mostly david ephgrave

Tonight, for the third Friday running, I went to London's Prince Charles Cinema on Leicester Square for one of their "beer and pizza" screenings; this week's film was the subtle mockumentary classic 'This is Spinal Tap' (I'd include the umlaut above the N, if my phone would let me.) Spinal Tap, like Withnail and I, is infamous amongst the touring actor / musician scene. I'd heard most of the quotable lines long before I'd actually seen it. I can remember my long lost actor friend Richard Doubleday, who I haven't seen in ages, schooling me in how to look up at the flies in disdain as the tiny sign reading 'Rock 'n' Roll Heaven' flew in at the end of the show of the same name ,which was my professional debut, in tribute to the Stonehenge sequence. It was unprofessional, but if we hadn't done it, it would have been an opportunity missed.  It's a strange film to see amongst an audience, as the dialogue's so subtle and...

Tonight, I went to see the classic spoof film Airplane! at the Prince Charles Cinema.  Ir was a lot of fun. It was great to see it in a live setting, surrounded by a load of people who knew it inside out. It really suited being watched amongst an audience as it's the sort of film that's best enjoyed with other fans. It was reassuring to see how many other people of my age were drawn to the same sort of thing as children, and have memorised it ever since.  I took Steve with me, as a small thank you for his help with Brighton. It felt like an appropriate gift, as the film was right up both our street. It was a Beer & Pizza night, so it was watched to the sound of much slurping and masticating. Watching the film put me in the mood to watch Airplane II, which is special if only because it features William Shatner; any film with Bill amongst the cast is instantly lifted to classic status.  

Tonight I proved I ain’t afraid of no ghost, by watching a Ghostbusters / Ghostbusters II double-bill at Prince Charles Cinema. It isn't the first time I've done this. I took my wife to the same event a couple of years ago as a treat, as they're amongst of her favourite films - and had arranged for us to retrace our footsteps this evening as a Christmas present. It's great to see them on the big screen; they've stood the test of time well, and act as a sobering reminder of how bad the forthcoming reboot is likely to be. At least Blues Brothers 2000 had the original Elwood in the line-up. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson may be in the new film, but I can’t see it being the same if they’re not at the centre of it, and without Harold Ramis. I nearly didn't make the train into town on time, as I'd spent the afternoon digging out the stage lighting we used for Mostly Comedy when we were at The Croft, to see if it still worked. I risked lif...

Tonight, for the second year running , I went to a screening of the stabby Shatner-mask-wearing horror classic Halloween, at the Prince Charles Cinema.  ‎The couple next to me consisted of a man who was clearly a huge fan of the franchise and his girlfriend, who'd never seen the film before. I would have liked to ask her what she thought of it afterwards, but they ran off before I got the chance; presumably to get a head start on any boiler-suited psychopaths in the Leicester Square vicinity. It would have been hard to spot them tonight, what with all the people in fancy dress. You couldn't move for slutty cats (the go-to outfit option for a Essex hen do). I saw one woman dressed as a sexy Mario from Super Mario Bros; a look that was as unsuitable for Halloween as it was confusing.   As with last year, it was great to see it on the big screen. I didn't get to watch it first time around, unfortunately, on account of being minus three. It's an excellent example of...

I went to see Back to the Future at the cinema tonight, as you do - or as you did in the mid-1980s.  I took my wife along as a birthday present, as it's her favourite film. Though she's seen it many times, she didn't get to watch it at the cinema first time around; if she had, like me, she would have been too young to appreciate it.    The atmosphere was great. The showing was advertised as a 'geek out', which had sowed a seed of worry in my head: would it be full of over-zealous fans, quoting along with all the dialogue? I needn't have been concerned; while there were a few people dressed in Marty McFly-style gilets or Doc Brown wigs, this didn't spoil it. It was exciting to watch it with an audience – and one who clearly held the film in great regard. We clapped and cheered when Marty's dad punched Biff in the face, and when Biff's car got covered in horse shit; when Marty played Johnny B Goode at the Enchantment Under the ...

Last night, I went to a screening of Halloween at the Prince Charles Cinema; definitely the darkest film in Mike Myers’ oeuvre. He didn’t do his Scottish accent once: either as a fat, ginger man in a kilt or a tiny-eared ogre. In fact he barely spoke. He spent most of the film curb crawling and breathing heavily. Perhaps he was concentrating. I’m surprised the sound department didn’t dub this out. I guess this was due to the tight budget. Either way, I hope Mike had a chest x-ray as soon as he'd finished shooting. (In reality, I know the difference between Mike Myers, the comic actor, and Michael Myers, the fictional knife-wielding maniac. I’m misunderstanding it for comic effect. You can’t deny we’re having fun, though. Please. Don’t.) It was nice to see Halloween on the big screen with an audience. A film like this is best enjoyed as a group, rather than on your own in an empty house. We’ve all made that mistake. I was surprised everyone wasn't more ...

Last night, I went to a screening of A Hard Day's Night at the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square.  It was lovely to see it in such great shape. The music has never sounded as good. The energy still whip cracks from the screen fifty years later. It was also great to see it with an audience, as this was the way it was meant to be watched. While it isn't my favourite Beatles film - I prefer Help and, controversially, Magical Mystery Tour for their looseness - it's still a lot of fun. It's also retained its freshness, partly because I haven't seen it as much as the others.  I was struck most by how young they looked. I'm ten years older than the oldest Beatle, Ringo, was then. I need to pull my finger out.  It's amazing to think how quickly The Beatles worked. Barely three years later they were making Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. What will I be doing three years from now? Whatever I'm up to, let’s hope I’ve grown a mous...