(Note, this part of the post salvaged from one I didn't finish back on the 17th November.)
Well, at about 2am this morning, I concluded Episode 13 of Season 5 of Resistance, my post-apocalyptic super-hero script. That means that in the two years I've been tapping away at this project, I've done 65 episodes, each one 42 pages long. That, by most people's standards, is a hell of a lot of writing.
See, thing is, is that when some friends of mine read over the first few episodes, they pointed out a few typos and mistakes that I didn't catch onto at first. Did I go back and change them? No, not really. Haven't done so unless I was in the middle of the episode and realised back then.
So that means that all 65 of those episodes were first drafts. I just did a first draft for five seasons of a tv show. And probably quite an expensive first draft, looking at the special effects suggestions that I made. Not that I expect anyone will ever see most of them.
(This part of the post now written on 4th December)
So yeah, I've gone back and looked at some of those earlier Resistance scripts from two years ago. Man, do they need a second draft. That aside however, I was amazed at how the characters had developed over the years and seasons. Now, I'm not one for much characterisation when writing, I tend to just lay it all down and see where it goes, with characters acting themselves really, tapping into that part of my brain where my actual concious thought dare not to tred.
And you know what? It works, it really does. Maelstrom has the most pronounced change throughout the story, mainly towards the end, while Stonewall has kinda the inverse of hers. Nathan was always my favourite character, how he went from being quite a dick to being a confusion spouting idiot savant. Rush and Regiment had the least changes going on for them. In Rush's case it's clear I don't really get teenage girls, while for Regiment, well he was perfect from the start.
Do I like it? Yeah. Will I do more? Maybe. Will anyone ever read all of these? Dunno, how patient are they?
GOOD COP
(from the BBC)
When the first episode of Good Cop hit the iPlayer I didn't really bother with it, I trust the acting capabilities of Warren Brown, but what with him being the sidekick in Luther, was hoping not to see him in anymore police drama unless it was either a spin off of Luther or more Luther. Because man, do we need more Luther in our lives.
The premise was fantastic, a bad day for a beat cop turns worse when his best friend is murdered by a group of thugs. He decides to take matters into his own hands
Tuesday 4 December 2012
Saturday 1 December 2012
Like You Did In Goa!
So, Hindu wedding time! For me this happened back on the last weekend of August, the one that had a Bank Holiday Monday on the end of it. Now, my cousin Clare (like me, pale as the driven snow) has married a Hindu bloke, Aron. Aron's a great laugh and has been 'with' the family for a while now, first met him a few years ago and nobody was surprised when the wedding got announced, mostly they were thinking 'about time too'.
So finally it's time for them to get married and we're told that there's two ceremonies, one on the sunday and one on bank holiday monday. The first one is a Hindu ceremony while the second one is a White Wedding (and it's called that because the colour of the dress, not because I'm as racist as I might sound in the next few paragraphs, that's a fun warning to give). So we set off to Wolverhampton at 7:30 in the morning.
My parents were here for it, my brother had just finished work (so he'd been up for about 24 hours by the end of it) and we get to the funtion hall in Wolverhampton. My mum finds all the bridesmaids in the ladies' loo trying to put saari's on with the air od youtube on their iphones and a few cousins and uncles of mine are standing around, so we join them.
At this point, it should be noted that we were the odd ones out in skin tone, there may as well have been a sign hanging over our heads that read 'confused white people'. Then people start filing out of the hall and we all think 'do we follow them?'. So being good Brits, we do exactly that, walk out the door, fifty feet down the road and then turn a corner. When we get there, we see the groom being hoisted onto a horse.
A horse.
Now quite frankly, any wedding that I go to from now on that does not include a horse? I shall be disappointed. I shall inform the wedded couple that their wedding featured no horses and I shall be miffed for the whole day. Getting back to saturday morning however, we then follow the groom as he rides this horse round the corner, back the fifty feet we just strolled and then gets off it again. While we're all scratching out heads, my cousin Claire arrives and she looks absolutely divine in this red and gold traditional Hindu dress and headgarb that they have her in. It looked awkward to move in, but it certainly caught all eyes.
She is walked up to the tent by her entire family (and there were a few of us there) and then the ceremony starts. We actually had no idea that the ceremony had started, because the parents, couple and priest are all in a tent and the rest of us don't matter. All the other guests (who were used to this) were all having samosas, texting and chatting away. Never seen anything like it. We were told that this was an abridged ceremony, lasting only an hour and a half, unlike the three-day ones that you can get. Also, no sense of personal space, people were just going up and leaning in to this tent, taking photos and eating all those samosas.
When this is drawn to a close, the group all moves over to the dance floor and tables and the food is brought round, then first of our Punjabi Disco's is kicked off and then there's four or so hours of dancing. Oh yes, the Hindi Beats went on for long after we left, we were there for a good few of those hours with our family, then my brother really needed some sleep, so we headed back. He got to get a few hours before he had work again that night. In the meantime, my parents and I packed up our stuff and headed out to Chalfont the next day for Wedding-stage 2.
We had a big family barbecue, then checked into the hotel where the wedding was taking place. We gave Aron the room that dad had booked for my brother (because he was still working). The next morning my brother drives up to Chalfont straight from work and does the second of his megalithic days (think this one was 31 hours or so) and we go to our second wedding ceremony (we understood this one), our second wedding meal (sadly, no samosas) and our second Punjabi Disco. In between were some moving speeches, some good family moments and a fair amount of cake. My uncle's brass band played some Glenn Miller classics before the disco though, and there was some serious dancing going on there, my brother is a smooth operator with the ladies when the trumpets get going. Then as the disco started, some dude with a thick Indian accent tells me that I must 'Bust a move! I saw you on Saturday! Bust that move! Like you did in Goa!'
I have never been to Goa, but I can certainly bust a move with the best of them.
By 1am, I'd carried my brother to bed and was amongst the last standing, me and one of the bridesmaid's boyfriends helped carry Aron back to his room, while Claire watched and chortled. Got to wonder why she only chose bridesmaids who had boyfriends or were related to me though, no pulling there.
I remember when we were kids and Claire was this little bratty girl who always wanted to get her way and seemed annoyingly smarter than me. Well, she's still smarter than me, but she's grown out of the rest. I really do wish her, Aron and their burgeoning family business well.
It was an epic weekend.
LAWLESS.
Wasn't expecting to see this movie and it didn't go down well with Corn Exchange audiances. Who did it go down well with? Me, that's who. This was a great film, and I normally can't stand Shia LeTwatface, this was a geat film for him and an even better one for Tom Hardy (who said about eight words and managed to have the presence of particularly angry Titan throughout). Hats off also to Jason Clarke and Guy Pearce for their truly great performances.
This was a brutal, bloody film with a great story and some quality grit to it. It was halfway between a Western and a Gangster film and had all that I wanted from both. While it was based on a book by the descendant of Shia's character, it didn't seem biased towards these violent thugs, but they were endearing characters who knew what they'd gotten themselves into. The personal legend of Forrest being unable to die was a real clincher in how vital he was to the story.
I'd heartily recommend this film to anyone who has a strong enough stomach for it.
Next up: GOOD COP (from the BBC)
So finally it's time for them to get married and we're told that there's two ceremonies, one on the sunday and one on bank holiday monday. The first one is a Hindu ceremony while the second one is a White Wedding (and it's called that because the colour of the dress, not because I'm as racist as I might sound in the next few paragraphs, that's a fun warning to give). So we set off to Wolverhampton at 7:30 in the morning.
My parents were here for it, my brother had just finished work (so he'd been up for about 24 hours by the end of it) and we get to the funtion hall in Wolverhampton. My mum finds all the bridesmaids in the ladies' loo trying to put saari's on with the air od youtube on their iphones and a few cousins and uncles of mine are standing around, so we join them.
At this point, it should be noted that we were the odd ones out in skin tone, there may as well have been a sign hanging over our heads that read 'confused white people'. Then people start filing out of the hall and we all think 'do we follow them?'. So being good Brits, we do exactly that, walk out the door, fifty feet down the road and then turn a corner. When we get there, we see the groom being hoisted onto a horse.
A horse.
Now quite frankly, any wedding that I go to from now on that does not include a horse? I shall be disappointed. I shall inform the wedded couple that their wedding featured no horses and I shall be miffed for the whole day. Getting back to saturday morning however, we then follow the groom as he rides this horse round the corner, back the fifty feet we just strolled and then gets off it again. While we're all scratching out heads, my cousin Claire arrives and she looks absolutely divine in this red and gold traditional Hindu dress and headgarb that they have her in. It looked awkward to move in, but it certainly caught all eyes.
She is walked up to the tent by her entire family (and there were a few of us there) and then the ceremony starts. We actually had no idea that the ceremony had started, because the parents, couple and priest are all in a tent and the rest of us don't matter. All the other guests (who were used to this) were all having samosas, texting and chatting away. Never seen anything like it. We were told that this was an abridged ceremony, lasting only an hour and a half, unlike the three-day ones that you can get. Also, no sense of personal space, people were just going up and leaning in to this tent, taking photos and eating all those samosas.
When this is drawn to a close, the group all moves over to the dance floor and tables and the food is brought round, then first of our Punjabi Disco's is kicked off and then there's four or so hours of dancing. Oh yes, the Hindi Beats went on for long after we left, we were there for a good few of those hours with our family, then my brother really needed some sleep, so we headed back. He got to get a few hours before he had work again that night. In the meantime, my parents and I packed up our stuff and headed out to Chalfont the next day for Wedding-stage 2.
We had a big family barbecue, then checked into the hotel where the wedding was taking place. We gave Aron the room that dad had booked for my brother (because he was still working). The next morning my brother drives up to Chalfont straight from work and does the second of his megalithic days (think this one was 31 hours or so) and we go to our second wedding ceremony (we understood this one), our second wedding meal (sadly, no samosas) and our second Punjabi Disco. In between were some moving speeches, some good family moments and a fair amount of cake. My uncle's brass band played some Glenn Miller classics before the disco though, and there was some serious dancing going on there, my brother is a smooth operator with the ladies when the trumpets get going. Then as the disco started, some dude with a thick Indian accent tells me that I must 'Bust a move! I saw you on Saturday! Bust that move! Like you did in Goa!'
I have never been to Goa, but I can certainly bust a move with the best of them.
By 1am, I'd carried my brother to bed and was amongst the last standing, me and one of the bridesmaid's boyfriends helped carry Aron back to his room, while Claire watched and chortled. Got to wonder why she only chose bridesmaids who had boyfriends or were related to me though, no pulling there.
I remember when we were kids and Claire was this little bratty girl who always wanted to get her way and seemed annoyingly smarter than me. Well, she's still smarter than me, but she's grown out of the rest. I really do wish her, Aron and their burgeoning family business well.
It was an epic weekend.
LAWLESS.
Wasn't expecting to see this movie and it didn't go down well with Corn Exchange audiances. Who did it go down well with? Me, that's who. This was a great film, and I normally can't stand Shia LeTwatface, this was a geat film for him and an even better one for Tom Hardy (who said about eight words and managed to have the presence of particularly angry Titan throughout). Hats off also to Jason Clarke and Guy Pearce for their truly great performances.
This was a brutal, bloody film with a great story and some quality grit to it. It was halfway between a Western and a Gangster film and had all that I wanted from both. While it was based on a book by the descendant of Shia's character, it didn't seem biased towards these violent thugs, but they were endearing characters who knew what they'd gotten themselves into. The personal legend of Forrest being unable to die was a real clincher in how vital he was to the story.
I'd heartily recommend this film to anyone who has a strong enough stomach for it.
Next up: GOOD COP (from the BBC)
Monday 19 November 2012
Felt The Need
To write a blog post. I've been up for about 24 hours now, in order to reset my lousy sleeping pattern. I'm not all that tired yet so I should be good until about 10pm or so. What have I done with those hours? Worked for a few, me and my brother got take out and then watched movies, then we played Dungeons and Dragons for about six and a half hours, listened to some serious Linkin' Park and went to Tesco to buy Cherry Coke, copious amounts of pizza, crisps and some of those Southern Fried Chicken sticks I've taken a liking too. Then I spent the last eight hours on my sofa, in my pyjamas playing Xbox games. It's a monday.
I love being an adult sometimes.
ANNA KARENINA
For those of you expecting another cop-out costume drama from the inseperable team of Joe Wright and Keira Knightly... you're only half right. It's got all the trappings for being a stodgy look at pretty frocks and overpaid actors... but the theatrical motif that the film is presented in is head-scratchingly beautiful, the script is tight (as tight as a script adapted from one of the most sprawling Russian epics ever written can be) and the acting is pretty good all round.
I really wasn't expecting to like this film, it's not my normal cup of tea. I genuinely felt like it knew that it lacked originality in some areas, so it had to make up for it in others, which it managed to do with the whole 'we're in a theatre but not really' scene setting. I recommend it, but go into it knowing that it's a long old haul and you may need to take notes on who knows who and why are there two main storylines that only have the slightest bit of interaction... what's that? Tolstoy was an arse? Yep, sounds about right.
Good to see Ruth Wilson in work and Jude Law gives one of my favourite of his performances in this piece, and I don't say that lightly.
Next up: LAWLESS
I love being an adult sometimes.
ANNA KARENINA
For those of you expecting another cop-out costume drama from the inseperable team of Joe Wright and Keira Knightly... you're only half right. It's got all the trappings for being a stodgy look at pretty frocks and overpaid actors... but the theatrical motif that the film is presented in is head-scratchingly beautiful, the script is tight (as tight as a script adapted from one of the most sprawling Russian epics ever written can be) and the acting is pretty good all round.
I really wasn't expecting to like this film, it's not my normal cup of tea. I genuinely felt like it knew that it lacked originality in some areas, so it had to make up for it in others, which it managed to do with the whole 'we're in a theatre but not really' scene setting. I recommend it, but go into it knowing that it's a long old haul and you may need to take notes on who knows who and why are there two main storylines that only have the slightest bit of interaction... what's that? Tolstoy was an arse? Yep, sounds about right.
Good to see Ruth Wilson in work and Jude Law gives one of my favourite of his performances in this piece, and I don't say that lightly.
Next up: LAWLESS
Saturday 10 November 2012
He Ain't Heavy...
So my brother just moved out, he's been living with me for the best part of seven months. We swapped as to who got the bedroom and who got the living room a fw times, but mostly it was him upstairs and me downstairs. He works as a night porter for a hotel just outside of town, so that involves a great deal of sitting around, watching dvds, not doing much work and being paid more than I do for it. Damn him.
It's been good having him around, there's always someone to talk to about gaming, he does more housework than me, Kerry and Naomi combined and he brought his TV with him, which will be leaving soon. I didn't want to kick him out, really, but I'd already signed a pact with a panto actress and she's moving her stuff in right now. There is some hoovering going on upstairs... thought Jon said he'd hoovered before he left...
Anyway, means my house will be slightly less gamer tastic, but at least the money situation will improve, what with all the shelling out I've had to do on behalf of my two actual flatmates, they ain't seeing none of Amy's rent cash.
Haven't done much blogging lately, have I? Do wonder if I've lost a passion for it. Got films to review out the arse, but I'm not that fussed anymore. I'll struggle on through a few more, see how I feel. Next one I'm definately talking about that Hindu wedding, I suspect that'll be a long one. As for other stuff... yeah, got no news really, was gutted that I couldn't go up to Manchester for Will's birthday, but that's about it.
DREDD 3D
"I am! The Law!" was the line that Stallone used to sum up the character of Judge Dredd, the brutal, uncompromising, facist who shoots people in a dystopian mega-future. And while I still look back and enjoy Stallone's Judge Dredd movie, it was more really a Stallone film with flying bikes, rather than an actual Judge Dredd movie. I should probably say that while I sound like I'm defending the 2000AD comic strip that it's all based off, I've never actually read any of it.
However, the one thing that everyone knows about Judge Dredd is that he never takes his helmet off. Stallone took his off inside of five minutes and it stayed off. Now Urban? Karl Urban kept his on the entire film and it was AWEsome. The plot for this film is effectively simple. New drug being peddled by violent psychopaths. Dredd goes to arrest violent psychopaths. Violent psychopaths lock building, then try to kill Dredd. Dredd do the shooting thing. Lots of the shooting thing.
Alex Garland, the writer of this new and improved Dredd, hit it on the head when he said that the problem with Dredd is that the main character has character development in the same way that continents have drift. Technically it happens, but realistically we don't see it. Having a sidekick, in this case the psychic Anderson, allows for Dredd to be himself and Anderson to do all the developing and so on. It works, it really, really works. This is a great movie with some absolutely beautiful violence.
I highly recommend it, just for the action scenes if nothing else, but it's definately one to check out.
Next up: Anna Karenina
It's been good having him around, there's always someone to talk to about gaming, he does more housework than me, Kerry and Naomi combined and he brought his TV with him, which will be leaving soon. I didn't want to kick him out, really, but I'd already signed a pact with a panto actress and she's moving her stuff in right now. There is some hoovering going on upstairs... thought Jon said he'd hoovered before he left...
Anyway, means my house will be slightly less gamer tastic, but at least the money situation will improve, what with all the shelling out I've had to do on behalf of my two actual flatmates, they ain't seeing none of Amy's rent cash.
Haven't done much blogging lately, have I? Do wonder if I've lost a passion for it. Got films to review out the arse, but I'm not that fussed anymore. I'll struggle on through a few more, see how I feel. Next one I'm definately talking about that Hindu wedding, I suspect that'll be a long one. As for other stuff... yeah, got no news really, was gutted that I couldn't go up to Manchester for Will's birthday, but that's about it.
DREDD 3D
"I am! The Law!" was the line that Stallone used to sum up the character of Judge Dredd, the brutal, uncompromising, facist who shoots people in a dystopian mega-future. And while I still look back and enjoy Stallone's Judge Dredd movie, it was more really a Stallone film with flying bikes, rather than an actual Judge Dredd movie. I should probably say that while I sound like I'm defending the 2000AD comic strip that it's all based off, I've never actually read any of it.
However, the one thing that everyone knows about Judge Dredd is that he never takes his helmet off. Stallone took his off inside of five minutes and it stayed off. Now Urban? Karl Urban kept his on the entire film and it was AWEsome. The plot for this film is effectively simple. New drug being peddled by violent psychopaths. Dredd goes to arrest violent psychopaths. Violent psychopaths lock building, then try to kill Dredd. Dredd do the shooting thing. Lots of the shooting thing.
Alex Garland, the writer of this new and improved Dredd, hit it on the head when he said that the problem with Dredd is that the main character has character development in the same way that continents have drift. Technically it happens, but realistically we don't see it. Having a sidekick, in this case the psychic Anderson, allows for Dredd to be himself and Anderson to do all the developing and so on. It works, it really, really works. This is a great movie with some absolutely beautiful violence.
I highly recommend it, just for the action scenes if nothing else, but it's definately one to check out.
Next up: Anna Karenina
Saturday 20 October 2012
Making Up Lost Time
So actually a fair few things have been going on for me in the last few months, I just hadn't been around to report on them in this vast online forum that hundreds of people read. Oh wait, about five people read, sorry, my mistake. So I should either talk about the zombie hunting some more, or the Hindu wedding I went to a few weeks ago, or the new business I'm trying to set up. I could talk about how my gaming group is getting on and there's more DVD's that I've got that need a four line review.
I could talk about how my beloved tennants in Southampton have made me do a massive facepalm, but that might be pusing the boundries. I've also had some massive trouble concerning this sodding flat I'm living in, so I'll get round to that at some point. To be honest, I'm not sure where to start, so I'll start next time. There's changes afoot at Rios, and I just want to shout out my kinsman, Wiggy, who's been a staple in front of the grill there for five and a half years, he's moving on to Reading.
Gonna be weird working there on a friday and saturday night without him. Probably a bit less stressful, 'cause he does tend to make things that bit more stressful, but then he is a chef, and that's just what they do. He's a good bloke and he deserves this fresh new start to go well. With him gone and the new girl being an unknown quality (as in, it's unknown if she made it through her first week at the job), I'll be doing more hours and at more responsibility than before. We'll see how that goes.
See you, buddy.
BRAVE
While I do immensely enjoy this film, it's not the best that Pixar have ever produced. In my personal opinion, that's still WALL-E, but this is an achievement in itself for Pixar, being the first time they've tried a film with a female protagonist. It's an interesting one, gender politics in film. On the one hand, there's actresses who complain that there aren't enough powerful female roles available (*cough* Heigl *cough*), but on the other there aren't as many female writers out there.
The correlation seems obvious to me, men write men best, women write women best. Unless your surname is Whedon, in which case, do as you will.
However, kinda strayed off topic here, so. Brave. Clearly divided between it's two director/writers, it seems very much a film of two halves.
While the story seemed to be going in one direction, what with the whole clans gathering and highland games and that, it took a very different turn with the witch and the curse and then everyone was turning into bears... well, it's good fun and the animation is some of the best Pixar has ever produced, but there was some further refinement of the script that should have been done, but really wasn't. It's still a perfectly good film, very heartwarming, very well animated and very entertaining. I'm not going to say that it's a 'must see', but it's worth it.
Also, that chick's hair? Unbelievable when you look back at what they were boasting about Final Fantasy: Spirits Within, eh? And what Scottish movie wouldn't be complete without a bit of Billy Connolly as her dad?
Next up: DREDD 3D
I could talk about how my beloved tennants in Southampton have made me do a massive facepalm, but that might be pusing the boundries. I've also had some massive trouble concerning this sodding flat I'm living in, so I'll get round to that at some point. To be honest, I'm not sure where to start, so I'll start next time. There's changes afoot at Rios, and I just want to shout out my kinsman, Wiggy, who's been a staple in front of the grill there for five and a half years, he's moving on to Reading.
Gonna be weird working there on a friday and saturday night without him. Probably a bit less stressful, 'cause he does tend to make things that bit more stressful, but then he is a chef, and that's just what they do. He's a good bloke and he deserves this fresh new start to go well. With him gone and the new girl being an unknown quality (as in, it's unknown if she made it through her first week at the job), I'll be doing more hours and at more responsibility than before. We'll see how that goes.
See you, buddy.
BRAVE
While I do immensely enjoy this film, it's not the best that Pixar have ever produced. In my personal opinion, that's still WALL-E, but this is an achievement in itself for Pixar, being the first time they've tried a film with a female protagonist. It's an interesting one, gender politics in film. On the one hand, there's actresses who complain that there aren't enough powerful female roles available (*cough* Heigl *cough*), but on the other there aren't as many female writers out there.
The correlation seems obvious to me, men write men best, women write women best. Unless your surname is Whedon, in which case, do as you will.
However, kinda strayed off topic here, so. Brave. Clearly divided between it's two director/writers, it seems very much a film of two halves.
While the story seemed to be going in one direction, what with the whole clans gathering and highland games and that, it took a very different turn with the witch and the curse and then everyone was turning into bears... well, it's good fun and the animation is some of the best Pixar has ever produced, but there was some further refinement of the script that should have been done, but really wasn't. It's still a perfectly good film, very heartwarming, very well animated and very entertaining. I'm not going to say that it's a 'must see', but it's worth it.
Also, that chick's hair? Unbelievable when you look back at what they were boasting about Final Fantasy: Spirits Within, eh? And what Scottish movie wouldn't be complete without a bit of Billy Connolly as her dad?
Next up: DREDD 3D
Tuesday 16 October 2012
That's where I left my Blog...
Huh, so... miss me? I decided that I really had neglected my blog for faaaar toooo looooonnngggg and that I should attempt to get back into the habit. Not entirely sure why I let it slip this time, but it's not the first time I've done that and I'm pretty sure it won't be the last, either.
So there's a whole bunch of things that have happened to me over the last few months that I should probably talk about, but I'll start with what I did yesterday, which was go to London and see Gaslight Anthem for the third time. For this, I went with my friend Coates from my uni days.
They are still awesome. They're a great band with good energy and they really bring the room alive when they start playing. For some reason they always seem to pick one good support act (Twin Atlantic, Chuck Raegan and David Hause) and one terrible support act (The Sharks twice now and Blood Red Shoes). It was a good gig and we stayed on the sidelines for this one, normally we try to get further up to the front. Oddly, they didn't play a cover this time, which Coates complained about their lack of playing Baba O'Rielly. Even so, was good times.
Also visited Ed's Diner in Leicester Square, which provided some inspiration and an awesome burger. It seems like a good business model, but we'll see how it works out when we get round to working on opening... The Movies...
So. A film I really should have reviewed already.
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
The Dark Knight Rises. I mean, what a film. As Batman movies go, this is definately in an uneasy position to start with. It has to follow The Dark Knight, a movie that pretty much everyone in the world declared the best thing to ever happen period. It then has to deal with the death of Heath Ledger, the man who made that previous film as amazing as it was. It then had all the negative press around the hideous mess in Aurora. So how did it do, with all that weight around its neck?
Pretty good.
I'm not gonna say that this one was better than the last two of the Nolan Batman films, it's probably the weakest of the three, but if you took it out of that context, you'd hold this film up as a work of high art compared to the Burton/Schumacher Batman films of yesterdecade. The beginning of the plot has a few questions that I wondered about. Basically, he has to learn how to be Batman again, after a long hiatus. Then he goes out and does Batman things. Then he does the fight with Bane, Bane does the thing he is most famous for (a large cracking noise), and then leaves Batman in a pit. Batman then has to remember to be Batman again. Didn't we... didn't we do that already? Pretty sure that we could have cut out half an hour of the movie around there somewhere. Not that there was that much Batman in the movie in the first place...
But that being said, all the other performances were pretty spot on. Marion Cotillard was as enchanting as ever, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is well and truly no longer the kid from Third Rock From The Sun anymore, he's a movie star now. Gary Oldman is still my hero, he's probably the most active actor in this entire film, to be honest. JGL was more of a main protagonist than Batman himself at times, but I don't think this makes the movie weaker, I think it shows that Bruce Wayne knows that his time has come. Michael Caine is as touching as ever, despite the small role he was given. Wasn't entirely sure about Anne Hathaway's Catwoman, but she does look good in that suit, so we'll let her off. And that just leaves Tom Hardy. Nobody thought they could do a badguy as good as Heath Ledger's Joker. All those people? They be wrong.
'Nobody cared who I was before I put on the mask'.
Bane carries every scene that he's in with an unbelievable power, authority and grace, despite his massively lumpen muscled frame. It's hard to believe that this is still Tom Hardy who was so slim and refined in Inception, so freakish is Star Trek Nemesis. This guy is one of the absolute stars of our age and we're lucky to have him on our screens. I don't want to be a downer on Christian Bale, but we always know that, just like Batman himself, Bale isn't normally all that interesting compared to his enemies.
So all in all this is a worth film to finish the franchise on, despite everyone's claims that they can make a fourth one, no they shouldn't and they really won't. Batman has a future, maybe, but it'll be rebooted and made more Justice League friendly, so we'll see how the new Superman film pans out. As it stands, this is a fitting way to see out Batman. For now. The Dark Knight began, fell, rose and then flew. It doesn't get much better than these three films in a franchise. Beware the Dark.
Next up:
BRAVE
So there's a whole bunch of things that have happened to me over the last few months that I should probably talk about, but I'll start with what I did yesterday, which was go to London and see Gaslight Anthem for the third time. For this, I went with my friend Coates from my uni days.
They are still awesome. They're a great band with good energy and they really bring the room alive when they start playing. For some reason they always seem to pick one good support act (Twin Atlantic, Chuck Raegan and David Hause) and one terrible support act (The Sharks twice now and Blood Red Shoes). It was a good gig and we stayed on the sidelines for this one, normally we try to get further up to the front. Oddly, they didn't play a cover this time, which Coates complained about their lack of playing Baba O'Rielly. Even so, was good times.
Also visited Ed's Diner in Leicester Square, which provided some inspiration and an awesome burger. It seems like a good business model, but we'll see how it works out when we get round to working on opening... The Movies...
So. A film I really should have reviewed already.
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
The Dark Knight Rises. I mean, what a film. As Batman movies go, this is definately in an uneasy position to start with. It has to follow The Dark Knight, a movie that pretty much everyone in the world declared the best thing to ever happen period. It then has to deal with the death of Heath Ledger, the man who made that previous film as amazing as it was. It then had all the negative press around the hideous mess in Aurora. So how did it do, with all that weight around its neck?
Pretty good.
I'm not gonna say that this one was better than the last two of the Nolan Batman films, it's probably the weakest of the three, but if you took it out of that context, you'd hold this film up as a work of high art compared to the Burton/Schumacher Batman films of yesterdecade. The beginning of the plot has a few questions that I wondered about. Basically, he has to learn how to be Batman again, after a long hiatus. Then he goes out and does Batman things. Then he does the fight with Bane, Bane does the thing he is most famous for (a large cracking noise), and then leaves Batman in a pit. Batman then has to remember to be Batman again. Didn't we... didn't we do that already? Pretty sure that we could have cut out half an hour of the movie around there somewhere. Not that there was that much Batman in the movie in the first place...
But that being said, all the other performances were pretty spot on. Marion Cotillard was as enchanting as ever, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is well and truly no longer the kid from Third Rock From The Sun anymore, he's a movie star now. Gary Oldman is still my hero, he's probably the most active actor in this entire film, to be honest. JGL was more of a main protagonist than Batman himself at times, but I don't think this makes the movie weaker, I think it shows that Bruce Wayne knows that his time has come. Michael Caine is as touching as ever, despite the small role he was given. Wasn't entirely sure about Anne Hathaway's Catwoman, but she does look good in that suit, so we'll let her off. And that just leaves Tom Hardy. Nobody thought they could do a badguy as good as Heath Ledger's Joker. All those people? They be wrong.
'Nobody cared who I was before I put on the mask'.
Bane carries every scene that he's in with an unbelievable power, authority and grace, despite his massively lumpen muscled frame. It's hard to believe that this is still Tom Hardy who was so slim and refined in Inception, so freakish is Star Trek Nemesis. This guy is one of the absolute stars of our age and we're lucky to have him on our screens. I don't want to be a downer on Christian Bale, but we always know that, just like Batman himself, Bale isn't normally all that interesting compared to his enemies.
So all in all this is a worth film to finish the franchise on, despite everyone's claims that they can make a fourth one, no they shouldn't and they really won't. Batman has a future, maybe, but it'll be rebooted and made more Justice League friendly, so we'll see how the new Superman film pans out. As it stands, this is a fitting way to see out Batman. For now. The Dark Knight began, fell, rose and then flew. It doesn't get much better than these three films in a franchise. Beware the Dark.
Next up:
BRAVE
Friday 3 August 2012
Hunters Of The Dead
So what else could I talk about other than the experience that I just had this evening? Me, my friend Dave and my friend Carl all pile into the car, drive up to Reading, find the back of an abadoned shopping centre, get ushered in by guys dressed up as police officers and then get given tac-vests, BB shotguns and those plastic specs things to protect your eyes.
Then we have to run around said abandoned shopping centre being chased by guys who are dressed up as zombies. So yes, tonight, three men hunted the dead. And were then hunted by the dead quite a lot in return. I tell you, they certainly knew how to use their environment and the darkness and just how frickin' scary it can be on your own in a basement... and there's...
Shuffling...
I'll talk more about it sometime soon, but I highly recommend looking into Zed Events if you have a hundred and thirty quid or so spare and some friends who are similarly financially blessed. Worth it, really worth it, and what with all the panicked running and sweating and shotgun pumping and stuff, it's a better workout than going to the sodding gym.
THE SOURCE
Well, what can I say about this movie? It doesn't quite obey a more recognisable Western story formula, but that's because it's a heavily rooted Islamic film. For those of you who don't know, it's the story of a village in an Islamic country, where the only source of fresh water is a Source up the mountain side, a narrow and dangerous path is the only way there and the men expect the women (even the heavily pregnant ones) to go fetch it for them.
So one woman decides that she's had enough and organises a 'Love Strike'. None of them are going to touch their husbands while they refuse to either help, or get water to the village. Does this go down well? Of course it doesn't. Does it lead to one of the edgiest and most jaw-droppingly controversial portrayals of Islamic gender politics I've ever seen? Of course it does. That's reason enough to find it and watch it.
This movie isn't without flaws, I couldn't always tell all the many female parts apart, I also felt that there was good solid 20 minutes or so of drag in there. Never mind, it's worth it just for the message.
Next up: What else?
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
Then we have to run around said abandoned shopping centre being chased by guys who are dressed up as zombies. So yes, tonight, three men hunted the dead. And were then hunted by the dead quite a lot in return. I tell you, they certainly knew how to use their environment and the darkness and just how frickin' scary it can be on your own in a basement... and there's...
Shuffling...
I'll talk more about it sometime soon, but I highly recommend looking into Zed Events if you have a hundred and thirty quid or so spare and some friends who are similarly financially blessed. Worth it, really worth it, and what with all the panicked running and sweating and shotgun pumping and stuff, it's a better workout than going to the sodding gym.
THE SOURCE
Well, what can I say about this movie? It doesn't quite obey a more recognisable Western story formula, but that's because it's a heavily rooted Islamic film. For those of you who don't know, it's the story of a village in an Islamic country, where the only source of fresh water is a Source up the mountain side, a narrow and dangerous path is the only way there and the men expect the women (even the heavily pregnant ones) to go fetch it for them.
So one woman decides that she's had enough and organises a 'Love Strike'. None of them are going to touch their husbands while they refuse to either help, or get water to the village. Does this go down well? Of course it doesn't. Does it lead to one of the edgiest and most jaw-droppingly controversial portrayals of Islamic gender politics I've ever seen? Of course it does. That's reason enough to find it and watch it.
This movie isn't without flaws, I couldn't always tell all the many female parts apart, I also felt that there was good solid 20 minutes or so of drag in there. Never mind, it's worth it just for the message.
Next up: What else?
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
Tuesday 31 July 2012
Aches and Strains
So I finished watching Smallville and I've been going to the gym a lot. That's pretty much all I've got going for me at the moment and I can't really think of much else to say that doesn't relate to my views on the film I'm about to talk about.
So.... yeah, just the film then.
THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN
While I'm certain that the title 'The Acceptable Spiderman' or possibly 'The Average Spiderman' don't sound quite so inspiring or as likely to sell tickets, they probably would have been more apt in describing the film. I mean, this isn't a terrible film, in fact I actually quite liked it, but it's nothing groundbreaking or in any way all that 'amazing'.
I liked the majority of the cast, although I wasn't sure about Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey, there's something in her voice that indicates she's much older than the teenager she's supposed to be portraying. I mean, I know that's pretty much par for the course in teenage movies (they're all played by 30 year olds), but something made the disbelief unsuspend.
The choice of villain was interesting, but I feel that the Lizard's face looked kinda wrong, there was something unintimidating about the shape of its mouth, coulda done with more jaw, I think. His plot was reasonable, but there was very little justification for many of his actions. When you think about it, Lizards a cold blooded and therefore have no real emotions and that kind of makes it work, it's just they never said any of that in the movie. The decision to keep Norman Osborne off the screen probably wasn't a great one, but they didn't want him overshadowing the film, I suppose.
It's long, but I didn't feel like I was being forced to sit through it, I felt more like I was getting my money's worth. It's worth a watch, I think, but if you can't be bothered then I won't blame you, the Tobey McGuire ones are still just as okay. Well, not the third one, lets not talk about the third one.
Next up: The Source
So.... yeah, just the film then.
THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN
While I'm certain that the title 'The Acceptable Spiderman' or possibly 'The Average Spiderman' don't sound quite so inspiring or as likely to sell tickets, they probably would have been more apt in describing the film. I mean, this isn't a terrible film, in fact I actually quite liked it, but it's nothing groundbreaking or in any way all that 'amazing'.
I liked the majority of the cast, although I wasn't sure about Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey, there's something in her voice that indicates she's much older than the teenager she's supposed to be portraying. I mean, I know that's pretty much par for the course in teenage movies (they're all played by 30 year olds), but something made the disbelief unsuspend.
The choice of villain was interesting, but I feel that the Lizard's face looked kinda wrong, there was something unintimidating about the shape of its mouth, coulda done with more jaw, I think. His plot was reasonable, but there was very little justification for many of his actions. When you think about it, Lizards a cold blooded and therefore have no real emotions and that kind of makes it work, it's just they never said any of that in the movie. The decision to keep Norman Osborne off the screen probably wasn't a great one, but they didn't want him overshadowing the film, I suppose.
It's long, but I didn't feel like I was being forced to sit through it, I felt more like I was getting my money's worth. It's worth a watch, I think, but if you can't be bothered then I won't blame you, the Tobey McGuire ones are still just as okay. Well, not the third one, lets not talk about the third one.
Next up: The Source
Tuesday 24 July 2012
Title Sequences
You know, what with all the television shows I've been chain watching lately, I started thinking about title sequences. Why did I start thinking about title sequences? Well, the reason for this is simple. Take Smallville for example, the title sequence lasts for about a minute, showing me all the pretty faces of all the pretty people that are in it, mostly in slow motion with extracts from the show framing them. Why is this important?
It means I have just under a minute to pry myself off the sofa, dash to the kitchen, grab snack food/liquid/badger/whatever and get back in time for the rest of the episode to start. But you look at some other shows, and wonder where the noble art of the title sequence went. Lost is a prime example, there's about five seconds of the title lazily flying into focus and then it passes and that's it, the credits are in the episode itself.
Now that's all modern and stuff and more importantly, has cut down the title sequence from fifty five seconds to just five, so that's fifty seconds more episode you're getting. But is that worth the trade off from a good, strong, title sequence complete with good theme music and pretty people in slow motion? I dunno, I mean, some shows would be terrible without the title sequence, look back at Babylon 5, that updated it every season.
Personally, I was thinking about what I'd like as a title sequence for the tv shows I tap away at. I think November's Children would probably warrent only the title itself, then get on with it, while Resistance probably wants to more lavish pretty-people-slow-motion-go-to-the-kitchen kind. Of course, there's never enough time to go to the bathroom in those sequences... you have to pause the dvd for that.
STORAGE 24
I'll always feel obligated to watch Noel Clarke stuff, mainly because he's good at what he does and he's pushing the British angle into world cinema. In this he was one of the initial writers and the main character, as oppose to lead writer or director, so it's had less input from him than say Adulthood, but it certainly feels in the same vein.
Well, as much as a film about a group of people trapped in a 24-hour Storage facility and being hunted down by a recently crashed alien hostage can be in the same vein as the gritty urban realism of Adulthood and Kidulthood. And if that premise doesn't tempt you into seeing it, you're a wrong'un. This is a very well shot film, well worth seeing.
The pacing is phenomenally good, it's incredibly atmospheric, tense and dark. The acting's pretty good as well, but I wasn't sure about the ex-girlfriend character, there's something about her face I'm not a fan of. Check it out, it's a good little British sci-fi flick and we need more of those. It's kinda like Attack the Block for thirty-somethings.
Next up: The Amazing (detect sarcasm) Spiderman
It means I have just under a minute to pry myself off the sofa, dash to the kitchen, grab snack food/liquid/badger/whatever and get back in time for the rest of the episode to start. But you look at some other shows, and wonder where the noble art of the title sequence went. Lost is a prime example, there's about five seconds of the title lazily flying into focus and then it passes and that's it, the credits are in the episode itself.
Now that's all modern and stuff and more importantly, has cut down the title sequence from fifty five seconds to just five, so that's fifty seconds more episode you're getting. But is that worth the trade off from a good, strong, title sequence complete with good theme music and pretty people in slow motion? I dunno, I mean, some shows would be terrible without the title sequence, look back at Babylon 5, that updated it every season.
Personally, I was thinking about what I'd like as a title sequence for the tv shows I tap away at. I think November's Children would probably warrent only the title itself, then get on with it, while Resistance probably wants to more lavish pretty-people-slow-motion-go-to-the-kitchen kind. Of course, there's never enough time to go to the bathroom in those sequences... you have to pause the dvd for that.
STORAGE 24
I'll always feel obligated to watch Noel Clarke stuff, mainly because he's good at what he does and he's pushing the British angle into world cinema. In this he was one of the initial writers and the main character, as oppose to lead writer or director, so it's had less input from him than say Adulthood, but it certainly feels in the same vein.
Well, as much as a film about a group of people trapped in a 24-hour Storage facility and being hunted down by a recently crashed alien hostage can be in the same vein as the gritty urban realism of Adulthood and Kidulthood. And if that premise doesn't tempt you into seeing it, you're a wrong'un. This is a very well shot film, well worth seeing.
The pacing is phenomenally good, it's incredibly atmospheric, tense and dark. The acting's pretty good as well, but I wasn't sure about the ex-girlfriend character, there's something about her face I'm not a fan of. Check it out, it's a good little British sci-fi flick and we need more of those. It's kinda like Attack the Block for thirty-somethings.
Next up: The Amazing (detect sarcasm) Spiderman
Tuesday 17 July 2012
Physical Exertion
So just after I hit 'publish' on last week's blog post, I then got up, packed my backpack and joined my housemate Kerry on our new mission. We're going to the gym.
Now, for those of you who know me personally, take a moment while you pick yourself up off the floor, from where you have been doubtless rolling with laughter.
Kerry suggested this ages ago, he said he has a two week vacation coming up and he wanted to spend it in the gym. He said I should come too. I made some kind of grunt as a reply that he has since reminded me of, and now I'm paying £35 a month to Northcroft Gym. So I guess I'd better go to it then, if I'm spending my precious, precious coins upon it.
As you can gather, I'm not in very good shape, I prefer a hearty cheeseburger to a jog anyday. I hadn't actually been to a gym for about ten years, and a swimming pool for a good few years before that. Now I'm going to both about five or six days a week. Well, in this last week I've been five times, since I signed up. Does it hurt? Yeah, kinda.
To be honest, I'm probably not pushing myself hard enough when I'm there, I don't really end my hour or so in pain, but at the very least I'm getting more exercise.
We'll see how it goes.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
VAMPIRE HUNTER
Is this movie as cheesy as it sounds? Of course it is. Is it actually worth a watch anyway? You bet it is. Me and Dave went to see this on his birthday for a laugh and you know what, it was actually fun, satisfying and just serious enough to make it a pretty decent film. For something that takes an actual historical character and insists that he hunted vampires before he was elected president, it takes itself very seriously and that's probably one of the best bits of ths film.
I was a big fan of pretty much everyone who was in this as an actor, with special note going out to Rufus Sewell, who I love as is. Ben Walker gave a good showing as Honest Abe himself (who, of course, can't be all that honest) and I was even enamoured of Dominic Cooper, who I take on a case by case basis. Was the 3D worth it? Of course not, but it didn't detract as much from the film as I thought it would. Maybe I'm just getting used to having to wear glasses for no reason in a movie.
I found the laws of vampirism interesting in this one, a better and more creative use of hunters than I'd seen previously. The only thing that really qualifies as a touchy area was the whole 'demonising' of the South, showing them as being in league with the stalkers of the night. I have no personal qualms against it, but I wonder how it'll go down over in the States. Hmmmm. Oh well, check it out, it's amusing.
Next time:
STORAGE 24
Now, for those of you who know me personally, take a moment while you pick yourself up off the floor, from where you have been doubtless rolling with laughter.
Kerry suggested this ages ago, he said he has a two week vacation coming up and he wanted to spend it in the gym. He said I should come too. I made some kind of grunt as a reply that he has since reminded me of, and now I'm paying £35 a month to Northcroft Gym. So I guess I'd better go to it then, if I'm spending my precious, precious coins upon it.
As you can gather, I'm not in very good shape, I prefer a hearty cheeseburger to a jog anyday. I hadn't actually been to a gym for about ten years, and a swimming pool for a good few years before that. Now I'm going to both about five or six days a week. Well, in this last week I've been five times, since I signed up. Does it hurt? Yeah, kinda.
To be honest, I'm probably not pushing myself hard enough when I'm there, I don't really end my hour or so in pain, but at the very least I'm getting more exercise.
We'll see how it goes.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
VAMPIRE HUNTER
Is this movie as cheesy as it sounds? Of course it is. Is it actually worth a watch anyway? You bet it is. Me and Dave went to see this on his birthday for a laugh and you know what, it was actually fun, satisfying and just serious enough to make it a pretty decent film. For something that takes an actual historical character and insists that he hunted vampires before he was elected president, it takes itself very seriously and that's probably one of the best bits of ths film.
I was a big fan of pretty much everyone who was in this as an actor, with special note going out to Rufus Sewell, who I love as is. Ben Walker gave a good showing as Honest Abe himself (who, of course, can't be all that honest) and I was even enamoured of Dominic Cooper, who I take on a case by case basis. Was the 3D worth it? Of course not, but it didn't detract as much from the film as I thought it would. Maybe I'm just getting used to having to wear glasses for no reason in a movie.
I found the laws of vampirism interesting in this one, a better and more creative use of hunters than I'd seen previously. The only thing that really qualifies as a touchy area was the whole 'demonising' of the South, showing them as being in league with the stalkers of the night. I have no personal qualms against it, but I wonder how it'll go down over in the States. Hmmmm. Oh well, check it out, it's amusing.
Next time:
STORAGE 24
Tuesday 10 July 2012
Somebody Saaaave Me...
So yeah, I've been chain-watching Smallville. I got the complete box set (all 10 seasons) a couple of weeks ago and only just got round to cracking it open last week. This is because I was chain-watching Stargate (both SG-1 and Atlantis, but not Universe, I don't own it) before that. After I'm done with Smallville I'm going back to Battlestar Galactica.
Kinda makes you wonder why I do it, I mean, every time a chain series finishes, I tend to feel all bereft of purpose. Like my life has just become a little emptier. But then I muddle through, as if life somehow goes on. Which, I'm informed, it does. So yeah, after about a week, I'm two and a half seasons in. I probably have too much time on my hands.
In other news... not sure I have any. My Sabbatical is reaching the 'I definately have too much time on my hands' phase, not quite sure what I'll do to fill it, but it's been good to have a couple of months where nobody really expects me to do anything. Actually, they probably do, but I'm not sure that I give a toss what other people expect of me.
Ah well.
THE ANGEL'S SHARE
Well, the thing with Ken Loach films is that you have to go into them expecting to be thoroughly depressed, mildly vindicated and wondering about if there's anything you can do to change the social order. He makes films about Scotland, the terrible bits of Scotland, the bits we don't want to see. This one? This one's funny.
Now that's the last thing I was expecting from a Ken Loach film, but it starts off as you'd expect, people who have crappy lives having to do community service and things just seem to get worse and worse. And then? And then they discover a love of proper whisky and embark on a cheerful heist together.
A. Cheerful. Heist.
You read that correctly. I highly recommend this film, it's funny, heartwarming and has just enough of a bitter social realism edge to remind you of the man that made the film. Also, some excellent product placement for old Irn Bru, there. Very clever, am very impressed with that.
Of course it helps that my Dad's originally from Glasgow, so I could understand most of what's being said, I gather that was a problem for the less Scot-aware.
Next up:
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
VAMPIRE HUNTER
Kinda makes you wonder why I do it, I mean, every time a chain series finishes, I tend to feel all bereft of purpose. Like my life has just become a little emptier. But then I muddle through, as if life somehow goes on. Which, I'm informed, it does. So yeah, after about a week, I'm two and a half seasons in. I probably have too much time on my hands.
In other news... not sure I have any. My Sabbatical is reaching the 'I definately have too much time on my hands' phase, not quite sure what I'll do to fill it, but it's been good to have a couple of months where nobody really expects me to do anything. Actually, they probably do, but I'm not sure that I give a toss what other people expect of me.
Ah well.
THE ANGEL'S SHARE
Well, the thing with Ken Loach films is that you have to go into them expecting to be thoroughly depressed, mildly vindicated and wondering about if there's anything you can do to change the social order. He makes films about Scotland, the terrible bits of Scotland, the bits we don't want to see. This one? This one's funny.
Now that's the last thing I was expecting from a Ken Loach film, but it starts off as you'd expect, people who have crappy lives having to do community service and things just seem to get worse and worse. And then? And then they discover a love of proper whisky and embark on a cheerful heist together.
A. Cheerful. Heist.
You read that correctly. I highly recommend this film, it's funny, heartwarming and has just enough of a bitter social realism edge to remind you of the man that made the film. Also, some excellent product placement for old Irn Bru, there. Very clever, am very impressed with that.
Of course it helps that my Dad's originally from Glasgow, so I could understand most of what's being said, I gather that was a problem for the less Scot-aware.
Next up:
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
VAMPIRE HUNTER
Friday 6 July 2012
Puppy Training
(Edit: due to me not figuring out how to update stuff, this post for some reason got movedfrom 9/05 to now. This annoys me. It vexes me. Ah well).
So I'm once again up in the frozen northlands known as the land of Scots. I've been sent here for an incredibly important mission, and this mission is to puppy-sit. Yes, you heard me. Puppy-sitting. It all started like this.
Back before Christmas my parents were called up by a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend, who is now just a friend. This lady has a beagle lady by the name of Bailey. This lady would like her Bailey impregnated.
Enter Basil, my parent's beagle, an ever-timid hound that has a decent pedigree and the soul of a quivering leaf. Of all the dogs we've had over the years, Basil has definately been the one who stands out, not having a disobedient bone in his body. He's a lovely dog. And he was then hired to do some mounting. Now, knowing Bas as I do, it was pretty difficult to imagine him gettin' it on, as they say, but apparently he managed it (twice, so I'm told, that stud) and now twelve weeks later here we are.
Puppies.
That was the whole idea, of course. And when it comes to hiring out stud dogs, the owner has a choice of payment, which is either a sum of monies (I don't know the numbers involved, it may change on how successful the pregnancy is) or their pick of the litter. Naturally, my parents don't need the money and decided that they wished for the pitter patter of tiny beagle paws. And what did we decide to call him? Our newest? Why, Bailey, of course. 'Cause that won't get confusing at all.
So I've been up in scotland for a week and a half, the pup having arrived about 24 hours before I did, and I've been sitting with him, playing with him, making sure he doesn't wee in the house, attempting to train him and not be chewed too much.
It's been a difficult week and a half, to be honest. You know how absolutely adorable these things are? If you measure out that adorableness, it about equals their destructiveness. He is the destroyer or toys, gardens, serenity and sleep patterns.
But he's gorgeous.
I'll get some pics.
Back down south tomorrow. I'll miss the blighter, he's certainly lively, but I won't miss the constant sitting around and waiting for him to realise that outside is for bowel movements, not the living room carpet. Fun times.
WHITE HEAT
(from the BBC)
Now much like James Herriot, I wasn't sure why I wanted to talk about this series. Much like James Herriot, it had a decent historical setting, and again didn't use all of the potential that it offered. Since most people didn't know it existed, allow me to lay it out for you.
In 2012, six men and women gather to clean out the flat of their former seventh flatmate. All these people met back in the sixties, when they moved into the same flat together as students. Now, forty seven years later, the only one of them to still live there has died and the rest arrive.
It's a bittersweet series and most of the action takes place in flashback, the first episode is 1965, then the second is 1967 and it goes through to 1990 for the last one, with the changing ways of these people's lives, the choices they made and how Britain changed with them.
One of my problems with the series is also it's great strength, are we supposed to be watching the country or the characters? We can see the politics sprawling out in the background and how the characters get involved in it, but there are times when I'm not sure if we should be focussing on the characters themselves or the world behind them.
This being said, it's a kind of haunting look back at the world that we left behind just a short while ago and it makes you wonder if we should have, if things have really changed for the better. I'm no political expert, but time has yet to tell me that we're doing better now than we were under Thatcher. Nice shout out to Greenham Airbase in ep6, however.
(that's not far from my house)
The one thing I would definately say was that with the talents of the cast provided (and they were good, Clare Foy and Paul Copely being favourites of mine, as well as the under-rated Lee Ingleby), I don't think there was enough of this show. True to BBC form, 6 episodes is all you get, but the premise provided for those 6 episodes could easily have done for 6 seasons. I feel that we rushed through these many years far too quickly and there were times that it was hard to fill in the gaps in my own mind as to what had happened in between. Slowing down might have been a good idea, since the whole series was rather sedate, yet rushed at the same juxtaposed time.
Wasn't sure about Tamsin Grieg's lunatic mother character, didn't think she fitted too well.
Yeah, that about sums up my opinions on it. Good show, worth a watch when it next crops up.
Next time: Skins. All of it.
So I'm once again up in the frozen northlands known as the land of Scots. I've been sent here for an incredibly important mission, and this mission is to puppy-sit. Yes, you heard me. Puppy-sitting. It all started like this.
Back before Christmas my parents were called up by a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend, who is now just a friend. This lady has a beagle lady by the name of Bailey. This lady would like her Bailey impregnated.
Enter Basil, my parent's beagle, an ever-timid hound that has a decent pedigree and the soul of a quivering leaf. Of all the dogs we've had over the years, Basil has definately been the one who stands out, not having a disobedient bone in his body. He's a lovely dog. And he was then hired to do some mounting. Now, knowing Bas as I do, it was pretty difficult to imagine him gettin' it on, as they say, but apparently he managed it (twice, so I'm told, that stud) and now twelve weeks later here we are.
Puppies.
That was the whole idea, of course. And when it comes to hiring out stud dogs, the owner has a choice of payment, which is either a sum of monies (I don't know the numbers involved, it may change on how successful the pregnancy is) or their pick of the litter. Naturally, my parents don't need the money and decided that they wished for the pitter patter of tiny beagle paws. And what did we decide to call him? Our newest? Why, Bailey, of course. 'Cause that won't get confusing at all.
So I've been up in scotland for a week and a half, the pup having arrived about 24 hours before I did, and I've been sitting with him, playing with him, making sure he doesn't wee in the house, attempting to train him and not be chewed too much.
It's been a difficult week and a half, to be honest. You know how absolutely adorable these things are? If you measure out that adorableness, it about equals their destructiveness. He is the destroyer or toys, gardens, serenity and sleep patterns.
But he's gorgeous.
I'll get some pics.
Back down south tomorrow. I'll miss the blighter, he's certainly lively, but I won't miss the constant sitting around and waiting for him to realise that outside is for bowel movements, not the living room carpet. Fun times.
WHITE HEAT
(from the BBC)
Now much like James Herriot, I wasn't sure why I wanted to talk about this series. Much like James Herriot, it had a decent historical setting, and again didn't use all of the potential that it offered. Since most people didn't know it existed, allow me to lay it out for you.
In 2012, six men and women gather to clean out the flat of their former seventh flatmate. All these people met back in the sixties, when they moved into the same flat together as students. Now, forty seven years later, the only one of them to still live there has died and the rest arrive.
It's a bittersweet series and most of the action takes place in flashback, the first episode is 1965, then the second is 1967 and it goes through to 1990 for the last one, with the changing ways of these people's lives, the choices they made and how Britain changed with them.
One of my problems with the series is also it's great strength, are we supposed to be watching the country or the characters? We can see the politics sprawling out in the background and how the characters get involved in it, but there are times when I'm not sure if we should be focussing on the characters themselves or the world behind them.
This being said, it's a kind of haunting look back at the world that we left behind just a short while ago and it makes you wonder if we should have, if things have really changed for the better. I'm no political expert, but time has yet to tell me that we're doing better now than we were under Thatcher. Nice shout out to Greenham Airbase in ep6, however.
(that's not far from my house)
The one thing I would definately say was that with the talents of the cast provided (and they were good, Clare Foy and Paul Copely being favourites of mine, as well as the under-rated Lee Ingleby), I don't think there was enough of this show. True to BBC form, 6 episodes is all you get, but the premise provided for those 6 episodes could easily have done for 6 seasons. I feel that we rushed through these many years far too quickly and there were times that it was hard to fill in the gaps in my own mind as to what had happened in between. Slowing down might have been a good idea, since the whole series was rather sedate, yet rushed at the same juxtaposed time.
Wasn't sure about Tamsin Grieg's lunatic mother character, didn't think she fitted too well.
Yeah, that about sums up my opinions on it. Good show, worth a watch when it next crops up.
Next time: Skins. All of it.
Tuesday 3 July 2012
DVD Roundup (4)
Man, I seem to get through a lot of cheap DVD's... and a few of them are now ones I've already reviewed. I mean, that's come up already, but I think it's important to give films a second viewing if you weren't sure of them. Why do I still buy DVD's? Why don't I download or use Lovefilm or something? Something about owning them, something about having a collection, it's... reassuring. So these are some of my recent acquisitions to that collection.
IRONCLAD
Yeah, still as awesome as it was when we saw it at the cinema. The shaky-cam combat effects that weakened the earlier parts of the film just aren't as bad on a smaller screen. Still overly manly a film. Overly, overly manly.
THE SORCEROR'S APPRENTICE
You know, I could write an essay on this film. I liked the ideas of how magic worked, I liked many of the set pieces, but the acting was God-awful, the script was diabolical and who thought of 'Prime Merlinian?' Seriously?!
ELIZABETH
Surprised myself that I hadn't seen this before. Found it to be an approapriately dark portrayal of Elizabeth I's early years, was a fan of Kathy Burke's performance, and Geoffry Rush simply owned in this one, as he often does.
LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN
Don't get me wrong, it's slick, smooth and very clever, but the overall experience led me to think that they could have made it just a bit better. Lucy Liu's character was kinda pointless and the double cross came out too early.
THE CONSPIRITOR
You know what, this was a great drama, I was pretty amazed that I hadn't heard of it before. The aftermath of Lincoln's assassination and the fervour of mistaking justice for vengeance. Really, really good film, look it up.
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE
OF MEATBALLS
Frickin' love this movie. It's cute, it's moving, it's funny, it's got frickin' ratbirds. I love this movie. That's about all I can say about it.
SHERLOCK HOLMES
You know, the more times I see these movies, the less sure I am about them. They're still fun... but there's something a bit hollow about them I can't shake.
Anyway, that was some movies. I shall now mix it up by talking about another movie.
MEN IN BLACK 3
There's not much I can say about this one, I mean, two weeks after seeing it and I can barely remember the details. Will Smith was fine, Tommy Lee Jones just looks tired of it, Josh Brolin does an excellent impression of Mr. Jones, but that's not enough to save this movie from mild disappointment.
Time travel is always a bad idea (although the thought that chocolate milk helps alleviate the effects of it is mildly amusing), and it certainly didn't help this movie. Also, it's been 14 years since the first Men In Black (the good one) and I've got to wonder, who thought they should make another?
The twist was well thought out, I'll give them that, but the rest of the movie is bland and uninteresting. Oh well.
Next time: The Angel's Share
IRONCLAD
Yeah, still as awesome as it was when we saw it at the cinema. The shaky-cam combat effects that weakened the earlier parts of the film just aren't as bad on a smaller screen. Still overly manly a film. Overly, overly manly.
THE SORCEROR'S APPRENTICE
You know, I could write an essay on this film. I liked the ideas of how magic worked, I liked many of the set pieces, but the acting was God-awful, the script was diabolical and who thought of 'Prime Merlinian?' Seriously?!
ELIZABETH
Surprised myself that I hadn't seen this before. Found it to be an approapriately dark portrayal of Elizabeth I's early years, was a fan of Kathy Burke's performance, and Geoffry Rush simply owned in this one, as he often does.
LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN
Don't get me wrong, it's slick, smooth and very clever, but the overall experience led me to think that they could have made it just a bit better. Lucy Liu's character was kinda pointless and the double cross came out too early.
THE CONSPIRITOR
You know what, this was a great drama, I was pretty amazed that I hadn't heard of it before. The aftermath of Lincoln's assassination and the fervour of mistaking justice for vengeance. Really, really good film, look it up.
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE
OF MEATBALLS
Frickin' love this movie. It's cute, it's moving, it's funny, it's got frickin' ratbirds. I love this movie. That's about all I can say about it.
SHERLOCK HOLMES
You know, the more times I see these movies, the less sure I am about them. They're still fun... but there's something a bit hollow about them I can't shake.
Anyway, that was some movies. I shall now mix it up by talking about another movie.
MEN IN BLACK 3
There's not much I can say about this one, I mean, two weeks after seeing it and I can barely remember the details. Will Smith was fine, Tommy Lee Jones just looks tired of it, Josh Brolin does an excellent impression of Mr. Jones, but that's not enough to save this movie from mild disappointment.
Time travel is always a bad idea (although the thought that chocolate milk helps alleviate the effects of it is mildly amusing), and it certainly didn't help this movie. Also, it's been 14 years since the first Men In Black (the good one) and I've got to wonder, who thought they should make another?
The twist was well thought out, I'll give them that, but the rest of the movie is bland and uninteresting. Oh well.
Next time: The Angel's Share
Saturday 30 June 2012
Rose Tinted Sunglasses
So last sunday I had to get up at 6:45 am (bearing in mind I only got in from work at about 2:00 am), in order to go and paint the hallway in my flat in southampton. My faithful tennents asked if they could have it a different colour from palest blue, so we opted for magnolia. We also needed to cover the signs of water damage that had been left by the upstairs flat's leaky bathtub.
Now, the week before that, I'd been in southampton again, just to see my friends from uni, hang out and revisit old haunts. Also nice to know that in both the property I rent for myself and the property I own, I have to sleep on the sofa. There are no beds for me, it would seem. That's as aside, however. I got to see Macina, Will, Coates, Kerry, KC, Mel and Nick, so good times.
Makes me wonder, really, how much do I miss my three years at uni? When we were at kareoke night, the faces were all pretty much the same, nothing had really changed. Me and Will went for a walk around the uni grounds and they haven't really changed at all. The Fat Cat is the same, Cineworld is the same, Forbidden Planet is the same, my flat is still the same (cluttered and not really mine).
So, do I miss it?
Yeah, guess I do.
I wanted to leave uni and have my life change, wanted to make the most of the education that I'd spent the last three years working on. Instead, I came back home, did the same two jobs that I'd been doing before, it's just this time I was living with friends, rather than family. And now that I think about it, life has changed. I'm a different person to what I was before I started uni. My Dad even commented so, and if he says it, it must be true. So I'll take what I've learned and maybe I'll get to put it into practice. For now, I'm coasting along.
Just like when I was at uni...
ROCK OF AGES
Heh. Heheheh.
That's about all I can really say to sum up this movie. It's good fun, it's worth a watch, but don't expect to be blown away by it. Your standard Glee dropout lead boy and lead girl are about as interesting and well acted as a wooden bedpost, the plot is pretty pants, but all in all, it's actually quite enjoyable. Why is this? This is for the music.
There's a lot of really, really good music in this film, as you'd expect. There's a lot of really, really unsuspecting people singing that music, as well. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Russell Brand, Alec Bawldin, Mary J. Bligh and Tom Frickin' Cruise are all rocking out the tunes in this one, and even though half of them clearly can't sing all that well, it's good.
To be honest, the Cruise Missile is the reason to see this movie, I mean, awesome performance as well from Paul Giamatti (for he is the master of his own face), but yeah, the Cruise sells this one and fair play to him. I recommend it just to see him playing a jaded, alcoholic rock star with a devil face codpiece. ('I am on stage'... priceless moment).
So yeah, that's about all I can say about it, other than they probably didn't need to put Walt in it. Bryan Cranston, that's who I mean. Yeah, kinda unneccessary.
Next time: MEN IN BLACK 3
Now, the week before that, I'd been in southampton again, just to see my friends from uni, hang out and revisit old haunts. Also nice to know that in both the property I rent for myself and the property I own, I have to sleep on the sofa. There are no beds for me, it would seem. That's as aside, however. I got to see Macina, Will, Coates, Kerry, KC, Mel and Nick, so good times.
Makes me wonder, really, how much do I miss my three years at uni? When we were at kareoke night, the faces were all pretty much the same, nothing had really changed. Me and Will went for a walk around the uni grounds and they haven't really changed at all. The Fat Cat is the same, Cineworld is the same, Forbidden Planet is the same, my flat is still the same (cluttered and not really mine).
So, do I miss it?
Yeah, guess I do.
I wanted to leave uni and have my life change, wanted to make the most of the education that I'd spent the last three years working on. Instead, I came back home, did the same two jobs that I'd been doing before, it's just this time I was living with friends, rather than family. And now that I think about it, life has changed. I'm a different person to what I was before I started uni. My Dad even commented so, and if he says it, it must be true. So I'll take what I've learned and maybe I'll get to put it into practice. For now, I'm coasting along.
Just like when I was at uni...
ROCK OF AGES
Heh. Heheheh.
That's about all I can really say to sum up this movie. It's good fun, it's worth a watch, but don't expect to be blown away by it. Your standard Glee dropout lead boy and lead girl are about as interesting and well acted as a wooden bedpost, the plot is pretty pants, but all in all, it's actually quite enjoyable. Why is this? This is for the music.
There's a lot of really, really good music in this film, as you'd expect. There's a lot of really, really unsuspecting people singing that music, as well. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Russell Brand, Alec Bawldin, Mary J. Bligh and Tom Frickin' Cruise are all rocking out the tunes in this one, and even though half of them clearly can't sing all that well, it's good.
To be honest, the Cruise Missile is the reason to see this movie, I mean, awesome performance as well from Paul Giamatti (for he is the master of his own face), but yeah, the Cruise sells this one and fair play to him. I recommend it just to see him playing a jaded, alcoholic rock star with a devil face codpiece. ('I am on stage'... priceless moment).
So yeah, that's about all I can say about it, other than they probably didn't need to put Walt in it. Bryan Cranston, that's who I mean. Yeah, kinda unneccessary.
Next time: MEN IN BLACK 3
Saturday 23 June 2012
Fathers and Other Irritances
So yeah, my dad's down to visit. I should reiterate, my Dad's a good guy, he's worked hard throughout his life, he's always been very responsible, dedicated and widely travelled. This aside, he and I get on much better when he's in Scotland and I'm in Newbury. We're just very different people from very different worlds and we tend to get on each other's nerves.
Take this weekend. He turns up on thursday and has basically taken my bed (since I mostly sleep in the living room, where my brother sleeps in the bedroom). This means that I've gone back upstairs and my brother has been forced out to stay in various friend's houses. He's then comandeered my laptop so that he can use it because he didn't feel the need to bring his own.
This annoys me in many ways, because I haven't been able to complete my writing schedule over the last couple of days. Now, those of you know me well enough should know that there's nothing more in life that I hate than not being able to do my writing. Does he care? Of course he doesn't. Does he sit and judge me for watching Stargate in my pyjamas in the morning? Of course he does.
It's just... irritating.
Still, he's leaving on monday morning, not after me and him have to go to southampton for sunday and repaint the hallway that suffered from water damage. Anyway.
PROMETHEUS
You know... I'm still vaugely on the fence about this movie. The effects are good, some of the early story is pretty good, the cast is fairly awesome, but overall... I dunno, there was this big, wishy-washy Lindelof feeling to the whole thing that made me turn off it. That opening scene?
And man, how much was I looking forward to this. I mean, the return of Sir Ridley to the genre that he helped define in cinema? Alien and Blade Runner are still held as the standards that people are judged against. And just how ill this movie fit with the thing it was supposed to be a prequel of?
The film this most reminds me of is Sunshine, although I'd like to reiterate that I found Sunshine to be more awesome than this. It starts off with all the deep, probing, philosophical edge to sci-fi and the inter-personal relations of the crew (hats off to Charlize Theron and Michael Fassbender, as well as Idris Elba, you guys were the fo-shizzle), but about half-way through we were suddenly subject to the standard android-backstabbing and ridiculous body horror that just came out of nowhere, just like how Sunshine turned into a slasher film 40 minutes from the end.
Do I recommend it? Not really.
Am I disappointed? Hells yes.
Should they just have made the sodding Alien prequel that they promised us originally? Of course they should. Hiring someone like Damon Lindelof to rewrite the script was a disasterous move, leaving far too many unanswered questions and jammied expositionary fuck ups. This should have been a much better film.
Next up:
ROCK OF AGES
Take this weekend. He turns up on thursday and has basically taken my bed (since I mostly sleep in the living room, where my brother sleeps in the bedroom). This means that I've gone back upstairs and my brother has been forced out to stay in various friend's houses. He's then comandeered my laptop so that he can use it because he didn't feel the need to bring his own.
This annoys me in many ways, because I haven't been able to complete my writing schedule over the last couple of days. Now, those of you know me well enough should know that there's nothing more in life that I hate than not being able to do my writing. Does he care? Of course he doesn't. Does he sit and judge me for watching Stargate in my pyjamas in the morning? Of course he does.
It's just... irritating.
Still, he's leaving on monday morning, not after me and him have to go to southampton for sunday and repaint the hallway that suffered from water damage. Anyway.
PROMETHEUS
You know... I'm still vaugely on the fence about this movie. The effects are good, some of the early story is pretty good, the cast is fairly awesome, but overall... I dunno, there was this big, wishy-washy Lindelof feeling to the whole thing that made me turn off it. That opening scene?
And man, how much was I looking forward to this. I mean, the return of Sir Ridley to the genre that he helped define in cinema? Alien and Blade Runner are still held as the standards that people are judged against. And just how ill this movie fit with the thing it was supposed to be a prequel of?
The film this most reminds me of is Sunshine, although I'd like to reiterate that I found Sunshine to be more awesome than this. It starts off with all the deep, probing, philosophical edge to sci-fi and the inter-personal relations of the crew (hats off to Charlize Theron and Michael Fassbender, as well as Idris Elba, you guys were the fo-shizzle), but about half-way through we were suddenly subject to the standard android-backstabbing and ridiculous body horror that just came out of nowhere, just like how Sunshine turned into a slasher film 40 minutes from the end.
Do I recommend it? Not really.
Am I disappointed? Hells yes.
Should they just have made the sodding Alien prequel that they promised us originally? Of course they should. Hiring someone like Damon Lindelof to rewrite the script was a disasterous move, leaving far too many unanswered questions and jammied expositionary fuck ups. This should have been a much better film.
Next up:
ROCK OF AGES
Saturday 16 June 2012
Lists (3)
Video games that I've actually played lately and what I thought of this. Is this just me reviewing more stuff? Possibly. Is this all I have to talk about? Possibly also.
1) Space Marine
You know, this was a button basher that many people dismissed out of hand, but you know, I frickin' enjoyed it. The combat system is actually threatening and very fun, the selection of weapons could have used a re-think (why is the lascannon a sniper weapon?) and the lack of vehicle section is actually refreshingly good. Violence, violence and more violence. Bring on some more!
2) Oblivion
So even though there is a copy of Skyrim in my house, I haven't actually played it yet, 'cause I wasn't really finished with Oblivion. Can one ever finish Oblivion? Of course not, but I still haven't done all that it offers. Is it all that immerseive? No, but it's the best way I'll get to play D&D without all those pesky players messing it up all the time.
3) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Yeah, I'll never escape from this game, it's just so well crafted. It doesn't really matter how many times I play it, but the huge amounts of story options there are to get through make it pleasingly huge, yet familiar every time. The story is fantastic, with a plot twist worthy of the original Star Wars trilogy. Shame that rather than making a trilogy, Bioware made an MMO.
4) Cursed Treasure: Don't Touch My Gems!
Internet tower defence game that's annoyingly addictive but very well thought out. Look it up, it's free to play. Upgrade the Orc towers first.
5) Dragon Age: Origins
Much as I generally like Bioware Role-Play Games (as evidenced by KotOR's inclusion), this one kind of annoyed me. I'm always fine with the standard elves and dwarves fantasy, but there's a large section in the Realm of the Sloth Demon where being a dwarf makes it almost impossible. So yeah, decided against liking it too much. Maybe I'll give it another go sometime soon.
I should probably play more games... anyway.
EPISODES
Have you been watching Episodes? It's brilliant, trust me. The basis is one that taps into a British mindset, why do the Americans keep remaking our shows? I mean, it's not like they can't come up with good stuff, I mean, Stargate SG-1 alone...
Anyway, a pair of Bafta-winning comedy writers are swept off their feet to go to Hollywood and transform their quaint public school based sitcom about an erudite and portly teacher into an Americanised sitcom about a hockey coach.
Starring Matt LeBlanc.
While Sean and Beverly, our two transatlantic writers, slowly watch their lives and work fall apart, the show goes from shaky starts to even shakier middles. The whole production appears to be a disaster fuelled by the incompetence of the US network system.
The strange thing about this show is that it's a sitcom, but it's serialised, rather than episodic. It's not a done-in-one as all sitcoms are. The story is developing much more like a drama, despite the intrinsic comedy.
The cast is pretty awesome, our three leads are Stephen Mangan, Tamsin Grieg and Matt LeBlanc, who is playing a fictionalised version of himself.
The relationship between these three is pivotal to the series and is the highlight, really. It's very well acted and very engaging. Especially LeBlanc.
Is there more to say about it? Probably, there's a fair amount of commentary about how the US TV networks actually make their shows, which is all very interesting, as well as how it feels to be a Brit living among colonials (as we like to call them).
Is it worth watching?
Of course is it, fool.
Next up: PROMETHEUS
1) Space Marine
You know, this was a button basher that many people dismissed out of hand, but you know, I frickin' enjoyed it. The combat system is actually threatening and very fun, the selection of weapons could have used a re-think (why is the lascannon a sniper weapon?) and the lack of vehicle section is actually refreshingly good. Violence, violence and more violence. Bring on some more!
2) Oblivion
So even though there is a copy of Skyrim in my house, I haven't actually played it yet, 'cause I wasn't really finished with Oblivion. Can one ever finish Oblivion? Of course not, but I still haven't done all that it offers. Is it all that immerseive? No, but it's the best way I'll get to play D&D without all those pesky players messing it up all the time.
3) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Yeah, I'll never escape from this game, it's just so well crafted. It doesn't really matter how many times I play it, but the huge amounts of story options there are to get through make it pleasingly huge, yet familiar every time. The story is fantastic, with a plot twist worthy of the original Star Wars trilogy. Shame that rather than making a trilogy, Bioware made an MMO.
4) Cursed Treasure: Don't Touch My Gems!
Internet tower defence game that's annoyingly addictive but very well thought out. Look it up, it's free to play. Upgrade the Orc towers first.
5) Dragon Age: Origins
Much as I generally like Bioware Role-Play Games (as evidenced by KotOR's inclusion), this one kind of annoyed me. I'm always fine with the standard elves and dwarves fantasy, but there's a large section in the Realm of the Sloth Demon where being a dwarf makes it almost impossible. So yeah, decided against liking it too much. Maybe I'll give it another go sometime soon.
I should probably play more games... anyway.
EPISODES
Have you been watching Episodes? It's brilliant, trust me. The basis is one that taps into a British mindset, why do the Americans keep remaking our shows? I mean, it's not like they can't come up with good stuff, I mean, Stargate SG-1 alone...
Anyway, a pair of Bafta-winning comedy writers are swept off their feet to go to Hollywood and transform their quaint public school based sitcom about an erudite and portly teacher into an Americanised sitcom about a hockey coach.
Starring Matt LeBlanc.
While Sean and Beverly, our two transatlantic writers, slowly watch their lives and work fall apart, the show goes from shaky starts to even shakier middles. The whole production appears to be a disaster fuelled by the incompetence of the US network system.
The strange thing about this show is that it's a sitcom, but it's serialised, rather than episodic. It's not a done-in-one as all sitcoms are. The story is developing much more like a drama, despite the intrinsic comedy.
The cast is pretty awesome, our three leads are Stephen Mangan, Tamsin Grieg and Matt LeBlanc, who is playing a fictionalised version of himself.
The relationship between these three is pivotal to the series and is the highlight, really. It's very well acted and very engaging. Especially LeBlanc.
Is there more to say about it? Probably, there's a fair amount of commentary about how the US TV networks actually make their shows, which is all very interesting, as well as how it feels to be a Brit living among colonials (as we like to call them).
Is it worth watching?
Of course is it, fool.
Next up: PROMETHEUS
Saturday 9 June 2012
Structure-Tastic
The problem with doing a weekly entry is that I get the feeling sometimes that I just don't have anything to say sometimes, and one of those sometimes is now. I look through other blogs and I wonder where people get their inspiration for random musings from. That being said, many people have asked me how I do the writing that I do, so I guess it's fair game.
I'm all about structure, really. I structure all of my stories with spreadsheets and notes and at least several years tweaking to those spreadsheets and notes before I begin writing them, mostly, thus when I do get round to writing them, they pretty much just pour out, because I know everything that's going to be in it already. Take Resistance for example.
I'm writing the scripts for Resistance (which I talked about back in December) and that takes the form of 42-page episodes, 13 to a season and I always plan to 5 seasons. Why? Because J. Michael Strazynski told me too (not personally).
So with 41 of those pages being the full 51 lines and the 42nd page being 9 lines, that's 2100 lines per episode. In order not to go too fast or too heavy, I do 255 lines per day, which is 5 full pages. So an episode is less than 9 days.
Then, since I figured that pages are best broken down into 3 tracks (each track lasting 3 to 4 minutes, simply make a playlist every month or so and listen to it every day), that's 17 lines per track (a third of a page). So I can write a page every quarter of an hour. This has taken years of discipline to achieve, but it now passes like nothing every day.
So, long term. A season is 2100 x 13, which is 27300 lines, which is 107 normal days of 5 pages each (which gets us to 27285), and then one final day where I just do the remaining 15 lines to get us up to 27300. So, 108 days to write a season, which is less that four months. And there are five seasons, so that means that by the 22nd of November, I'll have spent about 540 days of my life writing for an hour or two to create 2684 pages of post-apocalyptic super hero action.
Still with me?
This is how I organise my life, you know. My finances are all on a spreadsheet as well, I'm sure it wouldn't surprise you to learn. My brother says that I'm trying to achieve some kind of robot perfection, to leave the random chaos of humanity behind, but the way I see it, I do all this stuff, get the structure down, done and efficient, that it takes an hour or two per day to do this. Then I get the other 22 to myself.
LIP SERVICE
(A BBC Series)
So, what can I say about Lip Service? Other than BBC3 were really rather keen to get themselves some softcore lesbian porn and call it artistic? Actually, that's pretty unfair, it's a pretty decent show, very well written, very well acted and full of talented cast members.
It's just had its second season, and I'd be interested to see a third, but I'd also be concerned for Fiona Button's career. I'm all for writing out a main character every now and again, but the changes to the line up in the second season were incredibly drastic and I'm not sure they were right.
However, the basis.
Glasgow, Frankie's been living in New York after fleeing a messy relationship comes back home to her aunt's funeral. There's something about her parentage that she needs to discover, while at the same time, we're following Cat, her ex-partner who's finally ready to move on, and Tess, the adorable girl next door who just wants to be an actress.
We follow their heartaches, their tears, their tantrums, their flings and their fears. All the while there's a really, really good supporting cast in the form of Jay (Emun Elliot) and Ed (James Anthony Pearson) as their straight bloke friends, one of whom is in love with one of our lesbians.
Now, not knowing much about lesbian culture and how to really percieve homosexuality as it's depicted in film and tv... I'm not really sure how accurate this representation is. But that's just due to my staggering ignorance and fear of offending anyone in relation to this subject matter.
Are all Glaswegian lesbians that damn attractive? Because if so, I think I'm moving up there. Mind you, a depressing few actually have Scottish accents...
However, following on from my earlier comment, by halfway through the second season, we've lost two of the three main characters and Jay departs after about five minutes screen time, leaving us with a half-reconstituted cast, a whole slew of new faces and the feeling that if this show goes on, we'll be looking at even more in the next season.
Like with Skins, where all the partying and drugs and stuff got sickly sweet and you just wanted them to give it up, all the softcore lesbian action may actually end up driving more of the audiance away after a while, despite it being the main titillating selling point to the whole thing. Hmmm.... anyway, that's about all I have on that.
Watch it, it's good.
Next up: Episodes
(yeah, another BBC show)
I'm all about structure, really. I structure all of my stories with spreadsheets and notes and at least several years tweaking to those spreadsheets and notes before I begin writing them, mostly, thus when I do get round to writing them, they pretty much just pour out, because I know everything that's going to be in it already. Take Resistance for example.
I'm writing the scripts for Resistance (which I talked about back in December) and that takes the form of 42-page episodes, 13 to a season and I always plan to 5 seasons. Why? Because J. Michael Strazynski told me too (not personally).
So with 41 of those pages being the full 51 lines and the 42nd page being 9 lines, that's 2100 lines per episode. In order not to go too fast or too heavy, I do 255 lines per day, which is 5 full pages. So an episode is less than 9 days.
Then, since I figured that pages are best broken down into 3 tracks (each track lasting 3 to 4 minutes, simply make a playlist every month or so and listen to it every day), that's 17 lines per track (a third of a page). So I can write a page every quarter of an hour. This has taken years of discipline to achieve, but it now passes like nothing every day.
So, long term. A season is 2100 x 13, which is 27300 lines, which is 107 normal days of 5 pages each (which gets us to 27285), and then one final day where I just do the remaining 15 lines to get us up to 27300. So, 108 days to write a season, which is less that four months. And there are five seasons, so that means that by the 22nd of November, I'll have spent about 540 days of my life writing for an hour or two to create 2684 pages of post-apocalyptic super hero action.
Still with me?
This is how I organise my life, you know. My finances are all on a spreadsheet as well, I'm sure it wouldn't surprise you to learn. My brother says that I'm trying to achieve some kind of robot perfection, to leave the random chaos of humanity behind, but the way I see it, I do all this stuff, get the structure down, done and efficient, that it takes an hour or two per day to do this. Then I get the other 22 to myself.
LIP SERVICE
(A BBC Series)
So, what can I say about Lip Service? Other than BBC3 were really rather keen to get themselves some softcore lesbian porn and call it artistic? Actually, that's pretty unfair, it's a pretty decent show, very well written, very well acted and full of talented cast members.
It's just had its second season, and I'd be interested to see a third, but I'd also be concerned for Fiona Button's career. I'm all for writing out a main character every now and again, but the changes to the line up in the second season were incredibly drastic and I'm not sure they were right.
However, the basis.
Glasgow, Frankie's been living in New York after fleeing a messy relationship comes back home to her aunt's funeral. There's something about her parentage that she needs to discover, while at the same time, we're following Cat, her ex-partner who's finally ready to move on, and Tess, the adorable girl next door who just wants to be an actress.
We follow their heartaches, their tears, their tantrums, their flings and their fears. All the while there's a really, really good supporting cast in the form of Jay (Emun Elliot) and Ed (James Anthony Pearson) as their straight bloke friends, one of whom is in love with one of our lesbians.
Now, not knowing much about lesbian culture and how to really percieve homosexuality as it's depicted in film and tv... I'm not really sure how accurate this representation is. But that's just due to my staggering ignorance and fear of offending anyone in relation to this subject matter.
Are all Glaswegian lesbians that damn attractive? Because if so, I think I'm moving up there. Mind you, a depressing few actually have Scottish accents...
However, following on from my earlier comment, by halfway through the second season, we've lost two of the three main characters and Jay departs after about five minutes screen time, leaving us with a half-reconstituted cast, a whole slew of new faces and the feeling that if this show goes on, we'll be looking at even more in the next season.
Like with Skins, where all the partying and drugs and stuff got sickly sweet and you just wanted them to give it up, all the softcore lesbian action may actually end up driving more of the audiance away after a while, despite it being the main titillating selling point to the whole thing. Hmmm.... anyway, that's about all I have on that.
Watch it, it's good.
Next up: Episodes
(yeah, another BBC show)
Saturday 2 June 2012
DVD Roundup (Tim)
A while back, Tim leant me more DVD's than I can shake a stick at, and since I hadn't seen any of them before, I figured that I'd talk about them here. Because apparently I have nothing more to say in life than how many movies I watch?
CARNIVALE (season 1)
Ooooh, it took a long time to watch through this show. Beautifully made, jawdroppingly sumptuous to look at, it didn't half drag through barely imagined mysticsm about the death of magic in the American Dust Bowl of the 1930's.
CARNIVALE (season 2)
Cut short just when they were trying to get somewhere, this season flowed better than the first. True to form, the background characters were actually far more fun than the leads, although hats off to Clancy Brown for keeping a striaght face.
THE FALL
While this film is intensely beautiful to look at, I still can't see why it's worth watching, really. The story isn't up to much, but there are a few amusing moments.
HUMAN TRAFFIC
While supposedly not serious at all, I feel that this jaded view at the 90's actually took itself far too seriously, going full circle as it were. Not convinced by its merits.
THE FISHER KING
I'm not a Terry Gilliam fan, I find his work too off the wall for me, but this particular film seemed to acknowledge that and be less whacked. Also, Jeff Bridges, so good times.
MAD MEN (season 1)
Yeah.... I can see why so many people love this show, but I found it particularly difficult to give a crap about all these cynical, unfaithful, constantly smoking arseholes. It's slick, sure, and Christina Hendricks looks particularly amazing while wearing that decade, but unless someone develops a soul in that foetid quagmire of social depravity, I'll pass.
I think he actually lent me more than what I've listed there, but it was a short while back and I can't really recall... never mind, on with the film review.
IRON SKY
Now I talked about this film the other week, about how it was made by fan money and so on. Basically, about 10% of the funding was fan contributions, who clubbed together to make a trailer. This trailer was then shipped around film festivals until about twenty or so small film companies clubbed together to produce the movie. And produce it they did.
In 2018, to aid her failing publicity, the President of the United States (not named as such, but a blatant parody of Sarah Palin), sends a black model to the moon as a stunt. While up there, they're also searching for Helium-3, an element used in fusion that's had a few sci-fi outings in the past. But you know what they did find while up there?
MOON NAZIS.
Oh yes, for back in 1945, seeing defeat, a contingent of Nazis fled the Earth and set up camp on the Moon, building a garishly huge Swastika fortress and a war machine called The Gotterdammerung. There should be some umlauts on that. Anyway, the model dude, Jack Washington, is captured and sent back to Earth in order to aid his captors in harvesting incredible computer power. In the form of Apple devices. Oh yes, an iphone can end the world. The sense of satisfaction is overwhelming.
This movie is far from perfect, the story is farcical and over the top, the acting is questionable at times and there's a character played by Peta Sergeant that I'd happily murder, but any film that can include the American's first deep space exploration vehicle; The USS George W Bush, gets my frickin' vote. With all the space combat and steampunk Nazi tech and ridiculous plot turns, this is a very silly, but very awesome film.
Also, we left before the end of the credits, but apparnetly do stay for that, as we missed something. Yes, this is a recommendation, it's just hilarious.
Next review: Lip Service
(another BBC tv series)
CARNIVALE (season 1)
Ooooh, it took a long time to watch through this show. Beautifully made, jawdroppingly sumptuous to look at, it didn't half drag through barely imagined mysticsm about the death of magic in the American Dust Bowl of the 1930's.
CARNIVALE (season 2)
Cut short just when they were trying to get somewhere, this season flowed better than the first. True to form, the background characters were actually far more fun than the leads, although hats off to Clancy Brown for keeping a striaght face.
THE FALL
While this film is intensely beautiful to look at, I still can't see why it's worth watching, really. The story isn't up to much, but there are a few amusing moments.
HUMAN TRAFFIC
While supposedly not serious at all, I feel that this jaded view at the 90's actually took itself far too seriously, going full circle as it were. Not convinced by its merits.
THE FISHER KING
I'm not a Terry Gilliam fan, I find his work too off the wall for me, but this particular film seemed to acknowledge that and be less whacked. Also, Jeff Bridges, so good times.
MAD MEN (season 1)
Yeah.... I can see why so many people love this show, but I found it particularly difficult to give a crap about all these cynical, unfaithful, constantly smoking arseholes. It's slick, sure, and Christina Hendricks looks particularly amazing while wearing that decade, but unless someone develops a soul in that foetid quagmire of social depravity, I'll pass.
I think he actually lent me more than what I've listed there, but it was a short while back and I can't really recall... never mind, on with the film review.
IRON SKY
Now I talked about this film the other week, about how it was made by fan money and so on. Basically, about 10% of the funding was fan contributions, who clubbed together to make a trailer. This trailer was then shipped around film festivals until about twenty or so small film companies clubbed together to produce the movie. And produce it they did.
In 2018, to aid her failing publicity, the President of the United States (not named as such, but a blatant parody of Sarah Palin), sends a black model to the moon as a stunt. While up there, they're also searching for Helium-3, an element used in fusion that's had a few sci-fi outings in the past. But you know what they did find while up there?
MOON NAZIS.
Oh yes, for back in 1945, seeing defeat, a contingent of Nazis fled the Earth and set up camp on the Moon, building a garishly huge Swastika fortress and a war machine called The Gotterdammerung. There should be some umlauts on that. Anyway, the model dude, Jack Washington, is captured and sent back to Earth in order to aid his captors in harvesting incredible computer power. In the form of Apple devices. Oh yes, an iphone can end the world. The sense of satisfaction is overwhelming.
This movie is far from perfect, the story is farcical and over the top, the acting is questionable at times and there's a character played by Peta Sergeant that I'd happily murder, but any film that can include the American's first deep space exploration vehicle; The USS George W Bush, gets my frickin' vote. With all the space combat and steampunk Nazi tech and ridiculous plot turns, this is a very silly, but very awesome film.
Also, we left before the end of the credits, but apparnetly do stay for that, as we missed something. Yes, this is a recommendation, it's just hilarious.
Next review: Lip Service
(another BBC tv series)
Wednesday 30 May 2012
DVD Roundup (2)
Yeah, we're at that stage where I can't quite think of anything else to write about, but don't want to jinx the nice weekly thing I've got going here (may have just done that, never mind). Anyway, some more of my £3 for a DVD purchases and thoughts.
FACE/OFF
Remember when this movie was cool? I mean, it was totally worth getting it for all the nostalgia alone. This movie was cool, right? I'm not just imagining that?
HARRY BROWN
Only film I'd paid more than £3 for (it was £5). This is still a powerfully brutal film about a vigilante pensioner. Starring Michael Caine. Does it get better than that?
WINDTALKERS
Next
DAYS OF GLORY
Wasn't too sure about the sudden political message that was rammed at us in the last few scenes, but other than that, bloody good little war movie they've got going on there.
THE WRESTLER
Like all Arronofsky films, it's quite distant, alien and painful to watch at times, but it really does give you a sense of appreciating wrestling, which is pretty good, to be honest.
ROBIN HOOD
Hmmm... reviewed this film already. On second watch I stand by my original statement, story was a bit naff but the world, setting and history were quite rich and I still enjoyed it.
THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA
QUEEN OF THE DESERT
Got to wonder how I'd gone through my life without having seen this film before. It makes you look at Memento, the Matrix and Superman 2 in a whole different light! Great movie.
So yeah, now to talk about... not another movie!
MUGENKYO TAIKO
So yeah, last tuesday, instead of sitting down with my nerds to play D&D, I took my nerds to go and see Mugenkyo, the UK's only professionally touring Taiko Drumming company. This was part of Newbury Spring Festival, which is usually a time for overly posh nitwits to gather at Newbury Corn Exchange and complain about the price of the whine and dabate the qualities of their favourite chellist. I've never had much time for it, but this year I had a look through the programme and saw Mugenkyo and thought 'you know, I bet a whole bunch of my guys would be up for that'.
And up for it they were. Despite some last minute drop outs and us having a few too many tickets, the show was a great night. They started out with a set that was a bit more 'progressive and original', which meant that there were several bits at the beginning where they were walking around slowly with instruments I haven't seen since Year 6 Music and humming loudly, often not in key. This was kinda confusing and felt a bit remeniscent of GCSE Drama, especially the bit with the megaphone, taht was weird, but when they got past that and down into some drumming?
Phenomenal.
The seats we were on (Row A, right at the front), actually vibrated through some of their pieces, the beat and rhythm felt like they were embedded in you. The sheer power of these beautiful instruments was undeniable, the odd grace that comes from percussion was tangible. I can't use enough long words to describe this experience, but it was one well worth having. These guys seriously know what they're doing and I heartily recommend looking them up to see if they're ever performing anywhere near yourself (although they're based in Bonny Scotland).
Kiai!
Next time: IRON SKY
(yeah, I saw it)
FACE/OFF
Remember when this movie was cool? I mean, it was totally worth getting it for all the nostalgia alone. This movie was cool, right? I'm not just imagining that?
HARRY BROWN
Only film I'd paid more than £3 for (it was £5). This is still a powerfully brutal film about a vigilante pensioner. Starring Michael Caine. Does it get better than that?
WINDTALKERS
Next
DAYS OF GLORY
Wasn't too sure about the sudden political message that was rammed at us in the last few scenes, but other than that, bloody good little war movie they've got going on there.
THE WRESTLER
Like all Arronofsky films, it's quite distant, alien and painful to watch at times, but it really does give you a sense of appreciating wrestling, which is pretty good, to be honest.
ROBIN HOOD
Hmmm... reviewed this film already. On second watch I stand by my original statement, story was a bit naff but the world, setting and history were quite rich and I still enjoyed it.
THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA
QUEEN OF THE DESERT
Got to wonder how I'd gone through my life without having seen this film before. It makes you look at Memento, the Matrix and Superman 2 in a whole different light! Great movie.
So yeah, now to talk about... not another movie!
MUGENKYO TAIKO
So yeah, last tuesday, instead of sitting down with my nerds to play D&D, I took my nerds to go and see Mugenkyo, the UK's only professionally touring Taiko Drumming company. This was part of Newbury Spring Festival, which is usually a time for overly posh nitwits to gather at Newbury Corn Exchange and complain about the price of the whine and dabate the qualities of their favourite chellist. I've never had much time for it, but this year I had a look through the programme and saw Mugenkyo and thought 'you know, I bet a whole bunch of my guys would be up for that'.
And up for it they were. Despite some last minute drop outs and us having a few too many tickets, the show was a great night. They started out with a set that was a bit more 'progressive and original', which meant that there were several bits at the beginning where they were walking around slowly with instruments I haven't seen since Year 6 Music and humming loudly, often not in key. This was kinda confusing and felt a bit remeniscent of GCSE Drama, especially the bit with the megaphone, taht was weird, but when they got past that and down into some drumming?
Phenomenal.
The seats we were on (Row A, right at the front), actually vibrated through some of their pieces, the beat and rhythm felt like they were embedded in you. The sheer power of these beautiful instruments was undeniable, the odd grace that comes from percussion was tangible. I can't use enough long words to describe this experience, but it was one well worth having. These guys seriously know what they're doing and I heartily recommend looking them up to see if they're ever performing anywhere near yourself (although they're based in Bonny Scotland).
Kiai!
Next time: IRON SKY
(yeah, I saw it)
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Have you heard of Wreckamovie?
Well? Have you? Because if you haven't (the four people that actually read my blog), then you probably should have. Wreckamovie is a website that tries to get movie fans and people who think that they can make movies (but don't happen to live in Hollywood or are related to anyone who does) together, so that they can make movies. Or at least try to. Or at least discuss it.
See, Wreckamovie sounds like any other random website of nerds that want to talk more ideas than they have ability to act upon. The thing that makes it different, is that it's worked recently. More than two and a half thousand people got involved in a project that's been in development for the last six years, and it's being released today. Limited release, granted, but it's done.
It's called IRON SKY, and rest assured, I'll be reviewing it pretty soon, just got a few other to get through.
Now, don't get massively excited and sign up right now (although definately check out the website, http://www.wreckamovie.com/), because it takes a lot of hard work, effort, cash and people not being selfish to get anything off the ground. Iron Sky has more than two and a half thousand people supporting it and it took six years to get the thing made.
To be honest, I'll hold more judgement back until I've seen more projects come out of this website. I mean, if you think of the potential that this site can offer, this could undermine the major movie studios and bring film into indepedant hands, the hands of a hundred million movie fans sitting at home with their laptops. Will that happen? Probably not.
But it could. And I'd be interested in seeing it. As the website says, this could be Future of Film.
In other news, my D&D game is going weird, I'm not sure I'm a fan of join DMing, perhaps I'm more of a control freak than I thought, especially when it comes to stories. My housemate wants me to commence writing a script that he's suggested and wants to contribute too... I'm willing to give it a shot, but how well do I play with others?
Anyway.
AVENGERS
ASSEMBLE
Well, what can I say? I mean, we've been waiting about five years for this, since that last scene in Iron Man 1 back in 2008. Since then, Robert Downy Jr. has had two outings as the man in the Red and Gold Metal suit, Edward Norton made a Hulk Movie that shouldn't neccessarily be counted in the cannon, a pair of overly handsome men called Chris were given a Hammer and a Shield respectively, and now they're all here together.
Is it good? Is it up to the hype? I can sum it up in one sentence.
This film is *exactly* what we were promised. No more, no less.
I don't want to rant too much about it, because I don't want to ruin it for anyone. I don't want to praise it too highly, because it's not a perfect film, there's a very basic story that's pretty much taken straight from The Ultimates and it's in 3D (and you know how I feel about 3D). But you know what I mean by that sentence back up there?
This movie is FUN.
This movie is so much fun, that I went to see it twice, and the second time I even went alone (and I hate going alone to the movies). If you've ever seen a superhero movie, especially one of the five that came before this one, then you owe it to yourself to see this film. It may not be film of the year, it may not be a work of high art, but the Avengers deliver. It simply doesn't get any more awesome than this.
Next time: Some actual culture.
See, Wreckamovie sounds like any other random website of nerds that want to talk more ideas than they have ability to act upon. The thing that makes it different, is that it's worked recently. More than two and a half thousand people got involved in a project that's been in development for the last six years, and it's being released today. Limited release, granted, but it's done.
It's called IRON SKY, and rest assured, I'll be reviewing it pretty soon, just got a few other to get through.
Now, don't get massively excited and sign up right now (although definately check out the website, http://www.wreckamovie.com/), because it takes a lot of hard work, effort, cash and people not being selfish to get anything off the ground. Iron Sky has more than two and a half thousand people supporting it and it took six years to get the thing made.
To be honest, I'll hold more judgement back until I've seen more projects come out of this website. I mean, if you think of the potential that this site can offer, this could undermine the major movie studios and bring film into indepedant hands, the hands of a hundred million movie fans sitting at home with their laptops. Will that happen? Probably not.
But it could. And I'd be interested in seeing it. As the website says, this could be Future of Film.
In other news, my D&D game is going weird, I'm not sure I'm a fan of join DMing, perhaps I'm more of a control freak than I thought, especially when it comes to stories. My housemate wants me to commence writing a script that he's suggested and wants to contribute too... I'm willing to give it a shot, but how well do I play with others?
Anyway.
AVENGERS
ASSEMBLE
Well, what can I say? I mean, we've been waiting about five years for this, since that last scene in Iron Man 1 back in 2008. Since then, Robert Downy Jr. has had two outings as the man in the Red and Gold Metal suit, Edward Norton made a Hulk Movie that shouldn't neccessarily be counted in the cannon, a pair of overly handsome men called Chris were given a Hammer and a Shield respectively, and now they're all here together.
Is it good? Is it up to the hype? I can sum it up in one sentence.
This film is *exactly* what we were promised. No more, no less.
I don't want to rant too much about it, because I don't want to ruin it for anyone. I don't want to praise it too highly, because it's not a perfect film, there's a very basic story that's pretty much taken straight from The Ultimates and it's in 3D (and you know how I feel about 3D). But you know what I mean by that sentence back up there?
This movie is FUN.
This movie is so much fun, that I went to see it twice, and the second time I even went alone (and I hate going alone to the movies). If you've ever seen a superhero movie, especially one of the five that came before this one, then you owe it to yourself to see this film. It may not be film of the year, it may not be a work of high art, but the Avengers deliver. It simply doesn't get any more awesome than this.
Next time: Some actual culture.
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