Wow that was a terible transition. Hi there. Though I’d try something new. I am reviewing this film in real time! Not for you, but I’m writing as I’m watching. Superman IV – The Quest for Peace. I’ve not heard good things about it.
So we started about 7 minutes ago with the longest and most terrible opening credits ever. The planet Earth below, names flying up and then behind the planet. If you can’t afford to do it properly, do something else. Then there were some Russian Cosmonaughts, something hit their station, it spun out of control, a guy floated away. Superman shows up to save the day. Cool. No. His cape is fluttering in the wind. The space wind. There is no wind in space. He was breathing heavily. Breathing what? Then he spoke to them, and they heard him. So did we. I know he’s superman, but sound cannot travel in space. So wrong there.
Then in Smallville, Clark takes some power thing from his pod – why never taken before? Doesn’t want to sell the farm to non-farmers. OK.
In prison now. Outside rock breaking – Rambo style. Lex Luther has used a terrible scheme that would never work to escape, involving his punk cousin, with a flash car. The guards are trapped in it.
Ad break… Now 73 is out. Poker Face!
We’re back in Metropolis. Good times. I’ve never seen Superman. The original. Can you believe it? I’ve got it on the Love Film list.
Oh no! The subway driver has fallen asleep! Oh never mind, he saved us. Lois – or someone – couldn’t get his attention. Daily Planet has shitty new owner. Oh. My. God! His headlines are irresponsible. His daughter who will be “helping” is hot though.
President on TV. We gotta make more nucs! I loved the Cold War. Some school teacher now with a class of cynics. She’s hot too. Museum tour with one of Superman’s hair. Lex is there to steal it! With his dumb sidekick.
A kid has written to Superman telling him to get rid of all the nucs. Good idea I say. Why hasn’t he done this already? Truth is, if Superman had really been around, the cold war would have gone very differently. Probably. Though maybe he was behind MAD?
30 mins in. It’s shit, but not nearly as shit as I had been expecting. Still, there’s time.
Oh, he’s forbidden to interfere. I see. Wait, no I don’t. What about all the interfering he does everyday? Did Vietnam happen in Superman reality?
He’s told Lois he’s Superman. Again. Wonder if she’ll remember this time?
What the hell? He let her go and she just floated along? How the fuck does that work? Wait… What? They jumped off a building, he had the suit and the glasses a second later, and she doesn’t know it’s Clark? This is so unclear. She didn’t realise. Has she just forgotten that? Can she not remember every time she see’s Superman? I don’t remember that from the third one. I’m so confused.
Oh good he’s telling the kid he’ll do it. He’s telling the whole UN. Or UN type thing. They all seem pretty happy out it. They’re firing them and he’s sending them into space. Into a big net? Seriously, WTF? Lame. Throw that into the sun? Yes, into the sun.
Ads.
Back to Luther. Remember him? With a couple of hussies and some evil geniuses who like nucs and war. Lex has a way to destroy Sups. Using the sun. and some “genetic strew.” He’s get sick. Lex is cloning Superman now I think. Oh that rings a bell, think I’ve heard about this. It’s original, not like we had two Superman’s battling in say, Superman III. Oh yes we did.
50 minutes though. Lex has launched a missile. Don’t know where he got it from. Sup has it, throwing it away… at the sun… explodes… red bit shoots back, it’s a foetus? It grown to a man, a scary man with blonde hair and long shiny nails, not played by Reeve. Who didn’t notice any of this, and is now badly participating in an aerobics class with the hot girl. That trainer has short shorts. The film clearly had a deal with Adidas. She is smoking. Haha, Clark threw the barbell the he guy. Totally owned.
Lex’s Superclone has come home to see Daddy. How did he know how to get there? Who knows. Who make his gay suit? Who knows. Why can he light cigars with his fingers? Because the sun has given him eternal heat. Oh no, he’s rebelling already. Yeah, kill the sidekick. Shit he didn’t. He’s very oily. The way that sidekick says “oh no” is so annoying. Superclone needs the sun or he’s cold and useless. That’s where he gets his power. Isn’t that also where Superman gets his power? How come he works at night.
This will be gay. Superman and Lois, and the hot girl and Clark have a double date. This may have worked on Mrs. Doubtfire, but this is meant to be about the Man of Steel!
Fuck Lois is old. And who chooses her costume. And why is Metropolis New York. Does Superman stop 9/11 in the DC universe?
This switcheroo shit is so lame. Finally. Lex is on the big screen. Only Clark can here him. But can’t we all see him? Let me guess. The original and clone meet.
Aren’t clones meant to be the same as the original? Or in fact a little worse? Like a photocopy. Is Superclone a mix of Sups and Lex? Is that why he has Lex’s voice? I should have been listening better.
So Superclone burns the tiles he walks on, but not his clothes. OK.
Yes! Superdudes fighting each other! Will it be as awesome as Superman II? Why is he destroying the Great Wall of China?
What!!!! Since when could blue beams out of Superman’s eyes REBUILD masonry? He’s in a bit ice cube now. Superclone used super cool breath to do it. In space. Go figure.
Supercone’s nails just extended. Like fucking Wolverine. Well more like that bitch off X2. don’t remember the name.
How did Superclone learn to speak? He grew from space-foetus to space-man in 15 seconds.
Why build a set of that wall and grass? That was the worst thing I’ve ever seen! We didn’t even need that scene. Is Superman dead? Is he powerless? Oh good, hot girl has stood up to her dad.
Evil Superclone could have been cool, without the redicous nails, the stupid voice, and gay suit. Ah, Clark has the last energy of Kypton. Of course. Good good he didn’t use that in any of the other movies. I mean it totally already existed, oh yeah, he had it just chose not to use it until the fourth cinematic outing.
By the way, I’ve been generally very nice and generous not dumping of the effects of this movie. That’s because I have read that it had a tiny budget, but Reeve really wanted to get his anti nuc message out. And assuming I am right in remembering this stuff, respect to that, and so I can take a few shit FX.
OK, all shit FX.
Why does he want the woman? Lois or hot girl? It makes no sense. Or I wasn’t listening. Drop an elevator on the moon that seems to have extraordinarily high gravity. Why not. Oh no, the sun’s come up. That’ll rejuvenate Superclone. As the flag tries not to shake in the wind. Don’t have men with capes fighting on the moon if you can’t afford to make it work. Sorry, said I wouldn’t bitch about FX. But that’s not FX, that’s physics.
Superclone is cut up I’ll give him that.
Super is ready. Hurry up movie.
Fuck it. I’m going for dinner. The movie only has like 7 minutes to go. Hahahaha!!! The flag is held stiff by a not at all disguised pole along the top.
Wait, Sups has pushed the moon into a solar eclipse, bad dude has lost power!! The tides would surely have gone crazy no? Sups has rescued hot girl. Killed bad by dropping him into a power plant?
Daily Planet back to proper paper. Good stuff.
According to the TV info Superclone is called Protean Man, and he is an android. None of that was said or even implied in the movie. The day is saved, that’s good. Good message from the Big Man at the end. Lex still on the loose… no he’s got him.
Wednesday 12 August 2009
Thursday 11 June 2009
It the franchise dead? Terminated.
Saw T4 the other day. Orange 2 for 1. Good Times. 2 for 1 pizza at Pizza Express afterwards, even better times.
So T4. Terminator Salvation. The second (full length) trailer was a masterpiece. Just watch it. Just it, no real need to bother with the film. The coolest moments are there, and the music (NIN) is better than (usually good) Danny Elfman’s score. I was looking forward to this film so much. Not that it sucked, but it defiantly did not rock.
Lets break it down.
FX and production design:
Generally good if not mind blowing, with a couple of really shoddy moments. The GC/Kickinger Arnold was good, very good really, though not quite right. Also pretty pointless, but we’ll get to that. I thought Marcus was done very well, Dave wasn’t quite convinced by the face (I was) but we both agreed the body was cool.
Production design wasn’t bad, liked the T-600s, didn’t like Skynet Central much, liked some of the destroyed cities, though it was a little been there done that. Just like the whole movie in fact.
Script (not story):
Average to poor. Almost no character moments, nothing hair on the back of the neck stirring or ominous, far too many recycled lines from the first two. I mean really, what for? T2 took some iconic lines for T1, that was OK, T3 tried using them again, and it didn’t work. What make the writers think this was OK? Oh wait, I know. Some idiot hired the same guys who wrote the third one. Sure Nolan may have touched it up (not enough to get a credit). Fucking producers.
Acting:
Depends who we are talking about. Christian Bale (Connor) is OK, he may have been good, but he didn’t have a good script to work with, no character building, no good leader speeches. Moon Goodblood and the other resistance soldiers, standard over or under acted post apocalyptic soldier mode all the way. Sam Worthington as Marcus Wright however, was good. Even well written at times (I know!). More on Marcus later. Oh and Anton was OK as Reese, with a better script could have really bought him in that role.
And so to the story:
Not that good. Was there one? Not really. Sort of. There is a great story buried in there, the story of Marcus, but it wasn’t given the space or the good writing to shine. I have heard an internet rumour that Connor was originally a really small role, it was all about Marcus who the producers (remember them?) wanted Bale to play, but he wanted to play John Conner, so that part was written bigger for him. This seems believable as he isn’t really needed in this story, and does not grow or really face any life altering challenges.
Marcus – the terminator story that should have been. A man (former murderer we presume) who finds out he is a terminator, coming to terms with it though friendship with a resistance fighter (Reese), who eventually gives his life to save another. That is a good idea. Too much Conner screen time, Moon Goodblood’s nothing character, that damn kid (kept expecting her to say: “They mostly come at night, Mostly”), and the pointless not really explained presence of the T-800 (Arnold) killed it. I’m an Arnold fan, and if there had been a real reason for the CG cameo, I would have been over the moon, but it felt so forced.
Directing:
Poor. Sure there were some cool shots, I liked the look of the film, but it just didn’t flow. It barely stayed afloat. MCG clearly failed to see the great story in Marcus, and allowed it to become buried. Maybe it wasn’t his fault, but it certainly wasn’t mine. Also the end sucked. Almost every shot and idea (and production design for that matter) was nicked from the first two. There is subtle homage, and there is rip off. This was the latter. Oh and the Serena spoon fed info explanations to Marcus at the end both shit and not needed.
So a movie that could have been awesome turned into a run of the mill (thought not actually that bad) post apocalyptic movie. I put it on a similar footing to Kurt Russell’s Soldier. OK it’s a little better. See it, don’t see it, whatever, can’t tell if I liked this or T3 better. Definitely liked the ending of T3 better.
So T4. Terminator Salvation. The second (full length) trailer was a masterpiece. Just watch it. Just it, no real need to bother with the film. The coolest moments are there, and the music (NIN) is better than (usually good) Danny Elfman’s score. I was looking forward to this film so much. Not that it sucked, but it defiantly did not rock.
Lets break it down.
FX and production design:
Generally good if not mind blowing, with a couple of really shoddy moments. The GC/Kickinger Arnold was good, very good really, though not quite right. Also pretty pointless, but we’ll get to that. I thought Marcus was done very well, Dave wasn’t quite convinced by the face (I was) but we both agreed the body was cool.
Production design wasn’t bad, liked the T-600s, didn’t like Skynet Central much, liked some of the destroyed cities, though it was a little been there done that. Just like the whole movie in fact.
Script (not story):
Average to poor. Almost no character moments, nothing hair on the back of the neck stirring or ominous, far too many recycled lines from the first two. I mean really, what for? T2 took some iconic lines for T1, that was OK, T3 tried using them again, and it didn’t work. What make the writers think this was OK? Oh wait, I know. Some idiot hired the same guys who wrote the third one. Sure Nolan may have touched it up (not enough to get a credit). Fucking producers.
Acting:
Depends who we are talking about. Christian Bale (Connor) is OK, he may have been good, but he didn’t have a good script to work with, no character building, no good leader speeches. Moon Goodblood and the other resistance soldiers, standard over or under acted post apocalyptic soldier mode all the way. Sam Worthington as Marcus Wright however, was good. Even well written at times (I know!). More on Marcus later. Oh and Anton was OK as Reese, with a better script could have really bought him in that role.
And so to the story:
Not that good. Was there one? Not really. Sort of. There is a great story buried in there, the story of Marcus, but it wasn’t given the space or the good writing to shine. I have heard an internet rumour that Connor was originally a really small role, it was all about Marcus who the producers (remember them?) wanted Bale to play, but he wanted to play John Conner, so that part was written bigger for him. This seems believable as he isn’t really needed in this story, and does not grow or really face any life altering challenges.
Marcus – the terminator story that should have been. A man (former murderer we presume) who finds out he is a terminator, coming to terms with it though friendship with a resistance fighter (Reese), who eventually gives his life to save another. That is a good idea. Too much Conner screen time, Moon Goodblood’s nothing character, that damn kid (kept expecting her to say: “They mostly come at night, Mostly”), and the pointless not really explained presence of the T-800 (Arnold) killed it. I’m an Arnold fan, and if there had been a real reason for the CG cameo, I would have been over the moon, but it felt so forced.
Directing:
Poor. Sure there were some cool shots, I liked the look of the film, but it just didn’t flow. It barely stayed afloat. MCG clearly failed to see the great story in Marcus, and allowed it to become buried. Maybe it wasn’t his fault, but it certainly wasn’t mine. Also the end sucked. Almost every shot and idea (and production design for that matter) was nicked from the first two. There is subtle homage, and there is rip off. This was the latter. Oh and the Serena spoon fed info explanations to Marcus at the end both shit and not needed.
So a movie that could have been awesome turned into a run of the mill (thought not actually that bad) post apocalyptic movie. I put it on a similar footing to Kurt Russell’s Soldier. OK it’s a little better. See it, don’t see it, whatever, can’t tell if I liked this or T3 better. Definitely liked the ending of T3 better.
They make some shit films sometimes.
Greetings Blogites.
Its been a while, but then there aren’t many of you, so why waste my time? Nothing else to do. Yes, indeed…
Seen a couple more flicks you’ll be glad to know. I’ll start with the one that was most shit. And it really was shit. Lost Boys II – The Tribe. Lost Boys, the classic vampire romp is OK, quite fun, but not a great movie. So as you can imagine I had high hopes for the over a decade later straight to DVD sequel featuring one member of the original cast. Corey something or the other, Feldman? Who decided to put on a Christian Bale voice for the part. Bale can barely get away with it, this guy cannot in any way.
This film truly blew. Lowest rate vampire movie. The only thing that didn’t suck were the actually production values. Nothing great, but it looks goo enough, no really shockingly bad effects or camera work. Don’t see this film. When watching it, my friends and I wondered and lamented about how such terrible ideas are given millions of dollars to realise as the turd pile they are, when so many good original ideas are passed on, because executives are too afraid to take a chance. It breaks your heart. D-
Then Red Eye was on TV. Wes Craven tries his hand at the physiological thriller fare. It has Cillian Murphy in it, and I had high hopes for him, liked him a LOT in Batman Begins. And to be fair, he was good in it. Far better than the material he was working with. The female lead who’s name escapes me started off OK and got worse, she wasn’t terrible, but Murphy out acted her at every step. This movie could have been a lot better I think, the basic idea was quite cool, if not revolutionary, but Wes had to turn the final act into the same one he’s done one hundred times – bad dude chases hot girl though house with a knife. Pity. The first half was enjoyable, good at times, then the ending brings it right down. And let’s not forget the terrible FX shot when the hotel room gets blown up. 1st ½ - C+, 2nd ½ - C-. So a C overall.
Which brings us to The Manchurian Candidate. That’s the new one, not the original one. I haven’t seen the original, so am judging the film on its own merits, not against the source material – book or film. The acting on the whole is of a very high standard, Meryl and her on screen son (Lee Evan I believe) sanding out in particular. The story was interesting and well written, if a little far fetched (hopefully!), and the only bits I really didn’t like were the parts of the flashbacks/dreams to the brainwashing when the soldiers were on beds with what looked like old style hair driers with lots of stilly tubes coming off them. I enjoyed this film, wouldn’t say it was a classic, but a solid B. Just watched the Bluray commentary. Maybe I misread the flashbacks, and they are not meant to be accurate portrayals of what happened. Which would make them less rubbish.
P.S. Trying to eat very clean right now. Its damn difficult. I slip so easily at night. So I have had to allow for that a little. I keep my breakfast and my lunch super clean. Big salads, skinless chicken breasts, mixed beans and pulses, brown rice, sweet potato, veg. Then have the tastier stuff in the evening when I crave it, oats and raisins, cereal, eggs, peanut butter. Going OK, staying around 74kg, and body fat looking quite low, though I haven’t measured recently. Am starting to get a little tired though, trying to do 25 mins of HIIT cardio 5 days a week, not always managing.
May need to cut down on my total sets though, 5 days a week takes its toll. It Scotland next week though, so will be a partial week off. Will try and do some stuff, abs and chest and jogging or something.
Its been a while, but then there aren’t many of you, so why waste my time? Nothing else to do. Yes, indeed…
Seen a couple more flicks you’ll be glad to know. I’ll start with the one that was most shit. And it really was shit. Lost Boys II – The Tribe. Lost Boys, the classic vampire romp is OK, quite fun, but not a great movie. So as you can imagine I had high hopes for the over a decade later straight to DVD sequel featuring one member of the original cast. Corey something or the other, Feldman? Who decided to put on a Christian Bale voice for the part. Bale can barely get away with it, this guy cannot in any way.
This film truly blew. Lowest rate vampire movie. The only thing that didn’t suck were the actually production values. Nothing great, but it looks goo enough, no really shockingly bad effects or camera work. Don’t see this film. When watching it, my friends and I wondered and lamented about how such terrible ideas are given millions of dollars to realise as the turd pile they are, when so many good original ideas are passed on, because executives are too afraid to take a chance. It breaks your heart. D-
Then Red Eye was on TV. Wes Craven tries his hand at the physiological thriller fare. It has Cillian Murphy in it, and I had high hopes for him, liked him a LOT in Batman Begins. And to be fair, he was good in it. Far better than the material he was working with. The female lead who’s name escapes me started off OK and got worse, she wasn’t terrible, but Murphy out acted her at every step. This movie could have been a lot better I think, the basic idea was quite cool, if not revolutionary, but Wes had to turn the final act into the same one he’s done one hundred times – bad dude chases hot girl though house with a knife. Pity. The first half was enjoyable, good at times, then the ending brings it right down. And let’s not forget the terrible FX shot when the hotel room gets blown up. 1st ½ - C+, 2nd ½ - C-. So a C overall.
Which brings us to The Manchurian Candidate. That’s the new one, not the original one. I haven’t seen the original, so am judging the film on its own merits, not against the source material – book or film. The acting on the whole is of a very high standard, Meryl and her on screen son (Lee Evan I believe) sanding out in particular. The story was interesting and well written, if a little far fetched (hopefully!), and the only bits I really didn’t like were the parts of the flashbacks/dreams to the brainwashing when the soldiers were on beds with what looked like old style hair driers with lots of stilly tubes coming off them. I enjoyed this film, wouldn’t say it was a classic, but a solid B. Just watched the Bluray commentary. Maybe I misread the flashbacks, and they are not meant to be accurate portrayals of what happened. Which would make them less rubbish.
P.S. Trying to eat very clean right now. Its damn difficult. I slip so easily at night. So I have had to allow for that a little. I keep my breakfast and my lunch super clean. Big salads, skinless chicken breasts, mixed beans and pulses, brown rice, sweet potato, veg. Then have the tastier stuff in the evening when I crave it, oats and raisins, cereal, eggs, peanut butter. Going OK, staying around 74kg, and body fat looking quite low, though I haven’t measured recently. Am starting to get a little tired though, trying to do 25 mins of HIIT cardio 5 days a week, not always managing.
May need to cut down on my total sets though, 5 days a week takes its toll. It Scotland next week though, so will be a partial week off. Will try and do some stuff, abs and chest and jogging or something.
Thursday 7 May 2009
Space, the final frontier...
Star Trek. The new Star Trek. For a life long Trekkie this was a big thing. Yes any Trek movie is a big thing, but this is as big as when TNG first aired. Possible bigger. In this movie characters that I have known all my life (sad, but it is true) were recast. Yes the last couple of Trek movies have kind of sucked (esp. Nemesis) but at least they were familiar. This could have been a total raping of Star Trek and sucked. Thank fuck it did neither. There is so much to talk about in regards to this movie that I shall split my review up into sections.
Oh and by the way, it absolutely ruled.
The Cast
Enterprise Crew:
Chris Pine (Kirk) This guy was great. I really cannot fault the performance. It wasn't quite Kirk as we know him, Pine defiantly put his own spin on the Captain, but it's a good spin. He plays the rebellious kid in a grown-ups body perfectly, and his transition into a person more like the Kirk we know was organic and believable.
Zachary Quinto (Spock) When Zack was cast almost everyone thought it was inspired casting. Then a couple of clips came out and while initial concerns about Pine were quickly dashed, people (for people read Internet Trekkers) started to worry about Quinto. They needn't have. No he doesn't have Nimoy's gravely voice that so defines Spock, but hey, only Nimoy has Nimoy's voice. Quinto nails Spock's internal struggle between his human and Vulcan side, and again, like Pine, adds a great deal to his own mark to the role.
Karl Urban (McCoy) It has been much commented that Urban is the actor most "channeling" the original actor, in this case Deforest Kelley. And I suppose that's because he is. He does it very well though. He is a LOT bigger than Kelley, but other than that I totally buy him as McCoy, it's just a shame that his best scene is his first.
Bruce Greenwood (Pike) Great is all I can say really. With Captain Pike only appearing in one original episode (yes I know, 3 - the pilot, and both parts of The Menagerie) so Greenwood had much more freedom than many of his fellow cast members. Greenwood crafts a strong and courageous Captain, and was an unexpected gem in this movie.
John Cho (Sulu) I liked him. Not a lot of character development time, but hey, they movie wasn't about him. Handled the action well, and didn't fall into the trap (see Chekov) of becoming a parody.
Anton Yelchin (Chekov) Chekov is perhaps the only part of this movie I didn't like. Yelchin simply took the accent too far. Far too far. He's OK apart from this, but it really throws you off.
Simon Pegg (Scotty) Another one that worried the fans. And another one they needn't have worried about. Like Cho, Pegg really doesn't take much from the original actor, but his Scotty is funny (not too funny as some had worried) and believable. His Scottish accent is very different from Doohans, and though some may crucify me for saying, its better. Pegg has a Scottish wife, and he leaned a convincing accent. I liked this take on Scott, and look forward to seeing for of him in the next movie.
Zoe Saldana (Uhura) Buzz was pretty positive following Saldana's casting, but she was the one I was worried about. Not sure why. And yet again, unfounded. Uhura is a much bigger part of this story than she has been any previous Trek, (you have to have strong women in things now - no bad thing) but instead of seeming like the - we must get a woman some more lines in this film woman, she is very good, has possible the most emotional depth of any of the characters (with the possible exception, ironically enough, of Spock). A great performance, and like Cho and Pegg, quite a new take on the role.
Other Dudes and Dudettes
Eric Bana (Nero) Not a bad villain. Clearly meant to Spock's Khan, but more on that it the story/script section. Bana doesn't have a huge amount of screen time, but that he does have he uses well, the character could well have done with some more fleshing out, but that's not Bana's fault. He plays a villan who talks like a real person (particularly "Hello Christopher), and looked bad-ass. No Kahn, Borg Queen or General Chang - who for my money have been the best villains, but defiantly holding his ground with Christopher Lloyd's Commander Kruge.
Ben Cross (Sarek) Cross does a good job playing a man who could be Spock's father, but to me Sarek is Mark Lenard, and it's hard for me to see someone so different in the role. As mentioned in a previous posting, Nimoy and Lenard are the only two people who have every really played convincing Vulcans (along with the ambassador from Enterprise I guess), and I feel that now we can add Quinto to that list, but I'm not sure about Cross. Perhaps he will grow on me. Did really like the part when he told Spock he married Amanda because he loved her. It was really touching.
Winona Ryder (Amanda Greyson) Not bad at all. Not a lot of screen time, but a great scene with Spock when she tells him she will always be proud of him. Always liked Jane Wyatt in the old school cast, and I liked Ryder too. I've always wanted to know more about the woman who chose to marry a Vulcan, but I suppose now I never will.
Leonad Nimoy (Spock Prime) What can you say? The man IS Spock. Everything he did was right, the scene at the end between him and Quinto was really cool, just, I mean, FUCKING LEONARD NIMOY IN THE HOUSE!!
Other people
Generally the casting was good, Kirk's Parents, both good, Captain Robau was a badass as promised, Scotty's little alien friend was good, and not around too much to become annoying (take note Mr. Lucas).
Phew, cast done.
Production Design
Wasn't a huge fan of the new Enterprise when I first saw it. Love it now. No up and down in space adhered to as well. The Kelvin bridge may have been my favorite. Enterprise Bridge OK, but a little cold, I like a friendlier bridge. Costumes were great, Props good, and unlike many I like the big industrial Engineering. A huge ship would not just have a medium sized room with some lights, it would have metal shit going on everywhere. Only thing I would have liked to have seen there is a central intermix chamber. Engineering should have a hub, a centre, and we didn't really see one. Nero's ship was weird and cool, if very different from previous Romulan ships we have seen, and I liked it's totally non-Star Trek design. Too many ships in Star Trek have been becoming same-y recently. Spock Prime's Jellyfish also awesome, loved the way it moved. All the graphics were stunning too. Star Wars Episode III would be the closed comparison for kick ass space stuff (say what you like about the movie itself).
Story/Script
In some ways the Script is better than the story. The script is good. Excellent in fact. All the dialogue is very well done. The story is good don't get me wrong, but Nero could have done with some more fleshing out, a character moment or two perhaps, but then the movie was long, would be hard to fit them then. Having said that the movie is long, it is relentless and exciting and heart pounding all the way though. There is a touch of exposition and a slow down in the action around half way though, but its a welcomed break and allows for some character moments, and the introduction of Nimoy. Wasn't quite sure about how the mind meld montage/flash-forward was done, but got it's much needed points across. Also wasn't quite sure about the red matter stuff. All in all the characters for the most part are well developed and written (especially Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Pine) and the story was very exciting, and the time travel stuff not too confusing for newbies. Great idea creating an alternate timeline so from now on movies can deviate from canon - some are sure to hate this, but not me.
Other
The score is amazing. Not such original Star Trek music, which having heard about before hand thought I might miss, but Michael Giacchino's score is wonderful. Loved the main theme, very Star Trek, without being a rip off.
Canon wasn't always strictly stuck to, or at least it wasn't explained how it had changed, though most of it could probably be explained away as a consequence of Nero's arrival. Luckily I'm not too much of a canonista.
In the end
When I first heard about the recast I was worried. But eventually, thanks in no small part to New Voyages (Phase II) I warmed to the idea. I'm glad it wasn't done any sooner, (a la Harve Bennet's Academy 90210 terrible idea) but with Doohan and Kelley dead and the others really just being too old, it was an acceptable choice. Enough time had passed to say good bye to the original cast, and realise that now it would be impossible for them to return in any plausible way. Except of course Nimoy, as Spock works as a character as an old wise man, perhaps better than he does as a young man, he is a teacher essentially, in the classical sense of one, an elder. But Kirk is a different character, and as much as the Trekkie in me would have loved to see Shatner back, it pains me to say that it was probably a better movie for him not being in it.
I'm sure I've missed things out, and I could talk about for even longer, but I think I've written enough. My heard was racing almost non-stop, it was exciting and exhilarating. Funny and kick ass and cool, yes cool. Trekkies, used to being a small (in terms of the global population) group usually on the defensive, may have to get used to sharing their favorite escape with a lot of cool kids who wouldn't give the Original Series a second glance and - shock horror - aren't sure how the warp drive actually works, whether they like it or not.
Star Trek is back. It's a lean, mean killing machine. But it's still Star Trek, that was the most important thing, the biggest worry, so well done JJ!!
Oh and by the way, it absolutely ruled.
The Cast
Enterprise Crew:
Chris Pine (Kirk) This guy was great. I really cannot fault the performance. It wasn't quite Kirk as we know him, Pine defiantly put his own spin on the Captain, but it's a good spin. He plays the rebellious kid in a grown-ups body perfectly, and his transition into a person more like the Kirk we know was organic and believable.
Zachary Quinto (Spock) When Zack was cast almost everyone thought it was inspired casting. Then a couple of clips came out and while initial concerns about Pine were quickly dashed, people (for people read Internet Trekkers) started to worry about Quinto. They needn't have. No he doesn't have Nimoy's gravely voice that so defines Spock, but hey, only Nimoy has Nimoy's voice. Quinto nails Spock's internal struggle between his human and Vulcan side, and again, like Pine, adds a great deal to his own mark to the role.
Karl Urban (McCoy) It has been much commented that Urban is the actor most "channeling" the original actor, in this case Deforest Kelley. And I suppose that's because he is. He does it very well though. He is a LOT bigger than Kelley, but other than that I totally buy him as McCoy, it's just a shame that his best scene is his first.
Bruce Greenwood (Pike) Great is all I can say really. With Captain Pike only appearing in one original episode (yes I know, 3 - the pilot, and both parts of The Menagerie) so Greenwood had much more freedom than many of his fellow cast members. Greenwood crafts a strong and courageous Captain, and was an unexpected gem in this movie.
John Cho (Sulu) I liked him. Not a lot of character development time, but hey, they movie wasn't about him. Handled the action well, and didn't fall into the trap (see Chekov) of becoming a parody.
Anton Yelchin (Chekov) Chekov is perhaps the only part of this movie I didn't like. Yelchin simply took the accent too far. Far too far. He's OK apart from this, but it really throws you off.
Simon Pegg (Scotty) Another one that worried the fans. And another one they needn't have worried about. Like Cho, Pegg really doesn't take much from the original actor, but his Scotty is funny (not too funny as some had worried) and believable. His Scottish accent is very different from Doohans, and though some may crucify me for saying, its better. Pegg has a Scottish wife, and he leaned a convincing accent. I liked this take on Scott, and look forward to seeing for of him in the next movie.
Zoe Saldana (Uhura) Buzz was pretty positive following Saldana's casting, but she was the one I was worried about. Not sure why. And yet again, unfounded. Uhura is a much bigger part of this story than she has been any previous Trek, (you have to have strong women in things now - no bad thing) but instead of seeming like the - we must get a woman some more lines in this film woman, she is very good, has possible the most emotional depth of any of the characters (with the possible exception, ironically enough, of Spock). A great performance, and like Cho and Pegg, quite a new take on the role.
Other Dudes and Dudettes
Eric Bana (Nero) Not a bad villain. Clearly meant to Spock's Khan, but more on that it the story/script section. Bana doesn't have a huge amount of screen time, but that he does have he uses well, the character could well have done with some more fleshing out, but that's not Bana's fault. He plays a villan who talks like a real person (particularly "Hello Christopher), and looked bad-ass. No Kahn, Borg Queen or General Chang - who for my money have been the best villains, but defiantly holding his ground with Christopher Lloyd's Commander Kruge.
Ben Cross (Sarek) Cross does a good job playing a man who could be Spock's father, but to me Sarek is Mark Lenard, and it's hard for me to see someone so different in the role. As mentioned in a previous posting, Nimoy and Lenard are the only two people who have every really played convincing Vulcans (along with the ambassador from Enterprise I guess), and I feel that now we can add Quinto to that list, but I'm not sure about Cross. Perhaps he will grow on me. Did really like the part when he told Spock he married Amanda because he loved her. It was really touching.
Winona Ryder (Amanda Greyson) Not bad at all. Not a lot of screen time, but a great scene with Spock when she tells him she will always be proud of him. Always liked Jane Wyatt in the old school cast, and I liked Ryder too. I've always wanted to know more about the woman who chose to marry a Vulcan, but I suppose now I never will.
Leonad Nimoy (Spock Prime) What can you say? The man IS Spock. Everything he did was right, the scene at the end between him and Quinto was really cool, just, I mean, FUCKING LEONARD NIMOY IN THE HOUSE!!
Other people
Generally the casting was good, Kirk's Parents, both good, Captain Robau was a badass as promised, Scotty's little alien friend was good, and not around too much to become annoying (take note Mr. Lucas).
Phew, cast done.
Production Design
Wasn't a huge fan of the new Enterprise when I first saw it. Love it now. No up and down in space adhered to as well. The Kelvin bridge may have been my favorite. Enterprise Bridge OK, but a little cold, I like a friendlier bridge. Costumes were great, Props good, and unlike many I like the big industrial Engineering. A huge ship would not just have a medium sized room with some lights, it would have metal shit going on everywhere. Only thing I would have liked to have seen there is a central intermix chamber. Engineering should have a hub, a centre, and we didn't really see one. Nero's ship was weird and cool, if very different from previous Romulan ships we have seen, and I liked it's totally non-Star Trek design. Too many ships in Star Trek have been becoming same-y recently. Spock Prime's Jellyfish also awesome, loved the way it moved. All the graphics were stunning too. Star Wars Episode III would be the closed comparison for kick ass space stuff (say what you like about the movie itself).
Story/Script
In some ways the Script is better than the story. The script is good. Excellent in fact. All the dialogue is very well done. The story is good don't get me wrong, but Nero could have done with some more fleshing out, a character moment or two perhaps, but then the movie was long, would be hard to fit them then. Having said that the movie is long, it is relentless and exciting and heart pounding all the way though. There is a touch of exposition and a slow down in the action around half way though, but its a welcomed break and allows for some character moments, and the introduction of Nimoy. Wasn't quite sure about how the mind meld montage/flash-forward was done, but got it's much needed points across. Also wasn't quite sure about the red matter stuff. All in all the characters for the most part are well developed and written (especially Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Pine) and the story was very exciting, and the time travel stuff not too confusing for newbies. Great idea creating an alternate timeline so from now on movies can deviate from canon - some are sure to hate this, but not me.
Other
The score is amazing. Not such original Star Trek music, which having heard about before hand thought I might miss, but Michael Giacchino's score is wonderful. Loved the main theme, very Star Trek, without being a rip off.
Canon wasn't always strictly stuck to, or at least it wasn't explained how it had changed, though most of it could probably be explained away as a consequence of Nero's arrival. Luckily I'm not too much of a canonista.
In the end
When I first heard about the recast I was worried. But eventually, thanks in no small part to New Voyages (Phase II) I warmed to the idea. I'm glad it wasn't done any sooner, (a la Harve Bennet's Academy 90210 terrible idea) but with Doohan and Kelley dead and the others really just being too old, it was an acceptable choice. Enough time had passed to say good bye to the original cast, and realise that now it would be impossible for them to return in any plausible way. Except of course Nimoy, as Spock works as a character as an old wise man, perhaps better than he does as a young man, he is a teacher essentially, in the classical sense of one, an elder. But Kirk is a different character, and as much as the Trekkie in me would have loved to see Shatner back, it pains me to say that it was probably a better movie for him not being in it.
I'm sure I've missed things out, and I could talk about for even longer, but I think I've written enough. My heard was racing almost non-stop, it was exciting and exhilarating. Funny and kick ass and cool, yes cool. Trekkies, used to being a small (in terms of the global population) group usually on the defensive, may have to get used to sharing their favorite escape with a lot of cool kids who wouldn't give the Original Series a second glance and - shock horror - aren't sure how the warp drive actually works, whether they like it or not.
Star Trek is back. It's a lean, mean killing machine. But it's still Star Trek, that was the most important thing, the biggest worry, so well done JJ!!
Wednesday 29 April 2009
3D jumping mice with trumpets and little drums
Saw a FREE(!) advance screening of the new 3D stop-motion (with some CG) film Coraline. We did have to go to Crawley though...
It's a creepy little tale about "other mothers" and secret doorways to another world where things at first seem better, but guess what? They are not. Based on a book by famed comic writer Neil Gaiman, it will scare the young ones, indeed, we even hear one little 'um tell their mum they didn't like a bit, but hey, kids need some fear these days. Oh and don't forget scooping your eyes out and sewing buttons onto your face instead. Good times.
So go see it, there are lots of colours and cool stuff, but make sure you get to a 3D theatre, cus it's better that way. I'm not ever a huge fan of 3D, I often feel that instead of drawing you further into the film it throws you out. This film almost manages to do it right. There are some pop out of the screen moments that annoy me, as the 3Dness works best with more subtle shots, the multiple distance reflections in the computer screen was amazing, as were the rain drops on the window. If this movie is anything to go by, its possible, just, that one day 3D will no longer be a cinematic gimmick, but something is actually used often, and used well to further the telling of the story, not just for wow factor.
It's a creepy little tale about "other mothers" and secret doorways to another world where things at first seem better, but guess what? They are not. Based on a book by famed comic writer Neil Gaiman, it will scare the young ones, indeed, we even hear one little 'um tell their mum they didn't like a bit, but hey, kids need some fear these days. Oh and don't forget scooping your eyes out and sewing buttons onto your face instead. Good times.
So go see it, there are lots of colours and cool stuff, but make sure you get to a 3D theatre, cus it's better that way. I'm not ever a huge fan of 3D, I often feel that instead of drawing you further into the film it throws you out. This film almost manages to do it right. There are some pop out of the screen moments that annoy me, as the 3Dness works best with more subtle shots, the multiple distance reflections in the computer screen was amazing, as were the rain drops on the window. If this movie is anything to go by, its possible, just, that one day 3D will no longer be a cinematic gimmick, but something is actually used often, and used well to further the telling of the story, not just for wow factor.
Sunday 26 April 2009
Lost oppertunities...
in Star Trek. Stay with me.
Star Trek is awesome. I am a Trekkie though and though and have been as long into my childhood as I can remember. That said, no one can deny there are some shitty shitty episodes out there.
And this brings me to today's topic. I was thinking about all the cool future story lines alluded to in many episodes that were never picked up on. But I though far enough, the shows can't go on forever... but wait! What about all the shit episodes! What if instead of making them, they had picked up on some of their own previous cool ideas! This list/discussion is by no means definitive, but just some of the loose ends/cool opportunities I would love to have seen explored, which will likely never now be, as Star Trek has essentially started again under JJ Abrams (not something I'm against mind).
Star Trek: The Original Series
TOS will largely not feature in this blog, as I really can't think of any great missed story opportunities suggested by other episodes. That's not to say there were not shit episodes, but off the top of my head I can't remember any examples like the ones to follow from other shows.
Star Trek: The Next Generation (and TNG era movies)
TNG did a good job at times with reliving interesting or unresolved ideas, Data's relationships with his brother, father and mother (and B4) were well explored, and generally well written. Even the Crystalline Entity made a repeat occurrence, rapping up it's story.The consequences of events in I, Borg are explored well in what was also the final Lore episode, Descent. The relationship between Troi and Riker, also well explored, and nice and gradually throughout the TV show and the movies, culminating in their marriage.
Some ideas however were never concluded or fully explored. Wesley Crusher for example. Specifically, what happened with him and the Traveler. When Wesley left the show as a regular, I am glad that he occasionally turned up, this made TNG feel much more like real life, and like a real universe, where people part ways, come together again etc. After all, his mother was still on the Enterprise so it only made sense that he would visit. But as for his fate? After the first occurrence of the Traveller we wanted to know when Wesley would start to become whatever it was he was to become, and we did see him begin his journey, in the ironically named "Journey's End." But what next? He pops up in a Star Fleet uniform at Troi and Riker's wedding in Nemesis. Don't get me wrong, great Easter egg to have him in there, but is he back in Star Fleet? (why would someone with his abilities bother) What's going on? Where is the Traveler?
This next one spills over into DS0 too. That is Kahless the (perhaps not so) Unforgettable. So he's a clone. So he's a figurehead emperor. He or at least his name pops up from time to time in DS9, clearly had no real power, but what happened? Did he attempt to rise up and get killed? Did he die of old age a Shadow of what his original was? Did Worf kill him? Cus he killed just about every other important Klingon.
Lets talk Spock. He magnificently poped up in "Unification" working on Romulus to unite the Romulans with with their ancient cousins the Vulcans. What happened next? We ran into the Romulans a fair few times, was Spock in jail? Were the Romulans and the Vulcans talking? Then we get to Nemisis. Something should have been explained here. Spock need not had been in the movie, but some mention of what what happening with the apparently growing reunification movement? Hopefully JJ will throw some light in this. If not, I believe the (arguably first canon) comic - Countdown does. Will purchase it if the movie is any good.
They did come back to Sarek in "Unification" and bring his story to an end, so that was cool. Always good to see Sarek, hopefully Ben Cross will do Mark Lenard justice
Last TNG example, Q! Picard will chart and explore the human mind or whatever he said to him at the end of "All Good Things..."! What happened to Picard in the future! Does he go Sisko style? What happens? Final TNG movie? I doubt it. Straight to DVD? Something!
Star Trek: Deep Space 9
I'm sure there are a great many more examples that this, but it's the one that annoys me the most. Props to DS9 for returning to Tom Riker, one of TNG's loose ends, and also for revisiting the Mirror Universe.
Section 31. Well explored actually, but I would have loved some closure. Possible with the closure of the section. I don't know.
Star Trek: Voyager
I'm sure there are examples, but it just wasn't that great a show. Which is a shame, cus I really like the characters in it. Just the stories were never that great, so there is nothing that really leaving me wishing I know more.
Star Trek: Enterprise
Similar to Voyager really, loved the characters, loved mush of the production design and that it was in wide screen, but not that great stories. Got much better in the fourth season though. Props for revisiting/showing origins of Section 31, and for showing the birth of the Federation in the last 2 parter (and I suppose the shitty shitty final episode - what a crap ending). The biggest loose end with Enterprise is the show itself, what happened to everyone?
Enterprise was just a problem, a prequel where many things just didn't tie in with the other shows, the like Borg episode. Why bother? I mean I can put up with canon violations to a point, the better the story, the larger the violation I can live with, but this episode really wasn't worth it. Also, why call the ship the fucking Enterprise? I mean i kind of get why, but it fucks with every observation room/recreation deck wall display from every other series. Call it something else. Also, they dropped "Star Trek" from the titles for the first couple of seasons to make it "cool," well everyone knows what the Enterprise is just as much! Call the show "Crazy Horse" and no one would have a fucking clue. Also would have been a cool Easter egg for TNGers.
Props though for revisiting the Eugenics wars, and the Klingons without bumpy heads in TOS issue (Worf's "we don't talk about it" explanation in DS9 really didn't cut it). Also props for Data's criminal ancestor, Mirror universe/Tholian Web tie in, and explaining why their Vulcans were so damn grumpy and scheming.
Speaking of Vulcans, why is it that Leonard Nimoy and Mark Lenard are really the only two people who can convincingly play Vulcans? Tim Russ and Ambassador from Enterprise weren't bad.
My 2 cents and most boring Blog yet.
Star Trek is awesome. I am a Trekkie though and though and have been as long into my childhood as I can remember. That said, no one can deny there are some shitty shitty episodes out there.
And this brings me to today's topic. I was thinking about all the cool future story lines alluded to in many episodes that were never picked up on. But I though far enough, the shows can't go on forever... but wait! What about all the shit episodes! What if instead of making them, they had picked up on some of their own previous cool ideas! This list/discussion is by no means definitive, but just some of the loose ends/cool opportunities I would love to have seen explored, which will likely never now be, as Star Trek has essentially started again under JJ Abrams (not something I'm against mind).
Star Trek: The Original Series
TOS will largely not feature in this blog, as I really can't think of any great missed story opportunities suggested by other episodes. That's not to say there were not shit episodes, but off the top of my head I can't remember any examples like the ones to follow from other shows.
Star Trek: The Next Generation (and TNG era movies)
TNG did a good job at times with reliving interesting or unresolved ideas, Data's relationships with his brother, father and mother (and B4) were well explored, and generally well written. Even the Crystalline Entity made a repeat occurrence, rapping up it's story.The consequences of events in I, Borg are explored well in what was also the final Lore episode, Descent. The relationship between Troi and Riker, also well explored, and nice and gradually throughout the TV show and the movies, culminating in their marriage.
Some ideas however were never concluded or fully explored. Wesley Crusher for example. Specifically, what happened with him and the Traveler. When Wesley left the show as a regular, I am glad that he occasionally turned up, this made TNG feel much more like real life, and like a real universe, where people part ways, come together again etc. After all, his mother was still on the Enterprise so it only made sense that he would visit. But as for his fate? After the first occurrence of the Traveller we wanted to know when Wesley would start to become whatever it was he was to become, and we did see him begin his journey, in the ironically named "Journey's End." But what next? He pops up in a Star Fleet uniform at Troi and Riker's wedding in Nemesis. Don't get me wrong, great Easter egg to have him in there, but is he back in Star Fleet? (why would someone with his abilities bother) What's going on? Where is the Traveler?
This next one spills over into DS0 too. That is Kahless the (perhaps not so) Unforgettable. So he's a clone. So he's a figurehead emperor. He or at least his name pops up from time to time in DS9, clearly had no real power, but what happened? Did he attempt to rise up and get killed? Did he die of old age a Shadow of what his original was? Did Worf kill him? Cus he killed just about every other important Klingon.
Lets talk Spock. He magnificently poped up in "Unification" working on Romulus to unite the Romulans with with their ancient cousins the Vulcans. What happened next? We ran into the Romulans a fair few times, was Spock in jail? Were the Romulans and the Vulcans talking? Then we get to Nemisis. Something should have been explained here. Spock need not had been in the movie, but some mention of what what happening with the apparently growing reunification movement? Hopefully JJ will throw some light in this. If not, I believe the (arguably first canon) comic - Countdown does. Will purchase it if the movie is any good.
They did come back to Sarek in "Unification" and bring his story to an end, so that was cool. Always good to see Sarek, hopefully Ben Cross will do Mark Lenard justice
Last TNG example, Q! Picard will chart and explore the human mind or whatever he said to him at the end of "All Good Things..."! What happened to Picard in the future! Does he go Sisko style? What happens? Final TNG movie? I doubt it. Straight to DVD? Something!
Star Trek: Deep Space 9
I'm sure there are a great many more examples that this, but it's the one that annoys me the most. Props to DS9 for returning to Tom Riker, one of TNG's loose ends, and also for revisiting the Mirror Universe.
Section 31. Well explored actually, but I would have loved some closure. Possible with the closure of the section. I don't know.
Star Trek: Voyager
I'm sure there are examples, but it just wasn't that great a show. Which is a shame, cus I really like the characters in it. Just the stories were never that great, so there is nothing that really leaving me wishing I know more.
Star Trek: Enterprise
Similar to Voyager really, loved the characters, loved mush of the production design and that it was in wide screen, but not that great stories. Got much better in the fourth season though. Props for revisiting/showing origins of Section 31, and for showing the birth of the Federation in the last 2 parter (and I suppose the shitty shitty final episode - what a crap ending). The biggest loose end with Enterprise is the show itself, what happened to everyone?
Enterprise was just a problem, a prequel where many things just didn't tie in with the other shows, the like Borg episode. Why bother? I mean I can put up with canon violations to a point, the better the story, the larger the violation I can live with, but this episode really wasn't worth it. Also, why call the ship the fucking Enterprise? I mean i kind of get why, but it fucks with every observation room/recreation deck wall display from every other series. Call it something else. Also, they dropped "Star Trek" from the titles for the first couple of seasons to make it "cool," well everyone knows what the Enterprise is just as much! Call the show "Crazy Horse" and no one would have a fucking clue. Also would have been a cool Easter egg for TNGers.
Props though for revisiting the Eugenics wars, and the Klingons without bumpy heads in TOS issue (Worf's "we don't talk about it" explanation in DS9 really didn't cut it). Also props for Data's criminal ancestor, Mirror universe/Tholian Web tie in, and explaining why their Vulcans were so damn grumpy and scheming.
Speaking of Vulcans, why is it that Leonard Nimoy and Mark Lenard are really the only two people who can convincingly play Vulcans? Tim Russ and Ambassador from Enterprise weren't bad.
My 2 cents and most boring Blog yet.
Thursday 23 April 2009
New Blog, Original Parts
What do you say when I say Vin Diesel? You say a big bald head and a car. And that's what Halletto and myself were treated to when we saw Fast and Furious, the fourth (Though chronologically third?) in the Fast and the Furious franchise.
Luckily they killed off the one who also got killed off from LOST in the first ten minutes, and Dizil and Walker go in search of her killer. Bad graphics? Check. Poor acting and dialogue? Check. Girl on girl action round every corner? Check. Fucking awesome then? Check. Nuff said.
Got The League of Extraordinary Gentleman Vol. 2 the other day, and what can you say? Alan Moore is the man. Introducing his "found" characters to the martian invasion from H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds. That and some big talking animals that look like Rupert the bear. Look out carefully and you can see two foxes ripping Peter Rabbit apart. Not quite as good as the first Vol. but still well worth a read. There's boobs in it too.
Waxed the car today.
Oh, forgot, saw Old Boy the other day. Fucked up Korean shit. If you haven't seen it and plan on seeing it, I hope you like incest. Was it as good as the hype? No. Still good, really liked the first half and the climax, but it was far longer than it needed to be - a curse affecting many movies these days. I blame The Lord of the Rings, which I have recently realised is not actually that good. Fucking Peter Jackson. Has anyone sat all the way though his piss poor remake of King Kong? There is no way that story can take up that amount of time. Half hour special is about all that story needs. Not that I'm dissing it - the basic story - but its no Beowulf. Not that anyone's done that properly yet either. When a sci-fi Christopher Lambert straight to DVD affair is a miles better version than a Hollywood tent pole you know you have cursed story. There's another one coming out this summer, called Outsider or Outlander or something, the one review I have read was positive, but I'm certainly not holding my breath.
Keep it Rizzil.
Luckily they killed off the one who also got killed off from LOST in the first ten minutes, and Dizil and Walker go in search of her killer. Bad graphics? Check. Poor acting and dialogue? Check. Girl on girl action round every corner? Check. Fucking awesome then? Check. Nuff said.
Got The League of Extraordinary Gentleman Vol. 2 the other day, and what can you say? Alan Moore is the man. Introducing his "found" characters to the martian invasion from H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds. That and some big talking animals that look like Rupert the bear. Look out carefully and you can see two foxes ripping Peter Rabbit apart. Not quite as good as the first Vol. but still well worth a read. There's boobs in it too.
Waxed the car today.
Oh, forgot, saw Old Boy the other day. Fucked up Korean shit. If you haven't seen it and plan on seeing it, I hope you like incest. Was it as good as the hype? No. Still good, really liked the first half and the climax, but it was far longer than it needed to be - a curse affecting many movies these days. I blame The Lord of the Rings, which I have recently realised is not actually that good. Fucking Peter Jackson. Has anyone sat all the way though his piss poor remake of King Kong? There is no way that story can take up that amount of time. Half hour special is about all that story needs. Not that I'm dissing it - the basic story - but its no Beowulf. Not that anyone's done that properly yet either. When a sci-fi Christopher Lambert straight to DVD affair is a miles better version than a Hollywood tent pole you know you have cursed story. There's another one coming out this summer, called Outsider or Outlander or something, the one review I have read was positive, but I'm certainly not holding my breath.
Keep it Rizzil.
Saturday 18 April 2009
Solving mysteries and killing hookers
In the last week, following my highly successful Birthday celebrations, I have finished the graphic novel From Hell, and read both Batman: The Killing Joke and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol. 1. All of these titles are by the master comic book author Alan Moore (I should branch out more, but as they say, once you go black...).
From Hell and The League have both been adapted into piss poor movies, and I'm glad I'd only seen a bit of one of them (From Hell), therefor not ruining the original material. The Killing was one of Tim Burton's inspirations for the first Batman movie, though there are no obvious parallels. I have to admit that I didn't find The Killing that amazing, often billed as the ultimate Batman/Joker story, which if true doesn't leave me wanting to read any of the others. I have in fact read that Moore himself finds his Batman story somewhat wanting, and who am I to argue with the master. In short, its not bad by any means, but its cliched, and lacks the depth of character that is so brilliant in much of Moore's other writings.
From Hell is epic. Literally, the book is fucking huge, and it's all in black and white. And it absolutely rocks. I'll admit it took me a while to get into, I was reading to sporadically, and not in big enough chunks, and because of the very realistic art style, I often had trouble differentiating between the numerous characters. This problem more or less disappeared for the second half of the book, which I read within a week. This is not a superhero comic, indeed it's not really a comic - except it is. It's a murder mystery without the mystery, its a study of both Victorian and present day western society, and its a study of humanity, with some Mason conspiracy thrown in for good measure. As good as Watchmen? Perhaps. So different its hard to compare.
And so lastly to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Pretty much every character in this piece is drawn from fiction that has entered the public domain, thus freeing them from the shackles of their expired copyright. (note: I am not necessarily against copyright laws, this was just a cool sentence.) Much more handleable that From Hell, and with a lot less (though still some) sex and swearing, written as if it were written at the turn of the century, the book is full of tongue in cheek sexism and racism, which in a wrong sort of a way adds to the books charm. The League is a rip-roaring adventure set in the olden days, kind of like Indiana Jones, except written by a genius instead of George Lucas. And its got Captain Nemo and the invisible man in it, so what more could you want? I have just ordered the second volume.
On another note, I was in Flares in Guildford the other day, and my God that place sucks. It is exactly the same as it was six or so years ago - the last time I was there, except it has lost all its kitche (sp?) value, and is now just pure lame. Almost empty by 11:30, and the staff do little dances every now and again. Really fucking dire. Having said that, I did have a great time!
From Hell and The League have both been adapted into piss poor movies, and I'm glad I'd only seen a bit of one of them (From Hell), therefor not ruining the original material. The Killing was one of Tim Burton's inspirations for the first Batman movie, though there are no obvious parallels. I have to admit that I didn't find The Killing that amazing, often billed as the ultimate Batman/Joker story, which if true doesn't leave me wanting to read any of the others. I have in fact read that Moore himself finds his Batman story somewhat wanting, and who am I to argue with the master. In short, its not bad by any means, but its cliched, and lacks the depth of character that is so brilliant in much of Moore's other writings.
From Hell is epic. Literally, the book is fucking huge, and it's all in black and white. And it absolutely rocks. I'll admit it took me a while to get into, I was reading to sporadically, and not in big enough chunks, and because of the very realistic art style, I often had trouble differentiating between the numerous characters. This problem more or less disappeared for the second half of the book, which I read within a week. This is not a superhero comic, indeed it's not really a comic - except it is. It's a murder mystery without the mystery, its a study of both Victorian and present day western society, and its a study of humanity, with some Mason conspiracy thrown in for good measure. As good as Watchmen? Perhaps. So different its hard to compare.
And so lastly to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Pretty much every character in this piece is drawn from fiction that has entered the public domain, thus freeing them from the shackles of their expired copyright. (note: I am not necessarily against copyright laws, this was just a cool sentence.) Much more handleable that From Hell, and with a lot less (though still some) sex and swearing, written as if it were written at the turn of the century, the book is full of tongue in cheek sexism and racism, which in a wrong sort of a way adds to the books charm. The League is a rip-roaring adventure set in the olden days, kind of like Indiana Jones, except written by a genius instead of George Lucas. And its got Captain Nemo and the invisible man in it, so what more could you want? I have just ordered the second volume.
On another note, I was in Flares in Guildford the other day, and my God that place sucks. It is exactly the same as it was six or so years ago - the last time I was there, except it has lost all its kitche (sp?) value, and is now just pure lame. Almost empty by 11:30, and the staff do little dances every now and again. Really fucking dire. Having said that, I did have a great time!
Tuesday 7 April 2009
If you're about to make a movie, and you think hey, lets make it CG just for the fuck of it, DON'T.
Well I know what you've all been asking: Phil, what has happened with all your creative endeavours? Your books, movies, TV shows, songs etc. Well it is true that I have been neglecting the book for a while, but did open the sucker up the other day, wrote a few paragraphs. Still like it, so it may yet be finished.
Movies and TV shows have been on the back burner for a bit, though there have been a couple of graphic novel ideas I have been playing with, ideas that I'd like to be movies, but the budgets would be huge. My newest idea would be pretty gory, so once (or if) I finish writing it and get round to drawing it, I’ll need lots of red.
Songs aren't doing too badly, been perfecting my four favourites, and working on a couple of others, lyrics pretty much done for three of the favourites. Getting there with some little solos too.
Got Beowulf from Love Film the other day, you know the one, nothing is real and it’s all made of computers with Angelina Jolie’s tits comped in.
I had high hopes for this film, as I am not averse to stylised live action, I'm a big fan of 300, though that was entirely live action as far as principle characters were concerned, just background and long shots done with computers, and then some extreme grading.
The problem when animation comes this close to real life is that instead of helping you forget that what you are watching is not real, and draw you in more than more traditional and abstract animation, it does the opposite. Sometimes it looks almost real, sometimes (especially the horses and when people are shouting) it looks very fake. This constantly pulls you out of the film, and is visually confusing. Why was this even made as animation? Why not live action with CG monsters? Oh, cus then Ray “the old fat fuck” Winston would have had to get is fat ass in the gym for some long long gruelling workouts. I it just me or can anyone else buy him as a mythical hero? I can’t get the his fat sunburnt torso from Sexy Beast out of my mind every time he opens his mouth.
The vocal performances also come across as confused. Is this a cartoon or not? The actors seems to be constantly unsure as to what vocal styles to use, so they decided (Angelina in particular) to use stupid voices instead. The animation also frequently fails to convince when people are talking, it doesn’t match the emotions or expressions of the dialogue.
While talking about the vocal performances it is annoying that every character seems to have a different regional accent from the British Iles. This is typical of movies, (LOTR, 300 etc.) where anything from the olden days/mystical and far away (from America) is British, and never consistent, hence Scots, Cockney’s and Irish are all supposed to be from the same town, in Denmark – in a time when people tended to be born, live, and die in the same place. Perhaps they watch too much TV. I know this seems like nit-picking, which I suppose it is, but imagine a movie set in 1800's New York where a character born and bread there has a tick Texan drawl? Wouldn't fucking happen would it.
I admit that had I seen this at a cinema in 3D I would likely have enjoyed it a great deal more, but on Blu-ray it is not satisfying, nay, it sucks ass.
Movies and TV shows have been on the back burner for a bit, though there have been a couple of graphic novel ideas I have been playing with, ideas that I'd like to be movies, but the budgets would be huge. My newest idea would be pretty gory, so once (or if) I finish writing it and get round to drawing it, I’ll need lots of red.
Songs aren't doing too badly, been perfecting my four favourites, and working on a couple of others, lyrics pretty much done for three of the favourites. Getting there with some little solos too.
Got Beowulf from Love Film the other day, you know the one, nothing is real and it’s all made of computers with Angelina Jolie’s tits comped in.
I had high hopes for this film, as I am not averse to stylised live action, I'm a big fan of 300, though that was entirely live action as far as principle characters were concerned, just background and long shots done with computers, and then some extreme grading.
The problem when animation comes this close to real life is that instead of helping you forget that what you are watching is not real, and draw you in more than more traditional and abstract animation, it does the opposite. Sometimes it looks almost real, sometimes (especially the horses and when people are shouting) it looks very fake. This constantly pulls you out of the film, and is visually confusing. Why was this even made as animation? Why not live action with CG monsters? Oh, cus then Ray “the old fat fuck” Winston would have had to get is fat ass in the gym for some long long gruelling workouts. I it just me or can anyone else buy him as a mythical hero? I can’t get the his fat sunburnt torso from Sexy Beast out of my mind every time he opens his mouth.
The vocal performances also come across as confused. Is this a cartoon or not? The actors seems to be constantly unsure as to what vocal styles to use, so they decided (Angelina in particular) to use stupid voices instead. The animation also frequently fails to convince when people are talking, it doesn’t match the emotions or expressions of the dialogue.
While talking about the vocal performances it is annoying that every character seems to have a different regional accent from the British Iles. This is typical of movies, (LOTR, 300 etc.) where anything from the olden days/mystical and far away (from America) is British, and never consistent, hence Scots, Cockney’s and Irish are all supposed to be from the same town, in Denmark – in a time when people tended to be born, live, and die in the same place. Perhaps they watch too much TV. I know this seems like nit-picking, which I suppose it is, but imagine a movie set in 1800's New York where a character born and bread there has a tick Texan drawl? Wouldn't fucking happen would it.
I admit that had I seen this at a cinema in 3D I would likely have enjoyed it a great deal more, but on Blu-ray it is not satisfying, nay, it sucks ass.
Thursday 2 April 2009
Film 2009 with Phil
That’s right, more film reviews. These are three movies I've watched in the last few days that I have never seen before - exciting I know. I'm going to watch 300 tonight, I've seen it before, but not in HD! (Thank you Love Film!) I won't bore you with my thoughts on it though. Yes I will. It rocks. Acting, not realistic, neither is the costume, sets, scrips or anything else, but its full of men (Scottish men to make matters better) with big muscles killing each other. Awesome. I won't defend it, but I certainly won't knock it.
3:10 to Yuma
It has to be said, the actors are what drew me to this movie, Christian Bale and Russel Crowe are two of my favorites. If I remember correctly this is a remake of some old western. And it's not a bad one. I'm not a big western fan, but I have seen a fair few as my dad is somewhat partial to the genre, being an old oil man that he is. Interestingly neither of the two leads (Bale and Crowe) are American, and their accents are not strong southern drawl, so you can actually understand what they are saying. The premise is simple, the bad dude has to be escorted to a train by the good (or goodish) dudes so he can stand trial in the city. Along the way stuff happens, and mutual respect is earned. There's nothing groundbreaking here, though the claim on the case that it is the best western since Unforgiven may be true, but that's not that difficult as there really haven't been any westerns made since Unforgiven. Fun, well enough made, but forgettable.
The Crying Game
When the DVD's for pocket lint thing started a while back. I Googled lists of the best British films, as I felt I needed to broaden my film tastes beyond Hollywood blockbusters. This came up so I got it, but never got round to watching it until now. The first twenty minutes are more or less what I had been expecting, having read the back of the DVD, not that that's a bad thing, they were a good twenty minutes. It's when the main dude goes to London that it got weird. He meets someone, someone about whom I was wondering whether or not something was the case and I was right, and it's sort of a love story, with a bit of Northern Ireland conflict politics thrown in. This is a good film, and a different film, and for its time no doubt a revolutionary film, and in many ways it still is. You have to be in the right mood to watch this, it is quite slow, and there is a lot of dialogue and character scenes, but if you are in the right mood, you Will enjoy it. It's also one of those films you enjoy more afterwards, and by that I mean it has a lasting effect on me, much like Good Night and Good Luck had, and the PBS documentary Ghosts of Rwanda.
National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets
This enjoyable tripe came free with the Blu-ray player, and its taken me a few months to get round to watching it, partially because my dad watched it and said it was terrible. I didn't think it was. Yes every aspect of the story and the premise is ludicrous, but accept that and its a perfectly acceptable popcorn movie. Indiana Jones is clearly the influence, possible the sole influence as all that is really missing here is a hat and a whip, though I suppose there is more of the problem/riddle solving going on here, and the plot is far more complicated. The one thing that really annoyed me about this was the bit in England. In the 60's American movies were full of bumbling posh English idiots saying things like "I haven't the foggiest," and in those days perhaps it can be forgiven, hell, maybe London was like that then, I wasn't there. But there is no excuse for the same nonsense in a film made and set in the 21st century. This part is made even more annoying by the fact the the American President in this movie is a poster perfect President, intelligent, handsome, charming, and understanding. American democracy = perfect, British system = bumbling. I'm not auguring with the latter half of that, the British system is far form perfect, but so is the American. Rant over. Fun film, exciting film, absolutely must suspend all sense of reality or good taste to enjoy at all film.
3:10 to Yuma
It has to be said, the actors are what drew me to this movie, Christian Bale and Russel Crowe are two of my favorites. If I remember correctly this is a remake of some old western. And it's not a bad one. I'm not a big western fan, but I have seen a fair few as my dad is somewhat partial to the genre, being an old oil man that he is. Interestingly neither of the two leads (Bale and Crowe) are American, and their accents are not strong southern drawl, so you can actually understand what they are saying. The premise is simple, the bad dude has to be escorted to a train by the good (or goodish) dudes so he can stand trial in the city. Along the way stuff happens, and mutual respect is earned. There's nothing groundbreaking here, though the claim on the case that it is the best western since Unforgiven may be true, but that's not that difficult as there really haven't been any westerns made since Unforgiven. Fun, well enough made, but forgettable.
The Crying Game
When the DVD's for pocket lint thing started a while back. I Googled lists of the best British films, as I felt I needed to broaden my film tastes beyond Hollywood blockbusters. This came up so I got it, but never got round to watching it until now. The first twenty minutes are more or less what I had been expecting, having read the back of the DVD, not that that's a bad thing, they were a good twenty minutes. It's when the main dude goes to London that it got weird. He meets someone, someone about whom I was wondering whether or not something was the case and I was right, and it's sort of a love story, with a bit of Northern Ireland conflict politics thrown in. This is a good film, and a different film, and for its time no doubt a revolutionary film, and in many ways it still is. You have to be in the right mood to watch this, it is quite slow, and there is a lot of dialogue and character scenes, but if you are in the right mood, you Will enjoy it. It's also one of those films you enjoy more afterwards, and by that I mean it has a lasting effect on me, much like Good Night and Good Luck had, and the PBS documentary Ghosts of Rwanda.
National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets
This enjoyable tripe came free with the Blu-ray player, and its taken me a few months to get round to watching it, partially because my dad watched it and said it was terrible. I didn't think it was. Yes every aspect of the story and the premise is ludicrous, but accept that and its a perfectly acceptable popcorn movie. Indiana Jones is clearly the influence, possible the sole influence as all that is really missing here is a hat and a whip, though I suppose there is more of the problem/riddle solving going on here, and the plot is far more complicated. The one thing that really annoyed me about this was the bit in England. In the 60's American movies were full of bumbling posh English idiots saying things like "I haven't the foggiest," and in those days perhaps it can be forgiven, hell, maybe London was like that then, I wasn't there. But there is no excuse for the same nonsense in a film made and set in the 21st century. This part is made even more annoying by the fact the the American President in this movie is a poster perfect President, intelligent, handsome, charming, and understanding. American democracy = perfect, British system = bumbling. I'm not auguring with the latter half of that, the British system is far form perfect, but so is the American. Rant over. Fun film, exciting film, absolutely must suspend all sense of reality or good taste to enjoy at all film.
Shits and GIGgles
So Sunday night was the Metallica gig at the O2, and guess who did NOT have tickets? Me. Cus stupid Ticketmaster doesn't like my one and only monies card for some reason, and before I could sort it out, they were gone. Apparently it was awesome. Which is good because I would hate for my favorite band to have sucked, but it's crap because i wasn't there. Oh well, lets hope the Internet lets me get tickets for Sonisphere, so I won't miss the THIRD Metallica gig in a row.
However, all was not entirely bad, as I did attend another sold out gig that night. The Stone Gods, or half of The Darkness - the half without Justin. I don't have their album and have never seen them before, but booked it after a: not getting 'Tallica tickets and needing calming, b: hearing them on the radio and enjoying their Myspace tracks, and c: it was only £14.
And they absolutely rocked. Support band the Black Spiders was OK too, missed the first support. A small place, the 100 Club in London, very close to the band, I enjoyed every second of it. The crowd was very into it, they could have been a little moshier, but then the band aren't that heavy. Though talking of heavy, they covered Metallica's Whiplash, which made my night, a little taste of 'Tallica. They also covered Little Bit of Ohh or whatever it's called by Girls Aloud, which was interesting and brave. Kind of like when Mike Patton did Britney's Oops I Did it Again.
I tried to buy their album for the merch table, but stupidly they didn't have it. You'd think you'd stock it wouldn't you. Shitty smelly T-shirt that doesn't fit properly and is not lovely and soft? No thank you. Hat? Ummmm no. I know, on Vinyl. Tempting, but too pricey and i can't put it on me computer. Some support act merchandise? No I'm here to see the fucking Stone Gods. The single? The single?! Seriously? Who the fuck buys a CD single in this day and age. Who the fuck ever bought them for that matter? They were a complete rip off - you could get the album for a few quid more. Oh well, will have to try and buy it soon, as they impressed me very much. A little lighter rock than my usual liking, but awesome nonetheless.
However, all was not entirely bad, as I did attend another sold out gig that night. The Stone Gods, or half of The Darkness - the half without Justin. I don't have their album and have never seen them before, but booked it after a: not getting 'Tallica tickets and needing calming, b: hearing them on the radio and enjoying their Myspace tracks, and c: it was only £14.
And they absolutely rocked. Support band the Black Spiders was OK too, missed the first support. A small place, the 100 Club in London, very close to the band, I enjoyed every second of it. The crowd was very into it, they could have been a little moshier, but then the band aren't that heavy. Though talking of heavy, they covered Metallica's Whiplash, which made my night, a little taste of 'Tallica. They also covered Little Bit of Ohh or whatever it's called by Girls Aloud, which was interesting and brave. Kind of like when Mike Patton did Britney's Oops I Did it Again.
I tried to buy their album for the merch table, but stupidly they didn't have it. You'd think you'd stock it wouldn't you. Shitty smelly T-shirt that doesn't fit properly and is not lovely and soft? No thank you. Hat? Ummmm no. I know, on Vinyl. Tempting, but too pricey and i can't put it on me computer. Some support act merchandise? No I'm here to see the fucking Stone Gods. The single? The single?! Seriously? Who the fuck buys a CD single in this day and age. Who the fuck ever bought them for that matter? They were a complete rip off - you could get the album for a few quid more. Oh well, will have to try and buy it soon, as they impressed me very much. A little lighter rock than my usual liking, but awesome nonetheless.
Wednesday 18 March 2009
St. Patrick's, Bruce Lee, and the Saxon Side Bend??
St. Patrick's Day yesterday!! And being a Scott, that is of course a very important day. Well perhaps not, but as good an excuse as any. The girls wanted Irish drinks, but the Landlord got a little touchy, pointing out that we were in an ENGLISH pub (despite the live Irish band and all the green stuff everywhere), "The Olde Windsor Castle" he humourlessly reminded us. My observation that the Windsor's were German was not well received. Though the Irish bar man agreed with me. Anyway, good times were had by all.
Today I watched Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon on Blu-ray. It arrived from Love Film yesterday. Our first delivery - not really one of the ones we were hoping for, but I'm actually quite happy now. Made a refreshing change from the norm. An island full of martial arts students standing in grids punching the air. No wonder Lee and his American friend managed to whoop all their asses at one time. Useless. As were all the other bad-guys. The black Afro dude was an awesome fighter, then suddenly when the big boss fights him, he has to become shit because the script says he looses. Same with Bruce Lee. He was fighting so much better until he was up against Edward Scissor hand.
The underground layer was very old school James Bond meets Star Trek, caves with cement walls and studio floors, mysterious water tanks, henchmen in matching jump-suits. Still, it was awesome. All the terrible dubbing, shoddy sets, dodgy acting, and below par martial arts cannot change that. All we need now is a remake starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. No not really.
With the weather having been so brilliant today i didn't go to the gym (shock horror). I couldn't bare to be locked up inside when the sun was so bright. I tried to work on my Graphic Novel idea, and I got some stuff down, but am still at the skeleton phase when it comes to the story.
As I skipped the gym, in the evening I retired to my attic room to get the blood moving. I was determined to try some new exercises, the execution of which I am not particularly versed in, so wouldn't want to look a fool trying out in public. Stuck on the old Micky J DVD, some quality music videos there. Not normally a music video fan - bands miming, house parties etc, but Michael's often have a cool story like a movie, especially the extended versions on the DVD. Beat It is a particular favourite of mine. The video fits the music and the lyrics, the dance is Incorporated into the story and the fight, and there are some proper characters going on there. The full 18 minute Martian Scorsese directed Bad video is quite nicely done too - especially the first 5 minutes. Westley Snipes is in it too.
But back to the work-out.
First up, the Turkish Get-up. Normally performed with a Kettlebell, but do-able with a dumbbell. I have discovered I did it a little wrong, not bad. It's a weird one, you start lying on the floor with the bell extended above you, then you get up, and then lie down again.
Then the Bent Press. Start with the dumbbell or barbell or kettlebell (I used a barbell) in one hand at your shoulder, then get under it while straightening your arm, then stand up straight. Another odd one, but I liked it.
Then I gave the Saxon Side Bends a spin. Quite hard. Hold dumbbells above your head, and bend from side to side -sounds easy, but a good oblique burn.
Suitcase dead lifts next, with a barbell, then finished off with some leg raises and a quick go on the punching bag. All in all a good and different work-out. Must do more weird ones like that.
Today I watched Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon on Blu-ray. It arrived from Love Film yesterday. Our first delivery - not really one of the ones we were hoping for, but I'm actually quite happy now. Made a refreshing change from the norm. An island full of martial arts students standing in grids punching the air. No wonder Lee and his American friend managed to whoop all their asses at one time. Useless. As were all the other bad-guys. The black Afro dude was an awesome fighter, then suddenly when the big boss fights him, he has to become shit because the script says he looses. Same with Bruce Lee. He was fighting so much better until he was up against Edward Scissor hand.
The underground layer was very old school James Bond meets Star Trek, caves with cement walls and studio floors, mysterious water tanks, henchmen in matching jump-suits. Still, it was awesome. All the terrible dubbing, shoddy sets, dodgy acting, and below par martial arts cannot change that. All we need now is a remake starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. No not really.
With the weather having been so brilliant today i didn't go to the gym (shock horror). I couldn't bare to be locked up inside when the sun was so bright. I tried to work on my Graphic Novel idea, and I got some stuff down, but am still at the skeleton phase when it comes to the story.
As I skipped the gym, in the evening I retired to my attic room to get the blood moving. I was determined to try some new exercises, the execution of which I am not particularly versed in, so wouldn't want to look a fool trying out in public. Stuck on the old Micky J DVD, some quality music videos there. Not normally a music video fan - bands miming, house parties etc, but Michael's often have a cool story like a movie, especially the extended versions on the DVD. Beat It is a particular favourite of mine. The video fits the music and the lyrics, the dance is Incorporated into the story and the fight, and there are some proper characters going on there. The full 18 minute Martian Scorsese directed Bad video is quite nicely done too - especially the first 5 minutes. Westley Snipes is in it too.
But back to the work-out.
First up, the Turkish Get-up. Normally performed with a Kettlebell, but do-able with a dumbbell. I have discovered I did it a little wrong, not bad. It's a weird one, you start lying on the floor with the bell extended above you, then you get up, and then lie down again.
Then the Bent Press. Start with the dumbbell or barbell or kettlebell (I used a barbell) in one hand at your shoulder, then get under it while straightening your arm, then stand up straight. Another odd one, but I liked it.
Then I gave the Saxon Side Bends a spin. Quite hard. Hold dumbbells above your head, and bend from side to side -sounds easy, but a good oblique burn.
Suitcase dead lifts next, with a barbell, then finished off with some leg raises and a quick go on the punching bag. All in all a good and different work-out. Must do more weird ones like that.
Saturday 21 February 2009
Blog: The Motion Picture
Whats up Blogees?? This week has been a busy one. On Sunday there was the pub quiz, which we lost again, and then on Monday it was off to London to see Dave. I cooked us up some lovely turkey burgers and potato wedges, and Dave took care of the veg. We then settled down with some chockie bikkies to watch Flashbacks of a Fool, a little film staring Bond himself, Daniel Craig. It was not bad at all, a bit completely depressing, but there were some boobs so not all was bad. And some Daniel Craig bum to keep Dave happy.
On Tuesday I bought us into the best gym around and we pumped iron for nearly two hours. Totally gay, and totally awesome. Talking of gay, in the gym Dave had an admirer. This dude literally followed him around the whole time. Dave loved it. He's such a cock-tease. Just tell them you're straight and let them get on with their workouts. Later in the tube he had another gentleman admirer, this one had a nice little cap. I don't know how he does it.
Then we went to an art thing, then for dinner at Giraffe on the South Bank, Then the BFI IMAX to see The Dark Knight (awesome) then back to bed. More details of these adventures (the movie and such, not the bed) in my fist ever video-blog, available for viewing now at the following address:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIaMbkDE9Qw
Thursday night was Katherine's Birthday, another pizza (also good), some drinking and ice play down good old Weatherspoons, where I was to be spotted again on Friday!!
On Tuesday I bought us into the best gym around and we pumped iron for nearly two hours. Totally gay, and totally awesome. Talking of gay, in the gym Dave had an admirer. This dude literally followed him around the whole time. Dave loved it. He's such a cock-tease. Just tell them you're straight and let them get on with their workouts. Later in the tube he had another gentleman admirer, this one had a nice little cap. I don't know how he does it.
Then we went to an art thing, then for dinner at Giraffe on the South Bank, Then the BFI IMAX to see The Dark Knight (awesome) then back to bed. More details of these adventures (the movie and such, not the bed) in my fist ever video-blog, available for viewing now at the following address:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIaMbkDE9Qw
Thursday night was Katherine's Birthday, another pizza (also good), some drinking and ice play down good old Weatherspoons, where I was to be spotted again on Friday!!
Sunday 15 February 2009
With apologies to...
Well, blog number 3, and I've already missed a day. Before I begin with news of the last couple of days, some apologies.
Firstly to Dave, sorry for calling you a miserable cock with a lighting hang-up. Really you are a cool dude. Secondly to David, he wished me to point out that after I beat him by one point, he came back to destroy me 14-0. Also, apologies again to David, for apparently having a miserable and depressing blog. I'll try harder to fill it with cheer from now on. AND, apologies again to David, for ditching on him last night.
Valentines Day yesterday, so I went to an "anti-valentines" gathering (not a party, as I was promised) at Kaiya's. I can't spell her name, and neither can this spell checker. She changes old people's nappies now, and Hazel works everywhere. Emma awoke to a rose and flowers at the door, only to hilariously discover that they were not from her boyfriend Rob, and I found out that Sam Rotham (sp?) from school, who I haven't seen since I was 17, has a 5 year old girl!! We watched some Boosh series 3, which isn't as good as 1 and 2, but still quite a fine show there sir. Everyone loves Vince, and I do too, but I'm also quite partial to the yin to Vince's yang, Howard Moon - writer, poet, man of the wilderness, Arctic explorer, jazz musician, zoo-keeper, shop keeper, bin-man, boxer, actor etc. Howard rocks, as does Tony Harrison.
The day before, that being Friday, I went to the pub with David, Shona and Heather. Dave(id) and I considered the option of "going nuclear," while Heather and Shona giggled, whispered, cuddled and poked. Not sure why, but that's what they do. Missed Jonathon Ross - gutted. It was the Bell this time, continuing our tour of local drinking establishments, which has now taken us to the Windsor, the Anchor, and the Bell. Not exactly a comprehensive tour I know, but we try. No we don't.
So far today the parents and myself have played in a scale model/sand-pit of the garden, trying to decide what it would look like. Raisin Splits boxes (Sainsbury's own - purple box) are the flower beds, and cardboard in paving. Pity the sand isn't green (for grass) but you can't have everything. The cool part is that we are going to hire a digger, and that will be awesome. Phil McPherson - JCB Operator.
Oh, and you'll all be glad to know that I got some more lyrics written for (working titles again) Good Times and Groove #1, and have probably got the riff I needed for Bendy Immigrants. Didn't go for a harmony in the end (complicated aren't they), but a sort of blues style double-stop and bend ascending pattern. In other words, I wrote a lick, then just repeated it going up the neck because I couldn't think of anything else, but that doesn't sound as technical or as impressive.
Toodles.
Firstly to Dave, sorry for calling you a miserable cock with a lighting hang-up. Really you are a cool dude. Secondly to David, he wished me to point out that after I beat him by one point, he came back to destroy me 14-0. Also, apologies again to David, for apparently having a miserable and depressing blog. I'll try harder to fill it with cheer from now on. AND, apologies again to David, for ditching on him last night.
Valentines Day yesterday, so I went to an "anti-valentines" gathering (not a party, as I was promised) at Kaiya's. I can't spell her name, and neither can this spell checker. She changes old people's nappies now, and Hazel works everywhere. Emma awoke to a rose and flowers at the door, only to hilariously discover that they were not from her boyfriend Rob, and I found out that Sam Rotham (sp?) from school, who I haven't seen since I was 17, has a 5 year old girl!! We watched some Boosh series 3, which isn't as good as 1 and 2, but still quite a fine show there sir. Everyone loves Vince, and I do too, but I'm also quite partial to the yin to Vince's yang, Howard Moon - writer, poet, man of the wilderness, Arctic explorer, jazz musician, zoo-keeper, shop keeper, bin-man, boxer, actor etc. Howard rocks, as does Tony Harrison.
The day before, that being Friday, I went to the pub with David, Shona and Heather. Dave(id) and I considered the option of "going nuclear," while Heather and Shona giggled, whispered, cuddled and poked. Not sure why, but that's what they do. Missed Jonathon Ross - gutted. It was the Bell this time, continuing our tour of local drinking establishments, which has now taken us to the Windsor, the Anchor, and the Bell. Not exactly a comprehensive tour I know, but we try. No we don't.
So far today the parents and myself have played in a scale model/sand-pit of the garden, trying to decide what it would look like. Raisin Splits boxes (Sainsbury's own - purple box) are the flower beds, and cardboard in paving. Pity the sand isn't green (for grass) but you can't have everything. The cool part is that we are going to hire a digger, and that will be awesome. Phil McPherson - JCB Operator.
Oh, and you'll all be glad to know that I got some more lyrics written for (working titles again) Good Times and Groove #1, and have probably got the riff I needed for Bendy Immigrants. Didn't go for a harmony in the end (complicated aren't they), but a sort of blues style double-stop and bend ascending pattern. In other words, I wrote a lick, then just repeated it going up the neck because I couldn't think of anything else, but that doesn't sound as technical or as impressive.
Toodles.
Friday 13 February 2009
The plan slowly falls...
Well, one of us involved in the planed London trip, and it isn't Chris, doesn't fancy Bodyworks. It will be badly lit apparently. Cock. He doesn't have any ideas himself, just doesn't like ours. Maybe we'll go without him. Also, my hopes that someone would join me in going to the Stone Gods concert (The Darkness spin-off) have been dashed, so I'll be rockin' out alone, again. Ordered my ticket yesterday, £13.50 - reasonable, after all the crap from Ticketmaster, £20. Can you believe it? The last gig i went to was the Sex Pistols in November '07. I never go to gigs anymore, partially because the are expensive, but also because I'm getting bored of going alone. Matt used to go with me sometimes, but as discussed in the last entry, I seldom see him. I might go to Hot Leg (the other half of The Darkness) too, but may not. Don't know why I've got all this sudden interest in what The Darkness did next, I was never really that into them. Christmas Time (Don't let the bells end) was an absolute classic though. One day I hope to write a Christmas hit.
Squash last night, I managed to win one game, by one point, but it went downhill after that. I developed a stomach ache, and got a bit bloated. Chili for supper. Still, was good, I am very slowly improving I think, I'm even going to buy a racket. After squash there was the possibility of the pub, but that didn't materialise. That was OK though, as it gave me the chance to catch up on the latest episode of Lost, as well as the "gay" episode of the fan film series, Star Trek Phase II (formally New Voyages). It was good, not as good as the previous episode though, World Enough, and Time. The problem with the show, and strangely for a low budget non-profit fan production, is that the production values are actually much better than the majority of the acting.
Today's plans include the gym (hamstrings, calves, cardio and core today - an unusual combination I know, it's like the leftovers from the rest of the week), some guitar playing (a couple of my songs could really do with some lyrics, Good Times, NWOBHM and Bendy Immigrants (working titles) in particular. Bendy Immigrants also needs a single note melody section of some sort, perhaps a harmony), and the book I'm writing needs some work. I'm trying to write at least 1000 words a day, which isn't much but for me its a realistic target I normally meet. Recently I have started jumping around a lot as a write, not literally - that would be silly, but writing a chapter from this section, then one that will eventually come eight chapters later. Hopefully it won't get too disjointed, as I have a novel plan, a basic timeline that I slot the chapters I write into.
The inside (and outside for that matter) of the car also needs washed, but it's cold so I wouldn't be surprised if that never happens. Talking (writing) of the weather, it snowed a bit last night, even started to settle, but then it stopped. I was so disappointed, even though I knew it would be so, as the weather told me. Bit windy today. It's rubbish, because I really like the great outside, but in this cold weather its just miserable, the only benefit is that I don't have to wear sun cream. I can't remember where to put the ' in it's, so sorry if it's (there we go) in the wrong place. I think it's only when it's short for "it is", but it could be the other way round. Anyway, winter is crap. I'm so looking forward to summer, not that I did anything much last summer, when to Croatia which was nice, but the summer before I did stuff. Get my shorts on and hit the beach, that's what I want to do, and play tennis in the midday sun - foolish, but something really awesome about it. The sun, not being thrashed by my sister.
Well, hopefully some sort of social event will materialise for the weekend, got work tomorrow so at least that'll be some money.
Later.
Squash last night, I managed to win one game, by one point, but it went downhill after that. I developed a stomach ache, and got a bit bloated. Chili for supper. Still, was good, I am very slowly improving I think, I'm even going to buy a racket. After squash there was the possibility of the pub, but that didn't materialise. That was OK though, as it gave me the chance to catch up on the latest episode of Lost, as well as the "gay" episode of the fan film series, Star Trek Phase II (formally New Voyages). It was good, not as good as the previous episode though, World Enough, and Time. The problem with the show, and strangely for a low budget non-profit fan production, is that the production values are actually much better than the majority of the acting.
Today's plans include the gym (hamstrings, calves, cardio and core today - an unusual combination I know, it's like the leftovers from the rest of the week), some guitar playing (a couple of my songs could really do with some lyrics, Good Times, NWOBHM and Bendy Immigrants (working titles) in particular. Bendy Immigrants also needs a single note melody section of some sort, perhaps a harmony), and the book I'm writing needs some work. I'm trying to write at least 1000 words a day, which isn't much but for me its a realistic target I normally meet. Recently I have started jumping around a lot as a write, not literally - that would be silly, but writing a chapter from this section, then one that will eventually come eight chapters later. Hopefully it won't get too disjointed, as I have a novel plan, a basic timeline that I slot the chapters I write into.
The inside (and outside for that matter) of the car also needs washed, but it's cold so I wouldn't be surprised if that never happens. Talking (writing) of the weather, it snowed a bit last night, even started to settle, but then it stopped. I was so disappointed, even though I knew it would be so, as the weather told me. Bit windy today. It's rubbish, because I really like the great outside, but in this cold weather its just miserable, the only benefit is that I don't have to wear sun cream. I can't remember where to put the ' in it's, so sorry if it's (there we go) in the wrong place. I think it's only when it's short for "it is", but it could be the other way round. Anyway, winter is crap. I'm so looking forward to summer, not that I did anything much last summer, when to Croatia which was nice, but the summer before I did stuff. Get my shorts on and hit the beach, that's what I want to do, and play tennis in the midday sun - foolish, but something really awesome about it. The sun, not being thrashed by my sister.
Well, hopefully some sort of social event will materialise for the weekend, got work tomorrow so at least that'll be some money.
Later.
Thursday 12 February 2009
Blog the first
Currently, I'm trying to galvanise my friends into actually doing something. The boys that is, the girls are far more willing to socialise. Granted we all live in different places now, but you'd think two months would be enough notice to get something good organised. Nooooo. So, out of a possible seven or eight, the Big Weekend (27th and 28th February) has three confirmed, and one possible. This number includes me. Useless bums.
We're thinking of going to Body Works at the O2, see all the cut up people and such, and Chris has talked us into going to see some band that a friend of his is in. I haven't bothered checking out their myspace, as if they are shit I won't be looking forward to going. Only £6 anyway. Then he wants us to go to some politics things. I wouldn't mind that, but not sure about Dave, so we'll see.
In other social new, Dave and I are off to see the Dark Knight in the IMAX, as it has been re released. That's this coming Tuesday, so quite excited about that. I haven't been to an IMAX for years and years, and then it was just some nature film.
Lastly in the category of upcoming events, thinking of going to The Stone Gods in London, but I think I'll be alone for that one, as my only friend with any real rock credentials is away at uni doing his final projects etc. and when he is around he is under the tight thumb of the woman.
Later today I'm playing squash with Dave (another Dave, we'll call him David), he beats me all the time. Granted I've only played five times now, but the last was with dad, who is not a bad player, so hopefully I'll do a bit of ass-whoopin' myself today. David has some of the rules wrong anyway.
Weekly squash dates. What an adult. Squash of all sports. A dad's sport. I like it though. Really I'd like to be getting good at tennis, but can't really do that in the winter if you can't afford to join a club with indoor courts, but hopefully the squash will help.
Off to the gym soon, with along with Rock n Roll is my true passion. My gym's full of oldies though, but hey, better than nothing.
Later.
We're thinking of going to Body Works at the O2, see all the cut up people and such, and Chris has talked us into going to see some band that a friend of his is in. I haven't bothered checking out their myspace, as if they are shit I won't be looking forward to going. Only £6 anyway. Then he wants us to go to some politics things. I wouldn't mind that, but not sure about Dave, so we'll see.
In other social new, Dave and I are off to see the Dark Knight in the IMAX, as it has been re released. That's this coming Tuesday, so quite excited about that. I haven't been to an IMAX for years and years, and then it was just some nature film.
Lastly in the category of upcoming events, thinking of going to The Stone Gods in London, but I think I'll be alone for that one, as my only friend with any real rock credentials is away at uni doing his final projects etc. and when he is around he is under the tight thumb of the woman.
Later today I'm playing squash with Dave (another Dave, we'll call him David), he beats me all the time. Granted I've only played five times now, but the last was with dad, who is not a bad player, so hopefully I'll do a bit of ass-whoopin' myself today. David has some of the rules wrong anyway.
Weekly squash dates. What an adult. Squash of all sports. A dad's sport. I like it though. Really I'd like to be getting good at tennis, but can't really do that in the winter if you can't afford to join a club with indoor courts, but hopefully the squash will help.
Off to the gym soon, with along with Rock n Roll is my true passion. My gym's full of oldies though, but hey, better than nothing.
Later.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)