Flavours of the Month: April 2012...

LOOKS:

Titanic (ITV) - Julian Fellowe's four-part drama was never going to be able to match the spectacle and scale of James Cameron's 1997 monster hit, so instead this televised dramatisation focuses on particular characters from the various classes of passenger aboard the doomed ship. The results are alright, but not memorable - a far more interesting story to tell would have been everything following the sinking of the ship itself. Dramatising the survivors coming to terms with what happened, their losses, and the ensuing legal battles and public fallout - that would have made for far more interesting Titanic-related TV drama.

Beavis & Butt-head Do America - a blast of nostalgia was the order of the day as it swung by on Sky Movies this month. I was flung right back to my teenage years in an instant.

Drive Angry (Blu-Ray)

Bridesmaids (Blu-Ray)

The Guard (Blu-Ray)

Craig Fergusson - as is so often the way when you're surfing around YouTube, you'll come across a clip of interest (e.g. Nerdist man Chris Hardwick appearing on the Craig Fergusson show in America) and you'll then watch a shed load more clips related to it. So I've ended up watching a ton of The Late Late Show With Craig Fergusson clips on YouTube as a result.

All Star Celebrity Bowling - as featured on the new-look Nerdist Channel on YouTube.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo 2011 (Blu-Ray) - another tip-top, extras-heavy presentation for another spiffing David Fincher flick. On second viewing there is indeed not enough pairing of Mikael and Lisbeth on-screen (even though their stories are both strong separately) - they don't meet until minute 76 (of 158 minutes), and from then on it's not like they're inseparable either ... but then again to me it's a nice companion piece to the original Swedish film. Each do things their counterpart doesn't, and vice versa.

Continue reading below for what's been this month's soundtrack, and a lengthy look at some ways in which I'd like to see a possible L.A. Noire 2 go.

Quintuple Bill Mini Musings: April 2012...

Bridesmaids:
From the Apatow stable comes this critically and commercially adored comedy, written by Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig (who also stars, alongside a whole gang of riotously funny femmes). I recall a few dissenting voices in the otherwise applauding crowd decrying it for 'being too much like a guy movie' with the crude gags, but perhaps if you're not a stuck-up prude you'd realise that men and women aren't so massively different after all, least of all in their humour. Paul Feig's flick - at a generous running time of just over two hours - gives you plenty story, plenty laughs, and never outstays its welcome (indeed, I was left wanting more - an appetite fulfilled by the copious extra features on the Blu-Ray presentation). Even with all the laugh-out-loud moments (my throat was hurting by the end as I'd been laughing so much), you genuinely identify/sympathise with Kristen Wiig's Annie, a thirty-something who finds herself suddenly quite lost on her life's path after her best friend announces she's getting married. A great cast and a great script make this a must-see laugh-riot.

Click below to read more about The Guard, The Messenger, Cedar Rapids, and 127 Hours.