The Babadook-dook-dook

Ages ago, when I went to see The Riot Club, I saw a trailer for The Babadook.  I immediately felt torn because I badly wanted to see it but suspected it would mess with my head.  I've been very wary of horror films since I've been quite badly affected by them in the past though I highly suspect that similar to taking narcotics, it depends on your mental state at the time of exposure, as to the consequences.  I'm a very visual and sensitive person, and when I say that I think I have heightened senses, so imagery and sounds can really affect me.  Years ago, I was quite badly disturbed by The Grudge (which I am WELL aware is a shit film) due to one scene where a young boys mouth opens really wide and a cat noise comes out.  I have NEVER forgotten that.  I struggled sleeping... but then I have a feeling this was at a time when I was struggling to sleep anyway.

 

I digress.  So, I have slowly been getting back into watching scary movies... and to be honest I've actually been disappointed.  They just aren't scary.  I think also when you've studied film basics you kind of distance yourself somewhat and are able to predict the jumpy parts.  I watched Paranormal activity 1 and 2 (hate ghosts/poltergeist stuff) and it failed to frighten me or disturb me to the extent I imagined.  In part, scary films have got far, far too unrealistic to scare me. They become unbelievable and you're able to distance yourself further.

 

The Babadook, on first glance at the trailer, seemed scary... but not only that, it being underpinned by illustrations from a children's book, and the potential for this theme to infiltrate the rest of the cinematography intrigued me.  The thing that really sealed the deal was the only film critic whose opinion I actually trust and respect, Mark Kermode, actually said that it was fantastically executed.

 

On this basis I pre-ordered it.  It arrived last week and I've been putting off watching it since then... scared that this could be the film that stops me sleeping for weeks and plunges me into some sort of mental episode (my fear).

 

Tonight, I took the plunge. Alone. At night. But I kept the lamp on.

 

 

**** SPOILER ALERT ****

 

 

 

 

******* There now follows a post about the film, so PLEASE if you intend on watching it do NOT read any further.  *******

 

 

 

 

 

********** Seriously....  Massive spoiler ahead.... ************

 

 

 

 

 

It became apparent quite early on in the film, that this was the type of film I like, with depth; composed, intelligently structured mise-en-scene, and good narrative with layers.

 

It also became apparent, that this was different to run-of-the-mill horror films with the standard gratuitous mystery, ambiguous evil presence, pregnant pauses and tingly music.  This film, had a clear message.  It wasn't hidden, or hard to pick up on... it was obvious early on that this film is about a REAL monster- Depression and unresolved trauma. It becomes clear that the young boy's behaviour is echoing his Mother's unresolved resentment and stress brought on by grief and insomnia. The Babadook is the manifestation of his Mother's mental breakdown and the boy becomes her protector.  It's compelling, particularly now I work in Child Protection and see mental health issues becoming increasingly responsible for provoking Child Protection conferences where children are being neglected and affected by their parent's behaviours.  In fact, social services make an appearance, albeit they do as shit a job in the film as they do in real life at protecting the child.  It's a good one for people who work in Mental Health or Child Protection actually... call it an educational film! Less terrifying, more creepingly, chilling, I can safely say I don't feel like there are any images that are going to haunt me when I try sleep tonight. 

 

The words in the book will resonate deeply with anyone who has experienced deep depression.  This gave this film depth for me that allowed me to enjoy it without being scared out of my wits, though there were definite moments of anxiety, tension and "tingly skin" moments... you know the ones where you get that little burst of adrenalin from the fear of it which you can feel flood through your veins for about a second. Brilliantly done, excellently acted, well composed and beautifully filmed in a way which echoes the old film noir horrors, which are referenced perfectly.

 

I appreciate most films created by true artists... and this is one.  Expertly done and money well spent.

 



 

Under The Skin.

Every once in a while, I catch a film that actually blows me away. 

Last night I watched Under The Skin by Jonathan Glazer.  Now, I love Jonathan Glazer and have long admired his work, in particular his music videos for various bands throughout the 1990's. 

This film couldn't have been made by anyone else.  It was quintessentially Glazer. 

Odd, strange, twisting, thought provoking and mysterious but with a cinematic detail and artistry that is rarely seen in modern mainstream cinema.

There was a brilliant use of metaphor running parallel to a beautiful use of colour and symbolism which made you well aware you were watching a moving artwork rather than just a film.  The overall theme and message which ran throughout was huge in both scope, relevance and impact.

Brilliant.  Faith restored in film for another few months. :)

Birthday(S)

In true Slink style my birthday has been stretched over as many days as possible and I have loved every minute of it.  Monday I was pampered with a wonderfully relaxing facial and a tough but well worth it massage which seemed to loosen out some creaky back and shoulder problems at the spa courtesy of H.  We finished off the afternoon with a slap up meal at a new restaurant not far away from us which I think we will be frequenting again at some point.  Good food and a nice cosy but classy atmosphere. Loved it. On getting home, we scared ourselves silly watching a horror film called The Conjuring which was ridiculous in many cliché ways but still managed to get my old spine tingling in places. No nightmares either! Boom.

Tuesday, my actual birthday was spent with my dear N.  I opened my presents and cards in the morning and after a nice cuppa we hit the road, heading for Watford for the Warner Brothers Studio Tour dedicated to the making of the Harry Potter films.

I was concerned I was going to look like a great big idiot having no children to wander round with but I was pleased to find there were far more adults than children which is ALWAYS a good thing! At the risk of sounding terribly saccharin, it was one of the best days out I've had in years. Although very pricey, there was just so much to look at.  I took photo after photo albeit annoyingly on my mobile due to me absent mindedly walking out the house without my dSLR which I'd put to one side for the trip! Here are just a few to wet your whistle...

There was just so much to see.  I would definitely recommend it for a day out weather you have kids or even if you're not overly familiar with the books and stories.  My personal favourite was the Creature Workshop where you could see masks, sculptures and artwork from the creative departments involved in production.  It was just a treasure trove of oddities and it really tuned you in to the incredible skill of the staff who have helped to shape the films from words on a page into reality without losing any of the magic. The technical drawings, planning, architect drawings also made it all the more incredible at the sheer scale of the filming process. Brilliant.

I picked up a few token goodies for friends and family (chocolate frogs, chocolate wands and some Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans); N even bought me a Slytherin vest top as a souvenir of our trip, and after three hours of awe and smiles we were back on the road.

But the good times didn't end there.  On the way home, we stopped off in Brum at Jamie's Italian for a slap up meal.  It was delish, even if I did manage to order a dish which was a tad too spicey for my delicate (bland) palette.  After our feast, we went to the cinema where we caught the next available film which happened to be one called Labor Day.  It turned out to be fairly good albeit a bit of a slow burner.  Some interesting concepts about being prisoner (both literal and non literal) and personal freedoms; not my usual pick of film but it wasn't all that bad a choice.  Interestingly the film I would have rather have seen was also based around the theme of imprisonment- Starred Up which is a British film about a prison inmates move from Youth Offending Institute to Adult Prison and the sub-societies, cultures and social hierarchies within the prison institution. It's meant to be gritty, violent and controversial but incredibly well observed. It's on my Watch list.

Today has been spent shopping in Brum, although I've been largely unsuccessful spending my birthday money finding most of the shops completely uninspiring.  The only thing I found and liked a lot was an awesome Superdry jacket but I have lots of jackets and don't really have need to buy another. Sadly.  I did manage to squeeze in a trip to my favourite Japanese Restaurant/Café - Mount Fuji for a chicken Teryaki and Tempura Bento box with Prawn Sushi, and Edamame beans to start.  Pure heaven.

Tomorrow I have a pretty menial morning of catching up with ironing, cleaning and a dentist appointment but in the evening I have my final birthday celebration of the year with a meal and cocktails with some girls from work who also share a March birthday.  Bring it on!!! :-D 

300: Rise of an Empire

This weekend was just as it promised to be - pleasant, quiet and slightly cheaper than the last few weekends of copious drinking have turned out to be.

Thursday and Friday night were chill time movie nights.  Thursday we watched The Social Network which was actually a far better film than I expected it to be; the amazing work of Trent Reznor's soundtrack did help it along a little though.  I was pleasantly surprised by it to be honest. 
Friday night's film I have already forgotten so it can't have been that good. It might have been one called Ghostship, which was just averagely dull in every possible way.

Saturday night however, was what I had been looking forward to as I went to see 300: Rise of an Empire.

I had set my expectations fairly low as 300 is one of my all time favourite films and the sequel couldn't possibly match the skill or impact of the first.  It didn't.  However I was surprised to find it wasn't at all as bad as I had anticipated.

In 300, the Spartan warriors wear red robes; Red, the colour of blood, lust, passion.  This is set apart by the golden tones of the film signifying gold, honour, sunlight and warmth.  In 300 ROAE the main character Themistocles and his counterparts adorn blue robes reflecting the cooler tone of this film and echoing both the oceans and stormy weather in the film.  This, for me, summarises it perfectly because on the whole the film is just that- less warming then the first.  It's stormy, and for me, the characters lack any capacity to evoke empathy in the viewer.  Themistocles is a cool and unemotional character lacking any real depth.  He failed to arouse the same kind of passion that Leonidas did in the first film; having no family or a lover to protect.  He is cold and almost robotic and the unnecessary border-line rape scene simply left me losing even more respect for him.  You fought with Leonidas, you wanted him to return to his Queen and sons; but Themistocles, you just kind of watched as he carried out his business with little reason.  I possibly felt more for Artemisia than I did for Themistocles; she had a story, a history and she had passion. Their power struggle was awkward instead of firey and I did feel glad that Themistocles was still left needing the help of a strong, powerful woman in the way of Queen Gorgo who proved she had far more balls than he did.

Visually, it lacked the punch that 300 made.  This was a new area though when 300 was first released, there had only been Sin City which had been filmed under the same concept.  There were still some nice sequences and shots, but the attention to detail that 300 had wasn't there.  Every shot in 300 is carefully composed, and in ROAE it's more of a general feel than that of careful consideration of compositions and cinematography.  Still, some nice work and nice effects which were made more impressive by the three dimensional aspect.

Ah. I now await some other good films to fill the void - Transcendence is looking interesting so that will be my next movie target for April.

Sunday morning I was treated to pancakes for breakfast. I've washed little Franko, been to the gym; been to Mum's for a slap up, post-workout roast dinner and I've also been up in their loft to retrieve lots of props for the party next weekend.

It's going to be GOOOOOD. :)

Laters!

Only When The Sun Shines.

Things I could do with right now:
- More time
- More days off work
- A holiday
- A hug
- A big winning lottery ticket
- Friends who are there for you ALL the time. Not just when it suits them.
- A sofa, mattress, TV... in fact, a flat full of furniture would be good!
- A self cleaning car.

Things I could do without right now:
- Work stress
- Confusing idiots
- Aching post-gym muscles
- People asking me for large quantities of money
- Fair weather friends who don't give a shit.

I've had FOUR days off work and although I've had a stack load to do, I've not really achieved what I wanted to.  I was hoping to complete a commission but I've struggled with it and am still only three fifths the way through! I really don't think I've made good use of my time, however I did catch up on some sleep.

I've seen a couple of films in the last few months too: Rush and Prisoners.  Both have been well worth the trip to the cinema and the latter posed some really interesting questions about morality, religion and the rights or wrongs of torture/punishment.  Well worth a watch.

I'm doing okay at the gym, though I'm putting in less time there than I want to or should due to other things going on.  I'm still enjoying it but am still missing my squat challenge.  I've been putting in a measly 60 a day but I need something more. 

The last two weeks have left me a bit numb; I think it's partly shock at the amount of stuff going on between now and Christmas, oh and the fact it IS Christmas in a few months!!! In addition to work stress, other people stress, I now have the lovely stress of money too, and I'm beginning to wonder what will be the straw that breaks the camels back.  Just got to hold it together.  One good thing, is that I have a good friend back in my life- B.  I've stayed in touch with her since school and in many ways we're very similar which makes it easy to support one another.  She's the sort of friend that will stick by me through thick and thin, and it makes me happy that amongst the uncertainty and stress I can count on her support. 

A Film in the Sunshine.

Last night my friend H and I went to Brum to catch an outdoor film showing of Breakfast At Tiffany's. It was a free event in the lovely Brindley Place and the organisers handed out bean bags, free popcorn and blankets to the crowd.  It was a different way to spend the evening, sitting on the steps in the shade watching a film, especially one I haven't seen in years!

I have another fairly busy weekend coming up with my Boss's leaving do on Friday and some drinks in Brum with H on Saturday, starting off at Marco Pierre Whites for some cocktails.

I've also finally been back to the gym this week after a few weeks off due to my inner ear problems which thankfully seem to have cleared up.  Good times! :-)

Four Long Days.

Four days I have been off work.  Four. 

That's a lot of hours.

I've watched a LOT of crap TV in that time.  I've also watched two DVD's as stated in my last post, Re-watched The Hobbit yesterday and I watched the entire first series of Dinnerladies today.

This is my second viewing of The Hobbit.  I fell asleep.  It's just too long.  I WANT to like it.  And mostly, it's got a warm familiar air about it which I would expect from re-creating the same world that we were exposed to many years ago with The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. However, as much as I want to, I can't get enthusiastic about it.  I'm still not happy with some of the Dwarves looking like Men, with others looking like Dwarves, as if they didn't want to make them ALL ugly so they thought they'd have two or three fairly good looking ones- which begs the question, Why? And then, of course, it's just sooo padded out.  Overly long scenes and too many near scrapes.  I find some of the landscapes too heavy on effects which doesn't make it feel as "real" as LOTR did.  I'm gutted, because I half thought I might appreciate it more the second time round, and despite being ill- I didn't expect to fall asleep near the end. 

I was hoping to go and see Man of Steel at the cinema this weekend, but with me being unwell I might have to wait. 

Bums. :-(

What A Week.

What a week.  Allow me to recap:

On Wednesday I had my third meal out with three work colleagues, one of whom was also celebrating a birthday this week.  We started out at Bar Epernay in the Mailbox, moving on to Cote Brasserie for a lovely meal.  We drank fizzy wine drinks and chatted away, then after our meal we went up to Marco Pierre Whites for champagne cocktails.  It's a lovely place to go at night as it's located on top of a building called The Cube, where you are surrounded by full length glass windows and able to admire all the twinkly lights of Birmingham City.  It's probably a much nicer view at night than during the day, where sunlight will reveal the greyness of the city and surrounding roads. Following this, we opted for a quick stop at Malmaison for a final drink before getting the last train home. 

On Thursday I popped back into Brum to attempt to find an outfit for Saturday night.  I had ZERO luck and was starting to panic considerably at having nothing to wear.  I got back in time for a few quick drinks with my friend Hannah at our favourite local Sutton pub.

Friday saw a final, now desperate, attempt at outfit shopping in nearby Tamworth- again with no such luck.  Though  I did manage to find a nice shirt/top to wear for the evening which I was really looking forward to: A meal at Jamie's Italian, followed by a trip to The Electric Cinema to see Danny Boyle's new film Trance.  Jamie's Italian was a nice dining experience- with a nice relaxed atmosphere inside- not too stuffy or pretentious.  I had bread and oil to start along with some cured meats and fresh baby mozzarella, followed by a beautiful crab risotto and side salad. It was delicious- but as most risotto's are, it was very filling and I couldn't manage a dessert too.  Gutted, as this is usually the best part of any meal! I would opt for the introduction of a dessert starter so I can get the best of both worlds! 
The cinema is the UK's oldest working cinema and has a truly nostalgic feel complete with old style tickets.  I had booked a sofa, called Keaton, which came with  a text waiter service.  It was lovely to be able to watch  a film from the comfort of a sofa.  The whole cinema felt homely and familiar, warm and friendly with it's deep red walls and cosy sofa's.  It is a MUST if you're in Birmingham and there's a decent film showing you want to catch. 

And so to Saturday, the morning of which I spent trying on clothes for my night out.  I had booked a small side room in Bacchus in Birmingham for my pre-club drinks to celebrate my birthday.  Getting there early to order food, my family and I were closely joined by colleagues and most of my closest friends.  We whiled away a few hours here, laughing and drinking, with a few compliments on my chosen outfit on the way. :-)  It was lovely having everyone I cared about in one room, and whilst I was disappointed with a few cancellations and no-shows, it became clear that the people who really mattered to me were all in one room.  It was heart warming.  At about 11pm a few people peeled off to go home or to other venues, while a small hardcore crowd of us headed to my favourite rock club in Brum.  It was heaving when we arrived- good to see it so busy as the last few times we've been, albeit a few months ago, it's been fairly quiet.  The dance floor was packed for most of the night, with some perfect song choices for our Uni Rock night reunion.  It was such  a good night.  The club was still in full swing when we left at about 3.15am, they were obviously staying open an hour later than usual due to the clocks going forward.  We sleepily arrived home between 4.30 and 5 am at our prospective homes and lodgings. 

This brings me onto today which has been spent feeling incredibly sleepy and nursing our sore dancing feet. I noticed a small spikey-shoe-related injury to my left foot where I've obviously spiked myself at some point.  Despite our wrecked bodies, we opted for a bracing walk into Lichfield for a mid-afternoon coffee or hot chocolate, before heading home to say our goodbyes.  

It's been a truly awesome week off work, much-needed and welcomed.  I've been spoiled, treated and blessed with some wonderful nights out with truly awesome people.  I have one more day off tomorrow before I return back to the daily grind.  Tomorrow I'll be off to Nottingham to see family and relax a bit before the working week begins again.  I'm sad it's all over to be honest- but at least I really made the most of it.  And my bank balance proves it. :-)

Happy Stuff.

So here is my beautiful little neice Natalie at 8 months! She can't crawl yet but it looks like her leg muscles are starting to get stronger as she's standing up (with support) so I don't think it will be long until she's mobile!

Last night I went to the cinema to see Lincoln.  At the risk of sounding highly ignorant, I'm not knowledgable in the field of American political history so a lot of the political details in the film went over my head and I found parts of it hard to follow being unfamilair with the terminology used.  However, the human aspect of the film, I thought was brilliantly conveyed.  Daniel Day-Lewis' performance is completely Oscar-worthy with most of his monolouges just drawing you in as if it's just you and Mr Lincoln himself in a room.  Really, quite stunning.

(not) Miserable.

Busy week at work this week as we're moving a few miles up the road to a new station.  It's ACTUALLY got double glazing!!! WOOOOT.  It means a longer commute and about two weeks of chaos while everything gets moved/lost/put in the wrong place and sorted out again but ultimately it'll be worth it for the warmth! For the last eight months I've been a little block of ice working away in front of our draughty two way glass windows.  Ah... two way glass- I will miss you lulling all those vain passers by into your shallow reflective surface while we laugh at them from the other side.

I went to see Les Mis (the film) at the weekend.  There are actual FILMS on in the cinema.  I've been so relieved that the age of the crappy-masses film seems to have mostly passed and we're starting to see proper film makers return to the fold.  I saw the Hobbit a few weeks ago- and for the most part thought it was a good offering although I felt it was padded out too much.  Some of the scenes were too long and Martin Freeman lacked the warmth and happiness that we'd got used to from Ian Holme's Bilbo in the LOTR trilogy.  I also found the dwarves a bit inconsistent and not styled enough.

Les Mis was very good. Superb, emotive performances from most of the main characters with Hugh Jackman and Ann Hathaway being fantastic.  Russel Crowe does an average job but I never really like his acting style.  He fails to draw me in to any of his characters and I rarely care for them or feel sorry for them.  We, the viewers, should have felt some sympathy for Javere during his suicide song.  A scene of a tormented soul, his direction lost, his world and ideals turned upside down by the compassion of the man he's devoted his life to catching- and yet, Crowe showed no agony and remained mostly expressionless.  Russell Crowe's eyes are just steely and cold and it deadens most of his characters. I'm not a fan.
The other thing that ruined the film for me, not knowing the story, was the complete turnaround and two-facedness of Marius, the flighty, young socialist who was just a flakey, spineless drip! His friends die for the cause, and he sods off to get married to his splendily dressed fiance in his fuck-off Mansion! So much for Socialism and equality you Toff!
It's one of the few films I've seen at the cinema that people have applauded at the end and, despite being warned, at no point did I find myself reaching for the tissues.  I don't tend to cry at films. Moving documentaries perhaps- but not films.  The only film that even had me close to crying was Wall-E. I welled up when he gets rebuilt at the end and his little eyes remain as cold and empty as Russell Crowes; your heart is just willing them to show life and personality once again... Emotive stuff.  

In other news I have been taking on a DIRE Amazon Marketplace seller to get a refund/replacement for a faulty item.  I won.  I have now escalated to a formal complaint about the fact that this seller removed my negative feedback which makes a mockery of the whole system.  Freedom of speech and all that.  If I fail in my mission to get it reinstated, I will be taking to twitter instead.  Never let it be said I don't stick up for the little people.

I have also found a problem with my new Cowon.  I'm still investigating into fixes for an issue with my player reading ID3 tags from shite-tunes where most of my music is imported or bought legally- yet Apple, being up their own arses as they are, have kindly made sure you can only use their shite-pods for file transfer with comfort and ease.  I'll get round it.  Or buy a Sony instead which use a slightly different transfer format.  Again, I won't be bullied by some snotty corporation and brainwashed into buying substandard products.

I'm totally on a roll lately.  I feel strong.  Justice is being done all over the place.  Good things are happening. 

An Interjection: The Fear

FINALLY.  A decent drama series written by someone who actually cares about film.



I saw the ad for this last week and having loved the films NEDS and Tyrannosaur I was immediately intrigued by the fact this starred the same actor- Peter Mullan, in a similar role. 

The first episode aired last night and I was immediately impressed with the camera work, compositions and analogies used to create the uneasy atmosphere.  Coastal erosion, regeneration of an old pier, the sea, soceital breakdown and the invasion of a criminal gang are all used as motifs echoing the graual loss of the central characters mind to dementia. 

I'm gripped.  I just hope the remaining three episodes live up to my expectations and continue to inspire. 

Faith restored in story telling on TV.  :-)