Gig

Worry Dolls

Intent on seeing at least one live act every calendar month this year, February was fast running out so we took a bet on the Worry Dolls at our local arts centre. They played Greenbelt last year so it didn't seem too big a risk.

The music is Americana filtered through the ears of two women who grew up in Devon and Kent, met at university in Liverpool and settled in London. It was captivating, and a great way to spend a relaxed Sunday evening.

Film

Hidden Figures

This was always going to win me over: an injustice righted, woven into a story about the human "computers" set at the dawn of the modern information technology age. The mathematician in me would've liked a little more about the technicalities of the problems being solved, but it's hard to see how that could be done without detracting from the main story.

A great film, but a little upsetting when you realise just how recently the events it depicts took place, and how some of the language and issues still resonate today. Let's not go back there.

Film

La La Land

La La Land has been almost universally praised, which is ordinarily a warning sign for me. I wasn't won over by the exuberance of the opening sequence, the bright colours or charming romance. In fact, it wasn't until two thirds of the way through that I really caught on, but from that moment to the end there was a smile on my face. Here's a film that deserves its positive press, even if it is a little sickly-sweet in places.

Film

T2 Trainspotting

We really should have watched this film while we were in Glasgow.

Down south the transformation Scotland has undergone in the past twenty years has been partly ignored. This sequel doesn't just catch up with the human characters after two decades, but the national character too. And it's a nation with a renewed confidence.

There's a surprising tenderness to the film, but also the grit you'd expect. Visually and sonically it echoes the film that defined my generation back in 1996. A very welcome return.