The great Frank Cottrell Boyce, who lives just around the corner, recently admitted that he’s “definitely the biggest and most hyperbolic exaggerator in the entire vast universe” and those of you who know me well might also apply the same description to the present author, especially when it comes to films and TV.
Recently, thanks to a golden age of onscreen entertainment (and a more relaxed marking routine!) there have been several opportunities for me to claim I’d seen ‘the best thing in ages’ and so the first part of this bi-monthly blogging features a few of them.
The first big new arrival was the new series of Black Mirror on Netflix / Streamberry. There were elements of Charlie Kaufman’s Adaptation, The Truman Show, An American Werewolf in London and Avatar across the more enjoyable episodes, but the real standout was probably the Red Mirror film Demon 79 in which a member of Boney M inspires a murderous shoeseller in the 1970s in a homage to the horror movies of the time. I’d recommend watching in instalments, as I did, because it’s all pretty intense and takes time to digest (but also because WW doesn’t really like it that much!)
One thing we did enjoy together was the entertaining, quirky Poker Face in which Natasha Lyonne solves crimes using her innate ability to tell when people are lying. Each episode (one of which introduced me to the titular term) sees her in a new job, across myriad parts of America, during which she becomes embroiled in a murder mystery which she then unravels. Slightly more straightforward, meanwhile, were the Messi Destiny documentary, which features a deep insight into the successful World Cup campaign of last Advent, and a revisit of the Rocky films as I went back to my childhood and the joy those classic slugfests brought the younger me.
Then there was Glastonbury – a weekend the younger me would have loved to attend – with seminal sets by old favourites the Courteeners, the somewhat divisive Arctic Monkeys, and the brilliant Rick Astley and Blossoms doing Smiths classics which whetted the appetite for an upcoming concert and reminded me of one of the greatest music videos of all time (and it’s filmed in Morecambe!)
We actually attended our own music festivals last month, too: a perfect performance by B and her choir in church (after which this wonderful photo was taken as we surprised her with our attendance) the excellent Africa Oye in Sefton Park, but left that as the mood changed a little. As we’re still on the theme of music in Liverpool, we discovered we’d stumbled upon the filming of the new Taylor Swift video; I also listened to the brilliant Stanley Tucci episode of Desert Island Discs (cheers for the heads up, Colin) and enjoyed the TV resurrection of Popmaster… meanwhile, on a Radio 2 theme, I got a shoutout on Zoe Ball‘s breakfast show due to a daily dose of 7.33 tracks we play daily.
We even found time to frequent the cinema for the first time in eighteen months; I really wanted to see Barbie (which the girls LOVED) but opted for Elemental, the new Pixar offering. I didn’t know much about it before wandering in but was pleasantly surprised by the beautiful graphics, the sometimes quite adult themes, the humour, the romance and the underlying messages about inter racial relationships (which is West Side Story-esque, given the clear similarities with NYC) and also climate change which are obviously very on trend. Even the dangers of cruise liners in cities resonated with our upcoming adventures.
I’m not ashamed to admit that I cried twice: firstly during the opening short, Carl’s Date, which revisits the characters of Up, several years on. Then, at the lovely climax in the main feature when – spoiler alert – Fire and Water find they CAN mix after all… and it nearly happened when what must have been the first ever use of Bugged Out classic Zombie Nation was used in an animation, triggering memories of two lifetimes ago!
Away from the world of music and television – well, linked actually – the more eagle-eyed of you will have noticed that Mr Man got his glasses and adjusted superbly. His team winning the summer league called for a celebration – a team photoshoot akin to those his heroes will soon be doing, plus a sponsored walk, followed by an awards ceremony at which we got to meet Kevin Sheedy who was a true gent again (our paths had crossed a few years ago at the hospital when we were both going through stuff, and he remembered) and we celebrated what progress the boys have made in such a short space of time.
Meanwhile, Little Miss was proudly named Sports Captain for her house at school, after which she was rewarded with a game of ten pin bowling!
Zig-zagging from music back to books, the spoken word and TV: another influential hero returned.
It was around this time that I found more fame at last when asked to appear on a podcast. The focus was individuality – the benefits of being different, having the confidence to stand out, and my socks and tie combinations featured heavily. Talking of being individuals, I also read a great book by Jay Rayner about last suppers and started an insightful and fascinating biography of my all-time food hero, Anthony Bourdain, whose final series we’re still enjoying as an encore.
Now, for the football!
The end of the season feels like only yesterday, yet the new one is upon us: new kits, fantasy football team names to ponder and a plethora of pre-season friendlies, including a proud moment at Marine against Blackpool, and more non-league entertainment with me finally finishing Welcome To Wrexham in preparation for the new series coming out in September. Paul Mullin is another new inspiration, and we wish him well after his recent injury. And again I was asked to share my views – and pride, once more – on a podcast for the Falcon Blues.
Yes, it looks like I had an itchy ear (my nervous tic) and I’d had a couple of drinks to settle the nerves, but this was another unique and enjoyable experience I’d like to do again.
Back to music, and Morrissey.
Lots has been said and written about the man – not just by me – and I’ll be (our) Frank and say I don’t really care – I go for the music and the performance, and this concert was up there with one of the best, with old and new classics alike. The great man was on great form and, even if the evening was short, it was very sweet and I came away thinking that if that would be my last time seeing him, our affair ended on a high. Politics and personality aside, the love and devotion so many have for him remains a constant, even if some were a little too (Roy’s) keen to get on stage that night.
Talking of greatness, we come to the end. Well, nearly.
By far the best thing we’ve watched (twice this year, if you include the first series) is The Bear. It was great that my t-shirt on the last day of term garnered so many comments by people clearly onside with the fact it’s the (channelling my inner Frank again) greatest TV show around, this time going up a notch with the incredible cameos (watch to find out whom!) the character development, the soundtrack and the Wes Anderson vibes with the cinematography. Cousin Richie (played perfectly by Ebon Moss-Bachrach, with whom I’ve begun conversing online) is my favourite, and his Forks episode was probably the standout of the series, although the Copenhagen-set Honeydew and the epic rollercoaster of a Christmas, Fishes, ran it close.
Then came the epic self-titled finale, after watching ten episodes on eight consecutive evenings, and they saved the best ’til last with an incredibly frantic and cathartic finale with an amazing performance by Jeremy Allen White. The irony of a recent real life story of being locked in a walk in (and my own fear of such an event when I was a KP) wasn’t lost on me, as well as rekindling a love of REM… as the Guardian critic, Lucy Mangan, wrote last year: “The Bear is aptly named. To watch it is to experience something between a huge, enveloping hug and a huge, eviscerating attack.”
And finally… this started out as an art project for my MA, nearly fifteen years ago. I’m happy to say that, after years of being busy making other plans, this summer has already offered the chance to go back to my roots and start making art again.
Watch this space…