Nightmare Alley

 

Bradley Cooper

Guillermo del Toro’s 2006 movie Pan’s Labyrinth is one of my all time favourite movies to date and since then he has only made six films, with only one The Shape Of Water being anything of note for me. 

I was therefore very interested in seeing his latest movie, the neo-noir psychological, remake Nightmare Alley.

Set initially in a depressed and seedy Midwest freak show, we meet psychologically damaged Stan ( Bradley Cooper) a natural grifter with a knack of reading people. He is taken in by the unscrupulous show owner Clem ( a wonderfully seedy Willem Defoe) and teams up with the moral but alcoholic Pete ( David Strathairn ) his wife Madam Zeema ( Toni Collette) and showgirl Molly (Rooney Mara) 

Learning the ways of duping the public, Stan and Molly start a successful clairvoyant show in the city, here Stan meets the mysterious Dr Ritter ( Cate Blanchet) a psychologist with whom he teams up with in order to con a famous businessman but their relationship is complex with both playing psychological games with each other and things eventually dissolve into tragedy. 

Rooney Mara

Del Toro grabs the new-noir mantle very early on in this movie and produces a nightmarish, slightly unreal world of a run down carnival heavy with poverty, ruthlessness and regret from the get go.

It’s a wonderfully shot and cleverly observed piece cinema.

Cooper is charismatic and incredibly believable as the damaged Stan who through childhood abuse had learned to manipulate and film flam people, Colette and Defoe are standouts from the carnival scenes with Blanchet matching Cooper quite nicely as the the two circle each other psychologically , like two predators looking forward a weakness.

It’s a tense, bleak, violent and beautiful looking film

Which  leaves the audience unsettled and on edge by the time the last reel rolls.

Toni Colette

Raft

 Is it me but does my cruet birds atop my sushi plate resemble a Polynesian kontiki-esque raft? 

Coffee and after

 

It’s almost midday and I’ve just eaten Brunch

It’s cold today.

The dogs are knackered after their walk and have curled themselves into the kitchen reading chair to sleep

I’m thinking of what I’d like to do today.

There’s not much on in the cinema I fancy, perhaps with the exception of Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley.

Ive not arranged with any friends to meet. 

I don’t feel that social today….

Time for another strong coffee bag coffee, with a splash of algave nectar

And more time at the kitchen table with my hands warmed by the coffee cup

Ps…I couldn’t be arsed going to the cinema.

So I went to Sainsbury’s instead and bought a chicken, two reduced priced candlesticks a load of healthy food and some fleece jogging pants and sweat shirt that would double up as Pjs.

I had a mini row with a modern parent who let her children climb over the supermarket trolleys and did my best Edith Evan’s impersonation, by enunciating loudly “ Is THIS a supermarket or a child’s playing area ? “ 

The mother wanted to take me on but thought better of it seeing I had my devil-may- care gravy stains on my t shirt.

Bring it on sister, I thought .

I’m tidying the house, doing some washing and am going to hoover and clean up before walking the girls again. Only then will I don my new joggers

Select shit on the iPlayer 

And enjoy what’s left of my sunday

Sister

 

Yesterday was a mad shift….a real busy one

In this time of covid it’s proved difficult to get a priest into the hospice at short notice in order to give solice to a new patient .

I was incredibly busy and asked a junior support worker to see if she could sort out the request.

She did wonders and a very elderly and gentle faced nun arrived breatessly within minutes, just when she was needed

And I was humbled beyond words , helping this dear old lady into PPE gloves and apron before she went to work, her bible and holy water in hand

Meat Loaf - You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night) ...

1982 

An Austin 1300

GDM744k

Me, Roly Roberts, Ian Parry, Nia Roberts, Irene Barret, Ruth Parry and others 

Driving back from Ice Skating Tuesday nights

Singing this at the top of our young lungs

Happy Days 

RIP Meat Loaf

And Just Like That

Carrie has turned into a hip 50 something baglady who wears rubber gloves to smoke her cigarettes outside her old apartment .Miranda ended her relationship with Steve in 2 minutes …2 minutes longer than my husband ever gave me the courtesy of doing with me.! 

(A scene that broke my heart) btw

And the whole series has matured quite  nicely in episode 8 …only 2 visits before the whole series finishes ..I do hope it returns as it has a lot more to say about women’s relationships in their 50s

The lunch  meeting between the gals , is always a highlight 

Curry & Bluebell

 I often show my affection through food

I’ve told you this before

I know I’m a “ feeder” although I don’t like that epithet per se

It always sounds a bit seedy to me.

I’m off today , back on Friday/Sat so I got up early and made a lamb curry and saag aloo from scratch.

Half I put in the freezer and the other half I boxed up in plastic containers. 

I filled another smaller container with raspberries and took all three to a terribly dirty Bluebell and drove down to the North Wales coast road to Flint.

The coast road used to be the main thoroughfare into and from North Wales and it is now defunct and terribly depressing. Former businesses that once hung on because of the traffic are all sold, boarded up and derelict.

The objective of my trip was just to leave the food on the doorstep of a friend . She has just lost her 30 year old son to covid and I think food can sometimes say more than words can ever can .

Words can sound so puny when grief is overwhelming.

In the end my friend opened the door as soon as I crept up the path, she had noticed and recognised Bluebell’s distinctive colour as it flashed by her kitchen window.

I found a jet wash on the way home and spent a lovely and very therapeutic half hour , cleaning and shampooing and buffing and polishing Bluebell until she shone with the power of Daniel Craig’s eyes 

My friend’s grief , desperately hidden behind smiles and laughs was a heavy thing to witness and mindless cleaning can wipe the psychi clean too.

I stopped at a pet store before I got to Trelawnyd and bought Dorothy a new harness.

I ordered a light gravel to cover the patio and picked up some film magazines as a treat 

The cottage still smelt of curry when I got home 

Thank You

 

Thank you to my followers who supported Leo on his fundraising 

He’s done incredibly well and thanks everyone for their kindnesses 

https://www.walkforautism.co.uk/fundraisers/leoburton/walk-for-autism-2022