Reading & Seeing 16

Under the Skin
Chilling, sinister and amazing. Set in Scotland, Scarlett Johansson plays a seemingly attractive and friendly young women who picks up single and unattached young men on the pretence of giving them a lift somewhere. Once they're seated in her van, she asks if they'd like to come home with her. Unluckily for the poor bastards who say yes, they're not about to get their rocks off. They're about to meet their end because Johansson is some sort of alien. She's actually seducing them and taking them back to her creepy lair to harvest their bodies in one of the most terrifying sequences I've ever seen. But it's not just the action on screen that's frightening, it's the music. With very little dialogue, the music (and the stunning Scottish scenery) is a powerful presence throughout the film. It's unnervingly atmospheric - whether it was the eerie, minimal rhythmic beats or the frantic violin (or strings) music, I had goosebumps. Johansson is spot-on, as are the v.brief appearances of the supporting cast. Director Jonathan Glazer has been likened to Kubrick and I can definitely see the similarities. I'm not sure if this is still on at the cinema but I do highly recommend watching it on the big screen if you can. We had to watch something funny before going to sleep (I have a v.active imagination) and I suggest you do the same.

In the Heart of the Sea (2000)
The true story of the Nantucket whale ship Essex which foundered in 1820 thanks to an encounter with a sperm whale. Its crew faced a harrowing 90 days in open whale boats searching for land in the Pacific Ocean, with next to nothing to eat or drink, apart from each other... Around forty years ago, a new first-hand account of the Essex crew was unearthed which is why Nathaniel Philbrick wrote In the Heart of the Sea. Before the diary of cabin boy, Thomas Nickerson, was discovered the story of the Essex was almost solely known thanks to the account of Owen Chase, the vessel's first mate, whose own journal was published soon after the sinking and rescue. Philbrick uses both these accounts, which sometimes conflict, in order to piece together what happened. As well as the narrative, Philbrick also provides some useful and interesting contextual information - whaling terms, maps, what life was life was like in Nantucket at that time etc. I also liked the fact that he tells us about what happened to each of the survivors. Yes, the tradgedy of the Essex is apparently what inspired Melville to write Moby Dick, but for me I thought this true story was even more fantastical and shocking. It's no secret that I couldn't get to grips with Moby Dick at uni but I thought this book was excellent and gave a real sense of what it was like to be a whaler in the mid 19th century. I read this in 6 days (into the early hours of the morning on a couple of occasions); I could not put it down. An incredible (and gruesome) story of survival, definitely worth reading before hollywood have its way with it anyway.

The Last Runaway (2013)
Another book set in America in the mid 1800s (I appear to have gone off on a historical story jaunt), however, this novel is centred around Quakers, quilts (yay!) and the underground railroad, a movement which helped slaves on the run to reach the boarders of Canada. At the centre of it all is Honor Bright, a young English quaker who finds herself v.much alone and somewhat stuck in a tiny, developing village in Ohio. Understandably she feels completely alien in her new home, and the majority of people aren't particularly sympathetic. Quite a fuss was made about this book, possibly because of Tracy Chevalier, but I have to say I found it rather simple and straightforward. (My auntie pointed out that the simple writing style is supposed to mirror the simplistic Quaker way of life. Or something.) I confess I did enjoy the quilting references but at times it felt like Chevalier, who'd obviously done a lot of research into the craft, was determined to squeeze in bits of her new-found knowledge when the story didn't need it. I like the mixture of third-person narrative and letters but unfortunately Honor is a little irritating, Jack Haymaker is terribly one dimensional (in fact a lot of the quakers are either beige or unpleasant) and the meatier characters (Belle and Donavan) aren't really given enough page space. The truly interesting subject - the underground railroad - sort of trundles along in the middle distance which is a shame because I think that's the book I'd rather have read.

The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable
Chances are you've heard something of the hype surrounding this production of promenade theatre. Well, let me tell you, there's a damn good reason for it. I went last Thursday and I can honestly say it was probably one of the best things I've seen. Rather than sitting down to watch a story, imagine walking around inside it - following the action from scene to scene over four floors of the most incredible sets, silently watching the drama play-out before you. Well, that's what it's like and it was amazing. I'm not going to say any more because it's way more fun to discover stuff for yourself. They've extended it until the end of June and I thoroughly intend to go again. Intrigued? Read more about it here.

mormon & mexican

Yesterday, we finally got to cash in on Mitch's christmas present: tickets to The Book of Mormon. I deserted work at 1pm, which felt unbelievably good, and headed to Piccadilly. There has been SO much hype surrounding this show that I was a little worried it wouldn't live up to it. And, to tell you the truth, if you'd asked me at the interval what I thought, I'd have said "yeah it's funny, the musical numbers are good but I'm kind of glad I didn't spend stupid amounts of money on the tickets". However, if you'd have asked me the same question at the end... "Hilarious! I loved it, you should definitely go and see it!"

It's packed full of the standard South Park (and Team America) gags - Mormon Hell is v.similar to hell in South Park - so if you love that sorta thing you'll like The Book of Mormon too. They definitely save all the best laughs for the second half - or perhaps, on reflection, maybe I just took an hour to get used to the seriously irreverent dialogue being spoken not by cartoons (or puppets) but by actual people - somehow that makes it worse I think. But, I did get used to it and I laughed my arse off, particularly at the story-telling song near the end. I really didn't know that much about the Mormon religion before or now really, as, obviously, the show didn't really explain it but rather highlighted many of the, ahem 'inconsistencies" surrounding it in a very very funny way. Although we went to a matinée performance there were, of course, no children in the audience. If you're wondering how you'll be able to afford a ticket I would strongly recommend a matinée AND sitting the circle. It is steep but nothing will ever compare to my experience at the O2 arena so I didn't think it was that bad, plus, the view was in no way restricted.

Trafalgar Square looked so pretty in the just before sunset light.

The show finished at 5pm so we decided to wander over to the south bank and have some early dinner. I've been wanting to try Wahacca for the longest time so that's where we went. We both got the pulled pork burritos which were amazing but next time (as there will definitely be a next time - though probably not the south bank one) I want to try some of the smaller dishes and save room for dessert. 

It was a proper treat to have a half day and do something a little different in the middle of the week. There's always so much going on in London, I really should do it more often.

Reading & Seeing 11

Man of Steel
The highly anticipated re-launch of the Superman saga. They'd been teasing us for weeks with awesome looking trailers and I can happily say that the film was grand! To be honest, Superman, of all the super heroes, never really appealed to me - I never watched more than a couple of episodes of Smallville (I got bored) and I didn't watch the film that came out in 2006, I thought the TV series from the 90s (you know, the one with Terri Hatcher) was laughable and I didn't get into the comics. I think the only superman related thing I've embraced before Monday was the old Christopher Reeve movie. But that has changed. Man of Steel completely flipped my opinion of the guy, mostly thanks to the first 20 mins set on Krypton, with a fatherly Russell Crowe kicking some ass as Jor-El. The story creeps along at a tantalising pace - the audience getting glimpses into Clarke's past and present - before a seriously explosive conclusion. Henry Cavil is a dream as the troubled alien hero and the supporting cast is on form including krypton general gone bad, Michael Shannon. I think I'm right in saying that there might be a second instalment in the pipeline...the last few minutes are mighty pleasing and certainly suggest it. Fingers crossed!

War Horse at The New London Theatre
Back in December 2011 I promised Mitch that we would see this stage production - it took me a year and a half to make good on it but better late than never. We both resisted seeing the Speilberg movie version and remained in the dark about the ending which I imagine is the best way to see it. Our avoidance tactics were well rewarded - it was brilliant! I am constantly amazed at how stage productions work around the fact that there is only a stage upon which to tell epic stories - epic stories that are often made into movies with special effects, stunning locations and hundreds of extras at the director's disposal. The team behind War Horse - that's the set designers, puppeteers and cast - should be congratulated for their skills and imagination. I completely forgot I was sitting in a theatre looking at horse-sized and shaped, machanical puppet controlled by three men - it was a horse, a real horse, in my mind. It's a fantastic story and incredibly emotional (a lot of this has to do with the WWI setting which is just devastating) - I cried about 5 times, particularly at the end. I highly reccomend seeing it on the stage - nothing can really compare to a live performance, it draws you in more than something on a small screen can ever do.

The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde (2001)
Set in an alternative 1985 where a specialist law enforcement agency has been created to police the rising crimes against literature (forgeries and the like), the crimean war has been ploughing on for 130 years, people keep dodos as pets and the end of Jane Eyre concludes with the heroine going off to India with her cousin. The story follows Literary Detective, Thursday Next, as she sets out to catch one of the world's most wanted men for crimes against literature, Acheron Hades and rescue the story (and characters) of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. It is as bonkers as it sounds but absolutely brilliant! Part detective story, part sci-fi (time travel is an everyday occurrence and worm holes are dealt with in a v.matter of fact way), part fantasy (blurring the lines between fiction and 'real life') and a little bit of horror (the Hades character does some pretty horrendous stuff plus there's a few werewolf and vampire references thrown in for good measure). There are so many twists and turns that you're always kept guessing as to what will happen next. It's been a while since I read a good adventure story and I definitely need to get my hands on the next book in the series.

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins (2008)
I was skepitcal about this book when it came out and again so when they released the film - Battle Royale for kids anyone? But then I watched it. And loved it. So, I figured I should try and read them before the next film comes out and the first in the trilogy seemed like the prefect holiday read. It's not the best written book but the concept is a winner and Katniss is a v.likeable character who you can easily root for. What was interesting about the book, compared to the film, was that you get a lot more insight into her thoughts, particularly concerning her feelings towards Peeta. I'm not gonna lie, I got a bit of a laugh from people when they saw what I was reading but whatever, it's a page turner and I liked it (also, I pretty sure that this is the main reason why people use kindles). I kinda gave up with Harry Potter and there was absolutely nothing which appealed to me about the Twilight series so The Hunger Games is my little guilty pleasure and I shall definitely be reading the sequels.

Reading & Seeing 9

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Bright Lights, Big City (1984)
Jay McInerney's classic. My uncle recommended it to me back when I was hungry for anything to ease/escalate my NYC excitement in the lead-up to the holiday. The fact that I didn't read it until recently (having returned to London) didn't make me like it any less. It's an awesome snapshot of mid 80s New York City. The reader, much like the protagonist, is thrown in at the deep end and is left to fight to stay afloat in the city's fast-paced and relentless cycle. The novel is known for it's, rarely seen, second person narrative - which I really enjoyed. It felt like I was living inside the main character's head - getting wasted, going to clubs, doing stupid (but v.funny) things and, more seriously, coming to terms with loss. This novel, despite being set 30 years ago, still somehow feels relevant - it's easy to let a city consume you, to loose sight of reality. I've heard a few comparisons, and in some ways see similarities, between this and The Catcher in The Rye - young men, new york city, figuring stuff out yadda yadda yadda. However, I have no time for Holden Caulfield but this book? I loved it and would highly recommend.

*I've just seen that's it's been made into a film starring Michael J Fox AND Keifer Sutherland! Haha*

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Kiss Me Kate - The Old Vic
A few weeks ago my parents treated my sister and I to a night out at the theatre. To be honest I wasn't too keen on going to see a musical but 10 mins into Kiss Me Kate I was laughing so hard. The story focuses on a stage production of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. As the audience, you get to see some of the actual show as it would be performed but also all the trials and tribulations behind the scenes, expect wires getting crossed and arguing lovers! The songs are funny and perfectly performed by the cast. There were some excellent dance numbers too including tap (I do love tap). Sadly this show is no longer on at The Old Vic but it's worth keeping an eye out for it uncase it ever returns to the west end.

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Oz: The Great and Powerful (2013)
Having caught up with some of this year's Oscar nommed films (Argo - excellent; The Master - interesting but I didn't really get it) Mitch and I opted for something a little lighter. I'd read some mixed reviews before-hand (mostly not so favourable) but actually I quite liked it. As I'm sure you're all aware this OZ instalment tells the story of how the Wizard came to be 'The Wizard of Oz'. There are nods to the original Judy Garland film throughout particularly the opening 10 mins - black & white no less :D - and the mirroring of Kansas characters in the land of OZ. It's been criticised for the amount of CGI used (OZ is basically a CGI haven) BUT it is done v.well - especially the little china doll. It was pretty long (I think I'm getting old, I'm saying this a lot more often about films these days) and it was weird that the land and the wizard were both called Oz (or perhaps this is how it is in the original, clearly I need to rewatch it). The witches are great (especially Mila Kunis) and it all ties together in a fairly neat bow (apart from a bizarre romance which clearly doesn't last), ready for the original story to pick up from. Good fun but you won't be missing anything if you wait for the dvd. It's very different from the other Land of Oz adventure made in the 80s, which, while we're at it, is also worth a viewing, parts of it are rather terrifying. In a fun way.

time out part two

For the past two weeks I've been enjoying a stay-at-home holiday, here's part two of that!

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I think I left off with the news that I was going to the theatre, and that's exactly what we did. Through Timeout (they have some seriously good offers on there) we managed to get to tickets to see One Man Two Guvnors at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Set in the 60s it follows the exploits of one man and all the amusing mishaps that arise when he starts working for two different guvnors. It took me about 5 minutes to get into it (and used to everyone's OTT cockney accents) after which I laughed A LOT, almost continuously. The play has a great script as well as perfectly timed/acted slapstick comedy and even a bit of audience participation (something I've not seen other than in panto). One of the best things about it was the music - between each change of scene a band (and some members of the cast) came out and sang a song. The actors were brilliant especially the main guy - can't recommend this play enough, it's a proper good laugh.

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Mitch and I also went to see a couple of films at our beloved Ritzy, first off, Ruby Sparks. Lonely young author Paul Dano is suffering from writer's block when his shrink suggests he writes about his perfect girl. He does, and as a result quite literally brings her to life! Things are pretty peachy for a while, and to be honest I did wonder where the film was going to go at this point, but then something goes wrong (or rather doesn't go to Dano's plan) and it all gets a little bit dark when Dano realises he can make Ruby do anything he wants just by writing it. I won't say anymore about the plot but what I will say is that the concept is clever and the characters are great. Go see, go see!

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We also watched Skyfall. My first experience of Bond in the cinema and only the third Bond film I've seen all the way through (the others being License to Kill - 80s Bond, Timothy Dalton in Jamaica with sharks and stuff -  and Golden Eye where Sean Bean is the bad guy, yeah). I'm not a Bond enthusiast nor a Bond hater, I'm fairly indifferent about him. I've seen clips from some of the other movies and he just comes across as a bit hammy/cheesy. However, the amount of hype surrounding this film was too big to ignore. So what did I think? It was entertaining, Daniel Craig looked good, Ben Wishaw made an appearance (never a bad thing), I spotted a couple of references to other films (star wars 6 and home alone - if you've seen it do you which bits I mean?), part of it looked like it was filmed on that abandoned island off the coast of Japan (which sparked a lot of interesting conversation after) and Javier Bardem made a good baddie. Saying all that, my favourite bit was the opening scene and the opening credits. I guess die-hard Bond fans will love all of it.

As well as mooching about in Brixton and enjoying leisurely brunches, we met up with friends, went jogging in the park and took a trip to Ikea to buy some frames - after a year of living in the flat I think we're finally ready to put up some pictures. I also took a trip to The Cloth Shop on Berwick Street to get some materials for new projects. And speaking of projects - I made this little elephant AND I've v.nearly finished my first-ever scarf! It just needs 12 more rows, a tidying of the loose ends and some tassels!

Fancy Tea & The Circle of Life

Earlier this month I not only enjoyed delicious tea and four courses of tea-time treats but also a darn good view of a major west end musical. Lucky old me!

To celebrate my mum's birthday my dad organised (let's be honest) a bloody good day out (well done dad). At 3pm we took afternoon tea at the Savoy Hotel. It's a beautiful place with an exquisite tearoom - glass domed ceiling, incredibly comfortable seats, tea - pages of tea to choose from which is then served and topped up by super attentive waiters/waitresses, plates of posh finger sandwiches, mini scones, pastries and cake (which arrive on a gorgeous little 3 tiered cake stand) all accompanied by an extensive repertoire on the grand piano (classical, jazz even disney stuff - Ariel's Part of that World played as we took our seats!). It's an incredibly indulgent experience (do not eat lunch before) that I would highly recommend, especially for tea lovers. If you're not a fan of tea they have other drinks too including champagne (they call it a Tipsy Afternoon Tea).

Two & a half hours later (and swollen with tea) we went to watch The Lion King on stage. My mum had been wanting to watch it for years, and for years she tried to get us all to decide upon a date to go and see it together - mission accomplished, finally. The show is amazing - the costumes, the singing (it really is a top dollar song list in The Lion King), the dancing, the set. I've noticed that I am always in awe of the sets created on these west end stages and how they combat a otherwise problematic incidents in the plot, for example, a wildebeest stampede (you know, when Mufasa dies)! To whoever comes up with solutions to these: you have seriously impressive imaginations.

Interval Ice cream & the Long Commute

As well as a couple of trips to the pictures - The Rum Diary (v.funny, catch on dvd), 50/50 (laugh out loud jokes from Seth Rogan but bring your tissues, I cried alot), My Week with Marilyn (amusing in places but also quite sad, it's an interesting glimpse into Monroe's fragility, Michelle Williams is excellent) - I recently went to the theatre to see The Lady Killers. Verdict: you should most definitely see it too, whether you've seen the original 1955 film (or the bizarre 'remake' by the Cohen Brothers) or not, it's a brilliant version to be enjoyed in it's own right. Graham Linehan (Father Ted, IT Crowd) is the man behind the adapted script and additional hilarious situations created for the stage production. The witty dialogue is expertly delivered by an excellent cast, most notably (I reckon) Ben Miller and Stephen Wright as Louis and Harry respectively. Lastly, the revolving set is superb, from Mrs Wilberforce's subsiding house to the inspired depiction of the heist half way through the first half (I won't say more than that). And, although it's available at most theatres, the ice cream at the interval is always appreciated and makes a nice change from popcorn.

Stage show line up compared the original film cast below.

What is (if there is one) the plus side of an hour or so commute? Answer: I get to read a lot. (It is the only  good thing about the journey). I've rattled through a mixed bag of books including the 3rd part of Stephen King's The Dark Tower Series (now I've started it must be finished), Iain Banks' The Wasp Factory (a v.disturbing, isolating story with a good twist), Norwegian Wood by Murakami (it's interesting and despite the fact that I disliked all the characters, it's pretty morbid and the ending - if that's what you call it - was v.odd, it's made me want to read another of his), a collection of short stories by Neil Gaiman (most were surprisingly grim but the story that has stuck in my head was in the introduction, a creepy short about a wedding gift which I ordinarily would have missed as I rarely read book intros) and most recently Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. I've read a few of her books and what I've found is that opening one you haven't read before is like speaking to a good friend you've been out of touch with. It's familiar in a sense but also exciting because there's lots of new things to catch-up on, and most importantly you know that whatever they're going to say will be interesting. 

Oryx and Crake is a brilliantly, compelling book. The reader is plunged into a dystopian future where mankind has been wiped from the planet by a virus created by a possibly mad, possibly genius man (probably both) named Crake. The only human standing left standing and forced to survive on the post-apocalyptic Earth is Snowman, formally known as Jimmy. So, yes, it's science fiction and hence ticks several of my boxes. It's set in an 'end of the world as we know it' time but there are plenty of flashbacks (courtesy of Jimmy as he pieces the story together) to the world before human extinction but even that time is quite unlike our own, or rather an exaggeration of it, where we might end up if we're not careful. Atwood is a bloody awesome writer not just because of her imagination but her ability to put it all on the page in such a way that her stories linger with me a long time after I've read the last line. Talking of last lines I'm sure you can imagine my disappointment when I finished Oryx and Crake (as with all good novels), I mean this was the book that got me through a lovely district line journey where the train randomly stopped and the driver announced that he lost traction and wasn't sure why, how or when we would be moving again. My response had been to thumb the unread pages of the novel and calculate that we'd have to be stuck for at least an hour before I ran out of book to read (after which I probably would start to panic). Alas, I actually finished it the next day a third of the way through my commute but the good news is I've more Atwood in the pipeline...