TV stuff
Posted: Thu 3 March, 2005 Filed under: General, Reviews(ish) 3 Comments »No, TV as in Television, not as in Transvestism. Honest.
I’ve found Jamie’s School Dinners on Channel 4 really quite interesting so far. I like seeing someone with a passion for what they believe in trying to pass on that passion to others, and much as I loathe the lithping mockney twat, it’s obvious that he’s been shocked by what schoolchildren are being fed. It’s hard to imagine feeding kids on a budget of 37p per head for their entire lunch, and you can see why the lowest common denominator is what’s preferred. But Oliver’s attempts to improve the school diet make for interesting viewing, and it’s certainly thought-provoking. Particularly when you start thinking “Is that what I want to happen to my kids?”.
As for “Desperate Housewives, what can I say, I love it. OK, it’s not perfect, but there’s a decent slice of very black humour going through it – something that American dramas suddenly seem to be understanding far better. Six Feet Under, Sopranos, and several others have certainly raised the bar on this, and they’re getting better at it all the time. Housewives manages to combine funny bits with the dark side, and is acutely observed. I just find myself wondering whether they’ll sort it all out over the next six weeks, or whether everything will bleed over into Season 2. I suspect it will…
CatWoman
Posted: Mon 28 February, 2005 Filed under: News, Reviews(ish) 3 Comments »I see in today’s news that Halle Berry turned up in person to accept her award for “Worst Actress” for her role in “CatWoman. All I can say is she deserves it. Oh, and to be buried in pigshit for a year, just to enforce in her head what happens when you immerse yourself in crap.
By a ‘lucky’ chance, Herself had listed Twatwoman from Lovefilm, and we got it this week. God knows why it’d been requested, but it had. And oh my dear sweet Lord, what a pile of inordinate shite it is. If I were the inventor of celluloid, I’d be spinning in my grave right now, knowing that my product had led to this.
The director, Pitof, has a pretty good track-record – he’s a disciple of one of my favourite directors, Jean-Pierre Jeunet. But God he can churn out the shite when he needs to. Visually, Twatwoman is kind of impressive – it’s got a nice feel to it in places, and some very stylistic shots. But I’ve seen MFI products less shaky than the story line, and the acting was so wooden it would’ve fitted in nicely on Eldorado.
Truly, truly awful – don’t let it anywhere near your TV.
Flavourings – Coke and Lime
Posted: Fri 25 February, 2005 Filed under: General, Reviews(ish) 3 Comments »As most people are already aware, Coke have been messing about with “Coke + flavouring” over the last couple of years. First came Vanilla, which is putrid (except with Vodka in it, but that’s perhaps missing the point slightly), then came Lemon, which most people associated with drinking Windolene.
With a lot less fanfare though comes Diet Coke with Lime. Sounds vile? (And yes, I know Pepsi are doing a Twisted Pepsi Max with Lemon and Lime.) Well, I wanted to try it, because on occasion I used to be known to put a dollop of lime cordial into normal coke, and it tasted pretty good. I’ve no idea where I got the idea from, but well, it tasted OK.
So, Diet Coke with Lime. Could be interesting. And I have to say, it’s really not bad. It might be on a limited-area trial at the moment, as the Coca-cola UK site doesn’t even mention it yet, but I’d say it’s definitely worth looking out for.
Meet The Fockers
Posted: Mon 14 February, 2005 Filed under: Reviews(ish) Leave a comment »Hmmm, what is there to say about this? The sequel to 2000’s Meet the Parents, and as with many sequels it’s not really as good as the first one.
Still funny in places, but really more of a one-trick pony, with various sidelines really quite sadly underused, or just completely undeveloped. Dustin Hoffmann and Barbara Streisand were on top form as the Fockers, but still very underused.
Overall, while it’s an OK way to spend a couple of hours, I’d probably advise waiting for the DVD release. It’s probably got a load of extras on it, too.
Blade:Trinity
Posted: Fri 17 December, 2004 Filed under: Reviews(ish) 2 Comments »OK, first things first, it’s confession time. I like Blade. Sad, but true. I even think Blade 2 was OK(ish). So seeing Blade:Trinity was a bit of a foregone conclusion despite some less-than-positive reviews.
But what is it with Hollywood and trilogies? Matrix was superb, Matrix:Revolutions was *cough* less so and Matrix:Reloaded was fucking horrendous. It’s much the same with Blade. Dear Christ I hope they’re not planning on making a fourth one.
It’s hard to define where it all goes wrong. I suppose “the start” would be a good definition. And it doesn’t get any better. There’s just too much that’s wrong – and even worse, it all feels horrendously disjointed. It’s a revenant, a zombie lurching from place to place with no real connection to any of it.
Avoid, avoid at all costs. It pains me to say this, but Blade:Trinity is nothing but undiluted shit.
The Incredibles
Posted: Mon 13 December, 2004 Filed under: Reviews(ish) Leave a comment »I confess, I’ve always been a fan of Pixar‘s films (although I draw the line at “Finding Nemo”, which I still think is a hunk of crap, but that’s my perspective on it, rather down to the film itself) so going to see the Incredibles was always a case of “when” rather than “if”. And last night turned out to be the “when”.
I lost count of how many “superhero” movies the Incredibles features. The speeding bus from “Speed”, the slow character build-up of “Spiderman” and “Hulk”, The ‘group of heroes’ thing from X-Men etc., and many other far subtler ones. Interestingly, the film has a much maturer aspect than their other works, this one really isn’t that much of a kids film, in the way the Nemo and Monsters Inc. were. It’s not “adult” humour, but it demands a more adult outlook- understanding the frustrations of Mr and Mrs Incredible, forced into being “everyday” people, using their secret identities as their only identities, and put in everyday jobs.
The entire film is beautifully done – as with Monsters Inc, it will stand up to repeated viewings – even in scenes you get familiar with, it’s all too easy to simply look at the detail the animators put into everything. For example, the water in Incredibles is simply stunning, as are the fabrics, and the way they move and flow just like the real thing.
Technically superb, Pixar’s films always seem to be firmly based in the storyline – these films aren’t a series of setpieces about “look how great we are at animating”, instead they follow the full story curve, and their work has always been more of a film than a cartoon.
Incredibles is a step up for Pixar, and well worth seeing (
and probably buying the DVD) several times. Now, when’s their next one “Cars” due out – that looks fantastic too!
Retrospective
Posted: Thu 9 December, 2004 Filed under: Festering Season, Reviews(ish) Leave a comment »Pixeldiva wrote about the way her life has changed this year. I’m really pleased that things are working out for her, and congratulations again on the new job!
In many ways, my year has been very similar. Ups, downs, highs, lows, and a curve that looks like a moonshot.
Looking back in the archives to the start of this year, I was at a low ebb then. The previous year had worn me down, and I was hoping that 2004 would be a lot calmer. Come to that, I was also planning on spending the next Festering Season™ somewhere other than the UK. So, got both of those wrong then!
In the last year there’s been whole worlds of change. In February I was surprised by one person (who I never really wrote about, except in some very roundabout ways) and let down by another. (another thing I never really wrote all that much about) Over the summer I ended up being even more surprised by another person, and things changed immensely.
The person who let me down had continued to do so, and it ended up with us going seperate ways. It’s not easy walking away from a decade-long friendship, but on this occasion it had to be done – and I still don’t regret it. Sometimes it’s odd, thinking “Oh, I must tell them that”, but no, there’s no regret and no doubt. Everything took time, because I didn’t want to end with a “what if?” moment – and that’s worked, there’s not been a “what if?” thought at all. Does he read d4d™? I have no idea. I don’t honestly care that much – but I suspect he doesn’t, it’d be far too much like showing interest.
And now we’re at the end of the year. I’m moving back down to the South, and new job, new house, new(ish) relationship, and spending Christmas in Norfolk. In all honesty it couldn’t be much further away from any situation I’d envisioned for where I’d be at the end of the year. Huge leaps (one might even say quantum leaps) have been made, and I’ve changed immeasurably over the last twelve months. 2005 is going to involve more of the same, but a lot of it will be developing things that’ve started up this year.
This time last year I hadn’t even printed a photo – now my stuff is on walls in a few houses. I’ve done photo work I’ve been paid for, and also submitted (and been rejected) stuff for an exhibition. I’m going to keep on with it, and see how I do once I’ve moved, though.
Tomorrow I interview for new jobs, and all I can do at the moment on that score is “wait and see”. I’m trying to find a balance between optimism and pessimism. And failing.
I’ve no idea what 2005 will bring – if this year has taught me one thing, it’s that sometimes everything is out of our hands, and we just have to ride the waves it throws our way.