1st meeting of Film Club is over

I am occasionally taken to start many groups. I have started both club [known as the Revelairs for my followers of this very blog] and secret society [although, I can’t for obvious reasons say anymore. Not even the society members know if they are in it or why. Nevertheless, there they are, their pictures wallpaper pasted to my wall] in my time. But most recently I have started up a gang.

Not a violent street gang where we threaten passers-by with the promise of a flick-knife only for the police to find they are those novelty combs. Joke’s on you, Officer Dibble! Nope, I have started a gang that goes to the cinema on a Saturday afternoon, with 2 of my friends.

I have called us The Raven Filmonomic Affair.

I am thinking we can get hoodies printed up for when we go out. As the Raven Filmonomic Affair.

Eventually, after seeing another film or two, we might get tattoos. Each of us with an individual jigsaw piece that will fit into each others' when we come together. As the Raven Filmonomic Affair.

This all began when I was asked if I wanted to go to the cinema last Saturday. It was the afternoon and with no others plans on the afternoon horizon, I went along. We saw The Descendants, starring George Clooney.

I hadn't been to the cinema for quite some time. Things have changed. People seem to go to the cinema in these troubled financial times to be entertained, to have some laughs. Despite of what is being shown on the big screen.

I was bemused at the ripple of laughter at the Red Bull advert. I was getting scared at the chuckling to the Lynx body deodorant advert. Did these people around us chortle away at these very same adverts on their own TV's at home, muttering "very good, ho, ho"? Was the peer pressure to be known to be enjoying the cinematic experience causing this phenomena? If the car ad with the little boy who thinks he's Darth Vader came up, then all bets were off - they'd literary have to piss themselves to show their communal approval.

The Descendants is - giving nothing away - not a comedy. It finds brief moments of lightness in an otherwise difficult set of situations. Much like life. I did enjoy the filmatic pans of locations and the sound effects are terrific. Those who enjoy good sound execution should certainly buy a ticket.

But there is an underlying sadness percolating in each scene. So when, at the point Clooney's character gives the devastating news of his wife's death in disarming brutal fashion to her friend, I was astonished that the audience around us erupted into guffaws. Stopping just short of the thigh slap. I am not sure that was quite the intended reaction to that line of script, to be honest.

But it seems that this is the modern way of things. People go to the cinema to have jolly fun.

Needless to say that it was a good film, however, it's story path and the weird experience of feeling as if I was missing the big joke of a man coming to terms with his masculine roles at the most devastating point of his life, meant I have opted to pick the next film to see. As the Raven Filmonomic Affair.

Iron Sky.

I have not heard anything about it except for the one line summary in the cinema's own leafleting that I scanned at the ticket kiosk. But, come on, who doesn't want to see a film that provides this synopsis as the reason to see it:
“In Iron Sky you will see what happens when Nazis return from the Moon”.

I am guessing as they will all be in their 90’s by now, wasted away from the lack of gravity on the moon, it could have some pretty hilarious consequences…? Imagine them trying to walk about on Earth! ha, ha! Trying to wipe out the free world but getting freaked out at the modern speed of life and personal pagers, all the while carrying the posture of half deflated Goodyear tyres! Hee, hee. Fantastic.

Of course, maybe they burrowed into the moon and found moon people. In which case it could be fascinating.

Either way Iron Sky is my feel good movie event of the year.