Dr Jones Dr Jones, calling Dr Jones…. June 11, 2008

There is a lot of talk going around with very split opinions on this movie so I thought I should provide my thoughts.

Now, I do really enjoy Indiana Jones – but I just need to clear up that I am not a huge fan. I hate temple of doom (scares me too much) but Raiders is an iconic movie. Last Crusade edged towards a little too silly for me, but still enjoyed it. So I approached this movie with a lot of hope but not the huge expectations that appear to have been placed on it by many other people.

The story was a pretty formulaic one (chasing a relic… bumps into evil foreigners… go to random country to find temple/cave etc) but was added to by the extra layer provided by Mutt (Shia Le Beouf – i love you…) and Ms Ravenwood (Karen Allen). This gave some of the scenes an extra dimension, and Mutt was thankfully made to be more that just ‘the annoying sidekick’ character that most action movies have. The script was occassionally quite weak, but there were a few good laughs and enough emotional strength to keep things going.

There was a lot of CGI, with not all of it working very well -  the monkey thing was stupid.

The ending is pretty much where people are split and I lean towards the negative. The last 15 minutes let down what had been an enjoyable movie and overstepped the line of believability. Shame, as before then I felt they’d made a decent film.

I did enjoy the movie – I will definitely get it on DVD… it just might not be the essential viewing that I had anticipated.

Finally, why on earth cast John Hurt in your movie then not have him speak a word???? Why?

James Bond – because he’s worth it May 26, 2008

I would just like to take the opportunity to say that the Loreal advert, starring – the once credible actor – Pierce Brosnan, is possibly the worst TV advert ever made in the history of the world.

And I thought he’d done his worst in ‘Die Another Day’. I was wrong.

Thank you.

Quite Ingenious May 22, 2008

So, ladies and gentlemen, let me just settle something here and now. QI one of the best shows BBC have ever produced.

It is. End of discussion.

I don’t know if there is any other show that is as consistently clever, funny and wonderfully interesting everytime. It has been described as ’simply a Stephen Fry vehicle’, and even if that is true I have no problems with that since I adore the man. Alan Davies must wonder what his agent did to land him this gig and the show is made even more special by the constant talent that fills the seats of the other panel spaces. There have been some incredibly brilliant moments and I was delighted to discover that the Wikipedia site has EVERY episode listed with all questions, facts and diversions documented.

QI also appears to be a YouTube favourite, with almost all the episodes online, and plenty of ‘best of’ montages. Below I have included a clip we were treated to in the ‘deleted scenes and bloopers’ epsode last year. It is, in my mind, one of the funniest moments on TV. Poor old Stephen Fry. Do you know any other show where a moment like this could happen?

You know, they say of the acropolis where the Parthenon is…

Pushing Daisies May 11, 2008

The premise for this show suggests that it belongs in a Tim Burton movie, with grey tones and Helena Bonham Carter. But that is not the case. Instead, it’s an imaginative, colourful and vibrant TV show that I have fallen in love with.

Basically, Ned has the ability to bring dead things back to life with just one touch. The snatch is this – once he touches them (or it… it works for fruit and plants too) again, they are dead… this time permanently. And then there is the one minute rule… keep an undead person alive for more than a minute and another person dies… permanently.

Using his powers to solve murders (by asking the victims who killed them, obviously) Ned comes across the corpse of his childhood sweetheart, Chuck (a woman) and finds himself keeping her alive. This of course now causes one slight problem… he can never touch her, or she’ll die.

I gave this show 2 episodes to convince me, and now I am hooked. We are 5 shows in and every episode manages to be different in it’s own quirky way and doesn’t lean too heavily on the gimmick of its premise. There is a large amount of unbelievability to it, but the show seems to assume you will happily go along with it, and carries on anyway.

It’s little things as well that help create the charm – like when Ned (a piemaker… able to keep all the ingredients fresh!) eats one of his own pies, and of course the fruit turns rotten in his mouth. And the ways in which Chuck and Ned find to express their feelings towards each other without any physical contact are suprisingly romantic.

Please check it out and let me know what you think!

I’m a sci-fi geek and I’m ok…. April 28, 2008

So, Empire online’s recent blog entry is ‘How you know you’ve become a Sci-Fi geek’. Already knowing the outcome I am proud to announce my score of around 40 (the scoring system was a little bit loose…) which labels me as ‘in too deep’. I think this was clear as I was able to:

• admit to using the term ’shiny’ more than once
• understand the terms ‘BSG’ ‘DS9′ and ‘Seven of Nine’.
• finish lyrics to the Buffy musical (oh the shame…)
• admit to owning merchandise of certain sci-fi shows.

And many more things that simply hammer in the fact that I have been sci-fi’d.

To be fair, I had no choice. Both my parents are Trekkies. Want proof? Come and see the files of Star Trek magazines (in protective plastic cases) on our book case (though no touching, obv) and see the autograph of Tuvok the Vulcan which they qued 2 hours outside a comic store for. So you see, it was pretty much a certainty that I would waste my days in front of the TV following the adventures of various alien creatures and armies.

I am I sci-fi geek. And in honour of this confession I am going to mention some of my top fave shows of all time.

Farscape

Sci-fi meets the muppets? Seriously? Jim Henson’s studio was responsible for a large majority of the characters of this show, which revolved around John Crichton, an astronaut who bounced off the earth’s atmosphere and found himself in space (as you do…). Anywho, this show was piled with dry wit and stunning monsters. Not to mention the chemistry between John and Aeryn. It was visually stunning and didn’t take itself too seriously either.

The scariest one was when the evil man (who seemed to wear a thong over his face…) started taking John’s brain apart and just left him on the table… urgh. Still makes me shudder.

Andromeda

From the guy that created Star Trek came a more offbeat and quirky show. Dylan Hunt (after whom our dog is named – are you getting a good picture of my family?) is commander of the Andromeda Ascendent which served under the commonwealth. However, upon realizing they have been suspended in a black hole for 300 years, things are a little different…

This show really did rock. Kevin Sorbo (a.k.a Hercules) was an awesome sci-fi hero and his crew were pure entertainment. For the men, you had Andromeda, the projected personality of the ship (who conveniently wore tight clothing and was stunning) and then there was everyman Seamus, gladiator-wannabe Tyr and finally creator of sexual tension Beka. Loved it.

Firefly

Please watch this show. If you never watch anything else, watch this. Don’t watch the movie – it’s nowhere near as good. Joss Whedon, having packed up Buffy, thought ‘Hey, what now?’. The product of that thought was a sci-fi/western/gun-slinging/witty show that got treated like crap by the TV network. As a result, this is now one of the best selling TV show DVDs of all time.

Captain Mal Reynolds takes on two new passengers on his smuggling ship – a Shepherd (priest) and Simon, a Dr. Little does he know that the doctor comes with a 2-for-1 deal: his sister. Simon freed River from the labs of the Alliance, and now they’re on their tail.

This show is awesome. I can’t praise it enough. The script is sharp (as expected from Whedon) and the cast have a blast performing it. The story lines are strong and mix between episode length situations to series spanning stories, with a pretty good finish.

Please please please watch it.

Buffy

Do I really need to go into detail? This show accompanied my teenage years and I loved it. Went a bit wobbly towards the end, but surely the Series’ with Angel were the best going?

A Town Called Eureka

No one knows this show. If you do, please tell me. I’d love to chat to someone about it. Basically, a sheriff ends up working in a town where the American government sends all it’s genius’. What follows is crazy gadget chaos and many mysteries. Still have to see Season 2, but the first one was awesome (and came in groovy recyclable DVD case…)

Stargate

In my opinion, the most superior of all on this list. I am in love with Daniel Jackson (geek chic) and I have yet to watch an episode I haven’t enjoyed. Favourite? Possibly when Jack gets turned into a 15 year old. The young guy pulls off the scariest Richard Dean Anderson impression ever and made it 60 minutes of pure hilarity.

Finally, two things. Heroes is not on this list, because although I enjoyed it, it’s not good enough to be on this list. Secondly, I have not yet watched Battlestar Galacticar. I’m sure if I had it would be on this list.

How to look good naked? Apparently selling out has something to do with it…. April 13, 2008

Channel 4 is all about self esteem – it seems. Shows are now filling up time slots that, in some way, are to help us feel better about ourselves: be that on the inside or the outside.

How To Look Good Naked is (or has been) a brilliant show – mainly resting on the shoulders of Gok Wan. He not only steals the show but appears to be as genuine as you would hope. Unlike with Trinny and Susanna, the girls aren’t pulled apart about their dress sense, nor subjected to multiple-mirror torture.

However…

The new series started this week and I sat down with my chocolate and drink to enjoy. What I found however, was that a show which promised so much about self esteem had turned to the dark side.

Dramatics aside, my feel-good show appears to have sold itself to the pressure of fashion, beauty products and having the word ‘naked’ in the title. There must be no more than 2 minutes in the show without a pair of breasts appearing. The testing of products on the market has returned, only this time they include products ‘from our friends at (insert famous brand) who have given us a taste of their new product ….’. Shocking.

These are all very small things, but overall an hours programme has become only 20 minutes maximum of it’s original purpose – to make one woman feel good about herself. There is less focus on the way she feels about her body and a lot more time given to the shopping for the perfect outfit. Apparently looking good naked requires a few hundred pounds spent in Oxford Street.

Shame on you Channel 4!

27 Dresses – yes, another movie review April 2, 2008

I love Orange Wednesdays. It costs me more to park my car than it does to go to the cinema. Awesomeness.

So, I have just returned from my first rom-com of the year: 27 Dresses. The basic premise is a woman, who has been bridesmaid 27 times, finds herself planning the wedding between her sister and the man she is in love with. (Hello – have these people seen The Wedding Planner? How many times can that scenario be written about??? Does it really happen that often?) Cue awkwardness, emotional turmoil and lots of envy. Add in the gorgeous James Marsden as some sort of stalker man/wedding columnist and you have a RomCom.

Now, I laughed a lot.

However, I saw the ending coming after 10 minutes and I have a few issues with the general story. Firstly, the lead character, Jane, is a complete cow! My goodness, she is.  She has major stalking/possessive issues regarding her boss, and she treats James Marsden (he’s so pretty!) like poo. Poor man. And yet, for some reason, he still follows her around loads – oh and they have sex in his car. Nice. Obviously the way to a man’s heart is to kick him around, dismiss his past relationship issues and pine over your sister’s fiance. Secondly, how does she afford to sort out all these weddings as a PA?? And, an amazing NY apartment? Finally, she does something that is absolutely atrocious towards the end to some people, which is dismissed pretty quickly and James Marsden congratulates her?!?! Why? How?

Anywho, that’s my rant over. This film does contain perhaps one of the best movie sing-along scenes ever (I laughed hard) and the song is now blaring out of my computer on repeat.

Overall, I’m glad I only paid half price for the ticket. I’m not sure it was worth more than £3. It’s hard to love a movie when you hate the lead character.

Let’s take it to the streets, yo March 26, 2008

I have just returned from Step Up 2: The Streets, sequel to the surprise hit from two years ago.

Basically, this is a dance movie. The dancing makes it, and at least 1/3 of the film is dancing. So, if you don’t like dancing, don’t go see this movie.

However, surrounding the awesome routines (to a brilliant soundtrack) was a pretty decent story -if totally predictable- but with some real laugh out loud moments that had the (packed) cinema chuckling away, and good characters. Robert Hoffman (awesome dancer and choreographer… check him out on YouTube) stands out as the strongest actor (and it helps he is completely adorable) whilst the lead girl does enough to carry the character through to the end.

I very much enjoyed it, and it is in my opinion superior to the first one. The dancing really is awesome, with some proper breath taking moments. The ending could have been much stronger and while a routine in the rain is a cool concept, it’s not always great if you can’t see the actual dancing all the time. Anywho, was very good and I shall be buying the soundtrack a.s.a.p and convincing myself that I have some moves…

It just isn’t cricket… March 14, 2008

So, I love cricket.

I may at some point try and explain this to you all in the form of a post, but until then you will just have to deal with it.

I was absolutely thrilled to discover this sketch on youtube and thought I’d share it.

Does this reflect your view of the beautiful game?

Cricket… in Yorkshire? Don’t talk soft….

Book February 21, 2008

So Tom tagged me with this book meme, and I’m very grateful that I was sat near the featured book as opposed to my Dad’s Star Trek novel I had been close to whilst sat downstairs.

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five other people.

The three sentences are:

‘Muggles are pulling the flush and instead of everything disappearing – well, you can imagine. The poor things keep calling those – pumbles, I think they’re called – you know, the ones who mend pipes and things.’

‘Plumbers?’

‘Exactly, yes, but of course they’re flummoxed.’

 

This is from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth in the series. Mr Weasley and Harry are in the Ministry of Magic, and Harry is being enlightened about the danger of Regurgitating Toilets.

OOTP was, in my opinion, the beginning of the downfall of HP. It’s where JK swapped plot and humour for secrets and tying up loose ends. Arthur Weasley is one of my favourite characters – well, generally the entire Weasley family are.

I realised that the final Harry Potter book did not make itself onto my list of top moments last year. I think this is mostly due to being a painful experience as I shut myself in my room for two days to ensure the ending was not ruined. However, finally a huge part of my childhood came to a close and I could breathe knowing how things finished.

I will not tag anyone, but should if your reading this do take up the challenge!