It’s fair to say I’m pretty low at the moment in my personal life, but all the same I’ve noticed one or two cooler things going on in the arts and entertainment world. For one, I took myself to see Toy Story 4 yesterday afternoon. It struck me as fairly good, as far as fourth sequels go: the plot was a little contrived, the new characters felt slightly tagged on, but there were some fairly good jokes. What struck me most, though, was how much this film was about the passage of time, and how much Woody struggles with the fact that the people he loves – the children who play with him – all eventually grow older and reject him. Frankly, that had a lot of personal resonance. At the same time, I liked the idea of the toy’s automatic pull-chord voices acting as a sort of conscious – they pulled their string whenever they didn’t know what to do, so it functioned a bit like their id or superego, but let’s not get too Freudian this early on a Monday morning.
Also, if you can, check out David Brent, Life on the Road. This 2016 filmic revival of The Office was on TV on Saturday night, and should still be on the Iplayer. As you might expect, it is gloriously cringeworthy. Ricky Gervais’ creation has lost none of that strange mix of arrogance, naivete and pathos which made him such a hit in the nineties. At the same time, I found myself hating this big-head, and feeling sorry for him in a very strange way. It is very wittily written, and the soundtrack is superb.
In other news, I’ve heard a rumour that Blackadder might be making a return. Atkinson, Robinson and crew have all apparently met up to discuss a fifth series. As I wrote here a few days ago, it might be the come back we all need at the moment, although part of me sort of feels that perhaps classics should be left to remain classics. Either way, let’s wait to see what, if anything, comes of this rumour.
Thirdly, I’ve also heard that Robocop is getting a reboot. Mind you, what Hollywood franchise isn’t these days. From what I heard, they’ll be using the original suit. At least that’s yet another bit of eighties nostalgia to look forward to.
