I worked from home on Wednesday, looking after our seven year old who had started throwing up on Tuesday night. By the end of Wednesday I was throwing up too. Not fun.
As children seem to be spectacularly skilled at, Miss Seven woke on Thursday having completed some kind of chrysalis tranformation, and was back to her shouty, larger than life self. I on the other hand felt awful.
Reallyawful.
Rather than bore you with my many and varied trips to the bathroom yesterday, because you really don’t want to hear too much about that, I will share with you the two movies I watched yesterday afternoon on NetFlix while lying on the couch.
Bobby Fischer Against the World
You don’t need to be interested in chess to watch this movie at all - if anything, it’s a fascinating example of the knife-edge genius and madness fall either side of. The fact that a single person who had cut himself off from everybody and everything was able to take apart the then “World Champion” is interesting. The colossal breakdown, and lack of support he received in the years following is perhaps more interesting.
There is a telling out-take from the time he moved to Iceland before his death, where he is walking along a street with an acquaintance spouting anti-semitic garbage. His friend eventually shouts over the top of him “THIS ISN’T A FUCKING CONVERSATION IF YOU DON’T GIVE ME A CHANCE TO RESPOND - IT’S A FUCKING MONOLOGUE”. Moments later there is another shot of Bobby being genial, warm, self-deprecating, and amusing in relating conversations from years gone by with old friends.
It’s an interesting movie, if only for the insight into Fischer. There’s no doubt he was a genius, but there’s also no doubt he was incredibly troubled.
51
“51” was a straight to TV movie in the US, which has found it’s way over to the UK via the wonder that is NetFlix (I’m guessing most of the HBO content is going to make it’s way over here). I know I shouldn’t really have watched it, but my brain wasn’t really all there either.
Basic premise - Area 51 is allowing visitors in for the day to discredit continuing rumours by the mass media that spaceships and/or aliens are being harboured there.
If the movie had a budget of several hundred million dollars, it would have been great. It didn’t. Apparently Area 51 is staffed by perhaps 20 soldiers (including the entire chain of command), and the open day involves 2 journalists - one of which is a blogger - and a camera man being shown around.
Oh dear. It was entertaining in that “so bad it’s still bad” kind of way. The Aliens (when they finally show themselves) are not so much sources of wonder and fear, as hilarity and disbelief. We’re talking “Halloween Mask” levels of authenticity.
Anyway… today is “another day”, and I’m feeling much better. I haven’t eaten anything since Wednesday, I’m back at work, the new running shoes have arrived, and the world is turning back into a happy place (if only my stomach was!).