Thursday 7 April 2016

Film: 10 Cloverfield Lane

Film it was for today - and I was only delighted when 10 Cloverfield Lane came top of the list! Firstly, because it's mainstream - and not only does that mean I can go to my local cinema, but - well, it's unusual for that to happen. And this sounded like my kind of thing - vaguely of the horror genre (definitely my thing!) and SciFi, being of the Cloverfield series. Co-produced by JJ Abrams, it was sure to be entertaining - Cineworld gives a discount if you register on the website, then book in advance: so I did.

My local cinema validates parking after 7pm, so I booked for the later show - just as well, as I was extremely late leaving the office! I'd had a big lunch, so didn't need to eat either, and had a relaxed time before heading off at around 9. And I could drive, which was nice - I've been this route a few times now, and had no problems, getting to the cinema slightly before the programme's scheduled start time.

The ads were actually already on as I took my seat - one over from the one I'd booked, so I wouldn't be sitting directly in front of someone, in what was quite an empty cinema. It did eventually fill a bit more, but there was still plenty of space..

Right! Well, 10 Cloverfield Lane is about a woman (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who starts the film by leaving a relationship - packs her stuff and clears off, without telling the guy. It's the director's debut, it seems - and on the evidence of this, he's extremely good. I do love a film that can tell a story without words, and it's several minutes before anything is said in this. Even longer, in fact, before anyone on screen says anything - the first words we hear are from the guy, who calls her on her mobile as she's driving along, and starts begging her to come back.

Naturally, this distracts her - and in a sterling lesson on not using your mobile while driving, she gets into a bad crash. Then we're into Saw territory, as she wakes up trapped in a basement, with no idea how she got there - turns out her captor is John Goodman, who's of the opinion that they can't leave, because there's worse out there waiting for them. And ooh, he does a fantastic job of appearing simultaneously affable and scary.

With no information coming through from the outside, it's impossible to know whether to trust him. Excellent acting from all throughout - and while someone remarked that the ending seemed implausible: well, but so was the original Cloverfield, and people who've seen that will have some idea what to expect. I'll tell you this, though - if the wordless beginning was terrific, the (almost) wordless ending is just as good! My nerves were still jangling for ages after I left the cinema. Damn good fun, highly recommended.

Flying back to Ireland tomorrow for a long weekend: for cheaper flights, again. On Saturday, my mother and I are off to see the Three Tenors, at the University Concert Hall - she's a big fan. I finally got their website to work, so I could print off the tickets! Not flying back until Monday - which is a bummer, because (forgetting my travel dates) I'd booked a ticket for the Crick Crack Club. And now it turns out the London European Club are going as well - so that'd have been a good night. Can't be helped - I'd never be back in time.

I am with the London European Club on Tuesday, though, for a talk on Theatre and Language: Samuel Beckett "Waiting for Godot". Taking place at the Museum of London, it's a talk about the play, rather than a performance of the play itself. But I love Beckett, so that should be interesting.

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