02MAR18: I, Tonya, Greenwich PicturehouseMommy issues instead of daddy issues, makes a nice change: also, though this is the American rather than the British class system, some horribly close-to-home moments. Excellent 80s soundtrack, three amazing leads (Sebastian Stan looking slimy and unlovely: I think this is called acting) and a well-deserved 'supporting actress' Oscar for Allison Janney as Tonya Harding's appalling mother. And the ice-skating scenes were filmed very well: I understood why what Harding was doing was special, and still enjoyed the sheer spectacle of music and movement.
04MAR18: Brahms Piano Concerto #1, Blackheath Halls Orchestra (cond. Christopher Stark), piano - Leigh O'HaraDue to the Beast from the East, we only stayed for the first half of this: but that was the Brahms, which was what had attracted me in the first place. Leigh O'Hara, outgoing musical director of the orchestra, was the pianist: he'd first played the piece aged 20, and hadn't performed it for a quarter of a century. I'd have liked to ask how different it felt this time round. The orchestra weren't as sharp as they might have been, and there were moments where it sounded as though someone had gone out of tune. But both of Brahms' piano concerti are gorgeous, and I found myself noticing elements of the piece that I hadn't spotted before -- the mark of a good performance.
11MAR18: Gursky, Hayward GalleryIn general, very big photos where everything is in focus (digitally-merged shots): I was especially struck by the Amazon warehouse picture, which should never be shown to anyone with OCD. (See it
here.) Some of the images were beautiful, and / or clever: others, not so much. (
Iron Man is no more than fan art.) Technically interesting, not always emotionally engaging.
23MAR18: Bach, St John Passion, Cadogan HallQuite a different experience to last year's performance at the Barbican: not as effervescent, and audience not as well behaved. The countertenor (Benjamin Williamson) was marvellous, though, and the Musicians of London were precise and soaring.
25MAR18: Pacific Rim: Uprising, West India Quay CineworldPasses the Bechdel test, and has plenty of characters who are non-white, non-male or both. There is actually a plot, and though flimsy it is different to that of the first film. There are giant robots
fighting one another. Also, the film opens in post-disaster California, with a gigantic skull adorning the beachfront, and John Boyega being smooooth: what's not to like?
Well, there is one thing ... This would have been a much better film if it wasn't a sequel: because it was a sequel, we cared about a character who was killed off early in the story. (On the other hand, if we hadn't already known some of the characters, we wouldn't have cared so much about the other recurring characters, who delight in quite different ways here.)
27MAR18: Thirty Seconds to Mars, O2This was not like a normal gig. 1) No support band. 2) Performance 'in the round' -- the stage was in the middle of the arena. 3) not much band to watch, just Jared Leto in a hideous poncho, and his brother Shannon on drums. (There were additional musicians hidden in the shadows behind the stage).
They played a couple of songs I really like, and a lot of others: Jared got the audience bouncing up and down and singing along and engaging with the gig. It was fascinating to watch: literally spectacular. Up in the corporate box, I felt blissfully detached, and it all seemed insincere and empty: but I bet if I'd been part of the crowd [UGH] I would have had a different, and less cerebral, experience.
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