Two Dutch Girls on a Road Trip to Wiltshire

Road Trip 2017 (2) - Richmond to Chawton to Salisbury.

Good afternoon! Would you like to join me for the second part of my road trip in the South-West of England? A long time wish of my daughter...

Saturday 26 September 2015

Blood Moon over The Wetlands? Jodymoon Rules!

Good afternoon (well, it is here), my music lovers everywhere around the world.



Whilst our moon is gearing up for her Blood Moon phase later on this weekend, we here in The Wetlands have another moon worth watching. And especially worth listening to!
I have blogged about this band before, Jodymoon, but I am presently going to blog about them again.
Why?
Because they are bloody (moon) good, that's why! (pun intended)

Whilst searching out one of their songs on YouTube to link to for you, I came upon one of their own videos from a couple of years ago, and since it is in English (how convenient!) I'll link this underneath this post.
They have moved on (a bit) since then, but their music is consistently brilliant and original. The funny thing is that the people in the know (radio djs, critics) all agree that they are brilliant and original, and still they are relatively unknown in The Netherlands.
Weird, that! And a shame. All my fellow countrymen are missing out.
We are clustered in front of The Voice every Friday evening, where unknown singers are bombarded to "Stars"  overnight, when all this time we have a little diamond in our midst hardly anyone cares about.

So. I've decided that I will single-handedly do my best plug here. Just think - you will appreciate this band which is under-rated in their own country...oooooohhhh....good for you!
Do give the video a try, and if you want more they are on YouTube with some of their songs, often live. 

Introducing Jodymoon

Sunday 20 September 2015

Movie Review: Ricki and the Flash

It probably has been out for ages in The States and GB, but we of The Wetlands 
have been graced with the latest Meryl Streep film only recently, and I have been
 one of the first people to see it in my area, along with a cinema full of women of 
a certain (my!!!) age.
(Funny, that).



Meryl Streep is in a league of her own. I have been following her career since it started, 
and have admired her as long. Some other actor (in Modern Family, sorry, his name has 
vanished from my mind - another thing with women of a certain age...) would have said 
that no, it wasn't weird that she portraid an aging rock-star, as she would be able to play 
Batman convincingly.

Did she convince me? Yes, she did. (Not everyone else in the film did, but more about that 
later)
Wrinkles and all, rats-nest hair, eyes made up so heavily that they almost disappeared, 
covered in chains, she was an aging rock chick down to her high-heeled booties.
Ever since Postcards from the Edge and Mamma Mia we've known that she can sing, and 
she sang with easy confidence as Ricki and handled that guitar well enough.

Her daughter Mamie Gummer, who plays her daughter (and who has inherited 
her intensity) was just as convincing in her agony for being left by her husband for a 
greener fresher pair of legs. Her face was haunting, raw, perfectly casted. 
One of the best scenes is the one where Ricki/Linda and her ex-husband Pete confront 
this errant husband and new lover in a restaurant. 
Here Diablo Cody's lines really have that humorous bite which she is famous for. 
Gummer watches through the window and her expression is pure pain.

Pete, being portrayed by Kevin Kline, is where I was a tad disappointed.
If you remember, Kline and Streep managed to keep millions on the edge of their seats 
in Sophie's Choice with their tragic love story. The chemistry there made my heart beat
 in time with theirs.
In Ricki and the Flash, that chemistry was...non-existant. Kline as Pete was a colorless, 
stiff man, even when stoned. I could for the life of me not imagine them ever having been 
married, let alone that they had the sex to make three kids.

Now 
Rick Springfield, on the other hand, who plays Greg, Ricki's lead guitarist-cum-love-
interest, managed to get his love for Ricki across with a few simple smoldering looks. 
One of my favorite scenes, only a couple of seconds long, is when Ricki and Greg are in bed
 together with his guitar.

Did Jonathan Demme do a good job?
Hmmmm, yes, on the whole he did. The wedding ending the story is (to Wetlander eyes) 
ridiculously over-directed, but that has more to do with our Wetlander eyes than with 
Mr Demme. (To us Dutchies the entire 'dance with the best men/maids of honor' is so 
contrived. But never mind that. I respect that your weddings are more of a production 
than ours)
Did Diablo Cody? Yes, on the whole she did.
Should you see this movie? Absolutely. You should always grasp the chance to see Streep 
at work with both hands. 
And now there's a talented daughter to boot.