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It's so quiet in here - kudos to those of you who go on filling the silences :)
Been spending a lot of time in RL and feeling terribly uncommunicative, but still seeing stuff, so here are some rather terse reviews.
Get Out - excellent, and much more my thing than the worthier African-American dramas nominated for Oscars this year. But then I love horror/comedy, and this is perfectly in that vein - scary and a touch gruesome, but very funny in parts as well. Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) is getting ready to visit his white girlfriend's parents - only she hasn't told them he's black, and this worries him. The result is like a weird cross between Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? and The Stepford Wives. It's got pointed social commentary if you want to view it in that light, but it works on a pure horror/thriller basis - complete with jump scares - even if you don't. I did like the way it appears to lay all its cards out on the table quite early on, but actually keeps a few up its sleeve, so to speak. Also I'm very fond of Kaluuya, who I first saw in Psychoville (Tealeaf!) and who also starred in my favourite episode of Black Mirror, "Ten Million Merits". So in a way, this role was made for him. Of course, that makes him yet another member of the British invasion of Hollywood, but I thought his accent was flawless, and have been backed up on this by a genuine American ;)
I don't think I've read a single negative review of this movie yet - some 'mehs' but nothing stronger than that. Personally, I was on the edge of my seat throughout - there wasn't a single flat spot, and that takes some doing given my attention span. Highly recommended, if you like the genre :D
Hedda Gabler (Ibsen) - NT Live Screening - I love Ruth Wilson (Luther) and she was great, but I'm over Ivo Van Hove, sorry (although his name is delightfully alliterative). I liked View from a Bridge, but the sound design in this production was incredibly jarring, and he appears to have a ongoing compulsion to douse his actors in red liquid. Although I will give him grudging points for pacing. Hedda Gabler (Ruth Wilson) is newly-married, and bored, so sets out to stir up trouble and revisit old flames. I love what I've seen of Ibsen (A Doll's House, Ghosts), but I've never seen this play before, and I'd assume the style of translation has a noticeable impact, so I'd rather like to read a version that doesn't have Patrick Marber's fingerprints all over it. As it was, it was like a diluted, slightly dull version of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, only nowhere near as well written. Theatrically, I did enjoy Hedda madly staple-gunning flowers to the walls, and that's... virtually all I remember about this production. She was gorgeous, though. The play less so.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. II - I am Groot? I am Groot. It was fine. It was fun. I liked it as much as I was ever going to *g*
Nazeem Hussain - Public Frenemy - I've been a minor fan of his since his show on SBS, Legally Brown. It was wildly uneven, but he used to do some fairly outrageous things, such as public posturing as hardline Islamist "Uncle Sam" and the highlight of his show was the recurring segment "Muslim Shore", which I loved. Apparently he recently appeared on I'm a Celebrity... which I didn't watch but which he says has brought him much more fame than his other shows ever did. It was fun to see him do stand-up, and he is immensely charming, but I was nearer mildly amused than crying with laughter. I think I prefer him in sketch comedy. He does obviously have his own interesting comedic perspectives, though.
Been spending a lot of time in RL and feeling terribly uncommunicative, but still seeing stuff, so here are some rather terse reviews.
Get Out - excellent, and much more my thing than the worthier African-American dramas nominated for Oscars this year. But then I love horror/comedy, and this is perfectly in that vein - scary and a touch gruesome, but very funny in parts as well. Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) is getting ready to visit his white girlfriend's parents - only she hasn't told them he's black, and this worries him. The result is like a weird cross between Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? and The Stepford Wives. It's got pointed social commentary if you want to view it in that light, but it works on a pure horror/thriller basis - complete with jump scares - even if you don't. I did like the way it appears to lay all its cards out on the table quite early on, but actually keeps a few up its sleeve, so to speak. Also I'm very fond of Kaluuya, who I first saw in Psychoville (Tealeaf!) and who also starred in my favourite episode of Black Mirror, "Ten Million Merits". So in a way, this role was made for him. Of course, that makes him yet another member of the British invasion of Hollywood, but I thought his accent was flawless, and have been backed up on this by a genuine American ;)
I don't think I've read a single negative review of this movie yet - some 'mehs' but nothing stronger than that. Personally, I was on the edge of my seat throughout - there wasn't a single flat spot, and that takes some doing given my attention span. Highly recommended, if you like the genre :D
Hedda Gabler (Ibsen) - NT Live Screening - I love Ruth Wilson (Luther) and she was great, but I'm over Ivo Van Hove, sorry (although his name is delightfully alliterative). I liked View from a Bridge, but the sound design in this production was incredibly jarring, and he appears to have a ongoing compulsion to douse his actors in red liquid. Although I will give him grudging points for pacing. Hedda Gabler (Ruth Wilson) is newly-married, and bored, so sets out to stir up trouble and revisit old flames. I love what I've seen of Ibsen (A Doll's House, Ghosts), but I've never seen this play before, and I'd assume the style of translation has a noticeable impact, so I'd rather like to read a version that doesn't have Patrick Marber's fingerprints all over it. As it was, it was like a diluted, slightly dull version of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, only nowhere near as well written. Theatrically, I did enjoy Hedda madly staple-gunning flowers to the walls, and that's... virtually all I remember about this production. She was gorgeous, though. The play less so.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. II - I am Groot? I am Groot. It was fine. It was fun. I liked it as much as I was ever going to *g*
Nazeem Hussain - Public Frenemy - I've been a minor fan of his since his show on SBS, Legally Brown. It was wildly uneven, but he used to do some fairly outrageous things, such as public posturing as hardline Islamist "Uncle Sam" and the highlight of his show was the recurring segment "Muslim Shore", which I loved. Apparently he recently appeared on I'm a Celebrity... which I didn't watch but which he says has brought him much more fame than his other shows ever did. It was fun to see him do stand-up, and he is immensely charming, but I was nearer mildly amused than crying with laughter. I think I prefer him in sketch comedy. He does obviously have his own interesting comedic perspectives, though.
