The gift of new romantics

I would never have described myself as a new romantic. I hated being catagorised into a box. Goth didn’t exist and honestly post-punk feels the most comfortable fit for me back in the early 1980s.

What I didn’t realise at the time and it is only just beginning to hit me – is I lived in a very special time. I lived in a time when music was magical. Had you asked me, I would have always said I was a guitar gal, but I have since realised what a huge part electronic music has played in my life.

Way before it was legal for me to drink – I was going on a weekly basis to my local version of the Blitz Club. The Blitz club really was a movement the same way that Punk tried so hard to be. For me, being individual, standing out in a crowd had always felt natural and here was a chance – once a week – to stop wearing my school uniform (no matter how much I had adapted it – it was still a school uniform) and really be outrageous. With other who felt the same. It was such an important part of my life and really imprinted on me for who I was to become as an adult.

Steve Strange, Rusty Egan and Boy George amongst others led the way for us.  At the Blitz Club, looking good was as important as sounding good. It left a lasting impression on a generation.

Sadly Steve Strange passed away yesterday.  He will be missed. He would have loved to have known how much love was really out there for him.  But he leaves a generation of Blitz kids. And without the Blitz – where would David Bowie have gone to find someone for his Ashes to Ashes video?

Rest in peace Steve – and I hope you are styling them up in Heaven!

 

Ex Machina Vs Kingsman

So how about it? Reviewing two films in one review. I do like a challenge.

Ex Machina vs Kingsman. Sci-fi vs action. Where do I start?

Well I do like top trumps so let’s start there.

	Ex Machina	Kingsman
Style	4	4.5
Storyline	4	4
Acting	4	3.5
Entertainment value	3	5
Special Effects	4.5	4.5

Ex-Machina starts out like we are going on an adventure. And it is exciting. We feel we are making a great discovery. The inventor, Nathan seems to have a bit of a drink problem but has also made the most interesting invention of all time. An AI. Caleb is lucky enough to have been chosen from Nathan’s vast empire of workers. He is here to see if he can tell if the AI can think alone.  For me, someone who has studied psychology, I found this interaction fascinating. Who wouldn’t want to try this? Test out an AI? I would be volunteering and first in line.

But I do have problems with this film. Firstly how much Nathan drinks. I don’t believe anyone would choose to keep getting that wasted. And he is sleeping with what turns out to be an earlier version of an AI.  Tell me, if you are a man, making an AI and there are no limits, would you not make a woman who had ‘Lara Croft’ sized breasts? Be honest. Yes you would.  I felt this film had some good special effects but the women kept showing a huge amount of nudity that didn’t really make any difference to the storyline.

The ending left me questioning what happened to Caleb? Is he alive? Could he get to food? Would he slowly starve? How long could Ava (the AI) survive without being identified in the real world?

So I left that cinema feeling frustrated and a bit disappointed.

Kingsman. A modern day James Bond film? The film opened to Dire Straits’ ‘money for nothing’ which really worked with the action scene.  It is a great action scene and really tells us the story of what the Kingman are without needing to know too much.

Eggsy’s dad used to be a Kingman but saved his colleagues by sacrificing his own life. When Eggsy gets into trouble  he uses his get out of jail free card and meets Harry (played by Colin Firth) who is every bit a Kingsman.  So you can tell where this is going. It has a feel of ‘Men in Black’ about it but I still enjoyed the journey.

Every James Bond character needs its Blofeld baddie and this is no exception. Samuel L Jackson gives a great performance with a lisp in his character, Valentine.  His number two is called Gazelle. Not only by name but actually she has a disability and has legs like Oscar Pistorius. Except her legs have swords on them and can easily cut a man in two.

The film keeps a good pace and is really enjoyable – I like the idea that Valentine is giving out free sim cards for free calls and internet forever. I would never fall for a free card but many would. And of course Valentine is the baddie; his idea to save the world is to cull the amount of people. The cards can trigger a violent button in humans that makes them all want to kill each other.

Spoiler Alert: How can they kill Harry? Could they not afford to keep on Colin Firth for a whole film? It is such a shame.

I also wasn’t very impressed that Eggsy, who has a common London accent, puts on a suit and suddenly speaks the Queen’s English!

But there are some great learning tips. Want to sleep with a princess? Just let her out of a prison cell. (Yes James Bond has probably done this) but then she ups the ante.  Save the world and you get to give it to me up the bum! Okay I am paraphrasing, but you know he is gonna save the world! Not sure James Bond did that!

Both films are great in their own unique way but for pure entertainment I would say Kingsman wins by a tinsy bit.

Go and see both films. They are both worth your money.

And I’m off to Saville row just to see if the Kingsman tailor really exists.

 

 

 

Taken 3 with spoilers

Is this one any different? No one is Taken as such. But within the first 10 minutes Lenore, Bryan’s ex-wife, is murdered. Well that’s different from the other two.

It is full of action and I can’t say I didn’t enjoy the pace, and quality of the performance of the actors. But is it predictable? Yes. Did I know who killed his ex wife in the first half hour? Absolutely.

Kimmy (his daughter) is pregnant. This is an obsolete storyline and a waste of time. It’s irrelevant and isn’t used in any way to

This film is rated a 12A. Now the first one was an 18. Yes it deserved its 18 rating. Have they downgraded the gruesome bits to allow a wider audience in for more money? I think they have. I would be very concerned for anyone under 12 to see this film because of the theme and violence, but unfortunately that is the world we live in.

Many parents do not seem too bothered about the amount of violence their children are exposed to. Not only in films but also in games. If they said no…movie makers would upgrade the violence and allow an 18 rated film to be made for a smaller but appreciative audience. At least Tarrantino has not yet downgraded the amount of violence in his films. I think some of his films should have an aged 30+ rating! 18 year olds can still be very influenced by what they see on the screen.

Okay, I’ll stop my rant. Is Taken 3 worth going to see? Well yes of course it is.

 

 

It’s Peter Pan. Oh no it isn’t...it’s the best panto I’ve seen in years!

It’s Peter Pan.  Oh no it isn’t...it’s the best panto I’ve seen in years!

It has become a tradition in my house that my youngest son and I go to the Panto every year.  We have been doing it for over 10 years now and he is now in difficult teenager mode who lives on his laptop and mobile.  It’s hard enough to get him to eat with me but Panto is something he still wants to do.  My husband and older son don’t like Panto and I gave up trying to take them years ago.  But Ben and I still love to go and I enjoy these special moments with him.

As veteran Panto goers, we have seen them all.  This year it was the turn of Peter Pan.  I had had trouble getting tickets as it was selling well but still managed to get us second row from the front. I love the stall seats as you can really feel the performance is just for you. And can interact with the performers.

We took our seats and read through the programme.  I was delighted to see David Bedella was in it as Captain Hook.  I have seen him several times, not just on Holby City, but in Rocky Horror and the wonderful Jerry Springer – The Opera (at which he was fantastic!).  I was also pleased to see Flawless were also performing as it gives some credibility to teenagers who want to be cool to go to Panto.

As soon as it came on we were into another world.  The performers could sing and dance. (I know it should be a given but it isn’t. Sometimes we are unlucky enough to get someone who is just well known on TV). They were great.  But the star of the show by a mile was Bradley Walsh.  From the moment he walked on he had us all in stitches.  I don’t often see Ben cry with laughter but he was truly crying. From the moment Bradley said ‘Of course it’s freezing in here…there is no roof on the house!’ It’s just our sense of humour and we started and couldn’t stop.  Another classic was ‘What do we want?’  ‘A cure for Obesity’  ‘When do we want it?’  ‘After dinner!’  Now this is humour I get!  I don’t need complicated jokes.  This is funny stuff.  It took me a few seconds longer to get the joke about a how hard it is to sing with a stool on his leg. But then he explained that medical professionals would get it and I got it. (not a medical professional at all). We made eye contact as I laughed and he missed his exit and nearly walked into a wall!

Tinkerbell was played by Francesca Mills and she was absolutely brilliant.  She could sing, act, fly and roller skate!  Not easy on a small stage.

Flawless took my breath away.  They were really impressive.  Their style of dancing reminds me of early break-dancers (although I am sure I am showing my age by making that statement), but they were spinning and flipping all over the stage.  The act when they danced in the dark and their suit lit up was truly a sight to see.  They are so cool and I could see Ben thought so too.

Tiger-lily was played by Rebecca Lisewski and had a northern accent.  I quite liked that take on it.  She could really sing and dance well but flirting with Peter made me slightly uncomfortable as she looks quite a lot older than him.

The lost boys and John and Michael were adorable.  I was so impressed with the children who performed in the show.  They were some of the most talented young people I have seen in years.  

What made this panto better than others I have seen is it felt like it had been written for the performers.  Whoever had written this was the real star of the show.  Yes I know they always add a bit in for what the performer is famous for – but here it felt it was perfectly harmonised to bring out the best in each performer.  I am a trained actress myself and I could not tell where the script started and the ad lib finished.  It felt natural and comfortable and they really did all work brilliantly together.

In the second half, well it just got better and better.  David was an excellent Captain Hook, but was looking a lot like the singer, Prince and Bradley said so.  Hook said he didn’t but I shouted out that he did.  Well it floored the cast and the audience and everyone laughed for what must have been 10 minutes.  It was a brilliant moment.  The next time Hook came on I wanted to shout ‘Oh look, there is the artist formally known as Prince’…but alas I didn’t get a chance as the story moved on.

We all enjoyed the 12 days of Christmas with the ‘bra that was made to hold three’.  They kept throwing the ‘5 toilet rolls’ into the audience ...boy is that a good way to keep fit.  I’m not quite sure how many water guns there were but it took audience participation to a new level.  Everyone was laughing.

They finished on a One Direction song and everyone was up singing and dancing. Ben absolutely hates One Direction.  I think it has something to do with the fact he is studying music and plays guitar.  One Direction don’t even write their songs.  Ben has issues with this and I can see why, but we were both up singing and dancing with the cast.  After all if Flawless can sing and dance to 1D, it must be cool!

There are only four more shows of this performance which is such a shame cause this is the sort of show you would pay to see again and again.  Why do we only have Panto at Christmas when it’s this good?!!

So just so you are clear.  Did I like the Panto this year?  Oh yes I did!

 

 

 

The Hobbit - The battle of the five armies.

The Hobbit – the battle of the five armies

Well if you don’t know about Middle Earth and Lord of the Rings / The Hobbit films by now where have you been?
Middle Earth is my place of choice to fantasise about. I love this more than Star wars, Star Trek or any other Sci-fi fantasy film. This is my home.

My long hair hides my pointy elfish ears and my home is Rivendell.  But I digress….

Anyway this is the last of the Hobbit films…It starts exactly where it left off with the dragon about to attack lake town. It’s like someone unpaused the film. So you do need to have seen the other films to get this one.

There is less humour in this one and a huge amount of action. It’s almost too much action. Too much cgi. I want more magic. I want Gandalf the Grey to use his magic. I want more interesting dialogue.

But I love hobbits, dwarfs and elves and unite with them against orcs. I hate orcs. I forgot I was in a cinema, I was in Middle Earth. I was ducking and avoiding the swords and arrows. I was screaming at Thorin that the Orc wasn’t dead and it was going to be a ‘Carrie’ moment under the ice…

For those who don’t love The Hobbit they won’t love this. But for me…I enjoyed it a lot. It’s not my favourite film..but another adventure of my favourite dwarves.

Finally...where does a major keep his armies...up his sleevies of course!

Merry Christmas!

 

Calamity Jane

I have always loved the old musicals.  I have them all on dvd and watch them regularly. Calamity Jane is one of my favourites but sometimes going to see it in the theatre isn’t as good as the films.

I had no need to be worried with the production that blew into the windy city of Milton Keynes this week.

My friend Cathy (who doesn’t know the musical at all and came with to experience it with me) and I had front row seats.  I love the front row as you can really see the expressions on the actor’s faces.

This version of Calamity had many changes from the film including many songs I was unfamiliar with. But they were great songs and executed really well.

Two things separated this show from others I have seen.  Firstly there was one scene for the entire show.  The set never changed.  This was challenging, but I thoroughly enjoyed the ‘lets make a stagecoach out of some chairs and jog on it as if we are being pulled by horses’.  It was the sort of stuff you did in your living room as a child.  I loved it as it made it accessible for anyone to go away and give it a go.  Who needs expensive props?

The other unusual difference was most of the actors and dancers in the show were also the orchestra. I have never been to a show where all the instruments are played by those acting in it.  I personally didn’t like this.  I feel it is a way of the show saving money of a traditional orchestra. However it did work in this particular production (as it felt intimate and fitted with the set idea) and I have nothing but a huge admiration for the cast.  To act and dance and remember your lines is challenging enough, but to play instruments (and I am talking pianos, double bass, violins etc) just goes to show how very very talented the cast are.

I also have to mention a couple of names in the show.  Tom Lister played Wild Bill Hickok.  I do not watch soaps so had no idea he was in Emmerdale.  But he could sing and dance and his acting skills were fantastic.  I really enjoyed his performance, and so did my friend Cathy, especially when he blew her a kiss. She turned into a giggly schoolgirl.

Jodie Prenger played Calamity Jane.  She did the part justice and when it came to ‘Secret Love’ (my favourite song from the show, she took my breath away.

I have to mention Paul Kissaun who played Rattlesnake.  I had to look up his name as I could have sworn it was Alan Davies with a wig on!  (funnily enough the last thing I saw in Milton Keynes Theatre was Alan Davies stand up comedy show).

All I can say about Calamity Jane is there is no Calamities in it.  It is a well-executed production with an excellent cast.

And it is funny. Go and enjoy it while you can!

Rusty at The Groucho

Rusty at The Groucho

My reviews are my personal opinion.  And my personal opinion of Rusty Egan is that he is one of the best DJ’s in the world!

If you are not sure who he is…well he is a legend.  He was the resident DJ at The Blitz club. The Club that he and Steve Strange set up in the early 80’s.  It was THE place to be. Even David Bowie turned up at the club…and I have heard Midge Ure tell the story of how everyone there thought they were cool until Bowie turned up…then all their make up cracked.

Rusty has always been cool.  His musical career has included drumming for The Rich Kids and The Skids as well as writing those fantastic tunes as the talent and inspiration in Visage. But this is not someone stuck in a time warp.  Rusty does his stuff in Ibiza and the Isle of Wight Festival drawing in huge crowds.

Rusty knows good music.  And the man can seriously mix.  So when he asked me to come along to see him do a spot at The Groucho Club..how could I say no?!

The Groucho club is a private members club in Soho, London. So this event wasn’t open to everyone, only members and their guests.  But what a night it was.  Rusty mixed old and new tracks to get people dancing.  And dance they did. I knew I would want to dance, so yes people…I wore my more comfortable boots. (Known as my Rome boots cause I bought them in Rome).  My Turin boots would have been much more uncomfortable!

I danced.  I laughed.  I hugged a lot of people.  But to be honest, the hugging can be blamed on the alcohol.  I think they automatically give you double measures at the Groucho and I am a bit of a lightweight!

Now I know I may have had a bit of alcohol that made me a bit squiffy, but it was a bit strange and surreal when three separate people said I look like Kate Bush.  Now I know people think this as I have been told this for 30 years, but three in one night?  Trust me, If it was me, I would not have waited 35 years to get out on that stage again.

The Groucho was also an education.  I am rather short (only 5ft) but I learnt what I have been doing wrong in trying to get the barman’s attention.  I got chatting to a guy at the bar who said if you pinch someone’s bum they let you go in front of them.  He said it works on men and women. I said that must be where I have been going wrong all these years.  I said I hoped he didn’t think I had pinched his bum. He said he wished I had!  So now you know people!

The other really lovely thing that happened to me last night was that I met some people who could really dance.  I mean you could see they had been trained and they really could take the floor.  But they came over to me and told me they liked my moves.  At this point my moves involved doing all I could to stand up straight and not fall over!  But they liked my dance moves.  I have never had any dance training and if invited on Strictly would be one of those that Craig would say ‘a zimmer frame can move better than you, Darling!’.  But I have learnt over the years to take a compliment and was very grateful.

It was a fabulous night and Rusty seriously rocked the house.  He is the man.  I still have Daft Punk in my head now…I certainly feel I got lucky!

If you ever get a chance to see Rusty perform, it is really worth going.  And he is also still writing music.  Please check out his sites below.

https://www.facebook.com/rusty.egan

https://twitter.com/DJRustyEgan

http://www.mixcloud.com/rustyegan/

https://soundcloud.com/rusty-egan