Film
Monday May 17th, 2004: Film
Last Updated: Tuesday June 19th, 2007 04:43 PM
I hope that I will get a chance to see Michael Moore's new film, Farenheit 9/11, given the content I'll be very surprised if any American studio will be willing to distribute the film -- Disney have already dropped the film and I don't expect there'll be a large queue forming to take over the distribution rights.
Saturday May 15th, 2004: Film Politics
Last Updated: Tuesday June 19th, 2007 04:43 PM
'the former US Vice-President Al Gore said the risks the film portrayed were a threat to our common future' -- Gotta love the Americans .. they're the only nation stupid enough to veto the Kyoto agreement because it might affect their struggling economy!! How important will the economy be when the Ice Age comes .. someone please show Dubblya Bush this film and forget to explain that it's just fiction please ;)
Meanwhile scientists have been busy mocking the science behind the film saying that it's not very accurate .. it's just a film!!
Thursday May 6th, 2004: Film
Last Updated: Tuesday June 19th, 2007 04:43 PM
I went to see Van Helsing against my better judegment. I expected very little from the trailers I had seen, and amazingly the film was even worse than I had anticipated. It was a constant assault on my intelligence, I feel violated by the dumbed-downess of the entire film. Worse than The Hulk? Maybe so. but just how you can take a license like Van Helsing and fail to make a decent action film I will never know. If I hadn't had a lift to Basingstoke I would have walked out of the cinema within 30 kminutes of this travesty.
Tuesday March 30th, 2004: Film
Last Updated: Tuesday June 19th, 2007 04:43 PM
Finally went to see Starsky & Hutch, Snoop Dogg as Huggy Bear was possibly the greatest piece of casting ever:)
Sunday March 28th, 2004: Film Personal
Last Updated: Tuesday June 19th, 2007 04:43 PM
'Tis my 24th birthday, didn't get up to anything -- getting old is very depressing :(
Went to see Dawn of the Dead, Linda refused to come being the coward she is ;) The film itself was very good, a much better remake than the recent Texas Chainsaw Massacre debacle.
Saturday February 21st, 2004: Film
Last Updated: Tuesday June 19th, 2007 04:43 PM
Dragged Linda to see The Last Samurai, even Tom Cruise put in a good performance in an epic type film that I think compares very well to the likes of Gladiator, whatever the critics may be saying to the contrary.
Friday February 13th, 2004: Film
Last Updated: Tuesday June 19th, 2007 04:43 PM
Went to see Scary Movie 3, actually a lot better than I thought it would be and probably the best of the Scary Movie trilogy.
Friday January 16th, 2004: Film
Last Updated: Tuesday June 19th, 2007 04:43 PM
First cinema trip of the year: Lost in Translation. Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray were excellent, probably the best performances from a main duo that I'll see all year. To be fair it wasn't the laugh a minute excitathon that I was expeting, but it was a very well made, very well acted, interesting film that relied on character rather than action to keep me hooked (not an easy task).
Wednesday November 5th, 2003: Film
Last Updated: Tuesday June 19th, 2007 04:43 PM
Went to see The Matrix: Revolutions at Ster Century. I was expecting a lot - it had to be amazing to correct the wrong's of the second film or else it might as well not bother at all.
I'm not going to ruin the film for anyone that hasn't seen it yet, but let me say this: This film makes The Matrix: Reloaded a good film, it answers everyt question that was left unanswered by the first two films and doesn't attempt to better either of it's sequals by redoing the same thing. The first film was all about bullet time, the second film was slo-motion martial arts and this film .. well, it's different.
So how does the Matrix Trilogy compare to the original great trilogy; Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi? Like teh original Star Wars trilogy the Matrix trilogy is something greater than the sum of it's parts.
Sunday November 2nd, 2003: Film
Last Updated: Tuesday June 19th, 2007 04:43 PM
Went to Ster Century to see the latest Hollywood remake of an overrated film: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I didn't think much of the original, and wasn't expecting much from this. To be honest the original bored me: the trouble is nothing shocks me, especially nothing that could ever get onto UK cinema screens. To be scary a film has to be intelligent, simply hacking off limbs and spraying lots of blood around simply isn't scary.
This film sucked big time, but I did find it less dull than the original as the eye candy (gore) was definitely increased. Skip the first half hour though, that's when the director thought this film needed a plot.
Saturday October 25th, 2003: Film Music Politics
Last Updated: Tuesday June 19th, 2007 04:43 PM
Went to see The Extraordinary League of Gentlemen with Linda, Andrew & Mel. It was good, I didn't feel like I'd wasted £6.30 and a few hours of my life, but it hardly lived up to my expectations.
Ker Ching, Pop idol finalists are going to murder Lennon's Happy Xmas (War is Over) ... another depth well and truly sunken to.
Schools are to be given more help to boost the achievements of white, Christian pupils. HELP HELP I'm BEING REPRESSED! RACISM!! RACISTS!! How dare they, we're all equal! Actually, the help is to boost the achievements of pupils from ethnic minorites, which isn't racist - cos it only discriminates against the majority.
Thursday October 23rd, 2003: Film Religion
Last Updated: Tuesday June 19th, 2007 04:43 PM
I can already see the headlines: Conclusive proof that God exists!
Sunday September 14th, 2003: Film
Last Updated: Tuesday June 19th, 2007 04:43 PM
After deciding we had nothing to do this evening me and Linda went to see The Man Who Sued God at Basingstoke, Billy Connolly,as always, was hillarious and kind of stole the show a little .. another enjoyable flick; much like Blackball - great fun but hardly a classic, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Saturday September 6th, 2003: Film Football Idiots
Last Updated: Tuesday June 19th, 2007 04:43 PM
Yet again, England did it the hard way, only after going a goal down to Mecedonia did they start playing football. Two goals in 8 minutes rescued another desperate situation, yet again victory and three points against poor opposition has gone a long way to masking the tactical failings of our national team coach.
Saw Blackball at Ster Century in Basingstoke - I really enjoyed it - although it wasn't particularly original and the plot was pretty see through at most times it was still an enjoyable hour and a half's entertainment.
On the way back from Basingstoke we saw the aftermath of a car crash - two boy racers in modified cars had hit each other on the roundabout off of junction 9. I'd like to say I gained no joy out of their sorrow, but then if I did I'd be lying :)
Monday September 1st, 2003: Film
Last Updated: Tuesday June 19th, 2007 04:43 PM
T'is truly a sad day -- Charles Bronson died today - Bronson and Chuck Norris were my favourite film stars as a kid -- and they say violence on screen can have bad affects young children -- I'm not in any way devoid of emotion towards my fellow man or anything like that.
Murder. Death. Kill. Murder. Death. Kill
After she left, I mused for a few seconds on what is called in the medical profession the 'p' phenomenon: the tendancy of starched nurses' uniforms to make it seem as if all nurses were bountifully blessed in the bosom andthus shaped like the letter 'p'. It meant that doctors surveying the field could never be sure that a nurse they were flirting with was proportioned like two grapefruit on a stick or two peas on an ironing board. Some claimed it was the very essence of the mystery and allure of the medical profession. - Luke Rhinehart (The Dice Man) Sunday August 31st, 2003: Film
Last Updated: Tuesday June 19th, 2007 04:43 PM
As usual my faith [ahem!] in my friends was my weakness, having spent two weeks trying to arrange a group to see Freddy vs. Jason I finally gave up and went to see it alone.
The film was a lot better than I expected to be honest, and seeing Freddy on the big screen was something I never thought I'd get a chance to do. Then in the closing moments of the film, a few seconds into the credits I realised that one of my fantasies had come true without my noticing it at the time -- Kelly Rowland being hacked in half by a machete!
I dragged myself to it with the enthusiasm of a man with diarrhea movng toward the toilet: I had a compulsive need to get it out but had some months earlier come to the conclusion that all I was prducing was shit. - Luke Rhinehart (The Dice Man) Saturday August 30th, 2003: Film
Last Updated: Tuesday June 19th, 2007 04:43 PM
Went to see Lara Croft Tomb Raider, the Cradle of Life, now the games have gone from worse to even worse, worser still, and letely to absolutely dire -- I thought that this might be the first time a movie based on a computer game actually betters the computer game (Resident Evil, Super Mario Bros, Street Fighter).
If there is a more pointless film than this I am unaware of it's existence -- pointless scene after pointless scene, a complete lack of anything remotely resembling interesting. Please don't subject yourself or your children to this painful excuse for a movie. I beg you, for the love of God!
My initiation into the mysteries of Zen Buddhism had taught me many things, but the most important was not to argue with my wife. 'Go with the flow,' the great sage Oboko said, and I'd been doing it for five months now. Lil had been getting madder and madder.
After about twenty seconds of silence (relatively speaking: Larry leapt up to put in toast for himself; Evie tried a brief burst of monologue on dinosaurs which was smothered with a stare), I (theoretically the way to avoid arguments is to surrender before the attack has been fully launched) said quietly, 'I'm sorry, Lil.' - Luke Rhinehart (The Dice Man) Monday August 18th, 2003: Film Personal
Last Updated: Tuesday June 19th, 2007 04:43 PM
Three times today I could have been caught speeding by the police!
On the way back from work I was doing 45-50 in either a 40 or a 30 zone when a police car arrived at a junciton to join the same road as myself. I think I managed to reduce my speed enough, and they didn't pull me over or anything so hopefully all was fine.
Another five minutes into my journey a police car was heading the opposite way down the street to me as I did well in excess of the 30mph limit on Worthy road. Again, hopefully nothing shall come of this.
Those excluded from the trip to American Pie 3 on Friday formed a splinter group to see the film today. I have to say I was very impressed by the film, I was expecting it to be worse than the first, which was in turn worse than the second, but low and behold it ended up being (imo) the best of the three films.
On the way back from Basingstoke, doing 80/85 down the M3 I saw a police car on the side of the road having pulled someone over for speeding ... third time lucky, I guess today really was my lucky day!
Monday August 11th, 2003: Film Personal
Last Updated: Tuesday June 19th, 2007 04:43 PM
Linda's not happy with me .. becuase I'm not really excited about moving hosue again. When I tried to explain that "it's just moving house" and that "it's no big deal" things didn't get any better. I'll be glad when this move is over and sanity (well something vaguely resembling sanity) returns to my girlfriend (and my life)!
Second film in a week: Pirates of the Carribean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Regular cinema going is a very expensive esperience! Thankfully this was actually a rather good film (okay, I'll admit now - I did expect this to be slightly less enjoyable than a trip to Newcastle).
Monday August 4th, 2003: Film
Last Updated: Tuesday June 19th, 2007 04:43 PM
After failing to persude the masses to come see T3 last weekend I hastily re-arranged another viewing for tonight. I really enjoyed the film, despite being forewarned that I wouldn't! Disappointment 1 was how short the film was (or seemed to be). Disappointment 2 was the blatant "see you next year for T4 ending". Not really a disappointment, more an annoyance was how wet John Connor has turned out to be; dammit man - pull yourself together!
Everyone was always very friendly toward him, and no one was ever very nice; everyone spoke to him, and no one ever said anything. - Joseph Heller (Catch-22) Sunday July 6th, 2003: Film
Last Updated: Tuesday June 19th, 2007 04:43 PM
Finally got round to going to the Ster Century cinema in Basingstoke with Linda; it really puts the Odeon cinemas to same, and is a pity that more people don't seem to know about them; the seats are more confortable, there's more leg room, the seats are more staggered up the room so the head in front of you doesn't cover half the screen, the screen is in focus and about 3 times the size of the largest one at Odeon, and it' costs less than a seat in Odeon (a lot less than the 'luxury' Odeon seats!). Like Odeon they have the volume way too high though, but maybe that's more a sign of me getting old? I'm sure my dad always complained that the cinema was too loud when I was a kid?
We saw Charlies' Angels 2: Full Throttle, which was a great film, really entertaining and actually, unexpectedly, put a lot of background into the characters.
Sunday June 29th, 2003: Film Personal
Last Updated: Tuesday June 19th, 2007 04:43 PM
Linda used to think I was being hard on my 'hometown' (as much as Maidstone isn't my hometown anyway) -- but now she's been there she understands all. If the people left then it'd be quite a nice place -- close to London, lots of greenland, big(ish) town centre -- unfortunately I don't expect the pondlife to migrate any time soon -- what Maidstone needs is a good old fashioned biblical flood, and it's come pretty close the last two years!!
Went to Odeon in Southampton to see 2 Fast 2 Furious -- I was expecting 'poor-to-shit', but it was worse than I could have imagined ... the 'acting' was appaling, the dialogue painful ("yeah, man" "ok, man", "come on, man", "ok, bro" -- argh!!). Please don't go to see this film.
More major gripes with the film; 90 mph is not fast, nor furious; Linda's 1.1ltr Ford Fiesta can get above 90 with little trouble.
I've never noticed the traffic lights turning into a cg blur being driven up the motorway at 120mph, so why this happens at 90 to these 'pro' drivers who hang on the thier steering wheel for dear life is a complete mystery to me.
The Nitro boosts in these cars are apalling -- they need nitro to get to 100!! And how many gears do they have in the US -- I'm sure they changed up about 8 gears during each race! and as for the reason behind saving the faster gears until the other driver gets close to you! Not fast, not furious just a very very shit film.
Monday August 20th, 2001: Film
Last Updated: Tuesday June 19th, 2007 04:43 PM
Watched Gone in 60 seconds on Sky Box Office - three times, I got my £3.25's worth. I must admit - I love this film: the cars, the girls, the funny little black guy, Vinnnie Jones - it has it all. Watch it - you will not be disappointed.
Tuesday August 14th, 2001: Film
Last Updated: Tuesday June 19th, 2007 04:43 PM
Went to see Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, my verdict?
If you enjoy the games then you'll also enjoy the film, you'll immediately recognise the style, characters & storyline. Here lies the problem though, although it is a great Final Fantasy story (one which, no doubt, would have made an excellent game) it is one such story fitted into less than 2 hours.
Consider that it takes 50 to 70 hours to fully explore FF games and you won't be surprised that there are more than a few holes in the films storyline (A few examples: even at the start of the film, 5 of the spirits have been collected, very little of the characters origins are explored, and the sub-plot of the other planet is only barely touched).
Watching the film feels like being dropped straight onto the fourth disc, without any knowledge of what happened on the previous three. But, oh what a fourth disc!
"Because trying to fuck you is like trying to French-kiss a very ...small and ...lively gerbil ... with Braces" - Pat Bateman, American Psycho (Bret Easton Ellis) Thursday August 2nd, 2001: Film Personal
Last Updated: Tuesday June 19th, 2007 04:43 PM
Went to see Shrek at the cinema, it's not quite as good as I thought it'd be, in fact I think it's fair to say that if it hadn't been an animated film, I would call it "totally shite". A few good gags, but not the non-stop laff-a-minute film I was expecting.
Met up with some friends from MGS after the film, first time I'd seen most of them for nearly a year - it's good to keep in touch, but mostly I can't be arsed!
"If you are first, you are first. If you are second, you are nothing." - Bill Shankly | 
Monday May 17th, 2004