Hi, guys. Just a quick update on what's been going on in my life in the last few weeks.
14/11/16 - Met up with some of my friends from my Improv group - Marie, Alex, Harvey, Joe, and Dave - to do a 'Locked In A Room' challenge in Bristol town. It was a lot of fun. We were so close to solving all the puzzles! It was a joy to meet up with my friends again! We had an hour to solve puzzles to unlock the door to leave the room. I actually got the answer to one of the final clues, but we didn't enter the code in in time sadly. Still, was great to see everyone.
19/11/16 - Met up with my mum and my friend/former tutor Saba to see Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them at the cinema. A prequel/spin-off set in the Harry Potter universe, it focusses on Newt Scamander (played by Eddie Redmayne) who arrives in 1920's New York with a suitcase full of magical creatures. Seemingly channelling Matt Smith's Doctor, Redmayne is fun to watch, as is Dan Fogler as the 'no-mage' who is unwillingly drawn into the world, and Katherine Waterston (very classic Hollywood-looking) as the ex-Auror who is teamed up with Newt. Colin Farrell, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, and Samantha Morton all give good supporting performances too.
A great return to Rowling's magical world. 8/10
22/11/16 - Met up with Saba again, and this time went to see Arrival, the latest film from Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Sicario). Amy Adams plays a language specialist who finds herself called upon by the army after 12 identical alien spaceships appear around the globe and they need someone to translate what the creatures are saying. I don't really want to give away anything else about the film, as I want people to discover it for themselves, but what I will say is this:
I have never really liked 2001: A Space Odyssey. I know that there loads of people who consider it a masterpiece, but I just found it slow and boring (I may re-watch it in the new year and see if I can reappraise my opinion). So, for ages I have been waiting for a sci-fi film to come that would give me the feeling that the people who love Kubrick's film must have felt when they first saw it.
I've finally found that film, and it's called Arrival.
Fantastic film, amazing central performance from Adams (with fine support from Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker), great design for the creatures, and ends with a message that, in the current political climate, is needed.
I have no hesitation giving this a score of 9/10, and I'm looking forward to Villeneuve's Blade Runner sequel with high expectations.
