May Round-Up
The question is: Do ya have it in ya to make it epic?
GREETINGS & SALUTATIONS
In this edition:
I’M FURIOSA!
Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be
Andy’s Desert Island Discs
May has flown by (okay, a few days to go, but still…), and it has been a head-down, nose-to-the-grindstone time: I have finished (HA!) editing season one of Backstabbers (until the next time: It’s never really finished, is it?), and am now half-way through turning my novel ‘Nostalgia’ back into a script. ‘Nostalgia’ started as a script, expanded the premise and characters in the novel A LOT, and now it’s going back to a script format - and is a lot better for it. The whole thing just hangs together better, even if it is currently running over by SIXTY (yes, count them) pages. So I’m cutting cutting cutting, but in a way, it’s nice to have lots of new juicy bits to keep.
Once this is done, it’s back to ‘Backstabbers II’… Speaking of which, the first season is currently with a producer, so I’m waiting to hear back. Hopefully, they will see something good, even if it’s just in the writing…
This month’s Short People Highlights
Desert Island Discs
An old (physical) war wound has resurfaced, so I’m taking a moment away from script stuff (because I can’t concentrate properly) and I’m going to have some fun on here! I’m a huge fan of Radio 2’s Desert Island Discs. Possibly more so than any other interview show it gets under the skin of the person in the spotlight through their musical choices. I’m al…
CINEMA
FURIOSA
Laydeeeeee and Gentlemens!
George Miller serves up another barking mad chunk of post-apocalyptic mayhem with his trademark bizarro characters and lunatic stunt work. The original Mad Max was an Ozploitation revenge movie, Mad Max II erred (I believe) more on the gory, horror aspects, Max Mad: Beyond Thunderdome was a commercial stab at gaining a wider audience (the usual brutal elements were watered-down), and Mad Max: Fury Road was THE road movie. So here we have Furiosa, which is a pulp Western-style odyssey: A little girl is snatched from her “idyllic” home by Chris Hemsworth’s Dr. Dementus.
Furiosa journeys through hell and grows into a formidable force to reckon with. Anya Taylor Joy excels in a mostly silent role, and Hemsworth offers up his best performance yet. Also great is Tom Burke as a Mad Max-type figure who teams up with Furiosa. But it’s George Miller and his sheer imagination which is the star of the show, offering up more craziness (admittedly with more of a story this time around): his array of Mad Max characters, like Humungus, Rictus, Master Blaster and Immortan Joe stick in the memory, and Dementus is another classic nutjob: part Michael Hutchence love-God, part-Donald Trump (trying to sound like an intelligent leader but only succeeds through sheer guille.)
The ending is a little rushed, but it looks and sounds amazing, and it was great to see a lot of the Fury Road characters back and expanded, and you get the sense that this is where Miller has been leading us all this time (only now he has the budget to make it happen). More please!
VERDICT: Bommy Knockers a-go-go!
KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
I’m not a huge fan of the Apes movies - for me, the last three were too post-apocalyptic-gloom for my liking. But I’m pleased to say I enjoyed this! It’s a proper adventure movie, with some good world-building and attention to detail, and the performances shine through the CGI. More like this, please!
VERDICT: WHAT A WONDERFUL MOVIE!!!!!!!
THE FALL GUY
This had a lot of potential, but the much-mooted chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt ran out of steam after 30 minutes, leaving scattered moments of excellent stunt work and wafer-thin story-telling, which amounted to a tedious experience. I did like the attempts at weird humour with a unicorn - if only it had strived more for that kind of tone.
VERDICT: Falls flat.
STAR WARS EPISODE 1: THE PHANTOM MENACE
The 25th-anniversary screening was the second or third time I’d seen this in the cinema, and this time was the most enjoyable. Free of all the baggage of expectations, I found it immensely enjoyable! One thing I did notice which I believe is often missing from the latter SW movies/TV shows - it was fun. The world-building is also spot-on. A much-needed trip down memory lane…
VERDICT: Meesa like-a dis!
TRANSFORMERS: 40th ANNIVERSARY
Due to Odeon’s complete disinterest in giving away any information on their app, I had no idea what I was in for with this screening: What I saw was a “live” table read from the original surviving voice cast of the original tv series, including the legendary Frank Welker. The voice actors delivered their lines on one half of the screen whilst the first episode played on the other half of the screen! It was great to see them in action, often having conversations with themselves as they jumped from character to character. The show itself was a complete chunk of childhood nostalgia: I used to watch this show every morning on video before school, so it’s firmly ingrained in my memory and lovely to see it again.
VERDICT: Autobots! Roll out!
TELEVISION
DARK MATTER
An interesting premise that needed to trust the audience more: The main character is too slow to realising his predicament, which centres around the many worlds theory. The multiverse train left a few years ago, but it treats the audience like it’s a brand new idea: It’s not. I’m not against multi-verse stories (heck, I’ve written my own one!), but the story here feels stretched when it just needs to get on with it. I’m up to episode five and have grown weary of the sheer daftness of the characters’ decision-making.
VERDICT: Dark Matter indeed.
SUGAR
Colin Farrell stars as a smooth, 1950s-styled detective searching for missing persons in modern-day America. So far, so interesting. If only it had stuck with that premise. Because it goes to places. Places that will make you go “WHAT?” No, really, you will shout out loudly “WHAAAAAAT?????”. The legendary Dennis Boutsikaris pops up as a film mogul and James Cromwell (or “Babe’s Dad” as Mrs. Short People calls him) adds an L.A. Confidential throwback, but… “WHAT????”
VERDICT: “I'm going to go to Blargon 7 in search of alternative fuels.”
ROBODOC
Probably one of the best film-related documentaries I’ve seen. It is SO in-depth. Doesn’t miss a thing. Anyone who is alive and worked on Robocop appears (cast and crew), and goes into so much detail I feel like I worked on it. Even if you’re not a fan of the film it’s worth a watch just to hear how it was made. Fascinating.
VERDICT: I LIKE IT!
READING
THE PLEASURE OF MY COMPANY by Steve Martin
A quirky, always interesting character study of a lonely man, courtesy of the man who has played The Lonely Guy to perfection, Mr. Steve Martin. It’s a book, for the most part, about a character. It can’t be accused of being heavy on plot, but the end is a sweet/ bittersweet conclusion which makes it all worthwhile: If we didn’t know by now, Steve has a microscopic eye for detail and human behaviour. Loved it.
LISTENING
PLAYING
Fallout is now in Fortnite! Admittedly, my son is the Fortnite expert so I shall be watching him play (as opposed to me getting my backside handed to me by 99 other players!). But it’s a great cross-over, along with a new Mad Max-style setting and vehicles.
Finally, here’s what else has kept going (musically) this month: I’ve been adapting my novel ‘Nostalgia’ into a screenplay, so here’s a taster of what you’re in for!
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