We went to the cinema for the first time in ages at the weekend, and then again two days later. First up was Quartet, one of these films starring old actors, presumably aimed at older people (successfully, based on the rest of the audience). We only went because we became members of the Picturehouse almost a year ago having seen a flurry of films, and almost immediately they stopped playing anything good so now anything that looks even vaguely ok gets considered. We just about made it worthwhile in terms of money and it's good to feel like you have to give things a go. That's led to seeing a few not so great films (Take This Waltz, Imposter) and a couple of nice surprises (that one where Sean Penn is a reclusive pop star who turns into a nazi hunter and I'm sure there must've been something else). This was a nice surprise. It's set in a home for retired musicians and is the good natured story of their annual fundraising gala. It touched a bit on the things you have to give up to really properly be an artist and how it feels to have done that and be past the point where you can still perform as you used to, which are things I've thought a lot about over the years so resonated, but mostly it was old people swearing and Billy Connolly pissing against trees. I enjoyed it a lot. Or maybe I just like anything with Maggie Smith in because her character in Downton Abbey is so amusing. Billy Connolly helps too. He doesn't so much act as say a series of punchlines, but that's fine by me - he has a really amiable accent.
Life of Pi at the Cineworld was much less fun. It got off on the wrong foot when I got a small coke because I thought that all drinks in cinemas were outrageously big, but it turned out to be properly small and only 30p cheaper than regular, which is outrageously big. Maybe I should start saying 'regular', but it feels like a defeat. I still refuse to say grande rather than medium in coffee shops. I read the book when it came out to a blaze of acclaim and thought it was boring and not as clever as it thought it was. And sure enough, that's what I thought of the film too. We watched it in 2D because whenever you watch a film in 3D all you're thinking about is that. I remember watching a rollercoaster one when I was small and it worked with different coloured glasses, and I could tell you as much about that as the plot of most 3D films. Except G Force obviously which is a masterpiece. Especially when the fly comes out of the screen and you feel like he's going to fly right into your nose. Anyway, Life of Pi had its moments, especially at the start when they were still in India and the scenery was stunning, but there's no getting away from the fact that mostly it was a boy on a boat trying not to get eaten by a tiger. I expect if I'd seen it in 3D I'd think it was a masterpiece, especially that bit where the flying fish comes out of the screen at you feel like it's going to fly right into your nose.