The Labour Party: What Went Wrong?

Rather than being an abstract discussion about the topic at hand, today's event hosted by Faiza Shaheen was was more of a conversation with the investigative journalist Paul Holden, mainly using the case study of the think tank Labour Together as a vehicle to demonstrate some of the less robust processes that have been occurring in the Labour party of the last decade or so.

Most of what was said was in the public domain - or at the very least in Holden's hefty tome. Nevertheless everything discussed was shocking. Nothing discussed was surprising. All the while, the frustration that such concerns are niche was constantly buzzing throughout. We left the event optimistic that that might change.

In a surprise twist, the Q&A was not awful, with some decent (and mercifully short and outward facing) questions prompting some equally insightful answers.

This was my first Faiza event and I look forward to future ones. It's another positive sign that these spaces and discussions are no longer rare and intermittent - whether they become mainstream is of course something to wish for, but the fact that they exist at all should not be taken for granted.

 

Film: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

It's not like Nintendo to fail at these things, and yet here we are. Where the first Mario movie reached a chef's kiss level of finesse, its sequel is an empty shell in comparison. 

It's hard to say what's missing. And it could be that nothing is. The plot is okay, the jokes okay. The fan-service is... well quite fantastic actually and possibly the only reason to watch this movie.

So perhaps the failure is it's own fault, and the movie just doesn't reach the heights that we know such a franchise should - a theory proven once already at least. As it stands we are left with a very plain film that you should probably labour to watch at home.

Film: Undertone

Perhaps I'm getting a bit old, but I'm of the opinion that horror movies need to be more than just a series of (even excellent) scary set pieces. This is as opposed to certain other genres - an action or fighting movie can probably still be entertaining even if the plot is non-existent. But a horror movie needs the background engagement of its audience in order for them to suspend their disbelief. Just being good art or leaving things overly implied or ambiguous harms that.

Undertone was a series of excellent scary set pieces that did very little to progress a plot. It's especially unfortunate, given how novel it otherwise was - using some great sound tricks and the limited cast to really bring out the creepies. This made the lack of any payoff even more jarring, enough to overall cause the movie to fail to reach its potential.

It was a good timepass I guess, but overall undertone is one to watch at home. 

 

Film: Project Hail Mary

The whole book vs adaptation conversation will always be a paradox. A film was never going to be as good as the book it was based on, and yet the book would never have been as good if read after watching the film. As such there is no perfect set up where you can enjoy both to the maximum, and such is the case here.

But it's more than the reasonable expectation that a lot was going to be cut out. The film itself seemed very rushed and pacey - a bit like a 2h40m extended trailer for a better film to come. As such a lot of the ingredients that made the book magic - the charm, the science, the story.

My only hope is that the film pushes more people to the book, so that they can experience the more fuller and rounded story. Whether that experience will be as good as having read the book first, well we'll never know.

Book: One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Aainst This, Omar El Akkad

Apart from being wonderfully written, brilliantly concise and amazingly clear, the real value in this book isn't how well it is put together, but as medicine for those who perhaps struggle for articulating the feelings and positions they have over current and recent world affairs. In that sense it's a bit cathartic, a welcome release valve for us to realise that, no, we are not mad nor alone.

It's a short book and I recommend everyone to read it.