rich_jacko

Just a heads-up that I'm probably going to stop doing these soon, as they can become a chore sometimes and I use DreamWidth / LiveJournal less and less these days. Apologies to the three of you still reading! Anyway, for now, have another quick round-up:

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire - That kind of... left me cold. Waaay too much teenage angst, and not nearly enough laughs. Afterlife wasn't particularly a comedy either, but got away with it in a way this follow-up doesn't. The cast (again a mix of the original gang and the Afterlife newbies are likeable enough, and there are occasional highlights, but on the whole, bustin' did not make me feel good.

The Persian Version - Culture clashes abound in this semi-autobiographical story of a large and chaotic Iranian-American family. Layla Mohammadi is filmmaker Leila, struggling to deal with a career, an unexpected pregnancy, her father's heart attack, her mother's disapproval and learning about her family's secret history. It has a lot of serious points to make, but it's also bright, loud and funny at the same time.

Mothers' Instinct - Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain star as the mothers in question, whose friendship is torn apart by the fatal accident of one of their children and the effect it has on the two families. Blame, suspicion and a continuing run of strange events / bad luck(?) begin to mount. This is a decent, tightly-plotted psychological thriller, which unfortunately degenerates into over-the-top silliness towards the end.

Kung Fu Panda 4 - We don't need any more Kung Fu Panda films, but they're still fun. I missed the rest of the Furious Five, but the always-likeable Awkwafina steps in as Jack Black's sidekick as the two battle to stop evil sorceress Viola Davis from acquiring the powers of past kung fu masters and taking over the world. Po's dads follow along to help too, and provide many of the film's highlights.

The First Omen - A surprisingly good prequel to the 1976 Antichrist horror, managing to maintain the feel of the original while having a lot more to say about social issues - such as the Church's struggle for relevance in an increasingly secular society, and the treatment of women in one of the oldest patriarchal institutions. I figured out what was going on before the reveals, but it was well enough done that it didn't matter.

Civil War - This is not, as the trailer suggests, a big budget actioner about the US at war. It's a much more interesting, small-scale, character-driven film than that, as we might expect from Alex Garland. It's a study of the effect war has on the journalists who document it from the battlefield. The war could be anywhere; the fact it's in the US and the reasons behind it are almost irrelevant.

Challengers - When did tennis get this sexy? Zendaya, Josh O'Connor and Mike Faist play the tennis superstars / rivals / love triangle. A lowly challenger match frames the story, and we jump back in time through a series of flashbacks to see how they got there. The finale drags on slightly too long, but that's a minor fault (and kind of like many tennis matches anyway) in an otherwise gripping and entertaining romp.

The Fall Guy - I'm not familiar with the TV series, so I was only watching this on its own merits. It's essentially a rom-com, packed with a ton of action, a ridiculous missing person mystery and a ton of movie-making in-jokes. It sets out near the start exactly what it's going to do, and then does it brilliantly, thanks in no small part to a witty script and two great leads in Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes - PotA continues to be a solidly reliable franchise and nothing more. After his village is devastated, Noa (Owen Teague) heads on a journey to a city of apes (and William H. Macy). A slow start with too much unnecessary world (re-)building eventually builds to a cracking good final hour. An excellent 90-minute film, stretched out to 145 minutes.

IF - There's something Toy Story-esque about this neurotic collection of Imaginary Friends (IFs), left forgotten after their kids grew up. Ryan Reynolds and young Cailey Fleming try to help them find new meaning. It's a curious idea, with a fair amount of charm and a few tear-jerking moments, but often feels a bit forced and suffers from the perennial problem that real kids don't talk and act like Hollywood-scripted kids.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth star in this smashing prequel to 2015's Fury Road, and it's every bit as good (They work great as a double bill). Mad Max films are never going to be an intellectual affair, but there's plenty enough story and character drama surrounding the high octane action to sustain the 148-minute running time.

2023 was the year I ran a marathon in under 3h45m and climbed the Leaning Tower of Pisa! Let's break it down a bit more:

• 2 holidays away - Norfolk with friends in April, and Tuscany by myself in September (my first trip abroad in over 4 years!)


• 1 new arrival in the family - my cousin's baby daughter, Isobel


• 1,023km run - including 1 marathon (setting a new PB of 03h42m47s), 4 half marathons (sort-of, including the Round Sheffield Run), and 44 parkruns in a staggering 20 different locations. I also donned hi-vis vests in 3 different colours, volunteering a total of 33 times across 4 different events.


• 1,064 days - breaking into quadruple figures with my Duolingo streak (also a 440-day winning Wordle streak, not missing a single day with either this year).


• 35 films at the cinema - the 35th of which was my favourite, Miyazaki's The Boy and The Heron, but many others were very good too.


• 12 books read - rather paltry really; I have no excuse. I've loved Chris Wooding's 4-book Tales of the Ketty Jay, and also been through Project Hail Mary (Andy Weir), Amongst Our Weapons (Ben Aaronovitch), The Apollo Murders (Chris Hadfield), The Collectors (Philip Pullman), The Descent of Man (Charles Darwin), Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (Gabrielle Zevin), Wild (Amy Jeffs) and Stone Blind (Natalie Haynes).


• 3 music gigs - 4, if you count listening to Arctic Monkeys from the park, just outside the fences. ;o)


• 3 days of snow - which, frankly, is not even close to enough.


• 2 swims in the sea - which isn't remotely enough either!

Plans need to be made for 2024 (I have the odd one or two in mind...). I hope all yours come to fruition - a healthy and happy New Year, everyone! :o)

Lego's Boutique Hotel is a nice model, but it's not much of a hotel. It has just three rooms (only one of which has access to a bathroom!) and no amenities other than a reception. I figured I could do better...

This is a project I started over a year ago, and have finally got around to finishing. The Palace Hotel contains 20,168 Lego pieces (I think!). This is possibly my final word in modular buildings, as I'm not sure where else I can go from here. Like all modular buildings, it breaks into sections (a) for portability; and (b) so you can see inside. It contains a reception, restaurant, bar, café, lounge, gym, outdoor pool, sauna, 8 single rooms, 5 double rooms, 3 twin rooms, 1 family room, 1 dorm room, a penthouse apartment and a honeymoon suite, as well as roof terraces and various essential such as kitchens, a beer/wine cellar, staff room, laundry room, changing rooms, toilets, corridors, a (sort-of) working lift and fire exits.

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Taking each section individually, from the ground up...

Ground floor:

Steps and accessible ramps lead up to the main entrance. The name is a nod to the Palace cinema, the first modular building I ever bought. Inside is a large reception area, partly reworked from the Boutique Hotel. It has a reception desk, sofas, and a staircase and lift leading to the upper floors. 1,551 pieces

	Off to the left of the reception (as you enter), three sets of stairs lead down to the left luggage desk, staff room (with sofa and kitchen area) and a corridor. This section also features a corner café with indoor and outdoor seating and kitchen, the hotel laundry room and a toilet. Outside is a tree, post boxes and a bench. 1,022 pieces
	The corridor continues around the ground floor, providing access to the changing rooms (with lockers, showers and benches), sauna (with benches and light-up fire), emergency staircase and the outdoor pool area (a table and sun lounger of which appears in this section. Outside there is a cashpoint, phone booth and area to lock up bikes. 798 pieces

To the other side of reception is a grand double-height space which forms the hotel restaurant. Open to the public too, its outdoor entrance is taken from the Parisian Restaurant. Inside, I'm proud of the flooring and the coffee machine. The chandelier is a mix of the one from the Grand Emporium and the one from the Brick Bank. 1,451 pieces

	Behind the restaurant is its kitchen, as well as a toilet, another emergency staircase and an all-important beer and wine cellar (since I got criticised for not including one the last time I built a Lego pub!). Up top are a couple of tables from the outdoor terrace. Outside is a bench by a tree and (less scenically) the area for the bins out back. 1,010 pieces
	The final ground section is the outdoor swimming pool, with the aforementioned roof terrace, sun loungers, a slide, steps, a palm tree, gate and a lifeguard station. Outside the gate are flowers to make a scenic rear entrance. 761 pieces

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Mezzanine floor:

	Three sections of the ground floor have a mezzanine level above them. The first, with stairs directly up from reception, is this lounge area, featuring a large L-shaped sofa, coffee machine, jukebox (taken from Downtown Diner), pool table (taken from the Detective's Office) and a cinema room (reworked from the aforementioned Palace Cinema). 793 pieces
	Behind the lounge, above the changing rooms and sauna is the hotel gym, with equipment taken from Downtown Diner and my own previous pool/gym build. Stairs in the corner provide access. The floor here is kind of garish, but I think it works. 553 pieces
	Around the other side and above the restaurant kitchen (and that beer/wine cellar!) is the main hotel bar, with plenty of hand pumps and plenty of seating. A balcony overlooks the restaurant and a door leads to the outdoor terrace. More stairs in the corner. Getting the layout and the floor right was a challenge with this one. 705 pieces

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1st floor:

	Onto the first floor, where the actual hotel accommodation starts. You can see the mechanism for the lift doors quite well in this shot. The lift lobby leads to two single bedrooms, with part of a double bedroom at the edge of the section, as well as a shared bathroom. The curtains were fun to build. 899 pieces
	To the right, this corner section includes the rest of that double bedroom and bathroom, as well as the bathroom for the next section. 785 pieces
	The next section being the dorm room. I'm very pleased with the bunk beds. I couldn't fit curtains to every room, so the blinds here are a neat solution. Outside the dorm, a corridor (with a reptile tank!) leads to the back stairs. 700 pieces
	Around the other side of the lift lobby this section has two single rooms and a double room. I had to build most of the beds, but many of the other furnishings for the various hotel bedrooms are taken from other modular buildings. 735 pieces
	Finally for this floor are two more single rooms and another shared bathroom, as well as a corridor leading to the second set of back stairs. 650 pieces

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2nd floor:

	Up on the second floor, the accommodation starts to get a bit more luxurious. All the rooms on this floor are en suite. This centre section has two of them, a double and a single. You also get a good look in this photo at the main staircase, the lift and the details on the front of the building (which took a fair bit of figuring out). 914 pieces
	Two more double rooms for this corner section, and this is another photo where you can see the various techniques I used on the outside. The corner room is quite grand, but the zig-zaggy arrangement of walls elsewhere illustrates the amount of planning I needed to do to work out the layout of each floor, and really shows this is just one small section of a much bigger model. 733 pieces
	This back corner includes the bathroom to one of the rooms in the previous section, as well as a twin room with its own bathroom too. As with the floor below, a corridor provides access to all the rooms and the back staircase. 652 pieces
	Around the other side is another grand corner room (a family room this time, with three beds) with its own en suite, and a further single room. I don't have enough windowless doors for the rooms, so just pretend those windows have panels for privacy, or something. In the foreground is the corridor leading from the lobby to all the rooms. 686 pieces
	At the back, as with the opposite corner, is a twin room with its en suite and that for the single room in the previous section. The back staircase continues again. The exterior walls at the back of the hotel are, as you might expect, much less fancy than the front, but I still had a fair bit of fun with the details. 698 pieces

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3rd floor:

	We're at the top of the building now, as you can see from the roof details. Up here we're into much more luxury, with the beginnings of the penthouse suite, including its bathroom (behind the removable art panel), office area and one of its two bedrooms. The more spacious lobby than other floors features artwork, a fish tank and great window views. The lift ends here but stairs continue up to the roof. 966 pieces
	Here you see the rest of the penthouse suite, with its double bedroom and main open plan living area. This includes comfy seating, a kitchen/dining area and a fold-down extra bed if needed. The doorway by the colourful rug leads out to the private roof terrace. 830 pieces
	...and here is that roof terrace. It has an outdoor dining table and sun loungers with parasols. the railings overlook the street on two sides and the pool area on the other. The cupola provides an interesting architectural feature (Translation: it took flipping ages to build!), as well as an emergency exit via the back stairs. 367 pieces
	On the other side of the top floor is the honeymoon suite, with romantic décor, a four-poster bed, luxurious bathroom (with actual bath!), a comfy sofa and table. This was one of the most fun sections to build, and I'm very pleased with the bed in particular. 850 pieces
	Like the penthouse, the honeymoon suite also has its own roof terrace. A workman here is making sure the flower pots, sun loungers and dining table for two are perfect for the happy couple. You can get a better appreciation of the cupola for this side from this photo. 341 pieces

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Roof:

	Finally, we reach the roof. For this central section, I took the dome from the Boutique Hotel and extended it upwards to make a lantern tower over the lift lobby below. A workman's door leads to the stairs and the roof is slightly raised on the other side to accommodate the top of the lift shaft. A window cleaner is at work in his cradle, which hangs from here. 370 pieces
	This view from underneath the corner roof over the penthouse shows how it is constructed, as well as details such as the cornices, raised roof over the corner section, and the skylight. 169 pieces
	The roof on the other side is almost a mirror image, and here you see it from above. You can appreciate the step change a bit better from this angle. A more elaborate skylight (taken from the Brick Bank) caps the honeymoon suite as a pair of amorous cats meet in the foreground. 179 pieces

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Phew! What a lot of Lego! :o)

Renfield - Nicholas Hoult plays the titular bug-eater. It's modern day America, so there are self-help groups for those trying to escape abusive co-dependent relationships. This is important when your boss is Nicholas Cage in full Hammer Horror mode and has decided to team up with the mob. The always-likeable Awkwafina plays the cop investigating a string of grisly deaths. The comedy obviously comes from mixing modern self-empowerment therapy with campy vampire horror. There's some pretty grisly violence too, of the ripping-arms-off-and-beating-people-to-death-with-the-wet-ends variety, so be warned. The whole film is a lot of fun though, with just the right amount of silliness to avoid being annoying. I really enjoyed it.

Suzame - A stunning, reality-bending anime epic. Suzame is an ordinary teenager until one day she starts seeing smoke billowing up into the sky where no one else can. Then she helps a mysterious stranger close a door to another world. Soon she's on the run across Japan, with a broken chair and the world's most troublesome kitten for company, trying to save the world and stay out of trouble with her mother. It's action-packed, funny, romantic, sweet, visually-stunning and up there with the very best Japanese animation has to offer. It's also a great advert for emergency phone alerts ;o)

The Super Mario Bros. Movie - Films of video games succeed when they incorporate elements from the game(s) into the plot in fun and clever ways, which make you go, "Aha! I see what you did there!" The Super Mario Bros. Movie does not do this. It is literally just like watching a game demo continuously for 90 minutes. The plot is so thin it may as well be non-existant, and no reason is given for all the platforms, pipes, power-ups and so on. Sure, there's the zany Minions-esque humour you'd expect from Illumination, much of which did make me smile, but it all feels very cynically churned out. It's nowhere near resembling a coherent film, and barely even qualifies as a film at all. Disappointing.

The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan - A French-made, French language version of Alexander Dumas's famous novel, starring François Civil as D'Artagnan and Eva Green as Milady de Winter. I've seen many versions of this story before, and this is definitely one of the better ones. It's played seriously and on a grand scale (this is part one of two), but It's solid rather than spectacular; a film to admire rather than to love. There's nothing wrong with it at all; it just left me unmoved for some reason. Perhaps it's simply because I will always feel more attachment to the version with the singing cartoon dogs ;o)

Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 - The success of GotG is partly due to, no matter how outlandish their adventures or how kick-ass superpowered our heroes are, they obsess, bicker and screw up over the most stupid things. That makes them really relatable and lovable, and that winning formula continues here in their bittersweet swansong. After a jarringly melancholy opening, it soon gets back into the familiar swing, with a great soundtrack, an audacious heist, a Big Bad playing God, a desperate mission against the odds, and Nathan Fillion. There are some darker notes this time, from Rocket's tragic backstory, to our heroes getting surprisingly murderous, to the nagging sense that any of them could die before the end. Ultimately, it's a fitting and (mostly) satisfying send-off for the MCU's greatest ensemble cast.

Sisu - If Quentin Tarantino made a western set in Finland, about one guy killing a bunch of Nazis, it would probably look and sound a lot like Sisu. Other than the sparseness of dialogue, that is. Aatami (Jorma Tommila) is an old man, prospecting for gold out in the wilderness and looking to escape the war. Unfortunately, there is a Nazi platoon carrying out a scorched earth retreat through his path. Unfortunate for the Nazis, that is. For Aatami is a legendary ex-commando, about to teach them the meaning of sisu. What follows over a tight 90 minutes is mainly a lot of very brutal, highly implausible violence. The film doesn't pretend to offer anything else and doesn't overstay it's welcome. Good, if you like that kind of thing, but maybe not a classic.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - 2018's Into the Spider-Verse was a madcap mix of animations styles and different spider-heroes from across the multiverse, turned up to 11. This sequel is the same, but turned up to about 200. I struggled to take it all in, but don't let that stop you seeing this on the biggest, loudest screen you can find. The animation is stunning; it's the closest to an actual comic-book-turned-movie you're likely to see; it's a bold experiment and a great ride. The plot is a steaming great mess, of course (and annoyingly incomplete, ending with a "To be continued..." while we wait for Beyond the Spider-Verse). But it doesn't matter; you're not here for the plot. Miles (Shameik Moore) and Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) are the central characters who give it enough of a heart for you to care about all the mayhem unfolding around them. It's a film with a lot of faults, but a must-see nonetheless.

Sorry, short reviews only. Longer ones take me too long and I'm not sure anyone reads them anyway! They're mainly a reminder for me of the films I've seen.

Violent Night - David Harbour plays a suitably grumpy Santa (the real Santa) who comes to the rescue when a rich family is held hostage by gangsters. The filmmakers know what they're aiming for, with shades of Die Hard and Home Alone, and they succeed.

Avatar: The Way of Water - Extremely pretty and totally pointless sequel which retreads much of the first. Turns into a teenage drama, then a Disney cartoon, then a best-of-Cameron action flick. Exactly what you'd expect really.

Empire of Light - Olivia Coleman heads up a stellar cast in this low-key portrait of a disparate group of people working in a small coastal cinema. Part mental health drama, part '80s historical pic, part love letter to the cinema. Highly recommended.

M3gan - Raises some deep questions about both the nature of grief and our over-reliance on technology. Ultimately though, it's a Blumhouse horror about a killer doll murdering people in lots of creative ways. Does what it does very well.

Babylon - Decadent and over-the-top describes the film as much as the seedy underbelly of the 1920s Hollywood era it portrays. Diego Calva, Margot Bobbie and Brad Pitt star. Worth a watch if you can stand the 3hr+ running time (It covers a lot of ground!).

Everything Under Control - Bonkers Hong Kong genre-mashup comedy about a heist gone wrong. Security guards and gangsters tangle with a remote village, whose inhabitants are more than a match for them. Better than the poor reviews suggest, but not entirely successful.

The Fabelmans - Semi-autobiographical Spielberg drama about a young lad's journey to become a filmmaker. A very different tribute from Empire of Light to the magic of cinema - certainly schmaltzier, but you'd have to be hard-hearted not to enjoy it.

Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania - Mainly an introduction to new big bad, Kang (Jonathan Majors). Michelle Pfeiffer and Michael Douglas both get a lot to do this time, which is good. The problem is the quantum realm feels like a video game, with nothing real to latch onto.

Knock at the Cabin - Surprisingly good M. Night Shyamalan film, mainly thanks to a superb performance from Dave Bautista, as the leader of a cult who captures a family in their cabin. Makes the most of it's rather thin and far-fetched premise.

All Quiet on the Western Front - A German POV of life in the trenches, which emphasises how much pointless suffering WW1 similarly caused on both sides. There's a side plot about armistice negotiations but mostly this is a look at the tragic loss of young lives.

65 - Adam Driver finds himself stuck on Earth 65 million years ago. This is from the makers of A Quiet Place, and it shows. There are surprisingly few dinosaurs, with the impending meteor being the real threat. It's okay, but nothing special.

Scream VI - The original and still best of the knowing, self-referential horror franchises. Lots of call-backs to past films but you don't need to have seen them. Smart, scary and full of very black humour, with some tense and inventive set pieces.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves - Finally, a D&D film which genuinely captures the feel of the game! Every bit as unashamedly madcap as I'd hoped for. I recognised about a thousand game references and probably missed a billion more. Gotta love an Owlbear!

I enjoyed working my way through the entirety of Neil Gaiman's Sandman and all its various spin-offs this year. Beyond that, my reading has been pretty pathetic really - barely more than a book a month! I blame the internet... ;o)

• The Sandman (Neil Gaiman et al)
• What Abigail Did That Summer (Ben Aaronovitch)
• Ready Player Two (Ernest Cline)
• The Reason I Jump (Naoki Higashida)
• The Good, The Bad and The Multiplex (Mark Kermode)
• Where the Crawdads Sing (Delia Owens)
• The Psychology of Time Travel (Kate Mascarenhas)
• The Midnight Library (Matt Haig)
• The Galaxy, and the Ground Within (Becky Chambers)
• Tales From The Folly (Ban Aaronovitch)
• Persons Unknown: The Battle for Sheffield's Street Trees (Simon Crump & Calvin Payne with Julie Stribley)
• Matilda (Roald Dahl) - obviously a re-read because of the new film
• Storyland: A New Mythology of Britain (Amy Jeffs)
• The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
• Project Hail Mary (Andy Weir) - started but not yet finished

It's actually been quite a while since I last went to the cinema - I've been far too busy of late! But it's been far, far longer since I got round to posting any reviews. Being increasingly reminded of how many of these are now available for home viewing made me think I really ought to catch up, so here we go:

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness - Thanks to a scheduling quirk, this was only the second-best film about multiverse-spanning relationships out in cinemas at the time (see below for #1). But it's still very good. After an opening half hour of traditional Marvel fare, director Sam Raimi flexes his horror muscles and turns this into something much creepier and more gruesome. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) has his name on the title, but it's really all about Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen). I'm not pleased with the way you increasingly need to follow the MCU's TV series to make sense of its films (watch the excellent WandaVision first, if you can), but at least this is well done, and a satisfying continuation of the stories of two of its most powerful protagonists.

Everything Everywhere All At Once - The always-watchable Michelle Yeoh stars in a delightfully chaotic, multiverse-bending, action comedy. It starts off slow and low-key, with Evelyn (Yeoh) struggling to manage running a laundromat, family stresses with her husband (Ke Huy Quan), daughter (Stephanie Hsu) and father (James Hong), and a determind IRS agent (Jamie Lee Curtis) on her case. But then a peculiar encounter in a lift leads her into parallel universes and a mission to save all of reality. There are shades of The Matrix, except that this is packed full of absurd, often puerile, constantly hilarious madness. It's high-concept stuff, but satisfyingly grounded with a character-based plot and a whole lot to say about choices, regrets, love, family, life, the universe and everything. And, all at once, the kind of comedy martial arts scenes that would make Jackie Chan proud, and cinema’s greatest ever use of googly eyes. It's possibly the most bonkers film I've ever seen (and I've seen some pretty bonkers films in my time). I loved it.

The Innocents - A great slice of Scandi horror, from Eskil Vogt, co-writer of The Worst Person in the World, and confronting the cruelties of childhood in a similar way to Playground (both of which were excellent, and I reviewed last time around). Strictly speaking, this is a superhero film, about a group of children discovering their powers. But it's very low-key, set as it is in and around a drab housing estate and with the supernatural elements supporting a very human drama. 9-year-old Ida is new to the estate and left looking after her autistic elder sister, Anna. They meet mean, telekenetic Ben and kindly, telepathic Aisha and form a circle of friends, but tensions between the four threaten to lead to tragedy. The child actors are all superb, and this is gripping stuff, masterfully written and directed.

Top Gun: Maverick - There's nothing low-key about Capt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell's return to the big screen, and indeed you should see it on the biggest screen you can find. Maverick is brought in - much to his commanding officers' annoyance - as the only man capable of training a group of ace pilots how to carry out an impossible bombing run down the Death Star trench to take out its main reactor. Naturally, the group of pilots includes Goose's son Rooster (Miles Teller), who blames Maverick for his father's death (as does Maverick himself). Naturally Maverick meets up with old flame, Penny (Jennifer Connelly). Naturally, there's a hot-shot pilot (Glen Powell) who thinks he's better than everyone else. It's easy to be cynical about such a big-budget, cliché-laden sequel, but it's all so well-done it's hard not to love it, even if you didn't care much for the original. The flying sequences (mostly shot "for real") are genuinely spectacular, and there's a touching cameo return for Val Kilmer's Iceman.

Jurassic World: Dominion - The previous film gave us the intriguing set-up of dinosaurs running wild, all over the world. While that's played with a little, unfortunately it's largely squandered, as we're soon back with dinosaurs contained in yet another remote, secret research location. Disappointment is the order of the day, as this is easily the weakest entry in the franchise. The main point of this sixquel seems to be "Hey, look! We got all the old and new cast together!" Which is fine, and there's joy in having Drs Grant (Sam Neil), Sattler (Laura Dern) and Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) back, but they didn't need to replay quite so many beats from the original film. The dinosaurs are nicely varied (Feathers!) but often feel too choreographed and pasted in to be scary, and they're disappointingly redundant to the "evil corporation" plot. If you haven't seen Battle at Big Rock, check it out to see what this film should have been.

The Black Phone - An interesting twist on supernatural horror, in which the vengeful ghosts are the good guys. Finney (Mason Thames) is snatched by "The Grabber" (Ethan Hawke), a serial child murderer, and thrown in a soundproof basement to await his fate. Except there's a disconnected black phone on the wall, through which the Grabber's previous victims can communicate with Finney from beyond the grave. But the help they can offer is limited. With his allies only slightly less terrifying than his kidnapper, the tension is in seeing whether Finney can conquer his fears and escape. It's a neat concept, but not enough to sustain a full film, so the writers throw in a psychic sister, abusive father, and tragic family backstory. It works well enough, but it's not a classic.

Elvis - Make no mistake, this may be a biopic about the King of Rock & Roll, (played by Austin Butler) and the complex, manipulative relationship he suffered with his manager, "Colonel" Tom Parker (Tom Hanks), but there's one larger-than-life personality stamped all over the film, and that's Baz Luhrman's. As you'd expect, there's enormous amounts of glitz, style and energy throughout. Luhrman charts Presley's life from childhood to the twilight of his career, through highs and lows, marriage and divorce, and the political events which shaped 20th Century America as much as the King's music. At times, the whole film feels like an overextended montage and, at 159 minutes, a patience-testingly long montage too. Focussing on the central pair of characters, there are some events Luhrman seems to dwell on too much, and others he skips past with reckless abandon. The use of modern, non-Elvis music also feels unnecessary and out of place, given the rich catalogue he had to choose from. Enjoyable but flawed.

Thor: Love and Thunder - This seems to have divided people, and has got some terrible reviews, but I loved it. A tragic love quartet between a Norse god (Chris Hemsworth), an astrophysicist (Natalie Portman), a hammer and an axe... No, wait, let me try that again: An epic battle to save poor, overpriviledged gods everywhere from an evil Christian Bale who just wants his daughter back... No, wait... A common complaint is the mood is all over the place. But Norse legends are kind of like that too, and some of the stranger aspects (Thor's goats) are lifted straight from that mythology. While it's true that this continuously bounces from absurd comedy to heardrending life-and-death drama and back, Thor: Ragnarok did that too. The gags in that film constantly undermined the dramatic moments, whereas the balance is handled better here. The "Marvel Holiday Special" feel worked for me, though it's clearly not to everyone's taste. And I am a sucker for a Guns N' Roses soundtrack. :o)

Bullet Train - If I tell you this is by John Wick and Deadpool 2 director, David Leitch, you'll have a fair idea what to expect. Washed-up assassin, "Ladybug" (Brad Pitt) is given the task of retrieving a briefcase from a bullet train travelling from Tokyo to Kyoto. Simple, right? Well, maybe it would be, if not for seemingly everyone else on the train also being a psychotic killer. Cue over-the-top comedy violence, Tarantino-style convoluted plotting, and more double-crosses than you can shake a samurai sword at, as the train rattles towards a final confrontation. It's actually surprisingly clever, while being laugh-out-loud silly at the same time. A lot of fun.

Nope - Jordan Peele (Get Out, Us) is back with more smart, myseterious horror, this time centred on a Hollywood horse ranch owned by siblings, OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and Em (Keke Palmer). When strange things start happenning and they see phenomena in the sky, they suspect aliens and set out to film the "Oprah shot" - the footage that will make them famous. Steven Yeun also stars as a carnival owner with a tragic past, and Michael Wincott has a small but memorable role as a determined film director. As always with Peele, there's almost as much social commentary as tense horror, this time about the treatment of people and animals in showbiz, as well as the lengths some will go to for fame. It's not as outstanding as his previous efforts, with more emphasis on spectacle than smarts - so best watched on the big screen - but still well worth checking out.

Minions: The Rise of Gru - They're back again. This time the gimmick is young Gru (Steve Carell)'s journey to supervillain status. Except young Gru isn't nearly so much fun to watch as adult Gru, and is sidelined for a large chunk of the film anyway. So we're largely following the minion trio of Kevin, Stuart and Bob, plus new addition Otto (all voiced again by Pierre Coffin) as they get into a variety of scrapes. As you'd expect, there are some hilarious set-pieces and some fun cameos, as well as an enjoyable array of over-the-top supervillains. But this feels like a studio simply churning out more of the same, in a franchise which peaked several films ago. It's fine, but I have to wonder how many more of these they can do.

Three Thousand Years of Longing - Tilda Swinton is Alithea, an introverted scholar who knows all about myths and folk tales. Idris Elba is the Djinn she unwittingly releases from a bottle. What follows is essentially an extended conversation between two of the finest actors in the business today, as the Djinn tells his personal history and tries to convince a reluctant Alithea to make her three wishes. On that level, it's really good (funny too), and I love the idea of the person being granted wishes being genre-savvy enough to know this never ends well. Unfortunately the ending itself is a bit unsatisfactory, and the modern day plot never grabs your attention quite as much as th colourful flashbacks. The result is it doesn't entirely work as a film, though points for effort and trying something a bit different. Still worth a watch, if only for the two leads.

Another eclectic mix this time around:

The Batman - Another reboot, this time even grittier than before. A serial killer (Paul Dano, who I don't think is ever actually named as The Riddler) is on the loose in Gotham. Bruce (Robert Pattison) and his batsuit are on the trail, which leads into the web of corruption inhabited by Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz), Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) and Penguin (Colin Farrell). Moody, gloomy and rain-soaked, this is much more film noir than comic-book movie, and often feels like an extended episode of the Gotham TV series. It works but, at nearly 3 hours, it's too long. An action-based final reel feels tacked on and oddly out of tone with the rest of the film.

Turning Red - Pixar are denied a cinema release again, which is a real shame, because this is their best since Inside Out. With its all-female writers, director and (mostly) cast, this is a coming-of-age story about teen girls and the often fraught relationships between mothers and daughters. Spiced up by the inconvenient tendency of its lead character, Mei, to turn into a 7-foot red panda whenever she gets too emotional. There's been excessive fuss over the (brief) references to periods, but this deals with many more of the trials and tribulations of growing up. The culture clash of Chinese mythology and American high school drama throws up some fun surprises along the way, culminating in a final act that is just... wow.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - I quite enjoyed the first Sonic, but the paper-thin plot, one-dimensional characters, and sub-kids'-cartoon-standard moral lessons of this sequel left me bored with the heroes and rooting for Team Evil. At least Idris Elba as Knuckles (inspired casting!) was funny. There are other upsides - some amusing one-liners, a chaotic wedding and its aftermath, and a lot of fun with the source material. This is unashamedly a video game adaptation, which is fine, but it could've been better.

The Worst Person in the World - Aptly described as "a coming of age film for adults who haven't grown up", this Norwegian comedy/drama follows Julie (Renate Reinsve) as she aimlessly drifts through life and falls in and out of love. There is a story running through its dozen chapters, but this is more a commentary on modern society than anything else. There are some clever standout scenes - a hilarious montage of two characters testing the limits of what they can do together without cheating on their partners; a time-freeze journey through the city; a drug-induced psychological nightmare. The film tackles serious issues, including sexism and mortality, but remains entertaining and delightfully subversive throughout. Recommended if you can find it.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore - One thing I don't get about the Potter-related films is why all the witches and wizards always dress like muggles? Drabness of dress is matched by drabness of story here, as the series increasingly sidelines all the fun with Newt (Eddie Redmayne) and his associates in favour of a tedious stalemate between Dumbledore (Jude Law) and Grindlewald (Mads Mikkelsen, replacing Johnny Depp), and the latter's even more tedious plot to win an election. Other than a delightful prison break partway through, it's all rather dull, far too long and, despite the title, we learn nothing about old Albus we didn't already know.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent - Nicholas Cage is... Nick Cage! Yes, he's back! Not that he ever went away! Struggling emotionally and financially, Nick reluctantly flies to Majorca as a guest of playboy superfan, Javi Gutierrez (Pedro Pascal). The two hit it off but, before long, Nick gets caught up with an undercover CIA mission, arms dealers and a kidnapping plot. Meaning that, with many a knowing wink, what starts out as a light-hearted bromance turns into... a Nick Cage film with guns and explosions. It's not big or clever, but it is surprisingly character-driven, full of charm and good popcorn entertainment. As long as you're a Nick Cage fan.

The Lost City - Sandra Bullock is Loretta Sage, an archaeologist turned trashy romance novelist. Eeevil Daniel Radcliffe is a billionnaire with a massive chip on his shoulder who kidnaps Loretta, believing she can lead him to the fabled "Crown of Fire", buried in a lost city, which featured in her latest novel. Channing Tatum is the cover model from her books who decides to prove he's more than just a cover model and come to her rescue. Brad Pitt is a ridiculously OTT action man who may be able to help him. If all that sounds silly, it is, and gloriously so, with lines like, "Why are things exploding?" It's big, loud, funny, has its tongue firmly in its cheek and challenges a few gender stereotypes along the way.

Playground (Un Monde) - An astonishing Belgian film about bullying and the toxic effect it spreads on individuals and relationships. Nora is just starting school and struggling to make friends. She witnesses her elder brother, Abel, being bullied and steps in, only to make matters worse for him. With adults unable to help, the other kids protecting their own places in the social hierarchy and Abel shunning her, Nora is left struggling to figure things out for herself. No one should have to cope with this shit, least of all someone so very young. Writer/director Laura Wandel keeps us with Nora throughout, the camera at her eye level and in her face pretty much continuously. It's intense, uncomfortable, at times shocking, and offers no respite or easy answers. A brilliant, astounding piece of cinema, though you'll probably only want to watch it once.

The Northman - Alexander Skarsgård plays Amleth, a wronged Viking prince-turned-mercenary-turned-slave, out for revenge against his traitorous uncle (Ethan Hawke) and to free his mother (Nicole Kidman) in this blood-soaked historical epic. The plot is straight out of Gladiator, but with Icelandic wilderness in place of the streets of Rome. Some of the shamanistic rituals seem silly to modern eyes (Grown men pretending to be wolves and bears? Okay...), but there's no doubting the visceral, almost feral nature of the world it paints. At times, it can be a bit too grim to be enjoyable though.

Operation: Mincemeat - Colin Firth does what he always does in this solid historical drama. The true story behind this operation is remarkable enough to liven up an otherwise fairly unremarkable film: Faced with a potential massacre in Sicily, British intelligence agents devise an elaborate plot to fool Hitler into believing the Allies' real target for invasion is Greece. All they need is a dead body, a convincing life story, false papers and a lot of luck. It's the nerdy historical details which keep your attention, rather than the characters, but there's also just enough humour to keep the drama entertaining without making light of the serious subject matter.

Wow, yesterday was a fantastically busy day - the best day I've had in ages!

An early start to get down to Endcliffe Park for the Round Sheffield Run - another local running staple I'd never done before. It was tough going - 19km of muddy, hilly, mostly trail running over 11 timed stages, plus a further ~5k of walking stages in-between. Very different to the road race events I'm used to, and I found the stop-start nature of it, plus the constant changes in gradient, much harder work. It was (mostly) good fun though, and the varied terrain and scenery kept it interesting. My official time was 1h45m31s for the running stages (placing me 316th of 1,409 runners), with a total time 2h49m46s. I'm pleased with that.

Good to see so many runners from our little group there - Dave, Andy, Liz, Jen and Jenny all took part, and we met up at the finish to celebrate with beer and medals :o)

After that, it was a quick dash home to shower and change, then back out again to Kommune for Becky's birthday celebration. Sadly the timing didn't allow for me to join the previous Laser Questing, but we had a good natter and much-needed food and (more) beer. Then an even shorter turnaround before my regular Sunday evening gaming. I was very tired by this point, so it was no wonder I came last in our game of The Great Wall - it was reasonably close though!