It might just be that I am flying to the city that is furthest away from London. The city. Furthest possible away from London. Charming Dunedin. 4 planes. Is that a record? Anyone more foolish than me? ‘Though saying that, all you have to deal with is the irritation, cramped conditions and the possibility of DVT (which I avoid with a serious of comical exercises that I perform at the back of the plane, including squat thrusts and some thigh stretches that are vaguely similar to badly done yoga or, and I might be crossing a line, inelegant readers’ wives’ poses? Yup. Crossing a line). So yeah, It’s not like I’m Scott of the.Antartic, but it’s the longest journey by plane I have done in one fell swoop. Anyway, here is the lowdown on my inflight entertainment.
Movies
Notes on a Scandal
Judi Dench and Cate Blanchette are two teachers in a secondary school. Both women are lonely in different ways, and events spiral out of control when Cate’s character becomes involved with a fifteen year old pupil. Liked this a lot. I used to only like genre movies, and somehow I have ended up with a more discerning taste, that might even be a bit adult. Heh. Yup, the narration of the diary from Judi’s bitter but sharp-as-a-knife, self confessed “battleaxe” teacher, and the fae, lefty silliness of Cate’s art teacher are a perfect combination. Cate’s family became a bit too fictional when they danced like bohemians, a tradition in their family after a good lunch(?). But Judi Dench’s awkwardness at the scene made it all ok again. I think it won a bunch of awards. Reminded me of a much more subtle and smart, English “Misery”. That kind of tone.
The Dead Girl
As is endlessly popular at the moment, this film is four stories connected by a person or theme. The Dead Girl herself is our thread, Brittany Murphy, wild eyed and screaming like a younger Courtney Love. It’s no ground breaker, but the stories are pleasently varied, and well acted. It’s all grim in the end, but so it should be. Worth checking out.
For your consideration
American parody of low budget Hollywood filmmaking. I know that I would have seen all the in-jokes about actors, publicists, DP’s and so on, had I spent any real time in this industry, but really I haven’t. It looked promising with some really funny dialog, but couldn’t hold my attention past the first half hour. Good effort. A bit too specific and LA centric ’though.
French Film - L’euipment ?? something about a lighthouse?
Aborted after half an hour. I am sure it was touching though, like the guide said.
Louis Theroux and the brothel
Love this man.. this was an excellent one hour BBC documentary where Louis spends nearly a month with a brand new, legal and luxuary brothel in Nevada. Not only does he capture fantastic impressions of some of the characters working at and running the brothel but also a couple of clients. Louis can be critisised for sometimes making cheap shots at his subjects, but despite playing up his stoic British awkwardness, I believe he had real fondness for the inhabitants of the brothel. Their stories were funny, sometimes shocking but also warm, and touching. Brilliant TV, and fascinating.