tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-171014582024-03-13T01:07:07.975+00:00Hagley Road To LadywoodA peek into media, culture and societyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1082125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17101458.post-83928965825490432582019-12-26T15:44:00.000+00:002019-12-29T21:11:06.674+00:002010s revisited<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKXeD0d9ZOej494kSEHO7TjEaq7jhzKzdCfbjgqpo-0ieSVpgMdsVGxghPqg6W9R8Un6I6UEZuh9osuI-R1FO9xUMX0GWoHaRnjx1oU1qBacg2xA4oFwhM-BpE1JDXXa4Vp8kLg/s1600/social_media_zombies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="1567" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKXeD0d9ZOej494kSEHO7TjEaq7jhzKzdCfbjgqpo-0ieSVpgMdsVGxghPqg6W9R8Un6I6UEZuh9osuI-R1FO9xUMX0GWoHaRnjx1oU1qBacg2xA4oFwhM-BpE1JDXXa4Vp8kLg/s400/social_media_zombies.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17101458.post-7032965618866916872013-04-14T12:42:00.003+01:002013-04-14T13:43:31.408+01:00Thatcher's homophobia: the forgotten legacy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeZrE-Sv904Zap8cDoThukCc7zP_ImE9ksYNHf_9DAWH6TkdySqjaFsP7kh3OU1l5qqN-DIR7zNMCqh6hkKzIhUmaRB0vGsVCUbfq9hVPYTFg_0vs-kdmql2N5t-gNtKFLoXka_Q/s1600/margaret-thatcher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeZrE-Sv904Zap8cDoThukCc7zP_ImE9ksYNHf_9DAWH6TkdySqjaFsP7kh3OU1l5qqN-DIR7zNMCqh6hkKzIhUmaRB0vGsVCUbfq9hVPYTFg_0vs-kdmql2N5t-gNtKFLoXka_Q/s200/margaret-thatcher.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><b>Caught between rising homophobic violence and tackling discrimination, Thatcher
made it <u>very</u> clear where she stood.</b></i><br />
<br />
In the wake of former PM <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22067155" target="_blank">Margaret Thatcher's death</a>, a military-scale process of sanctification has been shoved down the British public's gullet.<br />
<br />
Watch the way <i>Newsnight</i> covered her legacy on the day she popped her clogs, or how Ken Clarke and her biographer Charles Moore were slobbering all over her name for most of the last episode of <i>BBC Question Time</i>, and you'll start believing that figures such as Mother Teresa and Florence Nightingale were actually a pair of hoodlums compared to the Iron Lady.<br />
<br />
And yet, in the flurry of hagiographies and tributes to this "extraordinary woman", her long list of heinous political acts seems to have been ENTIRELY forgotten. In particular, the way her rampant homophobia became integral to British law. <br />
<br />
Which, you will understand, hardly sits at ease with the relentless campaign to portray her as Holy. The papers may tell you that she was stubborn or, at a push, that "some people saw her as fairly divisive", but that Thatcher was behind Britain’s first new <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_Law_Amendment_Act_1885" target="_blank">anti-gay law since 1885</a> is so utterly embarrassing that they just won't mention it.<br />
<br />
And before your average Tory pops up to tell you that no, she actually stood for LGBT rights, just like they're <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22069896" target="_blank">unashamedly</a> passing as "<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/10/margaret-thatcher-apartheid-mandela" target="_blank">fighting apartheid</a>" the fact that she and her party <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/cameron-apologises-for-thatcher-apartheid-policies-413569.html" target="_blank">dubbed</a> Nelson Mandela a "<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/from-terrorist-to-tea-with-the-queen-1327902.html" target="_blank">terrorist</a>" for the whole of her political career, here's a number of things that Maggie did to further institutionalise homophobia in Britain.<br />
<br />
Like human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell <a href="http://www.petertatchell.net/politics/Margaret-Thatcher-Extraordinary-but-heartless.htm" target="_blank">writes</a>, "At the Conservative party conference in 1987 Mrs Thatcher mocked people
who defended the right to be gay, insinuating that there was no such
right. During her rule, arrests and convictions for consenting same-sex
behaviour rocketed, as did queer bashing violence and murders. This
backlash coincided with her successive “family values” and “Victorian
values” campaigns, which urged a return to traditional morality and
family life". <br />
<br />
And, in fact, this is what she publicly <a href="http://www.johnmbecker.com/tag/homophobia/" target="_blank">said</a>: </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<blockquote>
<i>"Too often, our children don’t get the education they
need—the education they deserve…</i><br />
<i>
</i><i>Children who need to be taught to respect traditional moral values
are being taught that they have an inalienable right to be gay…</i><br />
<i>
</i><i>All of those children are being cheated of a sound start in life—yes, cheated".</i></blockquote>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Which is how, aided by a hysterical tabloid campaign about "the loonie left" and "gay lobbies" along with talks of AIDS as "the gay plague" and the barefaced lie that "<a href="http://books.google.es/books?id=izsOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA207&lpg=PA207&dq=SCAndal+of+GAY+PORN+BOOKS+READ+IN+SCHOOLS&source=bl&ots=6vZJuhnl3t&sig=evRpz0MWOUicbHg3359J-NXhiEw&hl=es&sa=X&ei=e4pqUYSZM8HWPImigaAP&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=SCAndal%20of%20GAY%20PORN%20BOOKS%20READ%20IN%20SCHOOLS&f=false" target="_blank">GAY PORN BOOKS [were being] READ IN SCHOOLS</a>", in 1988 the Thatcher government steamrollered in the homophobic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_28" target="_blank">Section 28</a>.<br />
<br />
The Act, which remained part of the statute book until Labour scrapped it in 2003, was as controversial and ambiguous as it was soaked in hate and deep prejudice. <br />
<br />
In one fell swoop, Section 28 crucially advocated censorship - preventing local authorities and schools from discussing ("promoting", the hideous wording was) homosexuality or engaging in anti-bullying activities, sneered at "pretended family relationships", and added insult to injury by linking homosexuality to "the spread of disease".<br />
<br />
It is almost impossible to believe that such an ignorant piece of legislation was part of the British legislative framework and that half the Tory party was still defending it tooth and nail <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2003/mar/11/conservatives.uk" target="_blank">as recently as 2003</a>. <br />
<br />
Nevertheless, caught between rising homophobic violence and intolerance, and the calls in favour of tackling discrimination and promoting acceptance, Thatcher made it very clear where she stood.<br />
<br />
No coincidence that, shortly after Section 28 became law, the offices of a gay newspaper, <i>Capital Gay</i>, were burnt down and lesbian and gay helplines <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2000/jan/30/theobserver.uknews4" target="_blank">reported</a> a threefold increase in "queer bashing".<br />
<br />
Which is why, when the current hysteria over Maggie's beatification subsides a little, hopefully the world will manage to remember how such a detestably homophobic piece of legislation was entirely in line with Thatcher and her character. Now hopefully buried forever.</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17101458.post-34585180750435481142012-05-22T17:29:00.001+01:002012-05-22T17:30:51.957+01:00Hagley Road to Australia<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPBxMJULTEINQzEny9deNbjWPiuFTEnWpa7JtcJX_IE3V4Ci2cAPhlGqWgBQFXQcpu6yFu6s1XUrdcIE3hk0cvvY0HTQ_9Ds1lpv9WyVQ-0nbIWVs6wLp4q7zsNuD3dsnuGhR-g/s1600/Sydney+my+new+home.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPBxMJULTEINQzEny9deNbjWPiuFTEnWpa7JtcJX_IE3V4Ci2cAPhlGqWgBQFXQcpu6yFu6s1XUrdcIE3hk0cvvY0HTQ_9Ds1lpv9WyVQ-0nbIWVs6wLp4q7zsNuD3dsnuGhR-g/s200/Sydney+my+new+home.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5745393803100031426" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">From Sydney with love</span>...<br /><br />This is a picture of my new area.<br /><br />It's in the Sydney district of Pyrmont (super recommended if you happen to be Down Under), and it explains why things haven't been so active on the blog in recent weeks.<br /><br />So, apologies to whoever may still read this, but I've moved here for good and have been enjoying the fantastic Sydney climate.<br /><br />Just imagine, it's winter time here and we've been having twenty degrees and sun. The pubs and nightlife are amazing and what they say about the Ozzies being friendly and welcoming is absolutely true!<br /><br />We'll be posting again soon, once work and my new Ozzie life are all settled.<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17101458.post-30220263733958830452012-04-08T16:40:00.001+01:002012-04-08T16:41:20.247+01:00The Change-Up<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_7Vii0AjUzL9S5G1Etj59v5oPqLrz3Q2o_6nJyNwrzjOKECdbOI7IS5bq1kg1ipYDlXE8DTPgVoZD_HTCuSpscEkvUPfW6E9Kw6hB1OSSf1MDVbgkvc0QXKorOJmQjx55NBPVyA/s1600/The+Change+Up+2011.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 136px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_7Vii0AjUzL9S5G1Etj59v5oPqLrz3Q2o_6nJyNwrzjOKECdbOI7IS5bq1kg1ipYDlXE8DTPgVoZD_HTCuSpscEkvUPfW6E9Kw6hB1OSSf1MDVbgkvc0QXKorOJmQjx55NBPVyA/s200/The+Change+Up+2011.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729051464760865074" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Gooey.</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Fans of the recent strand of US comedies including the excellent <span style="font-style: italic;">Horrible Bosses</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Hangover</span> would be mistaken to think that <span style="font-style: italic;">The Change-Up</span> was anywhere near the same league.<br /><span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);" class=" down" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link"></span></span><br />Sure, it features some familiar faces and good acting. From the ever-reliable and super versatile Ryan Reynolds (<a href="http://mymarilyn.blogspot.com/2011/01/buried.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Buried</span></a>, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Amityville Horror</span>), to tried-and-tested Jason Bateman (<span style="font-style: italic;">Horrible Bosses</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Paul</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Juno</span>) and Leslie Mann (<span style="font-style: italic;">The 40-Year-Old-Virgin</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Knocked Up</span>), the cast is certainly at hand to deliver a laugh or two. Which in fact they do, especially in the promising first half.<br /><br />The problem, however, is in the script. Past the first hour, the film takes an unnecessary swerve towards a syrupy morass that piles up by the minute and starts oozing more off cheese than a chunk of Stilton left to seep under the Arizona sun.<br /><br />It's as if ideas had run out and the only option left was to drown the whole thing into an unwitting caricature of the worst cinematic fluff that ever came out of Hollywood.<br /><br />Seriously, it becomes absolutely insufferable. Even when you think that enough violins have been unleashed out of their case and that, surely, producers and directors would now reinject some last-minute grit and comedy-value into the plot, more soppy scenes come to hit you in the face, wetter than an aqueous flannel.<br /><br />Verdict? Good if you tap on the button that says STOP about an hour into it. Unwatchable after that.<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17101458.post-15507364205082681322012-04-02T07:52:00.002+01:002012-04-02T07:52:00.059+01:00The Syndicate<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu0RKKP8xcVcAD8wckHFc1V4khleO65hJhts893jvOVM8y1DJhT4dUmV5QCMWCXA4SLEGOIrlzC2BqYWtlN-KePxOmp9RCSv5_LkVqnKByXzKB9h5-wIjAAVJm15g_41oX_leDBg/s1600/BBC+The+Syndicate.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 141px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu0RKKP8xcVcAD8wckHFc1V4khleO65hJhts893jvOVM8y1DJhT4dUmV5QCMWCXA4SLEGOIrlzC2BqYWtlN-KePxOmp9RCSv5_LkVqnKByXzKB9h5-wIjAAVJm15g_41oX_leDBg/s200/BBC+The+Syndicate.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726533593477064642" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Realism and suspense from BBC One's new excellent drama.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />TV is increasingly crying out for products a little more in tune with the real world and a little less inclined to treat the British viewer like a 6-year-old imbecile on speed.<br /><br />Kay Mellor's new five-part series on BBC One is a step in the right direction and a fine return to the best tradition of engaging British drama.<br /><br />Starring the ever-reliable Timothy Spall (<span style="font-style: italic;">Secrets & Lies</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Damned United</span>) and rising star Matthew McNulty (<span style="font-style: italic;">Control</span>, <a href="http://mymarilyn.blogspot.de/2010/06/looking-for-eric.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Looking for Eric</span></a>), <span style="font-style: italic;">The Syndicate</span> kicked off last week and suggests a promising next four episodes.<br /><br />An entertaining, gritty, suspence-laden depiction of the life of five low-paid supermarket workers in Yorkshire, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Syndicate</span> starts when the staff are broken the news that the entire store is about to close down.<br /><br />And while each character is already struggling to make ends meet and juggle the maxed-out plastic, amongst a background of family tiffs and a intriguing criminal subplot comes the bombshell that the five employees won £18m on the lottery.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Which, you guessed it, far from meaning a solution to all problems is likely to precipitate things, as a sneak preview to the next four episodes indicates.<br /><br />Just one detail: how can one of the character's girlfriend give birth and then go out clubbing and on the piss within 24 to 48 hours? Even for England, that's unfeasible.<br /><br />But that one flaw aside, flying colours all round and a welcome change from the stifling goo of twee products and repetitive "talent" shows that have been clogging up the telly in recent months.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">· The Syndicate returns on BBC One on Tuesday at 9pm.</span></span><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17101458.post-44072301670632967042012-04-01T12:24:00.003+01:002012-04-11T16:04:01.007+01:00Tory clowns, civil liberties...<div style="text-align: justify;"><a style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7atNxlZRV11HI76yJ_Y4v_NVkAoQl2JGU8QOSU15NpkoL2UFzDEGobTBWzjtn51RTEEI9ax5ZssBbXSBgY-lTOf1wF8Wu_bwpcyAr5PC7SeJ5XmUjR67OT3_sMymA9QNBWtEJKQ/s1600/tory+scary+clowns.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7atNxlZRV11HI76yJ_Y4v_NVkAoQl2JGU8QOSU15NpkoL2UFzDEGobTBWzjtn51RTEEI9ax5ZssBbXSBgY-lTOf1wF8Wu_bwpcyAr5PC7SeJ5XmUjR67OT3_sMymA9QNBWtEJKQ/s200/tory+scary+clowns.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726389677961736258" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">...and u-turns so pathetic that you're left wondering if this government is for real.</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Remember when Tories and LibDem alike were <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/6269691/How-David-Cameron-can-reverse-Labours-unjustified-attacks-on-civil-liberties.html">rinsing their gob</a> with attacks on New Labour's "<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1294415/Bonfire-Big-Brother-state-Coalition-unveils-drastic-review-New-Labours-attack-civil-liberties.html">erosion of civil liberties</a>", "<a href="https://bigbrotherbritain.wordpress.com/tag/new-labour/">Big Brother Britain</a>", "<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/philipjohnston/3559284/MPs-must-act-now-to-set-limits-on-snooping.html">ZaNuLabour</a>" and the rest?<br /><br />That was one of their key points as they were conning the whole population throughout the 2010 campaign and their first few weeks in power.<br /><br />Well. Just like the joke-like bonanza of lies covering anything from NHS plans to VAT, tuition fees, tax, the minimum wage and the rest, the Conservatives have now come up with this gem: "The government will be able to monitor the calls, emails, texts and website visits of everyone in the UK under new legislation set to be announced soon", <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17576745">reports the BBC today</a>.<br /><br />And the justification? "Tackling crime and terrorism", says the Tory-led Home Office. Of course. What. A. Bunch. Of . Clowns.<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17101458.post-31355810310423575842012-02-26T16:03:00.004+00:002012-02-26T16:10:17.603+00:00This Must Be The Place<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhBtWqmpca8panwQvdN99yyfUaKbTu6XQ5UoykXWKIMGIsrWA0jt96BHXt1BzSe5NjcfRfAotQLO9y0wGD8eEHoGW8GmiG2trA7h2q26JPrSU37lYvY0-U8epD9sC6GI496FBx0w/s1600/This-Must-Be-The-Place_poster.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 135px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhBtWqmpca8panwQvdN99yyfUaKbTu6XQ5UoykXWKIMGIsrWA0jt96BHXt1BzSe5NjcfRfAotQLO9y0wGD8eEHoGW8GmiG2trA7h2q26JPrSU37lYvY0-U8epD9sC6GI496FBx0w/s200/This-Must-Be-The-Place_poster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713472010395044914" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Impenetrably arty, or just a load of nothingness? </span><br /><br />What is it with arty film directors?<br /><br />It makes you wonder if their default way of operating consists in shooting their film first, followed by sessions with arty mates and colleagues looking for conceated ways of coating their product in a load of wierdness and randomness.<br /><br />And at the end of it, do they talk to each other about things like "metaphysical hyperrealism" so that they can feel sophisticated?<br /><br />Contempt for the ordinary viewer, however, is certainly something they fail to take into account.<br /><br />Blatantly so in the case of <span style="font-style: italic;">This Must Be The Place</span>, directed by Paolo Sorrentino and one of the winners, god knows how, at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.<br /><br />The film is double frustrating for a number of reasons.<br /><br />Sean Penn's amazing acting feels wasted, for starters. Perfect in his portrayal of retired (and bored) goth rockstar Cheyenne (looks modelled after The Cure's Robert Smith, one of this blog's heroes), Penn confirms his talent for versatility. Pity that he's wallowing in a sea of nothingness here.<br /><br />And that's because the story plot is so weak that it comes crumbling down the moment it's apparent that the film is about very little was it not for a lot of beautiful photography, cultivated shots and intriguing landscapes.<br /><br />Other than that, it's like trying to bake a cake with water being the only ingredient.<br /><br />They could have expanded on Cheyenne's relationship with his estranged parents, or anything about his past, or present, or even future, or any of the side characters that are churned out every five minutes and then kicked into oblivion for no apparent reason.<br /><br />Instead the plot errs from handing David Byrne a bit of self publicity, to bits and pieces about a local lady mourning her missing son, or even Cheyenne's mate going on about his sexual prowess.<br /><br />Until, 50 minutes into it, an improbable stab at hunting Nazi war criminals becomes - but not too much - the purpose of the film.<br /><br />And if that wasn't random enough, there's two-a-penny unconnected references to anything from wheeled suitcases, to ping pong, to blokes jumping into your car asking for a lift only to get dropped off thirty seconds later. Of course, for no apparent reason, aside from showing a stunning shot of the New Mexico desert. Camera held diagonally, of course.<br /><br />Now, no doubt this blog's being ignorant. No doubt, director Paolo Sorrentino and whoever co-wrote the script had in mind some grand reference to the alienation of the globalised world or other self-aggrandizing coincidental double meaning.<br /><br />And we're all up for a load of substance. But when you have to practically give yourself a brain transplant to try and grasp what a film is on about, then it's quite obvious something doesn't add up.<br /><br />In short, very disappointing.<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17101458.post-9075239085611995942012-02-22T08:44:00.001+00:002012-02-22T08:44:00.103+00:00Super 8<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVpLMLgD_fz9NlX6qD8xuu_Rb9yPYxdcBLjHz4I9tW_yT3gHx3NRVmI9f4oX6zxRb2S7wTpeAalGucBWBZE7tVGRowQEhqv5TJN_1pcJDBt-AyHCvV6HUNV5PgL3uChmAxZ10JDA/s1600/Super+8+film.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 135px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVpLMLgD_fz9NlX6qD8xuu_Rb9yPYxdcBLjHz4I9tW_yT3gHx3NRVmI9f4oX6zxRb2S7wTpeAalGucBWBZE7tVGRowQEhqv5TJN_1pcJDBt-AyHCvV6HUNV5PgL3uChmAxZ10JDA/s200/Super+8+film.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711313129219242482" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">An evening you won't get back.</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />If you succumb to the idea of watching <span style="font-style: italic;">Super 8</span> on the grounds that it was directed by the same bloke behind both <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://mymarilyn.blogspot.com/2009/03/what-waste-of-lost.html">Lost</a> and <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://mymarilyn.blogspot.com/2008/02/cloverfield.html">Cloverfield</a>, J.J. Abrams, and that it was produced by Steven Spielberg too, remember it's an evening of your life you will never get back.<br /><br />And it's a mild shame because the nostalgia theme in <span style="font-style: italic;">Super 8</span> is done with taste, the premises are interesting (a bunch of kids turning unwitting witnesses to a mysterious train crash) and there are also some endearing comical moments.<br /><br />Until, that is, that so-very-American irresistible temptation for grand special effects done in the style of dick measuring kicks in, and it's suddenly like Spielberg and Abrams decided to do some self-parody.<br /><br />Cue aliens, monsters and giant-insects-cum-octopuses building a supergalactic spaceship while everybody stares with their finger pointed and a falling star too manages to get into the picture courtesy of some good timing.<br /><br />However, don't take our word for it.<br /><br />You may fancy watching an unfeasible adventure consisting of <span style="font-style: italic;">ET</span> cross with <span style="font-style: italic;">War of the Worlds</span> for primary school kids with a sprinkle of <span style="font-style: italic;">Stand by Me </span>or any Stephen King-inspired stuff after he got into multiple-eyed monsters turning into walking spiders disguised as the sheriff... In which case, <span style="font-style: italic;">Super 8</span> will be most enjoyable.<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17101458.post-5804287762080405662012-02-20T02:39:00.000+00:002012-02-25T10:02:37.173+00:00Contagion<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpjpiGhBLXVGONmCRT0JMqmKN8C9X7Q9CEA3BVE_7kFFUbzPOZw2kuFa4CR8DZd2KEJaw2tBsk0ypJrzO7qdQ4Y0CoPsmPHlj0rPTiT-Nee6Re0NPsDzP1UAValcT8PXURlnj6pw/s1600/Contagion+film+2011.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 135px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpjpiGhBLXVGONmCRT0JMqmKN8C9X7Q9CEA3BVE_7kFFUbzPOZw2kuFa4CR8DZd2KEJaw2tBsk0ypJrzO7qdQ4Y0CoPsmPHlj0rPTiT-Nee6Re0NPsDzP1UAValcT8PXURlnj6pw/s200/Contagion+film+2011.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711320479104321090" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The best hypochondriac film since Cassandra Crossing.</span><br /><br />They say that the mark of a good film is when it still affects you days after watching it.<br /><br />In which case, just hope you don't sneeze, or cough, or that your legs don't itch, or that you don't get a mouth ulcer, not even one, in the week after you watch <span style="font-style: italic;">Contagion</span>.<br /><br />And that's because we're talking here Hollywood's contribution to hypochondria to a scale that not even the makers of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Daily Mail</span> and their infamous <a href="http://mymarilyn.blogspot.com/2010/01/daily-mail-slams-swine-flu-scare.html">SORE THROAT</a> headline could possibly begin to comprehend.<br /><br />Except that, unlike the ugly <span style="font-style: italic;">Mail</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Contagion</span> is beautifully done, with each of its subplots so involving that it really will pin you to your seat, kleenex in hand, from start to finish.<br /><br />A combination of director Steven Soderbergh's skilfully minimalistic work as well as some top quality acting from a star-studded cast including Matt Damon, Kate Winslet and Gwyneth Paltrow will seriously make you believe that that dick of a bloke coughing right on your face on the bus may have just kickstarted the biggest outbreak of meningoencephalitic virus known to man. And bat.<br /><br />A must see.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17101458.post-44377910632614753802012-02-12T11:20:00.001+00:002012-02-12T11:21:26.748+00:00The Descendants<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZAt5StwaB9GlTc9-IaioPZHDulITUU16VGThMZ_cune1_wE72vxHsrWu4UMaioB7D2KBlU6lcg2F7p-FQonBj3KHHYqB0nx7ACTxFUCSjno8GSRryVFaw7cB4-H0KKqeRMpATdA/s1600/The+Descendants+Poster.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 135px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZAt5StwaB9GlTc9-IaioPZHDulITUU16VGThMZ_cune1_wE72vxHsrWu4UMaioB7D2KBlU6lcg2F7p-FQonBj3KHHYqB0nx7ACTxFUCSjno8GSRryVFaw7cB4-H0KKqeRMpATdA/s200/The+Descendants+Poster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708204865589382978" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">George Clooney's performance of a lifetime.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />One of the main contenders at the forthcoming Academy Awards is the excellent <span style="font-style: italic;">The Descendants</span>.<br /><br />In common with his former films (<span style="font-style: italic;">About Schmidt</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Sideways</span>), Alexander Payne's <span style="font-style: italic;">The Descendants</span> shares the same reflective mood, serene pace and a contagious, almost 'old school'-like, eye for character development.<br /><br />But the biggest bonus here is George Clooney's stunning performance.<br /><br />Nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars, Clooney smoothly impersonates Matt King, a wealthy family-trust administrator and practising laywer on a Hawaiian island.<br /><br />King is grappling with a few demons, chiefly the fact that his wife Elizabeth is laying comatose in a hospital following a boat accident. He's now going to look after two daughters that he barely knows how to handle. Plus, if things weren't complicated enough, he finds out that, right before the time of her accident, his wife was having a full-blown affair.<br /><br />Caught between a major family crisis and emotional turmoil, King decides to confront his wife's lover, a successful real estate broker (Matther Lillard, the murderer from <span style="font-style: italic;">Scream</span>).<br /><br />This in turn will kickstart a rollercoaster of emotions and assorted mess which will result in one of the most endearing dark comedy dramas of the year - <span style="font-style: italic;">and any further is bound to be tantamount to blatant spoilers</span>.<br /><br />Quite simply, excellent.<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17101458.post-54345097574992201162012-02-11T13:33:00.002+00:002012-02-11T15:02:42.450+00:00We Need To Talk About Kevin<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOQ-wYFSwOBKNALiUDM9pmIpnWj3wk-CMsmxfvPVIKztC9ce46Iq29VMc6u-iPuBKk3p3w4kFVGgennXV4h8n-pZvQQKaEcg4Du4pX0t6v2ktnd_2QJQC7xduTOaCTjX1bBS8K4A/s1600/We-need-to-talk-about-Kevin+poster.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 135px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOQ-wYFSwOBKNALiUDM9pmIpnWj3wk-CMsmxfvPVIKztC9ce46Iq29VMc6u-iPuBKk3p3w4kFVGgennXV4h8n-pZvQQKaEcg4Du4pX0t6v2ktnd_2QJQC7xduTOaCTjX1bBS8K4A/s200/We-need-to-talk-about-Kevin+poster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5707868321273437282" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Are some people simply born with sociopathic tendencies?</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Lynne Ramsay's adaptation of the 2003 novel of the same name is one of the most disturbing films you'll ever get a chance to see.<br /><br />To put it bluntly, don't watch it if you feel you're already losing hope about the state of humanity, or if you are more than a touch puzzled by the ongoing normalisation of nastiness across all levels of society (the pathetic sociopaths behind <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-16852406"><span style="font-style: italic;">Unilad</span></a> being the latest recruits).<br /><br />And that's because, pouring fresh blood (literally) in the century-long debate about nature vs nurture, <span style="font-style: italic;">We Need To Talk About </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Kevin</span> is a frighteningly poignant depiction of what happens when somebody is born completely devoid of empathy and humanity.<br /><br />For all the protestations that it's the environment that shapes you, that unloving or dysfunctional parents are bound to have an impact, that good education improves your chances of smoothing out deranged tendencies, and so on -and all of the above most certainly counts - some people are just born evil.<br /><br />And this evil little shit, Kevin, Tilda Swinton's creepy son in one of the most compelling films that came out in 2011, is testament to that.<br /><br />Yet, even more disturbing than the movie itself are some of the comments accompanying the review on <a href="http://www.imdb.com/">IMDb</a>.<br /><br />According to some, the fact that Kevin's birth was unplanned, or that Tilda Swinton's character didn't insist on seeking medical help earlier on, or that she was a bit cold and disdainful, are all supposed to be the crucial factors behind this younger and more manipulative version of <span>Patrick Bateman</span> turning into a serial killer.<br /><br />Except that, if you follow that line of thought, then you'll be able to justify the most heinous of crimes. Especially given that probably less than 0.01% of the world's population has the privilege of a perfect ubpringing (<span style="font-style: italic;">and what is "the perfect upbringing" anyway</span>).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Most kids don't get enough cuddles and some get too many. Some people may have absent fathers or messed-up mothers, some the other way round, some both and some neither.<br /><br />Yet, thankfully, the greatest majority of us don't live an existence solely aimed at being horrible to other people without harbouring even a shred of empathy at the most basic human level.<br /><br />All of which proves what an amazingly stimulating film <span style="font-style: italic;">We Need To Talk About Kevin</span> is. The subject-matter may explore the darkest realms of the human psyche, but a combination of fantastic acting (Swinton could easily have been nominated for an Oscar) and genius plot structure will most certainly leave you still thinking about it for days.<br /><br />Which, ultimately, is always the sign of a good film.<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17101458.post-8798903141719084052012-01-30T07:37:00.002+00:002012-01-30T12:48:28.004+00:00The Skin I Live In<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6loo5I02puXC3jd3odBFgxaBYMQ5B4cayl6ca8UBa14yMz71ChorGiEYlOIr7T915YFw-2NXLvpbZl2BCMbKfUDAOcx6Im4M1OrpRzjqEIJU22sMk0wUkKCO3OJ8Hqc5XtZzrw/s1600/The+Skin+I+Live+In+La+Piel+Que+Habito.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6loo5I02puXC3jd3odBFgxaBYMQ5B4cayl6ca8UBa14yMz71ChorGiEYlOIr7T915YFw-2NXLvpbZl2BCMbKfUDAOcx6Im4M1OrpRzjqEIJU22sMk0wUkKCO3OJ8Hqc5XtZzrw/s200/The+Skin+I+Live+In+La+Piel+Que+Habito.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5703044718053384562" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Pedro Almodóvar's latest must-see is one of the best films of 2011.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />The last ten years have seen Spain reaffirming itself as the most productive breeding ground for top quality cinema.<br /><br />Álex de la Iglesia (<span style="font-style: italic;">La Habitacion del Niño</span>), <span class="st">Guillem Morales (<span style="font-style: italic;">Los Ojos de Julia</span>), Jaume Balagueró</span> (<span style="font-style: italic;">REC</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Fragile</span>), Rodrigo Cortés (<span style="font-style: italic;">Buried</span>) and Juan Antonio Bayona (<span style="font-style: italic;">The Orphanage</span>) are only a handful of directors typifying Spain's current cinematic run of form.<br /><br />And that's without counting, of course, one of country's most celebrated film-makers, Pedro Almodóvar (of <span style="font-style: italic;">Volver </span>fame), whose latest film <span style="font-style: italic;">The Skin I Live In</span> (original title <span style="font-style: italic;">La Piel Que Habito</span>) is one of his most remarkable ever.<br /><br />Put bluntly, Almodóvar's films are generally weird. But I mean good and watchable weird. Never pretentious or self-indulgent, let alone overly arty and elitist, which is this blog's pet hate. You can watch almost every Almodóvar film and expect the seediness and the various quirks along the way to finally make sense at some point.<br /><br />By the time you've spotted the twist coming or have clocked it altogether, the story will have drawn you in so much that you'll simply want to find out how or why right until the very end.<br /><br />Given how rich and carefully textured the plot is, there's not much we can reveal about <span style="font-style: italic;">The Skin I Live In</span>. Even the slightest clue may easily turn into the most irritating of spoilers.<br /><br />The film is in one go horror, psychological thriller, crime, film noir, and distorted love melodrama as well. All the while, underlying ethical questions are posed over the extent to which Frankenstein-like medicine can go.<br /><br />But, while most directors would have lost the plot trying to juggle too many genres at the same time, Almodóvar pulls it off handsomely.<br /><br />His rich colours and obsessive themes are not, unlike many other directors, cheap gimmicks, fillers or clever tricks. They are integral part of his narrative.<br /><br />The film is also the moment when Antonio Banderas, one of Spain's most famous actors, reaffirms his acting credentials. Often slammed as wooden, here he's absolutely superb, oozing mystery and charisma and carrying the whole weight of the film from start to finish.<br /><br />Watch <span style="font-style: italic;">The Skin I Live In</span> and you'll lose yourself into its slow but intense pace and into its intriguing and relentless buildup, while the different ends of the same web gradually come together against a backdrop that is both creepy and fascinating at the same time.<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17101458.post-59545097140655682152012-01-29T13:11:00.000+00:002012-01-29T15:18:20.952+00:00The Rite<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFtaeVQhw0QaE0uPvXm7_eMgupKazQoTkyrHWCr0Vuqc6Q9TW-IV6D064fHuY_07Ji9GZcjirX-dFwyaJnuLXzDDWr8WUboXftnWZdNS9oncst8J66S4NsdqcHyQZ-A9mmGJjjPA/s1600/the+rite.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 135px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFtaeVQhw0QaE0uPvXm7_eMgupKazQoTkyrHWCr0Vuqc6Q9TW-IV6D064fHuY_07Ji9GZcjirX-dFwyaJnuLXzDDWr8WUboXftnWZdNS9oncst8J66S4NsdqcHyQZ-A9mmGJjjPA/s200/the+rite.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5703031519646322034" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Add a 't' in front of the title and you get the general idea.</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">How many films can be made about exorcists and possessed women (and why is it always the women, by the way, have you noticed...?) swearing in several languages before people realise that it's totally useless?<br /><br />How many times, before producers actually decide to pack it in and focus their attention and cash elsewhere? The troubled, sceptical priest under the guidance of an older, wiser maverick. The mandatory car accident. The chained sweaty woman telling them both to fuck off. In Latin too. The cross and the prayers, the spitting and the red eyes, the premonitions, the insects and the lot...<br /><br />This one here comes about 35 years too late, as it would only matter to those few souls who never watched <span style="font-style: italic;">The Exorcist</span> and its multiple spin offs and rip offs.<br /><br />If there's one thing the makers of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Rite</span> got <span style="font-style: italic;">almost</span> 100% right, that was the film title. They forgot to add the letter 't' in front of "Rite". Then it would have made sense, Anthony Hopkins or not.<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17101458.post-44665688726654495282012-01-28T11:32:00.004+00:002012-01-29T18:04:34.872+00:00Vanishing on 7th Street<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkjPfyByNH0cpIPnPyENGeqZay_KHYSfHLk2bWNyV3f1gtP5Svx0al8cLWitgtUqAzE_wXgWl73OCvsC4ew6NLxPbvEgdiGGEH1A5tS8YzMnh8IeZ8SHSZye8LToqkORmlGGSynQ/s1600/Vanishing+on+7th+street.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 135px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkjPfyByNH0cpIPnPyENGeqZay_KHYSfHLk2bWNyV3f1gtP5Svx0al8cLWitgtUqAzE_wXgWl73OCvsC4ew6NLxPbvEgdiGGEH1A5tS8YzMnh8IeZ8SHSZye8LToqkORmlGGSynQ/s200/Vanishing+on+7th+street.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5703021029464256514" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">When the apocalypse is so dull that you can't wait for it to come.</span><br /><br />There's an unwritten rule in cinema, etched in capital letters, as old as the first reel to reel.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />And it goes as follows. The fact that a director may have been behind a decent film and the fact that a story plot may also sound vaguely intriguing are no guarantee of a good film.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Brad Anderson may have been the man behind both <span style="font-style: italic;">Session 9</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Machinist</span>, and his latest <span style="font-style: italic;">Vanishing on 7th Street </span>may also sound like your perfect so-called "post-apocalyptic" story. Unfortunately though, it's painfully weak as well as way too flimsy and badly acted to actually go anywhere.<br /><br />For all the amount of semi-deserted, mysterious-looking and Twin Peak-esque scenes set in an old neon-lit bar, the plot is simply too feeble and anemic (yes, thanks thesaurus) to strike any chord with the viewer.<br /><br />Not to mention that Hayden Christensen and the other actors are so wooden that, put next to Pinocchio, they would positively make him look like Plastic Man.<br /><br />Which wouldn't be so bad were it not for the fact that character development is below zero.<br /><br />The thrills evaporate after about fifteen minutes as you quickly realise that a single episode of the Teletubbies will carry more suspense than this pap.<br /><br />What seem to be the only four survivors to a mysterious plague that snatches people away, are just sitting there, fiddling with ice cubes and fuel, and periodically wailing that they have lost their kid/mum/colleagues/ex wife.<br /><br />That's all they seem to be saying. And after you've heard the same lines 7 times in a row you just start hoping for the entity to put the inept four out of their misery once and for all.<br /><br />As for the apocalypse, it must be the most docile one to be ever conjured up by a cinematic mind.<br /><br />The same monstrous thing that hits people in an instant in the first part of the film, is later on so slow that even a snail would crawl back to safety once they twig that they're about to be snatched.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Vanishing on 7th Street</span> is like a fantastic initial idea that crashed into the worst of writer's blocks within ten minutes.<br /><br />Which, given how crowded the post-apocalyptic genre is starting to look, makes this film even more redundant.<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17101458.post-83432216605917950972011-12-22T11:54:00.003+00:002011-12-22T14:10:23.861+00:00The Best Moment of 2011<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIKKU5io1iWCxtKue3PbDyqWP07gtYLhvgW2EyGvVXn4wqt8XbhwG0VisHZ6cDVKrRrOMoqtrFZtenFlTMDqcdtiwTZqCP1PbNUFYfVq47l49tw3Qjaezkq9EBbuPvr6TJJkiwzQ/s1600/Shit-Creek_cartoon.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 143px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIKKU5io1iWCxtKue3PbDyqWP07gtYLhvgW2EyGvVXn4wqt8XbhwG0VisHZ6cDVKrRrOMoqtrFZtenFlTMDqcdtiwTZqCP1PbNUFYfVq47l49tw3Qjaezkq9EBbuPvr6TJJkiwzQ/s200/Shit-Creek_cartoon.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688919069257449010" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The scandal that brought the most vicious media thugs to their knees. </span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />The notion that nature will eventually run its course, even when it comes to the humbling of the most brutal bullies, came to a belated realisation with the<span style="font-style: italic;"> <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11195407">News of the World</a></span><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11195407"> scandal</a>.<br /><br />What a picture, to see that particular brand of vicious, foamin-at-the-mouth, self-righteous faux-moralistic fury turning on its own creators.<br /><br />The succession of the nastiest bullies in the British media tumbling like sacks of rubbish in a garbage truck was just amazing: <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/08/andy-coulson-arrested-phone-hacking-allegations">the arrest of Andy Coulson</a>, the fall of <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/phone-hacking/8643449/Phone-hacking-Rebekah-Brooks-arrested.html">Rebekah Brooks</a>, News Corp <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/13/news-corp-pulls-out-of-bskyb-bid">withdrawing</a> its BSkyB bid, and finally the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/blog/2011/jul/07/news-of-the-world-closes-live-coverage"><span style="font-style: italic;">News of the World</span> going to the wall</a>, while the two Murdoch thugs pathetically feigned amnesia in the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7qGW6ZC8ws">background</a>.<br /><br />The phone-hacking scandal was just waiting to happen. When somebody's power to bully and intimidate with such impunity is allowed to fester to such poisonous proportions, it's just a matter of time til the putrefying boil bursts.<br /><br />No doubt soon things will settle and hordes of dimwits are already <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/video/2011/oct/12/paul-dacre-defends-newspapers-and-pcc-video">stuffing their gob</a> with the notion that tabloid thuggery (ie the indiscriminate phone hacking of <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/nov/21/leveson-inquiry-phone-hacking-dowlers">murdered children</a>, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14052909">dead soldiers</a> and <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8619377/Phone-hackers-snooped-on-Soham-families.html">grieving relatives</a>) is none other than "free press".<br /><br />But for a moment, just a moment, it was nice to see journalism in the UK back to a version of itself that doesn't resemble a cross between Shaun of the Dead and The Wicker Man.<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17101458.post-34929915885429982412011-04-08T10:55:00.004+01:002011-04-08T11:24:24.724+01:00Paper Mask<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpOBF6tlqxeOKiYwCBw53iOGMqXLQaOwWLBNQvg_dvEP1IBGitk-m5-CarWiCqYlJUVuQABFMfkPE2FBxit1f_T070YjzL07h5xL5zuuXjLkicKP_MvhBXfn5lxck9cTD4TBDFaw/s1600/paper+mask.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 136px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpOBF6tlqxeOKiYwCBw53iOGMqXLQaOwWLBNQvg_dvEP1IBGitk-m5-CarWiCqYlJUVuQABFMfkPE2FBxit1f_T070YjzL07h5xL5zuuXjLkicKP_MvhBXfn5lxck9cTD4TBDFaw/s200/paper+mask.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5593148640884246130" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">British cinema's hidden gem.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This little-known British noir is testament to the fact that inflated Hollywoodian budgets are irrelevant when it comes to quality.<br /><br />Unfortunately though, <span style="font-style: italic;">Paper Mask</span> is also evidence that, no matter how good a film, without marketing machinery there's no chance of making it beyond -at best- a Channel Four 11 o'clock slot.<br /><br />And that's how I first came across Christopher Morahan's hidden gem. It must have been at least fifteen years ago, late night at home while flicking through the channels only minutes away from hitting the sack.<br /><br />I don't know what in particular, but <span style="font-style: italic;">Paper Mask</span> grabbed my attention straight away. Mysterious without being contrived, minimalistic without being arty, chilling and disturbing without ever going over the top. Within a moment, I was hooked.<br /><br />It's the story of a frustrated hospital porter (glib-tongued Martin, the excellent Paul McGann of <span style="font-style: italic;">Withnail and I</span> fame) who, in a moment of madness, decides to steal the identity of a recently passed away surgeon.<br /><br />The thing is, said doctor had just applied for a job elsewhere, meaning that it was the perfect chance for Martin to burn bridges and start with a clean slate, a door to prestige and riches that a lowly orderly would only be able to dream of otherwise.<br /><br />Needless to say, however, Martin is heading for collision course. Aside from a vague familiarity with hospitals, the guy just isn't a doctor, which means a succession of wincing mishaps are constantly round the corner.<br /><br />Yet his charming ways help him cajole nurse Christine (Amanda Donohoe, from Nicolas Roeg's <span style="font-style: italic;">Castaway</span>) which, for Martin, would prove a godsend. At least for the time being.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Paper Mask</span> guarantees suspence from start to finish. While the viewer is constantly wondering what is going to happen next, the concept is so subtle and original that you may even end up sympathizing with such a manipulative and dislikeable protagonist.<br /><br />Alas, chances are you've never heard of this film.<br /><br />Twenty years after it came out, there are rumours of a forthcoming DVD release which, if true, would finally hand one of the best thrillers to ever hail from the UK a belated chance to be enjoyed by the wider public.<br /><br />A must-see if you can manage to grab hold of it.<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17101458.post-82257209939724497962011-03-28T13:48:00.003+01:002011-03-29T10:37:15.758+01:00Basement<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPxxbJkQc0jtYDhj_fc0Bza_sWNTYpkLDGW2DvRiUM1Vv_7Q-GVKQewb8XkgAKeL38Dm6fbjh7uz4kqshafvI4tFN-rVZESEevn6wwuYRz20rqjgOIzEgS6juQzkTDkH0QBfxsqQ/s1600/basement.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 142px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPxxbJkQc0jtYDhj_fc0Bza_sWNTYpkLDGW2DvRiUM1Vv_7Q-GVKQewb8XkgAKeL38Dm6fbjh7uz4kqshafvI4tFN-rVZESEevn6wwuYRz20rqjgOIzEgS6juQzkTDkH0QBfxsqQ/s200/basement.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589107238027869250" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">"Face your deepest fears", says the tagline. That's right. You may have just wasted your money on the most useless film ever.</span><br /><br />A few years ago my friends and I got into the habit of buying naff knockdown price DVDs for a laugh.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Two spring to mind, an American B-horror called <span style="font-style: italic;">The Dentist</span> and an even worse one sporting the unbeatable title <span style="font-style: italic;">The Nosepicker</span>. Proper cheap cheap cheap tacky dim-witted crap. We were pissing ourselves laughing at the crassness of the acting, the story, the soundtrack.<br /><br />But it was great. There <span style="font-style: italic;">is</span> something uniquely endearing about rubbish films.<br /><br />In the unlikely event you may have heard of 2010's <span style="font-style: italic;">Basement</span>, please be warned that it does <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> even make it into the above-described category. We are talking about something else here. Levels of nothingness that not even the most cynical of viewers could have anticipated.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Basement</span> is the equivalent of being served a completely rancid dinner at a restaurant. Or the equivalent of buying a new suit only to discover that it's made of meat wrappers selotaped together.<br /><br />What is unbelievable is the idea that someone, somewhere, thought that this thing could be knocked together, let alone produced, and that nobody along the way was honest enough to tell the director, the screenwriter, the producers or whoever that perhaps jacking it in would have been a more dignified move.<br /><br />There's no danger of a spoiler because this film is about nothing. In theory the premises are interesting, not miles away from <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0242527/"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Hole</span></a>: a group of people are lost in the woods and end up in a dark and creepy basement. "<span style="font-style: italic;">Wow</span>", you'd think, "<span style="font-style: italic;">Great!</span>".<br /><br />No it isn't. Because that's where it all ends. You wait and wait while the characters redraw the boundaries of the expression "dead end" and, within half hour, it's quite obvious that nowt's ever gonna happen.<br /><br />The rest is some sort of tedious, repetititive, shallow, unengaging and inconsequential bilge. It goes nowhere. It says nothing. It's not even dumb. I guess it's the closest a film ever got to representing the concept of nothingness which, in a way, you could argue is actually an achievement.<br /><br />Oh, and by the way, the acting is the worst ever. By far. Times ten.<br /><br />"Basement" is like a Year-9 project carried out by a group of kids messing about with some recording equipment. Except worse.<br /><br />Avoid.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17101458.post-52664608966229728512011-03-13T11:22:00.005+00:002012-02-26T14:03:06.982+00:00Another Year<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1PD7agj9yBDRTX6Z2Ws5RPW11BoQIMOrvFPgXsXd1Uxylw97B_Azhx0grZrqaqRm8Pv7wbrZ7zMEwPemn_9qzm7l4V6GjArBXsQ118oPoa_ZcfPD9lYDZ8Cgz6vCsq1D9Bi1jZg/s1600/Mike+Leigh+Another+Year.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 141px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1PD7agj9yBDRTX6Z2Ws5RPW11BoQIMOrvFPgXsXd1Uxylw97B_Azhx0grZrqaqRm8Pv7wbrZ7zMEwPemn_9qzm7l4V6GjArBXsQ118oPoa_ZcfPD9lYDZ8Cgz6vCsq1D9Bi1jZg/s200/Mike+Leigh+Another+Year.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583522489641720914" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Mike Leigh's run of form continues.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Review by Claude Carpentieri</span></span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">If there ever was an imaginary Award for Best Social Observation and another for Best Depiction of the Ordinary, Mike Leigh would probably make a clean sweep each time.<br /><br />His new release <span style="font-style: italic;">Another Year</span> follows in the footsteps of some of his best work - 2002's <span style="font-style: italic;">All or Nothing</span> and 1995's <span style="font-style: italic;">Secrets And Lies</span> to mention but two.<br /><br />This, however, is probably the first time Leigh casts his lens solely on the middle classes.<br /><br />Past criticism that most of his work is allegedly a patronising take on the working classes as downtrodden salt-of-the-earth types was always ingenerous. And, like in every other of his films, <span style="font-style: italic;">Another Year</span> goes to show that dysfunctional interaction and social ineptitude, contentment and loneliness, delusion and caring alike have all little to do with class as they're just integral to humanity.<br /><br />At the core of <span style="font-style: italic;">Another Year</span>, a couple approaching retirement; husband Tom (Jim Broadbent - Slater from <span style="font-style: italic;">Only Fools and Horses</span>), a geologist and wife Gerri (Ruth Sheen), a psychologist. Their house, a large and cosy one in a leafy London suburb. Their son, <a href="http://www.hotflick.net/flicks/2008_Happy-Go-Lucky/008HGL_Oliver_Maltman_001.jpg">Joe</a> (possibly separated at birth from <a href="http://spe.fotolog.com/photo/30/56/19/oasis_keane/1235586277592_f.jpg">Keane's lead singer</a>), an affectionate, sensible young lawyer. Their relationship, an island of warmth, affection and security amidst a social cluster where all of their friends and extended family seem to struggle with solitude and assorted demons.<br /><br />The film unravels over a year. Each season, a friend or family visits Tom and Gerri, initially proudly claiming that "all is fine" and that "they're happier than ever", only to gradually let on - generally courtesy of a few drinks - that the picture is a totally different one and that, actually, loneliness and ageing are corroding them from within.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Another Year</span> works because of its contemplative, gentle pace and its minimalistic touches. It wouldn't be a Mike Leigh film if the camera work wasn't so subtly masterful and the depiction of the most precious details so intense.<br /><br />But <span style="font-style: italic;">Another Year</span> also works because it never wishes to lecture anybody on anything. It's just a take on the fact that sometimes companionship can serve as the best refuge against ageing, insecurity and depression.<br /><br />An absolute masterpiece.<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17101458.post-80088190259234866082011-03-08T00:31:00.007+00:002011-03-08T13:09:50.244+00:00The Mechanic<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGSANoMxOFJIDeKy_-Y6aUMrTwIdS8nD5fTzcM9j1DDaYqqX1LR25T4khc1xOEWoFHMZOoyftPVwnyy3UfJyOh3KKr_VQqfRW0AM72HoHOTIW5iKV9BTexOOudGuDlYBcoks-4A/s1600/the+mechanic+%25282011%2529.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 135px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGSANoMxOFJIDeKy_-Y6aUMrTwIdS8nD5fTzcM9j1DDaYqqX1LR25T4khc1xOEWoFHMZOoyftPVwnyy3UfJyOh3KKr_VQqfRW0AM72HoHOTIW5iKV9BTexOOudGuDlYBcoks-4A/s200/the+mechanic+%25282011%2529.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581684483494789090" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Two reviews for the price of one.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">One</span>.<br />The mere sight of big/fast cars makes you wet your bed. Films where burly geezers square each other up without flinching one bit give you a feeling of excitement which is only comparable to when you squash bugs or when you watch Jeremy Clarkson testing a new motor.<br /><br />You probably think that smiling at someone in public makes you a wuss because you're a true man and any deeper than <span style="font-style: italic;">The Fast and the Furious</span> makes it too hard to deal with emotionally.<br /><br />If you ticked all of the above (and also if your parents used to lock you in the garage when you were a naughty child), then you'll probably find that <span style="font-style: italic;">The Mechanic</span> is genius and you should watch it and spunk in your pants.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Two.</span><br />You just know from the start that the main bloke in the film (Jason Statham) will survive with barely a scratch. He takes no shit and he's built like a brick shithouse. The words predictable and boring start flashing in neon lights as the first five minutes unravel.<br /><br />This is a geezer's equivalent of <span style="font-style: italic;">Sex & The City</span>, the type of stuff that girlfriends only watch at the movies just to keep their manly boyfriend happy and to make up for when they forced him to watch <span style="font-style: italic;">Valentine's Day</span> and, of course, <span style="font-style: italic;">Love Actually</span>.<br /><br />Oh...and Donald Sutherland has gone downhill and you just don't think that lots of guns, car chases, broken limbs and gravity defying jumps make for good entertainment, light or otherwise.<br /><br />The retro-looking poster is great though. The gun even matches the colour of this blog.<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17101458.post-50798106713597328272011-02-28T12:36:00.003+00:002011-02-28T12:38:11.453+00:00A League Cup of their own<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZCMXfVipBUcDQ46xmBv2ukDPXfAaRmkrDMxSbH2DrBnvNFV-H-iiBRUTD825hPU0Vb8Veh00o3vTE_xExW5Hfe_clKObuXjayo98XVFAyn9wBBQup4TWzn9ZP30j60FBQ30fVg/s1600/Birmingham+City+win+league+cup.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZCMXfVipBUcDQ46xmBv2ukDPXfAaRmkrDMxSbH2DrBnvNFV-H-iiBRUTD825hPU0Vb8Veh00o3vTE_xExW5Hfe_clKObuXjayo98XVFAyn9wBBQup4TWzn9ZP30j60FBQ30fVg/s400/Birmingham+City+win+league+cup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578718476778178898" border="0" /></a><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/b/birmingham_city/9409045.stm">Birmingham City FC, 27 February 2011</a>.<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17101458.post-10372124607407701342011-02-27T11:41:00.004+00:002011-02-27T12:03:16.049+00:00The King's Speech<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCX-0_QsD1n4qSH9EEa_exGoqMIQEsvsHOJJFw_b3ZVHEc53gMDjQtSTtAfECpmW9WOYw4T7cKEUPld9QL7h-TeKyhbfYYoIXCpOzLPOoIDvqHCu4lOMiSO8mduCzsZ_agFFVxgg/s1600/The+King%2527s+Speech.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCX-0_QsD1n4qSH9EEa_exGoqMIQEsvsHOJJFw_b3ZVHEc53gMDjQtSTtAfECpmW9WOYw4T7cKEUPld9QL7h-TeKyhbfYYoIXCpOzLPOoIDvqHCu4lOMiSO8mduCzsZ_agFFVxgg/s200/The+King%2527s+Speech.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578331436826381602" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Will the story of King George VI make a clean sweep at the Oscars?</span><br /><br />Today's headlines report that the forthcoming 2011 Academy Awards will mainly consist of a battle between <a href="http://mymarilyn.blogspot.com/2010/11/social-network.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Social Network</span></a> and <span style="font-style: italic;">The King's Speech</span>.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Our money is on the latter.<br /><br />And that's because, while most other films centred on royal families and nobility tend to be drowned in tweeness, romance and people prancing about while talking in riddles, <span style="font-style: italic;">The King's Speech</span> covers totally different territory.<br /><br />No doubt the film is also an interesting take on the historical events surrounding the abdication of Edward VIII and the dramatic run-up to World War II. But it is first and foremost a human drama about the scars brought about by the pressure and expectations of a repressive upbringing.<br /><br />The story is centred around Prince Albert (Colin Firth), second son of King George V, a man whose severe stammer affected his public engagements and social interaction at various levels.<br /><br />Spurred by his wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter), he decides to see Mr Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), an Australian speech therapist and teacher of elocution. Not without hurdles, an unlikely friendship starts developing between them, as Mr Logue graduates slowly from inferior subject and subordinate to trusted confidant.<br /><br />And so it emerges that Albert's speech problems stems from the typically dysfunctional and repressed childhood that generation after generation of royals have endured, a state of affairs brilliantly depicted by Johann Hari in his 2002 book <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/God-Save-Queen-Johann-Hari/dp/1840464011"><span style="font-style: italic;">God Save The Queen</span></a>.<br /><br />Bullied by his brother, repressed by his father and painfully corrected for his left-handedness and knock-knees, Albert grows up to believe that far from ever being good enough to lead, he will always be a source of embarrassment and scorn. Until, that is, Lionel Logue's intervention and a series of unprecedented historical events will help Albert (soon to become King George VI) overcome his stammer and deliver one of the most dramatic speeches in world history.<br /><br />Ultimately, it is both David Seidler's powerful script (himself a stammer sufferer as a child) and Colin Firth's moving interpretation of Albert that make <span style="font-style: italic;">The King's Speech</span> stand out. And yes, also hopefully mop the floor (twice over) with <span style="font-style: italic;">The Social Network</span>.<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17101458.post-64988123705764649712011-02-15T10:17:00.004+00:002011-02-18T07:22:06.389+00:00Daily Mail typo of the year<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWplfkFGY-EytQSDdHqU2PC0Qdry9gMYtkxx9V8l2hVu47FshJ8IsQtqlmrNvEk0jnrfr1M_0Btddj9OzV3gtCMQ-A6XPf9WFPiEpf37mqGwIu8JsA0zf_r4XHAF5eRH4jYPVAdA/s1600/typo.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 56px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWplfkFGY-EytQSDdHqU2PC0Qdry9gMYtkxx9V8l2hVu47FshJ8IsQtqlmrNvEk0jnrfr1M_0Btddj9OzV3gtCMQ-A6XPf9WFPiEpf37mqGwIu8JsA0zf_r4XHAF5eRH4jYPVAdA/s400/typo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573857339903928946" border="0" /></a>Look at the caption above. It was visible until earlier this morning on the Mail online (alas it was later amended).<div class="blogger-post-footer"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17101458.post-18593750971785070082011-02-14T00:20:00.002+00:002011-02-14T12:25:41.985+00:00Little Fockers<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg7XcKqaYevdIzyFi6518SSRIvCSngLG12JCOTJ3rq3bTvfFB4uJ2p_F4gujBaBHYAOPbPHAJWeC1xhe6e2wUj9w9PZ3qabAnpbYuUn7DzfijECFxYfeHj2BcGelXUpz57p2F2iA/s1600/little+fockers.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 135px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg7XcKqaYevdIzyFi6518SSRIvCSngLG12JCOTJ3rq3bTvfFB4uJ2p_F4gujBaBHYAOPbPHAJWeC1xhe6e2wUj9w9PZ3qabAnpbYuUn7DzfijECFxYfeHj2BcGelXUpz57p2F2iA/s200/little+fockers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573516879280074066" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The successor to Meet the Parents.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Six years after Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro emerged as one of Hollywood's most unlikely comedy duos, the <span style="font-style: italic;">Meet the Parents</span> franchise returns with male nurse Greg Focker and his wife Pam the proud parents of twins Henry and Samantha.<br /><br />Greg's hard-earned family approval is destined to plunge to new lows as ever-suspicious control freak Jack Byrnes (De Niro) develops a new obsession: he is now on a mission to appoint his successor in charge of the whole family.<br /><br />This will only mean more pressure on Greg, as his father-in-law can't help but stick his nose into his business - queue the familiar succession of misunderstandings and cringeworthy moments leading up to Jack trying to get his daughter back with her ex Kevin (Owen Wilson).<br /><br />And while Dustin Hoffman and Barbara Streisand's contributions are purely nominal, Wilson and new addition Jessica Alba are pivotal in adding extra spice to the whole story.<br /><br />Yet it's not quite clear why the follow-up to the mega successful <span style="font-style: italic;">Meet the Parents</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Meet the Fockers</span> was slated by critics. Perhaps the default cynicism that tends to surround sequels may have something to do with it.<br /><br />No doubt none of <span style="font-style: italic;">Little Fockers</span> is groundbreaking comedy and, yes, a lot of it relies on poop scenes and all-too-familiar slapstick, but so what?<br /><br />Exactly like its predecessors, <span style="font-style: italic;">Little Fockers</span> does what it says on the tin without any high-brow ambition or post-ironic pretension.<br /><br />The film contains a selection of laugh-out-loud and crude moments: from the "Sustengo" bits (which carry tons of cringe factor -especially the scene of Ben Stiller administering De Niro an injection in his private bits) and the two protagonists' trip to the kids' new school, to the random references to Andy Garcia or the final youtube video complete with remix.<br /><br />Little Fockers may not mark a watershed moment in the history of comedy but it'll make for ninety minutes of good entertainment.<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17101458.post-59649604273377172262011-02-08T10:34:00.002+00:002011-02-08T10:51:51.479+00:00Jamie's 30-Minute Meals<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW3xzdMNNJ_FRii2Eubi61UFEBIXLfQV_odzdMAfeSTV2jDqtXhvbCra6VFk5h5OUFCHvaONFMk2zpihG8erLuqtSTZp1WoNYrl_IJV7t-fuC_HcoTP8GCk-eHMMB7Cs-ypUHpEA/s1600/jamie+30-minute+meals.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 164px; height: 164px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW3xzdMNNJ_FRii2Eubi61UFEBIXLfQV_odzdMAfeSTV2jDqtXhvbCra6VFk5h5OUFCHvaONFMk2zpihG8erLuqtSTZp1WoNYrl_IJV7t-fuC_HcoTP8GCk-eHMMB7Cs-ypUHpEA/s200/jamie+30-minute+meals.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571245079772253394" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Far from lecturing and patronising, Jamie Oliver is actually suggesting that good and healthy food should be accessible to everybody.</span><br /></div><br />I like Jamie Oliver.<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Britain's most recognised chef has taken so much stick over the last few years amidst accusations that he is "lecturing people" (<a href="http://www.teachers.tv/news/66171">quote</a>: Health Minister Andrew Lansley over <span style="font-style: italic;">Jamie's School Dinners</span>) and meddling with their eating habits.<br /><br />And yet, in a media world where celebrities, chefs included, seem to be earning fame and plaudits by virtue of shouting the F-word (literally) or the C-word louder than the next person, Jamie Oliver deserves praise for keeping away from cheap shots and loud-mouthed gimmicks.<br /><br />More than anything, however, Oliver deserves credit for dishing out tons of advice on how to make your own food without ever coming across as inaccessible or over-complicated. Which is no easy feat.<br /><br />At first glance, some of the dishes included in his latest series<span style="font-style: italic;"> Jamie's 30-Minute Meals</span> may look extremely elaborate and offputting. And yet they're not. It's amazing how much you can do in less than thirty minutes and with the simplest of ingredients.<br /><br />More, Oliver's programme is based on extreme realism.<br /><br />Pre-packed artificial microwaveable ready meals have become such a tempting option for most (this blog included) because, after a long day at work, the last thing most people fancy is a gruelling cooking session or a supermarket quest for exotic ingredients.<br /><br />Which is why, far from lecturing and patronising, Jamie Oliver is actually on a mission to make simple yet good and healthy food accessible to everybody and not just the wealthy.<br /><br />Most importantly, he doesn't think -shock horror- that everything has to be made from scratch. What matters, like Oliver himself <a href="http://www.jamieoliver.com/jamies-30-minutes-meals/">writes</a>: "this kind of cooking is all about using every minute wisely, having fun and reclaiming your kitchen for the job it was meant for".<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17101458.post-22975798246918222652011-02-07T10:56:00.003+00:002011-02-07T10:59:48.353+00:00The Tourist<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2pn98wGpNc13sxmg81BQwas2qtXCsrJWDrY62fWbkvbHJXM1fYKvJnArYRXwMQF8K_ydEtq7eMtSh-ZWHK-zeMnSdMZWyUp82d9iy6D9-LCFdokNkhzw8320fOtpFmC9M41IVNg/s1600/the+tourist+2010.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 135px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2pn98wGpNc13sxmg81BQwas2qtXCsrJWDrY62fWbkvbHJXM1fYKvJnArYRXwMQF8K_ydEtq7eMtSh-ZWHK-zeMnSdMZWyUp82d9iy6D9-LCFdokNkhzw8320fOtpFmC9M41IVNg/s200/the+tourist+2010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570899489993190322" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Winning hands down the Oscar for undeserved nominations.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Too many genres applied to a film can be a clue to its muddled nature.<br /><br />For evidence, look no further than star-studded mega-budget movie <span style="font-style: italic;">The Tourist</span>.<br /></div><br />Described as, in succession, action, thriller, comedy, drama and romantic, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Tourist</span> was designed to cash in on the pre-Christmas season and capitalise on big names like Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp as well as on tons of glamour and beautiful scenery. It's not for nothing that it was described as "two of the world’s most beautiful people in one of the world’s most beautiful cities".<br /><br />Nothing, however, can save a flimsy story and a weak plot, and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Tourist</span> is no exception.<br /><br />The initial intrigue withers within fifteen minutes when the story sags and it becomes apparently that this is a thriller with no thrills and nowhere to go but opulence, chocolate boxes and Angelina Jolie's lips.<br /><br />Incidentally, her preening persona grates after a while and Johnny Depp looks like he hasn't really grasped what the directors have asked him to do. That is, of course, supposing that they knew themselves which, judging by the whole thing, is quite unlikely.<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2