Page 1 of What I watched this week (w/e July 23rd)

On DVD:

Carnivale Season One - With touches of David Lynch and The League of Gentlemen, this dark and surreal story about a travelling circus in 1934 has the usual high production costs of an HBO drama. :D

The Best of The Adam and Joe Show - An excellent compilation of highlights from the four series of the show, in which the merry pranksters lampoon the popular culture of the day (usually with toys). I love the `People Place` segments and the brilliant `Quizzlestick` gameshow parody. :D

The Day Today - Chris Morris`s Jeremy Paxman impression is quite superb and the general parody of Newsnight-type programs is written with such skill that I was in physical pain at times. :D

Brass Eye - Proving that many celebrities are media whores who will say anything for a bit of publicity, Chris Morris lives up to his reputation as the king of TV satire. There is a commentary on the `Drugs` episode in which six addicts/dealers sit around and either talk about how naive the celebrities are, because they know that `Cake` is not real, but then say that the `Cani-bliss` system is cruel! :D

People Like Us - Chris Langham`s spoof documentary series is a wonderful piece of comedy television as his inept reporter, Roy Mallard, wreaks havoc wherever he goes with a series of ill-judged interjections or questions. :D

Sky High - I wasn`t expecting to enjoy this, but I did, largely due to the presence of Bruce Campbell, Kurt Russel and Wonder Woman! The predictable storyline was obviously aimed at children, but I liked the `powers` of the sidekicks. :)

The League of Gentlemen`s Apocalypse - Whilst not as good as it should have been (or indeed as bad as it could have been), it is still a hugely enjoyable film with some excellent stop-motion animated creatures. :)
Commentary - The `League` chat throughout the film providing some useful insights into the film and pointing out to the critics who said that the characters were badly written, that this was the point and that `the film` was only a draft copy! :D

Rize - An excellent documentary by David LaChapelle into the Clown/Krump dancing phenomenon of South Central LA. Full review to follow. :)

Forbidden Zone - Obscure, bizarre and surreal, I really enjoyed this, despite it`s flaws; review here. :)

I forgot to mention that last week I watched Underworld: Evolution which was possibly because my brain didn`t want to recognise that I had indeed seen it - absolute rubbish. >:(


Cinema

Superman Returns - Easily stands up to repeat viewings and will probably be a must-buy DVD. :)

The Break-Up - Imagine the trailer stretched to 100 minutes and that about sums up The Break-Up, which didn`t know whether to be a light-hearted comedy or something much darker and is principally about two people who are obviously not compatible and should never have got together in the first place. The only saving grace of the film is when Vince Vaughn does what he does best (and first did in Swingers) and unloads with a torrent of verbal diarrhoea, at least 75% of which is funny. :(


Television

England vs. Pakistan: First Test - I understand Andrew Strauss`s conservative declaration as he didn`t want to lose his first game as captain, but the final day was low on tension as Pakistan comfortably batted for a draw.

Carlos Baldomir vs. Arturo Gatti - Baldomir doesn`t do anything exceptionally well: he doesn`t have a big punch, his hand speed and footwork are average, yet he was more than capable of wearing down and stopping Gatti, who must now retire. It`s a shame that we`ll never get to see Ricky Hatton in a big money fight against the `Human Highlight Reel`.

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DVD
Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Blood
Friday The 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
Friday The 13th Part IX: Jason Goes To Hell
Jason X
Freddy Vs Jason
Born On The 4th Of July
Bullet in the Head
Barton Fink
Bitter Moon
City War

Cinema
Superman Returns
Review here


Mine Was Taller

This item was edited on Monday, 24th July 2006, 01:22

Superman and The Break Up.

Superman is class as ever - neatly handled throughout, though Kate Bosworth could try harder. Brandon Routh shines.

The Break Up - Contrary to Mr Beckett above, I found the film hilarious. And it wasnt only me. The entire theater was cracking up for at least the first half hour of the movie. And its worth going to see for that part itself. Jennifer Aniston is perfect as the needy/clingy and then all independent Brooke. Vince Vaughn is perfect for the role too - as a bus tour guide with a mis-placed sense of self confidence. The second half of the movie is more serious. Worth a see nevertheless.

T¦M3CH4S3R

"I am worst at what I do the best, for this gift I feel blessed. I found it hard... it was hard to find. Oh well, Whatever! NEVERMIND"

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Carnivale Season One - With touches of David Lynch and The League of Gentlemen, this dark and surreal story about a travelling circus in 1934 has the usual high production costs of an HBO drama.

Did you actually watch this?.. or did you just copy that from the back of the DVD?..

a fantastic series about the struggle between good and evil in the form of a preacher vs a carney (albeit in role reversal) .. Ronald D Moore is a genius! ...

TV

Charley Varrick - An excellent 70s film with Walter Mathau and a very young Andrew Robinson (who played the Scorpio killer in Dirty Harry, the father in Hellraiser, and Garek in DS9), who rob a small bank, which is used by the mafia to launder money, and John Vernon plays the Banker, and aided by a hit man and they are on the trail to find the two robbers.

DVD

Dead Man Shoes A very flawed film, considering its one man against a group of men who can easily over power the vigilante and knock the s*** out of him, but they all become scared of an unarmed man, I mean the guy doesn`t attempt a being a Charley Bronson with a gun, or a Jason Voorhees going around with a variety of weapons.
Which I think is the point, but like I said on their first encounter with him, they could of beat the s*** out of him.

Cars - A good film by Disney and Pixar, kind of lost its way a bit in the middle but picks up towards the end, kids will love it when it comes out on the cinema.

floyd

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Did you actually watch this?.. or did you just copy that from the back of the DVD?..Yes I actually did watch it and haven`t got the DVD boxes to copy anything from. ;)

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Cars - A good film by Disney and Pixar, kind of lost its way a bit in the middle but picks up towards the end, kids will love it when it comes out on the cinema.

How did you see this then? Preview screening?

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How did you see this then? Preview screening?


More like a pirate copy recorded on a camcorder with people passing by and kids larking around included! Does he realise that he`s funding terrorism? Bin Laden will be laughing out loud up in dem hills....! :/



www.myspace.com/robbo72uk

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More like a pirate copy recorded on a camcorder with people passing by and kids larking around included!That`s a very out-dated/old fashioned view of a pirated movie lately though - they`ve come on leaps and bounds. I was amazed at the quality of "Superman Returns" - anamorphic widescreen (correct ratio), and excellent/clear picture and sound. :)

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Does he realise that he`s funding terrorism? Lol - well if the movie studios would get their act together and release movies at the same time, they`d be no (or very little) need for piracy. I mean "Cars" has been out friggin ages (June 9) - but still hasn`t opened in the UK! That`s ridiculous. You see these adverts that movie studios put out about avoiding piracy, but a lot of the time I think they really only have themselves to blame... :/

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How did you see this then? Preview screening?

Bootleg. I have to admit it, I wasn`t a big fan on pirates, but with the latest batch of crap movies coming out of Hollywood lately, I resent forking out over a fiver as well as the added extras which mounts up to a tenner to watch a disappointing film, which so far the films that I`ve seen have all except a few have been s***e.

Cars was an excellent copy, okay so it's not DVD quality. more like VHS quality, and no it doesn`t fund terrorism, or any other propaganda crap you see on the adverts, and also if its effecting Hollywood industry that badly then you would of seen them do cut backs on all budgets and actors salaries, but they haven`t as you may notice they spent 10 million dollars on a deleted scene on Superman Returns.

I`ve also forgot to add that I`ve also watched Lord of War, which was very interesting, but what was more interesting was that Nic Cage didn`t play a full blooded American, they had to make him an Ukrainian immigrant who`s parents moved to America during the cold war, and the American who funds the weapons to African countries is in the shadow, and never speak.

It was another case of fear the black people who can easily take over a country and it could happen to America if they can get their hands on weapons, there wasn`t one positive African in the movie who was trying to stop the trade, the only Africans you did feel sorry for were the children, who will eventually grow up to become terrorists.

Going back to the bootleg debate, if Lord of War is anything to go by, it's more of a case of it's the Western government who are funding terrorism not the bootleg industry.

floyd