Monthly culture: September 2021
Friday, October 29th, 2021 07:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tamaranth03SEP21: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Cretton, 2021) -- Greenwich PictureHouse
I didn't enjoy this as much as I'd expected, but it had some splendid special effects, plenty of humour, and -- yes, it's an MCU film -- daddy issues. (Also gendered fighting skills, gah.) I do look forward to seeing the characters in future MCU fare.
11SEP21: Paradise (Sophocles / Kae Tempest) -- National Theatre
First theatre trip since the Before Times. I found getting there, and getting inside the theatre, quite stressful (it wasn't clear that there was no admittance at all until an hour before the play).
Chorus: And how was the play, tamaranth?
It's a reworking of Sophocles' Philoctetes, with an all-female cast. I wasn't sure how well this would work, given the aggressive military masculinity of the original, but Lesley Sharp in the title role (with most of the best lines) and Anastasia Hille as Odysseus both conveyed a world-weary, rough-edged physicality. Neoptolemus (played by Gloria Obianyo) was also very good. Tempest's updated version transforms the island's inhabitants (the chorus) into refugees, living in a shanty town and thoroughly dismissive of the protagonists' cocky posturings.
Not sure it quite came together but I shall watch it again on NT@Home.
16SEP21: The Aeronauts (Harper, 2019) -- Amazon Prime
Rewatch of a film I loved when I saw it in the cinema. Still good, even on a laptop screen! (And still not recommended for those who suffer from vertigo.)
23SEP21: Count Me In (Sommer, 2021) -- Netflix
Lots of awesome rock drummers (quite a few of them female, yay!) talk about drumming. A pleasant documentary, but seeing all the old folk made me feel old too.
28SEP21: Venus and Adonis (John Blow) -- Blackheath Halls Opera
I couldn't participate this year due to post-Covid lungs and social anxiety, but I really enjoyed the performance, which presents Venus as a reality TV star, Adonis as the one that got away, and Cupid as MC. Too many instrumental interludes for my taste, but it's not a long opera and the non-singing bits were ably acted by cast and chorus. Great fun, and another 4-star review in the Guardian!
I didn't enjoy this as much as I'd expected, but it had some splendid special effects, plenty of humour, and -- yes, it's an MCU film -- daddy issues. (Also gendered fighting skills, gah.) I do look forward to seeing the characters in future MCU fare.
11SEP21: Paradise (Sophocles / Kae Tempest) -- National Theatre
First theatre trip since the Before Times. I found getting there, and getting inside the theatre, quite stressful (it wasn't clear that there was no admittance at all until an hour before the play).
Chorus: And how was the play, tamaranth?
It's a reworking of Sophocles' Philoctetes, with an all-female cast. I wasn't sure how well this would work, given the aggressive military masculinity of the original, but Lesley Sharp in the title role (with most of the best lines) and Anastasia Hille as Odysseus both conveyed a world-weary, rough-edged physicality. Neoptolemus (played by Gloria Obianyo) was also very good. Tempest's updated version transforms the island's inhabitants (the chorus) into refugees, living in a shanty town and thoroughly dismissive of the protagonists' cocky posturings.
Not sure it quite came together but I shall watch it again on NT@Home.
16SEP21: The Aeronauts (Harper, 2019) -- Amazon Prime
Rewatch of a film I loved when I saw it in the cinema. Still good, even on a laptop screen! (And still not recommended for those who suffer from vertigo.)
23SEP21: Count Me In (Sommer, 2021) -- Netflix
Lots of awesome rock drummers (quite a few of them female, yay!) talk about drumming. A pleasant documentary, but seeing all the old folk made me feel old too.
28SEP21: Venus and Adonis (John Blow) -- Blackheath Halls Opera
I couldn't participate this year due to post-Covid lungs and social anxiety, but I really enjoyed the performance, which presents Venus as a reality TV star, Adonis as the one that got away, and Cupid as MC. Too many instrumental interludes for my taste, but it's not a long opera and the non-singing bits were ably acted by cast and chorus. Great fun, and another 4-star review in the Guardian!
