Films: Peter & the Wolf & Mise Éire

Now back in Ireland for Christmas. There hasn't yet been anything in the cinemas here that I haven't seen, and want to - boy, it's quiet! Well, saves me going out in the terrible weather.

I was delighted to discover the new Peter & the Wolf on tv on Christmas Day! With narration by Gavin Friday and illustrations by Bono, this was a must-see.. the simple story of a young boy and his relationship with the wildlife around him. Also worth a look is the making-of video.. Dunno why it didn't occur to me to blog about it at the time - perhaps because it's only half an hour or so long. Well, it's a lovely little thing - accompanied, of course, by the fantastic score. Delighted that they screened it! Nice start to the day.

Films on tv are, apart from that, ones I've already seen - until last night, when they showed Mise Éire (I am Ireland). Dunno how I missed this until now - it's older than I am, and I've certainly heard the famous soundtrack. I suppose it wasn't the thing to show while the Troubles were happening - given its theme, of the events leading up to, and immediately after, the 1916 Rising. It is completely composed of old newsreel footage - my mother remarked how bad the picture quality is, but what can you do? Of course, we know most of the details - but it was interesting to see the characters actually shown on screen. And I must say, what I found most striking was.. the number of hats. Hardly did you see anyone without a hat! Crikey, when they went out of fashion, it must have been a disaster for milliners.. Ended rather abruptly, we thought. So, what they could have done was take the trouble to add some narration, at least subtitles, to flesh out the story. As it is, although it does tell the story, it's un-embellished. But hey, interesting. I was too tired to blog last night, though - probably all that Bailey's!

On Friday, they're showing Ferrari in the cinemas - handiest showing time for me is in the Omniplex. A biopic of the co-founder (with his wife) of the car company, it stars Adam Driver as the man himself, with Penélope Cruz as his wife and Patrick Dempsey as the driver of a car he enters in a race to try to revive the company's ailing fortunes. Directed by Michael Mann, so should be enjoyable - certainly, the trailer looks good. And I'm looking forward to seeing Penélope Cruz' portrayal of the infamously fiery lady..

Nothing else decent on that I haven't seen - until New Year's Day, when they screen One Life! Stars Anthony Hopkins as the real-life Nicholas Winton, who organised the Kindertransport (something I can't imagine being allowed to happen these days, with the UK so anti-refugees). Also stars Helena Bonham Carter as his mother. I'll have to go to the Odeon for a decent showing time, though.

I fly back to London on Tuesday, and next Wednesday, well, there wasn't a lot advertised on Meetup - I thought about heading to the Winter Light Festival at the Southbank Centre that day. But then, yay, the London Horror Film Group advertised informal drinks at the Imperial for that day! So I'll trot along to that - they're starting at midday, which I can't, with work, but I'm sure they'll still be there when I'm free!

And on the 4th, I'm off to see The Time Traveller's Wife, at the Apollo. Handily enough, Seatplan was one of the sites with the cheapest tickets to this - and I was eligible for a Seatplan voucher. So I used it, and got my ticket for £5. Let's just hope, from that high up, I can see something..! Shame this is the day the boss will be back from holiday, so I should probably make this my office day - awkward to take my laptop to this, particularly in the Gods!