Film of the Week: Superfast

A colleague at work recommended this film as I am a fan of the Fast and Furious franchise, and when he mentioned it being a parody, my first reaction were the words, “but, hasn’t the Fast and Furious franchise gradually developed into a parody of itself, anyway,” a tongue in cheek comment about how the films have increased the high octane driving, the insane stunts – going from a franchise about street racing to conducting missions from government organisations, with stunts including being chased by a submarine bursting through ice in supercharged cars. The franchise has come a long way, there’s no doubt about that, but even good fans state that it has essentially become something that doesn’t always takes itself seriously anymore. But we all still flock to see the next film, to see what crazy stuff will happen this time round. Just because it’s ridiculous, doesn’t mean it isn’t entertaining. My point is before I trailed off slightly is mainly questioning how to make a parody of something that became a parody of itself? The answer is, parody the stuff before it started the gradual shift. Makes perfect sense and I’m disappointed I didn’t piece it together before watching the film.

With a few parody movies, all they did was half-heartedly stitch together a bunch of references in an attempt to make a coherent story, but end up with an unfunny mess of a film. Parody is so easy to get wrong, but if you get it right, can be side-splittingly funny. There are two types of parody movies which if done right can be really funny: those who poke fun at an entire genre, and those who poke fun at a specific franchise. An example of poking fun at an entire genre: Airplane, one of the greatest comedy films of all time. Superfast falls into the category of poking fun at a specific franchise, so you do get more entertainment value out of it if you have watched the Fast and Furious films. Going in blind without seeing any films from the main franchise, there is still plenty of moments which would get a decent laugh.

Being a parody, the budget is understandably going to be lower than that of any of the films it’s poking fun at, but the final film does get me laughing hard. A parody’s job is to go overboard with everything from the main franchise, and so there was a part of me wandering just how over the top the main action stunt sequence will be. If the main franchise normally gives the impression of defying physics itself, then where do you go from there?

There is a stunt where they drag a massive safe down the road. Being pulled by cars you know is completely incapable of pulling of such a feat, that action sequence fun regardless of how possible it may or may not be in real life. In Superfast, they ramp up that sequence and go for the entire building. Two cars, pull an entire building across town; because parodies.

I can see why my colleague recommended it to me, and I am going to recommend it to you as well. I wouldn’t say it’s the best parody film of all time, but it’s certainly better than the atrocity such as Epic Movie and Disaster Movie. Superfast takes the less crazy elements from the main franchise and meddles with them just enough to give you a good laugh.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Mum's Monday: Fungus the Bogeyman

Based on the book by Raymond Briggs, this is a children’s program. It is amusing to watch the bogeymen go about their business. The script is brilliant, strange but relevant to what is happening.

As well as Bogeydom we are also getting to know the family above ground, it is unclear how or when the two will come together more so, the waiting is intriguing. The reaction to the sky is amusing, but what happens to the Reverend Jake Ruto (Jimmy Akingbola) ‘Isn’t really happening’. I like the idea of ‘Facefolding’ and how it is used to show that in this program it has infiltrated the world. It is brilliant to see how the newly formed bogey people are coping ‘Top side’ also known as ‘On the surface’. It is lovely to see Eve (Victoria Wood) help the family.

The second episode, now as we see in the first episode the family has moved out of the house next door to Daryl (Marc Warren) Wendy (Keeley Hawes) and Lucy (Fern Deacon) and now as the ‘Green’ family need somewhere to live, an empty house is ideal, well apart from being too clean. It seems Eve has a motive. The twist is clever. We see the ‘Green’ family still getting to grips with the human world, the use of bin day is interesting. The script again is really good and ‘Van’ it is nice to see has now got a job. Wendy, certainly has her work cut out when it comes to having ‘Bunny’ as a new member at the Leisure Centre.

In the third and final episode of this DVD, it is the day of the ‘Monster Party’. Before that back in the second episode, Fungus was caught as the Bogey man, but luckily Daryl thinks it is a costume, until, well, but whether he is believed or not is another question. We now see more and more of Eve being revealed. It is still good to see that she is still willing to help the ‘Green’ family, although she maybe after something for her own benefit. This is sad to see help equals a price. Who’d have thought ‘Bogeyman’ gas could be so powerful? Not me, but in this program it is. This episode is the most action packed of all three, the car, convoy, chase is amusing to watch. We don’t have the ‘Weapons of mass destruction’ but we do have and see the ‘Weapon ‘Of permanent facefold’ until a trip to the ‘King’ anyway. It is nice to see you can choose your friends and a few small things have changed but it could still just be a ‘Bump in the night’ or something else of course.

The Written Podcast: New York (Part 2) – A Virgin Experience

I’ve never flown with Virgin Atlantic and I had been told it’s a good airline to fly with from a colleague at work, but before I boarded the plane, I had the pleasure of being checked in. This process has been radically stereotyped by numerous comedians regarding the long wait times and the distance you have to walk to get to your gate. As Heathrow is the busiest airport in England, it would make sense if I were required to wait a while before checking in.

However, I arrived at the airport at 4AM, a whole 5 hours before my plane is due to take off, and even though I was expecting it to be heaving with people, there were hardly anyone there. The coach dropped me off at terminal 2, so I had to walk to terminal 3, which wasn’t as far as my imagination portrayed. When entering terminal 3, there were some people, but comparatively to being the busiest in the country, there were hardly anyone there, and they were all standing around doing nothing, apparently waiting for something to happen.

What they were waiting for was their check-in gates to open. It’s recommended to arrive at the airport 3 hours before you arrive to give you ample amount of time to check in and do whatever else is necessary to prepare yourself for the long flight. The thing is, I arrived an hour and a half before the check-in gate even opened, so I plonked myself down on a chair and watched as Virgin Atlantic employees slowly turned up for work.

When it was eventually time to get checked in for my flight, this was where my brain decided to freak out a little bit. The night before I made sure by triple checking that I had every piece of documentation I needed to get me through both airports in England and New York, but it still didn’t stop my brain from automatically feeling as if I had forgotten something. I nervously walked up to one of the ladies behind the desk, who had clearly only been awake for an hour at maximum, and presented my passport and the piece of paper detailing every bit of information I need regarding the flight I’d be on today. It was a big relief to learn everything was valid and I was able to check in.

All I needed to do to make it official was put my suitcase on the conveyor belt and watch it being whisked away into the void where it’d be sorted into the necessary compartments, to be chucked into the hold underneath the plane, where I’d pick it up at New York. Now, I’ve seen Toy Story 2, and whilst I cannot be sure that toys don’t come to life when we’re not watching them, the complicated network of overlapping conveyor belts designed to organise thousands of suitcases a day, flashed before my eyes. Once I’ve let it go, there’s no reclaiming it back until I get to New York, and of course a small portion of my subconscious was worrying about the possibility of the airline misplacing my suitcase and have it fly somewhere completely different; to the Bahamas for all I know, or maybe not actually have it fly anywhere but remain in England where since no one has reclaimed it back, would be put on the suspicious list and taken to one side to be instantly destroyed… but that was me just overthinking things as a result of being nervous due to this being my first ever trip abroad on my own.

After the expected thorough security checks, where you are required to take off your shoes, belts, jackets, watches, take your phone out of your pocket; place all your external belongings into trays and have them go through an X-ray and you walk through a metal detector. Once again I was faced with that nervous notion of even though I am perfectly safe and innocent, I still feel as if I am going to set all the scanners off. The metal detector is going to light up like a Christmas tree, the X-ray machine is going to detect every drug under the sun, and I’m going to be taken to one side and thoroughly “checked”…

But that didn’t happen. It was all normal. Nothing out of the ordinary happened when on the other side of the security checks, and soon it was time to board my plane. My gate number was 22, which wasn’t that long a walk. OK, it was some distance, but it wasn’t as exaggerated as those comedians portray, although a few jokes from Lee Evans did pop into my mind as I made my way through the airport, requiring me to stifle any laughs alas I’d look like an idiot for laughing to myself.

The plane ride itself wasn’t really anything special. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. Once I had settled myself down in my seat, I switched on the entertainment screen in front of me and flicked through the movies. I had a 7 ½ flight so I was able to pack three films in: “Big”, “Captain Marvel”, and “The Simpsons Movie”. It should really be a testament to Virgin Atlantic’s quality that nothing particularly noteworthy happened. Once we were in the air, turbulence was thankfully minimal, they regularly came around with trollies of food and drink, which weren’t anything to crumble about and heck, they were free so why complain anyway. I didn’t require any help from the 10 stewardesses who were operating that day; the only interaction I had was purely when they came round with the trollies, but from what I saw when other people required assistance, they did so professionally and calmly, and if I had required help, I wouldn’t feel as if I was wrong to request the help. It was a relaxing and joyous ride, and I do recommend Virgin Atlantic if you are thinking about going abroad.

TO BE CONTINUED IN THE NEXT ARTICLE…

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Film of the Week: Annabelle Comes Home

The seventh film within the Conjuring Universe, this latest horror film set after the events of the first two films is about how the doll, Annabelle, created chaos within the Warren’s household when a friend who just wants to contact her dad unlocks the cage keeping the demonic power within.

James Wan’s ability to create truly scary horror doesn’t waver when making this film. Horror is a unique genre where the only effective scares can also be judged as clichés if not done originally. Annabelle is full to the brim with slow moving camera angles, jump scares, supernatural occurrences just off screen complete with powerful sound effects; this is a scary film.

Annabelle Comes Home ramps up the number of characters that’s affecting the main characters. It’s explained at the beginning that the demonic power within the doll is acting as a conductor for the many souls and demonic powers in the surrounding area. This quick prologue serves as the main reasoning behind every other item in Warren’s locked room full of cursed objects suddenly coming to life. Whilst the character, Daniela Rios (Katie Sarife) doesn’t help by touching everything within the room, the fact that she also unlocks the glass container with the doll perched inside, draws in the cursed object’s powers too, creating a properly horrific experience for the characters. Even though many more cursed objects are featured, that explanation at the beginning reassures the audience that the Annabelle doll is still the main focus, and does most of the tormenting.

The film as a whole sends shivers down my spine. Being the seventh film in the franchise, it’s still nice to see that they can still pull off original content without it looking and feeling too drawn out.

Whilst the other objects do play a part within the film, and they do show some amount of strength when creating their own unique scare factor, the main criticism I have regarding that choice is not a lot of information is known about the object is and why it’s cursed. We’re just shown it to be scary, we’re scared by it, but ultimately left confused as to why we should be scared. Dare I say it, but with the way the Conjuring Universe has expanded over the years, this film appears to be a backdoor pilot to many more films down the road, and if that be the case, it dampens the overall product of Annabelle Comes Home as it immediately stops being scary and starts becoming a marketing ploy.

Annabelle Comes Home is a good horror film. There were a few instances where we needed a bit more of an explanation regarding such, but then maybe I’ll be stating how there was too much exposition than actual horror. Maybe I’m missing something. Maybe all the information I need to know is there and I just didn’t see it upon my first watch through due to constantly feeling cold spots on my back from shivering. If there really is information regarding those cursed objects, I do really hope there is an explanation on why a particular stranger in a photo looks exactly like the main character, Mary Ellen (Madison Iseman) because that was the biggest mystery of them all. I’m trying to think back to see if I can remember any amount of references to that mystery, and I cannot find anything. If there really isn’t any resolution to that mystery, why even put it in the film in the first place… unless they’re going to make a film specifically dedicated to explaining that… I’m calling it right here, people.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Mum's Monday: New York by Edward Rutherfurd

At the very start of this book I find myself re-reading a name of one of the characters, Dirk van Dyck. I read it as Dick Van Dyke, the name of the famous actor from the film ‘Mary Poppins’ (1964) and later playing Doctor Mark Sloan in the television series ‘Diagnosis Murder’ amongst many other roles. With New York originally being called ‘New Amsterdam’ I can see why the author used ‘Van’ in the character’s name, as this is a common occurring name in the Dutch names language.

We slowly find out how the places in New York got their names like Manhattan and the Hudson river. This book is an interesting way of learning American history.

At the end of this chapter it is nice to see that Dirk Van Dyck’s daughter, Pale Feather was put before anything else.

In this chapter ‘New York’ we read of how the city got its name, it is not from the British city of York, but it is actually named after the Duke of York, who took over the city. The surrounding area was called Yorkshire, just like the county of Yorkshire back in the United Kingdom. We however, now know it as ‘New York State’. How that came about is not as yet mentioned in this book and may not be. If it isn’t then this book could make you want to do more research. A book/story that gets you interested in finding out more information can only be a good thing.

This book goes, very much in-depth, into the slave trade, the good and sadly, the bad sides of it. This book really makes you understand what went on and all the protocol of slave ownership. It is a surprise to read this part that is told from the prospective /point of view of the slave Quash.

This book high-lights that as our children grow up, they have to make their own way in the world, as in Hudson’s case going off to sea, however, worrying it is for the ones left behind. It is lovely to read some good news back from Boston after a two week wait.

After a close call it is good to see Quash was able to carry out his boss’s dying wish. A small part but a bit of tension and some quick thinking saves the day.

The story has now suddenly taken a very dark turn for the worse. Sadly, as we sometimes see a person’s last will and testament can cause problems in a family and beyond it. Although things didn’t turn out as Quash had hoped, it is lovely to see Clara and Mr. Master rescue him, for him to go on to better employment and ultimately better prospects. There is a nice surprise at the end of the chapter.

As I start the next chapter, it continues, not to be complimentary of women. This sadly, comes from the English ways. Also in this chapter we read more about the sugar trade and the use of slaves to work it. It is sad to see that whether they agree with the slave trade or not, you couldn’t escape it in the workings of a trade.

In the chapter named ‘Montayne’s Tavern’ the name George Washington appears and I have to wander if it is the same person that ultimately becomes the first president of the United States of America.

It is nice to see that Mercy gets a chance to go to London in the UK, I hope it lives up to her expectations.

It is strange to read that there were no banks in New York. There were some in London, I just took it for granted there were banks where they were needed in all the cities across the world and when a city was or had been established.

Another familiar name is mentioned as in Benjamin Franklin is also in the UK and may well return to London.

There is a lot mentioned about other States and cities in America and of London. These other places had more of an effect on New York than I first thought. This book is called ‘New York’ but it has to acknowledge how much other places contributed to the city to help it become the place we know of today. I did wander, until I realised, why it wasn’t just about ‘New York’ alone.

It is good to see James Master own up to his past actions, regarding a job, to Charlie white and his son Stan. I am glad the truth has come out at last.

In the year 1776 it is unclear who is in charge of New York. This book is also very informative in that I didn’t know that there was a threat of a war in the lead up to America’s independence from Britain and after the declaration of independence, until I read this book. It is nice to see Charlie White come to the rescue of John Masters despite the falling out they had had and not getting along with each other.

Most, if not all have heard of the great fire of London, but there was also a fire in New York as well in 1776. It doesn’t seem to be as big as the ‘Great Fire of London’ and it is not clear how the one in New York started. More is known about the fire in London compared with the one in New York.

It is sad to read of the treatment of the prisoners on both sides in New York during the war surrounding America’s independence.

It is clever the problem solving aspect of the small matter of what to do with Solomon. The way this was worked out and written was very well done.

With the name that keeps being mentioned ‘General Clinton’, it makes me wonder if he has any family connection to the, now former president of the United States of America, Bill Clinton.

In a part it says that Abigail basically didn’t think the end of her letter to Grey Albion was ‘Perfect’. I disagree, I thought the ending was ‘Perfect’, especially as to what is said in this story to Abigail by her father, John Master later on in this part. I also don’t agree when James lied to Abigail about Grey Albion.

Another name that is mentioned in this book is ‘Horatio Nelson’. We hear of him in his more commonly known endeavours but it is interesting to find out he was also linked with New York in this book.

Another familiar name in this book is Thomas Jefferson, who also became a president of the United States of America.

In 1790 I now read that New York is classed as the capital of America. we all know that now it is Washington DC. It will be interesting for/to me to find out how and when New York lost its capital status. It should be explained in this book I hope. One thing that is mentioned in this book is that New York is not liked.

Now we read that Weston Master is all grown up with a family of his own. it is tragic to read of what happened to his father James over in England.

Weston is visiting the northern part of New York state, including the magnificent Niagara Falls and Buffalo. This book is called New York which could now cover the whole state rather than just the city and make this book more in-depth and also more interesting, bulking the story out a bit more.

It is interesting to read about how the newly built canals helped New York’s trade. Unfortunately, another city may lose out.

At the start of the chapter ‘Past Five Points’ it is unclear where Mary and who she calls the ‘Devil’ fits into the story until we find out the household she wants and hopes to work for. It is sad to read about Weston.

However much you are against the slave trade you cannot as yet separate the slave trade from the money in New York made from the southern cotton trade. Equally it is good to see Mary stick to her morals and no longer wants anything to do with Yan after what he did.

Abraham Lincoln is now the president of the United States of America and a war between the north and south is taking place, however, sad to read this book is truthful.

During the chapter called ‘The Draft’ we go from reading about the war through Mary and Gretchen going to Coney Island, another part of New York city to Sean from Five points welcoming the English Prince into his saloon. This chapter covers a lot, but is disjointed and jumps from one or two or even three characters to another and more.

New York is now home to a vast number of Irish people. This is explained well as to why the Irish were there and how they were treated after they arrived in the city.

This book high-lights you shouldn’t annoy firemen, sadly, it is portrayed in this story that firemen like to start fires as well as supposed to put them out, or not as we are yet to find out if they do. Sadly, I think the Draft office is destined to burn uncontrolled.

It is sad to see all the unrest in New York city, this chapter now makes sense as it mentions all the people that could be caught up with it all in one way or another, if only for Mary and Gretchen and Theodore to avoid it all together. sadly, however, news travels fast even back when this story is set in 1863.

It is sad and a tragic shock to read of what happened to Hudson River the man who worked for Sean. It would have been nice to have some warning and not just come upon it and know now that he wasn’t safely where we last read he was.

New York is now becoming more built up. it is interesting to read of the apartment blocks going up and what people thought of them. Until they see the benefits. The EL train (As it was called because it is elevated above the city streets) is also in service. The city is becoming ‘Up and coming’. Also as I read about other railroads being built across New York state and others it makes me think of ‘If they are still in service today and if they are where they actually run to and from now and if they have been added to over the years’.

The description of the weather in the chapter called ‘Snow’ is brilliantly done. Normally you just get what the weather is doing. In this book it is written as to how it came about/ formed. This part makes/adds to how interesting it is to read this book.

Another familiar name that is mentioned in this book is ‘Teddy Roosevelt’ another character who is described as young but when they are older, becomes another one of the presidents of the United States of America.

The familiar names keep coming up, we now read about Winston Churchill, who later becomes the United Kingdom’s Prime Minster, during the second world war. Churchill and Roosevelt meet so I don’t think we have read the last of these two men.

It is interesting to read that in 1901 and beyond New York is becoming more, what could be described as parts as today, luxurious and the cables and transport is planned to be put underground, although some cables have already been buried. We also read that Ellis Island, the immigration border point is now open for business.

Not only we read about familiar people there are two familiar company names as well, the ‘Cunard’ and ‘White Star Line’ large shipping companies.

It is sad to read the character imply there isn’t more to life than money.

It wouldn’t be a book about New York if it didn’t mention some of the famous buildings around the city, including the thin, first ever skyscraper built in the city. This is done in a clever way, in that Edmund Keller passed it on his way to meet Hetty Master and others.

As the years are passing the railway system is expanding and although down to a trickle, immigrants are coming into the city. It is interesting to read how the city grew. The story although jumps over the years, isn’t rushed.

Most, if not all have heard of the ban on alcohol in America. it is mentioned in this book that there were ‘Speakeasies’ in New York, where they served alcohol in secret, other than the odd reference to it, ‘Prohibition’ as it became known isn’t in this story in so much detail, but I suppose there wasn’t much to actually tell from that time.

Most, if not all knows about the ‘Wall Street Crash’ with all the talk about money and investing it , whether it was intended in the story or not, I got the sense of impending doom, despite the happy event that ultimately took place, concerning the families money and how the crash would affect the family.

The description of the ‘Wall Street Crash’ in 1929 is so well explained that there is no sudden shock in the story line that I actually expected to read. We do also read of the construction of the ‘Crysler building and the Empire State building. You couldn’t have a book about New York including its history without mentioning such buildings being built. It is interesting to read the description of how they were built also.

As this book jumps to the year 1953 this story makes me as the reader surprisingly aware that there are bridges that connect all boroughs of New York city except Staten Island. I have heard and I am aware of the Staten Island ferry but the realisation of no bridge or even a tunnel, I feel I should have already known this. This book is a surprising eye-opener.

In the relationship between Charlie and Sarah, Sarah being Jewish, her family follow the Jewish traditions and after she takes Charlie to visit and he takes part, afterwards he has questions, so when Sarah who has mixed feelings about Judaism, it is amusing to read Sarah saying that Charlie will know more about her Jewish background than she does.

It is interesting to read how money affected the lives of the people who lived in New York from 1987 onwards, it is certainly an eye-opener and the sums of money around is surprisingly massive. It is nice to read that mostly Gorham Master stayed modest although he had regrets and strived for more, that was out of his reach whether he liked it or not.

The attacks on the twin towers on 9/11 are described really well and sympathetically, it is sad, yet heart-warming to read of what happened to the Wampum belt. This story could have ended with so much more tragedy, but it actually ended with a great message, before this another, the realisation that money isn’t everything, the two messages is what I am going to remember from this book.

This book does skip over some major events that happened in New York history, I feel that there could have been more written about some of them. I also realise that some family’s stories come to an end sometimes abruptly. It is a shame; it would have been nice to read on about some of them. Although, some pop up again further on which is lovely to read.

I did wonder how this story would work out as it is a factual account of a city but made into a novel, the stories are done well and it works well, covering just one initial family, the Masters, through their generations is a workable idea as we see in this book. I am glad I read this book, it is epic.

The Written Podcast: New York (Part 1) – The Coach Before the Plane.

Any adventure to anywhere doesn’t start when you get to your destination, but when you’ve left the front door. After going to bed at 6PM Sunday evening to get at least some hours sleep before waking up at 11:30PM to catch the 1AM coach from Ipswich’s Cardinal Park, heading to the coach was when the nerves truly started to kick in, and the realisation of going to New York on my own kicked in properly. I know some people wouldn’t bother going to bed at all but sleep on the plane, and whilst that’s an understandable and makes sense, but considering I was on my own, the last thing I wanted to do was drag myself through the airport on my own, getting more and more tired and subsequently unable to think straight and make a mistake. What mistake I envisioned happening, I wasn’t sure, but at least I’ll be more of a functioning human being than if I hadn’t gone to bed to deal with that mistake if it were to happen.

Upon arriving at Cardinal Park waiting about 10 minutes for the coach to arrive, I struggled to believe that I was really going to do this. It dawned on me then that I was going to New York on my own. To the United States of America; on my own.

But before I could even step onto American soil, I had a coach and plane ride to take, and the coach was interesting. Being driven by someone who gave the impression that they don’t like mornings, and they’ve been doing the job long enough to know what to do, and that all he’s there to do is drive and then go home – he was professional and to the point by only given the right amount of information only, and nothing else. He also gave the impression of not liking anything that’s considered out of the ordinary, even if it is within the confines of what the company does. Let me explain:

We pulled into Colchester’s main bus station, where only one person was waiting. Curiously, he was without a bag. The coach’s next stop was Marks Tay, so I guessed it wasn’t out of the ordinary to take the coach as an ordinary bus. If you need to go where they are heading to pick up more people, it makes sense to take the coach instead of waiting for a bus. This presumed answer grew in strength when he stepped on board and an immediate wave of alcohol swam through the coach, indicating he’s been drinking. His motions were sluggish and his speech was slurred. The driver stopped at the stop and hopped off to see who was waiting for him to arrive, only to discover the lone drunk man was the only person waiting, and asked for how much it would be to get to a place. I didn’t hear the conversation so his destination would be revealed later as Heathrow was the final stop for the coach before heading back the way he came.

Upon learning about the man’s intention, and that he didn’t have a pre-paid for ticket with him, the driver had to reach and dig through a plastic container for the prices of a trip – not before muttering under his voice, “it’s just a load of grief”. All this driver wants to do is drive the coach, and if you don’t have a pre-paid ticket, he’ll secretly dislike you.

So the drunk person then proceeded to hunt around his person for the money, which he absolutely believed he had, put completely forgot where, so checked every single pocket extremely slowly due to him concentrating so hard on his movements. It’s only when you’re watching someone go through their pockets do you realise just how many I had on myself, because his clothes were practically made of pockets. It was remarkable how he found another unchecked pocket, and I was watching this like a hawk. Just when I thought he’d run out of pockets, he’ll find ten more inside his hoody. Five minutes later, the drunk man finally found his money and handed it to the coach driver who, at this point wasn’t hiding the fact he was disgruntled.

The rest of the coach trip was uneventful. With each passing stop the drunk man remained in his seat. Had he forgotten where he was meant to be getting off? The real curious aspect of this drunk man’s intention was when our next stop was Stansted Airport before heading straight down to Heathrow, and still this man remained in his seat. He only got up and out of the coach when we reached Stansted.

I chose a seat next to the window, but not at the front. Whilst my brain was pulling me to sit at the front of the coach, it did have a sign stating that if anyone was needing that chair, you’re obliged to move, and I didn’t want to move until reaching Heathrow, so I chose a seat a few rows back but of course next to the window. This didn’t give me any views of what was happening outside with people loading and unloading their bags, so it was impossible for me to know if the drunk man had or not had a bag, but it was confirmed to not have a bag when he simply stepped off the coach, turned to the right and proceeded towards the main terminal entrance.

The drunk man wasn’t drunk enough to forget his money, just forgot where he put it in a sea of pockets, so it’s understandable for him to remember his suitcase, so the fact that he didn’t get one out from the coach’s holding area meant he didn’t bring one, which raised a lot of questions. A drunk man, with no suitcase, about to walk into Stansted airport? What could go wrong? More importantly, where’s he going? More importantly still, what is he doing now? For a brief moment, I didn’t want to go to Heathrow, I wanted to follow that man. I wanted my questions answered. Alas the driver got back into the coach and reversed out of the drop off bay and headed to Heathrow airport. I guessed that moment of curiosity wasn’t strong enough to beat the impending excitement of going to New York City.

TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK…

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Film of the Week: Yesterday

Offering a fresh take on what it’s like to be an up-incoming singer, going from struggling to book anywhere to a household overnight. What makes this different than most other success stories, is that the artists whose music is involved in this film, never wrote the songs. The Beatles never formed, leaving up to Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) to take advantage of this sudden change in the world and earn the success he’s been struggling to achieve for so long – except when he feels guilty for stealing their music – even though, technically, he hasn’t stolen anything, but instead jeopardised his friendship with his long friend and manager, Ellie Appleton (Lily James), and potential relationship.

Written by Richard Curtis and directed by Danny Boyle, this romantic comedy gives us what we’ve had for many years, but also something new. The Beatles music has inspired so many over the years, changed the face of music forever, and will influence many more to come. Whilst it made sense to keep it confined to the exploration of how success can put a strain on friendships and relationships, the overall package the Beatles gave to the world wasn’t explored to its full potential. It put the strain on the character’s friendship long before the songs changed the world the way it has in our one. Richard did a good job with building a strong foundation by making the world not know other well-known brands, such as Coke, Harry Potter, and Cigarettes, to give us an insight that it’s not only the Beatles’ music which had been forgotten. It would make the story too busy and complicated to attempt to implement Jack trying to create all that the world has forgotten, so sticking with just the Beatles’ music isn’t a complaint, but there was a lot the film set up within the music world alone, but didn’t deliver. The very influence of the Beatles’ music inspired this film, so to not include Jack going through the sensation of being that grand of an influencer, felt like a miss.

The film we were given to by Richard Curtis and Danny Boyle is a charming and classic British romantic comedy, with Richard Curtis being one of the greatest British screenwriters of our generation, having penned multiple, extremely successful romantic comedies and had an important hand in creating Blackadder and Mr Bean, two staples of British comedy, we basically state they define what we know to be our comedy from those two shows. Danny Boyle has directed many powerful films, including 127 hours, and made sure the British 2012 Olympic opening ceremony went from beginning to end without a glitch. Two greats in British cinema coming together, with talented actors, it’s already a massive film before you even watch it, so you won’t be disappointed.

I laughed and applauded Jack’s intentions at the end of the film, realising that after giving the world what they had lost – or rather what they had never known – it was time to settle down and be happy in this new world. Whilst it does feel like there could have been more involved with the story, what we got was persuasive enough.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Mum's Monday: Nintendo DS, 42 All-Time Classics, Games, Game

42 games with a modern twist, where you don’t necessarily need to know how to set up the games as this does it for you. There are some games I haven’t heard off, so don’t know how to play them. There are some interesting games where I have learnt how to play them. There is no limit to how many times you play these games but the only negative is that the points system only goes up to how many you win out of 999 times you play.

On the first page there are Basic Card Games, including Spit, which I have played and with this and some other games you can set your own challengers, I will mention later on other challengers on other games. With Spit, if you set it on Hard you have to be quicker to match and get rid of the cards. Also on this page there is Memory where you have to find pairs and remember where the cards to match are. I have also played I Doubt it and Sevens but haven’t played them so much opting for games that more interest me.

The next page there are Intermediate Card Games, including Hearts, which I play quite a bit, you can set the game up how you want for bonus points and other custom ways. I have played other games on this page including Rummy and Blackjack, but again I play the games that I find enjoyable.

On the next page there are Advanced Card Games, including Five Card Draw and Texas Hold’Em. I haven’t played hardly any of these, but there are enough of the other games so not to need to play the games if you don’t want to or until you are inspired to check them out.

The next page there are Basic Board Games including Checkers and Dots and Boxes. I have played some of these and have learnt how to play them through playing them.

On the next page there are Advanced Board Games including Chess and Ludo. I have only played Ludo once out of the five games on this page. I have heard of chess but cannot see myself learning how to play it even with the help from this game, but that is just me.

On the next page there are Variety Games all four I enjoy and they are Soda Shake, Dominoes, Koi-Koi and Word Balloon. With the Soda Shake you have to shake a bottle using the stick pen moving it backwards and forwards over the graphics of the bottle of fizzy drink. This game is good and it doesn’t let you get away with only doing it gently as it gets fizzier and about to pop. With the Koi-Koi game, this is a game I have learnt through playing it and it is a challenge to remember the groups of cards you need to collect. The game Word Balloon is another name for Hangman, I have it set up with the background of the game being played with pen and paper. I think it adds to the realism of it for fun.

On the next page there is Action Games with Bowling, where you can custom to send a stone round ball to knock over the skittles, but I have it set on normal. There is also Darts where you have highest score, where you play ten darts and highest score wins, with this I like I said earlier challenge myself that I play five darts and whatever my score I try and match it, double it with the next five like if I score ninety with the first five I aim for one hundred and eighty when I have played ten darts. Also with the darts there is a game by the name Standard Cricket, I am not sure why the name. this is where you have to throw the darts and fill the grid from three fifteens to three bullseyes, the total of twenty-one boxes to fill. The challenge I set myself is to fill the grid with less than twenty-one turns. You can also score over a thousand, which I have, until the other player or game setting fills the boxes you have and closes the scoring. With the standard darts game 501 to 0, I have set it up so I don’t need to get a double to finish the game. For example, if I go down to one I could potentially score either a bullseye or treble twenty. This is easy but relaxing. There is also Billiards, I should have read the rules of this game, once I had I realise I could have won a lot more than I have and it would have been a better playing experience for me. The games Balance and Takeover are fun to play. Takeover can be annoying if you amass a high score only for the game to knock you counter off the board but you can do the same to them so all equal.

On the next and last page there are Single Player Games, including Solitaire and Mahjong Solitaire. It is good to play these games without having to set out the cards before you play, you can just simply play.

The Written Podcast: It’s The Same, But Completely Different in Every Way

It’s one thing going away on holiday with company, it’s another thing going away on your own. What’s different about going on holiday on your own is that you’re on your own. In fact, doing anything on your own is different to when doing something with company, that’s a fact I think we can all agree on. Many of us have experienced many a thing whilst on our own, going to the cinema, theatre, concert, abroad to another country. As of writing this article, I have yet to experience going abroad on my own, but when this article is released, I would have experienced going to New York City all by myself. And yes, I am nervous.

What inspired me to write this article was when having a casual conversation with my mum about how I’ve been through many airports before, so I’ll know what to expect when I get to Heathrow. I agreed with her. I do know what to expect when I get to Heathrow, when boarding a plane, and when I get off the plane into America. What I haven’t – or rather cannot – prepare myself for is what to expect whilst doing all of that on my own. If I were to list all the experiences in order of how many times I’ve been through them, going through an airport on my own would be right at the bottom. It’ll be something I’ve done multiple times, but something I’ve never done before, and that changes how it is all perceived entirely.

Just because you’ve experienced something multiple times before, does not mean you are prepared for what to do when you’re on your own, because then it’ll all become alien once more.

I am nervous about travelling on my own. When this article goes up, I’d have been and returned. I’m fascinated by how it will feel like going through everything I’d been before, but instead with someone else, all by myself. I’m curious about how different it’ll feel, and I’m intrigued by the idea of being so far away from home, by myself.

The moment I step onto New York City’s soil, after going through the airport’s procedures, acknowledging just how far away from home I truly am. The furthest I’ve ever been away from home by myself is Cornwall, which is a 5 and a half hours’ drive, and was for only one night. The furthest I’ve ever been away from home with company is Chicago, and for 1 week. This holiday will be the furthest I’ve ever been away from home on my own. And I am nervous.

Being nervous for a trip is a good thing in some ways, because you double and triple check everything to make sure it’s all in order and the necessities are packed, but it doesn’t matter how many times you check, you still feel as if you’ve forgotten something, and it doesn’t matter how many times I reassure myself I have everything I need, I know for certain that as I am travelling to the airport by coach, I’ll feel like I’ve forgotten something. The really annoying moment will come when I get to my hotel room and rest from a long trip, that I’ll discover what I’ve forgotten if anything… and if I could simply nip back home and get it, I wouldn’t need to spend 8 hours on a plane to get there.

A few people have expressed their surprise when discovering I’m going to New York, others have given me encouragement. Being the first holiday abroad on my own, I did dedicate some time into thinking where I’d like to go. The reason why I chose New York City was, whilst it’s a city far bigger than I’ve ever been to before, it’s still a city nevertheless. I’ve been to London many times before, so I chose New York City because of the subtle sense of familiarity with it being a city. That was the logic I used when making my overall decision. I now have to wait to see if that logic was sound or not. As a city, it shouldn’t be too different – with built up areas, tall buildings, incredibly dense crowds moving in all different directions, the constant sounds of vehicles forging their way through the city – but it’ll be utterly different to London in every way I can imagine, because it’s New York, and I’m on my own.

I have constructed a list of things I’d like to do when I’m there, but the one thing that intrigues me the most is the Museum of Mathematics. Located on 26^th street, I’m fascinated to learn what it has on its displays. Will it explore the history of maths, the pioneering moments that’s changed the way we think about maths, those incredible minds that discovered or even crafted some aspects of the maths we know – or maybe all of the above?

I’m sure once I get to my hotel room and I put my suitcase down in the corner and lay back on my bed, it won’t feel too daunting. The most daunting experience about the entire holiday will be travelling to and from New York. Once I’m up in the air and gotten comfy in my chair, browsing through the selection of films to relax to, I won’t feel any less nervous than if I had company, because in truth, when holidaying abroad on your own, you’re your own company, and if I can do it with company, then I can do it on my own… that sounded a little too “self-help”, didn’t it? I haven’t been on the holiday yet; can you tell?

When I get back from my holiday, I’ll write what it felt like to be away for that long, that far away, in New York City. I’m going to take so many pictures, eat so many new foods, and go to 7-Eleven, where I will be purchasing myself a Big Gulp, something I’ve been wanting to see in person for quite a while. It’ll be fun.

See you when I get back.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Mum's Monday: Six Wives, The Queens of Henry the 8th By David Starkey

Queen Catherine of Aragon

Catherine was born into a Spanish royal family in Spain where her mother was strong minded and was on equal stance as well as her father. We sometimes think of strong women as a modern development, but it is good to see women held their own in the past as well. Although Catherine was well educated in some things, she was sadly, lacking in certain knowledge when going out into the wider world. With all good intentions that you can see, there is still a lot more Catherine should have leant. Once Catherine had grown up she was all set to travel to England from Spain. Unfortunately, events in Spain delayed this trip. If she had made the journey, history could have been different. It is a surprise to see Catherine marry someone else first. It is good to see Catherine still embracing her Spanish roots, especially riding across England from Plymouth to London. After the wedding Catherine still wanted to keep her Spanish roots, however, some of her servant’s jobs didn’t translate into England and with Catherine having a more extensive household full of help than the King and Queen, I can see why the King and Queen were not happy. Sadly, the marriage didn’t last long as Catherine’s husband Arthur passed away. It is sad to see Catherine turned into a bargaining tool. We now see Catherine married to Henry the 8^th, his first wife and the reason for her being in this book. Sadly, the marriage ends in divorce, but compared to Henry’s future marriages, it could have been worse.

Anne Boleyn

Anne was born into an English family, where the women had married well. It is nice to see that Anne was well educated and accomplished in many things of the day. I always thought Anne Boleyn was French and this may be because, as it mentions in this book, Anne carried off being a French woman in her manner and knowing the language really well. This book is very informative and as I am finding out, A real eye opener. It is interesting to read that before Anne came to be with Henry the 8^th, she as could only be described as in modern times, the equivalent of ‘Playing the field’ yet with Henry she played ‘Hard to get’. However, they eventually got married. Sadly, and unluckily for Anne her life was to end by her being beheaded at the ‘Tower of London’.

Jane Seymour

Jane was the sister of Edward Seymour who worked for Charles V and Jane herself worked for Henry’s first wife Catherine. Jane was seen right or wrongly as quiet, submissive and not sadly, seen as, as beautiful as Henry’s previous wives, Catherine and Anne. Sadly, unlike Henry’s previous marriages Jane passed away after giving birth.

Anne of Cleves

Anne was German and educated in sowing. This marriage was a result of some match making and deciding on the idea of a German marriage. Sadly, it would seem inevitable due to the nature of the setup of the relationship the marriage wouldn’t last and it ended in divorce.

Catherine Howard

Catherine was English and belonged to the large Howard family. Her father was Lord Edmund Howard and her mother was Jocasta Culpepper. Anne Boleyn, one of Henry the 8^th’s previous wives was Catherine’s cousin. After moving in with a step-grandparent, Catherine quickly showed and developed leadership qualities. Catherine was to ultimately become Henry the 8^th’s 5^th wife and was described as a ‘Good time girl’. It is widely thought that when Henry found out about Catherine’s actions during his marriage to her and she was to be beheaded, that Catherine pleaded for her life in a gallery at Hampton Court Palace. So it was a surprise to read in this book that Henry simply just left Hampton Court, leaving Catherine only knowing something wasn’t right. She never saw Henry again and was Beheaded at the ‘Tower of London’ sadly, ending his 5^th marriage.

Catherine Parr

Catherine was the granddaughter of Sir William Parr. Catherine was probably better educated than Anne Boleyn and came from a well-connected family. It is a surprise to read that Catherine was married twice before she married Henry and became Queen. At first Catherine didn’t want to marry Henry, knowing the history of his previous wives and she was also in love with someone else. In this book it says Catherine prayed and God told her to marry Henry. I don’t know if I agree with this outcome. The marriage went ahead anyway and Catherine ultimately out lived Henry.

This book has been very well researched and is a good history lesson of the royal family in England and elsewhere.

The Written Podcast: Which Episode Do I Watch?

Once you’ve finished a TV show what do you do next? That depends on how awesome the show was, right? If it’s phenomenal we restart the entire show from the beginning and re-watch every episode until the last once more, once again following the progression of the characters on screen. With how TV has changed and it being so much easier to access entire boxsets of our favourite shows online, binge-watching every episode has now become common place. Before, if we really wanted to do that, we’d have to wait for the DVD to come out in stores, which would normally be several months down the line. Binge-watching has become commonplace within most households, especially when entire series are released at once – the most popular platform to do this is Netflix, the company that reinvented what it meant to binge-watch something.

But what happens if you don’t want to watch every episode from start to finish? Some might say “why wouldn’t you? If it’s a good show, why not watch it from start to finish?” True, some shows are exceptional, that once you’ve started watching one, it’s difficult to not watch another. With most streaming services having the feature of automatically playing the next episode once you’ve finished with one, it may be difficult to pull your eyes from the screen for another hour or two, pushing bedtime further away, whilst also knowing you absolutely need as much sleep as you can get for tomorrow’s incredibly important meeting/presentation. But some people, including me, like to pick and choose which episode to watch. Which brings me to this article’s main question – which episode do you watch?

Picture the scene: It’s Sunday morning and you’re grabbing some breakfast. It’s been a long week and all you want to do today is relax. You have your breakfast on the table or in your lap and you’ve turned on the TV to watch an episode of one of your favourite TV shows. The problem is, you can’t decide which one you want to watch. After spending too much time trying to pick an episode, your cereal has gone all soggy, or your full English has gone cold. Why do we sometimes struggle to pick which episode we’d like to see? I have a reason for why I struggle, but you may disagree.

To put it simply: Some episodes have too much story.

I know what you’re thinking: “That doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.” Surely, the very reason why you love the show is because of the story. I can sense a good amount of confused expressions out there, probably ready to tell me just how stupid that reason is. Let me make an attempt to explain.

Sometimes the filler episodes are the go to ones when all you want to do is pass the time. Those episodes that are their just to get the episode count up to the studios requested amount, those episodes that aren’t really connected to the main storyline of the series. And sometimes, those filler episodes are some of the best in the series purely because the writers, actors, and producers are having a lot of fun. Let me elaborate further by way of a couple of examples.

Smallville – series 4, episode 19: “Blank”. I’m sure you can argue with me why it’s not a filler episode, but it’s not connected to the main storyline either, but does utilise a lot of elements that’s been set up during previous episodes. This filler episode would not have been possible without the character, Chloe Sullivan knowing Clark’s secret. In this episode, he’s struck with total amnesia, unaware of who he is and therefore has no knowledge of his powers and how to control them. This episode is funny due to Clark’s and Chloe’s chemistry throughout, Clark’s complete confusion about what’s doing, and Chloe’s constant attempts to keep his secret from being seen by other characters, especially Lois Lane, who at the time didn’t get along with Clark. This episode can be re-watched so many times, whether via binge-watching, or via casual morning watch whilst having breakfast.

Another example is pretty much every murder mystery series. Elementary, and Monk are my two favourite murder mystery shows because you have a different villain each week, you have a different viewpoint each week, you get to see Sherlock’s and Adrian’s abilities at work. Of course each series has a main storyline, a main mystery that needs to be solved, but sometimes all I want to do is watch one of those episodes that are connected to the main storyline, which in these two shows, are about ninety-nine percent of each series. I can pick and choose at leisure and enjoy watching the characters. I’ll get round to enjoying the storyline when I binge-watch it again.

If I haven’t exactly explained myself properly and you’re still just as confused by my reasoning, then how about moving to those shows that either feature very little storyline, or not storyline at all. Red Dwarf is the best example of having very little to no storyline. The British icon can be assorted in a random order than makes Pick and Mix looks organised, and still enjoy the episodes. You can pick an episode out of a hat and just watch it, and enjoy it, because whatever happens on that episode stays within the confines of its runtime. Convenient plot devices that are incredibly useful for any situation the crew of Red Dwarf find themselves in, and never brought up again in future episodes, it’s never explained how a hologram can get older and it doesn’t need explaining. Suddenly Dave Lister is his own Grandfather, Kryten has a special ability to help with their situation, and never uses it again. If that formula was used in most other shows and movies, we’d be moaning about it for months afterwards, but with Red Dwarf, we all just accept it and enjoy the show for what it is.

Sometimes you don’t need an episode that’s full of storylines where you have to remember what has happened in previous episodes and series, all you need is to sit down and enjoy watching your favourite characters on screen, which is why filler episodes are sometimes perfect for those moments, and in the age where boxsets are easier to access more than ever, you can enjoy those episodes.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Film of the Week: The Secret Life of Pets 2

This pleasant inoffensive family-friendly film doesn’t go as big as the first film did, but doesn’t go too small either. As a dog owner, and previously a cat owner, whilst they did exaggerate a little with the animal’s mannerisms for comedic effect, the animators were accurate with their representation of both dogs and cats, and their ways of seeing the same situation. It was a joyous, calm watch, calmer than that of the first film, and therefore much easier to digest.

Picking up from the events of the last film and skipping ahead a bit to accommodate Max’s owner’s person development with having a family, we see Max excitedly leap into his next great adventure. This isn’t about exploring the great city; this is about learning not to be so afraid of the big wide world anymore. There is a big climatic scene near the end of the film, when the pets save the white tiger from the circus, but mostly it’s about Max’s new look on the world.

Whilst he’s enjoying himself at the family’s farm, meeting new animals and sniffing new smells, the pets back at the apartment block they have an adventure of their own, but rescuing a tiger from a circus, and trying to find the perfect home for it. The way they storytellers weave each individual stories together for one climatic ending was cleverly subtle.

As a sequel go, it’s not bad. It’s not at all trying to be better than the first, just continuing the story of their lives forward. It’s not just a decent movie, but also a pretty good sequel. If the two films were edited together to make one long film, I wouldn’t be complaining about how it gets boring or trails off somewhere else, but instead just follow the life of a family and their pets.

Overall, it’s a brilliant feel-good family-friendly, pleasant film to sit down and watch on any occasion, either with your family, or on your own, and it’s so inoffensive, it would be offensive to categorise it as a guilty pleasure.

This is the type of film that, no matter the mood you’re in, The Secret Life of Pets 2 will always be there to brighten up your day.