Watching - December 2022

Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)

After revisiting Pretty in Pink so disappointingly a couple of days ago, I had to watch probably my favourite John Hughes film. The soundtrack here isn't quite as good and it doesn't contain Molly Ringwald, but the story is better, the characters are more developed and the ending is the right one!

Disenchanted (2022)

Enchanted is a bit of a family favourite so this was always going to be a watch together - which is what we did, albeit with B remotely and without K for some reason. Capturing the same whimsical yet tongue-in-cheek spirit as the original was always going to be difficult and if the sequel doesn't quite manage, it's not for want of trying or for want of fairy tale clichés to cram in.

Classic Albums: A Night at the Opera (2006)

For some reason TVDB only knows about a feature film length version of this, but that's not what I saw on Prime, which was about 45 minutes long and interesting enough but a little light on detail (and contained nothing about "The Prophet's Song" for some reason). Always amazing to watch (Sir!) Brian May playing though - just a genius.

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

A candidate for one of the best sequels ever? William Goldman said that sequels are whore's movies - it's all about the money - but given that Cruise could have made a sequel decades earlier if he really was interested in cashing in, maybe this exists because he really wanted to tell the next story. Just as preposterous as the first film but better filmed and possibly a better story and, dare we say it, possibly a better film. I ordered this on DVD the day after we watched it in the cinema and I don't regret that at all.

Martin and Martin: An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life (2018)

An odd two-hander, in which Steve Martin gets to play a little banjo, Martin Short gets to do some comedy-vaudeville and both get to trade mock insults with obvious affection and much show business affectation (particularly so in Short's case). I wouldn't normally bother with this kind of thing, but it passed about an hour, had some laugh-out-loud moments and was generally pleasant enough.

Runaway Jury (2003)

Apparently the trial's subject was changed from tobacco to guns fairly late, following the release of The Insider. On the one hand, it makes little difference which legal product kills someone, but on the other, it makes a lot: tobacco isn't protected by the constitution. However, instead of this being an interesting discussion about the US's weird cultural gun fetish, this is just a story of a jury being swung. Most of the interesting parts of the book are lost and in particular, we get no idea how John Cusack's character sways the jury - which makes it all a bit implausible. Passes the time but not particularly good.

24 Hour Party People (2002)

I don't have many claims to fame, but this is one of them: I was a student in Manchester when Madchester was kicking off and the Hacienda was the coolest nightclub in the country. Except I wasn't actually there: I was at the alternative clubs and the Poly bop, listening to The Velvet Underground and The Stooges, Mudhoney and The Wonder Stuff, not any of this dance crap. I think we know who was proved correct. Nevertheless I was aware of enough of it - and learned enough in the next few years - for this film to be an interesting trip down memory lane. Very entertaining in many ways (albeit I suspect off-puttingly confusing for anyone who doesn't already know the subject matter), but badly unbalanced by having Tony Wilson played by Steve Coogan, who, through no real fault of his own, just makes every character he plays sound like Alan Partridge.

Only Murders in the Building (2021)

I found this via reading about Martin & Martin (above), only to later discover that it's part of a resurgence of interest in whodunnits (with films like Knives Out), which makes me very on trend or something. Allegedly. Anyway, this series is great fun, with loads of twists and turns before the murderer is revealed and a amusing sense of self-awareness. Martin Short in particular is hilarious as a washed-up theatre producer who insists in giving delivery notes to just about anyone. Perhaps a slightly shorter series would have been a bit more focussed and if the stunt-casting episode with Sting was a bit misjudged, at least they took the micky out of themselves later for doing it. There's a second series too, but I'll have to see if I can be bothered once I don't have a whole holiday season to watch it!

Knives Out (2019)

Once I got past Daniel Craig's American accent - and not just a generic US one but a full-blown southern drawl - this turned out to be a very entertaining whodunnit, a clear successor to Christie's drawing room mysteries. Great fun and much better than the badly off-target Branagh version of Poirot.

Reading - December 2022

Eminent Hipsters by Donald Fagen (2013)

I've been meaning to read this for ages and finally got it out from the library a couple of weeks ago. I suspect I might be the first person to do so, judging by its pristine condition. Perhaps this is unsurprising: Donald Fagen isn't a household name and the band he fronted through the 70s, Steely Dan, is well-known amongst music lovers but still a bit of an acquired taste - so the potential audience for a slim book about really obscure musicians and influences from his childhood is probably limited. If it had been an autobiography - which is kind of what I expected - then it would have been of more interest. As it is, finding out about some of Fagen's influences has some value, but the second half of the book is a tour diary - and, as I say, it's not a big book anyway. Amusing in places and worth the read, but overall, mildly disappointing.

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (2004)

Despite being ostensibly classified as "science fiction/romance", this is only SF in the very broadest sense. Henry's time travelling isn't just a metaphor for any long term medical condition but is actually defined as one, and so his absences can be compared with a partner who is physically or mentally not with you through no fault of their own. But because he has found Clare - his true love, to whom he keeps returning and is destined to be with, through some unexplained causality of looped time - he can manage. I don't believe in the idea of "the one" any more than I believe in time travel, but it's a fine sentiment for a book and I was happy to indulge in it. It's over five hundred pages long and I did wonder how Niffenegger would sustain the story, but it stayed involving and moving right to the end. Very enjoyable. I just wish that authors could let go of the idea of "literature" enough to provide a happy ending.

What If? 2 by Randall Munroe (2022)

More disastrous scenarios from innocuous premises, explored in fascinating detail and with cute pictures. An ideal book to read over breakfast or lunch, or similar short bursts, as it is best read with a break in between chapters. Great fun.

The Humans by Matt Haig (2013)

I think the quotes on the front cover ("hilarious", "wonderfully funny") do this novel a disservice. It's never outrageously funny, so if you picked it up expecting a comedy extravaganza you might be disappointed. On the other hand, if you are interested in a gently amusing but thoughtful and bittersweet story of family and love, suffering and sacrifice, and why all are necessary to be human, you might have found the right book. Having an alien attempt to understand humans and their culture is a cute way to examine things from another perspective; perhaps the alien here could be anyone who feels themselves, well, alienated from society or their family (is this too obvious? Honestly, I am so poor at subtext). I enjoyed the book, although I found the slightly odd mix of emotional analysis and slightly thriller-esque elements meant I wasn't as involved or moved as The Time Traveler's Wife earlier this month. (As an aside, I do like Matt Haig's take-down of book snobbery very much though!)