Welcome 2007, Year of the Sequel (of a Sequel?)
Friday, January 05, 2007

Oceans 13, Shrek 3, Rush Hour 3, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Bourne Ultimatum, Harry Potter X, Spider-man 3, Evan Almighty, Fantastic Four 2, Hills Have Eyes II, Hostel 2, Die Hard 4, White Noise 2, Young Hannibal. Oh well, at least we can all rely on Michael Bay's Transformers movie to be a steaming pile of crap that isn't a sequel.

Labels: Movie

Recent Video, Audio and Image Posts
Video - Juno, I have lost my fangs
Video - What I have been watching lately
Images - Californication
Video - Haloid and Dead Fantasy
Video - Heroes
Video - How to do a press conference badly

My Top Films of 2006
Friday, December 29, 2006

Here's my top 10 list as best as I can remember. All of these films had 2006 UK release dates, some may have come out in 2005 in the states.

1. The Squid and the Whale
2. The Departed
3. Manderlay
4. Children of Men
5. Brick
6. Capote
7. Marie Antoinette
8. The Prestige
9. Superman Returns
10. Pan's Labyrinth

I'm sure a glaring omission will appear to me as soon as I post this. I am ashamed to say I have not yet seen Little Miss Sunshine or Borat.

Labels: Movie

Veronica Mars, a PSP, a Pirate and some Robots
Thursday, July 20, 2006

Wow it's a hot July day here in Bristol, England. Chances are today will be the hottest July day we have seen for thirty years or so. I have just completed my previously postponed phone interview (which went well) and cut the garden's grass. It's now time to chill out at the PC with a cold beer; time to write something for this blog!

Let's see, I have a few topics to discuss. Firstly my Veronica Mars Season 1 DVD box set arrived in the post, hoorah. I decided to import it from America rather than wait for a toned down featureless region 2 release ("America, America…" – Styx are singing, as if it's some sort of holy land). Well it arrived today, via Germany. My dilemma came in the fact that the DVDs are region 1, NTSC; generally incompatible with all region 2 DVD players, such is my understanding. Well I decided to test them out, planning to rip some region free backups to use with my PC. Upon PC insertion the DVD loaded and played, no region blocking problems. That's odd, so I tried it on the region 2 PAL but NTSC compatible DVD player downstairs, this also worked beautifully. The final and most important test, does it play on the overly secure *will not play copied DVDs* Playstation 2. And yes it did, admittedly it failed on picture quality because it is not NTSC compatible but overall my experiments were a success. So is this Veronica Mars box set meant to be region free? Did they kindly realize that a LOT of Europeans will be importing this after downloading it on the internet? Is it a perfect looking pirate copy? I think and hope not. Such revelations make me a happier boy.

Lot number 2 is a Sony Playstation Portable (PSP). Joystiq is running an article on the PSP and how the DS is seriously killing it. It seems there are no solid PSP titles I really want, potentials yes, but nothing solid. And I hate playing the ones I do have, mainly because I get so impatient waiting for them to load (e.g. GTA, Burnout). The one game I do play and often is Pro Evolution Soccer 2005. The PSP has the potential to be brilliant but Sony has stifled it. These days I only use my PSP for watching movies and TV episodes on the train. Long ago are the days I dreamt of owning a PSP so I could play GTA on the move anywhere anytime, play Sonic 2 emulated on the bus, listen to radio streams using the WiFi on campus et al. Yes I can do all of these things but it takes so long to start them up it's just not worth it, most of the time I can't be bothered. A quick 5 minute game turns into 2 minutes of waiting and then it's pointless. I'd rather read my book or listen to my iPod.

Some complaints of mine:

1. VERY few games support online play! What's the point in Bomberman PSP if it won't play online? I only know one other person with a PSP so the chances of me playing its brilliantly sublime multiplayer are slim.

2. Where are the simple fun games? I want to play Crash Bandicoot on the move (not a shit racer), I want a new 2D sonic game (not a shit 3D racing one), where are the original titles? What's with all the shit racing games?

3. Why does the screen stay on when playing Music!? (Seriously that's just dumb... and they make the album art tiny also). Why can't I play my music during my games? Custom soundtracks are not a new thing - the games that do support them don't even allow mp3s... you have to rip them from your owned CDs. The headphones that Sony provide you with are also shit.

4. Open up some sort of development APIs so that we can use the PSP with the applications we want! Why all this Gestapo crap when it comes to firmware security? What's the big deal? Tighten UMD security and open up the firmware a little for us. Provide some sort of official line which developers can take to provide their own legit PSP applications, for free.

5. The screen is so reflective and shiny I can never see anything on it, even on the highest brightness setting. Only when in the dark does playing become comfortable. When speeding along in a train on a sunny day all I can see is the reflection of my green T-shirt.

Maybe downloadable PS1 games will be its redeemer, yet I am sure they will be coupled with crazy load times. I'd give anything for a cheap opportunity to play FFVII on the move… but I'm sure I will be let down once more. Maybe I should purchase a DS Lite. My main gripe with the DS was its ugliness, size, inability to play videos and the touch screen stylus; thusly I bought a PSP. However the Lite has addressed many of these issues and now I find myself envying those that have the new Mario, Mario Kart, Sonic DS and all the other great and fun portable games which do not suffer appalling load times. PSP = Potential, that is all. Rant Over.

Lot number 3 concerns Hollywood action movies. ("Woo" – Devin Townsend's Idom roars). Two fantastical disappointments I have watched in the past few days. "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the ill fated poorly thought out over the top sequel" and "I, Robot". Admittedly it is impossible for Depp and co. to live up to the phenomenal amount of hype surrounding this inevitable blockbuster but this sequel just doesn't cut it as a good movie, yet alone a great one. The plot is messy; the scenes attempt to court a slapstick aura with witty dialogue in a fantastical action packed supernatural pirate world, a la the original. But it fails, at least in my opinion. The stories are uninteresting; Jack Sparrow is criminally underused; there is no sense of voyage – we can go from a to b just like this which in essence defies the point (it's very much all over the place); the great musician yet underappreciated genius of anthem producer extraordinaire Klaus Badelt has been sacrificed for the big name orchestral star Hans Zimmer. Admittedly Hans is great in most of his films but he really didn't suit the Pirates subject, he pillaged the original theme and overly orchestrated the entire movie to generate some sort of pseudo-epic. I doubt the third film will be a threat to the original either, though of course, it will make millions.

Alex Proyas' "I,Robot" is a tiny little gold nugget surrounded by multiple layers of crap. The gold nugget lies in the miniature philosophical elements that make up the film, clearly lifted from the novel, these tidbits are brilliant though of course should not be accredited to the filmmakers. Two films run side by side in I, Robot. The well thought out, philosophical and interesting world of Asimov and the poorly conceived, dreary computer graphics fest that is Proyas' vision. It's almost as if the film alternated between scenes from a butchered Asimov script and scenes from an unbelievable Proyas action plot; at times you can almost see the physical divide between the two conflicting thought processes. Like oil and water; oil is power and action, water is refreshing and invigorating, upon mixing you yield an unmixable mess that is no use to anyone. The only redeeming feature for I, Robot is Will Smith who somehow makes the film a watch-able and enjoyable experience. He makes Proyas' mess look good, I loved him, he was great – without Smith this would just be one giant waste of time.

Now all I have to watch is Superman Returns!
Over and out.

Labels: Gaming, Movie, TV

Independent Boom Boom
Sunday, March 12, 2006

Brought to you from the recesses of the underground, aight.

Labels: Movie

Harry Potter is such a cool guy
Saturday, November 26, 2005

Labels: Movie

Japanese Import Amelie Poster
Friday, October 21, 2005

My new japanese Amelie poster is really awesome :)

Labels: Movie

Ron English, Marilyn Monroe and Mickey Mouse
Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Ron English presents "Popaganda"

Labels: Movie

The unbearable lightness of being
Friday, March 25, 2005

Title: The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Director: Philip Kaufman
Review: A magnificent and epic tale of love, being in love and how to stay in love. Set in Prague during the era of the Soviet invasion, this tale puts an innocent and quirky young woman with a charming sex activist and sees them through freedom, marriage, invasion, abandonment and Russian dictatorship; always longing to change, to be happy and loved alone. Really an amazing movie with fine acting from all involved, particularly Juliette Binoche who is so beautiful and Daniel Day-Lewis who carries an air about himself. 8/10 and a must see.

I and my neighbor have been randomly picking out movies from my collection and watching them. It's odd that this film should echo a phrase I heard only once before a few days prior thanks to the Shining album: "In the kingdom of kitsch you will be a monster". When the film finished I decided to read up about this phrase to find it's origins. Surprisingly neither google or answers.com had any information about the particular phrase, but I did find some interesting information about the word "kitsch". Quoting wikipedia:

"Kitsch is a term that has been used to categorize art that is considered an inferior copy of an existing style. The term is also used more loosely in referring to any art that it is pretentious or in bad taste, and also commercially produced items that are considered trite or crass.

Because the word was brought into use as a response to a large amount of art in the 19th century where the aesthetic of art work was confused with a sense of exaggerated sentimentality or melodrama, kitsch most closely associated with art that is sentimental, mawkish, or maudlin; however, it can be used to refer to any type of art which is deficient for similar reasons whether it tries to appear sentimental, cool, glamorous, theatrical, or creative, kitsch is said to be a gesture imitative of the superficial appearances of art. It is often said that kitsch relies on merely repeating convention and formula, lacking the sense of creativity and originality displayed in genuine art."

It also mentioned that the world of pop culture is essentially entirely "kitsch", all commercially produced music, movies and art falling under this category. My interpretation of the original phrase "In the kingdom of Kitsch you will be a monster" is that the kingdom is essentially pop culture or pretentious art and the object of the phrase appears 'monster' like to those who live within the Kitsch realms. i.e. To someone that enjoys the simplified "kitsch-art", true art would seem like a disastrous horrible montrosity. Much like trying to introduce a fan of Will Smith to the poignant work of foreign language indie cinema. Also; "The term "kitsch" was selected in June 2004 by a British translation company as one of the ten English words that are hardest to translate.". My new favourite word.

Labels: Movie

Sin City, aka "Pure Sex"
Friday, March 11, 2005

April 1st, 2005. First things first, read the Sin City books by Frank Miller. Appreciate the style of such a tale, the gritty black and white drawings, the highlights and images in monotone. See how perfect everything looks. Now compare this to scenes from the trailer and Comicon trailer, see how perfectly they compliment each other, see how perfectly the comic portrayals are brought to life. Now, look at who is producing and directing - firstly Frank Miller, the soul behind the whole thing is directing along side Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. At this point I am thinking, "this will be awesome". NOW look at the cast list:

Jessica Alba .... Nancy Callahan
Rosario Dawson .... Gail
Elijah Wood .... Kevin
Bruce Willis .... John Hartigan
Benicio Del Toro .... Jack Rafferty
Carla Gugino .... Lucille
Josh Hartnett .... The Salesman
Michael Madsen .... Bob
Jaime King .... Goldie/Wendy
Brittany Murphy .... Shellie
Clive Owen .... Dwight
Mickey Rourke .... Marv

Nick Stahl .... Junior/Yellow Bastard
Now, on top of this each of these A-list actors looks exactly like the character they play, it's uncanny. If you've read the comics you'll know that Elijah Wood as the psychotic Kevin is an absolutely PERFECT casting. I need to see this film.

Labels: Movie

Record US box office high in 2004 (article)
Tuesday, January 04, 2005

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Film | Record US box office high in 2004: "Record US box office high in 2004

Ticket sales at the US box office reached a record high in 2004, although the actual number of moviegoers fell for a second year in a row.
Movies took $9.4bn (£4.9bn) at the domestic box office last year, compared to $9.2bn (£4.8bn) in 2003. The record high was attributed to increased ticket price, with attendance falling 1.7% to 1.51 billion. Shrek 2 was 2004's highest grossing film in the US, taking $436m (£229m), tracker Exhibitor Relations reported. Late boost

Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ and the Michael Moore documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 were unexpected box office successes in 2004, taking $370m (£194m) and $119m (£62.5m) respectively in the US.
Revenue for the year was falling behind 2003 in the final weeks of 2004, but comedy sequel Meet the Fockers boosted takings with total ticket sales of $162.5m (£85.3m) in the last fortnight of the year.
The average US ticket price was $6.22 (£3.26) last year, compared to $6.03 (£3.16) in 2003. Analysts said the two-year decline was no cause for alarm because 2002 was an anomaly with hit films such as the first Spider-Man movie and My Big Fat Greek Wedding. That year also included the latest instalments in the Star Wars, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings series.
'This is a great year,' said Exhibitor Relations president Paul Dergarabedian.
'We saw such massive increases in revenue and attendance in 2001 and 2002, there is just no way we're going to see increases sustained at that rate.'
Among films expected to perform well in US cinemas this year are Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and Batman Begins starring Christian Bale.
King Kong, directed by Lord of the Rings film-maker Peter Jackson, and and Steven Spielberg's version of The War of the Worlds are also expected to prove popular."

Labels: External, Movie

Dogville
Friday, December 24, 2004

This is officially one of the most moving, thought provoking and powerful productions I have ever seen. This film not only delves into the human soul, our thought methodologies and reasoning but it is also a metaphorical and political message to America. This is a most intellectual movie if ever I have seen one - it's poignant words leaving myself as if ending a novel. It's unique setting and style allows us to focus on the characters and the characters only. I grudgingly loved this 'epic', it was beautiful and heart breaking. Perfect acting, direction and writing make Dogville a must see for anyone with a conscience.

10/10.
IMDB

Labels: Movie

TRAILER - Sin City
Tuesday, December 21, 2004

Moviefone: Sin City
The first official trailer for the upcoming Sin City adaptation. This looks so perfect. Just look at the cast list:

Jessica Alba .... Nancy Callahan
Rosario Dawson .... Gail
Elijah Wood .... Kevin
Maria Bello .... Ava Lord
Bruce Willis .... John Hartigan
Benicio Del Toro .... Jack Rafferty
Michael Clarke Duncan .... Manute
Carla Gugino .... Lucille
Josh Hartnett .... The Salesman
Michael Madsen .... Bob
Jaime King .... Goldie/Wendy
Brittany Murphy .... Shellie
Clive Owen .... Dwight
Mickey Rourke .... Marv
Nick Stahl .... Junior/Yellow Bastard

IMDB

Labels: Movie

JOURNAL - The Incredibles and Operation Dumbo Drop
Sunday, November 28, 2004

Yesterday I spent some time reworking this website to incorporate blogger. I am so far happy with the results. There are a few little nick pick things to sort out, but overall things are good. During the time that I wasn't site designing, I watched two films, "The Incredibles" and "Operation Dumbo Drop".

Operation Dumbo Drop was on ITV1, it was basically a Vietnam story telling of how a small group of five had to transport an elephant across Vietnam without getting killed, ending with them and the elephant parachuting out of a cargo plane. It's a Disney film and was based on a true story. I laughed at the jokes and enjoyed the film starring Danny Glover and Ray Liotta. I'd recommend it as one of those random films you catch on TV that turn out to be quite entertaining. (Recently also seen "An American Werewolf in London" and "Holiday for Love" which were similarly good).

I went to see The Incredibles at the cinema. I loved it. It was brilliant in every way. The jokes were original, they didn't rely on pop culture for their laughs and they didn't setup a sequel (despite the opportunities). The storyline wasn't from a Disney formula either (as with Finding Nemo). My faith in Pixar has been firmly restored and I look forward to their ventures without Disney. Without spoiling anything, I'd like to mention a couple of scenes I particularly enjoyed: 1. The kitchen family argument scene. 2. The flying choppers after Dash scene.

Labels: Life, Movie