Silver Linings Playbook Review

Silver Linings Playbook is a spectacular film. David O’Russell’s picture is beautifully, sensitively and light heartedly delivered. The film opens with Bradley Cooper’s Pat Solatino trying to find his feet after being released from a psychiatric facility. He meets Jennifer Lawrence’s equally troubled Tiffany and together they embark on a journey of friendship and commitment. Pat’s family life is as manic as his personal, his OCD father played impeccably by Robert De Niro is a gambler supported by his gentle wife Dolores (Jacki Weaver.)

The film’s power lays in it’s portrayal of the two main characters and the acting from Cooper and Lawrence. Both characters are believable yet they manage to remain in the realms of fiction, preventing the film from getting too gritty. The issue of mental health is dealt with head on but with a smile. An example being the character of Danny, a friend of Pat’s from hospital, who continuously escapes from the unit by telling everyone that they let him out. 

The film reminds me of American Beauty and it’s effect is the same in that your expectations of the film shift and change with each scene. It’s perhaps not as aesthetically driven as the previous but it is definitely a winter film not to be missed.

Prometheus

Prometheus looked pretty exciting in the trailer, it looked pretty exciting from the outset, it looked pretty exciting from the first ten minutes. However don’t be fooled because this is one of the worst films I have ever seen with some shocking acting from supposedly big stars. 

The film is supposed to be pre-Alien and sees researchers flying to a planet on the intelligence that the origins of the human race can be found there. Ridley Scott’s film lumbers through the scientist’s arrival and encounter on the planet, while we have to watch flat characters make no journey whatsoever from start to finish. An appalling Charlize Theron gives 1 2 3 acting a whole new makeover. It’s only Michael Fassenbender’s David that remotely comes across convincing and that’s saying something as he’s an unemotional cyborg. I don’t know what the heck Scott was on when he thought it was a good idea to have a decapitated David being carried around at the end of the film. It’s at this point that I considered walking out, even the penultimate scene eith CGI crashing space ships couldn’t save it.

This is what gives Sci-Fi a bad name, think Dr Who but without that self awareness element that makes it so lovable. 

I think what was essentially missing from this film was a sense of fun. You can’t show a decapitated cyborg head being carried around and not be self aware of it’s ridiculousness. If you did you would end up with a serious, dry, boring and easy to mock film...oh ....wait....that’s awkward. 

This is England

A conservative government, mass unemployment, social unrest, an emergence of racist blame game mentality, gang culture, misfits, youth violence a government at war without public backing,....Sound familiar?

The above could be a list of weekly headlines from the past decade and yet it is some of the themes of Shane Meadows’ 2007 film This is England. The fun part is that the film is set in 1983 and against the backdrop of real events and largely based on factual events. We’ve certainly not come along way in twenty years, in fact I’d say we’d been on a never ending loop of the local block. 

Bugger. 

So apart from the obvious depressing cultural/social/historical/political/economic relevance of the film, is it any good?

Yes, it’s bloody excellent. This film lures you in to the life of lovable misfit Shaun (the fabulous Thomas Turgoose) whose world changes when he meets Woody (Joseph Gilgun) and his gang. It’s all a bit wonderful to start with, a misfit being accepted into a misfit gang of skinhead stompers. They run around smashing stuff up, drink, smoke etc, all very messed up teenage stuff. This is until Stephen Graham’s psychotic Combo turns up and bursts the bubble.  

Combo steals Shaun away into a world of hate and violence that tries to justify itself with Right Wing Patriotism, in other words racist violent gangsters. 

It’s one of those films where nothing and everything happens at the same time. A masterpiece of story telling, film making and most of all acting from Graham, Gilgun and Turgoose. 

Things and Stuff

Hope there’s Someone

Who’ll set my heart free

Nice to hold when I’m tired

There’s a ghost on the horizon

When I go to bed

How can I fall asleep

How will I rest my head

Oh I’m scared of the middle place

Between light and nowhere

I don’t want to be the one

Left in there, left in there

(Hope There’s Someone by Anthony and the Johnsons)

Everything we do has to mean something, because it’s all so short. The world that we find ourselves placed in is so fleeting and yet furiously fast. We are all trying to keep up and live as well as we possibly can because it will stop. We know this as humans, we are so conscious and aware of it.

So what is the meaning of life?

Surely it can’t be the daily toil simply to be a cog in a machine that we didn’t choose or are responsible for?

No, we work so we can have things, or to provide things. As humans we are so uniquely obsessed with things or stuff.

Things and stuff are worrying to me, because they don’t make us truly happy. For a short while they entertain us, distract us and keep us going. They never make us happy though. The society we find ourselves in, will try to make us believe that stuff will make us happy but deep down we know that... 

Things and stuff are the saddest party we ever went to. 

I believe true happiness is found in meaning. To know that our lives mean something, something bigger than the world we find ourselves in. Meaning that is spiritual and unchangeable; something that will stand the test of time. 

For me this is true Art: The Art of Meaning.

It is found in Love

                     Understanding

                     Peace

                     Courage.

The world today will try and prevent us from reaching this Art. We are all human and we all mean something. 

The Help Review

Tate Taylor’s adaptation of Kathryn Stockett’s novel ‘The Help’ is a big puddle of emotion elegantly crafted into a very watchable film. I have to admit it wasn’t a film that necessarily appealed to me at first, however it’s a very accessible and no frills experience. 

The story comes from Stockett’s 2009 novel about a budding reporter, Skeeter who finds her first story in the lives of the hired ‘help’. The story is set in the early 1960’s where all the hired help were black woman who were oppressed and treated no more than slaves. Skeeter follows the lives of two woman she knows; Aibileen and Minny who struggle daily against segregation and the wrath of their white female masters. 

The film goes for the heartstrings and it makes no bones about it. Director Tate Taylor builds us up with loveable characters and takes his time to gently knock us down with their tragedy. 

Emma Stone plays a convincing Skeeter whose character makes an interesting journey from naive graduate to an employable writer. Her affection and hope for Aibileen and Minny is subtle and touching. There’s plenty of comedy provided from Octavia Spencer’s sassy Minny, who only just avoids falling into caricature and cliche. 

However it’s Jessica Chastain’s unstable Celia Foote that captured my heart. Foote is a troubled woman who finds herself alienated from her new found social class but finds friendship in her hired help Minny. Chastain’s portrayal is authentic and heart-warmingly funny. 

This film is a great story that gives a warm fuzzy feeling inside...

However for me it raises questions about the nature of emotion in film and why as an audience member we become so involved. Is it the story or the film that creates the emotion? I would argue that in this case it’s the story that creates the emotion and the film is a medium and support for it. Does this mean it’s a good film then? I would argue that it’s doing it’s job well as being a medium for storytelling but in terms of looking at film making as a craft and art form it comes across as being very middle of the road. 

The Rum Diary

Johnny Depp likes Hunter S. Thompson, he’s previously starred in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and he enjoys talking about the writer at any given opportunity. So it’s not really a surprise that he’s starred in another film version of Thompson’s work as well as taking on producing duties. For some reason the American actor creates buzz around what ever he does even when it’s not very good. Take 2010’s The Tourist where he starred alongside siren, Angelina Jolie; a sure hit? Probably one of the worst films I’ve encountered with some of the stiffest acting ever seen on screen.  

The Rum Diary is boringly predictable, achingly slow at times and smug in a way that makes any attempt at comedy cringingly awful. 

I wanted to see this as the collaboration between Depp, Bruce Robinson ( dir. Withnail and I 1986) and Thompson’s text enticed me. The film had such potential but it just seemed to fall flat right from the off. Depp plays Paul Kemp an alcoholic journalist  who gets posted in Puerto Rico. Cue Depp pulling Captain Jack faces as he enjoys the local liquor. I stifled a yawn as a love interest is introduced in the form of Chenault (Amber Heard) a stunning blonde wiggling around in a bikini.

But oh no wait....she’s married to Aaron Eckhart’s Sanderson a shady businessman etc etc. 

My main issue with this film is why should I care? As a viewer I just felt like an outsider, there was nothing inviting about the film it just trudges along. You get the feeling neither Depp nor Robinson was particularly bothered about whether anyone watched it or not.  A sort of Thompson appreciation society. 

The latest pictures to emerge of Depp see him dressed as Tonto in the forthcoming film The Lone Ranger. I can see Jerry Bruckheimer now, shouting from behind the camera ‘Can you do that one again Johnny, but make it more ‘Captain Jack’ . Say something about rum.’ 

Let’s hope a new Tim Burton film sees a return to form. 

OI! I said OI!

Plan B’s new single swaggers through the speakers with it’s cutting lyrics and smart production. Staccato strings open the song and they menace through the rest of it like an August mob. Plan B is in touch with his habitat ‘Let’s all go on an urban safari’. Prodigy esque beats ricochet around the angry young man’s newest public speaker. This is an artist that isn’t afraid to speak his mind and to draw attention to the fact that there are major problems in our society. Within the first thirty seconds of the song it’s suggested that Cameron is a ‘see you next Tuesday’ and the video shows an image of Cameron and Clegg atop a wedding cake. As Cameron plays bezzie mates with Obama, Plan B utters ‘..he’s got some front’.

In the wake of the recession and Tory rule it’s easy to get used to the state of things. The August riots were a wake up, the aftermath full of observation and review. However it seems nobody has been inspired by it to drastically want to say something. Until now...this is a grimey warning to take stock and not forget the events of August. This song echoes that we can’t just forget about the stabbings of and by young kids in London or anywhere else, we can’t forget that we’re in a plutocracy while many of us struggle to get through each week, we can’t forget that every day people who are supposed to be looking after our society are secretly trying to sabotage it for their own gain. 

The riots of August have clearly shocked Plan B aka Ben Drew into ditching the soulful sounds of The Defamation of Strickland Banks. He’s gone back to the sound he started with; gritty, sharp witted, urban poetry. Hopefully this is a taster of more things to come from him.

And to those who are running us into the ground, to the ones who want to privatise our NHS, Police Force and other important parts of our society...

OI WHAT YOU LOOKING AT YOU LITTLE RICH BOY...

Review of Drive

The thing about this film is, I just couldn’t get it out of my head for the next two hours. Usually that’s something we equate with music not film, but in the case of Drive that is the effect it had on me. It got under my skin and infiltrated me in a way music does and it was all down to the atmosphere it created. Watching Drive is like a long summer evening after a barbeque, when your still a little tipsy and then suddenly out of nowhere a thunderstorm erupts. 

Nicolas Winding Refn’s film is so aesthetically pleasing that he really could have got away with anything in it. The music by Kavinsky and the use of the colour purple gives the film an eighties quality that is very Prince circa Red Corvette era. It’s these choices by Refn that give the opening of the film an exciting feel, as a viewer you immediately become attached to Ryan Gosling’s ‘Driver’. You don’t really understand who he is but when he meets Carey Mulligan’s ‘Irene’, you sense the beginnings of a love story and that everything will be all right. 

Refn said eloquently on BBC breakfast ‘Violence is like fucking...it’s all about the build up’. As the film progresses it emerges that this opening with it’s cool eighties soundtrack, cars and edgy protagonist has all been one massive tease, suddenly the film kicks off into a violent orgy of shootings and beatings. Yet Refn continues to titillate his audience with that soundtrack and all the things we were turned on by at the beginning of the film.  ‘Driver’s’ varsity-style jacket remains on him throughout, gradually getting more and more soaked in blood. 

What Refn does is give us something stylish and sexy to entice us and then he sabotages it right in front of our eyes. We see our hero do things we could never of imagined he was capable of. I have to admit that at this point in the film I got slightly frustrated with it, it reminded me of the Cohen Brothers’ No Country for Old Men where things just get a little confusing and dragged out. But NCFOM didn’t have the atmosphere that Drive has, so it didn’t stay with me as long. 

I turned the film off feeling a little unsatisfied, yet the mood of the film remained within me, so whether I enjoyed the film or not seems irrelevant as it certainly seemed to have had an affect on me. After hearing interviews with Refn it is clear he knew what it was he was making and so I find it hard to simply dismiss this film as violent. 

If you like Tarantino then you’ll love this film and probably not worry about the violence. For those of you who are little more squeamish or have issues with cinematic violence, I’d still say give it a go as this isn’t violence for violence sake. 

The Ides of March Review

Let’s not beat around the bush here, American politics and the hype around it’s inhabitants could be likened to a circus. It’s the whole Campaign trail thing that being British we don’t get or understand. It makes sense in America because it’s such a big country and divided by state lines but from the outside it just comes across a bit creepy, ‘Roll up, roll up come and see the latest god loving, silver haired pillock with unnatural white dentures.’ 

So as a British viewer of George Clooney’s ‘The Ides of March’ I’m intrigued to go behind the scenes of one of these campaigns, to see into the world of the consultants pulling the strings. What this film does is very clever! It takes it’s audience into the heart of the circus and although it’s showing us something that we’re all guessing is going on anyway (cover ups blackmail etc.), the film gives us something human. That’s the thing these campaigns always miss, they go for the spin and the staged photos, but the rawness of what it takes to be a politician is tidily tucked away, just off to the side of the stage. That’s where this film takes place, at the side of the stage with the political consultants puppeteering the whole operation. Steven is one of Governor Morris’ consultants and he becomes caught up in the fast moving and unforgiving world of the ‘campaign’. Ryan Gosling’s Steven is smart and suave yet his unshakable faith in Morris reveals a hidden naivety to this character.  He is warned by a reporter that his boss Morris (Clooney) will ‘let him down eventually’ because he’s a politician and ‘they all do sooner or later’. 

There’s some first rate acting from Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti as they become embroiled in an odd political triangle with Steven stuck in the middle. However it’s the influence of a seductive intern that acts as the trigger for the drama in the film. Her after hours shenanigans leads to all sorts of trouble. The result of this produces a hefty dichotomy for poor old Steven. Will faith alone get Morris to the White House?

If you’re into political thrillers and have enjoyed any of Borgen lately then this one is for you. 

Chronicle Review

Science Fiction has long been obsessed with normal people becoming overnight superheroes after gaining superpowers through a freak accident. Radioactive spiders, fallen space ships and genetic experiments gone wrong have been the catalyst for many a graphic novel turned blockbuster. So what can Josh Trank’s new film Chronicle bring to this big and well used table?

Well for a start a beguiling film that features hand-held cameras, no scientific spiel and a serendipitous absensce of a soundtrack. 

Chronicle is shot on hand-held cameras, which gives the film a gritty naturalism usually absent in Sci-Fi thrillers. Think Cloverfield bumping into X-Men in a cinema playing a US Teen comedy. The main protagonist Andrew films much of the action on his new camera, capturing his mother’s terminal illness, father’s abuse and high school drama. However the footage gets interesting when he stumbles across a mysterious object in the ground while at a party with his older and cooler cousin Matt and high school jock Steve. The find has a profound effect on the three characters when they discover they have developed incredible powers including flight, telekinesis and supernatural speed. 

The POV style plus superb acting from Dane Dehaan and co make this discovery believable and watchable for the audience. You get a sense of this being a natural response from teenagers suddenly finding out they have new superpowers. The plot darkens as they learn to control and strengthen their powers. Andrew’s dysfunctional home life begins to affect the way he uses and manipulates his new found kudos. 

This film is clever and unpredictable right up until the last twenty minutes when unfortunately it loses some of it’s maturity. The intelligent progression of character and plot suddenly end in a drawn out hollywood style smash em up up fight and things get a bit boring. 

Obstensibly if you’re a Sci-Fi fan this film will probably impress you, however if you’re yet to be convinced, you might want to wait for the next Trank film. 

The Descendants

We’re used to seeing George Clooney as an affable rogue in films like Ocean’s Eleven. The Descendants sees him toning down his charisma in order to play Matt King, a Honolua lawyer and land land owner whose world is turned upside down after the revelation of his wife’s infidelities. As if that wasn’t hard enough the news emerges while she’s in a coma after a boating accident. 

This is one of those films where many people will come away going ‘but nothing happens...’ These are the kind of films I love because they’re atmospheric and the story is subtle. Throughout the duration of this film the complexities of family relationships are woven alongside cultural and historical responsibilities within a community. 

Heavy stuff...

Well yes... but the script is full of humour, and life affirming character interaction. It’s beautifully shot and there’s a great soundtrack as well. 

This is one of those films that really is a must see. 

However it’s not really doing anything new or exciting, so part of me asks the question would I see it again? Well er maybe...I don’t know, it reminds me of Revolutionary Road in that respect. It was a great film but I’m not convinced it’s a classic. 

The Mysterious 'Lost Generation'

So yet again in the news, journalists, politicians and other various supposedly important people are talking about this ‘Lost Generation’.

Ok so the Oxford Dictionaries definition of generation is:

1. of all the people born and living at about the same time. 2) The average period in which children grow up and have children of their own (about 30 years)

etc etc

and lost pp of lose is just alot of negative explanations including fail to win, earn less, waste etc. 

Hang on, so let’s back up a second, am I included in this ‘Lost Generation’? Yes apparently I am as I’m still within the 30 years from the financial crash and I haven’t had kids yet. 

This makes me so mad. How dare those people use that phrase as a way of describing the world we’re living in. How dare they. This is pure generalisation and quite frankly patronising to thousands of people. This statement implies that an entire generation are to be associated with ‘waste’, ‘failure’ and ‘earning less’. There is no denying that times are tough and things will get tougher in the next few years. However to simply sum it up as being ‘lost’ is grotesque. It’s interesting to note that the majority of people who use this phrase tend to be older (I may be generalising here) and do not consider themselves part of this ‘lost generation’, e.g older people with full time jobs looking down on younger unemployed people. 

I think I find this statement so offensive because it implies blame and it’s labeling in the same way that the Victorians labelled their working class. How is anyone in this so called ‘Lost Generation’ supposed to succeed when they are starting out with this ridiculous banner hanging over them like a black cloud. 

Young people are standing up for themselves and others in a way that hasn’t been seen since the 60s and 70s. They aren’t just laying down and accepting the appalling treatment they are receiving, which has resulted from the greed and dishonesty brought about by older generations. More young people then ever are going to University, not because there is more opportunity but because they have more ambition and imagination then previous generations. There is a small minority that may have given up and some that may also do so, but for the most part this ‘Lost Generation’ is not lost. It’s fighting and it’s fighting hard to right the wrongs of what has gone before. To stare these challenging days in the face and say I’m going to start a family or I’m going to University or I’m going to start a business or I’m going to live the life I want are not actions of a ‘Lost Generation’. So the people that use this phrase should not think lightly of it and for those older more comfortable generations we don’t want sympathy because we’re not lost, we just want support and action in order to get through these tough times. 

The Tiger's Wife

Tea Obreht’s The Tiger’s Wife is a marvel of a novel! Set in a wounded Balkan country in remission, this novel interweaves several narratives that centre around Natalia and her grandfather. 

Natalia is grieving for her grandfather and while working as a doctor visiting orphanages she picks up the trail of her grandfather’s last expedition. Through memories of her grandfather and his stories she delves into a world where fiction and reality blur. One of the main reference points of the book is Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, which is the grandfather’s favourite book in the novel. The use of it and the plot involving the Tiger and ofcourse his wife is reminiscent of Yann Martel’s The Life of Pi. Highlighting the power of books over film, this particular storyline was mystical and ambiguous rather than cartoonish. 

Obreht’s book encompasses myth, legend, superstition and good old fashioned story telling. The narrative flicks from past to future yet the themes remain the same; destruction, war and the dichotomy of death.

You will enjoy this book if you don’t like reading things that are obvious and predictable. It’s not necessarily an easy read as it can be a little hard to follow the place names and the  cultural references, however it flows and becomes a page turner towards the end. 

Sherlock

Right so I went to see the new Guy Ritchie Sherlock last night and I couldn't help but compare it to the BBC's modern Sherlock. I have to say the BBC's Sherlock is far superior in terms of script and production, mainly because it is more engaging than the films. The films are great entertainment and there are some stunning visual effects. The penultimate scenes where Sherlock and co are running through the woods being shot at by Moriarty's men is the highlight of the film and brings to mind the action sequences from films like House of Flying Daggers.

However the BBC's version is just a lot slicker and there seems to be more thought behind it. Both productions use slo-mo but the Cumberbatch version justifies the use as a way of glimpsing into the working of Sherlock's mind. One episode sees Sherlock delving into his mind palace and the production helps the viewer to comprehend this. Ritchie's Sherlock uses the slo-mo to predict the fighting which doesn't really have the same effect as it gets a bit predictable by the end of the film.

The differences in the two portrayals of Sherlock are amusing, Downey's muscular but emotionally weak Sherlock is a mirror image of Cumberbatch's lanky but mentally strong detecive. The two Dr Watson's are pretty much identical with only Law's Watson being slightly more energetic and charismatic than Freeman's characterisation.

I would recommend seeing the film and then buying the serialised version for repetitive viewing.

Library with shiny glass doors.

I tried to go to the Library this morning. I like our Library. It's a really old building that feels right as a Library. It's got high ceilings and those old metal radiators that look cold even though they're pumping out heat. It reminds me of an old university Library with its quiet and understated atmosphere.

I'd known that it would be shut over Christmas, which I thought was probably just for a lick of paint. There was a sign saying it would re-open on the 13th January 2012. So I thought I would go down and take a look this morning. However when I got there it appears I'd misread the sign, which in fact said it would re-open today in it's new location down the road. A sudden horror gripped me as I looked on the map provided as the realisation of this new location hit me. For months they've been building this new build just off the main high street. I had naively presumed it was flats. I did this because of the modern brickwork and fancy glass windows they were putting up. It turns out this new ultra modern flat like building is in fact to be the new home of our local Library. 

WHAT!

When I want to go and read books or write creative things I don't want to sit in a place that's new, modern and super clean. I want old brickwork, cold looking radiators and a building with history. Instead I'm going to have to sit in a room that would be better suited as a doctors surgery and have to squint over the books as an obscene amount of light glares in through giant glass doors and windows. 

I bet the architect has never read a book in his life and usually designs Hospitals. Why do local councils have to mess with good things? They'll argue that it's a new building and its great for the local community and that we should be lucky to even have a library.  I like my libraries to be old and dusty, that's how I know I'm in a library. Now I'm going to get confused with the library, doctors and local school because they all look the same! They'll all probably fall down in a few years as well. If they put a bank or a hair dressers in that building so help me....ok I'm done. 

2012

It’s hard to be positive about 2012 with all the gloomy predictions of impending financial doom, sporting event disasters, rail fare increases, cuts, savings etc etc. 

Will it really be as bad as everyone is making out? I mean the financial worry is beginning to seem the norm, like having cheerios for breakfast every morning, you may change it up one week but inevitably you’ll go back to them. There’s only so much time you can spend worrying about it, I remember when the reports of the first Recession were on the news, it was terrifying hearing that word and the things it would bring. But now it’s worn off I feel a numbness take over whenever I watch or a read a report about economics. Still here aren’t we?

Well just...

Maybe the Olympics will be alright. Maybe everything will go smoothly and all us skeptics will eat our hats because there weren’t any embarrassing blunders. The attention could boost the tourist trade and the economy will stabilise meaning bonuses for everyone next year. The buildings will get sold off to green, caring and kind hearted companies who will invest in British sport. 

Perhaps the transport system will run so well in the Olympics that tourists will go home and tell their friends and families about it. Then they’ll all come over and ride the entire network and their custom will pay for the Birmingham to London high speed rail link, resulting in a decrease in rail fares. 

Well I could sit here and right sarcastic ‘maybe’ paragraphs all day but I won’t because it’s too easy. 

Maybe I’ll make a cup of tea...or will I.

Shambala

A colourful festival full of good food, good music, all kinds of therapy and a lot of really annoying kids. Yes it’s a very young festival, which makes some of the older people there look a bit silly in their baggy pants and beads. 

There were lots of great fairly unknown bands playing, with my standout being Rae, a Jazz folk trio whose lead singer sounds similar to Joanna Newsom. There were not many ‘headline’ acts although Ghostpoet and Willy Mason did put in an appearance and played blinding sets.

It’s not that I didn’t like this festival it’s just I found it hard to take it seriously. The wristbands say ‘People’s Republic’ on them and it advertises itself as a place where the audience have a say in what goes on. But it just didn’t work for me as there seemed to be a clash between the ‘do gooders’ who wanted to save the world and do Yoga in fields (I met a lady who broke her finger when a large tub of Hummus fell out of her fridge and she was a Yoga teacher...you can’t write this stuff) and the kids who just want to rave and get drunk. 

It culminated in a festival that had a lot of missed opportunities, the main one being the Woods, which looked as if they were going to be this amazing area full of installations and wonderous arty things. In the end it turned out to be a wood with a mildly impressive DJ/treehouse, some cardboard cut outs and a lot of wasted hippies.

WOMAD

If your a fan of drums and dancing than WOMAD is the place to go. If you dislike either of these things, here’s my adivce, you don’t know what your missing. Right from the first night of this four day festival drums fill the air around the auditorium, mainly due to the various drumming workshops being held, which from the outside simply look like a rythmn party. 

     WOMAD is a great festival, and this is proven by the mix of people that attend it such as families, young teenagers, and even a few OAP’s. WOMAD’s eclectic taste can be seen in it’s headling acts, with folk pioneers Bellowhead storming the Thursday night slot, Ivory Coast reggae star Alpha Blondy on the Friday, African ambassador Baaba Maal on Saturday and to play it out Gorgol Bordello on Sunday. 

      What makes this festival so special is the mutual respect from the audience and the musicians to one another. You’ll never see any bottle throwing or spitting at this event. This was demonstrasted beautifully when AndaUnion played an early afternoon slot in The Big Red Tent, which as a venue was usually the most raucous. The Mongolian throat singers won the crowd over and recieved defeaning applause as they took a humble bow at the end of their set. 

Ockham's Razor

The National Theatre has a new open air and importantly free venue, which today played host to Ockham’s Razor’s performance of The Mill. The piece is a devised physical theatre show that encompasses circus, theatre and slapstick. As the audience found their deck chairs and nervously clutched thier umbrellas, strange mechanic sounds opened the show. The first thing you notice as an audience is the set, which is built of ropes and pulleys that frame a giant hamster wheel. 

The performers come out and we are introduced to a working machine created by movement and repetition. It becomes apparent that the workers of this machine are controlled by an authoritarian boss whose voice comes through a loud speaker. 

The intricacies of the set and pully system is set beautifully against the simplicity of the narrative and characters. The drama comes in the break down of the workers and their struggle to find order and direction. It’s an entertaining performance with a tight ensemble and there were moments where it really made me smile. 

There is obviously a comment on labour and communism underlying it, however it becomes slightly predictable and doesn’t quite yield enough power for the metaphorical elements to really pack a punch. 

Harry Potter, The Deathly Hallows Part 2

It’s just been announced that the new Harry Potter film has broken yet another box office record. It’s no surprise as it marks the end of an era for this extraordinary story that has taken the world by storm. I wasn’t sure what to expect as I was mildly impressed by the last film however it was in danger of becoming ‘boring’. 

The Deathly Hallows Part 2 has the artistic vision and atmosphere of Part 1 but now it has the action too. The special effects are sublime and take nothing away from the viewers imagination.

The success of the two final films has been in the atmosphere that has been created in them. The tension that is built up in Part 1 rises up in Part 2 into an action packed finale. The film really tells the story in an aesthetic sense as well as narratively. The first half is built from dark colours like black and grey and there is an apocoliptic edge. As the story unfolds the colours lighten, finishing in an angelic and warm glow. It’s a mature end to a story that began as a children’s book. Even without being a fan you can’t help but be enthralled.