REVIEW: Midnight in Paris

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At the age of 75, Woody Allen is showing no sign of slowing down.

This month, the veteran writer and director returned with Midnight in Paris. It contains all the staples of a Woody Allen classic – romance, quick wit, lengthy focus on forming and deteriorating relationships – but it also introduces a new twist: fantasy.

The story focuses on would-be novelist Gil (Owen Wilson) who is visiting modern day Paris with his fiancée Inez (Rachel McAdams). Not satisfied with tourist spots or boutique shopping, Gil longs to visit Paris in the 1920s at the height of its Golden Age. Magically, he stumbles upon an antique car at midnight and he is transported back in time to brush shoulders with his literary and artistic heroes.

Allen is clearing having a lot of fun at the helm. The fantastical plot allows him free reign to drop in as many fan-pleasing cameos as he pleases. Therefore, Gil meets the Fitzgeralds, Picasso, Hemingway, Gertrude Stein and – in a scene-stealing performance by Adrien Brody – a very bonkers Salvador Dali determined to draw a rhinoceros. Allen’s writing is sharp as ever and he creates a lot of humour playing with our expectations of these characters, Extras-style.

Without revealing too much, the time travel takes on further dimensions as the story progresses and the showcase of great characters never slows down or disappoints. One scene with a very lost private investigator is a particular laugh-and-loud delight.

Determined not to be left behind by Hollywood, Allen has cast rising stars (Tom Hiddleston, Marion Cotillard), established A-list names (Kathy Bates, Michael Sheen, Carla Bruni) and very recognisable character actors (Kurt Fuller and Mimi Kennedy are a joy to watch as Inez' uptight parents).

Meanwhile, Rachel McAdams and Owen Wilson revisit their Wedding Crashers chemistry, only this time they are falling apart as opposed to falling in love. Furthermore, Wilson excels as the emotional core of the film. No-one can rival Wilson as the likeable, upbeat, everyman - he practically owns the patent to this role.

It is a shame that Midnight in Paris will be underwatched and unappreciated. It has too much brains, depth and style to please the mainstream rom-com crowd and it will also be overlooked by the Academy. The Academy notoriously dislikes comedy and fantasy, whilst there is no performance as attention-grabbing as Penelope Cruz's Oscar-winning turn in Vicky Cristina Barcelona (although arguably Marion Cottilard's more subtle presence is just as worthy).

Nevertheless, Midnight in Paris deserves to find an audience. It is charming, sweet, whimsical and thought-provoking with no small amount of magic.

In short, it is a Woody Allen film.

★★★★★

Steve Jobs RIP

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Steve Jobs died on October 5th from pancreatic cancer.

The world has truly been moved by this news (check out Twitter for #thankyousteve and #iSad) but few men have left a legacy as impressive as Steve.

Steve was a true visionary. He put a computer in every home, revolutionised how we purchase music, made the touchscreen a mainstream necessity and replaced laptops with tablets. Steven Spielberg summarised the man brilliantly: "Steve Jobs was the greatest inventor since Thomas Edison. He put the world at our fingertips."

Personally, I will always remember Steve for co-founding Pixar: the most consistently successful and innovative animation studio of all time. Without Steve, we wouldn't have Woody, Buzz, Nemo, WALL.E and the rest of the gang.

He may have given the world iMacs and iPods and iPhone and iPads (I have none of the above) but he gave me some of my favourite films of all time.

Thank you Steve.
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REVIEW: Doctor Who - The Wedding of River Song

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Review in a Tweet: an incredibly busy episode packed with ideas but Moffat pulls it off. Lots of familiar faces, a shotgun wedding & best closing line ever.

Best Line: "I'm... his mother-in-law?" - Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) shortly after the Doctor marries River Song.

Something for the Kids: pterodactyls in the park!

Something for the Fans: we learn that Brigadier Sir Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney), founder of UNIT and a reoccurring character from the pre-revival years, has passed away. This is in honour of actor Nicholas Courtney who died in February of this year. Courtney reprised his role as the Brigadier in a two-part episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures. Unfortunately, he never had a chance to appear alongside the post-revival Doctors.

Blast from the Past: everyone is back for this episode: Churchill, Dickens, Dr Malokeh, Dorium, Kovarian, the Silent and even an old-school Dalek, whilst Rose Tyler & Captain Jack both get a namedrop to keep the Russell T Davis loyalists happy.

Scary Bit: Gantok (Mark Gatiss) getting buried beneath gnawing skulls.

WTF: what is going on with Matt Smith's hair?!

Episode Highlight: the Teselecta twist was great and I totally called it after the Let's Kill Hitler episode. And the Question was another great revelation. "Doctor Who? Doctor Who? Doctor Who?!"

DW Confidential Highlight: a tidy montage of River Song's life from her point-of-view narrated by Alex Kingston. That should wrap it up for any viewers who still can't fathom the wibbley wobbley timey wimey-ness.

Food for Thought 1: the story arc this series, which was focussed on the Doctor's impending death, was a bit of a misfire. It is hard to get emotionally-invested in the drama when we all know that the Doctor isn't going to die because Matt Smith signed on for another frickin' series! Also, not too long ago, we had a whole year of the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) awaiting his impending death so it all felt a bit familiar.

Food for Thought 2: what is going to happen next year? The River Song story is 99% wrapped-up now and Amy & Rory have been left to enjoy married life. So... time for a new companion? I hope not. Amy and Rory are awesome.

★★★★★

REVIEW: Doctor Who - Closing Time

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Review in a Tweet: Craig returns in this just-for-fun standalone episode. The Cybermen attack but the Corden-Smith comic interplay is the real star here.

Best Line: "Of course! It must be shielded against meta-static energy. Don't worry - I have an app for that." - The Doctor (Matt Smith)

Something for the Girls: a cute baby! Yay!

Something for the Kids: Cybermats! I want one for Christmas!

Something for the Fans 1: Cybermats! I've already got one! These were first seen in The Tomb of the Cybermen with the Second Doctor and mark the return of another monster from the pre-revival years.

Something for the Fans 2: the Doctor plays with a toy called "Yappy! The robot dog! Not as much fun as I remember!" Cheeky little reference to K-9.

Scary Bit: Craig (James Corden) getting upgraded into a Cyberman.

Episode Highlight: the reoccuring 'SSSHH!' gag. Try it on your friends.

DW Confidential Highlight: Smith and Corden making their own Who home videos involving a miniturised Dalek attacking baby Alfie's toys. Corden provides the theme tune. Awesome.

WTF: the Cybermen were defeated by love? Really? At least they mocked this a little bit in the episode.

Hats off to the Writer: Gareth Roberts scripts his fourth episode of Doctor Who. The other three were The Shakespeare Code, The Unicorn & the Wasp and The Lodger. Roberts is king of the light-hearted standalone episodes.

And the BAFTA goes to: Matt Smith putting baby Alfie to bed and lamenting on how old he feels.

Food for Thought: this episode was a lot of fun but a bit of an odd choice for a penultimate episode. It was also the first time since the revival that a series hasn't ended on a two-parter. This isn't necessarily a problem but it puts a lot of pressure on next week to wrap everything up. Good job Moffat will be scripting.

★★★★


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REVIEW: Doctor Who - The God Complex

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Review in a Tweet: The plot is mostly an excuse to bring together lots of primal fears but who cares. Creepy, psychological and claustrophobic. Classic Who.

Best Line: "It's times like this I think of my old school motto: resistance is exhausting." - Gibbis (David Walliams)

Something for the Kids: scary gym teacher!

Something for the Fans: the Doctor's room is number 11 because Matt Smith is the eleventh Doctor. Also, Amy and Rory's house is Tardis-blue.

Scary Bit: the roomful of chattering ventriloquist dummies slowly silencing and turning to face the Doctor.

Episode Highlight: David Walliams. Brilliant as the cowardly, comical and sinister alien Gibbis.

Tearjerker: the Doctor and Amy part ways before he gets them killed.

Hats off to the Writer: brilliant concept. Like a Doctor Who version of Cube.

Hats off to the Director: great shooting of the hotel. Every camera trick in the book was deployed. Especially loved the overhead shots of the winding staircase.

Food for Thought 1: the Minotaur was great and everything but they could have done better. A concept as creepy as this (with clowns, ventriloquist dummies and even Weeping Angels) deserved a better antagonist than another clumsy, prosthetic, silent grunt of a monster.

Food for Thought 2: I bet we see Gibbis again next season.
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★★★★

Marathon Man

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I ran my first ever marathon last Sunday in Nottingham and it was a great success. One week later and I'm still high on endorphines!

The first half was a breeze (I've run four half-marathons before now) but things really got interesting during the second half. Aches, cramps, stitches... the whole gruelsome shebang.

And it was so damn windy. We had to run into the wind around Holme Pierrepont lake between miles 19 to 21. I swear I was running on the spot for most of the time.

The stitches were a serious nuisance, most likely caused by drinking too much on the go. In fact, I almost had to walk the final mile. Luckily, a random man with a ponytail gave me some advice towards the end. Basically, you can assuage a stitch if you clench-then-unclench your hand on the opposite side of your body. And it worked remarkably well. Definitely wish I'd known that from the start. In any case, it got me moving again and I nailed that last mile.

I finished in under four hours (3:55:53) which was my aim from the beginning. High fives all round!

All money raised went to the mighty Kids Adventure. And if you have any spare cash then you can still sponsor me here.

Looking back, two things are for certain: the marathon was one of the best things I have ever done and I won't be doing it again in a hurry!

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REVIEW: Doctor Who - The Girl Who Waited

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Review in a Tweet: not much fun to be had in this depressing & tragic episode. Great emotive performances by Darvill & Gillan but ultimately a bit of a downer.


Best Line: "I bring you to a paradise planet two billion light years from Earth and you want to update Twitter!" - The Doctor

Something for the Girls: Amy's speech about Rory's beautiful face.

Something for the Kids: Robot Rory with a smiley face!

Scary Bit: Amy left alone for 36 years. Freaky.

Episode Highlight: Amy fighting handbots kitted out in hockey gear with a samurai sword!

Coolest Gadget: a tie between the giant magnifying glass and Clark Kent video glasses.

Tearjerker: old Amy left to die. Sad times.

WTF: Imelda Staunton was the voice of the Interface. Another actor wasted.

And the BAFTA goes to: Arthur Darvill juggling loss, grief and anger whilst still being funny. Give the man an award.

Food for Thought: here we have yet another example of a character coming face-to-face with 'themselves'. We have had Flesh avatars, the Tesselecta and now two Amy's from different timestreams. All of this means that the writers have several Get Out Of Jail Free cards when it comes to writing around the future Doctor supposedly getting shot in the first episode.

★★★

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