Between needing to catch both Jummah and our flight home today, we didn't hold much hope for our activities today. That said, given some careful planning we could have optimised and made the most of staying in Frankfurt, but it turns out that even after having a dead morning in our hotel room waiting for prayers there was ample time in the afternoon to wander around and soak in a little of Frankfurt.
After yesterday we decided to keep things a little closer to home and spent the day thirty minutes away in Wiesbaden. This was yet another quaint city (as well as the capital of Hesse, the German state we were in), and between having seeing a lot of the same yesterday and the atrocious weather we took it easy on the walking around and itinerary stuffing, and even stopped for a coffee at one point. Apart from the casino, the Neroberg offered some things to see, including a view of the city.
As we were time rich, we decided to squeeze in a look at Mainz across the river from Wiesbaden. This had a couple of quick wins, including wooden beamed buildings (you know the type) and even some Roman ruins embedded in a shopping mall. It was just the thing to tidy over the day as we headed back to Frankfurt.
Having a car meant that we could go on day trips, and there were a few options given our base in Frankfurt. We settled on Heidelberg as a good solid choice - it was only an hour away and seemed to have enough for a day.
And it did seem to have everything you would want from a quaint German town - some great hilly views, a rustic bridge over a river surrounded by beige and brown buildings, a cathedral and a castle.
Given that a couple of relatives had moved to Germany recently we felt it was our duty (you know, as existing and veteran European citizens) to see them and let them know that "we're there". However in what is a great real life example of scope creep, our cheap and quick same-day £35 return to Frankfurt grew to a three night jaunt, which in hindsight was a little long for a city break really. Due to us flying into Hahn (remember: £35 return), we needed to hire a car to get into Frankfurt proper. This in turn changed the nature of the trip as a whole... but more on that later.
Our first day was orientation: checking in, finding the boys, doing an Aldi shop. There wasn't really much time for any sightseeing after that so we grabbed dinner in town at an Afghan place which was pretty wonderful given how generic it was. Chai was then had at "Taste of Pakistan" which made me chuckle a little.
First impressions of Frankfurt though: a bit boring but in a way that seemed positive for these guys.
Although well made and acted, Sinners suffers from some structural issues that stop it from being a brilliant movie. It's a shame because even though it doesn't really push the genre much further than, I dunno, a certain Tarantino flick from the 90s, there was enough basic ingredients and class here to really have produced a class act. This is definitely a film with more hype than substance.
It is fun and scary I guess, and as a timepass you could do much worse. But its a film that I ultimately wish I had saved for a cosy home viewing (if only so I could use subtitles).
Although I was disappointed that the main gimmick of the movie - the airdropping by an unidentifiable blackmailer - ultimately doesn't have any impact, Drop was a great example of a closed room mystery that doesn't overstay its welcome.
Apart from the thrills, the dreamy chemistry between Violet and Henry elevates the film in that way contrasting tastes do. The upshot is that even though there's not much originality here, it does manage to scrape up some novelty.
Fun, thrilling and engaging, Drop comes with a recommendation here.
Okay full disclosure: I didn't know who Sundeep was before I accepted the invitation to go see him. I am not ashamed of this (well, not at this basic level) as I quite like how I've begun to miss various social media hype trains over the past couple of years or so (and as an aside, I'm not quite sure what I did to achieve this but I hope it remains).
But the tickets were cheap, and of course the theme was important and overall we had a great night out (I may have laughed the most unreservedly from our group). Sundeep had some great bits, and some not so great bits: this was as demonstrative of being "hit and miss" as you could get. It was also quite raw at times - and not in the way stand up is supposed to be.
Going to a pro-Palestinian gig did make me wonder exactly how much Sundeep has monetised his (clearly authentic) take on the issue. I understand that this wasn't a charity or fundraiser, but anyone could see how empty the room would have been if Sundeep didn't have such a strong position on things.
To be clear this is a comment on my own position and the ways in which I can show support for this (or any) cause. It's a mild struggle and I've landed on the conclusion that any kind of show of solidarity ultimately counts, as long as the stronger gestures aren't compromised for the smaller ones.
Overall though it was Sundeep's energy and charisma that propped up the show the most - this is clearly someone on a bigger journey and I hope I get to see it as he progresses.
To qualify: I do not understand Minecraft. It feels like the ultimate sandbox, like MS Paint but 3D. I'm happy to put this down to my own ignorance, but nevertheless I had misgivings about this flick before we stepped into the theatre.
There's a subtle difference between this, "A Minecraft Movie" and another hypothetical film called "Minecraft: The Movie". It's almost like that producers of this film knew that their source of inspiration was as shallow as the film they were going to make. That's a long paragraph to say "I was right". This wasn't a painful film, but it was pretty shallow. No, worse, it was devoid of much substance at all.
I guess everyone turned up and played their part, and if I'm being charitable some of the effects were pretty cool and cutesy. It wasn't enough to save it for me though... but then again this wasn't a film for me. You'll know if you'll have to take someone to watch this or not. If you're lucky you'll get to catch a nap or two during its runtime.
Sometimes the worst thing about watching a bad film is having to relive it while forcing yourself to write about it. If that's burying the lede, well tough, because frankly the longer I can put off actually writing about A Working Man, the better.
There was a time where I thought anything Statham did would be solid on a fundamental level, but this film makes me wonder just how the movie industry works in a way that produces such tripe. It was just bad.
I actually left the cinema bummed and disappointed. Please avoid.
