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Post by Marwood on Dec 2, 2023 13:25:28 GMT
An Evening With Tom Hanks at the Prince Edward tomorrow night, and A Christmas Carol at the Old Vic on Wednesday.
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Post by Marwood on Nov 29, 2023 14:58:37 GMT
A heads up to those of you wanting to see All of Us Strangers: there will be a preview screening followed by a Q&A with the director Paul Haigh at BFI Southbank on 17th January.
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Post by Marwood on Nov 26, 2023 1:03:01 GMT
I saw Napoleon today and wasn’t impressed: time seemed to really drag watching it and the battle scenes seemed to be lacking any excitement or sense of scale: we’re told that there are three hundred thousand troops at Waterloo but what we are shown looked more like some kind of Sunday afternoon amateur re-enactment. Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby were ok (I thought she did better than him) but nothing more but it looked like they didn’t have any money to fill out the rest of the cast list, it was entirely stocked with C listers (and apart from Tahar Rahim, a distinct lack of French actors, and no one bothers attempting a French accent: a couple of Ello Ello ‘I was pissing by your window’ moments would have livened it up no end.) Two stars from me.
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Post by Marwood on Nov 23, 2023 20:57:00 GMT
Reviews so far have been less than stellar, there’s been predictions that the box office take will be a lot less than expected for a movie with a budget this size: I think I will give it a few weeks and wait to see what the general opinion is from the public before deciding whether I see it (I’m not keen on Timothee Chalomet which isn’t helping to fuel any excitement)
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Post by Marwood on Nov 21, 2023 17:41:09 GMT
The Cult at Brixton Electric tonight, Charlotte Adigery & Bolis Popil at Heaven on Friday.
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Post by Marwood on Nov 14, 2023 16:35:24 GMT
Starring Steve Carrell, Alison Pill, Alfred Molina and others, starting April 24th. I haven’t enjoyed either of the versions of this I’ve seen in London and I wouldn’t go all the way there just to see this but part me is looking at that cast and thinking ‘wow’ 🤣
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Post by Marwood on Nov 11, 2023 22:20:35 GMT
Saw The Marvels tonight: best thing I can say about it was that it lasts less than two hours (unlike every other Marvel film I can remember seeing) but good Lord it was dreadful, I don’t know what it is supposed to bring to the big jigsaw of Marvel films (as far as I could see it offers nothing that connects it to the last half a dozen or so of their films), but I don’t know what was worse: the ‘musical’ section (Sondheim can rest easy going by what was served up), the abundance of kittens or the dreadful Ms. Marvel momma who soon outlived her not so hilarious welcome, and that’s just for starters. I have no idea what film they have lined up next (sure there will be about ten of them) but that’s me done with this.
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Post by Marwood on Nov 7, 2023 21:06:55 GMT
Have a backup. The numbers for this show don’t make it very likely it’ll still be here at Christmas. They’ve announced its closing on November 26th so I dodged a bullet there (yes I would have got a refund/credit but it would have been a lot of bother I could have done without)
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Post by Marwood on Nov 5, 2023 1:07:05 GMT
Saw The Age Of Innocence at BFI Southbank this afternoon: probably the third or fourth time I’ve tried watching it but only the first time I’ve lasted until the end (and I was nodding off at least twice while it was playing): sorry but I just found the whole thing dull as dishwater (not helped by an ending that seemed to have been cobbled on with some diabolical aging makeup used on Day-Lewis): I won’t make out I’m a philistine who only likes Scorcese films if they have a mob plot,industrial strength swearing and some of the old ultra violence as I liked The Last Temptation of Christ but I think this is the film of his I’ve enjoyed the least: I’ll be generous and give it 5 out of 10
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Post by Marwood on Oct 29, 2023 21:31:22 GMT
I saw it tonight and thought it was…ok and nothing more (about 70 minutes for those of you working out how much they are charging per minute): Robert Bathurst was ok but is looking very haggard in this from what I remember of seeing him in Toast Of London and Cold Feet, and not in an award winning alcoholic at deaths door way either. I had paid for a barstool seat and was emailed to say get there 20 minutes before the show started: I got there 15 minutes before and wasn’t impressed at having to make do with a stool right at the end of the bar, yes there were moments when he was stood right in front of me but there were a lot more moments where I couldn’t see anything (the egg trick in particular) but the shape of the bar and it’s location in Soho means it’s not one to see shows in (the amount of times some bellend in a rickshaw rode by pumping out loud sh*te ruining any tension put the kibosh on a lot of punchlines and dramatic moments) Not sure we will ever get to see the full length version again in a theatre, it’s very much a report from the ‘good old days’ but I’m glad I got to see it here.
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Post by Marwood on Oct 29, 2023 17:51:56 GMT
James at Shepherds Bush Empire tomorrow, Daniel Kitsons Maybe A Ghost Story at Wilton’s Music Hall on Tuesday/Halloween and Frank Skinner at the Lyric on Thursday. That will probably do for the week.
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Post by Marwood on Oct 28, 2023 21:16:12 GMT
One film yesterday and two today, all at the BFI
Yesterday:
Run Lola Run must be best part of 25 years since I last saw it and to be honest, time hasn’t been kind to it, the use of music makes it seem like Tom Tykwer had watched Trainspotting far too many times and I didn’t think Franka Potente was that great a leading lady (what happened to her career?) Would probably be another 25 years before I give it another go. 6/10
Today:
The Thief of Bagdad: a precursor to the BFIs Powell & Pressburger season, I think I was probably in junior school the last time I saw it and while it might seem a bit clunky to people raised on similarly themed films from the 60s onwards, I thought it had a nice charm, with great performances from Sabu, Conrad Veidt and Rex Ingram in particular (at crying shame that the first two died so young) made it an enjoyable way to spend 100 minutes. 8/10
Donnie Darko: also 20 years or so since I saw this in a cinema and while it’s not as profound as it would like to think it is, a star making turn from Jake Gylenhaal with a solid supporting cast (I didn’t realise Seth Rogen is in it), along with a top notch soundtrack (although I’m not too keen on that cover of Mad World at the end makes it superior to the potboilers Hollywood studios released round the same time like The Butterfly Effect. 7/10
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Post by Marwood on Oct 23, 2023 9:24:06 GMT
Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell at the Coach and Horses on Sunday.
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New York
Oct 22, 2023 22:13:41 GMT
via mobile
Post by Marwood on Oct 22, 2023 22:13:41 GMT
I’m spending Christmas in New York but spending it in the Lower East Side for a change so a fair distance from the big venues in the vicinity of Broadway:I’m seeing So Here We Are the day after I arrive and Aubrey Plaza in Danny and the Deep Blue Sea at the Lucille Lortel Theatre the night before I come back but I will keep an eye out for an extra show that won’t break the bank (I am not spending a small fortune staying for NYE too) so might just make do with a visit to somewhere like the Comedy Cellar. I’ve added Appropriate at the Hayes Theater starring Elle Fanning, Sarah Paulson and Corey Stoll to my visit on Boxing Day: that is going to be it theatre wise.
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Post by Marwood on Oct 20, 2023 21:57:24 GMT
When I checked out and got a cab from The Mirage and asked about the planned work, I was told they’re not expecting any ‘major work’ to be carried out before 2027 so I think Love might run for a long time yet.
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Post by Marwood on Oct 20, 2023 18:47:58 GMT
The volcano (which is currently switched off for the upcoming Grand Prix) isn’t that big: you couldn’t build a ‘huge’ anything on the area it takes up, and why would you build one hotel directly in front of another?
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Post by Marwood on Oct 20, 2023 4:29:18 GMT
I haven’t seen any previous Cirque du Soleil shows so can’t compare them but I saw Love tonight and was impressed (I’ve been staying at The Mirage and as it will be demolished next year I don’t know what future this show has): I’m not the biggest fan of the Beatles (my dad used to love them but I’ve always preferred the Stones but I don’t think the same sort of show could be made from their singles) and there’s not really much of a logical flow to proceedings apart from ending with All You Need Is Love but I don’t think you need to be a master detective to work out it’s going to end with that by seeing the title : I don’t know if I’d want to see it again but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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Post by Marwood on Oct 19, 2023 6:55:17 GMT
As I am currently in Las Vegas, I had no intention of sitting up until 2 in the morning to see how much tickets are and what the availability was but I still managed to get a seat in row E of the stalls for £75 on the first Saturday evening - not an amazing seat according to Theatremonkey but I didn’t want to pay a fortune: hopefully not too long to find out who is in it.
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Post by Marwood on Oct 18, 2023 13:50:30 GMT
U2 at Sphere in Las Vegas tonight.
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Post by Marwood on Oct 17, 2023 19:21:36 GMT
Saw Postcard From Earth at Sphere in Las Vegas yesterday:the images are outstanding - the first five minutes or so are IMAX sized but then the camera zooms in on Earth and keeps going until it fills the whole screen (the biggest on the planet) but there is no storyline, basically it’s 50 minutes of babble about what lives on this planet and what we’ve done the world. David Attenborough has been doing the same thing much better for the last 60 years or so and on a far smaller budget. The two ‘actors’ don’t get any lines and gormlessly grin like they’re auditioning for a chewing gum advert: if Sphere bankrolls any future films to be out on here they need to find someone who will at least try to use a storyline that utilises the visual specs of the venue (I liked Pi, Requiem For A Dream and Black Swan but I’m not sure Darren Aronofsky was a great choice for director)
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Post by Marwood on Oct 15, 2023 23:25:05 GMT
I flew to Las Vegas on Friday, and watched two films on the flight: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off which I’m sure I don’t have to go into any details about, but the other one was Paint starring Owen Wilson: I’d never heard of it before and it was only seeing the picture they used to advertise it that piqued my interest (Wilson with a giant perm smoking a pipe 🤣) it’s had terrible reviews and I doubt it will get a cinema release here as it’s just so…odd: Wilson plays a painter on a local tv station who seems more than a little bit to have been inspired by Bob Ross and faces a mid life crisis when he gets competition from another painter of crap pictures (to put it kindly). Lots of it doesn’t really work but it seemed so uninterested in being box office friendly and it is likeable enough so I’ll give it 7 out of 10
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Post by Marwood on Oct 14, 2023 23:44:10 GMT
I’d want to see who is going to be in it before committing to this: I’m sure the tickets won’t be cheap.
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Post by Marwood on Oct 14, 2023 23:42:25 GMT
Penn and Teller in Las Vegas tonight.
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Post by Marwood on Oct 14, 2023 23:41:25 GMT
Katy Perry at Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas tonight. Enjoy, I'm so jealous! Would love to see that show! My experience will continue to be via YouTube! -- Tues 10th - Sunset Boulevard Thurs 12th - Phil Wang Sat 14th - Dawn French I've never had 3 in one week in a long time! It was so, so good: the Vegas run finally ends in a few weeks time and she did mention touring it but I don’t think there is anywhere in the UK suitable to put it on: the O2 and Wembley Arena are too big and cavernous but all of the theatres (in London anyway) are too small to put on this sort of show, but there was more imagination put into this than any other concert I’ve seen in recent years: just about any show would be livened up no end by the appearance of a frog in a bikini 😄
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Post by Marwood on Oct 13, 2023 8:50:07 GMT
Katy Perry at Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas tonight.
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Post by Marwood on Oct 12, 2023 18:56:34 GMT
Reading that article, it sounds like they are auditioning rather than having any big names already signed up: I love the film, it’s one of my favourites, if not THE favourite (it’s where I got my forum name and avatar from) but I’ll see who is in it and if it has plans for London before looking to book (I think I’ve been to Birmingham maybe twice in the space of fifty years)
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Post by Marwood on Oct 11, 2023 21:23:29 GMT
Taking a couple of pictures to remember you were there: fine, I took a couple myself that weren’t of a quality that I think is good enough to share on social media, there was one clown who spent pretty much the whole event just taking pictures and filming bits, I wonder if he was even taking in what was being said. For those that are interested, I saw on Edgar Wrights Instagram today that you can see the Scorcese q&a through his bio, BFI have said you can see it on their YouTube as well.
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Post by Marwood on Oct 11, 2023 20:45:20 GMT
Saw this tonight sitting in front row of the upper circle: my mood wasn’t helped by the p**** sitting next to me who kept fluttering a bit of paper in his face and complaining to his partner about the heat (no one else was doing the same) before it started and going ‘arrr’ and telling them exactly what a busy day they had (repeatedly) and I saw online the warning that real cigarettes would be used and after Andrew Scott lit up in the first few seconds , I could vaguely smell cigarettes at a couple of points , but within seconds someone sitting behind me commenced with coughing throughout at least the first f***ing hour of the show, why they couldn’t just have gone out and got a drink before they got thrown down to the stalls, God only knows but good heavens this was the most self indulgent thing I’ve seen in years: a variety of (mostly Irish) accents from Andrew Scott doesn’t count as a masterclass and it just seemed to go on forever (I looked at my watch after20 minutes and could tell it would be a long night), it had more goodbyes than the end of The Return Of The King and I don’t feel there was a need for a lot things in this (the singing! the piano! the vodka drinking! 🙈): I have never been more grateful I didn’t fork out for top price tickets 🤣
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Post by Marwood on Oct 11, 2023 16:56:26 GMT
Even that screenshot screams Poundland dvd 🤣
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Post by Marwood on Oct 10, 2023 15:50:39 GMT
I had forgotten the tickets went on sale today until lunchtime, and by then there were no cheap seats left on the dates I looked at, there seemed to be some variation between the top prices on certain days, and I had to pick my own seat because otherwise it just threw random crap at me but I bit the bullet and have git a second row seat for midweek in January (I’m going more for Serkis than Harrelson, I saw Harrelson in On An Average Day with Kyle McLachlan about 20 years (which was ok but not staggering from what I can remember))
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