What I Watched This Week (w/e August 3rd 2008)

Slim pickings this week as I have been reading No Country For Old Men and spending more time browsing the internet that normal, finally settling on a HD Plasma, a PS3 and several Blu-ray Discs. :D

DVD

The Wire: The Complete Third Season - Lieutenant Daniels pulled some strings and got Jimmy McNulty off the Harbor Patrol and back as a detective in his unit as the campaign against 'Stringer' Bell and the rest of the crew from the Towers continues. This season begins with the destruction of the Towers in a controlled demolition to make way for housing redevelopment so the drug dealers spread out to pastures new and find themselves treading on the toes of some dealers with a very dangerous boss. Meanwhile the political intrigue heats up with an ambitious councilman getting involved in policing matters to further his own career.

As with the previous two seasons the quality is incredible for a television show and the acting, writing, direction and every aspect of the production is top notch. :D





NW200 08 - Review here.
Cashback - Review here.
Judex - Review to follow shortly.
Nuits Rouges - Review to follow shortly.

Cinema

The Dark Knight - If a good film is worth seeing, it's worth seeing twice and this is no exception, losing nothing on repeat viewing.

The writing by David Goyer and the Nolan brothers, together with brilliant directing and acting (Heath Ledger and Christian Bale stand out) make this one of the best films of the year and I think it is tied with Batman Begins as the best Batman film yet and one of the best comic book films ever. I'm looking forward to the third instalment and am already trying to second guess Nolan as to who they have in mind as the next nemesis. :D


WALL-E - If I thought that I'd tire of this on the third viewing in as many weeks I needn't have worried. It loses nothing - if anything improves making me cry more and laugh more at the jokes and physical comedy. :D

It isn't often that you go to the cinema two weeks running and see the same two films, but these films will be in the top 10 of the year and will be definite purchases when they are released on BD.

Television

New Zealand vs. Australia - After their comprehensive victory last week, I thought that the Wallabies were a near cert to win the Bledisloe Cup in Auckland, particularly against an All Blacks side ravaged by injuries. No one told the men in black who, inspired by the return of Richie McCaw, tore into the Wallabies and used an intelligent and well executed kicking game to turn possession into a disadvantage. Dan Carter pulled the strings from behind a dominant pack and the two tries from loose-head prop Tony Woodcock and a brace from power running inside centre Ma'a Nonu sealed a comprehensive win and an all important bonus point to put them at the top of the table. Graham Henry lives to breathe another week.

Joshua Clottey vs. Zab Judah - Following last week's superb and unforgettable welterweight clash was always going to be difficult and this clash for Margarito's vacated IBF strap exceeded expectations without matching the skill and intensity of the Cotto-Margarito bout. Bizarrely Judah weighed in at 143, 4 lbs inside the limit and only gained that amount between weigh-in and fight time whereas Clottey gained 13 lbs and was a middleweight when the first bell sounded. The Ghanaian was clearly bigger and stronger, with his punches carrying more authority and I had him in a handy lead when the fight was stopped after an accidental head clash which left Judah unable to see properly. There will be little call for a return fight between Margarito and Clottey so either these two will meet again or Margarito will fight Andre Berto for the linear welterweight championship.

F1 Hungarian Grand Prix - The McLarens locked out the front row on Saturday and it would have been a very boring race had Hamilton got away cleanly and built up a sizeable lead so it was good for the race that Massa took both the silver cars at the start and created a buffer fairly quickly. The pit stops, as always, were critical and there were two fires and the strategies were difficult to figure out. When Hamilton suffered a front left puncture it blew his chances of winning the race and it seemed that Massa would take the chequered flag but the Ferrari engine let go with only 3 laps left handing the victory to Heikki Kovalainen winning his first GP (and becoming the 100th winner of a GP in the process) and giving Toyota's Timo Glock his first podium finish.