Well, over the past month I've been absolutely Life on Mars mad, and by mad I mean my usual obsessive nature when I find something I really dig. I get completely into it, hard and fast and in a big, bad way. The music gets into my head, quotes keep popping up, the theories (when applicable) get whirring around the old noggin ... so aye, obsessed would be a good way to put it.
I never got into it when it first showed on BBC One, so I've been watching them on the box sets (which is a great way to watch something, if you're as obsessively minded as I am, it really lends to that way of viewing).
Bloody great it most certainly is ... all of it, bloody brilliant - especially the episode 2x05 Camberwick Green 'skit' (if you will). Absolutely hilarious, really well observed (and yet loving too), but most importantly bloody entertaining. Everybody involved did a superb job. It's got great acting, great directing, great writing, great cinematography, great editing - the whole shebang is bloody great.
Next up - obsessing over Ashes to Ashes - the LoM follow up, oh yes indeedy.
...
Since writing this post, I've started in on Ashes to Ashes, two episodes in so far, and I'm really enjoying it too. Jolly good show!
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
The Dark Half & new Futurama!
The Dark Half:
I'd seen this once, many years ago, when it was shown on ITV ... needless to say I'd basically forgotten all of it. I'll be quick on this one, it's standard King story telling, but it's not standard Romero filmmaking. Needless to say, it's not one of Romero's best and indeed preceded a long stint in movie development hell for the zombie genre legend.
That said, it's still worthwhile seeing for King and/or Romero fans. It's just a shame it feels under-done, if I dare use the cooking analogy again so soon. It could have been more, most certainly, but it could have been a total cock up which it most certainly wasn't.
...
Futurama: The Beast With A Billion Backs:
Not quite as good as Bender's Big Score, but still consistently entertaining and of great interest while viewing. The same Futurama humour and charm remains, even if the B-Movie riffing plot doesn't quite blast off into outer space, but it gets pretty damn close.
The Simpson's nineteenth season this most certainly is not ... the consistent belly laughs and clever, inventive writing keep it fresh.
That's pretty much it though, I can't think of much more to really say. The DVD's decent, with a similarly chucklesome cast & crew commentary. Bring on the next installment - Bender's Game.
I'd seen this once, many years ago, when it was shown on ITV ... needless to say I'd basically forgotten all of it. I'll be quick on this one, it's standard King story telling, but it's not standard Romero filmmaking. Needless to say, it's not one of Romero's best and indeed preceded a long stint in movie development hell for the zombie genre legend.
That said, it's still worthwhile seeing for King and/or Romero fans. It's just a shame it feels under-done, if I dare use the cooking analogy again so soon. It could have been more, most certainly, but it could have been a total cock up which it most certainly wasn't.
...
Futurama: The Beast With A Billion Backs:
Not quite as good as Bender's Big Score, but still consistently entertaining and of great interest while viewing. The same Futurama humour and charm remains, even if the B-Movie riffing plot doesn't quite blast off into outer space, but it gets pretty damn close.
The Simpson's nineteenth season this most certainly is not ... the consistent belly laughs and clever, inventive writing keep it fresh.
That's pretty much it though, I can't think of much more to really say. The DVD's decent, with a similarly chucklesome cast & crew commentary. Bring on the next installment - Bender's Game.
LA Takedown...
Indeed, the TV movie practice session for Mann's 1995 triumph Heat. What's it like then? Pretty crap to be fair, the plot feels undercooked (as does the script), heck it outright takes massive leaps and bounds in the overall story arc. It feels cheap, it's lacking coverage, the performances are mostly over-the-top or even wooden ... it just feels relentlessly cheap and half-done pretty much.
But then again, maybe it was a totally necessary practice in order to achieve the sheer brilliance of Heat, the proper full-on film version (not made for TV at all, of course) which continues to blow socks off to this day - indeed, Kane & Lynch as well as GTA IV have both recently riffed on Heat's famous bank heist sequence.
At times, yes, you can see Mann's talent seeping through in some of the shots and some of the dialogue, but like I've said, it smacks of lacking, mainly in the resource department.
When you've already seen Heat, it's damn hard to sit through LA Takedown without glancing at the clock a few times. Perhaps my thoughts are overly harsh, and yeah there are some redeeming qualities to it ... but to be honest, it is pretty naff now.
But then again, maybe it was a totally necessary practice in order to achieve the sheer brilliance of Heat, the proper full-on film version (not made for TV at all, of course) which continues to blow socks off to this day - indeed, Kane & Lynch as well as GTA IV have both recently riffed on Heat's famous bank heist sequence.
At times, yes, you can see Mann's talent seeping through in some of the shots and some of the dialogue, but like I've said, it smacks of lacking, mainly in the resource department.
When you've already seen Heat, it's damn hard to sit through LA Takedown without glancing at the clock a few times. Perhaps my thoughts are overly harsh, and yeah there are some redeeming qualities to it ... but to be honest, it is pretty naff now.
The African Queen...
Several years ago, back in my first year at University, we were shown The Maltese Falcon (on a restored print, fact fans) during the first semester's foundation unit, which covered the essentials of cinema. It was at this screening that I immediately became a Bogart fan, and therefore set about gathering up as many Bogart films as I could find - indeed, you might say I was Bogarting the Bogart, to coin the popular phrase that derives from his name.
Back when Virgin Megastore was still around (it's now Zavvi, after a take-over of the franchise), there was a 4 DVDs for £30 offer on, and one of the discs I picked up was The African Queen, Bogart's 1951 double-act with Katherine Hepburn, which one the former a long-awaited Oscar.
For some reason, however, I never got around to watching it. So for years (count five and a bit) the DVD has sat on my shelf, watched only once - by two of my uni mates when they'd ran out of stuff to watch in bed. But as previously blogged about, I'm in a major "gotta watch a bunch of films I've got but haven't seen yet" mindset, so I nabbed The African Queen off the shelf and shoved it into my computer and barged through it like a knife through butter.
I've no idea why it's taken me so long - partial laziness, partial waiting for the right mood to kick in, partial too busy to do so mentality - but spiffing it certainly is. It might not be Bogart's best performance, but it's strong and engaging nonetheless and rides completely over the somewhat oddball plot (take the boat down river through rapids and leech infested reed beds in order to ram into a German boat to blow it up ... with hand-made torpedoes).
Indeed, it's easy to chuckle at the story at times, but that's all forgettable as the two central performances are so engaging that it's just all about Charlie and Rosie's journey through Africa. A definite must-see for Bogart followers.
Back when Virgin Megastore was still around (it's now Zavvi, after a take-over of the franchise), there was a 4 DVDs for £30 offer on, and one of the discs I picked up was The African Queen, Bogart's 1951 double-act with Katherine Hepburn, which one the former a long-awaited Oscar.
For some reason, however, I never got around to watching it. So for years (count five and a bit) the DVD has sat on my shelf, watched only once - by two of my uni mates when they'd ran out of stuff to watch in bed. But as previously blogged about, I'm in a major "gotta watch a bunch of films I've got but haven't seen yet" mindset, so I nabbed The African Queen off the shelf and shoved it into my computer and barged through it like a knife through butter.
I've no idea why it's taken me so long - partial laziness, partial waiting for the right mood to kick in, partial too busy to do so mentality - but spiffing it certainly is. It might not be Bogart's best performance, but it's strong and engaging nonetheless and rides completely over the somewhat oddball plot (take the boat down river through rapids and leech infested reed beds in order to ram into a German boat to blow it up ... with hand-made torpedoes).
Indeed, it's easy to chuckle at the story at times, but that's all forgettable as the two central performances are so engaging that it's just all about Charlie and Rosie's journey through Africa. A definite must-see for Bogart followers.
Wanted...
Another film and another trip to the cinema, this time to see Bekmambetov's latest (he's the Russian that did Night Watch and Day Watch) - so indeed, it's all about insanely OTT action sequences and slow motion. Based on a comic book, and with a plot revolving around a squad of hitmen who get their next targets via lapsed stitches in material woven through a giant loom, it's all rather daft for the most part.
But daft in a good way. Cars fly over other cars in barrel rolls, bullets are curved by flinging the gun a bit, people are sniped from miles away, and so forth - it's all insanely stylish and action packed. Not many action movies look like this, it has to be said. This is not your average actioner.
No, this is not a movie designed for tweenagers - the 18 rating in the UK shut that observation up quick smart - and nor is it an excuse to leer at Angelina Jolie, who only gets her kit off once for about three seconds for a quick arse shot, which is properly contextualised. This film is all about the action and the assassination story.
I personally wasn't especially gripped throughout the proceedings, there were few edge of your seat moments. While I was still entertained by it all, I wasn't sat there glued to the spot. Ultimately I feel this comes down to the film's general lack of 'that special something', which ties you into the proceedings completely. You're almost fully sucked in, but there's something that's keeping you somewhat at a bit of a distance. It seems like a lack of heart or emotion, but then again this moderate to minor flaw most likely can be traced back to the source material.
Why? Because comic books/graphic novels and movies are two different beasts. What goes in one doesn't go in the other all the time, and indeed, going from one to the other you might have to adapt certain things - hence the apparent lack of heartening 'x factor' to Wanted's proceedings.
Otherwise it's all rather entertaining and oftentimes grin-inducing. Over all, it's a solid outing - and mercifully avoids the head-up-arse exposition of Bekmambetov's previous flicks - a sequel would be most welcome, but as long as it properly grips next time around.
But daft in a good way. Cars fly over other cars in barrel rolls, bullets are curved by flinging the gun a bit, people are sniped from miles away, and so forth - it's all insanely stylish and action packed. Not many action movies look like this, it has to be said. This is not your average actioner.
No, this is not a movie designed for tweenagers - the 18 rating in the UK shut that observation up quick smart - and nor is it an excuse to leer at Angelina Jolie, who only gets her kit off once for about three seconds for a quick arse shot, which is properly contextualised. This film is all about the action and the assassination story.
I personally wasn't especially gripped throughout the proceedings, there were few edge of your seat moments. While I was still entertained by it all, I wasn't sat there glued to the spot. Ultimately I feel this comes down to the film's general lack of 'that special something', which ties you into the proceedings completely. You're almost fully sucked in, but there's something that's keeping you somewhat at a bit of a distance. It seems like a lack of heart or emotion, but then again this moderate to minor flaw most likely can be traced back to the source material.
Why? Because comic books/graphic novels and movies are two different beasts. What goes in one doesn't go in the other all the time, and indeed, going from one to the other you might have to adapt certain things - hence the apparent lack of heartening 'x factor' to Wanted's proceedings.
Otherwise it's all rather entertaining and oftentimes grin-inducing. Over all, it's a solid outing - and mercifully avoids the head-up-arse exposition of Bekmambetov's previous flicks - a sequel would be most welcome, but as long as it properly grips next time around.
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