X-Men 3 – The Last Stand

Finally went to see it last night. Hmm, now, was it worth it?

X3 (Sorry, can’t be arsed with the long title any more) is OK. It’s better than a lot of ropy stuff out there, but equally it’s not a patch on X-Men 1 or 2. Directed by Brett Ratner, instead of the first two’s Bryan Singer, you can see the difference in style, and Ratner’s “Action” preference. The back story just isn’t there, and there’re some bits that just seem to hang there with no relevance to anything else.

Overall, it’s OK – it’s just not as good as 1 and 2. Which is a pity – I suspect that if Singer had stayed at the helm, and not chosen to rehash direct Superman Returns, X-3 would’ve been a far better film.

It’s still worth seeing (if you liked the first two, anyway) but a steady suspension of disbelief/logic is most definitely retired. Otherwise you’ll find yourself asking things like “So what was the point of the guy with wings?” and “Only six? Out of the entire school? Pfft” (which manage to ask the questions without chuffing the plot – helpful, aren’t I?)

Another Bullshit Night In Suck City

It’s not often I’m impressed enough by a book to write stuff about it, but somehow “Another Bullshit Night in Suck City” by Nick Flynn managed it.

Obviously, of course, it was the title that first dragged my eye towards it in the library. I got it really on the basis of that, not knowing what to expect, knowing only that the title was a phrase used by the author’s father, describing another night of being homeless in Boston. It’s not the kind of book I normally read, but once I got started on it, I couldn’t stop.

It’s the story of Nick Flynn’s father, who disappeared when the author was very young. They didn’t meet again ’til Nick was in his mid-20s, and his father ended up staying at the homeless hostel where Nick worked. The book is about both men, and the story of Johnathon, and what had happened to him over the years. It’s incredibly sad in some places, detailing the breakdown and alcoholism of Flynn senior, while also being a pretty honest portrayal of Flynn junior’s life, and the similarities and differences between them.

It’s a fantastic book, and well worth the effort. Hell, it’s only £4 on Amazon at the moment – give it a go.

Dara O’Briain, Concert Hall, Reading

I’ve been a fairly long-term fan of Dara O’Briain since seeing him host Have I Got News For You, being on QI, and also the set he did on Jack Dee at the Apollo. So when I saw he was doing a UK tour, and playing at Reading’s Concert Hall, I got the tickets pretty quickly.

So quickly, in fact, that we were on the second row of the audience. Which would’ve been great, except that we arrived ten minutes after he’d started. Oh bugger. So yes, the next ten minutes or so involved Yours Truly being quizzed by Yer Man. Thankfully I’m not the kind of person who curls up and dies under interrogation, so I was OK – but all the same, it’s kind of weird, being pointed out and having a conversation with the star of the evening. Bloody funny, though.

And yes, he really was the star of the evening. It’s nice to see a comedian interacting with the audience, finding out stuff about people there, and then using that in the show, rather than just going through a scripted exercise which, while still funny, still loses something in comparison to the way this one was done.

So, so many subjects were covered, including (in no particular order) Air Traffic Control, the champion cow-milker, Wensleydale cows, Bracknell car-thieves (admittedly one of my own contributions), religion, marriage, Fosters, rugby, and many many others.

If you get a chance, go and see the tour. Yer man’s feckin’ awesome.