Review: Last Night in Soho

I wanted to watch the film, Last Night in Soho, ages ago because I like the song (Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Titch, 1960s) and I like the Director (Edgar Wright) plus the cast had some good names (Matt Smith, Diana Rigg and a host of other names) but my favourite character, John, was played by Michael Ajao.

Billed as a psychological horror, the film is about Eloise (another 1960s hit song, featured in the film), a teenage girl who is accepted at a fashion design college in London. A quiet personality, she had little in common with girls she shared halls with so decided to find her own lodgings. Around this time, she began hallucinating about events that happened in the past (taking us back to the 1960s again) which were so real that she became part of that life, skilfully taking the movie into a thriller/horror genre. 

It's too difficult to go into details - you can watch the film if you need to know them - but the nightmare eventually ends and you realise that Ellie isn't going insane but is sensitive to the strong psychic vibes of the 'ghosts' in the room (oh yes, There's a Ghost in my House by R Dean Taylor, 1970s, was also on the playlist, as were: A World Without Love by Peter & Gordon, Don't Throw Your Love Away by the Searchers and Wishin' & Hopin' by Dusty Springfield, to name a few). 

'Nuff said. I think I liked the movie. If it's your cup of tea, give it a go. Here's the trailer:

Review: One Night in Miami

Another one that I'm not sure whether to recommend. It's an account of a fictional evening following Cassius Clay's victory over Sonny Liston in 1964, shared with other icons of the day: Sam Cooke, Jim Brown and Malcolm X. 

In the film, they spent most of the evening in a motel room. The boxing champ, the American footballer, the singer and the activist. Guess which one was the least fun, interrupting the celebrations with his ranting? Malcolm X seemed almost schizophrenic, jumping from rants to normality throughout the film. 

Being British, I'd never heard of Jim Brown who retired from (American) football to become a reasonably successful actor (the character was played by Aldis Hodge who is known for such roles as Hardison in Leverage) but he seemed like a nice, level-headed guy, the best of the bunch. Sadly, Jim Brown died earlier this year. 

And who hasn't heard of Sam Cooke? A great voice, he released many songs during his short time on earth (shot and killed a few months after the film was set), including: You Send Me, Wonderful World, I Can See Clearly Now, Cupid, Twistin' the Night Away, Another Saturday Night, Change Gonna Come... and more. 

Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali shortly after his rise to fame, encouraged to change religion by Malcolm X.  Most(?) people alive today will know who he is, a much loved character who sufferered from Parkinson's Disease in later life. I don't know much about Malcolm X so I don't feel that I have the right to comment here.

The film is an Amazon original. Here's the trailer:

Summary: a well-acted and well made film with light moments and humour. Personally, I am always  uncomfortable with stories from the 1960s/70s that comprise some elements of ugly truth, such as racism, sexism and other prejudices.

Review: The Electrical Life of Louis Wain

I'm not sure whether to recommend this or not... 

Benedict Cumberbatch is a very good actor and his make-up artist was excellent, taking him from a young man to an old man waiting to die, then an old man who decided to continue living. 

Based on a true story, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain is a quaint story of life from late 1800s to early 1900s - the ups and downs of life in an upper middle-class family with very little money. It highlights the absence of free will for many people of the time: the poor and the powerless, women who need to 'marry well' and even the proviledged classes who do not conform to society's rules. In this respect, it perpetuates how a collection of weathly men determined the value of others and it illustrates how harridan leadership spills into everyday two-faced gossip when people don't conform to the ideas of the rich and powerful. This can be accepted as history or, for some, an example of how little things have moved on 100 years later.

That aside, the story is that Louis had to take on the role of head of the household when his father died. With no discernable income, he has to provide for his many sisters and unwell mother and pay for a governess - an educated woman who is appointed by the eldest sister to teach the younger ones.

But this is also a also a love story. Louis Wain is a lovely, if awkward, person who, these days, may be considered to be 'on the spectrum'. He falls in love with the governess, which is frowned upon by people who know the family, as she is someone from 'the servile class'. The couple moves away and Louis takes various artistic commissions to support her, his sisters and his mother. 

There's a lot more to the story and, inevitably, there are sad moments. Go ahead and watch it - especially if you like cats - but be sure to line up some happier viewing to follow. 

The Electrical Life of Louis Wain with Benedict Cumberbatch, Claire Foy and Toby Jones.

Louis Wain wiki