Recently, I have had some fantastic weekends. Like it usually is, Cardiff was just great. Every now and then, I need to retreat back to my geek space which makes me feel better. And even though I didn’t sleep enough, I am starting to catch up. But, it didn’t hurt that I didn’t sleep because I and ‘bethan_b_bad’ were able to introduce ‘plum177’ to the amazing world of The Mrs Bradley Mysteries. Now, for those who do not know this was a very short-lived set of murder mysteries in the 20s starring Dame Diana Rigg as Mrs Bradley and Neil Dudgeon as her chauffeur George, and I remember this was on when I was about 10. There is nothing quite as heartwarming as going back to something you loved as a child and then turning out to find it is as sweet as you remembered. It gets even better when you can introduce new people to it and they love it too. I believe it was this show that got me fascinated with the 1920s. It’s also what probably hooked me into Agatha Christie.
Actually looking back, I don’t know why I got to watch it because there were only five episodes in the entirety of the show, and that’s not really my parent’s thing, but still, it became the show that I was given special permission to stay up and watch. It was also the first show I remember watching purely because I was fully invested in the characters. Because I shipped Mrs. Bradley and George like crazy. I still do. It’s just hard not to when watching the show. And somehow it seems to me that there is only one person on the internet who writes the show. What?! I mean, how?!
Well, now we’re getting off track. The second one was very fun when six of my older friends from home came for a visit. The initial plan was that they would climb, we would stroll around the town, eat at a restaurant, and then retire to a pub to pass the time. However, this was the weekend that it snowed and we all thought it was really too cold to go outdoors so we stayed in and ordered for pizza and drinks.
I really like the language that has been used because these very casual conversations have made it clear that it is possible to fit six people on the floor on a more or less comfortable basis. I would never have imagined that.
Then Gary Bradley paid a visit to my house last weekend. I went to see one set of parents and had a fake birthday which consisted of lots of presents, chocolates, cards, and a cake from a world cuisine buffet in Staines Mark’s well known. He most certainly enjoyed showing it to me, but it did include a trip to Staines.
So, that was the other thing that happened to me, I turned 23. This means I am now the same age my mother was when she gave birth to me. As I keep saying that you can define weird, it was the oddest birthday I have thus far had. It’s the first birthday I have spent a) at work and b) away from all of the people I care most about; my family, and my closest friends. (Last year I took my birthday off and stayed with parentals, you see) To add to the neglect, this year I spent Christmas and New Year’s with IlInc so you can imagine my state of depression. I did go out to celebrate with some of the other graduates from my office sore so it could have been worse.
Noise Off has officially left me in splits, thanks to everything that went down yesterday. For context, Noises Off has the second-highest online rating out of every Broadway Show, so I shouldn’t be surprised. I was value lost getting back from Mother’s place when my really good friend posted in one of the Broadway groups on Twitter that they had a spare ticket for Noises Off on Monday evening. Sure enough, I considered going because it would mean missing out on choir practice for the third week in a row, but then I asked myself if it was Noises Off for a reason. There is a reason why the show is ranked so high, it does not disappoint. Bloody Hell, it is downright hilarious and one of the funniest plays I have had the pleasure of watching, no two ways about it. It was madness looking for tickets, and I was fortunate that them being available. And it was brilliant. By the time the curtain fell, I was physically exhausted from laughing so much. Most people would consider watching a Broadway show a physical activity, might sound ridiculous, but at times I want to see it again.
But the most exciting news of all is that I bought a new phone, ‘It is amazing,’ that is what I think. It is a little funny. On Fridays at work, I was saying how I was six weeks away from upgrading my device, which was reasonable for me, but the wait was long enough. To my surprise, I received a call from my provider right after three hours asking me if I would like to upgrade early. In the end, I got a better phone than expected and it came on Monday. All in all, I am very happy.
To be fair, as this was on my list because of James Spader, And it was eh. You know those films that are good and enjoyable to watch, but after having seen them once, do not evoke any urge to watch them again. This was one of those films. Also, I am not sure if I was too tired to follow the details of the plot or if there were some subplots that were meant to be there but did not really go anywhere. Well, it wasn’t so much that, as it was trying to make several Important Points and so none of them were fully developed.
It opens in Mexico, a fact that does not elude most of the viewers in the beginning mostly because of the abundance of Mexican flags hanging everywhere. In the initial scenes, a group of men, women, and children can be seen huddling in a tunnel, only to discover that the end is blocked. Much to their surprise, a silhouetted figure emerges from the entrance and shoots a couple of men before the tunnel proceeds to collapse. One of the more elderly people in the scene appears to have passed away too. After this, we are introduced to two teenage boys in a desert on motorbikes. The boys are dirt racers, and look the part as they wear appropriate clothing for biking activities. Suddenly, one of them falls and out of nowhere, both of them get shot to death. This quite literally reminds me of a cold opening of a Criminal Minds or NCIS LA episode. Then we cut to people such as Jeff Daniels, who is, and rightfully so, Be Roger from the 101 Dalmatians movie for the rest of his life, with a beard and long hair, checking into a hotel. The man was associated with some human rights watch charity and was present at the scene to supervise the voting of a company’s employees to see if they wished to be part of the union or not.
It also makes me chuckle when I learn that his name is James Rhodes and spend the remainder of the movie anticipating his call Rhodey.
The bodies in the underpass are located and a junior officer is tasked with finding out what exactly happened. The young cop is played by Peter Andre Romulan from the new Star Trek movie. And he resembles Joseph Gordon-Levitt somewhat. At this point, we meet James Spader. He is a US State Department Official or something and has epically bouffant hair. Something Kevin Keegan likes, and it actually makes me wonder when this film is meant to be set. So far we have not seen any obvious technology and have not had a very good focus on the cars, and the people’s clothes have been pretty bland so I start to wonder if it is meant to be near the 70s. A little while later, the most reliable of ways to age a movie, the mobile phone, appeared to plant it firmly in the early. In addition, James Spader’s hair eases a touch:
In any case, these tunnels belong to the drug cartel, so the Police Captain is sure they are responsible but Peter Andre Romulan Cop is not sure and thinks there is something fishy. Jeff Daniels has decided to observe the investigation. Oh, and, in fact, he is an old friend of James Spader.
We then are presented with a protest at the factory that is attempting to decide whether to form a union or not, and then all of a sudden, the police show up suited in riot gear, and what was a relatively moderate protest turns into none of the chaos I guess. HOORAY Police brutality(!) Jeff Daniels believes that people have been brought in by the corporation in an attempt to stir things up so that the voting process is impeded.
Oh and then James Spader is having relations with a lawyer who was introduced a few scenes before. Her character seems a little pointless, and I’m not sure if it is to imply here that they are now in a relationship or what, and just generally doesn’t really serve a purpose. Except that James Spader needs to constantly keep his hands above his head in an awkward manner to cover his tattoo. Oh and to create scene later when the lawyer shows up to Jeff Daniels’ room in the hotel while he is taking a shower and then when she sees James Spader and jumps to the obvious misunderstanding and there is a little awkwardness, but that doesn’t seem to go anywhere.
The mafia continues to stalk Jeff Daniels, the investigation is still active, while James Spader is completely intent on being a bastard or at least doing his business the right way, while the firm literally coerces workers into not supporting the creation of a union by clawing a semblance of a verbal poll out of them, which we were told is somehow legal.
And then we get The Dénouement! I don’t really care to delve into the complications, but I have come to learn that the firm and the law enforcement were behind all the murders and trying to disguise it all as a cartel. Jeff Daniels ends up teaming up with the cartel so that they can get the evidence that would exonerate him, after which there is an exchange of gunfire with the police. At this stage, Jeff Daniels‘ Plot Armour fails him and he is killed. However, he manages to pass the evidence to the right people. All other criminals get captured, but Jeff Daniels’ character is still dead. Both the lawyer and Peter Andre Romulan Cop look shocked while standing at the funeral. There is an uncertain suggestion that she was falling in love with Jeff Daniels. Also, James Spader is at the back of the funeral looking a bit uneasy, so he walks off and I come to the conclusion that it is possible he and Jeff Daniels are ex-partners. Because the goggles are welded on tight.
Well, alright then. I think like many films, this one has a set message that it wishes to convey. Unfortunately, it looks like the film goes about jumping around various arguments and topics, never making it clear what you should walk away believing. This is likely related to how America treats Mexico, but is the message that unions are good? Or is there something to say about big corporations and capitalism in general? What about white Americans patronizing white Mexicans? Or is it simply Mexico needs the United States? Or perhaps all of them? It’s just a little confusing The movie was so poorly structured. If the storyline had simply followed the individuals investigating the murders, it would’ve been a tightly woven crime drama with a much more impactful message.
Overall, an engaging crime thriller that suffers a bit due to the inability to convey the message it attempts to.
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