iffy, but thankfully it's brightening up now. It's a production of Kiss Me, Figaro! by the Merry Opera Company.

Film: 112 Weddings

The film for this evening, 112 Weddings, is only showing in the Odeon Panton Street. I went to the early evening showing.. it's near Piccadilly Circus, so the Piccadilly line it was! So, a brisk walk to Earl's Court. The train was packed.. usually is, on this line, especially at this time - I had to stand, both ways. When you get there, you need the Haymarket exit - it's not immediately obvious; follow the signs for the Trocadero initially. When you exit, double back, take a right at the horse statue for Haymarket, and a left onto Panton Street. I remembered the way - pretty much - this time!

Mind you, I was somewhat delayed by one of the more interesting street entertainers I've seen..

Look carefully.. it's Yoda, complete with walking stick. Or, in this case, I guess, floating stick..

Anyhoo. When I got to the cinema and bought my ticket, I had a pleasant surprise - I'd forgotten that you get a 25% discount as a member, for Film Fan Mondays!

Despite this, the screen was practically empty. There were a few trailers, for films I might be interested in, and the feature started. This is a documentary, made by a New York documentarian who shoots wedding videos on the side, and was interested in what happened to the couples afterwards. He's shot 112 in all.. don't worry, they're not all featured! As he explains, he contacted them, and some had moved away, some were divorced and didn't want to talk, or just didn't want to talk for other reasons. In the end, he got eight couples to agree to talk to him, their interviews interspersed with shots from their wedding videos.

And what an interesting and engaging film it makes! These are interesting people, quite eloquent for the most part. Some are very funny. Most are still together and have kids, some have very sad stories to tell. Two of the couples that talk to him are divorced - actually, of one of these couples, only one of the two people agrees to an interview. It's a fascinating peek into other people's lives, of course - but they're also asked their views on marriage, how things, and their opinions, have changed since the wedding day, what the hardest thing has been since. Amidst all the fun, there are some very serious stories. And it's absolutely gripping. All the great themes of life are here. Strongly recommended.

As I was walking back to the station, an American couple asked me whether they were headed the right way to "Trafaglar" Square. I've only been there a few times, never from where I was then standing, and I wasn't sure. "Never mind," they said, and continued in the same direction. Of course, I was now curious, and consulted the first map I found - they're prominent on the main streets here. Well, they had been heading in the right direction, so I didn't feel too bad. As I rounded the horse fountain on my way back to the station, I noticed that Yoda had left. Floated off, I suppose. I also noticed a man in a suit sitting on the edge of the fountain, wearing a clown mask. And I noticed his scarf, which was the same that Yoda had been wearing..

Anyway! Tomorrow, having rejected a couple of films on the simple grounds of weirdness, top of the list is Omar, a love story centring on a Palestinian terrorist. From the trailer, it looks excellent, and but for going to The Scoop last week, I would've gone to this. About time I saw it - also showing exclusively at the Odeon Panton Street.

Film: Tim's Vermeer

Ah, the unpredictability of not having something booked! So I was back to films again, and Tim's Vermeer has been top of my list all week (having seen the higher-rated ones). Actually, checking my list, I saw that The Square is now at the same rating. It's about Egyptian revolutionaries, and honestly, I'd have rather seen that, but by this time it was too late to make it to this week's only showing. So, Tim's Vermeer it was, by a convoluted route!

It's only showing at the Odeon Panton Street. A wet and miserable day (again), and the traffic lights still out where I have to cross the road. And, as usual, when I got to Piccadilly Circus, I couldn't remember which exit (4) to take for Haymarket. Still, I was in plenty of time, and I see the weather didn't bother everyone..

I am so glad I ended up going to this film! Really, you don't have to be an art expert to enjoy this. I know what I like, but I was not expecting to enjoy this film as much! The plot goes thusly: the Tim of the title is a software designer with an interest in graphics, who has his own company, pots of money, and the time to devote to projects like this. He has always had a fascination with Vermeer, and how he incorporated light into his paintings. Then he got a present of a book about a theory about how Vermeer managed it, using lenses. And he was off and running!

Essentially, the technique he settled on, after some experimentation, involves the use of a lens, such as in a camera obscura, to project an image onto the wall. He then uses a mirror on the wall (curved, to increase the area he sees), to focus the projected image, and a second mirror to paint with. This is the innovative bit - it's just a small, plain mirror, on a stand, that can be positioned over the canvas and reflects what he sees in the mirror on the wall - simultaneously inverting the image, which has been turned upside-down by the lens, so that it's now right-side up again. And then he paints exactly what he sees in the plain mirror. He can see the reflection of different parts of the image just by moving his head, and the genius of this method is that it allows him to get the colours exactly right - he just compares the colours on the canvas to the colours he's seeing in the mirror. As he says, "When the edge of the mirror disappears," (and it all looks like a continuous image), "you know you have the colours right!"

Does that all sound very theoretical? That's not what the film is like at all. It's highly entertaining, it's hilarious, and, best of all, Tim sets himself to prove his theory that Vermeer himself did something like this - by reproducing one of his works. And what's more, he chooses The Music Lesson. As someone behind me remarked, he could have chosen an easier one..! (Tons of detail.)

The painting was nearly the least of it. He also had to build a room that was a replica of the one in the painting, with the same furniture - and, as he pointed out, this was in a museum in Delft, but they were hardly going to loan it to him! So he, eh, built his own. Including his own windows, with the kind of glass they would have had then. And he mixed his own paints, as they would have done then. And it took him months just to paint.. and, as a painter that he consulted remarked, he did a better job than Vermeer! (Despite having no painting experience.)

Really, give this film a look if you have the chance. It's gorgeous! And as someone behind me remarked to her companion, "Which are you gonna paint?"

Tomorrow I trek to Hampstead, for Rapture, Blister, Burn.. hope the weather improves!

Film: Fanny

So, I went to see Fanny tonight. Silly me, I got confused, with everything that's on. It wasn't in the Ciné Lumiere, it's in the Odeon Panton Street. As I discovered today when I checked. Thought I could use my Odeon points at last - I won't be going there so much now that my local is a Cineworld - but it turned out I didn't have quite enough, since prices are more expensive there. Nuts! Ah well.

I walked into an empty cinema. It stayed empty until right before the film started, when a couple of Spanish ladies came in. Not a popular film then, and I predict it won't be there next week. Well, I'm not surprised - I only heard of Daniel Auteuil when I saw him in a couple of films previously, neither of which were big releases. He might be a big deal in France, but certainly not here. And the fact that he writes, directs, and stars in this will mean nothing to most people.

It's a shame, because this is actually a lovely film. Apparently, it's the second in the Marseille trilogy, based on the writings of Marcel Pagnol, who also wrote Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources, both of which starred Daniel Auteuil in the film versions. Based in Marseille in the 20s, it tells the story of César, a bar-owner, his son, Marius, and Marius' girlfriend, Fanny. The first in the trilogy, Marius, is currently showing at four cinemas in the city centre. The third, César, is still in production.

Now, it's no masterpiece. But it is simple, charming, and engaging. The story tells how Fanny is distraught that Marius has chosen a life at sea over her, and feels unwell, so she goes to the doctor, only to discover that she's pregnant. With Marius due to be gone for five years, she can see no way out but to marry César's old friend, who has always wanted to marry her and can now provide her and the baby with the security they need. But she will always love Marius, and the final scene is unexpectedly devastating. Creeps up on you, this film. And she's brilliant in it. Shame more people won't see it, because I think a lot of people would enjoy it.

And tomorrow is looking like another film. Currently top of the list is Breathless, another Jean-Luc Godard film - a 1960 thriller. Screens tomorrow afternoon in the Prince Charles Cinema, off Leicester Square. I like this cinema - it's very cheap for the area (about half what I paid this evening..!), it's quirky, with things like pyjama parties, all-nighters, and beer and pizza nights, it shows unusual and old films, and it has very comfortable seats. I just don't trust its ATMs. And I hear there's often a Winter market in Leicester Square - must have a look.

For Sunday and Monday, I've booked plays, for a change! Sunday will be The Night before Christmas, at Soho Theatre. Seasonal it may be, but traditional it ain't. In this version, an elf is caught breaking into a warehouse, and interrogated about Santa Claus. A very different tale from what we're used to, indeed! Interestingly, the price they quote on the website is £5 more than what they actually charge at the checkouts..

On Monday, I'm supposed to be going to see The Royal Shakespeare Company's new production of Richard II, starring David Tennant, who apparently plays a blinder. It's at the Barbican (I dunno, I don't go for ages, and then I go twice in a few days..!) Thing is, the Barbican website didn't have any tickets left, and the cheapest I could find was a seat in the nosebleeds (should be ok at the Barbican though, it's a good modern venue) with Viagogo. I've never booked with them before, and it seems I have to have the ticket delivered to me and sign for it, I can't just pick it up at the venue. At least they guarantee I don't have to pay if they don't get the ticket to me in time!

Film: In a World...

If you read the last blog, you'll know that I was up in the air about what to go to yesterday. Film, yes, but which? The IMDB ratings were all over the place, and after I sorted them out, with some surprises, LondonNet was down and I couldn't check where, when, or whether, the films were showing. Had to wait until today.

Mind you, I had a fair idea I'd be going to In a World... it's been at the same rating for a while, and was now at the top of my list - along with two older films that I wasn't as keen on seeing, and turned out not to be showing anymore anyway! And so I got to use the first of the two Amazon Local vouchers I bought a while ago, for cheap Odeon tickets, because the Odeon is the only place it's on. Actually, I have enough Odeon points to get a free ticket anyway, but they don't have an expiry date, and the vouchers do. And so I headed into the Odeon on Panton Street, which, I must say, is getting a tad scruffy around the edges.

The strange title relates to the content of the film. This is all about voiceover artists. (Now, there's something you don't come across very often!) Y'see, it relates to the way some trailers start with the phrase "In a world..." So, we have this 31-year-old vocal coach, whose father is a famous voiceover artist, but who has never, herself, achieved the same level of success. And he thinks she never will, because it's a man's game. The story itself is pretty predictable. She finds success, despite his resistance, and despite some sleazy competition. She finds love, and her family draws closer together. Her sister is played by Michaela Watkins, whom I've seen in a trailer for a film called Enough Said, in which she stars, and the film producer who gives our star a voiceover job on a trailer is played by Geena Davis. It's a while since I've seen her - she has definitely had a facelift, she can barely move her jaw. We also see our star giving accent coaching to Eva Longoria, and there's an Irish guy whose accent she keeps trying to get. And his accent is only slightly exaggerated!

Well, it seems that the star also directed and wrote this. And it worked out really well for her! It might have a predictable story, but it's a joy to watch. It's quirky, it's very funny, it's way more intelligent than your average comedy, and it's really interesting, because it gives an insight into an industry that we don't hear very much about. Recommended, if you get the chance.

Tonight.. is looking like Insidious: Chapter 2. Yay, I finally knocked the film list down to there! Unusually highly rated for a horror film, I still wondered, at 7.1, whether I'd get to see it.. but here we are at last. Directed, again, by James Wan, it has pretty much the same cast as Insidious. I hear rumours that it's better - it's certainly rated higher. Looking forward to it - I do love my psychological horror! Tomorrow, going to see Handbagged, which is a comedy about the strained relationship between Liz & Maggie. For next Tuesday, I've booked to see Black Jesus, showing at the Finborough Theatre, which is walking distance from here. They seem to be going strong, despite the closure of the wine bar downstairs. It would actually have been cheaper if I'd seen it this week - it's a policy they have - but that would have prevented me having enough time to go see Insidious! Anyway, they're cheaper on Tuesdays, which is handy, since that's when I'm going. Going to a few things in Ireland after that - Cinderella (ballet), and the operas Aida and Nabucco. And, feeling Hallowe'eny, I'm off to the London Dungeon on the 29th. Mwah-hah-haah!