Well it's that time of year where i slink away to a secluded spot near Derby to meet some of the coolest people I know (besides you lot of course) to drink, make merry and play some quality games. I'm talking old school games - board games, card games, role-playing. We even dress up on the Saturday night to do a proper murder mystery type thing. Talking of which, I volunteered to co-write it this year (for the fourth time since I've been doing it) for the 30-odd players in attendance. Bloody hell it's hard work. I just hope it goes ok. See you on the flip side, and I'll try to bring you pictures. In the mean time, here are some more reviews for you 
Cloverfield What else can I say? It might be dividing some of the critics but f*** the lot of them. They wouldn't get a genre film if it smacked them upside the head anyways so who cares what they think? People can nitpick all they want but the fact remains this is the freshest, most innovative and most value-for-money piece of cinema that Hollywood has punted out for years. Seriously J J Abrams has the midas touch. His Alias and Lost TV shows were both groundbreaking (even if the latter has its flaws) and he worked miracles with MI:3, providing the annoyingly smug Tom Cruise with the most likeable role he's had in the last decade. And now this ambitious and outrageous monster movie. (It certainly also bodes well too for the Star Trek reboot that he's planning for December 2008). I was glued to the edge of my seat for the entire thing and must've breathed only a handful of times. I can't really tell you anything about what happens as it would spoil it. Just go see it. Now.
National Treasure: Book of Secrets was in contrast a huge disappointment, and it hit a bum note in almost the first scene by assuming that all the characters in the film were well-known and well-loved by the audience. Well hey there DIsney and Mr Bruckheimer, the first film might have been a lot of fun (and welcome relief from the dreary boredom of The Da Vinci Code) but puh-leease this is *not* Pirates of the Caribbean. Thoroughly smug throughout and overly flippant regarding much-cherished portions of English and American history about halfway through I found myself grinding my teeth. I left feeling that it was a terrible, shameful mess that could have been so much more...
I also had high hopes for Jumper and was again sorely disappointed. The director had a good track record, what with re-inventing the entire action genre with his edgy, gritty, european take on the Bourne Identity, and in uniting the hottest couple in Hollywood history in the funniest, sexiest action comedy of the 21st century (so far) and so, you know I figured if you take a subject like human teleportation, the sky's the limit, right? Apparently not. Perhaps the first mistake was casting the wooden young Darth Vader Hayden Christiansen as the lead - basically he can't act for toffee and he does nothing to make you give a s*** about his character. Along comes the weirdly bleached Samuel L Jackson who wants to kill everyone. For absolutely *no* real reason. Queue lots of pointless jumping about and simpering over childhood sweethearts. The film is lifted slightly by the presence of Jamie Bell's anarchic experienced jumper, but he's soon pushed aside for more pointless action and mush. Rubbish rubbish rubbish. Apparently it was based on a novel, and I can only wonder if Liman's hands were tied by trying to stay close to the source material...?
Cloverfield What else can I say? It might be dividing some of the critics but f*** the lot of them. They wouldn't get a genre film if it smacked them upside the head anyways so who cares what they think? People can nitpick all they want but the fact remains this is the freshest, most innovative and most value-for-money piece of cinema that Hollywood has punted out for years. Seriously J J Abrams has the midas touch. His Alias and Lost TV shows were both groundbreaking (even if the latter has its flaws) and he worked miracles with MI:3, providing the annoyingly smug Tom Cruise with the most likeable role he's had in the last decade. And now this ambitious and outrageous monster movie. (It certainly also bodes well too for the Star Trek reboot that he's planning for December 2008). I was glued to the edge of my seat for the entire thing and must've breathed only a handful of times. I can't really tell you anything about what happens as it would spoil it. Just go see it. Now.
National Treasure: Book of Secrets was in contrast a huge disappointment, and it hit a bum note in almost the first scene by assuming that all the characters in the film were well-known and well-loved by the audience. Well hey there DIsney and Mr Bruckheimer, the first film might have been a lot of fun (and welcome relief from the dreary boredom of The Da Vinci Code) but puh-leease this is *not* Pirates of the Caribbean. Thoroughly smug throughout and overly flippant regarding much-cherished portions of English and American history about halfway through I found myself grinding my teeth. I left feeling that it was a terrible, shameful mess that could have been so much more...
I also had high hopes for Jumper and was again sorely disappointed. The director had a good track record, what with re-inventing the entire action genre with his edgy, gritty, european take on the Bourne Identity, and in uniting the hottest couple in Hollywood history in the funniest, sexiest action comedy of the 21st century (so far) and so, you know I figured if you take a subject like human teleportation, the sky's the limit, right? Apparently not. Perhaps the first mistake was casting the wooden young Darth Vader Hayden Christiansen as the lead - basically he can't act for toffee and he does nothing to make you give a s*** about his character. Along comes the weirdly bleached Samuel L Jackson who wants to kill everyone. For absolutely *no* real reason. Queue lots of pointless jumping about and simpering over childhood sweethearts. The film is lifted slightly by the presence of Jamie Bell's anarchic experienced jumper, but he's soon pushed aside for more pointless action and mush. Rubbish rubbish rubbish. Apparently it was based on a novel, and I can only wonder if Liman's hands were tied by trying to stay close to the source material...?
VIEW 6 of 6 COMMENTS
ok, my foot, i have a tattoo done on the front of my left foot and it got infected. so it swelled up to the siz of an elephants foot, i cudnt walk on it and it turned all purple and horrid!
its all better now thank goodness!
hows it going anyway with you hun?
xxx
my first day backs tmz so im prob gona be the same too!
xxx