Quiet Times

Five Day Weekend. Now, there are times in the past where I would have killed for that sort of thing, normally when I'd be working and have to deal with either crack-hungry kids (and by crack I mean Warhammer models) or crack-hungry adults (and by crack I mean Alcohol) at either GW or in any one of the numerous bars I've worked at. Back then a five day weekend would have felt like a crack-fuelled coma of laziness and well-earned crack (and by crack I mean crack).

(I don't do crack)

So aside from just watching Doctor Who for tonight, which has so far been the strongest episode of the series (Time Of Angels) and blew my metaphysical-potentially-crack-filled socks off, I have been up to not very much.

I've applied for two jobs this week, both on Thursday morning and so far haven't heard back from either. I'm going to need work seriously soon or I'm going to be slumming back to Newbury over the summer to hang out at Rios and whine.

Two weeks to go until the end of the University year and then I shall be in my third and final year, a bloody scary concept since it feels like we only started five minutes ago. The ups and downs have been rapid and pretty damn good.

Oh, and Coates has aged. Whippersnapper.

THE LOVELY BONES.

Right... still not sure where I stand with this film. I can't say as I hated it, I can't say as I loved it. I wanted to have some kind of reaction to it, but I don't think that I did. I remember it pretty clearly, but there was nothing that really... stuck. It was all just kinda... vague.

The story, as the book, follows the thoughts of Susie Salmon, before and after her murder at the hands of a man with a suspicious moustache. And just like actual thoughts, the movie is only passingly linear, only a tad in touch with reality and dream-like in a wishy-washy sense.

The acting is reasonably good, but all of the rest are out done by Susan Sarandon, who steals the show relentlessly whenever she's on screen.

The visuals are very, very beautiful. In this age of gimmicks and UTTERLY POINTLESS 3D where film-makers know that having a flashy CGI sequence will draw in the crowds of drooling idiots just waiting to dump their cash on the desk and have their brains dribble out of their ears at the sight of a flying blue talentless hack, it's good to see that Peter Jackson still has a good eye for a good shot that doesn't rely on bloody generated graphics. And by that I mean the sequence in the bedroom, you'll know it.

Overall, I was pretty disappointed with this movie. The dream team was back together, Jackson, Boyens and Walsh all wrote it and they made Lord of the Rings as awesome as it was. But no, it appears they couldn't work that magic again.

Next Time: The Crazies.