I knew nothing about it going in and that was the best way to see it. The hugely successful Broadway play, since running in London too, is touring the UK and Ireland with the run about halfway through in the Bord Gais Energy Theatre. I’m not a huge musicals fan but the script, sets and performances were superb. No wonder the rest of the run is almost entirely booked out.
I’ve always had an issue with getting stuff delivered when ordering online and I’d come across Parcel Motel in September on the recommendation of a mate. It works by sending whatever you’ve ordered to an address in either the Republic or the North and then your parcel is delivered to a collection point close to your home (there seems to be about 70 odd). You ramble up at your convenience with a PIN number that’s been sent to your phone and collect it. Each delivery costs you €3.50 and you can top up with credit on their site. I use it predominantly for Amazon as they offer a lot of items with free UK delivery, meaning you get it sooner and often for cheaper.
One pro-tip I’d give in the run in to Christmas is to sign up for the Amazon Prime one month trial. With it you get unlimited next day UK delivery so all you pay is the Parcel Motel fee. You can cancel it at the end of the month for free or continue it for £49 a year. The Parcel Motel site could use some UX love but I reckon I’ll certainly be using the service for a good while to come.
Most of the stuff that I’d read or watch is non-fiction so Blackfish was a documentary on my radar as having gotten great reviews recently. It’s a film that investigates incidents involving killer whales in captivity and is quite shocking. It’s clear that these mammals have a social sense far greater than humans (as has been evidenced by brain MRI) and the damage that captivity does to them is truly immeasurable. I believe we’ll look back in years to come and realise how much of a mad practice this is. Recommend viewing.
This is basically a stream of consciousness seen as I saw it this morning. It doesn’t contain spoilers.
Star Trek: Into Darkness is the follow up to J.J. Abram’s 2009 film which introduced a time travelling element, skilfully avoiding pissing off the fanbase and setting a clean slate. As the name suggests, things get a bit darker in this one with Benedict Cumberbatch’s John Harrison the baddie that is out to get Star Fleet. Cumberbatch’s performance is gripping and he provides a menacing presence whenever he shares a scene. Chris Pine’s Kirk is the man in pursuit of Harrison and Pine gets the opportunity to really add some meat to the character’s bones this time around. Speaking of “Bones” McCoy, I really liked Karl Urban’s portrayal of the Doc in the first movie and he gets some brilliant lines this time around too.
The rest of the Enterprise crew are given proper arcs and each of the main members plays pivotal roles at times throughout. The action is on a par with anything you’ll have seen before and the CG is flawless. It actually feels like the characters are in the scene instead of being digitally placed (which inevitably they were at times). Are there plot holes? Yes but then again, there have been in the majority of summer blockbusters I’ve seen in the past few years. The thing here is that they don’t grate at all as the film goes at some pace. The only problem I had with it? It’s slightly too long but I could comfortably sit through it again and will. It’s unsure whether Abram’s will return for a third film as he journeys to a galaxy far, far away to film Star Wars: Episode VII in 2015. If he doesn’t, he’s set the Star Trek world in good stead for the future.
