Film: Weapons

I'm back in Ireland for the weekend - flew with Aer Lingus because Ryanair, ironically, was so ridiculously expensive.. so I got the Elizabeth Line. Now, when I did this before, I was practically pushed out the door, it was so crowded - so, when I saw I could take the Thameslink to Farringdon and catch it there, a bit earlier in the journey, I thought that an excellent idea, and that's what I did. And yes - the Thameslink was lovely, comfy and air-conditioned.. and although I didn't get a seat on the Elizabeth Line until I was nearly at my destination, I wasn't in danger of being pushed off either, as before. And to be fair, I could have taken seats that a couple of people offered - wasn't in need, though.

The flight was very nice, apart from a wee altercation when I asked for a white wine, and to accompany it, they gave me a glass with ice! I sent it back, asked for one without - and you should have seen the stewardess' face.. what is it with white wine and ice?! Fair enough to have it as an option, but don't EVER force it on people..

Well, today I went to see Weapons - a new horror film, it's very highly rated, and looked highly original! Stars Josh Brolin. Directed by Zach Cregger, who also directed the excellent Barbarian. Only sad I wasn't there to see it with The Hideout, in London yesterday.. Showing in Ennis, which is handiest for me, so I went to the earliest showing.

Heh-heh. Oh, tarnation this is good. Starts, as in the trailer, with a child's narration. And goes on to be utterly weird. However, they employ a technique I love, of presenting the story from different characters' narratives, to reveal the entire story to us.. without which, I doubt we'd have a clue. Basically, all the kids from one particular class in some unspecified American city leave their houses at 2.17 one morning, running out of the house, and are not seen again.. Blame naturally falls on the teacher, but she's as nonplussed as everyone else. There is one boy who didn't mysteriously disappear, but despite repeated questioning, he's no help. Josh Brolin's character is one of the dads who had a kid disappear, and is particularly obsessed with finding an answer.

Back to the weirdness: what we see in the trailer is a bloke, known to the teacher, who comes running at her, all bloody-faced, arms outstretched, kind of as though he is pretending to be an aeroplane. And then he jumps her, and tries to strangle her - only to be fought off by Josh Brolin. Funny thing is, that arms outstretched posture is one adopted by all the kids that went missing, captured on videocams as they ran from their houses..

I love how weird it is - in fact, "bonkers" is a word that occurred to me repeatedly during the film. They kind of drip-feed the craziness, so you don't get too much at once. I mean, the main evil character isn't really even introduced until halfway through the film.. and the craziness continues right to the end, in a delightful concoction of OTT awfulness. All completely rational, as it transpires once you know the whole story.. well, when I say "rational", at least it follows a certain rule..

Without giving anything away, I will say that, once I figured out what was going on, I thought of a friend of mine who said he has an aunt like that.. he's not a horror fan, otherwise I'd seriously recommend this to him. The film does include a couple of involved dream sequences - including one by Josh Brolin, who dreams of a house with a massive assault rifle above it, in the sky, bearing the display "2:17".. and I do think I agree with someone's analysis, that this refers to the bill to ban assault rifles, which was passed, with 217 members in support - frankly, it seems too prominent a reference not to have some specific meaning. Whatever though, this is a terrific film, easing you into the story, not too many jump-scares, not too much gore - and, as I'd hoped for, a most original premise! Highly recommended - to horror fans.

Afterwards, to Supermac's - where they were so busy, I got a takeaway and ate it in the car! Still good, though..

Back in London on Monday, again I'm headed to the Summer Organ Festival with CT - this time, the performer is Simon Horgan. The second of four Mondays in a row it's running. My sometime travel companion is coming too, and she being a big fan of Flat Iron, we've booked the nearby Borough branch for afterwards. Even on a Monday, they were already booked out to 8.30..

On Tuesday, I've found what looks like an amazing film.. A State of Passion is a documentary about British-Palestinian surgeon, Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah, and his work in Palestine - and for all the horrors it shows, it also seems to be a real work of, well, love for the country. "A State of Passion" is his phrase describing Palestine. Showing in the Curzon Bloomsbury - and with my membership renewed, I'm using it as one of my free films, and have booked.

On Wednesday, also thrilled with what I found - back with CT, I have a ticket for Storehouse, a new immersive exhibition in Deptford. A topical show, it puts you in a storehouse containing all news stories since the advent of the internet, but asks you to take a stand, with rival narratives competing for dominance.

On Thursday, thinking of film again - and The Garden Cinema has a members' suggestion, Smiles of a Summer Night, a romantic comedy by Ingmar Bergman, which looks like an option. Even closer to the office than is the Curzon Bloomsbury! And I've finally bitten the bullet and taken out membership with them too.

On Friday.. well, The Hideout is off to Friday 13th Part VIII in the Prince Charles.. and the organiser offered me a free ticket. Otherwise you couldn't drag me to it, TBH. We're meeting in Victory House beforehand.

And next Saturday, back with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpies, yay - finally getting to do his Beatles walk.