Monthly culture: April 2023
Friday, May 19th, 2023 02:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tamaranth11APR23: Uncommon Comfort Reads -- Malka Older, Martha Wells, KJ Charles, and T Kingfisher
Enjoyable panel with a recursive feel -- everyone likes their co-panellists' books! Martha Wells also likes Tana French but says she 'breaks the contract' (presumably In the Woods, which I still maintain tells you everything you need to know about what happened).
20APR23: White Noise (Baumbach, 2022) -- Netflix
Starring Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig and based on the novel by Don DeLillo: a little bit more topical than expected, given the recent toxic spill from a train derailment in America; a definite '50s alien invasion movie' vibe; we note that the novel was published pre-pandemic but the film was made post-pandemic, which casts themes of infection, apocalypse etc in a different light. 'Our apocalypse was not like this.' (I wonder if American apocalypses focus on fleeing the threat, on physical escape, rather than a more European 'hide in the basement til it's over'? I certainly did the latter when the pandemic hit.)
This felt like several different movies spliced together -- family comedy, disaster movie, noir murder mystery, even musical. I enjoyed it, especially the more comic elements (and the splendid end-credits dance number), but felt a bit off-balance with the changes of key.
21APR23: Renfield (McKay, 2023) -- Cineworld West India Quay
Nicholas Cage hams it up gloriously as Renfield's employer: Nicholas Hoult plays Renfield, who learns from his support group that he's in a codependent relationship and that he deserves better. He moves out and finds himself a lovely studio apartment (shame it's got a doormat that says 'Welcome -- Come On In!') and a hideous pastel sweater. He's also developing a relationship with a New Orleans cop, Rebecca Quincey, played by Awkwafina, who has family history to come to terms with. "I'm the real victim here," whines Dracula at one point, seemingly oblivious to the oceans of gore shed on his behalf by Renfield. (It is a very OTT film, gore-wise: which makes it easier to enjoy than something more realistic.) Nevertheless, thanks to illegal substances and Wiccan Tumblr, justice prevails. Yay! Feelgood, comic, cheerful fun, with vaguely superheroic overtones.
23APR23: Verdi's Requiem -- Blackheath Halls
Back when I could breathe, I was in the Blackheath Halls Choir: I miss singing, especially in a concert like this. Precision conducting by Chris Stark, great soloists, an excellent performance, and a very enjoyable evening.
27APR23: Fall (Mann, 2022) -- Netflix
Nightmare fuel. I did not think I had a vertigo problem (I enjoyed The Aeronauts very much) but, perhaps because the editing and soundtrack for Fall was distinctly horror-coded, it literally gave me nightmares. I did not mind the twist as much as others in the film group, because it made good sense and was very nicely resolved: I did mind the plot device whereby the two young women, both in a situation of extreme and stomach-churning peril, were set against one another by sexual jealousy.
I note that we picked this on the week when our vertigo-suffering member was unable to attend the film group...
29APR23: Polite Society (Manzoor, 2023) -- PictureHouse
Absolutely splendid, diverse, female-centred film about marriage, sisterhood and British-Pakistani life. Ria (Priya Kansara, definitely one to watch) is still at school but wants to be a professional stuntwoman: her heroine is Eunice Huthart, and sends her a plethora of emails which provide a handy voice-over. We learn that her older sister Lena (Ritu Arya) has dropped out of art school: now Lena seems to be set on marrying ultra-eligible young doctor Salim, whom she met at an Eid Soiree. Ria and her two best friends, Alba and Clara, conspire to sabotage the grand romance, with what might be called limited success. Then they discover what's really going on, and why Salim is so evasive about his work... Absolute delight, hilarious and heartfelt, with some excellent fight- and dance-choreography. (Kansara did most of her own stunts.)
Enjoyable panel with a recursive feel -- everyone likes their co-panellists' books! Martha Wells also likes Tana French but says she 'breaks the contract' (presumably In the Woods, which I still maintain tells you everything you need to know about what happened).
20APR23: White Noise (Baumbach, 2022) -- Netflix
Starring Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig and based on the novel by Don DeLillo: a little bit more topical than expected, given the recent toxic spill from a train derailment in America; a definite '50s alien invasion movie' vibe; we note that the novel was published pre-pandemic but the film was made post-pandemic, which casts themes of infection, apocalypse etc in a different light. 'Our apocalypse was not like this.' (I wonder if American apocalypses focus on fleeing the threat, on physical escape, rather than a more European 'hide in the basement til it's over'? I certainly did the latter when the pandemic hit.)
This felt like several different movies spliced together -- family comedy, disaster movie, noir murder mystery, even musical. I enjoyed it, especially the more comic elements (and the splendid end-credits dance number), but felt a bit off-balance with the changes of key.
21APR23: Renfield (McKay, 2023) -- Cineworld West India Quay
Nicholas Cage hams it up gloriously as Renfield's employer: Nicholas Hoult plays Renfield, who learns from his support group that he's in a codependent relationship and that he deserves better. He moves out and finds himself a lovely studio apartment (shame it's got a doormat that says 'Welcome -- Come On In!') and a hideous pastel sweater. He's also developing a relationship with a New Orleans cop, Rebecca Quincey, played by Awkwafina, who has family history to come to terms with. "I'm the real victim here," whines Dracula at one point, seemingly oblivious to the oceans of gore shed on his behalf by Renfield. (It is a very OTT film, gore-wise: which makes it easier to enjoy than something more realistic.) Nevertheless, thanks to illegal substances and Wiccan Tumblr, justice prevails. Yay! Feelgood, comic, cheerful fun, with vaguely superheroic overtones.
23APR23: Verdi's Requiem -- Blackheath Halls
Back when I could breathe, I was in the Blackheath Halls Choir: I miss singing, especially in a concert like this. Precision conducting by Chris Stark, great soloists, an excellent performance, and a very enjoyable evening.
27APR23: Fall (Mann, 2022) -- Netflix
Nightmare fuel. I did not think I had a vertigo problem (I enjoyed The Aeronauts very much) but, perhaps because the editing and soundtrack for Fall was distinctly horror-coded, it literally gave me nightmares. I did not mind the twist as much as others in the film group, because it made good sense and was very nicely resolved: I did mind the plot device whereby the two young women, both in a situation of extreme and stomach-churning peril, were set against one another by sexual jealousy.
I note that we picked this on the week when our vertigo-suffering member was unable to attend the film group...
29APR23: Polite Society (Manzoor, 2023) -- PictureHouse
Absolutely splendid, diverse, female-centred film about marriage, sisterhood and British-Pakistani life. Ria (Priya Kansara, definitely one to watch) is still at school but wants to be a professional stuntwoman: her heroine is Eunice Huthart, and sends her a plethora of emails which provide a handy voice-over. We learn that her older sister Lena (Ritu Arya) has dropped out of art school: now Lena seems to be set on marrying ultra-eligible young doctor Salim, whom she met at an Eid Soiree. Ria and her two best friends, Alba and Clara, conspire to sabotage the grand romance, with what might be called limited success. Then they discover what's really going on, and why Salim is so evasive about his work... Absolute delight, hilarious and heartfelt, with some excellent fight- and dance-choreography. (Kansara did most of her own stunts.)
