Musings on the byways of popular culture
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As the rain cascades down, and we wonder if we have skipped straight from a brief spring to Autumn, we find ourselves on the first Friday of the month. So, please, come in to the cabin, hang your wet coats over there, help yourself to a warming cup, sit down by the fire and tell us all what you have been listening to, watching, reading, or otherwise using as a coping mechanism in these troubled times
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As we roll gently out of lockdown, please gather round the firepit and tell us what you have been reading, watching, listening to, and – if you feel like it – what has kept you going through lockdown ?
How are we all doing ?
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STILL HERE! as lockdown continues, please gather round this roaring candle, help yourself to a slice of banana bread, and please tell us all what you have been watching, reading and listening to … and how are you doing anyway ?
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WHOOSH! and just like that, we hit the first Friday of another month. Meet the new month, same as the old month.
I hope you are all doing ok – any survival tips are welcome.
The main topic, as ever, is – what have you been listening to, watching, reading over the last month. Anything worth recommending ? Anything new coming up that we should know about ?
Stay safe, stay sane
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Apparently Sky are playing the film on repeat all day long. What movie or TV or music or other experience would you enjoy on repeat for a whole day?
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/tv/sky-cinema-showing-groundhog-day-14236503
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I need a laugh.
When I was a teenager, I loved Monty Python, The Producers and The Pink Panther. None of them seem so funny now. My favourites remain Duck Soup and Groundhog Day but I’ve seen them many times.
Please inspire me!
In the meantime, enjoy the mirror scene from Duck Soup.
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The ending of a film is so important. For every Some Like It Hot, there’s a Sunshine. For every The Usual Suspects, there’s a The Return Of The King. Or rather several, seemingly interminable The Return Of The Kings.
It’s obvious that outside pressures can influence the way a writer or director decides to end their masterpiece, particularly when studio money men are breathing down their neck. But I’ve had my ears opened to a couple of surprising stories about movie endings that I’d like to share.
The first concerns Gareth Edwards, the Godzilla director, who made his name writing, filming and directing the the ultra-low budget Monsters. He had a crew of six, and did the CGI gubins himself with off-the-shelf special effects software. Parts of it were filmed in Mexico, where near the end of shooting, Edwards was suffering with a bad back caused by lugging a heavy camera about. He was persuaded to get a massage, and relates the tale [taken from The Museum of Curiosity, Series 4, Episode 3, currently available on BBC iPlayer Radio]:
GARETH EDWARDS: “The woman laid me down, played this tranquil music and it was the first calm in the whole » Continue Reading.
