Author: Joel Fisher

Fifty years ago, Mike Oldfield stepped into the studio to record what was to be his seminal album. Something the likes of which the world had never heard before, his almost entirely instrumental Tubular Bells was a mixture of prog rock, jazz and electronica and it lit a spark in the imagination of the public.

A great feat considering Mike Oldfield was only nineteen years old when it was recorded, and he played all the instruments himself. It also made a name for Richard Branson’s Virgin Records which still goes strong today alongside all of Branson’s other ventures. However, the music is what’s remembered so well.

Now, the Tubular Bells 50^th Anniversary Concert has gone ahead after years of trying to get it off the ground. Initially conceived as a ballet, it came around to a live performance by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra accompanied by an Australian acrobatic company called Circa and the melding of the two works beautifully.

However, all was not so easily done as many people were put together and most of which weren’t all that familiar with the other’s line of work. Although, talking to musical director Robin Smith who has been a long-time collaborator of Mike Oldfield’s and Tom Newman who worked on the album alongside him, fans of the album can see how the love of the music helped put together the concert.

The behind-the-scenes documentary that goes alongside the concert documents how it all came together. Taking stories about the making of the album from Tom Newman and his relationship with Mike Oldfield to the finer technical details of putting the production together, it feels like something that took a tremendous amount of work and a lot of good timing to get right.

Director Robin Smith knows the music inside and out and is also aware of how dedicated and precise the fans are about hearing the work they love.

A time where the world wasn’t particularly helpful with putting live performances together, the documentary shows them all working in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic after not being able to do so for so long. However, despite creative differences and a little flood it all paid off for a spectacular performance.

Karen (Michelle Simms) is entitled, middle aged and white. She’s constantly checking on what her neighbours are doing, especially those who aren’t white, and if she feels inconvenienced in the slightest way then she’ll want to see your manager. Karen has a lot to learn about how to treat people and if she doesn’t stop going down this route, then she’s going to be in serious trouble.

Then one night, her old boss Jackie (Meghan Colleen Moroney) comes to visit. The only trouble is that Jackie is dead and she’s come to warn Karen that if she doesn’t change her ways then her spirit is destined to wander the earth (or her immediate neighbourhood) for eternity.

She tells Karen that in the space of one night that three ghosts will come to visit her to try and get her to open her eyes and make her life better, not just for herself, but for others as well. So, the ghosts of Christmas past (Rolin Alexis), present (Leyla Lawrence) and future (Lee Karlinsky) all come to show Karen her life and to reveal her selfish ways.

A Christmas Karen is a comedy based on, you guessed it, A Christmas Carol. Around the holidays there are plenty of films like this and many of them try to evoke the feeling that Charles Dickens’ original tale did.

However, many of them are cheap and lazy cash grabs which try to change up the formula so much that it forgets what makes it such a good story.

A Christmas Karen manages to buck this trend though because although the story is brought right up to date and the production doesn’t have the budget for an English Victorian era story, it feels as relevant now as it ever was. Everybody must know a Karen of some sorts and if you don’t and want to complain about this kind of film then you’re probably the Karen yourself.

With a great performance from Simms in the title role and a sharp, funny script written by Jon Binkowski, A Christmas Karen may be that Christmas tradition which you go back to so that it can remind you what it’s really all about.

Jennifer (Kyla Frye) is an IT technician and she’s just become unemployed. Mortified about having to find something else in the current economic climate, she has no idea what she’s going to do next. Then one day she gets a mysterious call from a man who claims that he can help her, but she’s going to have to do things she’s never done before.

Thinking it over, Jennifer realises she’s got nothing to lose and goes to meet Mr. Gates (Simon Callow) who tells her that due to her skills she’s perfect for the job he has in mind. All she has to do is to infiltrate an office block and steal some data which is worth millions.

So, Jennifer goes in dressed to impress to get into the office, but when she gets there, she meets George (Sam Benjamin), the CEO of the company and a spark ignites. However, after spending some time together, Jennifer realises that George is not telling the whole story.

The Pay Day is a comedy thriller directed by Sam Bradford and written by Kyla Frye and Sam Benjamin. Taking cues from such films as Out of Sight, The Thomas Crown Affair and Mr & Mrs Smith, the movie all revolves around how cool it can look and how smooth the performances are.

However, this decidedly lower budget production reveals itself to be a showcase for the actors, the screenplay isn’t quite up to scratch either and no amount of smooth jazz can disguise that.

Frye does a good job as a likeable woman out of her depth and Benjamin plays his part well, but they just feel like shades of characters from better movies. The plot does give some genuine surprises, but once the audience realises the kind of movie that they’re trying to make, it becomes all the more predictable.

The Pay Day seems to be a movie designed on a smaller budget than the production could allow, so despite good performances from its leads, it just doesn’t seem to fit together as well as it thinks it should. Callow’s cameo is also another attempt at hiding the cracks in the crime caper, but it brings nothing new and feels very formulaic.

Facing Monsters: Review

The ocean is one of the most unexplored areas of the world and yet it covers so much of it. The mystery of the depths still draws people to it today and the contrast between the calmness and the violent roar of the waves puts fear and joy in people in equal measures.

We feel like ants in awe of its power and there are many that respect that, but others see it as a challenge waiting to be conquered.

As Facing Monsters, a documentary directed by Bentley Dean starts, amongst the beautiful images of the Australian coast there’s a terrifying one of surfer Kerby Brown. He’s covered in blood, laying down and has his head in a bandage. It feels like this image has come not long after a session out among the waves and this is how we start to know what drives him to go out there.

Serving as part documentary on the feeling of the pull of the surf and part biography of surfer Kerby Brown, the audience gets to know a little about his story between incredible shots of the biggest waves in the world. Kerby says himself that there’s no other feeling like being out in the ocean and riding the waves and he doesn’t know what he’d do without it.

However, there’s also a side to Kerby’s story that sheds a little light on his addictive pastime as his own life has been marred by drink and drugs addiction and numerous arrests. Speaking to Kerby’s wife Cortney, the audience may understand that his compulsion to surf may be the thing that saves him, but it may also be what ends up killing him.

Thankfully, life has a way of sending messages and due to the birth of his children, Kerby became a changed man and his drive became his children rather than catching the next big wave. Although, that’s not to say that Kerby doesn’t still go out there from time to time.

Facing Monsters may not have a particularly compelling story, but the feeling of the ocean may wash over the audience as they start to feel what Kerby feels. Something that is like nothing else.

Sam (Jake Hoffman) has come home to take care of his father, Bill (Dustin Hoffman) who’s elderly and not in the best of health. Whilst there he meets Kate (Schuyler Fisk) and there’s an instant attraction. Not being able to put the right words together though, Sam fumbles when he tries to ask Kate for a date, but then fate takes a turn when Bill and Sam meet Tina (Sissy Spacek).

It turns out that Tina is Kate’s mother and there seems to be a similar spark between father and mother as there is between son and daughter, and gradually the two pairs get closer. Although that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some complications along the way.

Sam & Kate is a bittersweet romantic drama starring a real-life father and son and a real-life mother and daughter. Starting out in the typical formula of a romantic comedy all the characters are introduced, feelings are felt and it plays out like any other comedy of its type. The distinction between dating in the older and younger generations are highlighted as well, with Bill’s old-world charm met with Sam’s awkwardness and more casual approach.

However, it’s the change in tone which makes it less of a crowd-pleasing comedy ensemble and more of a melodrama as issues are raised about a couple in their twilight years getting older. This shift may also feel a bit jarring as more real-world problems arise, making it feel more grounded than perhaps it should have been.

This doesn’t really help either when there are still comedic elements put in despite everything else. Making certain aspects like Sam’s best friend, Ron (Henry Thomas) end up feeling like they’re in an entirely different movie.

Those expecting a light-hearted romantic comedy filled with misunderstandings and a feel-good tone will certainly be surprised and perhaps not in a good way. Because despite all the good performances from its central cast, the change feels like an unnecessary rug pull.

It’s good to see a couple of family members working so closely together and it’s nice to see that such great actors as Hoffman and Spacek have inspired their children. However, for those with elderly parents it may be a little close to home.