Cinema trip

Posted on May 21, 2026 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged Cinema, enjoyable, Film, Fun, good, Life, movie, sequel, the devil wears prada 22 Comments

I just went to the cinema to watch the devil wears prada 2. It’s a sequel but quite a lot later than you would expect. Maybe 20 years…? I wasn’t that impressed with the original, but this was very good. So many twists and turns.

I won’t spoil the story by telling you what happened, but it was an escape from the reality of today. It’s a sharp witted comedy which I think people would enjoy. No violence, no guns, no massive romances, just a good storyline and what I thought was a good ending. Machinations and rivalry….

Holidays, Esther Chilton prompt.

Posted on April 10, 2024 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged Cinema, Clitheroe, cycling holiday, Esther Chilton prompt, holidays, Memories, minus centigrade, posh, SnowLeave a comment

Holidays, more memories of adventures long gone by. Camping in a tent at Easter thirty years ago.

We’d cycled up to Clitheroe in Lancashire and used our cycle trailer to carry our camping gear.

The holiday started out sunny, but the wind picked up and by the time we had the tent up the snow was blowing sideways at it. I even wrote C 4 R on the snow on the side of the tent.

We went off for a cycle into town and stopped off at a tiny cinema. It was very posh, there were photos of the Queen in the ladies loo! I remember we got a bit of warmth while watching the cat from outer space.

We had dinner at the local pub and cycled back to the tent afterwards. Luckily it was downhill but we were slipping around on the falling snow. We ended up putting on extra clothes, three jumpers and an extra pair of trousers each. We found out in the morning it had been minus 11°C.

The rest of the week was almost as cold and we cycled back in deep snow!

Film theatre

Posted on January 24, 2023 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Cinema, Closed, film studies, film theatre, Memory, Sad, Staffordshire University, TimeLeave a comment

I just read a post on Instagram about the problems the Film Theatre at Staffordshire University is having to deal with before it can reopen after covid. I wrote a response because this independent cinema had a great impact on my understanding and appreciation of films. Here is what I said.

I used to love coming to the film theatre. You could see films that made you question your beliefs, challenged your thoughts, tickled your imagination! It seems mad that it’s not open. I first saw a film there in 1979 and it was also used for the film studies part of the Fine Art Ba(hons). My hubby came to a projectionist course and learned how to project the reels and know when to change them. It’s sad you are having these problems.

Spoilers

Posted on May 22, 2022 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Annoying, Cinema, Life, movie, spoilers, Story, Talking, Thinking, TimeLeave a comment

I just started watching an old film ‘the Winslow boy’. Five minutes in hubby pipes up, oh this is that’s story where…… I stopped him, please don’t tell me. I haven’t seen this for years! Doing that is called a spoiler. Thankfully he stopped telling me about it!

It’s not the first time he’s tried, and succeeded in spoiling a film for me. The worst occasion was in the cinema when his voice boomed out, oh its so and so who’s the killer! I was mortified. Shhhhhh!

Films I want to see.

Posted on October 11, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Cinema, Close encounters, Film, Fun, Good story, Memories, Old film, Sci-fi, special effects4 Comments

I ddon’t have cable or streaming services but I’d really like to see Close Encounters of the Third Kind again. I first saw it when it came out in the 1970’s. I think I remember being in a queue that went round the block the cinema was in. I’d never seen anything like the film. The special effects, lights and music got me! I loved Richard Dreyfus’s performance.

No spoilers here. The film is old enough that some people may not have seen it. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. But it’s a very good film. I urge you to see it.

Favourite film

Posted on November 3, 2019November 3, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Cinema, Favourite film, Kirk Douglas, Old fashioned, Tony Curtis, Vikings, Worth watchingLeave a comment

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Tony Curtis and Kirk Douglas fight each other for the love of a woman Janet Leigh who plays Morgana, she is kidnapped by Curtis but then taken captive by an English king and taken to his castle. Curtis is maimed and makes his way back to the vikings. The vikings attack the English and the outcome is resolved in battle.

I don’t want to go into details because you may not have seen it. I think it was made in the early 1958. The music is tremendous. There is a beautiful theme enhancing rip roaring, death defying fight scenes. I fell in love with Tony Curtis when I saw it as a child. He was always ‘my hero’. I’m showing my age!

Pirates of Penzance

Posted on June 19, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Chorus, Cinema, Comic opera, English National Opera, Fun, Humour, Music, Opera, Pirates of penzance, SingingLeave a comment

sketch-1560973460669 Last night we went to see the Pirates of Penzance. The comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan was a live broadcast from the London Coliseum by the English National Opera shown at cinemas throughout the country.

The story is about Frederic, a pirate whose nurse took him to the sea to learn to be a ships pilot. Unfortunately she mistook the word pirate for pilot so he was indentured to be one until the contract ran out. The story starts when he is leaving the pirates. He tells them his duty will be to stop their piratical reign when he is free of them.

Later he meets a daughter of a Major General who he falls in love with. As the opera continues he is caught in a dilemma, whether to persue the pirates or rejoin them.

Many memorable songs made up a wonderful night out. The song ” I am the very model of a modern major general” and ” A policeman’s lot is not a happy one”.

I won’t give the end away. But it is very enjoyable. The twists and turns of the plot hold your attention. Excellent.

Old film projector.

Posted on February 17, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Cinema, Cinematography, Film, Life, Machine, Old fashioned, Photography, ProjectorLeave a comment

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I was looking through my old photos and came across this from about a year ago. This is a film projector that was used for a local cinema. I have no idea what all the bits are for. But it’s interesting to see what used to be used before digital came in. My partner once did a training course to learn how to project films. There is usually a splodge marked in one corner of the film so you know when the next piece of film (reel) is due to start. Apparently some films could have up to eight reels. I don’t know enough to describe it properly. But these machines are beautiful, so well made, which allowed classic films to be shown to audiences. There is a national film and cinematography museum in Bradford, England, which is well worth a visit. I think it still has an IMAX cinema which shows twice the normal sized film. I think it’s 70 millimetres instead of 35 and the film has to be run on its side…. I might visit again soon.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Cinema