Hotel Artemis - Trip Advisor Review

Checked in to the Hotel Artemis on Saturday for a one night stay. It had been recommended to me because I was a fan of the Hotelier's previous establishments (Iron Man 3, Mission Impossible Rogue Nation).
It is a private members hotel that feels very similar to The Continental in Manhattan, New York which I had previously visited in 2014 and 2017.
Both are famous for their house rules that all guests must abide by. Here they include "No disrespectful words or actions allowed against staff" and "While on the premises, no fighting with or killing the other guests". Which only seems fair and implied at every Travelodge around the world too.
First impressions were good even if the place was a little run down around the edges. It had a speakeasy-kinda-vibe to it; Art-Deco design and furnishings, secret entrances, hidden passages.
What it has in atmosphere, it is lacking in amenities. Don't expect a fully stocked bar or fine dining restaurant. This is a place you come to when you are feeling down and they will fix you up.
It is very much designed for people looking for a quick getaway.
Having said that I did spend a lot of time speaking to a older staff member called "Nurse". She reminded me of Jodie Foster and I really got to know her character as she regaled me with tales of the hotel, its various guests and also spoke fondly of her son Beau. Sadly due to agroaphobia, she had not left the hotel in 20 years. However she was working on it thanks to some 'dealing with anxiety' tapes given to her by a fellow staff member nicknamed Everest (you will understand when you see him).
Although there are only five suites in the hotel, it was a busy night at the Artemis when I stayed with a number of other guests roaming the halls, all going by their suite names i.e. Nice, Waikiki, Acapulco and Niagara.
While Acapulco was incredibly loud, brash and rude, Nice and Waikiki seemed like decent, honourable folk and it was a pleasure to spend some time with them.
Things ended rather riotously when a group of unwelcome guests arrived after a late night out and didn't take to kindly to being refused entry.
Overall though, it did not dampen my stay as the staff looked after us all very well.
Some upgrading and refurbishment is required before I would stay again but I may very well check out their sister establishment in Vegas.

3 stars

Pacific Rim: Uprising - review

Will a film like Pacific Rim Uprising ever be judged as fine art or highbrow entertainment? No.
Does Pacific Rim Uprising deliver on its promise of giant robots fighting giant monsters? Yes. And then some!
Set 10 years after Idris Elba's Stacker Pentecost "cancelled the apocalypse", Uprising follows his son Jake (John Boyega) who is living the life of Riley. Partying all night and spending his days trading Del Toro's Oscar and stolen Jaeger tech for Sriracha hot sauce.
Fate (and the purposes of the plot) brings him into contact with a young upstart Amara Namani (played with zesty zeal by Cailee Spaeny) who has built her own mini-Jaeger. One CGI-heavy chase later and they are arrested and brought back into the Jaeger pilot programme by Jake's half-sister Mako Mori (Rinko Kukuchi returning along with Charlie Day and Burn Gorman).
Mori needs Jake's help to to keep the programme running in the face of a proposed remote drone programme but before you can say "Kaiju believe it?", evil forces have conspired to reopen the breach and giant monsters are soon rampaging through downtown Tokyo like Godzilla going for a midday stroll.
Uprising doubles down on the action in some genuinely surprising and enjoyable ways, even if they create plot holes wider than a breach in the Pacific ocean.
The main reason that the audience will go with them and keep a silly smile on their face throughout is down to lead actor (and producer) John Boyega. It is a performance that cements his position as a bona fide movie star and he could power an entire fleet of Jaegers with the power of his charisma alone..
Pacific Rim Uprising is a classic Ronseal film in that it does exactly what it says on the tin but Boyega is the Jaeger-Bomb!

3 stars