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Jaws (dir. Stephen Spielberg) 1975
This was on at the BFI as part of a Spielberg retrospective. The 450 seat auditorium was full on a Friday night for a 41 year old movie. That fact alone testifies to the strength of this film.
It was my first time seeing it and I was surprised at how well it has stood the test of time. It is a thriller that delivers thrills. It is the first time that I have heard gasps from the audience in a movie theatre in a very long time, the face in the boat is a genuine, jump back in your seat, moment. The character development is good and the script is excellent, it has some very funny moments to lighten the mood. The music is possibly the most famous film score ever and it matches the action perfectly. The only part of the movie that shows its age is the shark itself, but even this is interesting to see from a history of cinema perspective.
Jaws won 3 Academy Awards; editing, score and sound. The only surprise is that it didn’t win more. It regularly appears in lists of all-time best films. Having just seen it, 41 years late, its inclusion in those lists is fully justified.
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The Deep Blue Sea, National Theatre, London 2016
This is a play that will stay with you after you leave the theatre. Terrence Rattigan is the ultimate playwright if you wish to see quiet desperation. It starts out by seeing the bitter humour in a suicide attempt that fails because the money in the meter ran out and it gets darker from there.
Hester Collyer is surely one of the best parts written in the 20th Century and the anguish that Helen McCrory has seeping through her “stiff upper lip” is palpable.
We see the easier options that she has available to her, yet we also understand why she chooses not to take them. There is lovely interaction between her and Peter Sullivan, who plays her estranged husband. It could be so tempting to go back to him, but it would not be honest. On the other hand, her love for Freddie will ruin both of them in long term.
In the end, she is strong and does not take any of the easy ways out, but I have to say, this is one of the saddest happy endings you will ever see.
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Hobson’s Choice, Vaudeville Theatre, 2016
This is the centenary tour of Hobson’s Choice, but I have to say that it doesn’t show its age. Martin Shaw is very good in the title role, it requires a blustering, exaggerated performance and you can see he is enjoying himself here.
Really though, the play is all about Maggie. Naomi Frederick is excellent, she plays it totally straight and carries it off perfectly. Bryan Dick puts in a great performance as Willie, his transformation is both funny and credible.
The sets are relatively simple but beautifully made, and the direction is uncomplicated. They allow the real stars of the show to shine through and they are the words. It is a fantastically written comedy drama, with great individual lines and genuinely funny characters. It is easy to see why it is still regularly produced even one hundred years after it was written. This is a production by people who really love Harold Brighouse’s play and that care shines through on the stage.
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Indignation (dir. James Schamus) 2016
Indignation was first shown in London as part of the Sundance London film festival. Based on a Philip Roth novel, it is set in Columbus, Ohio. It is the story of a New York boy’s first semester at college. The whole film is a flashback to 1951, showing how decisions made at that time, led to the position that he is in now.
This film is James Schamus’ first as director and he does an amazing job of immersing us in the milieu and mindset of the day. The sets and costumes are beautiful, with a lovely eye for detail.
Logan Lerman is excellent as Marcus Messner, an idealistic young man, setting out on life. His exchanges with the dean of the college and his relationship with his first girlfriend, adroitly show both the attitudes of the time and how they are about to change. Tracy Letts and Sarah Gadon are very good as the dean and the girlfriend.
Indignation is a precise, deep film and a brave choice as a directorial debut.
James Schamus’ self-confidence has paid off well.
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The Comedy Loft, Camden, London
The Comedy Loft in Camden has got lots of things going for it.
It serves food; burgers, nachos, chicken wings, falafels – we ate and it was good quality.
The drinks are reasonably priced for central London – and you can pre-order them and have them delivered to your table during the intervals. Very sophisticated!
The show starts at 8pm, which is enough time to get a couple of drinks and chat before the start.
The 8 o’clock start means that the crowd is still restrained enough for the performers to deliver their acts without having to shout over drunks and sober enough that if there is a heckler there is a chance that they might be funny.
The reception and service were the best I’ve ever had in a comedy club.
The comedians were funny – that’s always good in a comedy show.
Finally, if after all this, you still haven’t had good night; it’s in Camden, so you are very likely to get offered drugs on your way back to the tube!
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McQueen, Shoreditch, London
4 of us came here for dinner. We met in the bar first. The room is good, it feels light, bright and spacious. The music is a bit irritating, surely “café del mar” chill-out is past its sell-by date now, but at least it is not loud enough to disturb the conversation. The sofas are nice and the chairs comfortable.
The restaurant is designed in much the same manner as the bar – with big brown distressed leather chesterfields and smaller chairs opposite. We ate from the set menu, the starters were good – the smoked salmon was with a grapefruit salad, which suited it well. The mains were steak; lovely with nice jus and great chips, lamb: nicely cooked with mashed potato and green veg, cod which was also reportedly very good and a risotto that we didn’t try. Between us we tried the house red, white and rose – all were very nice.
They mention on their page on Time Out London that they do a bottomless brunch, and although I haven’t been able to find any details, it would suit the place very well. I can easily imagine reading the weekend papers in here with a giant cup of coffee or Bloody Mary, nursing a hangover…….
The service was very good. I liked all the old Steve McQueen posters around the place.I’d recommend it as somewhere to meet friends especially in the daylight when all the windows make the place so bright and airy.
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Margin Call (dir. J.C. Chandler) 2011
Margin Call was filmed in 2010 and released at the Sundance film festival early 2011. It is very well made, has a great script and the cast is packed with famous actors, all of whom do a good job. Paul Bettany’s and Jeremy Irons’ performances, in particular, are excellent. Kevin Spacey is always good.
The farther away we get from its release date, the less impact this film has. It is a film about a very specific incident; the financial crisis of 2008/9 and the part that sub-prime mortgages had in this. This film sets out to be an insight into the companies involved and into the people running and working in those companies.
It feels like an independent festival movie because its prime motivation is to inform rather than entertain. It achieves this well, and it suited the market when it was released, shortly after the crash.
Now though, most people who would choose to watch this, already have the information that it imparts, and the story itself is good but not brilliant.
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Money Monster (dir. Jodie Foster) 2016
Money Monster is a gripping thriller that will keep you entertained for an hour and a half. It is a Hollywood hostage movie set in a New York television studio. It has a big name cast; George Clooney and Julia Roberts are both on top form, as an irritating TV show host and his producer. Jack O’Connell is also excellent as the hostage taker. It is directed by Jodie Foster, who does a good job subverting expectations in a genre that the audience will know well.
The script and character development are fantastic, because although all the main protagonists have flawed personalities, over the course of the film, we are given an insight to their humanity and motivation. This means that we have sympathy with all of them to some degree.
Money Monster is funny, surprising and knowing. It is also nicely subversive from Jodi Foster because all the men in the film are the brash, sensationalist types getting all the attention and the women are the ones who quietly get things done.
Don’t go to this movie expecting insights into the world of financial markets, or the effects of the 24 hour news cycle on society. Go expecting pure light entertainment, for that is what it delivers
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The Mothman Prophecies (dir.Mark Pellington) 2002
This film is supposedly based on true events that happened in Point Pleasant in 1966 and 1967. Although it is said that truth can be stranger than fiction, I have seen Disney talking animal movies that required less suspension of disbelief. I guess that this film was aimed at the part of the market that thought the X Files was a documentary.
As a horror film, it misses the mark because, although the storyline is quite dark, there aren’t really any scary moments in the film.
The acting is pretty good, Richard Gere, David Eigenberg and Will Patton all cope well in contending with a meandering storyline and their character’s unusual decision making. Will Patton goes from holding Richard Gere at gunpoint in the bath to trusting him, overnight, without much convincing.
I’m not going to say avoid this film at all costs, it was well paced and it held my attention throughout but, for me, there are better things to watch on Netflix.
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Natural History Museum, London
The Natural History Museum is holding a series of special events on Friday evenings throughout the summer. Each one is different but I suspect that all of them will be awesome! I went to the butterfly ball, which had a number of talks and exhibitions about moths and butterflies. The people involved clearly love what they do, they were interesting and entertaining, we got up close and personal with moths, butterflies, spiders, snakes…
It is a fantastic experience to be in the museum at night, great to be able to wander around the normal exhibits with a drink from the bar. It is a very relaxed way to view the museum … and there are no school parties to contend with.
The talks are wonderful, the general exhibition is amazing, but even if the whole place was empty the building itself is staggeringly beautiful. Think Hogwarts on steroids! It’s incredible that even with the brilliant things on show here, that the ceilings, arches and floors can contend for your attention.
As you can probably guess, I have been struggling for superlatives to describe my night.
Go for the event, go for the general exhibition or just go for the architecture!
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The London Lark 