Film of the Week: Blazing Saddles

Gene Wilder has made us laugh for years. Whilst nearly every film he has starred in made a huge impact on the viewing audience as a whole, the one that stands out the most for everyone is “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”. It’s the perfect family entertainment film that anyone can watch and enjoy. Willy Wonka is a mysterious person and even though we see every part of his factory, we really don’t get to know everything about the owner straight away. We’re fed small snippets every now and again to keep us interested. Gene’s portrayal of the character couldn’t have been copied. With a famous story such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, written by Road Dahl, it’s guaranteed to have multiple adaptations, and so you can see why they wanted to modernise the film some years later. Johnny Depp’s talent of portraying weird, incredible characters, he didn’t capture the true essence of Willy Wonka’s persona as much as Gene did, which is why I still believe, as do so many other people, that Gene Wilder’s version is the superior and will remain so. It is a hard performance to beat. Whether it will be remains to be seen.

But as you can see by the title, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is not the main focus of this article. I could have talked hours upon hours of why I enjoy the incredibly intricate details that went into the making of that film, but I thought I would instead focus on something that’s equally as famous. The first time I watched this film, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. I’ve heard about this, of course, but I was too young to watch it due to its content. I knew this much: It’s a comedy film based in the old-west. And that’s it.

This wasn’t just a typical comedy film. When I was younger, the only other classic comedy films were Airplane and The Naked Gun Trilogy. In those films, all the characters take themselves seriously in a world that isn’t at all serious, and that made sense to me. Whenever a ridiculous situation came up, or one of them made a huge, comical mistake, they dealt with it seriously whilst reacting in the correct way – confused, trying to bring order to what is clearly disorganised, and then moves on having just accepted that it happened. With Blazing Saddles, it took some getting used to when I saw the characters not taking themselves at all seriously in a world that is serious. It was a complete 180 on what I was used to, and although I did have to get used to it, it didn’t take me long and soon I was laughing hysterically right until the very end.

Gene Wilder plays Jim, who is a recovering alcoholic and is the fastest shooter in town. Jim teams up with the main character, Sheriff Bart, who is played by Cleavon Little, to win over the townspeople of Frontier Town in which everyone has the same surname, Johnson. Those that disapprove of the new sheriff attempts to do whatever they can to get rid of him, however, Bart always manages to outsmart them and eventually he does get them on his side to fend off those that are trying to destroy the town in order to finish building the new railroad.

As the films continues, it gradually and increasingly becomes sillier, yet the world is still serious and the characters are still not at all. However, it’s only when the war between the townspeople and the railroad workers begin does it ramp the entire film to the next level. It completely shatters the fourth wall as the fight spills over onto the next film set. This was the moment when I was confused again, but in a good way. It was difficult for me to grasp at first, because I wondered if the characters really did take themselves seriously all along, which is why they are fighting outside the film set, or the nature of the film has just been ramped up to eleven with everyone still not taking themselves seriously. I came to the conclusion that I didn’t need to come to any real conclusion. The film introduces the characters and their personality, and the world they live in, and then proceeds to ultimately throw that all away because it’s a very funny film. I was more laughing out of surprise that all of that happened more out of hysterical at this point.

The entire fight scene immediately became my all-time favourite fourth wall break in film, and remains as such to this day – even after watching such films as Spaceballs. But, there is a moment that I must single out during the entire fourth wall breaking fight, and that’s when the two main characters actually go into the cinema to watch the ending of the film that they are in – and then it jumps back to Sheriff Bart saying goodbye to the townspeople, as if all that previously happened didn’t happen at all. It was an interesting moment when I sat there thinking about the main characters sitting in the cinema watching the ending to the film that they are in with me. Every single time after the epic fight, that thought always pops up and changes the very nature of the film itself, giving it so many layers whilst only focusing on the one. After the film has finished and the credits start to roll and you’re left there thinking “what on Earth had just happened”, yet somehow completely understand every single scene at the same time, they proceed to jump into two modern cars and drive off into the distance, leaving you thinking some more.

Gene Wilder’s performance throughout kept me engaged. His character became just as essential to the plot as Sheriff Bart, and that gradual development from beginning to end wasn’t done quickly and therefore ruined the whole thing, but instead done so subtly that you almost don’t notice it, but when it comes to showcasing Gene’s character’s importance to the story, it just feels all natural not as if he shouldn’t be there instead, and no other actor could have performed anything close to that. Gene was perfect for that role.

Gene Wilder will be missed by me and countless others. His films will remain in my own personal hall of fame, and they will impact on so many others who’ve yet to come. Gene’s CV of films extends through all ages, and so they can enjoy his talent and personality as a child, as a teenager, and as an adult. Not many people are capable of successfully adapting themselves to multiple demographics as Gene was.

RIP Gene Wilder

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

The Watch – Part 105:

Tom was shaking uncontrollably. I’m surprised he hasn’t lost balance and fallen over. I helped him inside and into the living room where his legs gave way and he fell onto the sofa.

‘Oh my God,’ Amy expressed, shocked that someone like Tom could be in this state.

‘I’m so-sorry to ruin your p-plans,’ he said through gulps of air. ‘But I didn’t know where else to go.’

‘Don’t be sorry,’ I said, sitting down beside him. I’ve never seen Tom in this state before. Sure, I’ve seen him cry before, but this is something else. Whatever has happened must have been beyond terrible. ‘What’s wrong,’ I said sympathetically.

‘My m-mum and d-dad,’ he struggled to say. ‘They’re. They’re dead.’

‘What?’ I couldn’t believe it. How could that be possible? That can’t be the truth, yet why would Tom be crying his eyes out if it weren’t. A shockwave of incomprehensibleness hit me like a freight train. I’ve known Tom’s parents for as long as I’ve known my own. They were like my step parents to me. They looked after me when my mum and dad were away and my nana and grandad couldn’t make it. They let us have sleepovers from time to time where we would spend the entire night trying to outperform one another at certain games. They even took us out for day trips. It is impossible to try and imagine a world without them in it. And now, Tom’s here, giving me the news that, from now on, I’ll have to.

‘How did that happen?’ I said, feeling my eyes water up. I wanted to stay strong for Tom’s sake as I knew that would only make things worse. Besides, my disbelief of the matter pushed back the tears as well.

‘I w-was getting my dinner ready when there was a kn-knock at the d-door,’ Tom said struggling to say his words.

‘Take your time,’ Amy said soothingly, grabbing his hand for comfort.

‘I thought who would be calling me,’ he said, picking up the pace as if he wanted to get this story over and done with as soon as possible so that he doesn’t have to relive it anymore, ‘and I wasn’t expecting anyone. So when I opened the door, to my surprise, there were a couple of police officers standing there, with grim faces. Naturally, you think about what you’ve done, but then they explained that there had been an accident involving my parents. They d-didn’t m-make it out,’ he said.

‘OK,’ I said, hugging him. ‘OK.’ I didn’t know what to say. I was just as shocked as he was.

‘The P-Police officers said that there was an explosion at their work place.’ This added to the confusion.

‘But I thought they worked at an office block?’ I said. Surely an explosion can only happen at some laboratory when an experiment goes hideously wrong. How can an explosion happen in a place that has nothing that connects them to anything that could go up at any minute? They only have computers and printers that don’t work and all that stuff.

‘Does that matter?’ Tom asked angrily. I asked the wrong question. How could I be so inconsiderate? There was an explosion at Tom’s parent’s work place and that’s all that matters.

‘OK,’ I said again, trying to redeem myself with another comforting hug that told Tom that I was going to help him get through this.

‘They’re gone, Sebastian. They’re gone and I’m never going to see them again. What am I supposed to do with that?’ He’s asking me impossible questions. How can I answer questions relating to a situation that I don’t believe has happened? I looked towards Amy for support. She was just as surprised as I was, but she pulled herself together and sat on the opposite side of Tom, squeezed his hand even tighter and said calmly.

‘Whatever you need, whenever you need it, we’ll be there. Even if it’s just being there.’

‘You don’t have to put yourself out for me,’ Tom said.

‘Just trust us when we say that we’ll be there for you,’ I said. Tom was exhausted. He was tired and drained of all energy. He couldn’t cry any more. He was still shaking, but not as violently as before. His entire life has turned upside down in a matter of seconds. I’m not going to say that I know what is going through his head, but I do know that it wasn’t nice. There has to be something that I can do other than comfort Tom through this dark period, there has to be.

‘I don’t feel too well,’ Tom said.

‘Then, as much as you may not want to, but you’re going to have a lie down,’ Amy said.

‘I don’t want to sleep,’ Tom said. ‘I can’t sleep,’ but he was nearing falling asleep naturally. His body couldn’t handle the amount of emotions going through his body that it has decided to shut down to try and get rid of as much as it could. He went quiet for a good while before I realised that he had actually gone to sleep on my shoulder. I gently lifted his head, trying not to wake him up and place his head onto the sofa’s arm. I grabbed the blanket that Amy used earlier and wrapped it around Tom.

‘We have to do something?’ Amy whispered once I had finished making sure that the blanket wouldn’t fall to the floor.

‘I know, but I’m not sure what at the moment. I’m just as shocked and confused as he is.’ My emotions were trying to burst out of my body, but I forced to channel them through focusing on doing something to make Tom better. ‘I can’t think properly at the moment,’ I admitted.

‘There is only one thing you can do,’ Amy said getting a brainwave.

‘What’s that?’ I asked.

‘You’re going to save Tom’s parents,’ she said.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Mum's Monday: Breakfast at tiffany’s - Book and Film

The film is based on the book by Truman Capote

Holly Golightly played by Audrey Hepburn and Paul Varjak played by George Peppard

Breakfast at tiffany’s

The film is based on the book by Truman Capote

Holly Golightly played by Audrey Hepburn and Paul Varjak played by George Peppard

The film follows the book well, however there are a few subtle changes but mostly it is a faithful adaptation. In the film, Holly’s apartment is as described in the book: sparse with boxes as furniture. The book is mostly told from Paul’s perspective and the film is mostly told from Holly’s perspective.

Holly who is pretending that she is a glamorous play girl and who owns a cat, which she has named Slob Cat because she doesn’t give it a proper name. Holly makes her money by dating rich and influential men and also by visiting Sally Tomato in Sing Sing prison. Sally thinks she is just visiting to keep him company and hearing the weather forecast, which she relays for money to Sally’s supposed lawyer. This is not the case though, holly is mixed up in a drug business and the messages are drug related codes.

Paul moves into the apartments directly above Holly and seemed to be the only one to help her. Throughout her chaotic life and parties, he is the only one who remains level-headed and notices when something is wrong. He gets caught up in Holly’s life, but keeps on living his own life as well.

The first noticeable difference between the book and the film is there is no character, Madame Spanella. In the book, she and Mr. Yunioshi both complains about the loud parties that Holly frequently has, whereas in the film, only Mr. Yunioshi is present and complains to Holly and helps the authorities when Holly gets arrested for unknowingly helping Sally Tomato.

The second noticeable difference is at the end of the story. In the film, Holly and Paul get together and Slob Cat doesn’t find a new home, whereas in the book, they don’t get together and Slob Cat does find a new home. I prefer the film’s ending to the book’s ending as it is nicer to see the two main characters get together instead of just getting on with their lives.

I think Audrey Hepburn was perfect in the role of Holly Golightly, but to follow the book slightly better I don’t think casting Mickey Rooney for the role of Mr Yunioshi was authentic enough to the character in the book.

I would recommend the Book and the film because I think it shows the light and dark side of a party girl living in New York and how easy it is to get swept up and involved in a life without realising or intending to. Watching the film and reading the book is both equally as good and it doesn’t matter what order this is seen or read.

Layers - Part 70

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

The Watch – Part 104:

‘Can I ask you a question?’ Amy asked during dinner. After we had awoken from our sleep, we felt hungry from not eating breakfast or lunch. It’s mid-afternoon and we just couldn’t be bothered to cook anything, so we just ordered takeout instead. Our pizzas arrived early, which I thought deserved a decent tip, which the delivery boy was very happy about. We were sitting at the dining room table, eating our pizza with our hands. I did ask whether Amy wanted to watch anything whilst we ate our pizza, but she said that she didn’t feel like focusing on anything like that at the moment, so we sat discussing stuff.

‘Have you ever thought about just breaking away from it all and doing whatever you want, because you can?’ she asked taking a bite out of her second slice of pizza.

‘Actually, I haven’t thought about it in that specific way,’ I said. ‘I mean, I have thought to myself that I can now do anything I want, but I never thought about actually doing it,’ I explained.

‘Is that because you are afraid of what could happen, or because you are afraid of what you’ll do?’ That nap really allowed her mind to calm down a lot and think clearly. That is a rather deep question. This brings me to a topic that I guess I should have thought about a long time before now. I wanted to voice my thoughts instead of through my thoughts as that would include Amy in this. Maybe she could help me straighten things out.

‘I didn’t necessarily accept this watch through a long thought process, weighing up the pros and cons. My curiosity got the better of me and I put it on my wrist. Of course, I didn’t know what was going to happen. No one would. I guess I was so shocked at what I had that I never thought about what I could actually do.’

‘But you did think about what you wanted to with the watch. I mean, you’ve saved a bunch of people on a train. Twice, and from what you’ve told me, an entire planet from a crazy person. Those actions just prove that you did think about what you wanted to do.’

‘You think so?’ I questioned.

‘I believe that to be true,’ Amy said, ‘but what do you believe. Are you afraid of the consequences or because of what you will do?’

‘I was thinking before I acted,’ I wanted to clarify. ‘When I realised that there was a strong chance that I had caught the attention of whoever was in charge of the robot that attacked all those people at the arena, I couldn’t leave without doing anything. I would always know that I could have done something, but I didn’t, and I didn’t want that to press down on my conscience. I saved that world not only because it needed saving, but to make sure that I wouldn’t worry about the consequences of leaving. I guess I am more worried about the consequences rather that my actions. I know that actions lead to consequences and so I should worry about what I do, which I guess is why I over-think things a bit too much, because I just want to do the right thing without it leading to anything complicated. So I guess that’s my answer,’ I started eating my third slice of pizza.

‘That’s a very mature answer,’ Amy smiled with satisfaction.

‘I’m a very mature guy,’ I said immediately realising what I had said, which made me physically shudder with shame. Amy just chuckled at the increasing awkwardness. She said whilst trying not to laugh fully.

‘I’m going to put quotation marks around that and immortalise that statement.’

‘Please don’t.’ Amy’s smile was infectious, and soon I was smiling away the awkward situation, and that too naturally turned into laughter. We laughed so hard, we struggled to swallow our slice of pizza. As we were gulping for air, we got rid of our pieces, which helped us breathe better.

And then I said three words. Spontaneously. It was as if I wasn’t in control of the part of my brain that deals with language anymore, and the words just fell out of my mouth.

‘I love you.’ We instantly stopped laughing. Amy’s eyes widened with shock. She could see that I said that unexpectedly. That was the first time I openly expressed my love to Amy. She had to take a full minute to comprehended those three words and their meaning. I went red. Should I have waited to say that a lot later? I hope I haven’t made things flip upside down all of a sudden. I just sat there in silence, waiting for Amy to say anything. If I said something else, I might make things worse.

‘I love you, too,’ Amy said suddenly, making me copy her wide-eyed expression. I wasn’t expecting that. We stared each other in the eyes, not knowing what to say or do next. There is a way to move on from this, I just need to find it. There are about a billion wrong things and one right thing hidden in between. A needle in a haystack, if you will. I should let my instincts take over. They haven’t let me down yet. What’s the best thing to do in this situation?

‘Come here,’ Amy moved closer. I knew instantly what she wanted to happen.

‘No, you come here,’ I said, also moving forwards, only stopping until she was merely inches away from me. We were now in a stalemate. I wouldn’t move towards Amy and Amy wouldn’t move towards me. But then something amazing happened. Both at the same time, as if we were reading each other’s mind, moved closer and connected passionately. We kissed deeply. The pizza dropped out of our hands and fell onto the table, but we didn’t care. All sense of time was lost. Our eyes were closed, blocking out the world around us, making the Universe revolve around only us for the next few moments.

Then the doorbell rung, spoiling the entire situation. We jumped out of our moment. We opened our eyes and came back down to earth with a bump. Whoever was at the door, I would not be happy with. I’m going to give them a piece of my mind.

I didn’t have to excuse myself since I knew it was OK for me to break away and open the front door.

‘Get ready to get an ear-bashing,’ I thought to myself as I grabbed the door handle and opened the door with force. I was about to shout at whoever was behind it, when I noticed my friend Tom standing there, crying.

All anger left my system in a split second. He looked at me with bloodshot eyes, indicating that he’s been crying for some time now.

‘I need your help,’ he said.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Video of the Week: 5 Mysterious Photographs & The Unexplained Stories Behind Them (by Top5s)

Nowadays it’s easier than ever to modify an existing photograph or create a believable scenario altogether. There are so many photos out there that have captured the unexplained, and whilst the famous ones have been through rigorous testing to see if they are genuine or faked, it still can be difficult to believe what you are seeing is real inside the photo. Ghosts, strange creatures, mysterious objects in the sky, weird and wonderful moments that defy all logic captured on camera.

When I chose this video to talk about, I knew that there really wasn’t anything extraordinary that I could add. I have no photo that no one has seen before, but the photos presented in the video are different. Whenever you see videos that showcases the strange, nearly all of them contains either at least one or more photos that everyone has seen before, and after a while, the shock value, the stories behind each photo starts to become repetitive, until you’ve essentially become desensitised to them. With so many photos that have been taken and uploaded, why are there so little that have made it into mainstream documentation?

It was both refreshing and exciting to see new photos for a change. Watching this video, I was captivated by the unknown for the first time in ages. New and fascinating stories accompanied these truly incredibly pieces of our world. My eyes were finally able to open and drink in new, undiscovered weird once more.

So you can imagine how I felt when I realised that these have also been plastered all over the internet as well. I, in no way declaring that Top5s are jumping on the bandwagon because that’s not my point at all. Top5s style of showing us what this world has to offer, either via being faked or completely genuine has kept me watching his videos for the past couple of years. My point is that I was a bit disappointed that the photos in the video, whilst I haven’t seen them before, are fairly popular, which brings me back round to asking; why are there so few weird photos when so many photos are taking all around the world at the same time?

Maybe there are more weird, or indeed weirder photos than we’ve ever seen before out there, they just haven’t been noticed by the majority yet. Maybe those photos are so weird that whenever they are seen by people, they are automatically and instantly dismissed to be faked, when they really could be genuine. And because more are dismissing than accepting the possibility that it really is real, the photos haven’t been shared among the masses. Or, maybe they are being noticed by the masses, but I just haven’t been in the right place at the right time to see them, and it’s not as if I actively go looking for them. The photos Top5s share with us, I haven’t seen before, so it does seem logical.

When we see a strange photo with our own eyes, our minds do one of two things: They either except the possibility that this strange phenomenon could be true, or outright dismisses it entirely. The famous photos that we see all the time – the spaceman in the background, the strange upside down hanging person that suddenly appeared when looking through the photos are being developed, a strange figure lurking behind some bushes seemingly looking directly at the camera as if it’s watching you – we have no way of truly knowing their authenticity unless we travel back in time and to the places where the photos were taken. If they are real, what must have gone through those people’s minds the moment they discover that “thing” standing in the background, or the ghost poking its head round the doorframe. We all would like that mystery solved, but maybe we don’t. Maybe the thrill of knowing that there could be something beyond the normal out there that if we were to discover that it’s nothing by a mirage, or cleverly placed sticks, or just someone who has great skills at Photoshop, the sense of fun quickly goes away. If we are able to discover the truth about one photo, then logically, we would have found a way to discover the truth about all the photos, and maybe we just have to admit to ourselves that we find the unknown fun instead of scary.

But then what would happen if we discovered that what you see in the photo actually happened? Would we be truly scared? Would we have wanted to keep it a mystery? Are we ready to comprehend what may essentially be another world? Ghosts, creatures, even aliens, I think we all need to sit down and think about if we really want to know the truth and if we do, what should we do if the truth really is the truth. For some people, they don’t need to think about that because they’ve already come up with their answers. For me, I haven’t.

I do believe in ghosts, and whilst this world is getting smaller every day with all the technology we have at our fingertips, we forget that the world is as big as it’s always been, and there’s so much to see and discover. This world will constantly and increasingly shrink as the years pass on by, yet continuing to contradict itself by remaining the same size.

In the meantime, the Top5s YouTube channel will remain a great source of everything that’s weird. Whilst I do not have a photo to show you, I do have a story that I haven’t told anyone until now.

when I was walking through the woods one late night a few years ago, when all I could see was nothing but darkness – I couldn’t even see my hands in front of my face. All I had to help me see something was the light on my phone, but due to it not being a smartphone at the time, all I had was the screen which I had to keep maintaining just so I didn’t plunge into total darkness once more. I chose this route as a shortcut, and I immediately regretted my decision the moment the wall of nothing hit succumbed me. I was running late. I had to get to my destination fast. I couldn’t go the long way round, and to do so now would mean turning back and heading back the way I had come, wasting more time. I decided to swallow my fears and press on forwards…

Being in the dark, my imagination was racing. I was told that an active imagination in this particular scenario was dangerous as I could see anything and/or hear anything, and all it would be was nothing but an ordinary set of circumstances made extraordinary by my imagination. All I was doing was looking ahead, not turning my head and kept walking forward, putting one foot in front of the other, knowing that with each step I take I’m that much closer to my destination and the more I take, the closer I will be, and soon I will be out of the woods, and I can relax and laugh about how scared I was with my friends – all whilst vowing never to enter the woods at night ever again; but I was younger at the time, so that would have been a relatively common reaction.

Then, from out of the darkness, I hear someone laughing. It was only for a split second and I never heard it again. It was a woman and she was reacting as if she had heard a very funny joke, such as me walking through the woods by myself at such a godly hour. I have never run so fast for such a great distance before or since.

After seeing all these photos on the Internet, I found myself asking – what if I had a camera, with a flash, pointed it at the darkness where the laugh came from and pressed the button? What would I see? Nothing? Something? I will never know, but there is one thing that I do know and that is, there is a house – not an abandoned house, but one that is being lived in by ordinary people who maintain a small piece of farm land just off to the side of the woods. Because I couldn’t see anything, I didn’t see the woman who was there and she couldn’t see me because I was shrouded in darkness.

Why weren’t the lights on?

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Layers - Part 69

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Film of the Week: Eddie the Eagle

If ever you want to watch a movie that inspires you and you’ve watched Cool Runnings about a million times, then this is the film for you. Eddie the Eagle warmed the world when he competed in the Winter Olympics 1988. It must be noted that the two films actually share the same Olympics. Both featured people training for the 1988 Winter games.

Eddie’s story is incredibly inspirational and proves that if you truly believe in yourself and love what you do, then you can do anything you want. The feel-good nature of the story makes its impact from the very beginning and doesn’t let up one bit until the credits roll, but even then you’re left with a smile on your face having the knowledge that all was well in the end.

Even though you know that all does become good at the end, you’re still sitting on the edge of your seat, hoping that he overcomes his fears, and proves other people wrong. Throughout the film, people believed that he was wasting his time and give up. They tried to do whatever they can to try and convince him not to do what he really wants to do, but they fail to put even a dent into his determination. He never gave up, even in the most difficult of times. He got knocked down an almost uncountable amount of times, but he always got back up and continued fighting for what he loves – being an Olympian. That’s his dream. That’s all he wanted to achieve. And he achieved it. He overcame all obstacles and won the world’s hearts and becoming a national hero in England.

It has been stated by Eddie himself that most of the film has been made up, but whilst deviating slightly from the facts slightly, the core elements that made up his journey towards the 1988 Olympics remained. Hugh Jackman’s character is completely made up for the film, but his inclusion didn’t ruin the experience of watching this incredibly strong person go from the bottom to the very top.

He came last in both the 70M and the 90M jumps, but he simply didn’t care because he had achieved his dream. He had become an Olympian, and to top it all, he had successfully beaten Britain’s record of Ski-jumping, which he was over the moon with happiness about. The fact that he had achieved his dream plus more was all that mattered to him. He wasn’t bound by any pressure to come out on top, he was only there to have fun, and that’s what he did and that’s why the world love Eddie and continue to do so to this day.

After the film had finished, I thought to myself, ‘this is the new Cool Runnings’, but then I thought, that shouldn’t really be a classification. Cool Runnings is an amazing film about determination and never given up even in the face of defeat. Everyone has seen it at least once. It has set the bar incredibly high in terms of feel-good, family-friendly, inspirational movies, and no film of its type has ever come close to being on par of beating it. I am confident in saying that Eddie the Eagle has successfully joined Cool Runnings on the podium. It’s hard to distinguish between the two because, even though they have the same core elements, they are at the end of the day, quite different films, and so they are in a league of their own. Eddie the Eagle isn’t the new Cool Runnings, it’s Eddie the Eagle. Now, any film that comes after it has two films to compete against.

I’ve talked so much about the message that’s woven throughout the film, that I haven’t talked about the film itself. Taron Egerton portrays Eddie and Hugh Jackman plays Bronson Peary, who helps Eddie train for the Olympics. Both are exceptional throughout.

I do highly recommend this film to anyone. If you want to watch something that’s feel-good, then this is the film for you. If you want to watch this to feel inspired, then this is the film for you. If you want to watch this without any prior reason, then this is the film for you. If all you’re into are the thrillers, or horrors, or love stories, then give this film a chance because I’m sure you will be surprised.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

The Watch – Part 103:

In a split second, we went from our hotel bedroom in Manningtree to my living room 60 miles away. The world popped out of existence for a fraction of a second only to pop back again. Amy was breathing hard and gripping my arm even tighter, giving my hand pins and needles.

‘We’re here,’ I said. She opened her eyes, saw that we were now in my living room and calmed her breathing down and relaxed, her newly restored leg shaking slightly from the shock of teleportation.

‘That’s an experience like no other,’ she said. ‘I would love to know what it feels like to travel through time and to another Universe,’ she said.

‘One step at a time,’ I said standing up. She was a little shaky as I helped her up. Amy sat on the couch, sinking into it, not wanting to get up for some time to come.

‘Can I have a coffee?’ She asked as what just happened caught up with her.

‘Then afterwards, you are going to get yourself washed, changed and we’re going to do something that primarily focus on relaxing. As much as you want to get stuff done, it’s going to be more beneficial to your mind if you take a day to do nothing and resume tomorrow,’ I explained sternly and calmly so that Amy doesn’t try and talk me around.

‘But I don’t want to relax,’ she said.

‘You’ve got no choice in the matter,’ I said ignoring the calmness. ‘You need to and will relax.’

‘You don’t have to take that tone with me,’ she said a little hurt. I sighed for I knew that I should have remained calm.

‘Look,’ I said sitting down beside her and giving her a big, warm hug. ‘I know what you’re going through. Everything that is going through your head went through mine once before, so I completely understand just how incomprehensible it all is. I just think that if you take today off from doing everything, you’re be able to achieve whatever you want to do tomorrow, and the next day after that and the next day after that. Trust me. OK.’

Amy looked at me with eyes filled to the brim with tiredness, confusion, surprise, wonderment, and many ideas that are trying to burst free. It’s a lot to handle all at once. I hugged her again, trying to show that I’m willing to share her feelings and lift some of that weight off her shoulders.

‘That watch hasn’t made you good at knowing what to say by any chance,’ she said hugging me back tightly.

‘I’ve got you to thank for that,’ I said. We stayed hugging until we both felt it was the right time to split. Amy’s stress had gone away a lot. I felt bad for roping Amy into this, but I know that if I mention anything like that to her, she’ll snap my head of for worrying too much. Amy told me that back at the hotel room last night. You see it all the time in films and TV programs that when someone finds out something massive about someone else, it tends to put a lot of stress on that person and inevitably drives the two people apart, but this isn’t one of those situations. In fact, it is the exact opposite. Amy may have been shocked to begin with, but she accepted it immediately afterwards, and that’s trust beyond anything I could ever hope for.

‘Now where’s my coffee,’ Amy said wanting to change the subject.

‘Coming right up.’ I stood up and headed straight towards the kitchen, putting the kettle on and spooning a good teaspoon full of coffee into the cup complete with sugar and milk. As I waited for the kettle to boil, I thought about just how much has happened in such a short space of time. If my future-self came up to me and explained that I would be telling Amy everything, I wouldn’t have believed him – even if he is from the future where he (I) had already told her everything resulting in me eventually telling Amy, and then completing the paradox by going back in time and telling my past-self that I would be telling Amy everything, but that’s not important right now – and may have even laughed as if I was playing a joke on myself, which wouldn’t be that funny in the slightest. Basically, what I’m trying to say here, is nothing is predictable. No, there’re not the right words. I tried so hard to keep Amy out of this and reminded myself over and over again of what will happen if she ever did find out, but in doing so, I made it happen. My worry over what may happened, actually made it happen. Of course, it could have been all a coincidence, but I think that may be stretching it too far.

That was a complete miss-mash of thoughts, even I struggled to understand all of them.

Let’s try this again. What I’m trying to say here is: My life has changed massively over the past few days. I’ve accomplished so much and am happy for it. As much as I tried to predict the future, even with the watch, life is always the dominant force. It will always be the one in control, and no matter what my future-self would have said, there’s no way of truly knowing its authenticity. I think that’s better. Well, I can understand it and I am only talking to myself so I don’t have to worry about if it doesn’t make any sense to anyone else.

The kettle started to whistle, snapping me out of my train of thought. I pulled the kettle off its stand and poured the water into two cups, stirring for the sugar and the coffee grains to absorb properly. Once completed, I picked up the two cups of coffee and walked back into the living room.

I found Amy fast asleep on the couch. I sighed as I said to myself, ‘I should have seen that one coming.’ I set the two cups down and grabbed the blanket that was lying on the back of one of the chairs at the dining room table and draped it over Amy and made sure that it wasn’t twisted.

I sat down on one of the armchairs beside the sofa. Seeing Amy asleep made me realise just how much I need to get. I leaned back and closed my eyes.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Mum's Monday: Wicked - The West End Show

Adapted from Gregory Maguire’s book of the same name

The Wednesday matinee 27^th July 2016 starring Emma Hatton as Elphaba and Mark Curry as the Wizard

Turning fantasy into reality since the opening night, 27^th September 2006 at the Apollo Victoria

When you think of a stage show you may consider that you have a stage, live actors and an audience, no green screen back drops and nowhere to hide, but this show shows how you can successfully turn a fantasy fiction land and characters into a live action stage show. With well-placed lights, theatrical smoke and hidden stage mechanics.

The songs are bold and require a strong voice and the lead Emma also needs a head for heights especially during the song ‘Defying Gravity’, Emma’s acting and singing throughout was exceptional.  as was the rest of the cast. The costumes and makeup were in keeping the original design but with their own added flair to create the dazzling spectacle that is the show.

Wicked is the prequel to the story and film ‘The Wizard of OZ’ where we thought that the Emerald city and the inhabitants were just the result of Dorothy’s dream having been knocked out by the tornado, but Wicked gives history to this world, and follows a girl named Elphaba from her birth until her death, through her childhood, teenage years, questioning good and evil through love and hate, then to her becoming the ‘Wicked Witch of the West’ when Dorothy throws water over her and she melts and dies.

This show questions whether Elphaba is really evil. As a result of some potion her mother took, Elphaba was born green. She was treated differently from the rest of her family and friends throughout her years in school, and adulthood. The result being she was thought of as a witch so she took what she was taught to be the person we see in the Wizard of OZ. When watching The Wizard of Oz after seeing this show, there’s a strong sense of understanding. The character we see on screen has a lot more depth than just being a Wicked Witch of the West. In the original story, when the house falls on the Wicked Witch of the East, Nessarose, Elphaba’s younger sister, the shoes should have rightly gone to Elphaba, but Glinder, the good witch, gives the shoes to Dorothy, and the Wicked Witch of the West obviously wants them back as she is entitled to them. After learning of Elphaba’s origin story, when watching the Wizard of Oz again, you can’t help but question whether she really is evil or just misjudged – all she wants are the shoes that were wrongfully given to someone outside her family.

We see how the Tin Man, Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion came to be, but with a few changes such as the Tin Man’s origin story. Nessarose (Elphaba’s sister), her character is slightly different in the book to the character we see on the stage – in the book, she has no arms, but on the stage she’s in a wheelchair, however the show follows the book really well.

This show is well worth seeing. One of the songs in the show, Defying Gravity, which also defies reasoning on putting fantasy on a live stage. The show may only be 2 hours 45 minutes long, but you will remember it for a lot longer as being the fantasy spectacular it is.

Layers - Part 68

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

The Watch – Part 102:

The next morning, we woke up after having been asleep for five hours. Mid-morning wasn’t a bad time to wake up, but we knew we could have been asleep for much longer. We just couldn’t sleep because of all what happened yesterday.

‘Are you alright?’ I asked Amy who was laying on her side.

‘My leg feels normal now, but as soon as I move it, I feel the heaviness from the cast. It doesn’t hurt any more, which is a good sign, but it’s not getting better quick enough though. I mean, what am I going to do for the rest of the summer with one leg immobilised.’

‘I’m sorry,’ I felt obligated to say.

‘What are you apologising for. It’s not your fault. The floor below me gave way. It was as simple as that.’

‘But I do feel as if I could have done something more, though.’ I did genuinely feel bad for Amy. I mean, if it weren’t for me trying to keep my secret safe, she wouldn’t have had a broken leg. Amy rolled onto her back and pushed herself up so she was sitting upright and leaned against the headboard.

‘Listen,’ she said sternly to make sure that I wouldn’t interrupt her and that what she was going to say was going to be final, ‘the more you complain about what you didn’t do, the more you will make the conversation we had last night meaningless,’ and that was that.

‘I’m sorry,’ I said this time for blaming myself.

I could see it in her eyes that she had accepted my apology, ‘you can start making it up to me by making me a coffee.’

‘One coffee coming up,’ and I jumped out of bed and went straight over to the kettle, lifting it off its stand and walked into the bathroom where I filled it up, ‘and make it strong otherwise I’m not going to last the entire day,’ she called through. I made the coffee and soon we were sitting in bed, sipping it. The moment I took my first sip, it had an instant affect. I could see Amy’s tiredness floating away the more she drained her cup. When we had both drained our cups and set them to one side, Amy said with a smile.

‘I needed that.’

‘So did I,’ I agreed. ‘My throat was raw.’

‘So what do you want to do today?’ Amy asked.

‘I don’t know, I hadn’t thought this far ahead,’ I said honestly.

‘No, neither did I,’ Amy’s shoulders slumped. ‘But there is one thing I do want to do, though,’ she said.

‘Yeah?’

‘I want to go home. I want to have a break from this place for a while. We’ve figured out the mystery we came here for, and we sorted out a few other stuff as well. We’ve done a lot and so I just want to go home and relax.’

‘I couldn’t agree more,’ I smiled. ‘Do you want help with packing?’ I asked.

‘No, I’ll be alright,’ she said, swinging her legs out from under the duvet and putting her stronger one on the floor first before heaving herself out and up. ‘If I don’t keep moving, it won’t get better as quick.’

‘Well, in that case, I’ll be having a wash. Call me if you any help,’ I said as I was stepping into the bathroom.

‘Will do,’ Amy said, limping towards her bag that sat just in front of the bed. I closed the door, turned on the taps and let the water run before cupping my hands and letting it collect in my palms. I splashed the cold water over my eyes, washing away the sleep and waking me up more than the coffee could ever have been able to do. I looked at my reflection in the mirror, studying myself. The person staring back at me is vastly different to the person who was some time ago. I could see that I’m so much more confident than before – compared to the amount of tension my shoulders used to have in them at any one time, they don’t have any in at all.

I should blame myself for Amy’s injured leg. I could have done a lot more than what I did. I practically just stood by and watched it all happen compared to what I could have done. I’m struggling to believe that Amy is able to understand all of that. I’m not going to insult her intelligence. I know that she fully understands exactly what happened, and why she has chosen to accept that, but I want to know what her thought process was between finding out and acceptance.

No, I can’t do that. That would be invading her privacy. I should be grateful that she has accepted it all. I should be happy and not worry about any of it. If only there is something I can do to show that I am grateful. No matter what she believes I’m doing is enough, I just cannot accept that. I need to do something that will help my conscience rest and put this matter behind me once and for all.

I can mend her broken leg.

‘Interface,’ I said quietly so that Amy wouldn’t be able to hear me in the other room. He appeared in front of me, standing in his usual way, wearing his usual suit, and smiling. He seemed to just know that I wanted to keep things quiet and so greeted me without being too loud.

‘Is it possible to fix Amy’s leg?’ I asked.

‘Yes,’ he nodded.

‘Sweet. Where is that option on here?’ I said knowing that it probably wasn’t the best piece of information. ‘I mean, could you find where that power – or whatever it is – is in the watch because I don’t have a lot of time.

‘Certainly, Sebastian,’ he nodded before the watch’s screen flashed on and automatically searched through a series of menus at high speed before stopping at the option called, “Healing”.

‘All I have to do is press that button and I’ll have the power to heel Amy’s broken leg.’

‘Yes, you will,’ he said.

‘Awesome.’ And then I realised that I hadn’t told anything about this. It would be hard to explain if I just walked up to her and just cured her leg. I opened the door and stepped back out into the main room where I found Amy sitting on the edge of the bed, her injured leg stretched out in front of her, her bag on her lap and her clothes beside her as she packed them in.

‘You look perkier,’ she said after taking one look at me.

‘Um… Amy,’ I said. I had not a clue what to say so I just said it.

‘I know what you said about not blaming me or anything like that…’

‘Where is this going?’ she had to ask and it was a valid question.

‘I do have a reason for bringing this up,’ I stood my ground. She stopped packing to focus on me, which actually made me a more nervous, but I carried on regardless. ‘I feel as if I could have done more, and it just occurred to me in the bathroom that I can do more. You don’t want to suffer with that leg, and so… well, I can heel it, if you want.’ She went silent as she processed that. Seconds felt as if they were minutes the more she just sat there, not saying anything. Why isn’t she saying anything?

‘Will it hurt?’

‘I don’t know,’ I said honestly and truthfully.

‘Will it be quick.’

‘Yes,’ I was confident of that part.

‘And then my leg will be perfectly fine afterwards,’ she had to be absolutely sure of this. She may trust me, but it’s still a complicated thing to think about.

‘You will be able to do whatever you want, bearing in mind you don’t explore any abandoned buildings,’ she chuckled at that.

‘OK,’ she said simply. ‘Do I need to brace myself.’

‘I would probably want to if I were you,’ I said.

‘So what do I do?’ she asked.

‘Just sit there and brace yourself. I’ll touch your leg and heel it, then we can take that cast off. Or do you want me to take the cast off before heeling the leg.’

‘No, you heel it before taking the cast off. I don’t care how logical or illogical it is, I am not going to be feeling any pain,’ she said strongly, to which I said.

‘Fair enough, then let’s get to work.’ I knelt down in front of her leg. Her toes were still sticking out of the end, and the cast extended right up to her knee where her trouser leg was rolled all the way up to as it couldn’t fit over the cast. I made sure to rub my fingers together so they wouldn’t feel cold to the touch and, in the small gab between her cast and trouser leg, I lightly touched her leg. Nothing happened. Silence.

‘Did It work?’ I asked

‘I can feel that my leg is better. I don’t know what you did, and I don’t want to know because I want this cast off.’ She lifted her leg up without hassle. I stood up and watched as she was fiddling around with the cast.

‘Hang on,’ I said, pressing a few buttons on my watch and activating a power.

‘What are you going to do now?’

I grabbed her cast and it snapped off as if it was a piece of brittle balsawood. Amy watched and then stared at me holding the two pieces of cast in each hand.

‘Thank you,’ she said, mesmerised by what just happened.

‘No problem,’ I smiled at how successful it was. It took a while before she calmed down for that. She flexed her muscles in her leg, bent it backwards and forwards, and started to put some pressure on her leg. She was worried at first, and so gently and slowly stood up. Most of her weight was on her other leg, but she gingerly switched the weight over to her other leg. I could see that she had strong determination in her eyes. As soon as she found herself standing upright on both legs, she smiled broadly and flung her arms around me.

‘Thank you,’ she said excitedly.

‘You’re welcome,’ I said struggling to stand upright myself as she put most of her weight on me. I hugged her back with the same enthusiasm. When Amy had disconnected herself from me, she immediately set about packing faster and with more energy.

‘We had better get back before we miss the train out. I don’t particularly want to wait around.’

‘Actually,’ two ideas came to mind at the same time. She stopped packing and waited for me to speak.

‘What?’ she said, putting me on the spot.

‘I’ve got something to show you, or rather I have someone to show you,’ I said correcting myself. Interface made me a piece of software, but he does look like an ordinary human being, so he should be addressed appropriately.

She looked at me with intent curiosity, ‘who?’

I lifted my arm and showed her the watch once more. ‘Interface, can you show yourself to Amy, please?’ I asked, and he appeared in front of me the moment I called him. Amy jumped up and nearly fell over forwards. She masked that potential falling over by sitting down on the bed. Her eyes were wide with surprise.

‘Hello, Sebastian,’ he said.

‘Who is he?’ Amy asked.

‘You’ll introduce yourself better than I will,’ I said to Interface.

‘Certainly,’ he nodded before turning towards Amy to explain to her who he is.

‘I am the A.I. inside the watch. I am designed to communicate and help the owner out with any problem they have or any queries they wish to resolve. Sebastian has given me a name by which I will go by from now on until told otherwise. My name is Interface.’

‘Woah,’ she said standing up to get a better look at this man who appeared in front of her.

‘The thing that I want to ask you is,’ I started to say my second idea that came to me just now, ‘will I be able to include Amy in with everything. Such as, teleportation, traveling through time, to another parallel universe?’

‘As long as you remain in physical contact with the person you wish to be with on your adventures, you are able to do that. The watch will accommodate them when travelling through the Void and the Space-Time Vortex. Although, I must warn you that they will feel the side-effects after travelling through the Space-Time Vortex and the Void just the same as you did during your first time. However, they, too, will become immune to the side-effects,’ he explained.

‘Makes sense,’ I said. ‘But I just want to perform a simple teleportation procedure, and that doesn’t drain hardly any energy when compared to travelling through time or to another Universe,’ I explained.

‘Correct,’ Interface said nodding his head.

‘Thanks. That is all that I wanted to say. Thanks for the help.’

‘Any time,’ he said before disappearing. Amy just stood there, both intrigue and confused at the same time.

‘That is one advanced piece of technology,’ she said before something clicked into place inside her mind. ‘Hang on, he just explained about what would happen if I were to accompany you during a simple teleportation procedure. I don’t understand what you mean by that.’

‘I thought we could, essentially, take a short cut. Instead of taking the train, we could just teleport home.

‘Oh,’ she said, her eyes widening with shock and her smile increasing with excitement. ‘I’ve never felt so much all at once. What did he mean by side-effects?’ she had to ask.

‘You won’t feel anything when you teleport except maybe disorientation, but that will quickly disappear and soon you’ll be back to normal again,’ I said as if I had been explaining it to people for ages now. ‘Are you ready, then?’ I asked.

‘Give me a minute,’ she said. She tried to act normal, but her hands were shaking with nerves. This was a big deal for her. First I repair her leg, now she’s going to teleport from one place to another.

Instead of taking care when packing her belongings, she stuffed them into her bag in a hurry, just so to not stall. After struggling to zip up the bag, she flung it around her shoulder and said. ‘I’m ready whenever you are,’

I imputed the necessary commands into the watch, navigating through the menu to reach the teleportation menu, then set the destination that I wanted us to go to and said that I was ready.

‘Just grab my arm and I’ll press this button. Then, be prepared for an amazingness like nothing you’ve ever experienced before.’ She grabbed my arm tightly so to not let go. Her grip was very tight indeed, hurting my arm, but I didn’t want to say anything for I knew that, that was all because of nerves.

‘OK.’ I said. ‘On three. One. Two. Three.

I pressed the button.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)