Film: Primate, January Catch-Up, & 7 Wonders Immersive Exhibition
On Friday, second Meetup in a row, I was back with The Hideout for Primate, about your typical tropical paradise, where a group of youngsters have come to party, and there's a pet chimp. Unfortunately, he goes from sweet to savage when bitten by a rabid animal, and carnage ensues. Venue finally announced as the Vue West End, to Victory House before that for drinks, and Bella Italia before that for me, for food.
I made it slightly late to the restaurant, as usual - sadly, it seems my regular table is no longer in use. To be fair, I was probably the only one that liked it - I could sit inside and look out: but it is a cramped space, and better suited to storage. Anyway, I was seated immediately - and as I perused the menu, something caught my eye that I hadn't noticed before, but that sounded good: so I ordered the beef and red wine tortellini.
As usual, I had chicken fries to start. However, not as usual, they were burnt and unpleasant! I mentioned it to the manager as he cleared away my dish and asked how it was - he graciously took it off the bill. But wow, the tortellini.. oh man. He was careful to ask how that was, and I raved about it.. he said they had changed the recipe slightly, adding bacon lardons (ok) and adding cream to the sauce (absolute game-changer!). I cannot believe I never noticed it before - as I said to him, I have a new favourite.
And so to Victory House, where I raved about it - whereupon the event organiser suggested we incorporate the restaurant into future events! Gee, what an excellent idea.. anyway, we had a lively chat about things horrific before heading off to the cinema. Where the bar queue was much shorter than the queues for food.. and I was to discover that, out of the three up escalators that lead to the top floor, where our screen was, two were not working! I did some grumbling about that on the climb, let me tell you..
Now, it seems that one of our group, during the ads, researched our film online - and on finding a gruesome description of the opening scene, decided against staying. And the description wasn't wrong.. they decide to preview the action to come with an absolutely disgusting scene, our chimp ripping someone's face off. You have been warned. Mind you, whenever I hear the word "chimp", I can't help but think about the real-life case of the woman whose face was literally ripped to shreds by the chimp she was looking after - so, frankly, this was what I was expecting. I wasn't impressed by them chucking this scene in there though - what, to put us on edge? They didn't trust the rest of the film to do that?
And then the caption reads "24 hours earlier", and we're seeing a girl bringing her friends to her tropical paradise in Hawaii. And wow, it looks gorgeous - however, it was actually apparently shot in Madeira. Her dad is a scientist, and has taught the chimp to communicate by means of a tablet that speaks words corresponding to pictograms that the chimp presses. And everyone loves the cute chimp, the family pet - and the audience is just waiting for the turnaround. Dad is called away for work, the kids throw a party - the chimp, sleeping in an open-top cage, is bitten by a rabid mongoose. Which perplexes the authorities at the end, rabies being apparently unknown in Hawaii. Anyway, rabid animals suffer from hydrophobia, so those kids that aren't immediately butchered take refuge in the pool.
It's ok, it's decently made - but I wouldn't call it scary, and I was less than enthusiastic about it by the end. For one thing, I don't think the symptoms would have come through so fast - the incubation period is always thought to be at least a few days. And.. I dunno, the action just isn't suspenseful. There's precious little gore, after that first scene - although a few people are killed, just one is really mauled. This particular scene does serve a purpose, being how the dad, who is worried when he can't reach anyone on the phone, so rushes home, finds out what's happening - he's profoundly deaf, and one scene illustrates this very well, as an attack is going on right behind him, to which he's clueless. The acting is good, the setting, as I say, is lovely - it just failed to enthuse me.
Afterwards, I was to discover that all the down escalators were working.. hmph. And as we chatted in the lobby, lo, a few of the film's stars appeared, and had photos taken with people - I wasn't that interested myself. Others were keener - I just couldn't get into it.
It ran too late to blog that night - was playing my phone game. Yesterday was the day that suited best for me, James, Mark, and Martin to meet. Mind you, James has stuff going on, and arrived late - it was around 4pm when we met, at The Phoenix as usual. We were lucky to get a free table - there wasn't one on the first pass, the upstairs was closed, and we just managed to grab a table for four when we went down again. We both decided to have steak. Which was as delicious as ever. Martin, sadly, mistook the day and couldn't make it - Mark arrived quite late. Apparently, Chelsea had something to do with it. But the three of us had a great catch-up! Mind you now, it was a late one - especially for me, as I fell asleep on the bus home again and woke in North Greenwich. Half an hour, I had to wait for the bus back..
Today, Over 40 Living the Life planned a trip to the 7 Wonders of the World Immersive Exhibition, which sounded good. However, I baulked at their trip for a few reasons - firstly, the £4 per person she charged on top: secondly, the tickets she bought didn't include VR, which you'd have to buy separately: and thirdly, it was too damn early! I bought my own ticket (VIP - includes the VR) for later in the day, from Fever. And considering I was still in bed when they were due to go in, I was glad of that..
For once, the bus reading "due" on the departures board was accompanied by the appearance of said bus, moments later! And so it was that I made the exhibition within minutes of my timeslot - although I doubt they're too strict about that. Interestingly, you both enter and leave through the giftshop - she gave me a wristband with "VIP" on it, and told me they'd give me more instructions at the VR room: and I scanned the QR code for the audio guide. I have a vague feeling I heard the voice of the organiser of that group that was going, in the gift shop as I went in - it'd have been two hours since they started the exhibition, so it's possible..
I have to say, I was a bit perplexed by the posters at the entrance to the exhibition, which mix the ancient 7 wonders with others that turn out to be from the modern list of wonders - it turns out the exhibit covers them all! (That machine, BTW, is for creating souvenir coins.)
I was soon to discover that the audio guide is really annoying, in that it moves pretty continuously from one chapter to the next without signalling it! The info is interesting enough, though. And naturally enough, the exhibition starts with the ancient wonders, and specifically with the only one still in existence - the Great Pyramid of Giza. It's all the more remarkable that this should be the one to survive, given that it is also the oldest of them.. the displays are brief enough, but then, you do have 14 to navigate. And they certainly are eye-catching. The audio guide for the pyramid discusses ancient Egyptian society as it relates to the pyramid's construction, and the display about the pyramid includes models of how they think it was constructed:
There's also a pyramid with a changing visual display on its surface:
Then you're into the Mausoleum of Halikarnassos, and the audio guide explains how this tomb was built for King Mausolus by his grieving sister-wife. The audio guide suggests that their lack of children might mean that the marriage was ceremonial - and there's a couple of massive statues of them, which, in common with the statues throughout, are a bit naff. The mausoleum was ultimately destroyed in a series of earthquakes.
And so to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which the audio guide suggests there's little real evidence for, and which might not have existed. The display, again, is beautiful. Note the little sign on the wall that tells you what chapter of the guide you're supposed to be on!
Then we have the lighthouse of Pharos, in Alexandria - imagine, this lasted over 1000 years! It was also destroyed by earthquakes - they have a model suitable for small kids to climb into, and a viewer, automatically activated when someone puts their face to it.
The Colossus of Rhodes was a huge statue that stood over the harbour entrance - destroyed by, you guessed it, earthquakes! As the audio guide describes, it was also the shortest-lasting, destroyed only 54 years after its construction. And as you enter this bit, you're greeted by a suitably massive foot:
There I was, listening to the audio guide talk about the only "wonder" dedicated to women, and my guide suddenly stopped working. I realised I didn't have internet, and figured it needed that to work - it wasn't until I got outside and still didn't have internet that I checked the settings, and discovered that my phone had independently decided to disable internet access from phone data! (They don't have WiFi).Cheeky - well, I have the link, can listen to them as I write! Anyway, after having been destroyed several times by earthquakes and rebuilt, it was finally destroyed by fire.
It shares space with the Statue of Zeus! Moved to Constantinople by the Romans, it was ultimately destroyed by fire. This reproduction seems to have space for visitors to sit for a photo opp:
Ancient wonders complete, it's time to move onto the modern ones, as voted by the public! They start with the Great Wall of China:
Then Petra, the city cut into the rock:
Chichén Itzá, a Mayan city in the Yucatán:
The Colosseum:
Machu Picchu:
The Taj Mahal:
And Christ the Redeemer, the most recent on the list:
Next up is the VR room, where everyone is fitted with a headset (not recommended for children under 10, because of their smaller heads). When it was my turn, he asked whether the video quality was ok, to which I replied it was a bit blurry, and he adjusted something that improved it. Unfortunately, it stayed a bit blurry, but it's too late after that. I have to say, this is one of the cooler VR experiences I've done - it takes the form of a kind of otherworldly gallery of photos representing different wonders, then takes you to each in turn. In several cases, it presents different views - the view from the stands in the Colosseum, for instance, followed by the view from the arena. There are a lot of sweeping, "flying" shots, which work really well. And to exit each, you walk towards, and through, a portal, represented by a glowing blue ring.
It was all going great until the last one - Christ the Redeemer, where we started at the base (lovely view of the sea), and then the narrator warned we were now going up! Uh-oh, I thought - sure enough, next thing I knew, I was apparently stood on one of the statue's arms, chatting to seagulls. An even better view - but I soon realised I couldn't turn to see it from all sides, I was literally too scared! I stood stock still - and then the narrator said I had to walk to the portal - along the arm. Hellfire, I tried, I literally couldn't move. Thought about doing it with my eyes closed - didn't dare, in case I missed the portal and ended up somewhere even worse! Damnit, I had to raise my hand and ask for help - and it took him long enough to jog over, too. He had to move it along himself so I was right at the edge of the portal. Phew.. and all I'd have missed if I bowed out at that point would be the ads at the end. But for all that, it was a good VR.
I was a bit confused where to go after that - all I could see was the sign that read "Toilets (turn right in immersive room)". So I followed that - to find a room with benches, where you could go through a similar experience: seated.
And that's that. It really does look terrific, this exhibition, well-designed, good graphics. Recommended - and it has plenty of activities for kids. Runs to the end of the month, some days sold out. Exit through the gift shop, where as usual I didn't buy anything (and, as a VIP customer, I could have had my picture superimposed onto a wonder of my choice, but I wasn't interested), and - once I sorted out my internet - out into a cold and rainy day. There was a nearby Nando's, so I ate there - had a wine, but also a bottomless soft drink, as I was parched: and as I wasn't in a hurry, I decided to have their choc-a-lot cake too.
The next two days, I was thinking film, but they were not selling out (yet), so I didn't book. Tomorrow, I was thinking of Breathless, at the BFI - part of their Ensemble season to celebrate the filmmakers referenced in Richard Linklater's new documentary about the French Nouvelle Vague (New Wave). Breathless is directed by Jean-Luc Godard.
However, tonight I was having a look at what else was on - and lo, TAC came up with a stunning option - so instead of the film, I'm now going to Jorvik, an immersive Viking experience, based around the capture of York by the Vikings, who renamed it Jorvik. The drinking of mead (or wine for royalty) is apparently a feature, and it's happening in The Glitch. Regular tickets from Ticket Tailor. Heading to The Archduke beforehand.
On Tuesday, still thinking of seeing a documentary called This Is Not a Film, made by the banned Iranian director Jafar Panahi, mostly on a mobile phone, and smuggled out in a cake. Showing, as good documentaries tend to do, in the Curzon Bloomsbury.
Then a run of five Meetups! On Wednesday, I got a ticket from someone who bought one, then couldn't go, for Mrs. President at Charing Cross Theatre: an outing with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS). And that'll be interesting, a week after seeing Our American Queen, because Mrs. President is about the wife of Abraham Lincoln, who's mentioned in Our American Queen, and she and the Chases, subjects of Our American Queen, couldn't stand each other!
On Thursday, I'm with Movie Roadhouse London - for, would you believe, that new Richard Linklater film, Nouvelle Vague! It primarily focuses on the making of Breathless, and I'm sure I'll understand the proceedings, even not having seen Breathless.. Also showing in the BFI, and I'm heading to The Archduke beforehand - although when I looked, there were only two timeslots left, and I ended up having to book quite an early one! So I'll have lots of time before I meet the group..
On Friday, UITCS tempted me back with Guidelines, at the New Diorama - a play about the horrors of the internet, basically.
Then the weekend belongs to London Museums A-Z.. on Saturday, we're off to Bletchley Park, the ticket for which is valid for a year. I got a cheap train ticket on Uber, with a promotion knocking £5 off, plus £10 Uber credit - which was most of the cost of the ticket. And afterwards, we're headed to the fetchingly monikered Captain Ridley's Shooting Party! (It's a pub.) The history reads as follows: In 1937, the estate passed into government hands. Then, an undercover MI6 group arrived using the name ‘Captain Ridley’s Shooting Party’, with ‘an air of friends enjoying a weekend at a country house’. Their real purpose was to see whether Bletchley Park would work as a wartime location.
And next Sunday, it's an Unlimited event, where they don't cap numbers - we're off to the British Museum to see fragments of the Mausoleum of Halikarnassos, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, as seen today of course, followed by a social in Penderel's Oak, as usual.
Finally - I was stuck for something to do on the 9th, until I remembered something I saw advertised on Facebook - there's a talk about British Folk Horror that night! I was too late to book an in-person ticket, so I booked one for the livestream - tickets from Eventbrite.
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