Monthly culture: October 2022
Thursday, December 1st, 2022 07:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tamaranthIn November I read no fiction and wrote no reviews. (Did you miss me?) I did write 50,000 words of protonovel.
Belatedly, October!
01OCT22: Candide (Bernstein) -- Blackheath Halls Opera
I am generally wary of 'modern' (post 1870) opera but this was a great production, some excellent soloists and the splendid Blackheath Halls Opera Chorus, masquerading here as fetishistic clubbers / scientologists / pirates / nymphs et cetera. I'd forgotten how many good songs are in this! If only I still had the breath to sing ...
14OCT22: Werewolf By Night (Giacchino, 2022) -- Disney+
Gael Garcia Bernal enters the MCU! This was an interesting visual experience, very much in the style of Hammer Horror but set, I think, in the Sixties or Seventies (judging by the femme fatale's style). It was perhaps a little too mannered and stylised, but fun nevertheless.
23OCT22: My Neighbor Totoro (Miyazaki, 1988) -- Netflix
Rewatched in preparation for the Barbican staging. I'd forgotten how sweet this is, and how it manages to be at once cosy and strange (depictions of post-war Japanese life), and how vexingly the music earworms me with Cliff Richard's 'Summer Holiday'.
27OCT22: The Good Liar (Condon, 2019) -- Netflix
Ian McKellen plays Roy, an ageing conman who homes in on Helen Mirren's hapless widowed Betty with romantic overtures. Betty's grandson Steven (Russell Tovey) is suspicious, but Betty seems happy to throw her lot in with Roy. All is not as it seems, though. I would have liked this a lot more without the backstory of one character's rape by another character. It was unnecessary and added nothing: if anything, it detracted from the character's motivation. Still, a masterclass in nuanced, understated acting.
28OCT22: My Neighbo(u)r Totoro (Royal Shakespeare Company) -- Barbican
That '(u)' is there deliberately, as the opening screen had the original title and then was gently updated to local spelling. I wasn't sure how well this would translate to stage, but it was an utter delight. While the adult actors playing the two girls occasionally overacted the childlike wonder, there was plenty to marvel at, especially Totoro himself. Whiskers!!!, say my notes. Soot sprites, acorns, magic blooms, a live band, a splendid inflatable Catbus and a host of stealthy but gifted puppeteers. I know it's sold out, but there do seem to be some tickets available (returns or 'on the day') -- this is a spectacular and beautifully designed production, highly recommended.
also She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (various, 2022) -- Disney+
Tatiana Maslany in the title role is excellent (though her CGI-aided transformations are less impressive than her multiple roles in Orphan Black) and this millennial workplace sitcom is a joy to watch. Cameos from Mark Ruffalo (of course) and Tim Roth, and a perfectly understandable fascination with Steve Rogers, who does not appear on screen. I am very much hoping for a second series, which seems quite likely given the appearance of another major player in the last couple of episodes.
Belatedly, October!
01OCT22: Candide (Bernstein) -- Blackheath Halls Opera
I am generally wary of 'modern' (post 1870) opera but this was a great production, some excellent soloists and the splendid Blackheath Halls Opera Chorus, masquerading here as fetishistic clubbers / scientologists / pirates / nymphs et cetera. I'd forgotten how many good songs are in this! If only I still had the breath to sing ...
14OCT22: Werewolf By Night (Giacchino, 2022) -- Disney+
Gael Garcia Bernal enters the MCU! This was an interesting visual experience, very much in the style of Hammer Horror but set, I think, in the Sixties or Seventies (judging by the femme fatale's style). It was perhaps a little too mannered and stylised, but fun nevertheless.
23OCT22: My Neighbor Totoro (Miyazaki, 1988) -- Netflix
Rewatched in preparation for the Barbican staging. I'd forgotten how sweet this is, and how it manages to be at once cosy and strange (depictions of post-war Japanese life), and how vexingly the music earworms me with Cliff Richard's 'Summer Holiday'.
27OCT22: The Good Liar (Condon, 2019) -- Netflix
Ian McKellen plays Roy, an ageing conman who homes in on Helen Mirren's hapless widowed Betty with romantic overtures. Betty's grandson Steven (Russell Tovey) is suspicious, but Betty seems happy to throw her lot in with Roy. All is not as it seems, though. I would have liked this a lot more without the backstory of one character's rape by another character. It was unnecessary and added nothing: if anything, it detracted from the character's motivation. Still, a masterclass in nuanced, understated acting.
28OCT22: My Neighbo(u)r Totoro (Royal Shakespeare Company) -- Barbican
That '(u)' is there deliberately, as the opening screen had the original title and then was gently updated to local spelling. I wasn't sure how well this would translate to stage, but it was an utter delight. While the adult actors playing the two girls occasionally overacted the childlike wonder, there was plenty to marvel at, especially Totoro himself. Whiskers!!!, say my notes. Soot sprites, acorns, magic blooms, a live band, a splendid inflatable Catbus and a host of stealthy but gifted puppeteers. I know it's sold out, but there do seem to be some tickets available (returns or 'on the day') -- this is a spectacular and beautifully designed production, highly recommended.
also She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (various, 2022) -- Disney+
Tatiana Maslany in the title role is excellent (though her CGI-aided transformations are less impressive than her multiple roles in Orphan Black) and this millennial workplace sitcom is a joy to watch. Cameos from Mark Ruffalo (of course) and Tim Roth, and a perfectly understandable fascination with Steve Rogers, who does not appear on screen. I am very much hoping for a second series, which seems quite likely given the appearance of another major player in the last couple of episodes.
