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

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

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

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

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

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

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