Dah, my back!

I woke up this morning, went to bend over to pick up the 3DS so I could give Zelda a quick spin (I finally finished it today!) and my back just kaned for no reason whatsoever, guess I just slept on it badly. I picked up another ball buster of a game today: Bit Trip Runner is just insane and I haven't even cleared the tutorial levels, every time you mess up it's all the way back, even if it's just one teeny tiny thing, it already reminds me of meat boy but this is considerably more musical which is a small plus.

To complete my AFI: 100 years of Thrills list on Icheckmovies I watch Hitchcock's The Birds which for it's time must have been pretty ground breaking, mainly for its special effects which mainly consisted of a green screen I believe. I must say however that I really didn't care too much about any scene that didn't have any birds in it after a while as the characters were a little dull. When it came to the attacks however I was quite impressed, the School scene was decent and the town invasion was very cool, of course the ending is very simple and open which I actually quite like. Overall it is definitely not Hitchcock's best but it is amusing to see a very alternative horror film but it was a bit too long; if you need a watered down version watch it here:

http://www.angryalien.com/aa/thebirdsbuns.asp

David Lynch:... why?

I watched Blue Velvet today, while it was not as 'WTF' as Eraserhead it certainly had a very dark and euphoric tone which was intentionally juxtaposed. I would be lying if I said I genuinely enjoyed the film as I probably wouldn't see it again unless forced but it was defiantly an experience like no other. I did enjoy His Girl Friday however, Cary Grant was very amusing and the lines of dialogue are fired like a machine gun, not a single word is out of place and the story is both simple and needlessly complex to the journalists. Funny and impressive for the time but not so heavy on the romance aspect to put off male viewers, at heart it is a comedy like no other and I would recommend it.

I had the pleasure of sitting in on Mark's driving lesson today which was rather insightful, Mark is actually a very good driver, despite some minor hiccups involving the clutch I was impressed. Personally I will probably start learning after I finish University if I decide to go, which I probably will as it will be vastly cheaper in insure myself, and maybe there will be a new cheaper alternative for petrol; but we can only dream for now.

Getting a little bit cooler

I spent most of today playing TF2, I won't lie, but nothing else really happened in my life today. Didn't have time to watch any films but I shall hopefully remedy that with tomorrow and Thursday being free days, unfortunately there is some damn history homework that will need doing, groan. I have been absolutely addicted to Schmoyoho's youtube channel recently, especially their 'Auto-tune the News' section which is just amazing, link below and have a good Wednesday.

http://www.youtube.com/user/schmoyoho

27.9 C?

Again. It is hot. We may be in for some tropical rainfall during the night however which should cool me off nicely tomorrow, otherwise I am going to get claustrophobic and sticky in school again. I got a haircut as well as it was starting to look a bit beastly so I will be graced tomorrow with 'Oh, a haircut' from everyone who knows my name which is really annoying, It'll be payback when they get their hair done, I can wait.

Another crime film that may have been lost on me, The French Connection was a well made film with some good acting but it just seemed to go on and on, until the car chase, which was amazing, then it got boring again. I think the issue was too many characters that I didn't know the names of nor did I understand their motives as I couldn't hear 80% of the character's dialogue with all of the background noise. It also dawned on me that the picture quality in the 60's - 70's was actually pretty poor which is unusual was films like The Apartment still look very crisp, guess it was just the jump in technology when they went to colour.

God it's hot

Tonight is probably one of the hottest nights of the year so far and frankly it is going to be a pain trying to get to sleep since I am already sweating like a roasting pig. Spent most of today playing TF2 on account of the new update which has added some decent new weapons and since it is now free-to-play I am anticipating many new friends to play with me.

Jurassic Park was the film I watched today and I genuinely enjoyed it quite a bit. It was kinda like a more family friendly version of Jaws as it definitely had it's share of tense moments, many originally complained about the violence in the film but I say good on you Spielberg for toughening up any kid who watched this. I was unaware that Samuel L Jackson was also in this film and that just added to the greatness, the dinosaurs looked pretty good and the CGI hasn't dated too much. I don't even like dinosaurs that much but Jurassic Park was a hell of a ride.

This weekend gets a 5 I guess, while there was some downtime and boredom moments it was generally ok as I am nearly done with Zelda again and TF2 was fun on ocassion. Here's to a good nights sleep!

Born to be wild

With the death of Dennis Hopper about 13 months ago I decided to watch the film that probably kick started his career: Easy Rider, another film about eh American Dream and how it has changed over the years into something unrecognizable. It's got a few particular moments in it that don't really make any sense, especially the acid trip scene towards the end but for the most part I enjoyed it, the first half was a little slow, but as soon as Jack Nicholson turns up the film starts moving at a decent pace and we start to get some mildly philisophical moments, although because I didn't grow up in the US the impact and message of the film has been slightly lost on me.

What the hell have I gotten myself into?

Attended the school magazine meeting and I'm not quite sure what to think, I wanted to do a film review and so did 50% of the group, of which there were only 4 not including me so I am a bit stuck on what to do there. Revolutionary may be a phrase a bit too harsh to use to describe them but they were certainly keen on stirring up some emotions in the students over the new school building and issues in general, mildly intimidating but I hope to continue with them... I think.

Beverly Hills Cop was an ok film, not really as laugh out loud as I had hoped and the pacing was a little bit too slow as I felt that the conclusion took way too long to get to, I did enjoy the ride somewhat however, the scenes with the other 2 policemen where clearly the films highlights and I enjoyed watching their relationships improve with Eddie Murphy. I also got a chance to see the Charlie Chaplin classic City Lights which was rather impressive overall, the slapstick comedy did seem a little dated but still had some great moments within its many set pieces, the restaurant and the boxing match stand out. I was also surprisingly moved by the ending of the film, which I won't spoil here but I certainly didn't expect it when the rest of the film was so silly natured, while not as funny as Duck Soup, it provides a greater 'feel good' factor due to it's simple plot and beautiful ending.

Might be getting a hand in the School magazine

I will be attending a small meeting tomorrow that may get me a small part in the school magazine, hopefully for writing film reviews, I don't know how often it would be but it certainly sounds like a lotta fun. I also finally decided on a good idea for my English coursework, something like the changing language in crime films over 60 years or something like that, as a result I watch Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train. Again it had the popular elements of a Hitchcock title and plenty of his dark humour, James Stewart's character in Rope shares a very similar conversation about murder as Bruno in this film. The first act was very good at setting the scene and characters which ultimately lead up to the murder of Guy's wife, I personally felt that the second half was a little bit lacking as it moved at a much slower pace as the rest, however it truly picked up in the final 20 minutes. I never thought a tennis match could be so tense and the final sequence on the carousel was just inspiring and exhilarating. Part dark comedy thanks to Robert Walker's delightful manner to murder and the rest a decent thriller, I think I may just prefer it to North by Northwest... maybe...

Hump Wednesday...

Another slow day, sigh. I prepared a history presentation but that was about it. I watched Bonnie and Clyde which was pretty good, the second half certainly picked up the film but the initial 30 minutes were a little dull. I did find it interesting how Clyde simply wanted to be remembered and to go down in history, as so many of us do, although he didn't really care how he did it but when he started to see his name in the newspapers he is clearly excited which makes him a more rounded character. The others were very good too, but it was the moment with Gene Wilder that really made me smile due to his everyday nature which was clearly put on to appease his captors, whilst myself and the other characters cringe at the sound of that terrible joke about milk being re-told Wilder laughs it up to keep Buck happy.

Tuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuesdaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay...

Man its been dull today, fell on my ankle which resulted in excruciating pain, to make matters worse Louis thought I was merely 'putting it on for attention' when it was actually quite bad... Other than that we watched Food Inc which was a documentary about food, clue is in the title and frankly I had seen that kind of thing a million times before so it was nothing really new. I did watch a couple more old cartoons however which eventually delved into the WTF category, especially the Betty Boop version of Snow White which was ridiculously brilliant and the same goes for the Big Snit which was just bizarre, but I was instantly hooked from the IMDB description:

A couple have a fight over a scrabble game unaware that a full scale nuclear war has started.

Genius

Not the Water Temple!

I was rather enjoying Zelda until the dreaded water temple came up, only 2 redeeming features in it: the battle with Shadow Link and the longshot, apart from that, the music is boring, the environment is cold and forgettable and its just a damn chore to get through... but it get so much better from that point on.

While watching The Last Picture Show I couldn't help but draw similarities to The Graduate, however I felt that the former greatly surpassed the latter in terms of tone and values as the characters seemed much more human. I also appreciated the setting of a run down Texas town that is slowly dying as it reflected on the attitudes of the characters, both growing old and distant, it's enough to make you think. I also finally got around to Black Swan which was pretty good, not as good as the Wrestler in my opinion though. Aronofsky knows how to make a good film though so Ihad little doubt this would be good and his camera work certanly deserves recognition as it literally dances with the actors, especially Portman who was excellent in her role and eventual decent into madness. The plot wasn't really the most interesting on the whole damn was it scary, I was literally jumping around like a rabbit at times. And one other thing: Aronofsky knows how to end a movie.

Po returns!

Spent most of the day playing Zelda, I can't get enough of it quite frankly... its so good! I did go to see Kung Fu Panda 2 however after throughly enjoying the first. You gotta take it at face value, something I forgot to do upon entering the cinema as I was bombarded by adverts for coco pops and Paulton's Park I only just realized that I paid full price for a kids film... it was a guilty pleasure. Honestly though it was a good little film, it was predictable and some gags were unecessary, kids will love it but frankly I think the original will be remembered in a few years over this sequel.

Well it is the end of another weekend, I am aware I havn't been rating them, mostly because they have been lack-luster or because I am lazy (most likely the latter) however this weekend has been something special due to the Green Mile, Zelda, Bournemouth and everything else, I think an 8/10 suits this weekend well, it has been good to me but now it is time to brace the invitable Monday; the yin to weeend's yang...

Bournemouth uni visit

Hour drive into Bournemouth early this morning with Born in the USA pumping in the car, went around with Mark and I was genuinely impressed with the campus and the courses, particularly script writing which looked very promising. Came back to Automatic for the People and my lovely Zelda, oh nostalgia how you make me giggle deep inside. Loving the portable nature of an amazing game, graphics are incredible and the 3D is decent too, had to make sure that my greasy fingers from the KFC had been wiped as I dared not get my 3DS dirty!

Then came the main attraction of the evening: The Green Mile. A film I had long been putting off due to its long run time however I have since fellt like a fool as it was phenominally good. The actors were incredable and I got the desired readings from all the characters, especially Percy I hated that little SOB, but for all the right reasons. I don't think I have seen a film with so many powerful and sometimes starteling sequences and it really got me thinking hard about life and death which is something I never do... honestly I am finding it hard to think of reasons to praise this film as it is just how every film should be, thought provoking, emotionally stirring and beautifully made.  

Where's my Zelda Gamestation?!

Extremely disappointed that Ocarina of Time did not arrive this afternoon as that was essentially my afternoon planned as far as I was aware, if it doesn't arrive by tomorrow there will be blood.

Film Friday was very good this time around as we watch One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest which was, as expected, extremely good, especially due to the excellent performances of the lead actors and actress's and the supporting cast. Consistently amusing with a powerful and somewhat iconic ending sequence this one truly is one of the greats, also a couple of friends did mention it's slow(ish) pace in some places.

Woo, new game tomorrow

Since I pre-ordered Zelda 3DS edition I have been very excited about finally getting a chance to play it as I adore the original as much as the next guy; crossing my fingers for a early arrival next morning. Being back at school wasn't as bad as I thought yesterday as it was good to see all the chums again and being gently broken into our A2 courses, our film class now only has 5 people in it after two dropped out so now we have no one to make fun of because he dropped the course so he could do further maths instead; we all say he's crazy because he actually got full marks in his film coursework... silly fool.

Got through a couple of good old fashioned cartoons today along with a film that I feel is seriously underrated: Good Morning Vietnam! I really enjoyed the characters and the light hearted tone of the film which contrasted beautifully with the ruthless war, this was especially well shown in during the infamous 'What a Wonderful World' scene which was very powerful. I am always surprised with just how good an actor Robin Williams always is as well, particularly after reading that he improvised most of the radio speeches, this is probably also the only film I have seen him without a beard as well. I laughed, I got a little emotional (not crying) and I got to recommend it as well, it was WAY better than Platoon.

End of my study leave

Well this is it folks, the end of my one week with no school pressures whatsoever since last September, I spent most of it just sitting around waiting for it to be over sadly as now I kinda want that time back; although I'm sure all I would do again is just mope around the house. We did have a very unsuccessful trip to fabric land today as we were in the market for a large, perfect white sheet to be used as a backdrop but they were all the wrong size and far too expensive, also I forgot my PIN number so my debit card was eaten by the machine, FML.

I wanted to watch a Mel Brooks film that Mum suggested today: The Producers which I thought was a lot weaker than his other comedies as it was very clearly more 'of it's time' but I'm cool with that in this case, as it was still amusing in places, but not laugh out loud hilarious as according to the AFI who listed it as the 11th funniest film of the 20th century.

Michael Caine, a gangster film, a BRITISH gangster film?! What could possibly go wrong?

Oh expectations... how you didn't live up to them...

Get Carter was just a boring movie with no characters I cared about nor liked, some may argue that your not supposed to like most of the characters because they are bad guys, however I even disliked the protagonist who was just undeveloped and bland. The worst part was that it doesn't even have a real ending, an un-named character gets introduced 10 minutes to the end of the film and does something that makes all the films events seem even more pointless, I expected a British Dirty Harry, what I got was a film that was just being seedy for the sake of it. A real shame... maybe it's just dated I hope.

Pair of Steven King inspired films

Stand by Me was a very good coming of age film which I thoroughly enjoyed due to it's memorable dialogue and interesting characters. The story was simple and humble and left me in thought at the end which is always a good thing. I then finally got round to the Kubrick horror masterpiece The Shining which lived up to it's reputation very well, it was consistently tense and well acted, especially by Nicholson who was terrifying and phycotic, I couldn't take my eyes off of him. The music and camerawork was also phenomenally good, every shot was composed with care and the score simply complimented the thrills.

Football in the rain

It was light drizzle all day and we got to play football in it... oh yeah. We played one match for half an hour, the final score was 10-2, to them... at least there was some food but I had no money, but I hear there was good food. After returning home and wringing out my clothes I settled in to watch the Bicycle Thieves which I possibly the first Italian film I have watched and the subtitles certainly didn't compromise your understanding of the language as every other sentence was missing translations, not that it really matter as it pushed the story through fine. It was a very simple film about petty crime and a father who wants to do the best for his family and it has a very poignant ending and should certainly be applauded for its artistic merit, however some scenes could have generally been shorter and maybe a little more engaging, particularly the scenes with the old man which seemed mildly pointless in the grand scheme of the film. Went out for a Chinese this evening as it is the parents 19th (hope I got that right) wedding anniversary and now I am prepared for over-night hibernation as I am stuffed to the brim. I also get a lie-in as I have no school till Thursday, lucky me.

'You're gonna need a bigger boat'

Jaws was pretty damn good for an oldie although I cannot justify the '12' certificate it has because it is actually pretty gory, but I forgive it because it had some very tense scenes and some very quotable lines! We decided to broaden our palate at work today by moving away from toasties and into the world of home made pizza, or Pizza Toasties as we like to call them, they are unanimously awesome. Gotta wake up early again tomorrow for explorer football, I just wanna lie in bed though as I have been really tired recently, damn you Cape West: Last Window, you excellence has taken a toll on my sleep time!

Small Film Friday

Only had about 7 people round this evening, we re-watched How to Train your Dragon which was decent with a good gang. In retrospect I realize I didn't actually eat lunch and instead helped myself to a bountiful bowl of popcorn which was amazing, haven't had a bowl since I started blogging! Quite tragically I dropped the Wii this afternoon, transforming is terminal yet stable status to royally mucked up, with some help we could repair it with a cracking open job but I have to get Chris down again for that. Here's to hoping that I can get the damn thing fixed!

A big ol' faff of an interview

I had a job interview today via telephone and we have these wireless home phones here that occasionally need recharging. 2 Hours before the interview was due I check the phone I had which read 'Full Battery,' I also charged my mobile and carried them both around in my pockets so I was totally prepared. An hour after the assigned phone call I thought they just forgot, but it turns out my full power phone had depleted and failed me, so I had to call them up and had an interview then which was ok, unfortunately the woman ended with a small bit about how there had been 100 applicants and that it was unlikely that I would get the place... Ta very much.

Another Scorsese film, his more recent and critically acclaimed 'The Departed' deserves every accolade it gets. The cinematography was incredible, the performances from an near all-star cast was top notch, tension was high, guns were fired, identities were elusive... It was a outstanding crime film!

More from Batman!

I decided to give the original Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins today as I really enjoyed the Dark Knight but never got round to the first. Although it's sequel is clearly Superior I actually really enjoyed this film as it definitely fleshed out the character of Bruce Wayne, while watching the Dark Knight I didn't really think that Christian Bale when you saw him made much of an impression as 90% of the time he was in the suit, in Begins however I really got to know him as he only becomes Batman about an hour into the film. Scarecrow himself is one of my favorite villains and as with many others I felt a little let down by him when he actually becomes Scarecrow as he is defeated in less than a minute, at least we got a lot more Alfred in this one!

Nintendo E3 conference...

Typically when I get excited about something I have difficulty sleeping, whether it's a birthday, Christmas or a new big game coming out, in this case it was the arrival of the 3DS Internet browser. Woke up at 4 am today and decided to go back to sleep which I found surprisingly difficult but then I only woke up again at 4:05 only to have the process repeat again until it was finally a decent time to get up. I don't even know why I was so excited, there is no flash player (yet) and it is quite slow for a browser, hopefully there will be some future updates.

Nintendo's speech at E3 was pretty damn good, highlighting future releases for the 3DS (Mario Kart looked pretty sweet) and finally introduced the WiiU which blew my mind, I finally have an incentive to get a job so I can afford all of these nice bits of technology!

We got around to watching Aliens tonight which was quite fun and action packed, had some good scares and some genius scenarios for the characters to fight through. I enjoyed the key sequences, the xenomorphs were freaky and disgusting and the setting was also quite cool putting you back into Ridley Scott's world, I believe it surpasses the previous film in terms of overall enjoyment although technically the first may have some better film-making.

Damn you... exam timetable!

Felt pretty prepared for the exam this morning, got up, had my breakfast and went into school all ready to go, problem was, no one else from my english class was anywhere to be seen at 9 when the exam was due to starts, looking around a bit more I found them all chilling in the common room, I later discovered that the exam was at 1:30 and I felt like a right numpty. Overall the exam was decent, little tricky but I could manage!

Double Indemnity was very good today, again using the great concept of the 'perfect murder' and how all the anti-heroes' efforts slowly unravel, and again, Billy Wilder doesn't dissapoint with some sharp dialoge and one of the coolest match striking techniques seen in cinema! A great film-noir with a good plot, interesting characters and another reason to never trust insurance companies!

Feeling a bit uninspired

I havn't watched a film in 2 days, this is a first for about 3 months and it has left me feeling a little crummby. It has been for a good cause however as I have been revising for my English language exam which is tomorrow and if I have (re)learnt anything, it's that the exam is going to be really unpredictable but you just have to apply the right and relevant knowledge. Because of revision I had a humble day in,tomorrow I will be partying it up as much as I do during a typical lunchtime with a corned beef sandwich, I'll get around to a film or two and play some games that will relieve me. Until then, wish me luck and good luck if anyone reading this still has any exams!

Hooray for Jai McDowell

My favorite candidate to win Britain's got Talent came through tonight, although it was a close call between him and a mini operatic Bieber but clearly the right man won... and not Jene Martyn. THAT would have been a shock.

Visited my primary school this evening for a Birthday party of my old head teacher and it was a real nostalgia trip, seeing the old and new buildings, seeing the familiar faces, going down the big slide while I narrowly avoid bird poo as I reach the end of it, truly I have cherished these things and it was good to watch the school develop as I have.

Vote for Roland!

Vote for natural beauty, vote Roland for the new Next model: here is a link!

http://www.next.co.uk/model-competition-2011/vote-for-me-idgek9j984/

Good lord that gave me and Louis a laugh, but seriously, he is predicted to win and I think he deserves it!

Very little happened today, mainly comforting Louis after 15 hours of video games by sitting out in the garden drinking tea and coffee and him getting indigestion... good times. I watched The King of Comedy as per Mark's recommendation, I thought it was pretty good although I would argue that it wasn't really that funny but De Niro was very good but I would have liked to see his character explored more as he was quite fascinating, however the kidnapping half of the film was quite fun and very embarrassing to watch at times; not a Scorsese masterpiece but a unique film.

I'll be blunt

Editing, rough draft done.

Played Brawl again, forgotten love.

Louis is hosting 24 hour game session, he's gone to bed already.

Went to a party, just got back.

Sleepy now, I can't wait for bed.

Kite flying

Lots of small things happened today, first of all, the Wii is slowy dying. It can bearly read discs anymore and refuses to play some game so I will ultimatly have to get that checked out, however we did buy some addtional tracks for Rockband including 2 songs by R.E.M, Flight of the Concords and the ultimate power ballad: Total Eclipse of the Heart! After playing through that bizzare set list I went kite flying with the explorers, personally I didn't fly any as I have a fear of flying kites I developed as a young boy but I did act as kite launcher, unfortunatly there was very little wind so we ended up lying down and having some mild banter, a good evening.

I watched Blazing Saddles this morning after it arrived from Lovefilm. Personally I enjoyed it but I wasn't really having laughing fits at any point, it had that comedy style similar to Airplane! in an odd way as it was very random in places and ultimatly ended up breaking the 4th wall; twice!