Bingeing The Oscar Nominees

It's just over two weeks since I last blogged and what an entertaining two weeks it has been. It's Oscar season so the cinemas have been full of the most amazing films of the year before we return to the usual fare of mediocre superhero movies and action packed dross. I know that all the Oscar nominees will reach the small screen in due course but there is nothing like watching films in the way that they were intended so we've managed to cram five films in (and two plays at The National) in the fortnight since I last wrote. 

Before getting to the films I must give  a shout out to The Station in Framlingham. We eat in this pub regularly and the food is consistently good. A Sunday roast last week was as good a pub lunch as I've ever had. We'll be back for Saturday lunch this week and pizza next week. Highly recommended.

And before I get to the film marathon I must mention The Welkin starring Maxine Peake. We went to one of the first showings of this play set in rural Suffolk in 1759. It tells the tale of a jury of twelve women appointed to decide whether or not a convicted murderess is pregnant. Find her pregnant and she will be spared, not pregnant means the gallows and worse. After reading a two star review in The Times  we worried that this might be disappointing but our fears were misplaced and it was a powerful, well produced and finely acted play with some real insight into human nature and misogyny.

Marion had to go to Woodbridge for a biannual eye test so we went early and had lunch in New St Market Deli. This is another great place to eat in Suffolk. Fine food, great coffee and service with a lively atmosphere - perfect.

We went to the Empire in Ipswich to see JoJo Rabbit . I enjoy the sofa seats in this cinema but is is not a film for sitting back and relaxing. Some consider it in poor taste but I felt that this depiction of a young Hitler Youth member whose imaginary friend is Adolph Hitler was perfect and didn't overstep the mark at all. Funny, serious and shocking it packs a real punch and deserves any Oscars it wins tonight.
  
In between cinema and theatre visits I've kept up my hunt for antiques and other treasures. We had a trip to Norwich to the huge antique fair at the Norfolk Showground but, despite staying overnight in order to get to the 7am trade access, we didn't find any bargains.  

I did, however find this lovely Victorian pencil portrait at a local auction. I'm sending it away to see if the foxing can be removed.

While we were in Norwich we went to Cinema City and enjoyed a good lunch before we saw The Personal History Of David Copperfield. I didn't love it but I liked it a lot and found it an enjoyable and fun take on an old Dickens favourite.

Back to the cinema, this time in Aldeburgh where we saw a preview of Parasite accompanied by a Q&A with the director and the star live from the BFI. This is an excellent movie. It's full of unexpected twists and turns and tells a serious story about the haves and the have nots in a style that is a blend of comedy and horror. I don't think it will win best movie Oscar tonight (I hope not - this month's betting budget is on 1917) but it will certainly win at least one gong.

It was Cineworld Ipswich where we saw A Beautiful Day In The Neighbourhood. Tom Hanks is superb in this super nice film about love, family and redemption. It's not quite the tear jerker we expected but it is a very touching portrayal of a genuine, decent and loving children's TV presenter's encounter with a cynical magazine journalist who specialises in hatchet jobs. Lovely stuff. 

After starting by saying that movies  are better on the big screen, I have to confess that we watched Uncut Gems on Netflix as we couldn't find it playing locally. What a great film this is. If you're okay with the F word which is about 50% of the dialogue,  you should love this. Adam Sandler plays a Jewish jeweller in Boston with big gambling debts and a passion for basketball. I won't give away the plot but it is brilliant and packed with surprises (not least the performance of Sandler who deserves an Oscar but for some reason the film has been snubbed by the Academy). 

Of the five films I've just told you about I'd put them in this order 

JoJo Rabbit

Uncut Gems

Parasite

A Beautiful Day In The Neighbourhood

David Copperfield

but they were all good and you won't be wasting your time seeing any of them.

You certainly won't be wasting your time if you go to see Rafe Spall in Death Of England at The Dorfman in The National Theatre. This is a mega five star performance from a young actor at his very peak. We were lucky to experience this one man monologue on life, death and football from the front row and what a monologue. Spawned by Brexit, the play examines racism, patriotism, nationalism and family ties in the voice of a slacker cockney flower seller grieving for his father.  Whilst it's five stars for Rafe, the production gets only four stars from me as the last twenty minutes or so of the hundred minute running time went off at a tangent that I struggled to believe. It was a standing ovation at the end though. Spall's performance is as good as you will see.