Tuesday, March 07, 2006
The World According to...
Two things. Briefly (hopefully*)
One. I made a concerted effort to catch up on my cinema-going and to see as many of the nominated films at the Oscars this year. With the exception of Munich which I just couldn't bring myself to see and which I was convinced wouldn't win anyway. I saw Capote and Good Night, and Good Luck - having seen already Brokeback Mountain and Crash. The upside of this was I was able to check out a few cinemas I hadn't been to or ones I hadn't been to in a long time. Not to mention (although I think I did below) found the cheap nights.
First up the Rio. Being as it is on Kingsland Road it's a bit of a mare to get to on public transport. I feel for the poor beggars who have to get on the god-awful 149 bendy bus. There's a whole post on that subject alone. The Rio, once there, is lovely. Well except for one slightly key fact. The seating. But we'll gloss over that for the moment and revel in the true indie cinema feel of the place, the lovely selection of goodies behind the counter. Sweets and crisps yes, coffees, teas, home-made cakes even better. All in a pleasant (if slightly uncomfortable) experience. I hope, perhaps, that it was just my seat that wasn't the most comfy.
Next up the Barbican. Although I live quite close,and have, quite frankly, been lost in it's many levels and pathways on too many occasions, I haven't been to the cinema for years. Oh what a treat. A fabulously raked seating plan, high back seats, very comfortable and a fully stocked bar and coffee cart where they actively encourage you to take drinks in. Personally I don't drink at the cinema. Past experience has shown overwhelming need for the loo or being prone to nod off. But there really is nothing nicer than a nice coffee whilst watching a film.
Most recently I went down to the Curzon Mayfair. A cinema where I cannot help but think of Princess Diana. Pourquoi ? Well we were supposed to see a gala screening of Mrs Brown with the lovely Dame Judi and the Princess went and got herself embroiled in a conspiracy theory in a tunnel under Paris and we were cancelled. Judi, I'm sorry, we were so looking forward to it. I digress, the cinema is excellent with old school 70's decor. You really imagine they would show porn in there. Lovely comfy seats, high backed again and a fairly shambolic but useful bar/cafe service on site. Plus you get to wander about Mayfair and Shepherd's Market thinking you're, well, rich.
Two. Wasn't Blue Planet fab the other night? I don't do nature programmes really but this one worked mainly because it wasn't really a nature programme. It was just an amazing sight, the colours, textures and landscape of the planet were just seen in a new light. Truly beautiful. I have a quite nice television and though I'm no puritan when it comes to colour balance or using the right widescreen format, I really did notice the amazing colours. Part of my viewing involved showing the cat the beautiful Russian Leopards to which she pretended to be ambivalent. However, very amusingly, she took great interest in the Birds of Paradise and was, as you can see below, a very keen viewer!
It seems, however, I have created a TV monster. She watched ER for a bit last night and this morning she went for Fiona Phillips. At least she's somewhat discerning.
*I lied.
One. I made a concerted effort to catch up on my cinema-going and to see as many of the nominated films at the Oscars this year. With the exception of Munich which I just couldn't bring myself to see and which I was convinced wouldn't win anyway. I saw Capote and Good Night, and Good Luck - having seen already Brokeback Mountain and Crash. The upside of this was I was able to check out a few cinemas I hadn't been to or ones I hadn't been to in a long time. Not to mention (although I think I did below) found the cheap nights.
First up the Rio. Being as it is on Kingsland Road it's a bit of a mare to get to on public transport. I feel for the poor beggars who have to get on the god-awful 149 bendy bus. There's a whole post on that subject alone. The Rio, once there, is lovely. Well except for one slightly key fact. The seating. But we'll gloss over that for the moment and revel in the true indie cinema feel of the place, the lovely selection of goodies behind the counter. Sweets and crisps yes, coffees, teas, home-made cakes even better. All in a pleasant (if slightly uncomfortable) experience. I hope, perhaps, that it was just my seat that wasn't the most comfy.
Next up the Barbican. Although I live quite close,and have, quite frankly, been lost in it's many levels and pathways on too many occasions, I haven't been to the cinema for years. Oh what a treat. A fabulously raked seating plan, high back seats, very comfortable and a fully stocked bar and coffee cart where they actively encourage you to take drinks in. Personally I don't drink at the cinema. Past experience has shown overwhelming need for the loo or being prone to nod off. But there really is nothing nicer than a nice coffee whilst watching a film.
Most recently I went down to the Curzon Mayfair. A cinema where I cannot help but think of Princess Diana. Pourquoi ? Well we were supposed to see a gala screening of Mrs Brown with the lovely Dame Judi and the Princess went and got herself embroiled in a conspiracy theory in a tunnel under Paris and we were cancelled. Judi, I'm sorry, we were so looking forward to it. I digress, the cinema is excellent with old school 70's decor. You really imagine they would show porn in there. Lovely comfy seats, high backed again and a fairly shambolic but useful bar/cafe service on site. Plus you get to wander about Mayfair and Shepherd's Market thinking you're, well, rich.
Two. Wasn't Blue Planet fab the other night? I don't do nature programmes really but this one worked mainly because it wasn't really a nature programme. It was just an amazing sight, the colours, textures and landscape of the planet were just seen in a new light. Truly beautiful. I have a quite nice television and though I'm no puritan when it comes to colour balance or using the right widescreen format, I really did notice the amazing colours. Part of my viewing involved showing the cat the beautiful Russian Leopards to which she pretended to be ambivalent. However, very amusingly, she took great interest in the Birds of Paradise and was, as you can see below, a very keen viewer!
It seems, however, I have created a TV monster. She watched ER for a bit last night and this morning she went for Fiona Phillips. At least she's somewhat discerning.
*I lied.
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