Allelujah – Film Review

Posted on March 7, 2023 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Richard Eyre

Writers: Heidi Thomas and Alan Bennett

Starring: Jennifer Saunders, Judi Dench, Russell Tovey, David Bradley, Derek Jacobi, Bally Gill, Gerard Horan, Jessica Baglow, and Eileen Davies

Rating: ★★★½

Allelujah is based on Alan Bennett’s 2018 play of the same name. It follows Bethlehem hospital in Yorkshire as it faces being closed down as a cost cutting measure by the government. To try and save the beloved hospital volunteers start fundraising and a local documentary crew interview the patients and staff to show how important the hospital is to the local community.

The characters are simply brilliant, and you truly get the feeling that you’re seeing a snapshot of their lives. They’re all wonderfully written and brilliantly brought to life by a stellar cast. There are so many great actors in the film and everyone is on top form, giving memorable performances that will stick with you long after the film is over. It’s sentimental, and the likable characters instantly have you invested.  The film has a sense of humour as well that shines throughout.

The driving force of the film is the social commentary. It’s about greed and how the healthcare system in the UK and how it’s slowly being destroyed by its own government. The patients at the Beth are forgotten by society, left waiting for visitors that never come. It’s a little overdone and melodramatic at points, such as Colin (Russell Tovey), who initially wants to close the place down, changing his viewpoint after visiting the ward for a few days, but it still hits home and is very moving.

Hidden within the sentimental film is a much darker story. While there’s small hints throughout, the big reveal is tacked on to the end of the film and takes it in a completely different direction. Without spoiling anything, it’s definitely shocking but it is also a little unnecessary. It feels like it was put there just to give the story some action and give it more structure, that just wasn’t needed. The characters are more than enough.

Allelujah is a heartfelt story about people coming to the end of their lives. It’s sentimental, thought provoking, and very moving.

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Invasion – Part Four – Short Story

Posted on March 6, 2023 by ashleymanningwriter

Lukas stood up and scanned around the office. Scattered about were a few people on their computers tapping away, some more standing by a fridge that definitely wasn’t there last time he was here, and a few more just wandering through the isles of desks in various directions. There was no sign of Gloopy anywhere.

“Hey,” Stu said. “Are you alright? Looking for the toilet?”

“Yeah, something like that,” Lukas answered, his voice fading with each word he spoke.

“It’s just down there, follow the pathway to the end and it’s on the right, just past the tech-free zone.”

Almost instinctively Lukas started walking in that direction, weaving through the desks and unknown faces to try and find his friend. The office was drowned in the sounds of tapping keyboards, people taking calls, and the frantic heartbeats in Lukas’s chest. He made his way to the tech-free zone, where people could have meetings on a more personal level, and carried on walking through to a little corridor where the toilets were. No sign of Gloopy anywhere.

He turned around, his whole body shaking like it was seconds away from collapsing and that’s when he spotted Gloopy, wandering under a table a little way away. Lukas went into overdrive and started towards him, moving quicker than he had in months. Just as he reached the table, Gloopy was gone, but he’d seen which direction the little thing was headed in and set forth. He caught up with it as it was climbing up into a handbag that had been left under the table. Lukas hovered around the table, trying to decide whether he should speak to the person who was sitting there. It wasn’t anyone he’d seen before. He could see Gloopy rootling through the handbag. Every time he went to speak, he paused not knowing what to say.

“You alright?” the woman sitting at the desk asked.

“Um, yes,” Lukas started. “I just saw something. Maybe a rat. No, a spider maybe. It climbed into your handbag, and I just didn’t want to freak you out.”

She pushed her chair back and looked down at her bag.

“I can’t see anything.”

“I’m sure I saw something. Did you want me to take it outside?”

“No. There’s nothing there. It’s my bag and I’d like you to leave right now.”

“Sorry, I just don’t want you to be scared of whatever was in there.”

She picked up the bag, angling it away from Lukas and started to go through it with confidence, as if to make a point that she wasn’t scared.

“There’s nothing in there. I don’t know what you think you saw, but there’s nothing in my bag so please just go back to your desk and leave me alone. Please.”

Lukas could feel other eyes around the office starting to watch him, so he nodded and left, whispering an apology as he did.

For the rest of the day Lukas couldn’t focus on work. He knew that Gloopy was in her bag, he saw it there and she just straight up lied to him. Stu didn’t seem to notice that he wasn’t really working and when it got to lunch time he told Lukas that he would be heading home to finish the rest of the day from there, and Lukas was free to do the same if he wanted, as long as he logged in after his lunch hour on time. Lukas dismissed the offer, keeping an eye on the woman at all times so he wouldn’t miss her leave.

As soon as Stu was out of the office, Lukas swapped the computer he was logged into so he could better see the woman sitting down the office hall. Occasionally she would look over at him as well and their eyes would meet for brief moments, before Lukas looked anywhere else. He always thought there was a flash of guilt in her eyes. The rest of the day was uneventful as minutes turned to hours and the sun started to set out of the windows.

Slowly the office started to empty, people shouting their goodbyes to the few people still there as they made their way out of the building. Lukas awkwardly nodded and waved at people he hadn’t met before. As the room was almost completely empty, the woman stood up and made her way over to Lukas, the whole time her eyes were locked on his. He thought she was going to come over and shout at him, maybe alert the last few people in the building that he was some kind of creep.

“Hello,” she said. “I’m Melony. Mel for short. I’m sorry about earlier, but I didn’t know what was going on. I thought you saw my friend, but it was so much more exciting than that.”

She sat down on the empty chair next to him and placed her handbag on the table before continuing.

“Go on,” she said. “Take a look.”

Lukas leant forward, trying to act as if he didn’t want to tear the bag open to find Gloopy. He moved the bag so he could peer inside, and he found Gloopy. He also found that Gloopy had a friend living in the bag with him.

“There’s two of them?”

“Yes. Your friend and mine. I’m sure you can understand why I was scared that you’d seen it. I thought it was just me at once. Did yours arrive when you were ill as well?”

“Yes, kind of.”

“It was disgusting, wasn’t it? But I love her so much. I can’t even explain how attached I am to her. It’s really weird.”

“I know. What do you call it? I call mine Gloopy.”

“Gwendoline. Gloopy? Really?”

“Yes, I like Gloopy. It suits it.”

“If you say so. I can’t believe I found someone else with one. I’ve been waiting all afternoon to tell you. Have you ever come across another one?”

“No, not at all. This is the first time I’ve left the house since I was ill.”

“Ah, really? How bizarre. There have to be more of them around, but I haven’t found anyone else or seen anything online, and I’ve been looking.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m just glad to have Gloopy back.”

“I’m just glad to have found someone else.”

Lukas picked up Gloopy, who had a wide and curious smile on its face. It looked up at Lukas with such joy and affection, that it hurt Lukas. They looked just as happy as each other to be back together again.  

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Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead – Volume Nine – Manga Review

Posted on March 5, 2023 by ashleymanningwriter

The ninth volume of Zom 100 finds our heroes continuing their zombie apocalypse survival road-trip to Osaka. While some of the previous volumes have been short almost stand alone chapters, this volume is all one story arc, that ends on a cliff-hanger. Once the arrive in Osaka the gang find out that the zombies there seem to be stronger, faster, and have more heart than what they’re used to. Luckily they run into an old classmate from college of Akira and Kencho’s named Takemina, who saves them from the new zombie variant they encounter.

Even though the new type of zombies are introduced, they’re not featured much in the actual story. They find that within the grounds of Osaka castle is a whole community that is based on market trading, using cans of food for currency. Within the castle itself are the people who have hoarded the most cans, the big cats, they also may hold information on the potential vaccine, so Akira and co. want to meet them. The majority of the volume centres around the bar that the gang start up to gain cans and get an audience with the elusive can chief.

Every volume of this manga has been consistently brilliant. A mix of light-hearted comedy, horror, and some heavier themes sprinkled throughout. It’s still about a group of characters trying to complete their bucket lists before becoming zombie food, and at the same time there is some social commentary about capitalism, the work/life balance, and the difference between living and surviving. As the series has progressed it’s travelled all over Japan, and it feels like going on an adventure with every chapter. It’s funny, easy to read, and filled with great characters.

In this volume there’s a lot of funny hijinks as they open up their bar and try to make it successful, with wacky ideas and varying degrees of success. At the same time there’s a lot of commentary about greed and capitalism, with the richest in society getting richer by exploiting the poor. There’s a good balance throughout the story, and it does take some unexpected turns. It ends with quite a few unanswered questions and the next volume can’t come soon enough.

I really love this series, and it’s definitely one of my favourite series at the moment. Every time a book comes out I get it as soon as possible, and I eagerly await the next one after finishing it. There’s an anime and a live-action film coming out later this year, that will hopefully capture the magic of the manga. Before that volume 10 will be out, which has a lot to live up to with how this volume ended.

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Creed III – Film Review

Posted on March 4, 2023 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Michael B. Jordan

Writers: Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin

Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Jonathan Majors, Wood Harris, Florian Munteanu, and Phylicia Rashad

Rating: ★★★★

For the third entry to the Creed series Michael B. Jordan is on both sides of the camera, making his directorial debut as well as starring as the title character. This time around the story goes into past Adonis Creed’s past, which is coming back to haunt him. After a fight when they were both teenagers, Adonis’s best friend, Damian ‘Dame’ Anderson (Jonathan Majors), was sent to prison. All these years later Dame is out of prison and is looking to have a shot at his dream, but he has a lot of anger in him and time isn’t on his side.

Plotwise this is exactly what you’d expect from a Creed/Rocky film. It’s a story that’s just as much about family drama as it is about boxing. There’s a lot of familiar plot beats but they all still work. Fighting against aging/time is a major theme, which it has been right from the first Rocky film, then there’s the training montage, dramatic family moments, and of course, the big fight. It’s amazing that nine films in the formula works pretty much every single time and never feels stale.

The fights are brilliant. They’re visually stunning and brutal to watch. Jordan has spoken about how they were inspired by anime, and while that’s definitely felt, they’re still very grounded. Each fight is shot brilliantly so you feel every single punch. Even though the fights are brutal, there is an emphasis on boxing not being about violence, but strategy and skill.  

What makes this one special is how well written the characters are, especially the newcomer, Dame. He’s an exceptionally well-crafted villain. You can completely understand where he’s coming from and why he’s acting the way he is. For years he’s sat in a cell watching time go by and missing out on life. He’s watched Adonis live his dream and achieve everything he thought he would. Jonathan Majors is a powerhouse in this film. His performance brings everything together, making Dame the best antagonist of the entire franchise to date.

This is the first entry of the Rocky/Creed series not to star Sylvester Stallone, although he is credited as a producer. For the most part the film steps completely out of Rocky’s shadow. It moves the series forward, while still referencing the past. There is one particular scene where Rocky’s absence is felt, which won’t be spoilt here, but you don’t really notice it for the majority of the story. For the series to survive it needs to move forward without leaning on legacy characters, and that’s exactly what this does.

Creed III is simply brilliant. From the opening shot, its adrenaline filled and never lets up. Jordan is brilliant both in front and behind the camera. It stands among the best of the Rocky/Creed series and it’s clear that the franchise is in safe hands.

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Magic in London: Enrolment – Part Eleven

Posted on March 3, 2023 by ashleymanningwriter

Catch up on Magic in London here: https://ashleymanning.com/magic-in-london/

Chuck didn’t think his mum would ever stop talking. She was in tears as soon as she heard his voice and no matter what he said she wouldn’t stop interrupting him. He was just outside Victoria station, trying to calm her down before travelling to King’s Cross to start the journey home. He couldn’t tell if she was pleased to hear his voice or angry about being missing for a week. He’d decided, while travelling through the tunnels with Fiona, that he would say he was mugged and went into hospital with no ID, so they didn’t know who to contact. Thankfully, he’d left his phone at a friends house, so once he’d woken up and been discharged he was able to go to his friend’s house and collect his phone and make the phone call. His friend didn’t even know the phone was there, so he hadn’t seen the missed calls and was just as worried about him as everyone else was. Chuck wasn’t sure if that’s how it would work in reality, but it made enough sense in his head to explain everything. He just hoped there wouldn’t be further questions.

There wasn’t time for questions though. Chuck found out that his parents had called the police. He was found on CCTV until he wasn’t. They thought it must have been a glitch and there was some footage that was lost. His parents had actually travelled to London to try and find him. They’d been in contact with everyone possible, and no one had seen him. To answer this he told them that he was with a new friend, Fiona, who he hadn’t known for that long so hadn’t mentioned her before. The conversation went around in circles for what felt like a long time.

“I’m so sorry for worrying everyone,” he said eventually once everything started to slow down.

“I’m just glad you’re alive. I didn’t know what happened to you. None of us did. We haven’t slept. Where are you now? We’ve been staying with your auntie Pearl. Do you know how to get there?”

“Umm, I’m near Victoria station, that’s close to where Fiona lives. I think I know how to get to Pearl’s flat.”

“Okay. Come straight here. I’m going to call everyone and let them know what’s happened. I’m so glad to hear your voice.”

“Same.”

“I was so scared.”

“I know, mum. I’m sorry.”

“Just come here, please. I’ll put your dad on as well, so you can speak to him. He was so worried about you.”

“Okay, thanks mum. I’ll see you soon. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay Chucky, I’m just happy that you’re here. You can tell us more about what happened later. Here he is.”

“Charles?”

Chuck’s dad was the only person to call him by the name that was on his birth certificate.

“Dad”

“It is you. I can’t believe it. What the hell happened?”

Chuck repeated the story he’d told his mum almost word for word, but with less interruptions.

“Are you okay now though?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Just a little shaken about everything. I can’t believe how long it’s been.”

“Just get here as fast as you can. Your mother has been beyond worried. I can’t believe they didn’t find you. One of the first places the police told us they looked was the hospitals. We went from hospital to hospital as well. It doesn’t matter now. At least you’re okay.”

“I’ll get there as quickly as I can and I’ll see you all soon.”

With that Chuck hung up the phone, his heart pounding. He looked at the other missed calls and messages he’d received on his phone and decided it wasn’t the best time to try and answer all of them. He knew how to get his aunt’s house, not that he wanted to put the effort in. He always hated being the centre of attention and this was no exception. As he walked through the busy Victoria station, looking to get to the Victoria line, he wished he could just go home. There would be so much explaining to do with everything. So many people fussing over him and asking what happened. He didn’t even know if he still had a job to go back to. What if no one had told them he was missing, and they assumed he’d quit. Among the missed calls would surely be his boss with several warnings before confirming he was being terminated. He slinked through the various passageways, dreading everything and wishing there was some way to get out.

He made his way onto the northbound platform and sat down on a bench. It was loud around him, although the platform wasn’t busy. There were still a few people scattered about. His phone told him it was a little past eight in the morning, but it didn’t feel like morning. Surely there should be more people around getting ready to go to work, he thought. The train approached and came to a stop, completely empty. Chuck moved into place and stood close to the doors as he waited for them to open. Almost instinctively he stood to one side to let others gets off, even though the train was empty. He stepped onto the train and made his way to a middle seat, expecting the carriage to fill up pretty quickly. One other person got on through the same door that he did and sat on the opposite side from Chuck. They didn’t look at each other as the doors closed and the train started to squeal and screech as it pulled away from the station.

“Do you think they won’t notice?” The other passenger said.

Chuck looked around, just to check that there wasn’t anyone else on board. Then he looked at the other person. He was wearing jeans, and a hoody with a cap sticking out from under the hood covering his face. Chuck assumed that he must be talking to someone on the phone. He focused on the ground in front of him, trying to mentally prepare himself for having to face family after everything that’s happened. An ice-cold sting made its way from the base of Chuck’s neck down his back and out through his legs, as he realised that the other passenger couldn’t possibly be talking on the phone. He looked over at them, but they hadn’t moved at all.

“Do you think they won’t notice?”

“Sorry, are you talking to me?”

“Who else would I be talking to? We’re alone down here. I’ll ask again. Do you think they won’t notice?”

“Who? Notice what?”

Chuck could feel his pulse quickening.

“Your family. Do you think that they won’t notice that you don’t have visible injuries?”

“What?”

“Normally when someone gets attacked and ends up in a coma for a week they have some kind of visible injury. A scar, a scab, a bruise. Something to show that they’d be attacked so brutally. Don’t you think they’ll notice you don’t?”

The entire time the man spoke, he stayed perfectly still. Chuck was frozen in place as he listened, and he couldn’t see a single feature of the stranger’s face.

“I don’t know what you’re getting at.”

“I’m telling you that someone will see through your lie. Maybe not today. They’ll all be glad you’re back. But they will eventually. They’ll notice it doesn’t add up. You’ll slip up and then further questions will be asked. No one will believe the truth, of course, but they’ll still ask questions. It will become something unspoken between you all, where they all discuss it when you’re not there to try and figure out the truth. It’ll drive them mad in a way.”

“I… I’m not sure.”

“Ha. Don’t worry about trying to explain it to me. I know where you were. You were at my academy. I saw you enter the tunnels with Fiona and the new boy. I’m Arthur, and I’m sure that name means something to you.”

“What? You know that everyone’s looking for you?”

“Of course they are, but I’m kind of busy at the moment. I have a favour to ask of you. I have something that I want to ask you. I want to do it in person, if that’s okay. Before then, I want you to go to Churchyard Primary School with Fiona. She’s already on her way there now and I want you to help her. After that I’ll meet you at Whistling and we can talk.”

“No, I’m already in a big enough mess as it is. I need to go and see my family.”

“That’s fine. You can do that if you want. This isn’t an open invitation, by the way. If you don’t come now then you won’t ever hear from us again. You’ll go on with your life and time will pass and eventually you’ll think this was all a dream. That’s fine by me, if it’s fine by you. It’s up to you.”

The world around Chuck started spinning, twisting into itself. It felt like he was being dragged out of water. The other person on the train disappeared and then the train itself was distorted into a void and he was sitting back on the bench on the platform, people moving around and getting ready for the train to arrive.  

To Be Continued…

Part twelve is available here: https://ashleymanning.com/2023/03/10/magic-in-london-enrolment-part-twelve/! Don’t forget to subscribe to never miss a post:

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