Crash

I'd seen this movie once before and possibly given it short shrift. On second viewing this course of thought was hard to understand. The reason being that this is an incredibly powerful tale that deserves all the praise and acclaim it received. It was especially fitting that it should pick up so many awards for best screenplay. The writing in this is tight and heartfelt. There isn't any cheap dialogue or protracted prose clogging up the runtime, just what is necessary to convey the conflicted feelings of the characters on screen. Sometimes a look is enough, such as that between Dillon & Newton on his rescue of her from a car accident. The theme is one of racism and prejudices, the sort we all casually engage in without ever wishing to understand fully the end consequence. There is that element of luck intertwined with the aforementioned themes and how that plays out when chance brings them together. It's a small world after all and every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Other Directors have used the stream of seemingly unrelated incidents to knit a story, most notably and successfully Inarritu in the brilliance of Amores Perros and 21 Grams.
Haggis gets the most out of his cast, most notably Howard & Dillon. The characters manage to portray powerfully the isolation and loneliness that must come from being ostracised as a result of racial prejudice. Ryan Philipe's character seems to be above the prejudice inflicted by his partner because it doesn't sit comfortably with him. Ultimately, however, he falls victim to the preconceived fears and notions we all hold. Are these right? No and Haggis is ultimately preaching a cautionary tale, one that we can all learn from.

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The Big Issues - We'll Get to Them

The government are showing an increasing lack of awareness when it comes to the critical issues facing this country and it's people. To the ire of the majority of the electorate there is an ever widening chasm beginning to emerge between the electorate and those charged with governance. The recent headshop debate is a case in point. Here is a small growing industry selling products which by their definition and make up are classed as legal. These shops therefore contribute both VAT and PAYE to the revenue. Further, they will in many cases be providing employment thus contributing PRSI. Here we are with unemployment at 12.5%, small businesses closing by the day and the government are falling over themselves to close these shops. The juxtaposition here is both striking and worrying. It suggests a government willingly distracted by matters which have no right to the frontpage headlines. All of this isn't to underscore the obvious dangers of some of the products sold in these shops. Scientific research, commissioned by the government could go towards addressing this issue and steer away some of the more hyperbolic comments doing the rounds. A regulated system allowing the operation of head shops should take precedence over a burgeoning illegal drugs trade.
The government should be doing better than pandering to the worries of a few people who are misinformed on the subject at hand. Their time should be spent on getting people back in to employment which is by a long shot the most pressing issue in Ireland today.

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Fine Gael Miss The Boat

The opportunity could hardly have presented itself any more perfectly. George Lee departs the party in a blaze of publicity carrying loud whisperings about the leadership of Enda Kenny on his way out. This was the chance for the Fine Gael party to grasp the bull by the horns and force a leadership contest. With a leader in situ who appears only to inspire confidence from a select grouping within his own ranks the canvas was set. Are we to take from this that Richard Bruton, as the obvious candidate, didn't have the stomach for the fight? The spin is that Bruton is too loyal to his leader but as a man of great wisdom he can surely see that Kenny is siphoning confidence away from the public at an alarming rate. His inept performances on the Late Late & Newstalk have taken the most recent headlines, yet Kenny has long been a poor public performer and communicator. His obvious successes are rebuilding and organising the party after the 2002 general election blowout. His leadership ability has rarely come in for praise however. He can mostly be seen delivering populist soundbites and coming in second at debate time. The feeling amongst an educated and informed electorate is that Kenny never really shows the conviction and gravitas needed to galvanise a country so desperately in need of a saviour figure.
The Fianna Fail government is dredging the ocean floor with a leader who has rarely been seen to lift the nations mood with clear lines of communication. Add to this two successive difficult budgets with the promise of more to come and Fine Gael should be making hay. In fact they should be out of sight. This isn't the case. In fact recent opinion polls see gains for Fianna Fail and stagnant ratings for Kenny. This simply doesn't tally and is as clear as day to an increasingly disillusioned swing vote. The sooner Fine Gale grasp this leadership issue by the horns then the closer they will come to power.

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Up In The Air

It was with some excitement that I went to see 'Up In The Air' today. The reviews for this had been overwhelmingly positive and gushing in parts. The first thing to say is that this is a solid movie, well written with some clever and at times funny dialogue. The overall feel of the movie is that of a simple tale, a tale of the here and now. George Clooney in a dream casting plays the role of Ryan Bingham, a high flying frequent flyer whose job it is to inform a plethora of American employees that they have lost their job. The bosses of the companies who have employed his services clearly haven't the stomach for the task but Clooney approaches it with a calculating precision whilst still managing to convey a warmth and sincerity. He favours the personal touch, a personal touch that comes under threat with the arrival of Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick) to the firm. She has built a system that will perform the firing by means of a video link up and all but ground Bingham's air miles. Flying all over the States and clocking up air miles he lives the live of a nomad, yet it's a life which is very agreeable to him. A sparse one bedroom apartment in Omaha and a sister he barely knows serve as evidence of his nomadic existence. The wide eyed Keener goes on the road with Bingham to try and soak up what it is he does whilst all the time trying to impart some life lessons on him. The Director Jason Reitman is clearly trying to speak to the audience about the values of relationships. The other main female casting is Vera Farmiga playing the role of Alex Goran, another frequent flying executive, who after a chance meeting with Clooney builds up a relationship of convenience. This is a relationship which slowly blossoms as the film develops but which concludes with a lesson on relationships and how they may appear.
Star turns from Clooney & Kendrick. The script is simple, at times funny and very relevant in a time of economic upheaval. It's another solid effort from Reitman on the back of Juno without ever being special.

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PMQ's

I had occasion to tune in the PMQ's at Westminster today. How refreshing it was to see a full parliament having a healthy debate infused with some light hearted banter and heated exchanges. It's a cornerstone of an effective parliament that debate is engaged by all parties whilst effectively engaging those to whom they represent.
This contrasts greatly to the staid and diluted offering we see in the Dail. The first contrast and most striking is the attendance in the Dail on most days. A sparsely populated Dail does nothing to satisfy members of the public that their representatives are engaged. It's little wonder than that most people seem thoroughly disengaged with politics in this country.

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Dole Stigma

The loss of ones job is a particularly difficult period, raising many questions and giving up few answers. In a year of unprecedented job losses I thought I had almost seen it out, yet late November yielded redundancy and the inevitable change it brings.
The first task was to sign on the dole and feed from the limp, lifeless department of social welfare. It's a dent to ones pride to have to lean on the state for a handout but then again I have been paying contributions for seven years straight so maybe I shouldn't feel so bad. The faces at the dole office come in many guises, the career spongers to the fish out of water wondering where it all went wrong. I was the latter and the order of the day was to keep the head down and get the business over with. Four hours later and I had officially signed on. The hope is that I won't have to come back to sign on for many months so a bit of luck is needed.
Accounting exams in mid December provided the immediate stimulus for the brain and then there was the Christmas holidays to enjoy. Early January is now here, however, and thought turn to securing a new job. The marketplace is thin and unyielding and also saturated with thousands like me. A good CV should give me a headstart but that good aul luck will be needed in healthy dollops!

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Russell Howard - Painfully Unfunny

This man consistently misses the boat when it comes to the comedy gravy train that is Mock The Week. A platform of such wide breath affords a comedian the oppurtunity to really convey his range. Hell they even have the direction of the show afforded to them a couple of days before production. Howard, however, seems to be capable only of rehashing the same tired old themes week on week. 'My mate this, my mate that wanked in to his brothers sock with hilarious consequences'. The joke was lost on me I'm afraid as I assume it is on many other. Lost or just incredibly tiresome at this stage. His penchant for shouting to make his pitch is reminiscent of the schoolkid who earned attention but for whom everyone else just found intensely annoying. In summary his success as a stand up baffles me.

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