Every picture tells a story, writers tell a different story
Saturday, 25 January 2020
Tuesday, 14 January 2020
Cats the Movie - film review
Old Possum’s Film of CGI Cats…
As a child I read and enjoyed TS Eliot’s poems in Old Possum’s
Book of Practical Cats. I even learned to perform one for some school show or
other. I have no further memory of that show but I can still recite most of Skimbleshanks,
the Railway Cat to anyone who cares to listen - mostly they don't, care I mean.
"There's a whisper down the line
at eleven thirty-nine
when the night-mail is ready to depart,
saying Skimble where is Skimble
Has he gone to hunt the thimble?
we must find him or the train can't start..."
As an adult I went, twice, to see Andrew Lloyd Webber’s
Cats the theatre musical, first in its early days in the West End, then
when it arrived in Manchester on tour. I took various junior family members and
enjoyed it both times, so did they.
Today I went with some senior – one very senior – family members
to see Cats the film, sorry movie. And
having read several extremely negative reviews of this by film critics, I wasn’t
sure what to expect. Having seen it, my questions to those critics, who are presumably steeped in movies (but seem to know little about musical theatre), is what
the hell did you expect? Haven’t you the seen the stage show? Don’t you know it’s
basically a song and dance piece with humans dressed up as cats?
Ok, the CGI was a bit weird to begin with but you soon got
used to it. If an almost 92-year-old (my Mum) with dementia could cope with it happily, what's wrong with you critics? I liked the expressive cat ears and tails, was less keen on the
whiskers which should have been expressive but weren’t. The music was as expected, the dancing was excellent, the acting pretty good and Ian McKellan as Gus, the Theatre Cat the acting highlight. Australian ballet
dancer Steven Macrae as Skimbleshanks and Francesca Hayward as Victoria the
white cat were my favourites among the dancers.
The film’s main problem was the length, it dragged in places.
That’s because they’ve strived to create a much more elaborate storyline than
the stage musical had. It revolves around a new character, Victoria the white
cat, who is dumped in a bag, by an unseen human, in central London and adopted by the Jellicle cats. This means
additional dialogue (there is very little dialogue in the original theatre script) and extra
songs. It worked, kind of, but a lot of it was probably unnecessary.
However Cats the Movie is entertaining enough, a bit of comedy, good music and excellent dancing so I suggest you ignore the critics. Go to your cinema of choice, relax and enjoy the film for what it is - a musical theatre adaptation with CGI. Then you can decide for yourselves.
Thursday, 9 January 2020
New Year, New Elephants - poem... because we have to be optimistic. .. or what?
New Year, New Elephants.No happy new year for unknown warrior-horses
who remember no poppies, only their boon
companions trapped in mud and blood, screaming.
Ancient koalas watch their gum trees burn and
remember a new year when they were the first beings
in their gold-red land under the clear, wide sky.
Sir crow, summiting the naked cherry tree
remembers every ruby-fruit and can predict
their re-birth in the joy of summer light.
Lady camel transports vast burdens of memory
over baking deserts, while calculating that
the next dune is not too high for her calf.
Lord elephant remembers his enemy who
carries boom-stick and saw to destroy
his family, fire and axe to destroy his home.
To all creatures great and human I wish
a New Year of fresh eucalyptus, poppy and cherries,
new life, safe haven and making new memories.
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