ode on red

greetings

just one of them "nothing really" posts that i am so prone to do, look you see. unfortunately yes, as the title suggest, once more it is an irresponsible love letter (kind of) to Marlboro red, the type of cigarette i covet more than any other. 

for clarity or what have you on that, once again i feel the pressure of society compelling me to point out, if not quite stress, that smoking (cigarettes) is very bad for you, is very silly, and depending on what your current lot (or plight) in life is you should not start smoking or quit as soon as possible. very little of what i do or gone done would be held up as a good example of life. 

a good friend, and indeed verk colleague, offered to get me some cigarettes off of their travels. i said thank you very much indeed for that, for it is both kind and economical, since most of the rest of the world sells them a good deal cheaper than here in the UK. so yes, then, i got some Marlboro red. lovely. 

what makes these all the more lovely is the split between the classic Marlboro red packet design and the excellent EU warning images we are now banned from using. these (in respect of the latter) are three of my all time favourite warning images. going from right to left you have someone looking a lot like Ant or possibly Dec (i don't care which) out of Ant and Dec getting medical treatment, a lady looking like she has surprisingly come back to life in a boss horror film and a bloke concerned that his male protruding part is busted, claimed to be due to smoking. as for the classic packet design, well, that's some of the most iconic branding in history, no matter what you may think of the product. 

have i ever given serious consideration to, you know, quitting? don't get excited, those wishing for my demise, i mean smoking and not life. well, yes. every now and then the youngest of my (known) children will mention doing so, and a sense of guilt comes with it. well, if not guilt, then heartache that someone does care about me, and also that they have a point. 

most recently there has been this declaration from David Lynch, encouraging people to quit. i was quite taken by the honesty of it. for the most part he is encouraging people to give them up so they don't end up as seriously ill as he, but also he does not lie. he declares no regret at smoking, and does not lambast himself for his lifelong love affair with them. whereas i am not at all sure i am anywhere near enough intelligent to act on it, it has been this from Mr Lynch that has given me reason to take serious stock of this particular life choice. 

but, of course, for now, a smoker i remain. i do feel it is my destiny if not way, and i am resigned to it likely being the thing that does kill me one day. well, if something (or someone) else killed me, that would be (allowing for gallows humour) f*****g hysterical. 

really not sure if these images have ever actually inspired someone to quit. i mean by the time you have seen the images, what with cigarettes now not allowed to be on display, you have already bought the packet. most people who do at least try to quit generally express the notice that it shall be done "after they have finished" the current packet. 

let me go and try to find something, as much as i love these, more better to write of.

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cinema heretic

hello there

and so the business end of the year has dawned, look you see, what with it being (at time of publication) december already. blimey. no, that's not (quite) the subject on (or of) which i intend to write here, but one cannot but help wonder just how many more transitions of months, if not years, i have ahead. rather than behind, yes, true. 

so, yet another cinema trip this year. that's quite a few for me, and indeed all have been to that Ealing Project cinema. well, i did try for a different one for Venom, but they had no space for me or William. oh well. in this instance i went and saw Heretic, which is mostly known for starring Hugh Grant. again, it was an instance of my interest in the film being sparked by seeing a trailer for it. 

for those in a rush, and wishing to remain spoiler free, yes the film is worth seeing (very much so) for the widely celebrated performance of Hugh Grant. his magnificent work easily covers up the significant shortcomings of the rest of the film. oh, it's not really a horror as such, but all the same has a few moments of tension with a couple of shocks. and for the rest of this post spoilers are possible. 

plot? two young lady missionaries (i believe off of the Mormon church) go and visit Mr Reed (Hugh Grant), as he has expressed an interest in learning more of their religion. on visiting they are soon apparently trapped in his house, with him playing a sort of "cat and mouse" sort of game with them, except more of a "psychological battle" thing. and that's it. 

by no means is it a "bad" film. quite well paced and, for what my view on such is worth, rather well made. it just "flatters to deceive" i suppose, as ultimately it's a quite flimsy premise, no true or real substance to it and it all takes quite a while to reach a rather basic, rather tired point. yet it has a not really secret weapon (rather an in your face one) in the form of a truly breath-taking performance from Hugh Grant. as i mentioned earlier, it is a performance worth all the hype and rave reviews. 

don't remember exactly, but as pictured above i went for the more modest (as in smaller) box of popcorn, which i did not manage to spill, and i think the large coke. was just south of £9, which was indeed north of the cost of the ticket, what with me taking advantage of their tuesday discount. 

well, back to the film, and Hugh Grant's performance. not that the others in the cast are poor, but it is clear very early on that all was written around getting a stellar performance for this character. any and all shortfalls in the plot and what have you are not so much covered up as they are compensated for with what you get from Hugh Grant in this. if not quite a "once in a lifetime" role (this is no Hannibal Lecter) then a rare chance where you would think and actor would go "f*** yes", because it's an immersive, challenging and probably fun role to take on. 

i did think it odd that it had a November 1 release date, as much of the marketing screamed "horror". so yes, i thought the week before Halloween would have been wiser. as it turns out, it's all less horror, more what i suppose one would call psychological suspense thriller, or something like that. no, it's not the best thing i have seen this year, but also far from the worst. 

quite unlikely, i would think, that i shall go to the cinema (yet) again this year. the only thing they are promoting heavily is Gladiator 2, and the trailer makes it seem that what started off as a rather bad idea is going to be even worse than feared. oh. don't think much else of interest is going to be released for the rest of the year, assuming i have no interest in "seasonal" things. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!