The Flying Scotsman

Some friends had enthused over The Flying Scotsman, so, when we couldn’t get in to see the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie, we popped round the corner to see the other movie.
It wasn’t helped by the fact that our seats were so hard that by the end we were in agony, but even that aside (and the sometimes impenetrable Scots accents) the movie is pretty much a B movie bio, and is marginal on humour, suspense, character and most other things.
Jonny Lee Miller plays Graeme O’Bree, an amateur cyclist with great ambitions, most of which he achieves. Miller isn’t a particularly good-looking actor at the best of times, and as O’Bree he achieves a sourness of face that must almost be unique amongst movie ‘heroes.’ (He might play a good Darcy in Pride and Prejudice!)
O’Bree himself appears to have been a fairly difficult character: obsessive about his cycling, depressed by past events, uncompromising, and with a determination that overrode the better judgement of some of his family and friends. Miller shows all this with a jutting out lower lip, and jaw, and haughty eyes. Admittedly O’Bree had some overcoming to do: the World Cycle crew appear to have been quite toffee-nosed in their opposition to him, and dragging himself up out of depression (and an unsuccessful suicide attempt) can’t have been easy.
But Miller lacks much warmth, and consequently you never really respond to him as a character. His wife, played by Laura Fraser, is the opposite, but she has little to do except be supportive, and has almost no time to come across as a character. Brian Cox has a quiet role as a minister who doesn’t reveal his colours until late in the piece (unfortunately my friends had spoiled this me) and is excellent in his portrayal of a man who’s had to face the same sort of distresses O’Bree is facing. Billy Boyd is Billy Boyd.
We should have waited till it came out on DVD.

Lining up

I’ve never been one for lining up for hours for a concert or a sporting event. If I can’t get in the door quick smart, I’m not particularly interested. That may be because I live in a smallish city that’s notorious (so we’re led to believe) for people booking tickets at the last minute.
When I see people spending all night out on the street to be the first in line for tickets for something I just have to go ho hum. Better things to do. I’m sure at some period of my life (maybe in my youth) I’ve lined up for something, but whatever it was, the memory has long gone.
That’s why I’d use a broker if I was going for something like Red Sox tickets. Not that I’m likely to be, since I live in a different part of the world, but if I was, I’d try out the Great Seats brokers. They don’t just sell Red Sox tickets, they sell tickets for Jerry Seinfield, Police and a host of other concerts. Come in out of the cold and go online for your front row seats…!

Cinema seats

Perhaps you think I only ever watch old movies, from the way I talk in some of my posts. That’s not the case, really. We almost went to see a new movie tonight, until my wife decided she couldn’t be bothered going out and sitting in the uncomfortable seats at the cinema when she could stay home (and watch an old movie). There’s something about the cinema seats they provide now. They’ve made them more roomy, so you’re not all cramped up against your next-door neighbours, but in the process they’ve given you so much room that you can only lean your elbows on one side at a time. And then the make the depth of the seat – from the back to the front where your legs hang over – comfortable for people with long legs, but not for those with short ones. Consequently, when you’ve been sitting on them a while, you start to slide forward and your bum starts to ache – or your back. It’s no wonder we sit at home and watch DVDs.