So my brief holiday up to the frozen wastes of Scotland (more specifically the rather hospitable town of St. Andrews, where my parents reside) is now over and yesterday my brother and I embarked upon the eleven-and-a-half hour drive back down south. According to my Dad's instructions, it should have lasted about nine hours, but we got lost twice and ended up stopping for an hour and a half or so in Newbury, since it was on the way.
During my time at my parents house I managed to fall behind both on my writing and my Stargate (I'm not sure which one is more serious), so I'm frantically trying to get back on top of everything. I'm pretty sure I can catch up in order to get onto other pressing things. I can't quite think of any right now, but I'm sure I'll find something. Have met up with most of my friends, seen a few movies and lounged quite comfortably on my sofa.
Yep, it's good to be home.
On the money front I think I'm stuggling to stay within my set budget, but I don't think I'm in any serious danger yet. I'm getting a whole bunch of grant/loan/bursary cash pretty soon, but until September the 27th I'm pretty limited on what I can do (should probably stop going to the cinema so often, but if I didn't I wouldn't have any films to review for you, would I?). Ah well, it's all good, far as I'm concerned.
So I can't really think of anything to talk about other than the shows I went to go see at Edinburgh with my brother, so I'll do that. First up was a group called the News Revue, who perform a sketch show based on recent political events. These guys also are the longest running group to come to the Edinburgh Fringe, at 31 years. They were frickin' HIlarious and well worth the price of admission, brilliant stuff.
Next up Mr. Reginal D. Hunter, for whom we were front row. Do I really need to say that he was brilliant?
Finally was a production called 'Stitched Up', which was an interesting take of the story of Victor Frankenstein, presented as something of a Mad Science Anonymous meeting, with the rest of his cast taking the book and movies apart in an excellent breaking the fourth wall method. The only problem I had with it was that the cast spent too much time with thier backs to most of the audiance, most notably me.
Anyway, it was a most enjoyable day/evening, even if was under 'odd' circumstances of which I will talk about some other time!
THE A-TEAM.
You know, I didn't really have any ambition to see this movie. The A-Team was never a big part of my childhood and I never really thought much of that kind of 80's action series. However, just as I got back from my last jaunt up in newbury a few weeks ago, I was invited to go see it with my friends, so go see it we did. And you know what? We liked it. We liked it a great deal.
I won't say that it's a great movie or that it's a work of art or anything, but it was pretty damn fun. There were good jokes, cool sequences, great characters and a half decent plot. And by plot I mean a thin set of excuses to link several crazy action scenes. Basically, it worked really quite well together, but it was by no means a perfect movie.
The actual movie felt like it was only about two acts long, as oppose to the standard three act structure, either that or the second and third acts were only about half the plot points they should have been, which is more likely. Basically, I think there was a chance for another sequence in there somewhere, a smaller gap-filler one.
As it stands, the cast were actually pretty awesome (there were a lot of concerns about them), most especially Sharlto Copely, who has a serious future ahead of him.
All in all, this was a pretty decent movie, with some decent lines (quite quotable) and not at all as bad as expected. Don't go in expecting much, and you'll probably enjoy it.
Next up: Piranha 3D (No, I can't believe I'm going to review it either).
Wednesday, 25 August 2010
Tuesday, 17 August 2010
Recognition
So it was to my complete surprise and astounded bewliderment that I recieved an email yesterday from a chap called Nathan Grimm, who stated that he loved my blog. Now, while I do believe that such bizarre happenings as a man I've never met reading my rantings, the even more amazing thing is that Mr. Grimm isn't just a passer by, he actually represents a website that has now linked my blog as being 'of note to potential art students'.
I'm of note? Are you serious?
Apparently so, here's the link:
http://www.guidetoartschools.com/tips-and-tools/student-artist-blogs
I'm number 7 on that list of blogs that should be of interest to student artists or writers. Now, the first thing that actually crossed my mind when reading this piece of corrospondence wasn't 'I should check this out' or 'I should email him back to make sure he hasn't recently escaped from a looney farm' it was in fact 'Damn, I should blog about this'. So here I am, tapping away now that I've thought of something to say.
So, for those few of you that will actually be tempted by that link and actually read my blog (welcome all four of you), I guess I should tell you a bit about myself.
I go by Xan on this site and quite a few others but my friends day to day call me Al (my name is Alastair, which is the Gaelic translation of the name Greek name Alexander, which can be shortened to Xander and then again to Xan), I live in Southampton, a port city on the southern coast of Great Britain, I'm a student at Southampton Solent University in my third and final year of studying Screenwriting, which is the art of writing for film and television. My that was a long sentence. Now that I've remembered what a full stop is, I can carry on.
It's my goal someday to write for the BBC or to be able to sell a science fiction script to some appropriate channel in the States. I'm aware of just how ridiculously difficult it is to fulfill these goals, however, and I don't delude myself into thinking it'll be easy, so it'll probably be off to some advertising or marketing department for me after I'm done at university. I have a passion for films and television shows, but I won't pretend to be any kind of real expert on them, I have a fan's perspective tied with a sense of pretentious elitism and that works for me.
Every month I try to make between 2 and 6 blog entries, but I'm thinking about making it weekly, especially if I've been in some way 'noticed'. Attached to each of these blog entries is a film review of a movie I went to go see in the cinema a couple of weeks before, so my reviews are never really current, which is just as well, because I wouldn't want my opinion to sway anyone else's. I am in Scotland at the moment, staying with my parents, but that's just for a week or so during my vast summer holiday time. Also, I have a near crippling addiction to Stargate SG1.
So that's me, I hope that doesn't read like it's a profile on a dating site (because I'm tired of filling those in), but if it urges you to read on then... what's wrong with you?
So on with the film review, which is the end of the blog really, so see you later, if you decide to stick around (there's no reward). But we're all in for a treat this week:
INCEPTION.
So. Inception. The big one. The film of the year, as people will say. This is it, this is something that none of us can avoid or deny. Inception.
Where the hell do I start?!
I saw this movie three times in the cinema, putting it ahead of Four Lions (my top British film of the year) and Iron Man 2. That should mean something alone.
Mind you, this is a pretty British movie, Chris Nolan is the writer and director and it's got Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy and Pete Postlethwaite in it.
But... it's full of flaws.
Basically, the first third of the movie is purely exposition, there's so much backstory, setting up, technical explanation that the whole first third of the movie seemed pretty contrived to start off with, with so much detail being thrown around. It's pretty hard to keep track of sometimes, and it takes a fair bit of getting used to, but by the time you've picked it all up it works together pretty smoothly.
Second flaw is Ellen Page. Now, I've been perfectly fine with this young actress's performance in the past, she was fine in X-Men 3 and she was great in Juno. This... this wasn't the film for her. She was wooden, stiff, not at all convincing and I seriously felt that her role could have been better performed by someone wearing a t-shirt that said 'Audiance Surrogate' on the front. Leo Dicaprio wasn't massively hot either.
As for third flaw... okay, sod it, I can't talk flaws anymore. So many other things to rant about. This film, despite those things I've mentioned, is truly:
AMAZING.
It's gorgeous, it's virtually seamless and so complicated that idiots will stay away. Thank fuck for that, because they don't deserve this movie.
The sheer idea of delving into people's dreams as a method of personal infiltration, exploring their fears and imaginations, seeing their memories play out in front of them with the surreal knowledge that we all contain things in our mind that can kill and hate... it's sublime. The premise alone is Oscar-worthy and I suspect a nomination for next season. Also the seamless CGI stays in the background, where CGI belongs.
The acting varies in this movie. I've already stated my feelings on Ms. Page, while Dicaprio gives an adequate performance that isn't massively stirring, but provides the level of skill that I've come to expect from him. However, the real gems of this movie are it's supporting cast. Tom Hardy, Dileep Rao, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt all give stirling performances.
That's Gordon-Levitt of Third Rock.
Third Mo-Foing Rock from the Sun!
The real star is of course Marion Cotillard, whose sheer presence could dominate any cast she was put in. Her flawless performance is haunting, terrifying, sinister and electrifying all within one breath. The use of her character as a relic of Cobb's dark side, as the Lady of the Underworld (or Limbo) as anything she wanted to be, was inspired.
So overall, this film is the film that film fans have suffered to get. We've had Clash of the Titans, Transformers 2, X-Men Origins Wolverine, the entire Star Wars Prequal Trilogy, The fourth Indiana Jones film that DOESN'T EXIST... all these things we have sat and we have endured. All of these terrible films... and we have been finally rewarded.
It has descended from the heavens, borne upon the wings of our angel, Nolan. Friends, artists, geeks, film fans... we've EARNED this movie.
Next time: The A-Team.
I'm of note? Are you serious?
Apparently so, here's the link:
http://www.guidetoartschools.com/tips-and-tools/student-artist-blogs
I'm number 7 on that list of blogs that should be of interest to student artists or writers. Now, the first thing that actually crossed my mind when reading this piece of corrospondence wasn't 'I should check this out' or 'I should email him back to make sure he hasn't recently escaped from a looney farm' it was in fact 'Damn, I should blog about this'. So here I am, tapping away now that I've thought of something to say.
So, for those few of you that will actually be tempted by that link and actually read my blog (welcome all four of you), I guess I should tell you a bit about myself.
I go by Xan on this site and quite a few others but my friends day to day call me Al (my name is Alastair, which is the Gaelic translation of the name Greek name Alexander, which can be shortened to Xander and then again to Xan), I live in Southampton, a port city on the southern coast of Great Britain, I'm a student at Southampton Solent University in my third and final year of studying Screenwriting, which is the art of writing for film and television. My that was a long sentence. Now that I've remembered what a full stop is, I can carry on.
It's my goal someday to write for the BBC or to be able to sell a science fiction script to some appropriate channel in the States. I'm aware of just how ridiculously difficult it is to fulfill these goals, however, and I don't delude myself into thinking it'll be easy, so it'll probably be off to some advertising or marketing department for me after I'm done at university. I have a passion for films and television shows, but I won't pretend to be any kind of real expert on them, I have a fan's perspective tied with a sense of pretentious elitism and that works for me.
Every month I try to make between 2 and 6 blog entries, but I'm thinking about making it weekly, especially if I've been in some way 'noticed'. Attached to each of these blog entries is a film review of a movie I went to go see in the cinema a couple of weeks before, so my reviews are never really current, which is just as well, because I wouldn't want my opinion to sway anyone else's. I am in Scotland at the moment, staying with my parents, but that's just for a week or so during my vast summer holiday time. Also, I have a near crippling addiction to Stargate SG1.
So that's me, I hope that doesn't read like it's a profile on a dating site (because I'm tired of filling those in), but if it urges you to read on then... what's wrong with you?
So on with the film review, which is the end of the blog really, so see you later, if you decide to stick around (there's no reward). But we're all in for a treat this week:
INCEPTION.
So. Inception. The big one. The film of the year, as people will say. This is it, this is something that none of us can avoid or deny. Inception.
Where the hell do I start?!
I saw this movie three times in the cinema, putting it ahead of Four Lions (my top British film of the year) and Iron Man 2. That should mean something alone.
Mind you, this is a pretty British movie, Chris Nolan is the writer and director and it's got Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy and Pete Postlethwaite in it.
But... it's full of flaws.
Basically, the first third of the movie is purely exposition, there's so much backstory, setting up, technical explanation that the whole first third of the movie seemed pretty contrived to start off with, with so much detail being thrown around. It's pretty hard to keep track of sometimes, and it takes a fair bit of getting used to, but by the time you've picked it all up it works together pretty smoothly.
Second flaw is Ellen Page. Now, I've been perfectly fine with this young actress's performance in the past, she was fine in X-Men 3 and she was great in Juno. This... this wasn't the film for her. She was wooden, stiff, not at all convincing and I seriously felt that her role could have been better performed by someone wearing a t-shirt that said 'Audiance Surrogate' on the front. Leo Dicaprio wasn't massively hot either.
As for third flaw... okay, sod it, I can't talk flaws anymore. So many other things to rant about. This film, despite those things I've mentioned, is truly:
AMAZING.
It's gorgeous, it's virtually seamless and so complicated that idiots will stay away. Thank fuck for that, because they don't deserve this movie.
The sheer idea of delving into people's dreams as a method of personal infiltration, exploring their fears and imaginations, seeing their memories play out in front of them with the surreal knowledge that we all contain things in our mind that can kill and hate... it's sublime. The premise alone is Oscar-worthy and I suspect a nomination for next season. Also the seamless CGI stays in the background, where CGI belongs.
The acting varies in this movie. I've already stated my feelings on Ms. Page, while Dicaprio gives an adequate performance that isn't massively stirring, but provides the level of skill that I've come to expect from him. However, the real gems of this movie are it's supporting cast. Tom Hardy, Dileep Rao, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt all give stirling performances.
That's Gordon-Levitt of Third Rock.
Third Mo-Foing Rock from the Sun!
The real star is of course Marion Cotillard, whose sheer presence could dominate any cast she was put in. Her flawless performance is haunting, terrifying, sinister and electrifying all within one breath. The use of her character as a relic of Cobb's dark side, as the Lady of the Underworld (or Limbo) as anything she wanted to be, was inspired.
So overall, this film is the film that film fans have suffered to get. We've had Clash of the Titans, Transformers 2, X-Men Origins Wolverine, the entire Star Wars Prequal Trilogy, The fourth Indiana Jones film that DOESN'T EXIST... all these things we have sat and we have endured. All of these terrible films... and we have been finally rewarded.
It has descended from the heavens, borne upon the wings of our angel, Nolan. Friends, artists, geeks, film fans... we've EARNED this movie.
Next time: The A-Team.
Tuesday, 10 August 2010
Does it say Colonel anywhere on my uniform?!
So I've given in, once again I am watching through Stargate SG1, although this time I've also got Stargate Atlantis as well, since I ordered it last Christmas but have so far yet to watch it. For those of you who have read the earliest of my blog entries, you will know that SG1 is something like crack to me, I simply watch and watch and watch and adore an equal amount.
I mean, I'm not entirely sure why I'm so in love with this series in particular, if you look at it it's pretty cheesy, it's not possessed of great continuity to start off with, there's a few too many Deus Ex Machinas to make it for good writing... but it's simply awesome. Some series start off amazing and get worse (Battlestar Galactica, Lost, The X-Files and so on).
SG1, on the other hand, started off pretty poor and then got awesome as it went. Yes, it's cheesy, yes it's contrived, but at the same time... it's just so *nice*.
It's very easy to watch, it's got very loveable characters, it's very basic in storytelling (and remember, simpler is most often better unless you're a Nolan).
Basically, I love this series and I won't apologise for it. There's so many more worthy series, (Battlestar Galactica, Lost, The X-Files and so on), so many more detailed and artistic series (my number one of all time is still The Shield, nothing quite compares, not even the way-over-hyped The Wire)... but I've never met a series that's just so rewatchable. It even beats Firefly on that front, which is saying something.
Anyway, the kitchen is now finished, the parents are en-route and the day after tomorrow we're going up to Scotland. That means PUPPY!!! And Edinburgh Fringe Festival, should be a good time, I'm looking forwards to it.
So... on with it.
PREDATORS.
Now if there was any movie I was really, really, really looking forward to this year, it was Iron Man 2 and Predators. Oh, I suspected Inception would be better, that the A-Team would be more fun and the Expendables would be more hardcore, but somehow I knew that this one would be a safer bet for sheer coolness.
Any film that is connected to the genius that is Rodriguez deserves a watch, since the guy is so utterly reliable for entertainment that you could set your watch by him. He hangs out with Tarantino, he gets Danny Trejo to be in all his movies and he made Planet Terror. This guy is officially AWEsome, but you knew that.
And yes, it delivers.
It's a great film, it really is. It's in no way artistic, it's in no way dynamic or innovative... but it's what I call a 'perfect movie'. Basically, it sets out to show us an hour and a half of badasses being out-badassed by Predators, some funky fight scenes and Larry Fishburne back in action, if only as a cameo. And you know what? It does all that, to the letter. It's not a contribution to art, it's not fantastically noteworthy, but it's perfect in it's own way, it's true to itself.
The cast of characters was pretty basic, but they were all enjoyable and as Dan pointed out, within the first few minutes you've met all of them and you can't decide which one you want to die first. The plot is deliciously simple and Adrien Brody mans up superbly. I mean, we've only ever seen the large-nosed man as a geeky scientist or writer before, in this he's a hardened mercenary with a severely bad attitude, which makes him rather enjoyable to watch. Basically, I really liked this film.
It's great to finally see a Predator movie that isn't linked with the Aliens as well. I mean, the two made a good pairing in concept, it's just that the films sucked. The novels didn't, however, so I can live with it. I was just wondering if the two franchises were ever going to make it independantly ever again and thank Christ that they did. This was well worth it.
Next up: INCEPTION (oh yeah, baby!)
I mean, I'm not entirely sure why I'm so in love with this series in particular, if you look at it it's pretty cheesy, it's not possessed of great continuity to start off with, there's a few too many Deus Ex Machinas to make it for good writing... but it's simply awesome. Some series start off amazing and get worse (Battlestar Galactica, Lost, The X-Files and so on).
SG1, on the other hand, started off pretty poor and then got awesome as it went. Yes, it's cheesy, yes it's contrived, but at the same time... it's just so *nice*.
It's very easy to watch, it's got very loveable characters, it's very basic in storytelling (and remember, simpler is most often better unless you're a Nolan).
Basically, I love this series and I won't apologise for it. There's so many more worthy series, (Battlestar Galactica, Lost, The X-Files and so on), so many more detailed and artistic series (my number one of all time is still The Shield, nothing quite compares, not even the way-over-hyped The Wire)... but I've never met a series that's just so rewatchable. It even beats Firefly on that front, which is saying something.
Anyway, the kitchen is now finished, the parents are en-route and the day after tomorrow we're going up to Scotland. That means PUPPY!!! And Edinburgh Fringe Festival, should be a good time, I'm looking forwards to it.
So... on with it.
PREDATORS.
Now if there was any movie I was really, really, really looking forward to this year, it was Iron Man 2 and Predators. Oh, I suspected Inception would be better, that the A-Team would be more fun and the Expendables would be more hardcore, but somehow I knew that this one would be a safer bet for sheer coolness.
Any film that is connected to the genius that is Rodriguez deserves a watch, since the guy is so utterly reliable for entertainment that you could set your watch by him. He hangs out with Tarantino, he gets Danny Trejo to be in all his movies and he made Planet Terror. This guy is officially AWEsome, but you knew that.
And yes, it delivers.
It's a great film, it really is. It's in no way artistic, it's in no way dynamic or innovative... but it's what I call a 'perfect movie'. Basically, it sets out to show us an hour and a half of badasses being out-badassed by Predators, some funky fight scenes and Larry Fishburne back in action, if only as a cameo. And you know what? It does all that, to the letter. It's not a contribution to art, it's not fantastically noteworthy, but it's perfect in it's own way, it's true to itself.
The cast of characters was pretty basic, but they were all enjoyable and as Dan pointed out, within the first few minutes you've met all of them and you can't decide which one you want to die first. The plot is deliciously simple and Adrien Brody mans up superbly. I mean, we've only ever seen the large-nosed man as a geeky scientist or writer before, in this he's a hardened mercenary with a severely bad attitude, which makes him rather enjoyable to watch. Basically, I really liked this film.
It's great to finally see a Predator movie that isn't linked with the Aliens as well. I mean, the two made a good pairing in concept, it's just that the films sucked. The novels didn't, however, so I can live with it. I was just wondering if the two franchises were ever going to make it independantly ever again and thank Christ that they did. This was well worth it.
Next up: INCEPTION (oh yeah, baby!)
Friday, 6 August 2010
Sleep Times
So without any further direction in my life other than occasionally grouting parts of the kitchen, I continue to have utterly erratic sleep patterns, tonight I got up around 8pm, which was very exciting for me. At the moment my brother and his girlfriend are staying with me and I'm trying not to get underfoot or say anything innapropriate, which'll be interesting.
I'm really only making this post to make up the numbers, but I feel that I should just jot my thoughts down every now and again. And at the moment, my thoughts turn to roleplay, specifically the game I'm running on wednesdays.
I call it 'Reactivated' and the storyline is one that I've been cooking up for a while now. Honestly, I think I could be doing it better than I am right now. I'm not the best of ST's, but I know that I could be doing more.
Basically, being a good ST (Story Teller) means that I have to engage the players with a situation that's to their liking and get them to sort it out. Right now, since I'm playing with a group that have very little experiance of roleplay gaming, I feel like I'm leading them by the nose a bit much, or rail-roading. Hopefully that'll change over time, but I worry that people will simply start to lose interest and wander off.
The main problem is the fluctuating nature of the group. Now, I appreciate that people have places to be and things to do, but if you're in you're in and if you're not then you're not. That's kind of how I'd like to play it. I have a feeling that some of my current players aren't all that into it, but they're giving it an honest go and that's all I can ask. Jon recommends that I get them into some combat pretty soon. I think he's right.
Ah well.
Basically, the story so far is that a group of people have woken up in a bunch of cells without any memories and told that they work for an organisation called 'Corridor 13', who make it their jobs to hunt down monsters and be paranoid. Very, very paranoid. It's an odd one, but I like it as a story.
The group have been introduced to their charasmatic and secretly murderous senior officer, they've been given their day jobs and cover and now they're about to go after their first big target. They get to go and pick a fight with a bunch of girls that live in a fetish club. A vampire fetish club.
Fun times.
GET HIM TO THE GREEK.
First off, I dislike big, trashy American comedies. They seem to be... hollow in some way. Like there's a few laughs here and there and they last just long enough to get you through the film, then you can forget about it twenty minutes later. Also, I should mention just how much I detest Russel Brand as the talentless waste of space that he clearly is.
However, I really liked this movie.
I mean, I laughed a lot during it and it's stuck in my mind since then as being quite fun, quite manic and oddly down to earth in a completely 'out-there' way. It's not a great film, it's not an amazing movie, but it does it's job quite well. Man of the movie has to go to Sean Daddy, who was surprisingly amusing. For a man that made his career as a rap 'artist', Puff Diddy gives a surprisingly funny performance, he's pretty much the highlight. Brand and Hill are... well, they're okay and I didn't dislike them, which is about as much as I can hope for.
So, watch it for P. Combs, don't expect a great deal from it, but it is funnier than it looks like it will be. Also, I didn't realise this but apparently it's a loose sequel to Forgetting Sarah Marshall, so I guess I'll have to go watch that now, won't I.
Next time: PREDATORS
I'm really only making this post to make up the numbers, but I feel that I should just jot my thoughts down every now and again. And at the moment, my thoughts turn to roleplay, specifically the game I'm running on wednesdays.
I call it 'Reactivated' and the storyline is one that I've been cooking up for a while now. Honestly, I think I could be doing it better than I am right now. I'm not the best of ST's, but I know that I could be doing more.
Basically, being a good ST (Story Teller) means that I have to engage the players with a situation that's to their liking and get them to sort it out. Right now, since I'm playing with a group that have very little experiance of roleplay gaming, I feel like I'm leading them by the nose a bit much, or rail-roading. Hopefully that'll change over time, but I worry that people will simply start to lose interest and wander off.
The main problem is the fluctuating nature of the group. Now, I appreciate that people have places to be and things to do, but if you're in you're in and if you're not then you're not. That's kind of how I'd like to play it. I have a feeling that some of my current players aren't all that into it, but they're giving it an honest go and that's all I can ask. Jon recommends that I get them into some combat pretty soon. I think he's right.
Ah well.
Basically, the story so far is that a group of people have woken up in a bunch of cells without any memories and told that they work for an organisation called 'Corridor 13', who make it their jobs to hunt down monsters and be paranoid. Very, very paranoid. It's an odd one, but I like it as a story.
The group have been introduced to their charasmatic and secretly murderous senior officer, they've been given their day jobs and cover and now they're about to go after their first big target. They get to go and pick a fight with a bunch of girls that live in a fetish club. A vampire fetish club.
Fun times.
GET HIM TO THE GREEK.
First off, I dislike big, trashy American comedies. They seem to be... hollow in some way. Like there's a few laughs here and there and they last just long enough to get you through the film, then you can forget about it twenty minutes later. Also, I should mention just how much I detest Russel Brand as the talentless waste of space that he clearly is.
However, I really liked this movie.
I mean, I laughed a lot during it and it's stuck in my mind since then as being quite fun, quite manic and oddly down to earth in a completely 'out-there' way. It's not a great film, it's not an amazing movie, but it does it's job quite well. Man of the movie has to go to Sean Daddy, who was surprisingly amusing. For a man that made his career as a rap 'artist', Puff Diddy gives a surprisingly funny performance, he's pretty much the highlight. Brand and Hill are... well, they're okay and I didn't dislike them, which is about as much as I can hope for.
So, watch it for P. Combs, don't expect a great deal from it, but it is funnier than it looks like it will be. Also, I didn't realise this but apparently it's a loose sequel to Forgetting Sarah Marshall, so I guess I'll have to go watch that now, won't I.
Next time: PREDATORS
Monday, 2 August 2010
About 4 Behind
So I was going to attempt to do six blog entries throughout the month of July, to match the six I did in June, but it appears that I came down with a case of the terminally rubbish and didn't manage it. Can't imagine why, me being such a paragon of dedication and organisation, after all. Never mind, then. I'll just have to do six this month to make up for it.
Of course, when I had left off last month I was almost catching up to my own film reviews, so now that I am once again drastically behind, I feel a bit more comfortable to know that my opinion can once again mean little to everyone reading. As if it didn't before. As if anyone reads this sodding thing. Anyway, a fair few film reviews to go, since I still loves me some movies.
In other news, I'm still grouting away at the kitchen, since there seems to be no end in sight to the amount of work I actually have to do for it. Mum and Dad and Basil will be here on the 11th of August so it had better all be done by then.
On the plus side I do have my brother around to help me out, that is if I can tear him away from Dragon Age. As far as Bioware RPG's go, it's a pretty decent outing, but it's nothing that Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect didn't do better.
Just, you know, with Dragons.
I spent the last week of July in Newbury, as well, getting reacquainted with the Corn Exchange, Rios, my vast amount of friends, Jim Jeffries and late night Halo.
As for the places I stayed, I was at Emma's for 4 nights, which was nice, since I got an airbed and a cool cat to hang out with. At the other end of the spectrum I was on a sofa with no shower for the other 4, but the company was more numerous, more masculine and there was more in the way of video gaming. Mr. Giff also graced us with his presence and I can't quite believe just how much I missed him. I'm a massive sop.
Okay, think that's me caught up.
Wild Target.
This film kind of took me by surprise, I hadn't really heard anything about it before it came out and I thought the one trailer I'd seen for it was actually an off-beat advert for some kind of product, since I wasn't paying attention. I get the feeling that's what I would have preffered this to turn out to be after I'd watched it, which is a shame. Me and the gang went to go see it and we weren't all that impressed.
I mean, look at the elements that went into this film. Bill Nighy, Martin Freeman, Rupert Everret. These names are AWEsome, they all command comedica and serious respect, they're what it's all about, these guys. Directed by Jonathon Lynn. This guy was responsible for Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, the two series that had their fingers of the pulse of British comedy. And CLUE! He directed CLUE! One of the funniest films I've ever seen.
How then, was it shit?
And not even just a bit dull. This movie was POOR beyond belief. I mean, the script was unimaginative and predictable, the acting was stodgy and it flowed about well as a stream of concrete blocks, the overall feel of this movie was 'when will it end?'. Which considering how short it was, is a huge anti-achievement. I simply couldn't beleive what I was seeing.
It was tragic to think that the best thing about this movie was Rupert sodding Grint, who has finally moved on from being a ginger wizard to being a ginger stoner.
So yes, this movie had a few moments of laughter, but was otherwise almost completely unbearable. C'mon British cinema, we can do far better than this, can't we?!
Next time: Get Him To The Greek
Of course, when I had left off last month I was almost catching up to my own film reviews, so now that I am once again drastically behind, I feel a bit more comfortable to know that my opinion can once again mean little to everyone reading. As if it didn't before. As if anyone reads this sodding thing. Anyway, a fair few film reviews to go, since I still loves me some movies.
In other news, I'm still grouting away at the kitchen, since there seems to be no end in sight to the amount of work I actually have to do for it. Mum and Dad and Basil will be here on the 11th of August so it had better all be done by then.
On the plus side I do have my brother around to help me out, that is if I can tear him away from Dragon Age. As far as Bioware RPG's go, it's a pretty decent outing, but it's nothing that Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect didn't do better.
Just, you know, with Dragons.
I spent the last week of July in Newbury, as well, getting reacquainted with the Corn Exchange, Rios, my vast amount of friends, Jim Jeffries and late night Halo.
As for the places I stayed, I was at Emma's for 4 nights, which was nice, since I got an airbed and a cool cat to hang out with. At the other end of the spectrum I was on a sofa with no shower for the other 4, but the company was more numerous, more masculine and there was more in the way of video gaming. Mr. Giff also graced us with his presence and I can't quite believe just how much I missed him. I'm a massive sop.
Okay, think that's me caught up.
Wild Target.
This film kind of took me by surprise, I hadn't really heard anything about it before it came out and I thought the one trailer I'd seen for it was actually an off-beat advert for some kind of product, since I wasn't paying attention. I get the feeling that's what I would have preffered this to turn out to be after I'd watched it, which is a shame. Me and the gang went to go see it and we weren't all that impressed.
I mean, look at the elements that went into this film. Bill Nighy, Martin Freeman, Rupert Everret. These names are AWEsome, they all command comedica and serious respect, they're what it's all about, these guys. Directed by Jonathon Lynn. This guy was responsible for Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, the two series that had their fingers of the pulse of British comedy. And CLUE! He directed CLUE! One of the funniest films I've ever seen.
How then, was it shit?
And not even just a bit dull. This movie was POOR beyond belief. I mean, the script was unimaginative and predictable, the acting was stodgy and it flowed about well as a stream of concrete blocks, the overall feel of this movie was 'when will it end?'. Which considering how short it was, is a huge anti-achievement. I simply couldn't beleive what I was seeing.
It was tragic to think that the best thing about this movie was Rupert sodding Grint, who has finally moved on from being a ginger wizard to being a ginger stoner.
So yes, this movie had a few moments of laughter, but was otherwise almost completely unbearable. C'mon British cinema, we can do far better than this, can't we?!
Next time: Get Him To The Greek
Thursday, 8 July 2010
Day Off (ish)
So thursday was supposed to be my day off working on the kitchen (imagine me holding out my hand with a claw-like grip of malice and saying it in a Shatnerian exaggerated voice whenever I type that word) so that I could kick back, go see a kick-arse new film and hang out with a bunch of my friends for the day. So as I'm preparing to leave my dad says 'so when are you doing the grouting today?'. Sigh. Okay, it's not that bad, it only took about an hour and a bit, but I was kinda hoping not to have to do that on thursday. So much grouting, painting and wrecking things.
It seems like my entire life has been taken over by the birthing of this massive project in my flat. Ach, I'm probably just over complaining. It'll be over on tuesday night, when Dad goes home and I get to slob around in my underwear for a few nights before my brother arrives. But then that's what I'm doing right now and my Dad is actually in the room. He's been to see my uncle Bob and his... let's go with 'eccentric' wife, Margarite. (If that's how you spell it, when I was a young one she was called Maggie, but apparantly that's not an option anymore.)
It's taken me about three days to write this blog entry and I'm not entirely sure why. I guess that this kitchen has taken a lot of energy out of me. I haven't done any solid writing for about four or five days now, will have to catch up when he's gone.
In other news my new roleplay group will be forming for the first time on wednesday, whether they're ready for it or not! A new game of Hunter that can overlap with the Hunter game I run in Newbury (or should I say used to run in Newbury, when I lived there).
Hot damn, I should probably have other stuff to write about but I honestly can't think of anything at the moment, other than the kitchen. I swear I dream of that thing. And sport. Sport is on the television A LOT these days, but still holds little interest.
Sod it.
4.3.2.1
So this was a film that I was at first dissmissive of, then a raging interest took hold of me when I discovered that Michelle Ryan was in it, along with a host of British talent of the established and up and coming varieties. Now for those of you who are unaware of my feelings towards Miss Ryan, they go something like this (mother, look away now):
WANT.
AHEM.
Now this is the brainchild of Noel Clarke, a man who is best known for being in Doctor Who, despite that he wants us to know about his gritty independant films, Kidulthood and Adulthood. Haven't watched them yet but they're on my list. Still, he's a young, dynamic actor, writer and director and most importantly... he's British. Oh yeah, feel that national pride.
Now this film has many different angles all going for it. It's something of a heist movie, blended with the social realist drama of four teenage girls trying to get through a particularly rough weekend and combined with a frank look at British youth culture.
Needless to say, the various elements are jarred and discordant, but that's pretty much how the movie was intended to play out. It's crazy, it's hectic, it's messed up, it's got the most graphic lesbian sex scene outside of actual porn and it's really cutting.
Basically, this is Noel Clarke's take on Snatch from the perspective of four teenage girls. That's the best way to describe this movie and if that at all appeals to you then you should sodding go for it because this movie will not disappoint you. It's lary, it's rude, it's a bit violent and it's BLOODY GOOD FUN. If you like that sort of thing. Which I do.
Next one: Wild Target.
(It really did take me about four days to write this sodding entry, it was supposed to be up on the 8th. Damn this kitchen!!)
It seems like my entire life has been taken over by the birthing of this massive project in my flat. Ach, I'm probably just over complaining. It'll be over on tuesday night, when Dad goes home and I get to slob around in my underwear for a few nights before my brother arrives. But then that's what I'm doing right now and my Dad is actually in the room. He's been to see my uncle Bob and his... let's go with 'eccentric' wife, Margarite. (If that's how you spell it, when I was a young one she was called Maggie, but apparantly that's not an option anymore.)
It's taken me about three days to write this blog entry and I'm not entirely sure why. I guess that this kitchen has taken a lot of energy out of me. I haven't done any solid writing for about four or five days now, will have to catch up when he's gone.
In other news my new roleplay group will be forming for the first time on wednesday, whether they're ready for it or not! A new game of Hunter that can overlap with the Hunter game I run in Newbury (or should I say used to run in Newbury, when I lived there).
Hot damn, I should probably have other stuff to write about but I honestly can't think of anything at the moment, other than the kitchen. I swear I dream of that thing. And sport. Sport is on the television A LOT these days, but still holds little interest.
Sod it.
4.3.2.1
So this was a film that I was at first dissmissive of, then a raging interest took hold of me when I discovered that Michelle Ryan was in it, along with a host of British talent of the established and up and coming varieties. Now for those of you who are unaware of my feelings towards Miss Ryan, they go something like this (mother, look away now):
WANT.
AHEM.
Now this is the brainchild of Noel Clarke, a man who is best known for being in Doctor Who, despite that he wants us to know about his gritty independant films, Kidulthood and Adulthood. Haven't watched them yet but they're on my list. Still, he's a young, dynamic actor, writer and director and most importantly... he's British. Oh yeah, feel that national pride.
Now this film has many different angles all going for it. It's something of a heist movie, blended with the social realist drama of four teenage girls trying to get through a particularly rough weekend and combined with a frank look at British youth culture.
Needless to say, the various elements are jarred and discordant, but that's pretty much how the movie was intended to play out. It's crazy, it's hectic, it's messed up, it's got the most graphic lesbian sex scene outside of actual porn and it's really cutting.
Basically, this is Noel Clarke's take on Snatch from the perspective of four teenage girls. That's the best way to describe this movie and if that at all appeals to you then you should sodding go for it because this movie will not disappoint you. It's lary, it's rude, it's a bit violent and it's BLOODY GOOD FUN. If you like that sort of thing. Which I do.
Next one: Wild Target.
(It really did take me about four days to write this sodding entry, it was supposed to be up on the 8th. Damn this kitchen!!)
Friday, 2 July 2010
The Swelter
It is hot in southampton. Frickin' hot. I've had a bunch of manual labour to do over the last few days as well, which hasn't helped matters. Ever since my dad arrived on tuesday we've been tearing apart my old kitchen, putting down new tiles and I think we're now on the assembling new cabinets stage (I'm not really sure, he's sat out there scratching his head and looking at diagrams while I've snuck off to make a blog post).
So I've learned a bit about tiling and pipework, but I'm not a handyman, that's quite clearly obvious. I've never been one for all the practical skills, which is annoying, since I'm actually a landlord. Still, delicate creative types like myself have to stick to what we're good at. And what I'm good at is being a snooty anti-snob who thinks he's a far better writer than he actually is. Oh yeah. I know my place, baby.
The Summer Expanse stretches ever onwards, but I've started work on my final script now and I might even be able to continue the way I've been going without relying on finding work, which'll be a relief, since I can't seem to find work as it is. We'll see. Anyway, the contracts are signed with Mr. Anthony Burtenshaw (he so old that even Death thinks he'd better back off), so he shall be living with me next year. I shall look for another tennent when the time is right, or when the iron is hot.
I should do some ironing, on that point.
Wimbeldon (the word that normally summons rain) is drawing to a close I think and the only reason I give a crap is because my dad is watching it. In other sporting news, England are out of the World Cup. You know why?
THEY SUCK.
And that's probably the longest I've ever talked about sports. I promise now to talk about something interesting instead, such as video games, movies or experimental eyeball surgery. Or I'll just go with Bad Lieutenant.
BAD LIEUTENANT (2010)
A remake in the same sense that I'm a remake of my great-great-grandfather, this is a film that bears only thematic similarities to the Harvey Kietel film of 1992 of the same name. They might as well have called it something different, there was absolutely no reason to associate it with the '92 movie, but then I suppose there wasn't much reason not to, either.
While attempting to ascertain the nature or a particularly brutal murder case in post-Katrina New Orleans, a police lieutenant by the name of McDonagh sinks deeper and deeper into the seedy world of drugs, lies, blackmail, gambling, addiction, prostitution, murder, more drugs, gangland killing and some more drugs. It's a screwed up movie, that's for sure.
Second in a row of dirty cop movies as well, so I can't help but compare it to Brooklyn's Finest just a little. Saw this one the day after Finest. Finest was a lot saner. That's it.
Nicholas Cage is a man who is determined to play absolutely anything and everything, no matter your opinion of him, he refuses to be pigeon-holed or typecast as an actor. He has 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' coming out soon and that couldn't look more different from this film if it were from Mars. Of course, that film isn't going to be directed by Werner Herzog.
Officially, Herzog is as mad as box of frogs who have been slurping at the good stuff. If the box was made of jelly. And the frogs were made of pop-rocks.
So this isn't a film that I would say is particularly *good* per se, nor is it bad in any way, but it's a film that will make you watch it and make you go "what the *hell* am I watching?!" It's a film that demands you succumb just a little to the insane logic that seems to run through it, while at the same time keeping things dark and mysterious in a conventional sense. The ending is almost gauranteed to throw the audiance, not because of a twist, but because there really isn't one! Several members of the audiance at my screening of it actually asked me if I understood what the hell was going on. The answer?
Of course not!
You're not meant to!
Next time: 4.3.2.1
So I've learned a bit about tiling and pipework, but I'm not a handyman, that's quite clearly obvious. I've never been one for all the practical skills, which is annoying, since I'm actually a landlord. Still, delicate creative types like myself have to stick to what we're good at. And what I'm good at is being a snooty anti-snob who thinks he's a far better writer than he actually is. Oh yeah. I know my place, baby.
The Summer Expanse stretches ever onwards, but I've started work on my final script now and I might even be able to continue the way I've been going without relying on finding work, which'll be a relief, since I can't seem to find work as it is. We'll see. Anyway, the contracts are signed with Mr. Anthony Burtenshaw (he so old that even Death thinks he'd better back off), so he shall be living with me next year. I shall look for another tennent when the time is right, or when the iron is hot.
I should do some ironing, on that point.
Wimbeldon (the word that normally summons rain) is drawing to a close I think and the only reason I give a crap is because my dad is watching it. In other sporting news, England are out of the World Cup. You know why?
THEY SUCK.
And that's probably the longest I've ever talked about sports. I promise now to talk about something interesting instead, such as video games, movies or experimental eyeball surgery. Or I'll just go with Bad Lieutenant.
BAD LIEUTENANT (2010)
A remake in the same sense that I'm a remake of my great-great-grandfather, this is a film that bears only thematic similarities to the Harvey Kietel film of 1992 of the same name. They might as well have called it something different, there was absolutely no reason to associate it with the '92 movie, but then I suppose there wasn't much reason not to, either.
While attempting to ascertain the nature or a particularly brutal murder case in post-Katrina New Orleans, a police lieutenant by the name of McDonagh sinks deeper and deeper into the seedy world of drugs, lies, blackmail, gambling, addiction, prostitution, murder, more drugs, gangland killing and some more drugs. It's a screwed up movie, that's for sure.
Second in a row of dirty cop movies as well, so I can't help but compare it to Brooklyn's Finest just a little. Saw this one the day after Finest. Finest was a lot saner. That's it.
Nicholas Cage is a man who is determined to play absolutely anything and everything, no matter your opinion of him, he refuses to be pigeon-holed or typecast as an actor. He has 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' coming out soon and that couldn't look more different from this film if it were from Mars. Of course, that film isn't going to be directed by Werner Herzog.
Officially, Herzog is as mad as box of frogs who have been slurping at the good stuff. If the box was made of jelly. And the frogs were made of pop-rocks.
So this isn't a film that I would say is particularly *good* per se, nor is it bad in any way, but it's a film that will make you watch it and make you go "what the *hell* am I watching?!" It's a film that demands you succumb just a little to the insane logic that seems to run through it, while at the same time keeping things dark and mysterious in a conventional sense. The ending is almost gauranteed to throw the audiance, not because of a twist, but because there really isn't one! Several members of the audiance at my screening of it actually asked me if I understood what the hell was going on. The answer?
Of course not!
You're not meant to!
Next time: 4.3.2.1
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