So one of my passions is Role-Playing Games and I don't think I've talked too much about this in my blogging time, so if you aren't interested, skip to the film review, because I bet you it'll be better than the last few.
I was first introduced to Role-Playing Games by one of my science teachers back in Secondary School. Mr. Stainrod, you wacky man you. There was a lunchtime club for D&D and I joined with a group of regular players.
And it was awesome.
I remember my first proper character was called Xan, he was a Male Human Fighter (which is something that most people tend to curl their lips up at, but if I had my way it's the only thing I would ever play) and he was pretty suicidal. This I recall with great fondness. That game never really finished, which is pretty much the curse of most games, I've found.
I ran my first game when I was still in school, using many of the same players and including my brother as well. I've got so many story fragment memories tucked into the back of my mind and I'd love to relive them or write them all down some time, but I'm just not sure where they all fit in anymore. But me and Jon will always remember Elath Wild, won't we.
Over the years I kind of forgot roleplay games, I went to college, then to university, I kept up with Warhammer and 40,000, but they weren't quite there to fill the gap properly. When I moved back to newbury in 2004, my friend Andy (from school, with whom I used to game), re-introduced me to gaming and I must thank him forever more. I shouldn't have left it behind.
I'm now more of an ST than I am a player, ST being Story Teller, sometimes known as Game Master or Dungeon Master. Basically, it's my job to come up with the plot, the world, the bad guys and the situations, while my regular core of players (Marsh, Andy, Ade, Jon, Tim and yes they're pretty much all male) come up with characters that fit into that world... then proceed to blow up most of it in alarmingly spectacular fashion. When you find a gaming group that works, well, hold onto them, because there's nothing better than having a group fulfill a storyline that you created, but they have warped and changed into their own. It's really one of the best feelings I've ever had.
Some people would dispute the term 'gaming' with me. I mean, it's a game, as are many other things, but a lot of people who are dedicated to video games would disagree that what we do is 'gaming' compared to them. I guess all I really have to say to that is that imagination has been around a lot longer, and essentially all we're doing is adding dice rolls to the make-believe games you used to play in the schoolyard. In another arguement to the superiority of pencil-and-paper games over computerised role-play games, computer games are limited. They can only cope with so many options, there's only so many things you can do with the decisions presented to you. There's no limit on what we do.
I'm a Role-Player til I die, I will check your Armour Class, I will figure out my Skill Specialties and I will measure my range modifiers against any call of 'nerd' or 'geek' in my general direction. Because it's all in the game. Yo.
THOR
You know, I really wasn't expecting much of this film either. I didn't think that they'd do it much good, many people were saying that the trailers didn't look inspiring (I wisely avoid all trailers that I can, since all they do is ruin movies, as I'm sure I've ranted about already). And you know what, they're wrong. This film was good. It was good.
It wasn't great, it wasn't brilliant, it was mind-blowing, but it was good. It was fast-paced, funny, had the right amount of action and ridiculousness and it did what it set out to do. I believe that it is indeed aimed at a slightly younger audience than Iron Man, but I can live with that, it doesn't talk down to anyone and it certainly works for all viewers.
Thor, the impetuous son of Odin, is cast down to Earth for violating a treaty with the ancient enemies of the Asgard, the Frost Giants. Now these aren't quite the creatures and Gods of Norse myth, quite deliberately so, they do not resemble the legends, they're an advanced society whose time appears to run slightly differently than ours and they dress preposterously.
This is all good as far as I'm concerned. I seem to have found myself awash with 'the ancient Gods live among us' theme lately (which is why I'm working on my own Role-Play adaption for it, because, you know, I haven't ripped off enough stuff for my games), and this film seems to work with it quite well, especially since it's very well aware that the whole different worlds and magic hammers and rainbow bridges is just one part of a massive universe that includes men flying around in iron suits, turning into green genetic accidents and wearing flags on their chests. Oh yes, the Avengers is going to be AWEsome.
The cast is great, the script is great, I happily went to see it twice after saying that I wasn't sure about it the first time round and the great super-hero summer season is begun. With X-Men, Captain America and the dreaded Green Lantern films all hitting the screens soon, I wonder when the next summer blockbuster that doesn't feature a man in a cape will be?
Also, after the credits scene is a must and 3D was a waste of time, but what's new? Oh yes, Hemsworth. He's new. And he's good for it.
Next up: HANNA
Sunday, 5 June 2011
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
Computer "Issues"
So I'm having fun with my power cable right now, it only seems to want to work when shoved into a particular position, at a certain angle, when attached in a certain way, beneath a certain alignment of the stars, it would appear.
You may have noticed that I'm ridiculously behind on my blogging, mainly due to an overwhelming sense of apathy, lethargy and laziness that has overtaken me in the weeks since the end of university. How monumentally uninspiring those have been.
I keep telling myself that I'm going to do things like tidy my house more often and read more books while I'm waiting in thie limbo-like period between finishing uni and moving back to Newbury, which I'm experiancing some difficulty with house hunting.
Ach... sod it.
YOUR HIGHNESS
So I started off not really liking this movie, I felt that it was kind of poking fun at D&D and Fantasy movies in general, which are of course things that are dear to my heart, but as it went on I actually started to enjoy it, realising that in order to poke fun at such things, the people who made this movie actually have to kind of like them in the first place. The weird slacker/stoner humour that runs through this movie has never really been my thing, since it's very American and thus quite crude to elitist, refined British tastes.
Basically, Danny McBride is a waste of time brother to a heroic prince who gets to do all the real questing and monster-slaying for their little kingdom, and gets drawn into a quest to go retrieve his brother's bride to be before a dark sorcerer uses her to fulfil a run-of-the-mill evil prophecy yadda-yadda-yadda and all that jazz. There's a lot left to be desired in this film, but once you've settled into it, I think it works, although it probably could have been a bit shorter (but then I seem to think that about a lot of films these days).
Featuring an awesome cast with Charles Dance, Damien Lewis, Zooey Deschanel (oh, there needs to be more Zooey in our lives), Toby Jones, Natalie Portman (who apparently hasn't had a day off since 2007) and mo-fo'ing James Franco, there's a lot to enjoy in here as well. And Minotaur penis. All about the Minotaur penis.
Next up: THOR
(Oh HELLS Yes!)
You may have noticed that I'm ridiculously behind on my blogging, mainly due to an overwhelming sense of apathy, lethargy and laziness that has overtaken me in the weeks since the end of university. How monumentally uninspiring those have been.
I keep telling myself that I'm going to do things like tidy my house more often and read more books while I'm waiting in thie limbo-like period between finishing uni and moving back to Newbury, which I'm experiancing some difficulty with house hunting.
Ach... sod it.
YOUR HIGHNESS
So I started off not really liking this movie, I felt that it was kind of poking fun at D&D and Fantasy movies in general, which are of course things that are dear to my heart, but as it went on I actually started to enjoy it, realising that in order to poke fun at such things, the people who made this movie actually have to kind of like them in the first place. The weird slacker/stoner humour that runs through this movie has never really been my thing, since it's very American and thus quite crude to elitist, refined British tastes.
Basically, Danny McBride is a waste of time brother to a heroic prince who gets to do all the real questing and monster-slaying for their little kingdom, and gets drawn into a quest to go retrieve his brother's bride to be before a dark sorcerer uses her to fulfil a run-of-the-mill evil prophecy yadda-yadda-yadda and all that jazz. There's a lot left to be desired in this film, but once you've settled into it, I think it works, although it probably could have been a bit shorter (but then I seem to think that about a lot of films these days).
Featuring an awesome cast with Charles Dance, Damien Lewis, Zooey Deschanel (oh, there needs to be more Zooey in our lives), Toby Jones, Natalie Portman (who apparently hasn't had a day off since 2007) and mo-fo'ing James Franco, there's a lot to enjoy in here as well. And Minotaur penis. All about the Minotaur penis.
Next up: THOR
(Oh HELLS Yes!)
Saturday, 7 May 2011
Done
Done. Finished. Completed. Finito. Handed in.
Holy Christ, what do I do with my life now?
A TURTLE'S TALE:
SAMMY'S ADVENTURES.
Honestly? This kind of film is the reason that kids are getting stupider. One of the things that makes me say this is the amount of space between lines of dialogue. It may seem like a little thing, but listen for it in the next film you see, just how much of a pause there is between one actor finishing his line and the next one starting his. Because in good films, there's a fair amount of pausing so that the lines can be considered and digested. In films like this one, it's relayed at you so quickly that you just can't care about what's being said.
(There's an exception to every rule of course and in the case of this rule it's Aaron Sorkin, he can get his guys to talk as fast as he wants.)
This film charts the life of a turtle from hatchling to grandfather (which is voiced by John Hurt, serving as the narrator, he's clearly scraping the bottom of the barrel with films like this). Sammy spends most of his life drifting across the world, looking for his one true love and never really doing anything productive. The film is supposed to educate about the dangers of man contributing to the destruction of the oceans and global warming, but it neatly manages to side-step actually talking about the issues in favour of some poor turtle facial animation.
Basically, if this is the kind of competition that Pixar have to put up with, then they are in absolutely no danger from this quarter. I mean, Dreamworks Animated give them a decent run for their money with stuff like Megamind and How To Train Your Dragon, but this sort of thing is aimed for kids and didn't even entertain all that many of them, from what I saw. I can't quite believe that I saw this film in the end, but here we are, talking about it, using up one of my slots for the month. Could have seen something different. But no, Kren asked me to steward. Sigh.
Next time: YOUR HIGHNESS
Holy Christ, what do I do with my life now?
A TURTLE'S TALE:
SAMMY'S ADVENTURES.
Honestly? This kind of film is the reason that kids are getting stupider. One of the things that makes me say this is the amount of space between lines of dialogue. It may seem like a little thing, but listen for it in the next film you see, just how much of a pause there is between one actor finishing his line and the next one starting his. Because in good films, there's a fair amount of pausing so that the lines can be considered and digested. In films like this one, it's relayed at you so quickly that you just can't care about what's being said.
(There's an exception to every rule of course and in the case of this rule it's Aaron Sorkin, he can get his guys to talk as fast as he wants.)
This film charts the life of a turtle from hatchling to grandfather (which is voiced by John Hurt, serving as the narrator, he's clearly scraping the bottom of the barrel with films like this). Sammy spends most of his life drifting across the world, looking for his one true love and never really doing anything productive. The film is supposed to educate about the dangers of man contributing to the destruction of the oceans and global warming, but it neatly manages to side-step actually talking about the issues in favour of some poor turtle facial animation.
Basically, if this is the kind of competition that Pixar have to put up with, then they are in absolutely no danger from this quarter. I mean, Dreamworks Animated give them a decent run for their money with stuff like Megamind and How To Train Your Dragon, but this sort of thing is aimed for kids and didn't even entertain all that many of them, from what I saw. I can't quite believe that I saw this film in the end, but here we are, talking about it, using up one of my slots for the month. Could have seen something different. But no, Kren asked me to steward. Sigh.
Next time: YOUR HIGHNESS
Thursday, 28 April 2011
One Week To Go
Yep. Just one week to go before I finish university. I've got a whole 7th draft to do, which'll be done just before hand-in. We've been doing so many read-throughs of all our scripts lately that they're almost about to blend in together, which'll be interesting to see what comes out of those hallucinations!
In other news I've been in Newbury once again to work, and my friend Justine (who lives full time in France) is over to visit again, she's in fact been helping us read through all of our scripts, which I hope hasn't been too boring for her. It's always good to see her, despite the blazing rows we get into regarding chivalry.
Right then... chivalry.
It's pretty much dead, we live in an age where feminism took chivalry and beat it over the head repeatedly until it died, but most women still expect men to hold the door open for them. If that sounds a little bitter, then it is, but that's only because I just don't get the dichotomy between the two. Basically, me and Justine argue every time she comes and visits because I insist that she sleeps in my room and I sleep on the sofa. Now, I don't think that this is too much to ask, but it kind of irks me that she constantly refuses and insists that she'll take the sofa. It's just one of those things that I guess will never change about our friendship, even though I'll never quite understand it.
Mmmm... pizza.
Sorry. Anyway, one week to go until we hand in, one week until we party like it's 2099, one week until everything that we've spent all three years of university working towards is completed. Kind of scary, isn't it?
KILLING BONO.
Now, I really didn't expect much from this film, and when I was told that Bono himself actually likes this film, I was pretty much ready to write it off, but then when I was in Scotland I got the chance to go see it at the local cinema and I thought 'what the hell, why not'. And man, do I not regret that decision.
This is an utterly charming, music-filled, retrospectively funny and insightful little film. It's about two brothers who want to be rock stars, but the trouble is that they went to school with a bunch of lads that would go on to become U2, the biggest rock band in the world for quite some time.
Another reason for seeing this film is because it features some premier talent, Stanley Townsend was fantastic, Peter Serafinowicz is always a welcome sight, Barnes and Sheenan played off each other just right and it was, of course, the last film to feature the immense, undeniable and sorely missed talents of Pete Postlethwaite. I can't tell you how much I'm going to miss that man. The last lines of his in the film, spoken pretty much directly to the camera, are his true legacy left to his loyal audiance.
I'll admit I misted up.
But other than that, this was a funny, crazy, nostalgic little film about some truly great music and it's worth a watch, definately. I went in not expecting much, but I got more than I wanted from it, so I guess I call it a success. Might have to track down the article it was based off.
Next: Sammy's Adventures
(No, I can't believe I
watched it either)
In other news I've been in Newbury once again to work, and my friend Justine (who lives full time in France) is over to visit again, she's in fact been helping us read through all of our scripts, which I hope hasn't been too boring for her. It's always good to see her, despite the blazing rows we get into regarding chivalry.
Right then... chivalry.
It's pretty much dead, we live in an age where feminism took chivalry and beat it over the head repeatedly until it died, but most women still expect men to hold the door open for them. If that sounds a little bitter, then it is, but that's only because I just don't get the dichotomy between the two. Basically, me and Justine argue every time she comes and visits because I insist that she sleeps in my room and I sleep on the sofa. Now, I don't think that this is too much to ask, but it kind of irks me that she constantly refuses and insists that she'll take the sofa. It's just one of those things that I guess will never change about our friendship, even though I'll never quite understand it.
Mmmm... pizza.
Sorry. Anyway, one week to go until we hand in, one week until we party like it's 2099, one week until everything that we've spent all three years of university working towards is completed. Kind of scary, isn't it?
KILLING BONO.
Now, I really didn't expect much from this film, and when I was told that Bono himself actually likes this film, I was pretty much ready to write it off, but then when I was in Scotland I got the chance to go see it at the local cinema and I thought 'what the hell, why not'. And man, do I not regret that decision.
This is an utterly charming, music-filled, retrospectively funny and insightful little film. It's about two brothers who want to be rock stars, but the trouble is that they went to school with a bunch of lads that would go on to become U2, the biggest rock band in the world for quite some time.
Another reason for seeing this film is because it features some premier talent, Stanley Townsend was fantastic, Peter Serafinowicz is always a welcome sight, Barnes and Sheenan played off each other just right and it was, of course, the last film to feature the immense, undeniable and sorely missed talents of Pete Postlethwaite. I can't tell you how much I'm going to miss that man. The last lines of his in the film, spoken pretty much directly to the camera, are his true legacy left to his loyal audiance.
I'll admit I misted up.
But other than that, this was a funny, crazy, nostalgic little film about some truly great music and it's worth a watch, definately. I went in not expecting much, but I got more than I wanted from it, so I guess I call it a success. Might have to track down the article it was based off.
Next: Sammy's Adventures
(No, I can't believe I
watched it either)
Friday, 22 April 2011
Illness
I hate being ill. I really, really hate it. I'm one of these people that is ridiculously impervious to most illnesses, I can count the amount of sick-days from work I've had on the fingers of one slightly mutilated hand, so when I actually get one, I tend to flip out and act ridiculously badly and go on and on about it. So, for those of you who don't want to hear the details, skip to the film review. Not that that will be any less full of crap.
Day 1: Tuesday.
So I wake up with, for no reason, a BANGING HEADACHE. It literally felt like I'd rented out part of my skull to a particularly rattly anvil. I struggled through watching television or getting on with any work. Spent most of the day trying to nap, so that I wouldn't really notice it. Also, my appetite was quite reduced, I really didn't feel like food.
Day 2: Wednesday.
Woke up properly to find that my headache was only at about half what it was the previous day. So I stumbled out to Asda in order to buy food I reckoned I would want and paracetamol. Paracetamol went down well, but as soon as I'd had half a sandwich I started to feel kinda funny, so I got up and managed to get to the bathroom in time. Oh Gods. Oh Gods, the runs.
Day 3: Thursday.
So... this day passed in a blur of my bedroom walls, not eating at all, scampering to the bathroom every half hour and having the equivalent of a leaky tap instead of my arse. Great way to spend the last week of my Easter Holiday.
Day 4: Friday.
Moina called on friday, wanting to see if I wanted to hang out. I said that I should, just so that I could get out of the house. Then I realised my keys were gone. I searched, searched, searched and wound myself up looking for them, but they were gone completely. No leaving for me, it would seem. I eventually made it out and to the pub, but I couldn't even eat half my meal and I had to visit the lav three times while there. To make things worse, there were Christians EVERYWHERE. Apparently it was Good Friday or something. I challenge anyone to still call it 'Good' Friday when they've had what I had that day. Moina gave me some immodium, thank Christ.
Day 5: Saturday.
So, still not really eating, having to throw bread away, still sleeping for about 70% of the day, beginning to wonder if this immodium is even working through the amount of toilet paper I was going through.
Eventually, I managed to drag myself round to Coates' place, in order to watch the first episode of the new season of Doctor Who, which I shall discuss in my other blog. I had pizza. Oh, oh I'd forgotten what food was!
Day 6: Sunday.
I don't think I went to the bathroom the whole day. My lower intestine was feeling very, very weird, like there was a massive stone there in place of an organ, but hell, it was better than crapping brown water.
Day 7: Monday.
I think... I think I'm okay. Took my first proper bowel movement in quite some time. Oh thank Christ for that... now I get to hang out with people again, and tell them ALL ABOUT IT! Oh, how they're going to love me...
SOURCE CODE.
Well... this film wasn't up to much. There weren't many expectations on my end for this movie, it reminded me far too much of Quantum Leap and Seven Days, without actually managing to capture the charm and intrigue of either of these kooky sci-fi series. While the basis for the film works pretty well (Army Corporal gets zapped into the body of a man on a train that's about to explode, he has about eight minutes to figure out who the bomber is), the execution is what makes me hesitate about this.
The film can't really decide if it wants to be a fast-paced action film or a thoughtful science fiction film, skipping between frantically trying to find a bomb on a train and putting pieces of the puzzle together, or the moral weight of using a dead man against his will to find the answers to a situation that only he can access. It's all very soft science and weird reality bending that doesn't make any sense, the only truly great bit of the movie is the tightness of the skirt on Vera Farmiga.
In truth, I expected a great deal more from Duncan Jones than this rather messy, knuckle-dragging 'thriller' that doesn't amount to anything more than a tribute to a much better television show from the 70's
Next up: Killing Bono.
Day 1: Tuesday.
So I wake up with, for no reason, a BANGING HEADACHE. It literally felt like I'd rented out part of my skull to a particularly rattly anvil. I struggled through watching television or getting on with any work. Spent most of the day trying to nap, so that I wouldn't really notice it. Also, my appetite was quite reduced, I really didn't feel like food.
Day 2: Wednesday.
Woke up properly to find that my headache was only at about half what it was the previous day. So I stumbled out to Asda in order to buy food I reckoned I would want and paracetamol. Paracetamol went down well, but as soon as I'd had half a sandwich I started to feel kinda funny, so I got up and managed to get to the bathroom in time. Oh Gods. Oh Gods, the runs.
Day 3: Thursday.
So... this day passed in a blur of my bedroom walls, not eating at all, scampering to the bathroom every half hour and having the equivalent of a leaky tap instead of my arse. Great way to spend the last week of my Easter Holiday.
Day 4: Friday.
Moina called on friday, wanting to see if I wanted to hang out. I said that I should, just so that I could get out of the house. Then I realised my keys were gone. I searched, searched, searched and wound myself up looking for them, but they were gone completely. No leaving for me, it would seem. I eventually made it out and to the pub, but I couldn't even eat half my meal and I had to visit the lav three times while there. To make things worse, there were Christians EVERYWHERE. Apparently it was Good Friday or something. I challenge anyone to still call it 'Good' Friday when they've had what I had that day. Moina gave me some immodium, thank Christ.
Day 5: Saturday.
So, still not really eating, having to throw bread away, still sleeping for about 70% of the day, beginning to wonder if this immodium is even working through the amount of toilet paper I was going through.
Eventually, I managed to drag myself round to Coates' place, in order to watch the first episode of the new season of Doctor Who, which I shall discuss in my other blog. I had pizza. Oh, oh I'd forgotten what food was!
Day 6: Sunday.
I don't think I went to the bathroom the whole day. My lower intestine was feeling very, very weird, like there was a massive stone there in place of an organ, but hell, it was better than crapping brown water.
Day 7: Monday.
I think... I think I'm okay. Took my first proper bowel movement in quite some time. Oh thank Christ for that... now I get to hang out with people again, and tell them ALL ABOUT IT! Oh, how they're going to love me...
SOURCE CODE.
Well... this film wasn't up to much. There weren't many expectations on my end for this movie, it reminded me far too much of Quantum Leap and Seven Days, without actually managing to capture the charm and intrigue of either of these kooky sci-fi series. While the basis for the film works pretty well (Army Corporal gets zapped into the body of a man on a train that's about to explode, he has about eight minutes to figure out who the bomber is), the execution is what makes me hesitate about this.
The film can't really decide if it wants to be a fast-paced action film or a thoughtful science fiction film, skipping between frantically trying to find a bomb on a train and putting pieces of the puzzle together, or the moral weight of using a dead man against his will to find the answers to a situation that only he can access. It's all very soft science and weird reality bending that doesn't make any sense, the only truly great bit of the movie is the tightness of the skirt on Vera Farmiga.
In truth, I expected a great deal more from Duncan Jones than this rather messy, knuckle-dragging 'thriller' that doesn't amount to anything more than a tribute to a much better television show from the 70's
Next up: Killing Bono.
Thursday, 31 March 2011
And We're Nearly Home...
So, big developments for me lately, and I mean BIG.
Basically, I was planning on moving to London at some point in the future, and that point was namely going to be the 1st of July, my brother and I were going to start fresh new lives. But that's just had a change.
I was on my way back to Newbury on the old train when my brother called me. He has decided that he wishes to resit his entire third year of university, in order to clear his head of the crap that's been piling up there.
I honestly think that this idea works, and I support him fully in undertaking it, it just means that I'm gonna have to reschedule any plans of moving with him that I had. So where am I going to go? What am I going to do with myself?
In all fairness, that last one is something that I've been kind of asking myself for a while now. I'm 27, I don't have anything that could be unironically a 'career', I'm a shiftless layabout and I'm about to exit university for the second time, this time knowing just how much the real world sucks without any illusion about it. So yeah. I'm moving back to Newbury. At least there I already have a job and friends. A place to live might be good though, I hear that people need them.
BIUTIFUL.
Well, this film is anything but.
I can definately understand why it's being held in high regard and why Bardem was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in it, but as far as I'm concerned this film was more than two hours of mind-numbing, soul-destroying, heavy-handed morality story that never really went anywhere.
Our protagonist Uxbal is a family man of dodgy criminal income, his wife is sleeping with his brother and kicked out of the house, his kids are unhappy and living in poverty and he can see dead people. Oh yeah, where the hell did that come from? What did that possibly add to the story?
I admit that I'm not in the best of moods when I'm writing this review, but I have to say that looking back on it, I'm really not sure that this film deserves much more from me than my mild disinterest. It felt laden with all the things I label 'pretentious' and it seemed to go nowhere very slowly. There were whole plot points that I must have missed for just how little in engaged me.
Unfortunately that seems to be all I had to say about this movie. It really did that little for me. I managed to spit out more about Battle: LA last time. Now that's got to be an indicator, eh? I can talk more about alien invasion b-movies than this, what is supposed to be high art.
Oh well. Next time: SOURCE CODE.
Basically, I was planning on moving to London at some point in the future, and that point was namely going to be the 1st of July, my brother and I were going to start fresh new lives. But that's just had a change.
I was on my way back to Newbury on the old train when my brother called me. He has decided that he wishes to resit his entire third year of university, in order to clear his head of the crap that's been piling up there.
I honestly think that this idea works, and I support him fully in undertaking it, it just means that I'm gonna have to reschedule any plans of moving with him that I had. So where am I going to go? What am I going to do with myself?
In all fairness, that last one is something that I've been kind of asking myself for a while now. I'm 27, I don't have anything that could be unironically a 'career', I'm a shiftless layabout and I'm about to exit university for the second time, this time knowing just how much the real world sucks without any illusion about it. So yeah. I'm moving back to Newbury. At least there I already have a job and friends. A place to live might be good though, I hear that people need them.
BIUTIFUL.
Well, this film is anything but.
I can definately understand why it's being held in high regard and why Bardem was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in it, but as far as I'm concerned this film was more than two hours of mind-numbing, soul-destroying, heavy-handed morality story that never really went anywhere.
Our protagonist Uxbal is a family man of dodgy criminal income, his wife is sleeping with his brother and kicked out of the house, his kids are unhappy and living in poverty and he can see dead people. Oh yeah, where the hell did that come from? What did that possibly add to the story?
I admit that I'm not in the best of moods when I'm writing this review, but I have to say that looking back on it, I'm really not sure that this film deserves much more from me than my mild disinterest. It felt laden with all the things I label 'pretentious' and it seemed to go nowhere very slowly. There were whole plot points that I must have missed for just how little in engaged me.
Unfortunately that seems to be all I had to say about this movie. It really did that little for me. I managed to spit out more about Battle: LA last time. Now that's got to be an indicator, eh? I can talk more about alien invasion b-movies than this, what is supposed to be high art.
Oh well. Next time: SOURCE CODE.
Saturday, 26 March 2011
39 and 1/2 hours
You know, at 27, you'd think that I'd grow out of my ridiculous habit of staying up for days and days at a time. It never really goes well and I always end up confusing myself. But at the same time I get oddly proud. So, I woke up 10:17 on Thursday morning and went to sleep some time around 01:05 on Saturday morning. Because I'm really clever like that.
At least I didn't spend that amount of time trapped in a canyon, because that would have been nasty and I honestly don't think I have the multi-tool or the willpower to hack my own arm off. I like my arm, I'm very attached to it. I suppose I could segway into the Oscars (several weeks late) with that last comment, so indeed I shall. My thoughts.
King's Speech won every award going and it was quite clear that it was going too anyway. It's a film that was designed at the genetic level to be an award winner. But... I still think it earned them. Colin Firth gave the performance of a lifetime, Geoffry Rush was outstanding, the writing was solid, the directing was playful yet serious, everything about the film deserves the recognition that it got. That does mean that a few lost out.
127 Hours is probably the most powerful film I've ever seen, Inception (despite Mike Lynch's protests) is a truly innovative story without any real boundaries and I think True Grit had some serious merit going for it. But all of these were overshadowed by the awards-monster that is King's Speech, and can we really blame it? I mean, it's the safest of all safe options, its got the most marketable appeal of all thsoe movies and it's the best loved by the older generation, who are still in charge of things in tinsel town. It's triumph over adversity, it's friendship breaking across class struggle, it's morally unambiguous and straight to the point. As films go, it doesn't mess around.
But in 127 Hours we actually wanted a man to cut his own arm off.
In Inception we wanted to immerse ourselves in that spinning top.
In Social Network we would have watched him hit 'Refresh' forever.
In True Grit I wanted to hear Bridges talk for another hour.
But we can't have them all, can we?
BATTLE: LOS ANGELES
So if I hadn't seen Ironclad a few days before, I'm sure that this movie would have clinched some awesome MANly feelings in me, but it certainly didn't have the punch of Purefoy and Cox's squaring up to VLADIMIER. Basically, for those that are unaware, Battle: LA is an alien invasion of the world, and it focuses on what it would look like from a hand-held camera sort of view.
Now, I'm not going to say that it's got a massively original story, or that it's got amazing characters (although Aaron Eckhart always gives a good performance and Michelle Rodriguez is, for once not shit!), or that it's a truly groundbreaking film... but I enjoyed it. I really, really enjoyed it. There's just nothing about it that didn't work, to my eyes.
It's got aliens, it's got big explosions, it's got US Marines realised that they are not the be-all-end-all of military forces, it's got action, it's got some overblown heroism and it's got a painful reference to Japan in the opening seconds.
Actually, I should make a point of that, it was shocking, the first lines of the movie are a radio voice-over saying about how Japan has been devastated. And we saw this on the friday release day, which was the VERY DAY the tsunami hit them.
Freaky, huh?
The other thing to mention with this movie is that it's a film about aliens invading Los Angeles... that's 'Inspired by True Events'. If you look up the Battle for Los Angeles on Wikipedia, you'll find out what I mean and quite frankly I think it's hilarious. Technically, this film about aliens invading Los Angeles is inspired by true events.
So overall, I think this film can be summed up in one phrase. 'If you can say "not quite as good as Independance Day" with a straight face, then that's this movie'. I dont' know why I thought that when I saw it, but there it is, that's this movie. It's fun, it's loud, it's explodey and it's a half decent way to spend an evening. And it kicked the shit out of Skyline.
Next time: BIUTIFUL.
At least I didn't spend that amount of time trapped in a canyon, because that would have been nasty and I honestly don't think I have the multi-tool or the willpower to hack my own arm off. I like my arm, I'm very attached to it. I suppose I could segway into the Oscars (several weeks late) with that last comment, so indeed I shall. My thoughts.
King's Speech won every award going and it was quite clear that it was going too anyway. It's a film that was designed at the genetic level to be an award winner. But... I still think it earned them. Colin Firth gave the performance of a lifetime, Geoffry Rush was outstanding, the writing was solid, the directing was playful yet serious, everything about the film deserves the recognition that it got. That does mean that a few lost out.
127 Hours is probably the most powerful film I've ever seen, Inception (despite Mike Lynch's protests) is a truly innovative story without any real boundaries and I think True Grit had some serious merit going for it. But all of these were overshadowed by the awards-monster that is King's Speech, and can we really blame it? I mean, it's the safest of all safe options, its got the most marketable appeal of all thsoe movies and it's the best loved by the older generation, who are still in charge of things in tinsel town. It's triumph over adversity, it's friendship breaking across class struggle, it's morally unambiguous and straight to the point. As films go, it doesn't mess around.
But in 127 Hours we actually wanted a man to cut his own arm off.
In Inception we wanted to immerse ourselves in that spinning top.
In Social Network we would have watched him hit 'Refresh' forever.
In True Grit I wanted to hear Bridges talk for another hour.
But we can't have them all, can we?
BATTLE: LOS ANGELES
So if I hadn't seen Ironclad a few days before, I'm sure that this movie would have clinched some awesome MANly feelings in me, but it certainly didn't have the punch of Purefoy and Cox's squaring up to VLADIMIER. Basically, for those that are unaware, Battle: LA is an alien invasion of the world, and it focuses on what it would look like from a hand-held camera sort of view.
Now, I'm not going to say that it's got a massively original story, or that it's got amazing characters (although Aaron Eckhart always gives a good performance and Michelle Rodriguez is, for once not shit!), or that it's a truly groundbreaking film... but I enjoyed it. I really, really enjoyed it. There's just nothing about it that didn't work, to my eyes.
It's got aliens, it's got big explosions, it's got US Marines realised that they are not the be-all-end-all of military forces, it's got action, it's got some overblown heroism and it's got a painful reference to Japan in the opening seconds.
Actually, I should make a point of that, it was shocking, the first lines of the movie are a radio voice-over saying about how Japan has been devastated. And we saw this on the friday release day, which was the VERY DAY the tsunami hit them.
Freaky, huh?
The other thing to mention with this movie is that it's a film about aliens invading Los Angeles... that's 'Inspired by True Events'. If you look up the Battle for Los Angeles on Wikipedia, you'll find out what I mean and quite frankly I think it's hilarious. Technically, this film about aliens invading Los Angeles is inspired by true events.
So overall, I think this film can be summed up in one phrase. 'If you can say "not quite as good as Independance Day" with a straight face, then that's this movie'. I dont' know why I thought that when I saw it, but there it is, that's this movie. It's fun, it's loud, it's explodey and it's a half decent way to spend an evening. And it kicked the shit out of Skyline.
Next time: BIUTIFUL.
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