Watching - October 2022

Stewart Lee: Tornado (2022)

The companion piece to Snowflake wasn't as funny. Lee's show is basically about himself - or about his character, "Stewart Lee", anyway - and although there's plenty of amusement, I mostly chuckled rather than anything else.

Death on the Nile (2022)

A sumptuously filmed, expensively cast, melodramatic mess. The bare bones of the original, elegant plot are buried underneath a hodgepodge of unnecessary characters, needless activity and pointless scenery. Poirot is barely recognisable as Christie's "little Belgian", as all his original characteristics are presumably considered the antithesis of a real detective (which was actually kind of the point) and therefore removed, and we're left with a cliched star vehicle for Kenneth Branagh, who runs around, shouts, broods and accuses everyone, but exhibits no sense of discovery or intellect, merely a magician's reveal at the end that comes out of nowhere. Since any film is a massive team effort, it seems unfair to blame Branagh for this hopeless misreading, but since he's the director and star, that's what I'm going to do. Other than that though, it's not a completely awful film, just generic and a bit dull.

Gattaca (1997)

A striking, stylish piece of sci-fi that has stayed with me for a long time. The setup is pretty straightforward but then it's combined with a murder mystery that gives the story some structure. As always, some of the minor plot points don't bear thinking about too much, but it doesn't spoil things, and the score is superbly evocative.

Turning Red (2022)

The female members of my household think this film's headline metaphor is offensive ("so you're saying that when a girl starts her period, she literally turns into a red monster??"), which I can kind of understand. But having actually watched it, I think it's a little more nuanced than that: I think it's an allegory about how it feels to start adolescence and puberty, rather than menstruation specifically or solely. And, as such, I found it funny and relatable. It's not a Disney or Pixar classic but it's perfectly decent, it's good to see female central characters, and the animation is superb, of course. And the 4*TOWN songs are very good!

Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)

Watched with Z, who seemed to enjoy it.

Wimbledon (2004)

Comfort viewing.

The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)

I've been meaning to watch this for a while, as it's supposed to be a valuable historical artefact that documents the US west coast's punk scene at the turn of the 80s. I'm pleased I watched it, and it's a chance to see footage of some of the iconic bands of the time (notably Black Flag, The Germs and X). The music is a disappointment though. It's crude, but to some extent that was point of punk and perhaps they improved (much as, say, The Clash did) - and if it sounds clichéd, well perhaps it didn't at the time. Now, however, this is as dated as 50s rock and less interesting.