Carrie Fisher (In Memoriam)

Carrie Fisher in Channel 4’s Catastrophe (2015)

 

Carrie Fisher was great, wasn’t she?

We could talk at length about Fisher’s iconic role in Star Wars, for it is without doubt the thing for which most people identify her with. But that’s barely scraping the surface of her career,  let alone her individual self.

While she wasn’t prolific she was a fine performer, a brilliant comic talent often overlooked. She could be strong, sexy, scary,  solemn, graceful, vulnerable, powerful and more.

Her sometimes problematic status as a sex symbol through Star Wars (and that exploitational bikini) rather pushed her actual talent to one side. I think of her knife edge psychopathy in The Blues Brothers or her caustic dry wit and disarming charm in sitcom Catastrophe – strong women were her forte, and she made even the unloveable likeable.

She was a wicked writer too and a script doctor par excellence, leaving her mark on many more projects than she ever got credit for.  From Hook to the Star Wars prequels, Fisher’s skills with dialogue saw her raise the bar of many Hollywood smash hits without most of us ever catching on.

And damn, she owned her mistakes and her mental health battles. Her personality ensured people talked about addictions, drugs, and mental frailty. She broke the taboos repeatedly and gave so many of us the strength and encouragement to do similar. She brought it into the open, instead of hiding it shamefully under a bush. Her candid approach and self-deprecating style was refreshing and welcome,  disarming and empowering. We focus so much on Fisher’s screen appearances that we risk forgetting Fisher’s star power transcended any one role,  one responsibility. It isn’t the Star Wars Fisher that is the real icon,  but this glorious powerhouse of strength,  opinion and talent.

Gone too soon,  but what a legacy she leaves.

Carrie Frances Fisher
Born 21 October 1956. Died 27 December 2016.

Publicity image of Carrie Fisher

Robert JE Simpson, 28 December 2016

Film Review: Assassin’s Creed (2016)

On paper this has potential. A big budget adaptation of a popular computer game series of Assassins and Templar Knights featuring the talents of Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson and the ever-handsome Michael Fassbender. On paper.
Unfortunately the film I saw was a turgid test of my attention and bladder. A convoluted narrative that had something to do with destiny,  time travel,  vengeance and a steampunk fusion of science and Biblical icons. Oh and patricide. There’s a lot of daddy issues in this one. 

In spite of a near two hour running time, it completely fails to drum up any real compassion for any of the characters. In the gaming world swarms of uber-cool aloof personalities might capture one’s attention, but here the sum affect is like watching actors who just want the paycheck without any real effort 

There’s minimal threat or drama,  not helped by the time hopping device. The action sequences betray their CG inspirations,  and deprived of the interactivity of actual game play become gradually inoccuous. 

It’s like a pretentious take on the Da Vinci Code and lacking all the personality. 

Forget about this one. If you’re a gamer stick to the games,  if you’re a film fan treat yourself to anything else. 

Robert JE Simpson

Assassin’s Creed
Directed by Justin Kurzel
116 mins
Released 21 December 2016 (US)
1 January 2017 (UK)