You Were Never Really Here
I was lucky enough to see a preview showing of this film at The Printworks Odeon in Manchester. I didn't do any preparatory research and went into it totally blind. Well, not quite. I met my datemate for a couple of pints beforehand and he told me two things: 1) It's not a comedy and 2) It's described as Taxi Driver for a new generation.Odd that we should be watching it together then as the only time I have seen Taxi Driver was on VHS 25 years ago when we both went back to some girls' flat with high hopes and spent the night on the lounge floor. It was our early morning viewing while we waited for those same girls to arise.
It is Taxi Driver for a new generation. A troubled individual saving a young girl whilst battling his own inner demons. It differs in that Travis Bickle starting breaking in front of us whereas here Joe is already broken.
As a relatively short film the plot is secondary to the character. Joe takes on a job to rescue a politician's daughter from an underage brothel and in the doing so uncovers an even shadier affair. To be honest, you won't get that from the film and it doesn't matter. It's a film that is to be interpreted rather than followed. You can surmise things here and there and who's to say you were wrong? This blog isn't a spoiler fan so I'll leave it there on plot. What you do need to know is it is violent and very unsettling. The violence is mostly off camera and cleverly cut but don't be swayed into thinking it isn't a violent film - it is.
It's early in the year but Lynne Ramsay has produced a masterpiece that deserves to be talked about at Oscar time next year. An incredible piece of work.
The Amazing Spider Man
Two films on the bounce, unusual for someone who's generally a book reader or episode junkie. This DVD came courtesy of Skystore as a free gift for registering - no subscription, commitment or postage, a proper freebiet. Even thought the film is 6 years old it's still retailing for £7.99 on the Skystore site itself so fair play on a generous offer.And a fine Spider-Man he is too. It's not so much the times in costume that impress (as most of that is CGI and the talking bits could be anyone) but the bits in between. The awkward teenager that is regularly bullied; the science geek who finds evidence of what may have happened to the father who disappeared when he was young; the boy who makes the most of a piece of fate and gets the girl. I'm not the first to note how much Garfield resembles Anthony Perkins in Psycho - the nervous tics and twitches but the determined sense of being right when challenged. This is an interesting performance and brave to steer away from a wise cracking slick boy.
The plot follows (I believe) a similar origins plot as other films. Young boy lives with his aunt and uncle, sees uncle killed, gets bitten by a spider and gains spidey powers. The love interest changes (well, the name of the character does - played here by Emma Stone) and the villain too. Rhys Ifans plays the shadowy scientist who gives himself superpowers and becomes the Lizard, wreaking havoc on the city until - well, see if you can guess what happens?
The plot doesn't really matter. It's not challenging and there's no depth but that doesn't seem to matter. The action scenes are fine and Spidey's ways of swinging through the city are almost believable (unlike the cartoon series I grew up with, where one was never quite sure where the 'ropes' were attached) and fun. It's the opening half hour that really grabbed me. Garfield and Stone are reaally engaging and Peter Parker interested me more than Spider-Man himself.
I'm giving away my copy of this DVD, along with other stuff I've received this week. Scroll down for the comp.
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie.
Another Goodreads win and lucky to be from one of my favourite authors. You may well know the plot but there are no spoilers in the review below (taken from my Goodreads profile). Scroll down to win the copy I won, amongst other things.
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Cards on the table (to reference another Christie book) - I adore Hercule Poirot. I'm a huge Agatha Christie fan but it's particularly the egg shaped head of the Belgian detective that excites me. I was lucky enough to get a copy of the latest paperback edition from Goodreads.
A train heads back to Western Europe from the Middle East with passengers from a variety of nations on board. Somewhere in the Balkans it hits a snow drift and remains trapped. It could be several days before they are rescued...
... and in one of the sleeping compartments a body is found, stabbed many times. The door is locked from the inside.
Classic mystery set up covering two of the most popular motifs - the locked room and the confined group. Since crime mystery stories first began the locked room has perplexed many of your famous fictional sleuths. How on earth can someone be dead in a room locked from the inside? Poirot will help you out. The carriage is stuck miles from anywhere in the snow with nowhere to escape, so the killer must still be amongst them. Will he or she strike again? Poirot will sort it.
What follows is a methodical survey of the scene, of each character and a listing of the facts as they arise. It's far more linear than most other Christie books and quite claustrophobic - mind you, Poirot gets to sit in the lunch carriage to conduct his interviews. Everyone else is stuck in their compartment, even the innocent must be ready to crack. A whole train full of killers, there's an idea.
The plot doesn't sound exciting but it is so intriguing. Poirot delights as ever and Christie builds the clues up like blocks until the structure is there but you can't quite make it out until Poirot suddenly spins it around and then OF COURSE! How did you not get that?
J'adore Hercule.
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Twentieth Century Boy - the Marc Bolan musical.
Last Monday an email dropped in my inbox offering free tickets to see this musical at Buxton Opera House. Now I adore that place, and I love the music of T-Rex so 24 hours later I'm on my way.

The plot follows Bolan from childhood to tragic end, from the Mod model through the psychedelic folkie and into the Electric Warrior - the founding moment of Glam Rock. At his side throughout is his mother and alongside him his wife, June and later Gloria Jones who was driving the car on the final fateful night. The entire cast comprises of just about 10 actors who play multiple roles and the scenes merge in and out in quite a fluid way that reminded me (and this is meant in a good way) of Legz Akimbo - is there a term for that style? It's not rich in scenery or effects, the music does the work.

Have a bop to this and then enter that competition.
So here's the competition. I'm giving away the Spider-Man DVD that I received, the copy of Murder on the Orient Express I read for my review and a wee pot of Marmite. All three things can be winging their way to you by entering the easy competition below.
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My free weeks of threebies giveaway!