12.04.05
Find the Bands
Virgin have come up with a great advertising ploy. Sadly it is quite addictive but good fun. The picture contains the names of 74 different bands, see how many you can name. I got into the 60’s but definitely did not find them all…
If you think you have them all (or just a good percentage, please leave a comment).
11.30.05
My Favourite Movie
This has to be one of the hardest movie related questions you can be asked. There are so many elements that have to be taken into account such as where you were when you first saw the movie, what mood you were in at the time, who you were with, have you watched it more than once and if so is it still entertaining etc. etc.
So the movie has to tick all the boxes, it has to have an entertaining plot, good acting, it has to be both visually impressive and have a good sound track that suits the movie. It has to have some originality and flare and it has to keep you gripped, if you find yourself looking at your watch or paying way too much attention to getting that bit of popcorn out from between your back teeth then the movie has failed in it’s job.
So what movie would I pick. Well there would be many in the running.
I would love to include some of the highly entertaining action movies I have watched and greatly enjoyed over the years including Die Hard 1 and 3, Lethal Weapon 2, Cliffhanger, Mission Impossible, True Lies and the classic Top Gun. However, even though they were incredibly entertaining and fulfilled their role of good mindless action delivery vessels flawlessly they do lack the complete package that would allow them to be considered as the best (or to steal a tacky line from Top Gun ‘the best of the best’).
I would have to seriously consider the unforgettable story of Andy Duffraine surviving life inside an American prison in Shawshank Redemption (1994). The acting of both Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman was just exceptional and the plot was fantastic. But could I put it as my favourite of all time, well I would consider it a very strong contender. If I had to be (very) over critical I would possibly say it does tend to be slightly too slow at points (which could be a sign of the movie being slightly too long) and therefore I could envisage the day I start to dig around for that bit of popcorn during the third quarter of the movie.
So that brings me to the Thomas Crown Affair. Now what may surprise you even more than the choice of movie is the fact that I am referring to the 1999 re-make, not the original (1968) Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway classic. The original was it’s self a fantastic movie with some of the finest acting ever seen on the big screen (the famous chess scene is carried off with breathtaking skill) but again I thought the movie was possibly slightly too slow at points, and yes I realise slow points in movies have their purposes and in some cases are integral to the flow of the plot but I also believe that sometimes they can spoil that flow and taint the atmosphere created by the movie.
So what is it about the new version that makes it so enjoyable? Well I think it has everything, it has a great plot (keeps you entertained), a great soundtrack (lots of which is based on the original, such as the original theme of ‘Windmills of your mind’ but this time recorded by Sting). The acting is very good with great performances from Both Rene Russo and Pierce Brosnan (and a great supporting role for Denis Leary).
The story is very simple, Thomas Crown is a billionaire business man in New York who has basically achieved everything he has ever put his mind to so to find a thrill decides to become an art thief. Rene Russo plays the investigator who is on his case. The sexual tension between the two is fantastic and the ending… well I’ll let you make your mind up.
So it may not be the most perfectly crafted piece of cinematography ever (The Lord of the Rings walks all over it in that department) but I found it a great movie and one I can happily watch again and again – without picking my teeth.
To be continued…
Mindhunters - A surprise find
I am a member of Lovefilm, one of those DVD rental companies that just keep on sending you DVDs and as soon as you return them they send you another one from your list. Well, last week a DVD arrived which was quite far down my list (ordered by preference) therefore I was not really expecting much from it, however, just like one of those parties that you really can’t be bothered going to but once you get there you find yourself having a really good time, I really enjoyed the movie.
The film in question was Mindhunters, starring Christian Slater, Val Kilmer, Johnny Lee Miller, LL Cool J and a host of other ‘now what have I seen him/her in before’ actors. The basis of the plot is a group of want to be FBI profilers who are all taking part in a test to see who is most suited for the job. They are put into a false murder situation and have to work together to solve the murder however when they start to die themselves the focus changes to their real life survival.
The plot twists and turns in a ‘I think he is the murderer’, ‘no actually it has to be her’, to ‘now surely it would be to obvious if it was him’ etc…
I am normally quite good at working out these sort of movies but this low budget straight to DVD movie kept me guessing far better than some of it’s bigger budget counterparts have in the past.
In my opinion Mindhunters is well worth a rental if you are a fan of the action packed ‘who dunnit’ genre.
11.16.05
Edinburgh Traffic
So after spending millions of pounds turning Edinburgh city centre into, in my opinion, one of the most traffic unfriendly and down right confusing disasters in city planning history the wonderful City Council have had to
backtrack and admit the were wrong (ouch, that must have been embarrassing).
Now they have to waste more cash removing their follies.
I am sorry but was it not obvious that
* Shutting off half of the city centre to traffic and trying to make everyone use Queen Street would just cause more congestion
* Putting traffic lights on George Street where there was previously no problems would just make things worse
* Making streets like Drummond place completely inaccessible by making all the access roads no entry was just down right stupidity.
It is obvious to me that the council were so annoyed their bid to put congestion charging in place was so fervently defeated they now want to make the lives of those who do drive and live in the city as hard as they
possibly can.
I can’t wait for my council tax to go up again so they can have even more of my money to waste on stupid, badly thought out disasters.
11.11.05
Ode to a spell checker
Right, I have a confession to make. I am probably the worlds worst speller (a very high up member of DNA - National Dyslexic Society) and I saw a poem today that is right up my street. You see I think one of the greatest inventions the world has ever come up with (apart from my idea of a permanently cold pillow, but thats another story) is the Spell Checker. I love them and I make sure everything I write goes through one if possible. Anyway this poem suits me down to a tee…
.
Ode to the Spell-Checker
Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marquees four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea
Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh
As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong
Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.