STARS
BY LILITH
WHEN MUTABLE MERCURY MEETS CHATTY GEMINI SUN AND MIDWEEK FULL MOON IN THE SIGN OF ADVENTURE AND EXPLORATION, AIRWAVES BUZZ WITH WILD IDEAS AND FIZZY POSSIBILITIES…
ARIES: Aries’s ruler Mars in Aquarius is currently inspiring a new vision of your future. Perhaps not what you planned or expected but, just because something seems impossible, has that ever stopped you? For best results, balance individuality, initiative and innovation with kindness, courage and curiosity – you’re well stocked on them all. TAURUS: If midweek full moon brings money matters to a head, with recurring themes of rethinking work-to-reward ratios, streamlining assets etc, keep lines of communication open, even if they seem jammed with differences of opinion. That done, Venus in Cancer insists on a swag of self-nurturing personal pampering as a reward. GEMINI: This week’s trio of outer planets in earth signs offer powerful reality checks on worldwide economic and environmental concerns, which of course affect your own small corner. But sudden rash decisions or money moves aren’t your best bet, so be guided by in-depth research, careful assessment and the lessons of past experience. CANCER: Surface information isn’t giving you the full story, so you’ll need to dig deeper this week. Knee-jerk reactions to unsettling news are understandable, but they’re best not acted on. Let fears and feelings settle, avoid getting caught up in the stresses and strains of inflammatory debates, find a new comfort zone to operate from. LEO: As everyone on planet Earth, no exceptions, navigates current shifts and changes, this week’s entertaining camaraderie, enjoyable interactions and satisfying self-expression make it easier to deal with the fraught and frazzled energetics of circumstantial upheaval. There are plenty of local activities to keep you busy, and any generous gestures will be well received. VIRGO: Uranus in fellow earth sign Taurus sets your focus on health: the inner and outer robustness of your work and relationships. Avoid negative self-talk, mentally rerunning anxiety scenarios or indulging in worryfests. Position problems to stew and brew on the back burner while you enjoy this week’s influx of interesting visitors.
LIBRA: Synchronicity rules in the time of the networking Twins, so this week you’re in the right place at the right time charming the right people with all the right lines. And weighing your natural extravagance against the lessons of experience to realise that it’s absolutely okay to just enjoy what you already have. SCORPIO: Your resourcefulness and mystery-solving skills get a workout sifting through this week’s fake news, misleading disinformation, rumour, hearsay and gossip – all of what might politely be termed alternative facts. Midweek full moon sets the stage for some out-of-the-box thinking and vibrant dialogue, from which new relationship patterns emerge. SAGITTARIUS: As Jupiter continues its healing work, be clear about your own role and motives when addressing this week’s challenges. While quick cut-to-the chase solutions appeal, they’re not necessarily the best, may make things worse. Midweek full moon in your sign finds you in full voice, sharing sage counsel with family and friends. CAPRICORN: Capricorns like riding on top of change holding the reins, but this week you’ll be way better off surrendering to the inevitable – it’s been a long time coming. Venus in Cancer sweetens relationships, making it easier to team up than be adversarial, with late-week Capri moon highlighting a personal power and pleasure peak. AQUARIUS: This week’s unstable but undeniably exciting climate presents some intriguing opportunities to exercise that unique Aquarian skillset. Midweek full moon speaks to your inner gypsy, firing lively conversational exchanges, during which it would be easy to let your mouth run away with your manners and common sense – but much smarter not to. PISCES: This week manufactures distractions from a dozen different directions, and multitasking has definite downsides when 100 per cent of your focused attention’s required. The last three days of May are graced with an auspicious full moon in Sagittarius plus a sublime grand water-sign trine of Venus, Jupiter and Neptune: guaranteed blissout ingredients for Pisceans.
36 May 23, 2018 The Byron Shire Echo
ENTERTAINMENT
BY JOHN CAMPBELL
CINEMA REVIEWS
LIFE OF THE PARTY
As a comedienne of faultless timing and subtle delivery, Melissa McCarthy can be both vulnerable and madcap. In this piece of fluff she plays Deanna, a doting mom whose husband of twenty-two years tells her he wants a divorce on the day that their daughter Jennifer (Debby Ryan) is entering college. Deanna is shattered, but she decides to start her life anew by completing the degree in archaeology that she abandoned when she fell pregnant. That she would enrol at the same college as Jennifer is too schmaltzy by half, but when she starts hanging out with the girls at Jennifer’s sorority house, who think she is the bee’s knees, you can only guffaw. Lurching from the ridiculous to the even more ridiculous, Deanna attends a party with Jennifer and the mother gets laid by handsome frat boy (Luke Benward). There’s nothing wrong with the fantasy of reliving the golden days of one’s youth, but in this case the older woman’s success at mixing it with her her juniors stretches credibility. Some of the jokes verge on the icky, too – Deanne refers to her vagina as the va-google, assuring her new friends that they can consult it if they have any questions about sex. There is also an outrageously ‘wrong’ scene in which she and some of the ‘sisters’ get accidentally stoned – after eating chocolate that has been laced with marijuana, they behave as
though drunk, not high. A fantastic twist, concerning the jock who has a crush on Deanne, flies into the story from left field and brings with it a welcome edge, but the script does not take advantage of its potential to make things more interesting. Deanne’s fellow students are pretty and vacuous, Benward is a log, and Maya Rudolph goes over the top as the housewife buddy who is so inspired by Deanne’s liberation. As chick-flicks go, it’s comfy but unchallenging, with director Ben Falcone (McCarthy’s real-life spouse) encouraging his leading lady to breeze through it on auto.
DEADPOOL 2 This movie had smashed all box-office records after opening in the US, but Hoyts at Tweed City might have been gilding the lily just a tad by giving it fifteen sessions on the day of its debut in Oz. There were only five other punters in the cinema when I went, so the programmers’ greed obviously didn’t pay off, which, as a death-rider of blockbuster ‘events’, pleased me no end. Having said that, I have to confess that I enjoyed it immensely. Two hours of root canal dental work is usually preferable to sitting through any Marvel flick, but my initial trepidation at attending another slaughter-fest was eased when I saw that its principal writers were Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the pair who came up with the fabulously irreverent Zombieland (2009). You get an idea of the ironic tone that will prevail when the first big rumble (which comes even before the introductory credits are rolled) is accompanied by Dolly Parton singing Nine to Five. Russell (Julian Dennison, the kid from Hunt For The Wilderpeople) is a supernaturally gifted boy who needs
to be protected from the bad guy, Cable (Josh Brolin). Wade Wilson/Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) takes him under his wing and mayhem ensues. What is different this time around is the movie’s self-awareness. It mocks itself and the genre constantly, while at the same time providing all the thrills and spills and CGI smash-ups that are expected of it. The joke wears thin from time to time, especially when Wade talks to camera about his actions and motives, with lines like ‘that’s just lazy writing’, but there are too many laugh-out-loud sequences to not enjoy the ratbagerry of it all – the parachute jump of the X-Force (Wade rejects X-Men as too gender specific) is hilarious and the scene in which Wade’s legs are growing Girls Night Out Preview back after he was torn apart by Screening - Wednesday 6th June - 6.30pm arrival for a Leviathan had me in stitches. 7pm screening. All Tickets $25. Pre-Show snacks and A dose of sentimentality and Complementary Glass of Champagne on arrival commentary on institutional served by Wicked Waiters. paedophilia broaden the scope of what is a total hoot.
Byron Shire Echo archives: www.echo.net.au/byron-echo