seen-it: Control

Being a child of the Madchester music scene, viewing Control seemed almost essential. Never did 'get into' Joy Division, but New Order were my introduction to all things Madchester, so the legends & legacy of all things Joy Division/Ian Curtis/Factory Records always have some fascination for me.

Dead rockstars instantly get Legendary status. Ian Curtis is one of them but I actually knew very little about him. Two hours of "Control" and you still don't really feel you know him particularly any better, except to say that he seemed incredibly self-centred & immature. Maybe we don't know him better because if the portrayal is accurate he was incredibly withdrawn and insular. He was obviously a 'tortured soul' but if the film is at all an accurate reflection then he doesn't really illicit much sympathy. Most of the torture is self-inflicted. The only thing in his defense was that he was incredibly young with some of the additional pressures of fame - so no surprise that he was a bit stupid & selfish. Real sympathy must go to his wife and fellow band mates. Though the credits reveal that the film is based on the memoirs of his widow so maybe a little jaundiced.

The film itself is over-long ... lots of long, arty scenes of Ian smoking! Lots of swearing which maybe accurate [... though reading a review by his daughter reveals that at least one fo the characters never swears so profusely in real life!] but still grates. But the outstanding thing has got to be the performances of the band characters - seem to have got all the mannerisms & nuances down to a tee. And the music itself is a treat.

Sad to discover that Tony Wilson died just days after the film was completed. What an interesting character Tony was!

seen-it: Miracle Maker

Easter family film night - the obvious choice really.

Still remains the best adaptation of the Gospels if you ask me. Highly accurate, and the characterisations & the narrative blank filling are all plausibly done. Even the reference to Sepphoris at the beginning is an interesting inclusion ... I never realised it's existence til one of my college lecturers asked the question "Could Jesus have been alluding to Sepphoris when he talked about a city on a hill?"

JE, AJ & EJ all had lots of relevant questions which showed they were comprehending what was going on and attempting to make it relate to what they already know. And the crucial Passion week events are all done superbly for a child audience.

Still kind of amazing that film 4 were involved with this production - can't imagine them doing such a straight Biblical interprtation now. Proved it's weight in gold for use in children's work of course!

seen-it: The Passion of the Christ

Seemed like an appropriate film to watch once again over the Easter weekend. Had invited a few people unacquainted with it to view it for the 1st time too.

My 3rd viewing of the film now. It's naturally lost some of the impact of the very first viewing but still incredibly powerful. The brutality of the events still made me flinch and look-away on several occasions, though it was actually the events leading up to the more graphic scenes which made me well up a little.

Interestingly - and I don't know if this reflects on my spiritual state at the moment or not - but saw it through more 'human' eyes this time as opposed to a more theological viewing. By that I mean I was viewing it more as "how can anyone treat someone else so brutally ... how can people turn so insensitive so quickly". It's kind of a classic case of the "Stansford Prison Experiment". And I guess I'm thinking that because of the increasingly fractured social situation that seems to be emerging at the moment ... lots of groups all decamping into "them & us", and some with more power than others. Aware that I could probably easily slip into either role - either as Christian 'prisoner' to 'militant muslim/secularist/atheist guards', or as a right-wing nationalist 'guard' with 'muslim/immigrant/multi-culturist prisoners'. Hmmm. Deep!

Anyhow, the film does a superb job of accurately bringing the scriptures off the page - though obviously for the narrative gaps the Catholic influence is very evident. I think the portrayal of Satan and his subtle, sinister background appearances throughout give a really good portrayal of the fact that this wasn't just a Stansford Prison scenario but a real spiritual battle too. If nothing else then the film should at least be capable of dispelling the "Jesus the meek & mild hippy" image.

Wonder what it would have been like to be in Jerusalem that day?

Hope that familiarity never breeds contempt with this one.

seen-it: Slumdog Millionaire

Circumstances mean I actually got a rare night out at the cinema with just MA.

What an awesome film - definitely worthy of all it's accolades. Hard hitting, challenging, poignant, entertaining, uplifting all at the same time.

Really don't understand the BBFC ratings though. This was a 15, but trailers beforehand were for films rated 12 which seemed to focus exclusively on guns, violence & menace. Yet here's a film which contained very little bad language, violence but not in the least bit gratuitous or gory (it was nice to be left to use our imagination on some of the scenes), a love interest with NO sex what-so-ever!, and a message where honesty, integrity, faithfulness & hope prevail - yet this is a 15! Go figure.

The scenes of slum life were thoroughly sobering & depressing. They certainly give an appreciation of the rule of law and of economic justice & fair play that we have as our cultural foundation and our inheritance. Got me thinking how would you ever lift a country out of such a malaise, and also how quickly/easily it would be to sink into one. It does get you wondering where God's grace & mercy are in such circumstances.

This is cinema at it's best. Both MA & I enjoyed it - harrowing & uplifting. What more could you want?!

seen-it: Mamma Mia!

Well it's been the film sensation of the last year so had to watch it!

We'd actually seen the Comic Relief parody of it first, and watching the film it was hard not to believe we still weren't watching the parody! After we'd realised we weren't meant to be taking it too seriously the shock at it's crassness passed. Basically, lots of fantastic ABBA songs joined together by tenuous links. But hey, great music, big name and lots of silliness. Harmless entertainment - though even in 'harmless' entertainment it's amazing how many insidious messages come across ... inconsequential casual sex, marriage redundant, gay equality etc.

Couldn't help thinking of Spice World. Interesting that Spice World is in the IMDB bottom 100 of all time, yet Mamma Mia! is up there with the best but the only differences are the high profile of the cast and the music. Both light hearted, self parodying entertainment. Maybe Spice World is worth another view to see if my memory isn't serving me justice!

seen-it: Indianna Jones & the Raiders of the Lost Ark

Finally got round to letting JE view this after he won the box set a year ago.

Must be my 4th or 5th viewing at least and it's still entertaining. It's also amazing just how much of the plot I seem to have forgot each time!

Our hesitation in letting JE watch it any sooner was because on vetting it we'd forgotten just how much shocking content there was and feared nightmares. Well, despite shielding him from the final face-melting scene, he still had nightmares that night! And the plot was just a little too complex for him to follow un-aided. [Also forgot about the couple of swearing incidents ... not picked up on thankfully].

He's seen "Last Crusade" already (least gruesome) and he won't be watching "Temple of Doom" at all - a bad film and far too dark/scary. Don't think he'll be too bothered about seeing "Raiders" again for quite a while. But thankfully, it's not a chore even after so many times.

seen-it: Outnumbered (Series 1)

What a great find this program was (though a referral more than a find to be honest). And it's a great present to have received on my birthday! We were very disciplined at only watching one episode a week rather than having a gluttonous "Outnumbered" fest!

Having seen series 2 first didn't spoil anything. And one of the great things about the program is how well each episode stands alone.

Plenty of laugh out louds - the particular outstanding favourite has got to be the family day out to the farm! The correspondence between the mini-me's and the characters is almost uncanny - but shows what a good job the writes have done with getting the empathy level spot on.

Don't feel it was quite as good as series 2, but it's marginal. And it's a bit of a shame it tried to be quite so poignant at the end ... bit like when boy bands go for their ballad stage!

Not sure it's destined to be get as many repeat showings as "Alan Partridge" & "Fawlty Towers" but it's definitely not a single watch series either.