Soul ravioli

This is going to be a bit of a random post - hello to you if you followed the link from my Shooting People post.

I need another coffee.

The disadvantage of being a contractor is that there is that awkward time between jobs when you wonder whether you're going to get another one - and it happens every couple of months. I failed to get that Sheffield job. [sigh] The agent for the job was very put-out, in fact quite angry - she said "Perhaps he won't turn up, or he'll be rubbish."

He probably won't be rubbish. But contractors often don't turn up - apparently.

So today I shall to spend a big chunk of time contacting agencies and generally job hunting. I reckon we have about a month of money before things get tight. Trouble is the Teacher is a terrible worrier - well, no, actually she's extraordinarily good at worrying.

The Daughter is at her RADA audition this week, the Boy is not jetting off to any foreign countries in the forseeable future - but he's started working his way through the book of saxophone solos. Amazing how good the sax can sound even when it's not being played brilliantly - and he's not bad.

Oh, we all went to see "Monsters Vs Aliens" - it's fun. Most of the jokes are for adults but there's plenty of visual stuff for younger kids. The opening sequence introducing Susan and her situation is probably a couple of scenes too long but once you're past those the pace is pretty solid.

I should also mention we saw it in 3D. Excellent, some of the scenes (like the Rings of Saturn in the opening) were just wonderful.

Of course you can't believe anything I say - after all I preferred "Space Chimps" to "Wall-E", but I do have a reason. Of course Wall-E was technically beautiful but it is not the protagonist who beats the antagonist in the story. Wall-E has no desire to change anything, except make Eve like him, if he had not been in the story what would have changed? "Chimps" had a clear protagonist/antagonist conflict and structure.

I really liked Wall-E - I just thought Chimps was a better story. And funnier.

After the film I said to the Boy: "What was the film about?" "About her learning that she can do anything she wants" he says wisely. As I have mentioned previously, he's got a natural feel for TV/Film even at 11 years old, he also has a great sense of humour (he's been brought up on the right material).

The family were eating ravioli - the Daughter says "What's in ravioli?" with perfect timing the Boy growls "Your soul." Hilarity ensues. (Did I mention we are the Non Sequitur Family?)

Of course our kids are doomed. Can't remember what we were watching but it was an interview with some actor who's father was a screenwriter and mother was a teacher. A devastating combination - they are doomed to a life in entertainment. (Especially as the Teacher is also a writer, and I have been known to teach once in a while.)

Must get on, got the household chores to do, jobs to apply for - and screenplays to write.

(Hm, just had a call about a job in Brussels - not ideal, I suspect the pay won't be enough to cover the costs and taxes are higher.)

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What's on the turntable? "You Better You Bet" The Who. Would you prefer to be a Mod or a Rocker?

A Chimp in Space Oddity

Of all the animated movies I've seen recently I have to say, much to my surprise, Space Chimps had the best script. I didn't expect much of Kung-Fu Panda but it was funnier than I expected and the children thought it was a lot of fun.

Then there was Wall-E. I'd heard it was good, and it was Pixar which was a good sign. It was okay. The animation was superb, of course, and yet structurally the script suffered from fundamental mistakes which made the ending a bit flat.

***SPOILER***

The protagonist is Wall-E, the bad guy is the Axiom's pilot computer. Yet a plot is as strong as the antagonist who, in this, doesn't appear until at least 1/3rd the way through (maybe 1/2). And then it's not Wall-E who defeats it, but the ship's captain. Flat. Wall-E has no fundamental flow that he needs to overcome, neither does the love-interest. In fact Wall-E goes through the film with only a single purpose and completely unaware that he is changing the lives of those he encounters.

***END SPOILER***

Then there's Space Chimps: it's very funny and, unlike Wall-E, it makes it very clear who the bad guy is right at the start even though protagonist and antagonist don't meet until the showdown. There's plenty of slapstick for the younger kids but a lot of the humour is parent-directed.

But there was this one joke towards the end, where the protagonist, Ham III, is required to pilot the ship back home. But he's just a circus chimp and says he can't do it. The NASA chimp, Titan, says "Are you wearing an aluminium suit?" "Yes." "Are you in outer space?" "Yes." "Are you David Bowie?" "... No." "Then you're an astronaut!"

I smiled at the Bowie joke. The cinema was packed with parents and kids, but only two out-loud laughs exploded at the Bowie joke. My almost-11 year old son and my 17 year-old daughter.

Apparently we were the only ones who got the joke. Clearly they have been brought up properly.

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What's on the turntable? Nothing, we're watching TV.