Movie Review: Death on the Nile

Movie Number 8 of 2022. (Technically it's Number 9 because I saw Belfast again)

Movie: Death on the Nile

The Cinema: Hoyts Victoria Gardens

Stars: 3

The Kenneth Branagh festival continues with his next foray into Agatha Christie-land with his big budget production of Death on the Nile. 

Is it as good as Belfast? Hells no - but Belfast might win a few Oscars. This wont be doing that, although the costumes were spectacular.

Is it as good as Murder on the Orient Express? No. It's far more vacuous than that. 

Is it watchable? Absolutely. 

This is a Branagh movie, complete with the Patrick Doyle music and the 65 mm film stock. And it is BEAUTIFUL to look at. 

The crux of the story, ten people end up on a boat on the Nile for a wedding party. 

The party includes: 

• the bride (Gal Gadot)
• the groom (Armie Hammer)
• the maid (Rose Leslie)
• the jilted lover (Emma Mackey)
• the lawyer (Ali Fazal)
• the doctor (Russell Brand)
• the singer (Sophie Okenedo)
• And her manager/daughter (Letitica Wright)
• And her boyfriend and Poirot's mate (Tom Bateman)
• Oh, and French and Saunders and a set of closeted lovers. 

And of course, Kenneth Branagh as Poirot, that stuffy, sweet-obsessed, OCD-suffering Belgian. 

We get a bit of back story about why Poirot has his moustache. Then the movie gets into the action. 

Somebody ends up murdered on this big boat on the River Nile. Who did it? Everybody has a motive. Everybody has a reason for wanting this person deat. 

By the end of the film, five of the passengers have been placed in the boat's freezer waiting to be carted off and buried. 

Look, it's based on the Agatha Christie novel. It's going to be a bit silly.

But this is very pretty to look at even if the script lacks in places. Yes, it's a bit hammy, but it's Agatha Christie. Branagh brings some weight to Poirot, the unlucky in love, but too smart by half detective. 

The rest of the film is just fluff. 

As I said earlier, it may not be the best film in the world, but it is very pretty to look at. And that is saying something.

Today's song: 

Sunday Stealing: Luna Nina

 I do like these word association questions. I can get through them quickly, as I'm sick of sitting in front of a computer.

Questions supplied by Bev at Sunday Stealing, as always.

 I say,......and you think... 

  You say Casino :: I think Royale. 

I also think a big waste of money. 

 You say Bone :: I think Machine.

A great Pixies song.

You say Painting :: I think The Wilton Diptych. Love this so much. Need to get to London to see it again. 

 You say Shocked :: I think Electricity. 

  You say Quieter :: I think Libraries.

I love our reading room at the State Library in Melbourne. See above. 

   You say Feed :: I think Me - and The Little Shop of Horrors. 

You say Song , I think 2. Song 2 by Blur. YEAH.

You say Glass, I think Philip.

You say Boat, I think travel.... and I get very excited. 

 You say Junk and I think Hong Kong. 

You say  Sheet and I think Music. 

 You say Knit and I think meetings. I knit and crochet when I'm working from home and have boring meetings to attend. 

You say Gift and I think horse. Still no idea what if gift horse is, but you must never look one in the mouth. 

Interestingly, I found this on phrases.co.uk.  "Proverbs are 'short and expressive sayings, in common use, which are recognized as conveying some accepted truth or useful advice'. This example, also often expressed as 'never look a gift horse in the mouth', is as pertinent today as it ever was.

As horses develop they grow more teeth and their existing teeth begin to change shape and project further forward. Determining a horse's age from its teeth is a specialist task, but it can be done. This incidentally is also the source of another teeth/age related phrase - long in the tooth."

You say Small and think Mercies. 

Another strange old saying. 

 You say Title and I think Case.

Because half of my day is spent changing people's Titles on documents into the company standard title case. Joys of having some editing skills. 

Today's song: 

Theatre Review: Fun Home

 The Play: Fun Home

The Company: Melbourne Theatre Company

The Theatre: The Playhouse at the Arts Centre

Stars: 4.5

Playing until 5 March

Last night was the first night where Melbourne felt like Melbourne again. People were out. The Arts Centre Car Park was full, thanks to the Ballet, the MSO and a play being on at the Playhouse. People were dressed up and out and about. It was great. I was feeling it. I'd also donned a dress and put on a bit of makeup to go out for the night. Things are feeling good (despite everything which is going on in the world.)

Tonight, after a quick dinner, we made our way to the Playhouse to see Fun House. 

I loved every minute of it. 

According to Wikipedia, "Fun Home is a musical adapted by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori from Alison Bechdel's 2006 graphic memoir of the same name. The story concerns Bechdel's discovery of her own sexuality, her relationship with her gay father, and her attempts to unlock the mysteries surrounding his life."

I walked in not knowing what to expect, other than it was a musical. And it's a bloody good musical. The production first came out for the Sydney Theatre Company - and now it's here in Melbourne in conjunction with the Midsumma Festival. 

This is an exceptional show, which relates the struggles of an adult Alison (Lucy Maunder) as she unpacks her life as a child in the family's Funeral Home, while being witness to her parents difficult marriage. You see, her father, Bruce (Adam Murphy) is a closeted homosexual, but also a loving father and stalwart member of the community. Her mother, Helen (Silvie Paladino - and here I was thinking her only gig was Carols by Candlelight) tries her best to turn a blind eyes. As the play progresses, you find out that her father committed suicide while Alison was at college. Alison came out while she was at college, and having and inkling her father was also gay, wanted to connect with him - something that never happened. 

There are some top song in this show. I loved I'm Changing my Major to Joan in particular, a rallying cry for the burgeoning baby lesbian was just great, delivered with aplomb by College Years Alison (Ursula Searle). 

The staging is also incredible, using the Playhouse's circular stage to great effect. 

As an ensemble, everything ticks the boxes here. The kids who play small Alison and her brother's are great too. 

This is running for another week. I can't recommend this highly enough. It's sweet and funny, but thought provoking and emotional. 

This is the second really good show we've seen at the MTC in consecutive weeks. Here's hoping the rest of the season is just as good. 

Today's song: 

The T-Shirt

 It was a banal day at work. They are at the moment. Too long hours, too much too do. Sometimes you just have to say fuckit and do some online shopping. 

And as we are heading towards and election in the very near future, I decided to buy myself a t-shirt. 

This t-shirt. 

Because when you look at it, Pedro would make a better PM than the one we have at the moment. 

And after the week I've had, finding something like this was needed. 

Mind you, I went out tonight. Dinner and a play. I'll review the play in tomorrow's blog, as there is a bit to unpack and it was excellent. 

And for the first time in a long time - after putting on a dress and a little make up and wandering down St Kilda Road on the way to the cinema, Melbourne, felt like Melbourne again. 

There is a bit to celebrate. 

Today's song:

Scoot

 They're an eyesore. They're dangerous. They end up in the river. They're a nuisance. 

What are they? Change Managers? Magpies? European carp? Vladimir Putin? 

Nope, it's those bloody scooter things that are plagueing the streets of Melbourne. Or more to the point, inner Melbourne. They seem to be in every laneway, outside every McDonalds and they're just a bloody nuisance. 

Allegedly they are only available in the councils of Melbourne, Yarra and Port Phillip, but they seem to be everywhere. 

And the riders are tormenting pedestrians and drivers alike. On the way home from the gym tonight, three guys on tow scooters passed me by - one of them had the helmet provided on they bike on their heads. They're even more fear-bringing than bicycles, which, as a driver, I'm not ovelry fond of, not because they're a pain, more I fear running into them if things go awry. These scooter things feel even more exposed than bikes - plus the riders are less experienced than cyclists. 

On the good side of things, ride one of them on a footpath and get caught - you're up for a $845 fine. I believe the fine is the same for not wearing a helmet if you're on a bike. 

And from anectodal comments, if you're looking for one to get you somewhere, it costs $1.00 to start your journey, then 45 cents a minute - or you can rent the unit for the day for $15. That's if you can find one with the battery charged...

I don't know - like the e-bikes that plagued our streets a few years ago, I fear this scheme will go down the same path

Today's song: 

The Calm

The office is fairly quiet. It's a test run day - come in, see it's not that bad a place, have a coffee with a couple of my team members. You know, remember what life was like back  before March 2020, when they sent us home, only to return every now and then over the last two years.

So from Saturday, there's no masks inside - shopping centres, offices and the like. Which will be a bit strange, because after two years of wearing them, they've become second nature. I do like that they've kept the mask mandate for public transport. Long may it remain. I'm sure that's where you pick up most of the bugs you'll catch in your lifetime. 

There are a few more people in today. There's a feeling of anticipation in the air as we prepare to go back in to the office. Things aren't back to normal. The bananas in the fruit bowl are black, giving a sad feeling to the kitchen, as if Miss Havisham is about to come through. Things have gone walkabout - missing in action. Keyboards, monitors, you name it, it disappear into the void of the empty office if you don't lock them away. The dishwasher isn't working. The coffee machine, which wasn't, is now operational - showing the priorities of the office. 

It takes a bit to be around people now. It's not like it used to be. Even thought the restrictions are lifting it still doesn't feel right

But for the most part, all is calm.

I wonder what it will be like when I go in next week when half the office is in. 

Today's song: 

 

Dumbbells

So I was at the gym last night, which is a normal occurrence. I'm still a little bit reticent to do things like lie on my stomach on hard surfaces, but the rest of me is fine. 

Anyway, trawling around he gym, I pick up a five kilogram dumbbell. 

Five kilogram dumbbells are de rigeur for me. The get used for all sorts of things - triceps, biceps, lunges, occasionally for core exercises. They're a gym standard. 

Today was a bit different. See, I've lost five kilograms in the last few weeks. Yes, I'm trying, and yes, I have a hell of a lot more to lose, but there is something tangible about carting around a five kilogram dumbbell and knowing that this is no longer a part of your body. Walking around the gym floor with the dumbbell in hand let this sink in. 

I know once before, when I lost a lot more weight I'd go to the supermarket and shove the corresponding weight amount in flour or sugar into a hand basket and walk around the store, just to get some perspective. 

My cat weights about six kilograms. I've nearly lost a Lucifer. And he's a big unit. 

Sure, it's only a small step, and I have to keep moving forward, one kilo at a time, but it was good to give myself a little bit of validation last night. 

Strangely, it felt pretty good. 

Onwards.

Today's song: