London Calling

Well the rain is falling & the sky is grey, that's right I'm back in London for the holidays. I'm just relieved to see that the worst of the snow has gone away.

This will be a relatively brief (and no doubt typo heavy) post, as I need to prepare to go to my Aunt's house for Christmas Eve very shortly. Fortunately my mum is in the shower so that gives me the excuse I need to procrastinate online. I'll be doing a post soon about how it feels to be a visitor in your home town but I think I might need to be back in Australia to really be able to look back on the experience. It does feel odd at times though.

So the focus of today's post is a couple of reviews.

I went to see Avatar at the Empire Leicester Square yesterday. I definitely recommend that if you go and see it, you see it in 3D. It is a visually stunning film & I can really understand why a lot of marketers in the film industry are touting it as completely breakthrough. It is taking Hollywood movies to the logical next step, with the imagery becoming even more realistic and a movie becoming an increasingly visual feast. But, and this is quite a significant but, what stops this being a truly great movie was the fact that the same dedication & originality was not applied to the script. The sub plots were insubstantial & did not make the most of a fabulous support cast.

The main story has been told so many times, in more original ways. It was almost as if the film makers felt that the audience could not have their cake & eat it too. You either get beautiful, ground breaking visual effects or a great story. They won't give you both. As a writer I do find that this lazy story-telling is discouraging. It is disappointing that we can't have the best of both worlds. Don't get me wrong, overall I did enjoy the film. Please go & see it and I would love to hear what you think of it. However I did walk away feeling a little hollow, as it is very much an example of style over substance.

On the other end of the spectrum I went to see the National Theatre production of War Horse at the New London theatre on Tuesday night. Clearly it is to theatre that we have to turn to see a wonderful combination of effects & amazing story telling. Those who know me won't be surprised to hear that I cried, at least twice. I'm a big soppy moo. But it was a truly fabulous adaptation of a classic book. The acting was spot on, the staging amazing and the script sang! I wish that I had this wonderful sensation of having seen something that will stay with me forever more often when leaving the cinema. If you haven't see War Horse & live anywhere near London, I thoroughly recommend it. Please try to see it while it is still on, it is definitely worth the ticket price.

Well those are my two reviews, I'd better go de-stink myself in the shower before heading off to celebrate Wigilia with my family. I'll tell you all about the wonderful tradition that is Wigilia when I next have a chance to post. Have a wonderful Christmas!!