Tag Archives: Comedy

a fish called wanda and brief answers to the big questions by stephen hawking

Posted on January 9, 2019 by Houyhnhnm

a fish called wanda some great moments, but overall disappointing; (‘sir’) michael palin’s stutter is always a little painful, but it was the (to modern eyes) slow editing which got me – and the sexism – both made it seem … Continue reading →

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“What we did on our holidays”

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Houyhnhnm

[Spoiler alert – this is really meant for people who’ve seen the film] Official trailer line “Explores the meaning of life and suggests how best to live and love.” Fair enough. A brilliantly made, written and acted comedy based on … Continue reading →

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“A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian” by Marina Lewycka

Posted on August 6, 2013 by Houyhnhnm

Fun. It’s written in the person of a Ukrainian-British woman, telling the story of her father’s disastrous marriage in widowerhood to a more recent Ukrainian immigrant, the well-named and warhead-breasted Valentina. It’s very funny, but succeeds mostly I think because … Continue reading →

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Tragedy and Comedy

Posted on July 21, 2013 by Houyhnhnm

Comedy comes from surprise, either from the breaking of a (moral) rule (e.g. a taboo) or from something unexpected (“boo!”) (or both – man-falling-on-banana-skin is unexpected and makes us laugh, naughtily, from the suffering of another). And in Tragedy the … Continue reading →

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“He’s Just Not That Into You”

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Houyhnhnm

The kind of set-up that you find in foreign films at Curzon cinemas: the lives of several young people come together in different ways; subplots cross over and merge, weaving a meditation on love and humanity. This one though doesn’t … Continue reading →

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“Are We There Yet?”

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Houyhnhnm

Awful comedy with some very funny gross bits (man holding a boy who’s urinating in a woman’s face; boy (same one) causing a near-pile-up by projectile-vomiting over a windscreen; and the man fighting a deer is funny too, albeit ungross. … Continue reading →

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