London Still Rocks!

Tonight, back with  The Hideout  (and their sister group,  Movie Roadhouse  (MRL)) for the  Darkness Falls  social (I think that's a lovely name). At the  BFI , as usual - I booked to eat at  The Archduke  beforehand - and then they tacked on a trip to see  Hallowe'en  at the end of the night! I've seen it a million times - but hey, it's a classic, I could see it once more! Ah Lordy, the last post took so long to write.. what with having to finish the film listings, and actually book a lot of stuff at once, so I could say what was coming up.. I finished it in The Archduke, as the end of the post implied! I was sat overlooking the construction site outside - what with that, and the level of noise in the restaurant itself - plus the rumbling and vibration of trains overhead - I mused that the survey question they always send, about what the ambience is like, and where one of the options is "romantic", is a bit daft.. not to mention t...

Last night, back with  Up in the Cheap Seats  (UITCS) for  A Raisin in the Sun , at the  Lyric Hammersmith . Ugh, what a long journey.. well, has to be done. The Jubilee Line , predictably, was a nightmare - I had to wait for the fifth train to be able to squeeze on. That one turned out to be a bit less crowded - and better yet, there was a spare seat! The District Line , equally predictably, was less crowded, more spacious - no free seats, but someone gave me his. So the journey was a lot more pleasant than it could have been. Very near the Lyric is a branch of Nando's , so I headed there first - what with the waiting, I was later than I'd have liked, but they are quick. Google Maps completely mistook where I was, of course - just as well I had some idea, or I'd have been very confused! And just as I was about to cross the road to it - OUCH! A sudden twang in my leg, and a sharp pain when I tried to walk on it. Damned if I was going to have traffic honking me - I ...

On Wednesday, I headed back to Ireland for a long weekend, it being my mother's birthday on Thursday. Things didn't quite go to plan, of course. Work flooded in last thing on Wednesday evening.. I knew it wouldn't take long to finish, so finished it. Now, my flight was earlier than usual, with winter schedules. Which meant I missed the bus I was going to get. I got the next one. Which meant I missed the train I was going to get. I got the next one - by the skin of my teeth, having grabbed a sandwich en route. And then.. a points failure right outside Stansted delayed us. We were off that train like greyhounds from a trap. It was very tight for me to make the security gate on time - but I did, panting so hard with relief that a staff member came over to ask whether I was all right. Well, I thought I was.. but it takes so long to get through Stansted, even if you don't stop, even if you're not dawdling - that it took me 20 minutes to get through security, through t...

Tonight, the second film night in a row - well, it was looking like   Carrie . And showing in the refined surrounds of  The Garden Cinema , no less! Of course, I saw that on Saturday , in the end.. but I was very happy with the alternative!  The Apprentice  is the story of a young  Donald Trump , learning his  Machiavellian  business skills from  Roy Cohn . The title is a clever nod to the  tv programme  Trump was involved in, too. Yes, I thought I'd enjoy this.. showing in my local cinema, the  Curzon Aldgate , happily. I finished a good tranche of work today, and in good time to head out - bus there (and I just missed one , but these are frequent), walk back, was the plan. Because it's just too far to walk to the cinema, but I could eat on the way back. I made the cinema in good time - and as I asked for a ticket, she asked whether I wanted to use one of my free ones! Crikey.. seems I haven't been using those at all! Well, of cour...

The next two days are film, although they're not booking out, so I haven't booked.. tonight, it was  The Outrun , finally, in which  Saoirse Ronan  plays the true story of a recovering alcoholic who returns to her native  Orkney . It's been out long enough that, by now, showings are limited - but it was on this evening at  Picturehouse Central . I nipped off quite early - the joys of WFH. And strangely, the #188 wasn't going past Waterloo - none of them. It wasn't a thing of not going over the bridge , as I've seen before - none of the others seemed to have a problem! So I just picked up another, and made it with enough time to spare. Interestingly, I see alcohol is only sold in the bar now, not the concession stand, as it used to be.. still no problem taking it into the cinema, though! until an elderly bloke came to take the seat beside me - he had an armload of shopping bags, and seemed to be waiting for me to get up - well sorry, it wouldn't have done a...

So, I came to Picturehouse Central  on Saturday night, to meet The Hideout and see Carrie .  I was just ensconced in the bar and settling in my seat, when lo, one of those messages came through from the organiser. Who was sat at the other side of the bar! sensibly, as it was more visible from the entrance. So I decamped to where he was. And we had a good chat - this night was much better attended than Friday's , and a good crowd of us were gathered by the time we needed to go to the cinema. I'd read the book - never seen the film, though. There are differences - for instance, in the book, she destroys the town! Principally though, the main difference I found.. was that I thought the book was a lot scarier, in this case. I found the film more sad than scary - probably because of the morose music throughout. Which ensures you empathise with her - but it's not great for horrifying an audience, despite Sissy Spacek 's wide-eyed stares! I'm not sure Piper Laurie reall...