You know, it’s the night before Christmas Eve, and all through the house?
There’s the odd bit of dust.
I think that — potentially — I should be doing the odd but of … you know … sweeping up.
Possibly.
If I can … you know …
Get motivated.
Or get bothered!
At ANY rate … ?
It can’t have escaped you — or me — what time of year it is.
Yes …
It’s Christmas.
And frankly?
Whilst I’m not working, now, I can, at least be grateful I bought a few presents, whilst I was … !
Not much …
But someone’s going to get a lot of Lego*.
~≈§≈~
At any rate … ?
It’s Christmas: with all that implies.
If, like me, you’re at home?
You’ve a couple of options.
Some of them repeatable in public.
In my case?
Well, in my case, the first thing I did, was do my mother a favour: updating her iPad to the most recent version of the operating system it could deal with, and updating some apps.
THEN … ?
Well, I figured a movie would be the thing.
I’d seen Christmas horror films, before now — Rare Exports and Krampus — and felt the genre was maybe something to explore.
The big question … ?
Did I make the right decision, with A Christmas Horror Story?
I’m listening to the relatively obscure From Ato B, by New Musik, right now.
Possibly the only hit LP New Musik ever had.
Complete with the only actually hit they had, too: Living by Numbers.
Apparently, the song’s writer, Tony Mansfield — New Musik’s lead singer — was a bit of a fan of The Prisoner.
They really don’t want your name …
~≈§≈~
That possibly beside the point, though.
For one thing?
I’ve been meaning to try my hand at video compositing: as soon as I learnt I could do basic green screen work with iMovie, the basic video editing app on the Mac.
I’ve not managed to get the spare bedsheets, green dye, or curtain pole I’d need.
But have worked out that I can use Keynote to make a quick animated slide, with a black background …
That I can then manipulate in iMovie to produce … well … things like today’s intro movie.
Maybe not Scott’s recent best: I still think that’s a title that would go to The Martian.
But it’s as visually stunning as only a Ridley Scott film can be, is well written, beautifully acted — Fassbender, in the dual role of Walter and David, shines — and, while it’s got one heck of a telegraphed twist ending?
Is plotted well: and has a lot less holes than Prometheus.
I will say this, though: long term fans of the Alien might well go to see Alien Covenantexpecting
to see a grim, blood splattered, body horror type of film.
Certainly, there’s gore in there: this is, after all, an Alien film, so a certain amount of blood drenched mayhem is obligatory.
No Alien Covenant isn’t horror.
It’s a very grim, blood soaked, science fiction film.
One that says coming up with something helpful can have un-intended consequences.
That when we steal fire from the gods, our fingers can get burnt.
It’s the first any of us in the Movie Night Gang have managed to catch a horror film that’s that blood-soaked … !
«•»
Saw opens by showing us two men — oncologist, Lawrence Gordon, played by Cary Elwes, and photographer Adam Faulkner-Stanheight, played by Leigh Whannell — trapped in what appear to be an industrial bathroom: with each chained to pipes on opposite sides of the room.
With a dead body in between them.
They’ve been kidnapped.
And been given instructions by their kidnapperª — on dictaphone — to kill the other, within six hours.
Going by the very new clock on the wall, that’s visible to both.
