Science fiction is not a genre that I dip into often but I did as a teenager. I enjoyed stories by Isaac Asimov and especially John Wyndham’s The Midwich Cuckoos (above) and The Day of the Triffids.
There is a new, rather well-reviewed, film called Midnight Special that I have just seen. If you plan to see it, maybe stop reading now although I’m not going to give away more of the plot than I can help. It’s directed by Jeff Nichols whose 2012 film Mud I have seen too. It has at least one flaw – it’s too long (112 minutes) but it’s a good film and I will certainly be on the look-out for more of his stuff. Usually I’d post the trailer but it doesn’t do the film justice.
Anyway, I want to tell you about my and my friend Robert’s reaction and here is where this becomes a spoiler. Robert opined that it was an E.T. film. I thought it was about Jesus Christ. Since I have never seen E.T. and Robert hasn’t read the New Testament very closely, we couldn’t argue this out. If you see the film I’d be interested to hear what you think. One other point: I think it’s the first film I’ve seen where the sound is so immersive that it makes the cinema seat vibrate. Curzon Victoria is a new cinema with a lot of small theatres, ultra-comfy reclining seats with club class legroom and little mushrooms for drinks; so if you watch in an old flea pit, don’t expect the earth to move.
There was a trailer for Eye in the Sky. Usually I think the trailer is enough and I can skip the full film but this is a thriller that I must see, not least because Helen Mirren and Alan Rickman have roles. If you are reading this in America you may have seen it. In the UK we have to wait until later this month; curiously, Colin Firth is a producer. You might also like to know that Dame Helen’s stunt double is thirty-nine years younger than her.