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Headed to this concert, I didn't really know what to except as a) I wasn't overly familiar and fully obsessed with Elbow's music and b) it was to take place in a historic church (an idea that greatly intrigued me). The performance turned out to be absolutely stunning, at times epic, and quite moving. The music is so beautifully layered, intricate, and melodic...it just sweeps you away in a gentle, subtle wave. I was very impressed with their instrumental talents, and when instrumental talents are combined with sincere and beautifully simple, honest lyrics the result can be quite breathtaking.

Guy Garvey was highly entertaining and engaging in his role as frontman. I enjoyed his stories and his easygoing manner. Oh, and his accent of course :) Back when I lived in England (oh England, how I miss thee at times...but not so much during beach season) I spent several weeks in Manchester. My most vivid memory involves buying drumsticks and coming home to a madly meowing cat who desperately wanted to eat meat. It was an angry, not very cuddly cat unfortunately. As a child I was a bit frightened of her. A more relevant memory is of the big piano in the house in Manchester where I was staying. I "played" it quite a lot when not frolicking in the wild outdoors.

Where was I? Oh yes, raving about the awesomeness of the concert. I am now planning on listening to all four albums, from the very start to the very finish. And I will now pencil in some emotional Elbow-listening time in my agenda :)

It's funny how we tend to think of old movies as something that is no longer relevant - oh, those stuffy, silly, outdated antiques. But when you actually take the time to properly watch these films, you realize that the industry of film-making has not necessarily been progressing as we would like to think. Changing, yes. For the better? I don't know about that.

The first thing I'd like to note is how we no longer seem to have the patience to watch films like 'All About Eve', which is 138 minutes long without featuring any car chases, explosions, or giant insects. Instead, it relies on intelligent and witty writing; skilled acting; and smooth, confident directing. The film unfolds slowly, but very suspensefully. Although the end result is basically revealed at the very beginning, the journey to this point is almost thriller-like, but in a more natural, realistic way. The characters of Eve Harrington and Margo Channing are fascinating, and completely relevant today. Why? Margo is an aging star who finds herself desperately jealous of the much younger Eve, a woman who transforms from acting the part of a naive, childlike, deferential fan to becoming an unstoppable, manipulative, frighteningly ambitious, almost heartless force.

I must say that both Anne Baxter's and Bette Davis' performances are enchanting, my heart went out to Margo, with whom it is impossible not to identify even if one is not a melodramatic, aging actress of sorts. However, I do have a problem with these representations of the female sex - one is a possessive, overly emotional drama queen who cannot trust her man (who is basically perfect of course, he's as reliable and trustworthy as a plank of wood); the other is of a manipulative woman who will do anything to claw her way to the top, thus dangerously ditching her 'femininity'. There is quite a bit of psychological depth and interest to these characters to alleviate the seriousness of these charges though. Why don't we have movies like these anymore? Interestingly enough, with this movie it's pretty obvious that we are supposed to side with the aging, insecure Margo. In today's society, on the other hand, people are obsessed with climbing to the top (pour example - American Idol) so the character of Eve is easily recognizeable, she's like the role model of today's, ahem, dissatisfied, greedy youth. How horrid. One final note - I loved the clothes in this film, which look beautiful and classy while at the same time reflecting the success of the stars whom we love ever so much. Finis.