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No country for old women: Old Ladies - at Finborough Theatre

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The day after seeing The Old Ladies at the Finborough Theatre , I was describing the play to someone in great detail: about three old ladies who lived in a rickety house in southern England in 1935. Based on Hugh Walpole’s novel and adapted by Rodney Ackland, it is the sort of story with enough believability, humour and mild thriller to stick in your mind. Perhaps it is the lure of this dark, forboding tale of a life without money, to be alone and to be old, that makes you feel attracted to this poverty porn. But then again, given the state of the world, the cost of living, an ageing population, or just the fact that it’s a dog-eat-dog world, it might as well be an every little old lady-for-herself, too. It’s a well-acted and staged piece that moves at a brisk pace, so there isn’t much time to think about it too much. And in the intimate (or should that be claustrophobic?) space of the Finborough, there’s nowhere to avert your eyes. Even if you wanted to.  The scene is a grim Cathe...

Movies: Iron Man


Iron Man, originally uploaded by Luffyd.

Caught the movie Iron Man on Wednesday evening as on a warm sunny evening it seemed like a good idea at the time. Besides there are not enough super hero stories set against war-torn Afghanistan (with the occasional nice shot of Miami).

While there was a lot to enjoy about it, after seeing it I had a few questions:
  • Why were there so many product tie-ins for crap products?
  • Why did Robert Downey Jr's character go for models who had too much sun and dimply skin?
  • Why do the agents from S.H.I.E.L.D look like they are from the gay mafia?
  • Did Jeff Bridges shave his head and grow a beard just to look more evil??
  • Was that final battle sequence made up of out-takes from the Transformers movie?
  • And just how the hell do you take a leak in that suit?

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