30-Day Film Challenge Week 3

It's that time of week again, cinephiles  -  the third week of the never-ending  ongoing film challenge  -  and we're starting with an absolute classic. ( Yeah, I know I say that a lot but this one really is. )

Day Fifteen
A film that makes you happy

Singin' In The Rain ( 1952 )
Yep, every time. Just a joyous movie, every frame filled with colour, movement and sheer exuberance. The ultimate Hollywood musical.

Day Sixteen
A film that is personal to you

Not quite sure what this means but I'm going with
Star Wars ( 1977 )
When this movie was released in the UK I had just turned 11-years old, the perfect age for Lucas' space epic. Like most kids of my generation I was completely knocked out by it  -  I hadn't known it but this was the film I'd been waiting for...

Day Seventeen
Favourite film sequel

The Godfather Part II ( 1974 )
Most sequels are a case of diminishing returns but Coppola's second installment of his Corleone family saga is a masterpiece. So much so that, like the first two Superman movies, it's difficult to separate them. The cinematography, the score, the dialogue, the performances  -  all unbeatable.

And, as if the cast of the first movie wasn't wonderful enough, the sequel added Robert De Niro as a young Vito Corleone. Just outstanding.

Thank God Coppola didn't make an inferior third movie long after the fact.
( What do you mean he did??? )

Day Eighteen
A film that stars your favourite actor / actress

It's very hard for me to pick a favourite actor ( even if it was "pick a fave actor from a particular decade" it would be difficult unless it was the 1910s ) so I'm going with
The Philadelphia Story ( 1940 )
Here are three of my faves in one movie ( and one promotional photo )  -  Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart:

Day Nineteen
A film made by your favourite director

Another nigh-on impossible choice so I'll cheat and go with one classic / one modern
The Lady Vanishes ( dir. Alfred Hitchcock 1938 )
Baby Driver ( dir. Edgar Wright 2017 )

Day Twenty
A film that changed your life

Believe it or not it's the lame Bruce Willis / Kim Basinger comedy Blind Date ( 1987 )

There was a girl at work I liked and I knew she liked me. I asked her to see this film with me ( I knew she was a fan of Willis in Moonlighting ) ...and we're still together 33 years later.

Day Twenty-One
A film that you dozed off in

Avengers: Age Of Ultron ( 2015 )
My family can attest to the fact that I can fall asleep anywhere any time but this particular superhero slugfest seemed to go on for sooooooooooo long that the old eyelids began to droop somewhere during the climactic battle...

Sorry Ultron, I know you tried your best.

Okay, just one more week to go and, as the number of categories goes up to 30 ( it's a month! ), this final post will probably be on 18/08 if I can get my act together. That's a big "if"...

As ever, if anyone would care to join in with this challenge then please leave a comment, it would be very welcome. Cheers!

30-Day Film Challenge Week 1

Yes, that's right Dear Reader, as if the 30-day song challenge and comic challenge weren't enough, I've taken the plunge and started the film challenge too! I'm obviously a glutton for punishment. As well as peanut butter. As in the previous challenges, some of the categories are a little bizarre so I may have to, er. reinterpret them as I go along. Here we go with Week 1  -

Day One
The first film you remember watching

No idea what the very first film I saw was ( something on telly no doubt ) but I think the first film I saw at the cinema may have been a re-release of Disney's Sleeping Beauty ( 1959 ), some time in the early 1970s. ( I believe this was in Gloucester's old Odeon cinema which was closed down in 1975 and, of course, turned into a bingo hall. )

Yep, still one of the coolest dragons in all of pop culture. I remember being very scared and excited by this and I couldn't believe the friend I was with was so scared he cried. I thought it was the best bit...

Day Two
A film you like that starts with the first letter of your name ( first dumb category alert! )

Some Like It Hot ( 1959 )
My all-time fave movie comedy. The combined talents of Monroe, Lemmon, Curtis, Wilder and Diamond forging sparkling, iconic Hollywood comedy gold from chaos.

Day Three
A film that has more than five words
( I'm taking this to mean more than five words in the title, or otherwise it could be any "talking picture" ever made. Ho hum. )

Close Encounters Of The Third Kind ( 1977 )
My second favourite Spielberg after that big fish movie

And also one of my favourite movies full stop. CE3K could easily appear in multiple categories across this film challenge and I could also very easily write an entire blog post about how much I love it. Maybe some other time. In the meantime, keep watching the skies...

Day Four
A film with a number in the title

Another no-brainer, it has to be Kubrick and Clarke's "ultimate trip" -  monoliths, monkeys and mystery in space:
2001: A Space Odyssey ( 1968 )

I've posted about this movie before on this 'ere blog ( more than once, I think ) so I won't say much more except:
"Alexa, open the pod bay doors."

Day Five
A film where a character has a job you want

Roman Holiday ( 1955 )
I want Gregory Peck's newspaper reporter job so I can pose around a black and white 1950s Italy with Audrey Hepburn. There may be some writing involved too...

( The comment above has been recycled from a series of posts I did here many moons ago, under the title Massive Movie Meme. You can find these posts, should you wish to, by going to the "Labels" section to the right of this very page and clicking on MMM. If you do this you can keep track of just how many times I can plagiarise my own posts in the next few weeks. As well as adding more traffic to this 'ere blog. It's a win-win situation! Cheers! )

Day Six
Your favourite animated film

I struggled with this one but settled on the absolutely insane, plastic toy-based Belgian film A Town Called Panic ( 2009 )
One of the funniest, most imaginative films of this century, constantly topping itself with ever-escalating lunacy. ( And, yes, this is another recycled comment. Honestly... it's a good job you're not paying for this crap, Dear Reader. Unless, of course, you want to. Drop me an email, we'll sort something out... )

Day Seven
A film that you will never get tired of

Okay, I'm a film fan so obviously there are a lot of these and no doubt a few will turn up in this challenge, so I'll just go with the piscine perfection of

Jaws ( 1975 )

As I said above, this is still my favourite Spielberg movie. He may have made slicker movies, bigger-budgeted movies and more meaningful movies ( yawn! ) since Bruce first swam around Amity Island but, for me at least, none have had the sheer impact of this big fish tale. Outstanding performances, ever-increasing tension, endlessly-quotable dialogue and John Williams' unforgettable score  -  Jaws has the lot. It's the kind of movie that I've seen dozens of times and have on DVD ( of course ) but, if I'm flipping through TV channels and it's on, I will always, always watch it.
"Farewell and adieu to you fair Spanish ladies..."

And that's it for Week One. If anyone would like to join in with the challenge, please feel free to leave a comment with your choices. I'll be waiting. ( Does that sound desperate enough? )

Two nights in Bristol: Ash and Dylan Moran

A busy weekend, live events-wise, saw me taking two trips down to Brizzle ( that's how it's pronounced, honest! ) to catch two of the greatest exports from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland respectively: pop-rock-punk power trio Ash and wild-haired surrealist philosopher Dylan Moran.

The Ash gig on the Friday night was at SWX, a venue that was new to me, just around the corner from the former Bristol Bierkeller. None of my usual gig buddies were available for this one but, after a chance remark to my daughter Sophie that I was coming to her adopted home city of Bristol, she said she'd join in the fun. And here's a very grainy photo of the two of us at SWX...

The support came from Norwegian band Death By Unga Bunga ( and I thought I used to be in a band with the world's worst name! ) who played a knowingly over the top and quite camp brand of '70s / '80s metal. We only caught two or three songs but their performance was lots of fun  -  playing guitars behind their heads, breaking into a brief tribute to Thin Lizzy, the very macho looking drummer and bass player sharing an ostentatious mid-song snog...

And then it was time for those Ash boys. I've probably seen them live half a dozen time and they never disappoint. They started with the upbeat, poppy True Story from their recent album, Islands, and then motored straight into crowd-fave Kung Fu, unusually moved from its usual kick-ass place at the end of the set. And the crowd went wild. Well, sort of. The audience seemed quite reserved for Bristol ( which suited me in a way because we could get near the front and I didn't have to worry too much about Sophie being caught up in a mosh pit ) but they eventually warmed up. The fact Ash played such fizzing power-pop bangers as Oh Yeah, Shining Light and Cocoon certainly helped...

Of course, there's a romantic, sentimental side to Ash and the likes of Walking Barefoot, Incoming Waves and Annabel ( another great song from the new album! ) highlighted this dreamier quality, with all Tim Wheeler's classic, elemental pop song tropes of young love, moons and stars, tide and time coming to the fore. There was a fantastic segue from A Life Less Ordinary into Goldfinger, and then things got rockier as they blasted their way through the likes of Orpheus, Jesus Says and newly-minted sweary classic Buzzkill  -  waking up the sleepy Bristollians at last...

It was a cracking gig with the band clearly having a blast  -  the grins on their faces when they took their customary final bow saying it all. Although out of her usual live event comfort zone of musical theatre, Sophie enjoyed herself and it was lovely to share the evening with her. ( Although she seemed somewhat non-plussed when Ash broke into the Star Wars Cantina Theme ahead of Angel Interceptor. ) We went for a quick drink in Bristol afterwards and then I had to zoom back up the M5 to Gloucester to get some rest before heading back down to Bristol the next night...

...for the wonderful Dylan Moran! It had been many years since Sarah and I last saw Dylan  -  at Gloucester's Guildhall in those dark, pre-Blogger days  -  so we were well overdue to catch his act again. We're a whole family of Moran Fans, so James also came with us but, unfortunately, Sophie had a hen night to go to, so couldn't make it and was gutted. The gig was even at the Bristol Hippodrome where Sophie works so it was even more frustrating. Anyway, we turned up at the theatre, along with hundreds of other Moran Maniacs ( I think that's what we're probably called ) and proceeded to our box.

Yep, Sophie had reserved us three seats in a box, something we've never had at a theatre before. Although quite small it was fine for the three of us and gave us a pretty good view of the stage, as can be seen in the photo below. It was also good not to have to clamber over twenty other people whenever you needed to get to the bar / toilet. Plus it made us feel like royalty...

Dylan came on to the stage to some wild applause ( the place was pretty much sold out ) and said he'd have to mention Brexit, just to get it out of the way, you know. At the mention of that ridiculous omni-shambles most of us groaned but he proceeded to rip it apart and actually make us laugh about it. An early highlight of his set was his observation that Theresa May is the only person he's ever seen whose face appears to be backing slowly away from their body...

And then, politics done, Dylan went on to ramble in his own absurdly surreal way about his usual topics  -  growing up and growing old in Ireland, the lunacies of organised religion, and just being generally useless at everything. And apparently he's now given up the drink ( after being told to by a "12-year old" doctor ) which would explain the prominent tea-pot on stage instead of the former glasses of whisky. The main theme of the show ( named "Dr Cosmos" for some inexplicable reason ) was that of getting older and not understanding the world any more  -  but, to be fair, this is what he was talking about the last time we saw him, well over a decade ago. Dylan Moran ( or his stage persona at any rate ) is the kind of man who seems to have been born old and puzzled... which could be very sad but is actually hilarious. He mentioned at one point how we watch all those skincare and shower product adverts on TV, showing us those idealised, perfect bodies bathing in golden light  -  "When you know what you really look like is a pig in a typhoon. In a phone box. Having a panic attack." Similarly, on the subject of being told by a personal trainer that he needs to protect his core:
"Core? I don't even have a core! Everything's on the outside. It's your job to scaffold all this shit back in...!

And so it goes. Dylan's absurdist views on life, death and the cosmos had us all in stitches and maybe, just maybe, gave us a few things to think about too...

Happy New Year from The Glass Walking-Stick

Here's wishing all you lovely people out there in the Blogosphere love, peace and happiness for 2017 and let's hope we can all survive the coming Trumpocalypse ;-)

When you get to my age this is the kind of Birthday card you get...

I'm sorry to break the news, but...

It's a tough life lesson...

Great Scott!

It's 21st October 2015  -  the day Marty McFly went Back To The Future...

See... he can't believe it either...

Things I haven't blogged about recently: Movies

Or, Of Reptiles, Rockets and a reduced Rudd...

I've seen a few films over the Summer which I haven't reviewed and which are all a bit old news now, frankly. So, I thought I'd just jot down ( blog down? post down? ) some quick thoughts about them before my ageing brain forgets them completely, starting with:
Ant-Man 
The latest stage in Marvel Studios' ongoing campaign for global cinematic conquest, starring him out of those sweary comedy films, him out of those pervy '80s films and her out of those Hobbit films. Well, Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas and Evangeline Lillly to be precise. Ant-Man, while probably just a shadow of the movie it could have been had wunderkind Edgar Wright stayed with the project, is still lots of fun. There's a knowing admission that actually the concept of the teeny hero is pretty laughable, but not so much that the film tips over into parody. The action scenes are inventive and often hilarious, while there are many references to previous micro-world films such as The Incredible Shrinking Man. Paul Rudd always comes across as charming and likeable so the role of repentant-burglar-turned-superhero is perfect for his talents. The other leads are all fine although Corey Stoll's evil businessman is a stereotyped villain we've seen far too many times. So, not a classic by any means but a worthy addition to the MCU and one which will lead nicely into Captain America: Civil War next year.

Jurassic World
You'd be forgiven for thinking that we'd travelled back to the 1980s this Summer, what with reboots of Mad Max, The Terminator and the above dino-saga all crashing back onto the screens in a bombastic, need-for-speed, sunglasses 'n' big hair kind of way. Well, 2015 is the year that Marty McFly went back to the future...
The latest version of Michael Crichton's high concept ( Dinosaur theme park with real dinosaurs! ) is true to the spirit of the '80s, in that it's very flashy and superficial with very little under the surface  -  apart from the occasional mosasaurus. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard run about the jungle, snarling at each other without a single memorable line of dialogue, while trying to save themselves and a couple of bratty kids from giant lizards. This is fitfully entertaining but really nothing we haven't seen before. Oh, apart from something called Indominus Rex  -  a giant, hybrid dinosaur with almost-human intelligence and stealth capabilities. Really. On the plus side, there is a nice tribute to the late Richard Attenborough and it's good to see the T-Rex regaining its mantle as the ultimate dinosaur in the film's closing moments.

 

Tomorrowland: A World Beyond 

 Director Brad Bird's wonderfully old-fashioned, retro Science Fiction spectacular may have been one of the biggest box office disappointments of recent years but it has more ideas and invention in its first 20 minutes than Jurassic World has in its entire running time. Star-to-be Britt Robertson plays Casey, an idealistic teen who can't accept that humanity has turned its back on space exploration, and who hooks up with curmudgeon-with-a-secret-past George Clooney when she discovers a key to another world. Tomorrowland has some stunning visuals  -  obviously inspired by the brightly optimistic covers of Golden Age pulp Science Fiction magazines, along with head-spinning action scenes, and a refreshingly upbeat attitude after all the recent silver screen dystopias. Clooney is his usual charismatic self, switching effortlessly between grumpy and charming at the drop of a space helmet, while Robertson is sparky and vivacious, easily a match for her big league co-star. And our own Hugh Laurie turns up as a smooth-talking villain too! It's a real shame that this film wasn't a success as I think it's one of the best original Science Fiction films of recent years. I'll definitely be buying the Blu-Ray when it comes out to again step into this shiny, big-hearted other world...

Amy

In complete contrast to all the above megabudget fare I also saw this heartbreaking documentary about the sadly-missed Amy Winehouse. Told exclusively through TV clips and found footage, with voiceovers from friends and colleagues, the film traces Amy's rise and tragic fall  -  from the talented teen, messing about with her mates, through the years of slogging around jazz clubs, to the megastardom and the problems that brought. Although her father ( who comes out of this in a very bad light ) has publicly attacked this documentary for misrepresenting Amy's life, it does present a clear picture of a prodigiously talented singer who is constantly led astray by hangers-on and ripped apart by depression and substance abuse. Not an easy watch by any means  -  the fantastic music, rare footage and lovely scenes of the young, aspiring Amy make it worthwhile, but I came out of the cinema feeling shell-shocked...

Soundtrack: Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd

                    "Remember when you were young? / You shone like the sun..."

Terry Pratchett

Very sad to hear that the great Terry Pratchett has died today. We've lost a fantastic storyteller and a very witty, wise and brave man. Flags at half-mast on the Discworld tonight...

Great Scots!

So, Scotland voted "No" today and will remain a part of the United Kingdom. I don't really want to get too deep into the politics of the argument but I can certainly see the attraction of independence. I only live about 100 miles away from the seat of the British Parliament but I don't feel the government understand the problems and issues of this relatively close area of the country, let alone those of people three times that distance away. But it seems to me that, in these troubled times, you need all the support you can get and breaking away may have caused more problems for the Scots than it solved. However, the point's rather academic now, but I'm sure it will be debated for years to come. Anyway, in the usual superficial style of this 'ere blog let's just celebrate some of the seriously cool people that great country has produced...

Update: I almost forgot this mighty Scot: