Life Let's catch up again. Like most of you, I sat through the utterly thrilling evening that was the latest General Election through the elation of thinking that a Tory Government might not be certain to realising, oh shit, they're going to make a go for it and taking some homophobic misogynists with them. Labour were within a 2.5 swing of becoming the biggest party and it's entirely possible to infer that some of the constituency losses were because of the date chosen for the election and students not being registered at home in time. As soon as same day registration and provisional ballots are introduced in the UK, the better. I said recently that the universe is not without a sense of humour and even though I don't believe in god much, I believe that. Thursday night was a prime example. Some applause too for the BBC fielding one of the most diverse presenting teams in history, with I think more women than men which just added an extra poignancy to the evening.
That Wonder Woman is one of the greatest comic book films of all time goes without saying and a triumph considering the astonishingly poor material surrounding it in the DCCU (or whatever Warners are calling this). Bus Dodge only really became a decent film once Diana smirked with pleasure at the fight (a moment improvised by Gal Gadot who then had to explain why to her director) and her solo entry is that attitude writ large across two and a half hours. The surprise for me is how funny it is but without stepping on MARVEL's goofier toes seeking a slightly drier, subtextual approach reliant on wordplay (the boat conversation a notable example). Plus it subverts the male gaze by taking it out of the equation. I can't think of a single occasion in which they cut to Steve Trevor to see his reaction to her beauty in a typical way. For the most part she's viewed with a contagious awe. Amazing. Amazing.
That was Monday. Tuesday was spent in the company of the BFI's new BD release of the restored print of Abel Gance's Napoleon, a stunning achievement both from its director and the film historian Kevin Brownlow, who gathered together material across fifty years attempting to recreate the original vision. Throughout it's entirely possible to forget that it was made over ninety years ago. Gance produces shots and cuts with relatively primitive technology which are tricky even now on digital materials. What surprised me too is the range of different types of storytelling from what's effectively a teen film through war sequences and a romance. Even on the 22 inch screen which sometimes rendered the image incoherent, it's impossible not to become swept up in the grandeur as hundreds of extras fill the screen giving the impression that Gance was actually there shooting a documentary.
This weekend I was given a Bodum ePEBO Electric Vacuum Coffee Maker, which is something I didn't even know existed beforehand is the without shadow the best coffee machine I've ever owned. Looking like something straight out of Morbius's laboratory, it speed heats the water in the bottom jug which them shifts up a spout into a vacuum-filled fish bowl were the coffee rests, continues boiling and brewing then returns the bottom, repeating the cycle one or twice until its done. Even the decaff I'm forced to drink tastes rich and full bodied. The process works equally well with various leaf and fruit teas after I've emptied the contents of their bags into the bowl producing a perfect cup each time without the bitterness which sometimes comes from leaving a bag in a mug stewing for too long. Since this is something which is usually outside my price bracket, it's been a lovely treat. Pity I'm so scared of breakages.
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