2008 Commentary on the Year

If you’re reading this, you have stumbled upon the very first This Blog has No Title Review of the Year. Okay, the first thing I should say is that it’s not really a review in the strictest sense. It's more of a commentary on the things I have in some way or another been privy to this year. Everything is divided into categories (how very organised) such as people, film and music. Without further ado, let the review/commentary begin.

Television

Six Feet Under
They’re like a family…with a funeral home
I think we all know that Six Feet Under didn’t begin in 2008, nor did it end in 2008. 2008 was however, the year I started (and technically finished) watching Six Feet Under. It amazes me how I never watched this gem of the silver screen earlier. Created by Alan Ball (of American Beauty fame), Six Feet Under tells the tale of the Fisher family who run an independent funeral home in Pasadena. Upon watching the first episode of Six Feet Under, one could guess that it came from the same mind of American Beauty. Aesthetically, they are similar and they both have a “behind the scenes in suburbia” theme. What I think is the strongest feature of Six Feet Under is how well developed each of the characters is. All of the characters are interesting and complex. They all have moments when they are likable and moments when they are not – like real human beings. Season 1 went into depth with each of the main characters and showed their relationship with the supporting characters. Season 2 however brought the supporting characters into the picture more telling us more about them and their motivation. Superb.

Arrested Development
You know, your average American male is in a perpetual state of adolescence, you know, arrested development.
Like Six Feet Under, 2008 was simply the year I watched Arrested Development. This mockumentary documents the life of the Bluth family. In the first episode Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), is called upon to look after him family and family business after his father is arrested and imprisoned. Arrested Development is a show that really suffers because of its timeslot. In the UK Arrested Development comes on in the very early hours of the morning on BBC2, it was only by chance that I came to watch it. Arrested Development is one of the funniest shows I have watched in a very long time; every episode can be quoted, the characters are the strangest and most abusing collection of people ever, the show is very well cast (Will Arnett, David Cross, Michael Cera) and the guest stars (Liza Minelli, Henry Winkler, Chalize Theron) are great.

Saturday Night Live
Causing “The SNL Effect” since 2007
This has to be one of the biggest years for Saturday Night Live. There are many who say it isn’t as good as it used to be, I wouldn’t know as I only started watching it this year. What I can say is that SNL has been in the spotlight more than usual in 2008. The SNL election coverage and political skits have attracted a large audience with good reason. They really did a good job. It has even been put forward that voters were influenced by Saturday Night Live. Hmmm, interesting.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Colbert’s got nothing on him
An increasing number of people watch The Daily Show as an alternative to the news. Why? Because it’s funny, informative and Jon Stewart is the definition of charisma. Unfortunately, if you’re in the UK, the Daily Show doesn’t provide much of your news and if you relied solely on it you’d know very little about current affairs. It’s sad that despite it’s awesomeness I have little more to say about the daily show. Oh well.

The Oscars
That was this year?
They came. They went. They were presented by Jon Stewart. More coverage is in the archives.

Honourable mentions: 30 Rock, The Colbert Report, Freaks and Geeks

People

Susan Beir
And they say there aren’t good female directors around
Susan Beir’s name is one that is often mentioned by the people of Simply Syndicated. They adore her; they think she’s a righteous dude. Susan Beir is the wonderful director of such films as Brothers and Open Hearts. This year Susan Beir made her English language debut with “Things we Lost in the Fire” starring Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro. This wasn’t considered to be her best and it was criticised by most critics familiar with herprevious work. This was my first foray into the cinema of Susan Bier and possibly because my eyes were unclouded by prior knowledge I thought it was great, largely because of Benico Del Toro’s performance. I later came to watch After the Wedding and Brothers, two breathtaking works, Brothers being the superior of the two.

Charlie Chaplin
The only tramp I wouldn’t flee from
I never thought I’d like silent films. I like good dialogue in films and this tends to be lacking from silent ones (obviously). One day I decided to watch City Lights, I can’t remember why, it’s possible that there was no identifiable reason. I watched City Lights, and it was surprisingly good, extremely good actually. But, what shocked me more than anything else was that it was hilarious. I never thought it would be anywhere near as entertaining was it was. A few days later I watched The Great Dictator, equally awesome. I then began a rather common course of action when something interests me. I began my quest to find out as much as possible about Charlie, instead of reading (like a sucker), I watched Chaplin (1992) starring Robert Downey Jr.; Charlie was a pretty cool guy.

Barack Obama
‘Cos I got a crush on Obama
There is no way I could write about the people of 2008 without mentioning the man of the year that is Barack Obama. Despite this, this paragraph will be quit brief. Barack is awesome, he is now the next president of the United States. The following video says more than I could.



Tina Fey
Like Sarah Palin, but superior in every way and not really like her
Tina Fey Tina Fey, what does one say? Previously the head writer on Saturday Night Live (yeah boi), Fey eventually went on to create her own TV series, 30 Rock. 30 Rock may or may not be based on her experiences at Saturday Night Live. In addition to this she wrote the screenplay for Mean Girls, arguably Lindsay Lohan’s best film to date, in 2004. Fey is a literary genius and I can only wait to see what 2009 has in store.

Joss Whedon
A cult king, well, not a cult cult
This guy is just amazing beyond belief. He co-wrote Toy Story, created Buffy the Vampire, Angel, Firefly and Serenity. He also had Dollhouse on the way which looks awesome. So, why the 2008 attention? Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. It’s exactly what it says on the tin, it’s a musical web series about one Dr Horrible. My watching Dr Horrible’s Sing Along Blog (more times than I’d care to mention) caused an overwhelming desire to watch “Once More with Feeling”, for the lay people, that is the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. His resulted in me watching every single episode of Buffy and Angel. Upon doing this I realised what genius Buffy and Angel is, there are some things you don’t fully appreciate when you’re seven.

Music

Peggy Sue (and the Pirates/Pictures)
Oh Peggy Sue, I don’t know what to do
I first discovered Peggy Sue (going by Peggy Sue and the Pirates) at the London iTunes festival this summer. Three acts played, Peggy Sue, Ava Leigh and The Little Ones, out of the three Peggy Sue were the best. They hail from Brighton and they play in a sort of acoustic, anti-folk style. They are very original (you don’t hear enough melodeon in music nowadays) and generally fun to listen to. I recently downloaded some of their tracks from iTunes and ordered a CD of theirs. They make a new CD every month consisting of some of their old stuff, some of their new stuff and some things by other artists that they like.



Kimya Dawson
My Mom would say, I hope some day, you get paid for being Kimya Dawson
I found Kimya Dawson partially through Peggy Sue but primarily through the soundtrack to Juno. Kimya Dawson appears on 8 tracks on the Juno Soundtracks, 5 of which are solo tracks. Kimya Dawson is of the Anti-folk genre, a genre I had never heard of until I started listening to Kimya Dawson. Kimya Dawson doesn’t have the best vocals but what she makes is amazing. Her music is so very truthful and a joy to listen to.

Film

I’ve chosen not to speak about films of the year now as I have spent a great deal of blog space this year writing bout films I’ve seen.

Literature

The Perks of Being a Wallflower
I’m finding it very difficult to remember the books I’ve read. A few weeks ago I read The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, it was a very good read. Written in epistolary form, The Perk of Being a Wallflower tells the tale of Charlie over the course of a year as he writes letters to an unknown person.

Technology

The IFC News Podcast
My Movie Podcast that isn’t Movies You Should See
This is the only podcast that I presently listen to that I started listening to this year. The IFC News Podcast is presented by Matt Singer of IFC News and Alison Wilmore of the IFC blog. Each podcast has a different topic based on an IFC news item, for instance, Mickey Rourke makes a comeback in the Wrester and they do a podcast on Notable Big Screen Comebacks.
It’s usually interesting and often funny, Matt’s moment at the end of “The Killer _____ Movie” has to be listened to.

LoveFilm
Yes…yes I do
[At this point 2009 came, happy new year]LoveFilm is quite wonderful. For £9.99 a month, I can get a relatively large amount of films. From LoveFilm I have managed to see many films that I’ve always wanted to see. Good times.

The Student Room
No caps, no trainers
The Student Room is a resource I wish I discovered earlier. It’s a forum for students of all ages. It’s been a while since I’ve been an active member of a forum. The Student Room has been very helpful during my leaving university and re-applying process (which I realise I have not mentioned yet), it’s simply great. There are really helpful articles and even more helpful people. There are also these personal statement helpers who help you edit your personal statement.

And now, about me

University
It came and went
I was a student at City University for 8 weeks. During this time I became increasingly aware that I chose the wrong university. It really was my worst decision of the last few years. I have now left my university and plan to start afresh in September. My intention is to work during the year and to do some voluntary work. I shall then start university happy, not poor and possibly a better person.

Here's to 2008

Songs to Change a Life: Part 1

There are countless list of “songs that will change your life”, this is no such list, I make no guarantee that this list has any cathartic properties or that any of these songs will affect the listener in any way. What I can say is that each of these songs has some significance to myself in some way. A sort of soundtrack to my life. I'd like to put these in chronological order of the point in my life where I heard them but I'm not Rob Gordon, I lack the ability to do this.

Fat Lip by Sum 41
I’d be lying if I said Fat Lip changed my outlook on life or had a profound impact on the way I lead my life. Fat Lip was simply the first song that I ever obtained myself. It was the first song that I didn’t, in a sense, share, with others in my family. Like many, my musical taste was initially defined by the music played in house, I live in a house of reggae, jazz, soul and R&B, these were the genres I was brought up on. Fat Lip fits into none of these genres and therefore none of the music defined as good by my family. It was the first stage in my own independent music development.

Favourite lyric: “I don't want to waste my time
become another casualty of society.
I'll never fall in line
Become another victim of your conformity
And back down.”

Why does it always Rain on Me? By Travis
I’m not the most cynical person but I do often have moments where I believe that everything is going wrong and that no-one is as troubled as I am. It happens to the best of us. Why does it always Rain on Me? represents this feeling, the dismal feeling that everyone else is happier that you are.

Favourite lyrics: “Even when the sun is shinning I can't avoid the lightning”

Drops of Jupiter by Train
Drops of Jupiter is one of the rare songs where I remember not when I first heard it, but when it gained significance. It tells the tale of someone who has left to find themselves or greener pastures and then returns. Upon leaving my secondary school where the majority of my friends were I almost immediately felt like I had left them and in doing so destroyed relationships with the people I was closest to. In Stand by Me (1986), the writer says “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?” I often think this will be true of my friends at the age of 15 (although, technically, I think these would be more or less the same people).

Favourite lyric: “Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet
Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day
And head back toward the milky way”

One Song Glory by Adam Pascal
During the course of my life I’ve wanted to take on many different occupations, lawyer, artist, writer and many more, each of which, at some point, involved creating something. This “something” would of course outlive me and me by mark on the world. This has not changed, I still feel the desire to leave something behind; I think this is a mortality thing. Ever when I no longer exist, part of me has to. Although I have almost nothing in common with Roger from Rent (I am not male, HIV Positive, a singer, a guitarist, an ex-junkie and my girlfriend didn’t commit suicide), I identify with one aspect of One Song Glory; creating this “one song”.

Favourite lyrics: “Find
Glory
In a song that rings true
Truth like a blazing fire
An eternal flame”

Sometimes you can’t make it on Your Own by U2
I’m not one for asking for help. Honestly, I hate it and my reluctance to get help accounts for a very large proportion of the problems I face. Sometimes I can’t make it on my own, despite my being fully aware of this, my actions never change.

Favourite Lyrics: “You don't have to put up a fight
You don't have to always be right
Let me take some of the punches
For you tonight”

End Titles by Thomas Newman (The Shawshank Redemption Soundtrack)
I think that part of enjoying this score is knowing the film in question and knowing how this particular score was used within the film. This score is present at many different parts of in the film, it is at the beginning, it is in the middle and it is at the end. It initially sounds sombre and depressing and eventually transforms into an uplifting piece. This reflects the life of the films main protagonist within the film; he goes from incarceration to freedom. This score makes me feel as though whatever awful things may be occurring, I have the ability to get through them.

Forever Young by Youth Group
I know Youth Group didn’t initially sing Forever Young, I simply prefer their version to the original (ooo, blasphemy). Within most us of is a desire to not grow up, Forever Young represents this perfectly.

Favourite Lyrics: “Forever young I want to be forever young,
Do you really want to live forever?”

L’Accordeoniste by Edith Piaf
When I went through what I call my Edith Piaf phase, I just listened to the music not really knowing what the songs translated to or what they meant. L’Accordeoniste sounded pleasant, the sort of song you’d do a jaunty dance to, unfortunately, it is not a pleasant song, ‘tis quite sad really. Learning what L’Accordeoniste was about caused it’s advancement onto this list. L’Accordeoniste is about a prostitute who falls in love with an accordion player who goes to war and doesn’t return. I don’t identify with the song but the way this saddening tale it told to a jaunty tune sticks with me.

Favourite lyrics: “Elle a envie de chanter
C'est physique
Tout son être est tendu
Son souffle est suspendu
C'est une vraie tordue de la musique”

This is the Greatest and Best Arguement in the World

I'm not a fan of Dr Who, I never have been. I've always considered it to be inferior to most of the shows I watch. This belief of mine fuelled and debate with a friend of mine quite recently on Facebook. I think it's an alright read.

For the privacy of those involved, the name codes featured on the blogs of Rae Charles and Agent M/ Auntie Mina will be used. This argument is between myself (Super Saph) and Agent M/ Auntie Mina.

Super Saph: You were watching Dr Who?

Agent M: Yup

Super Saph: NERD ALERT! NERD ALERT!

Agent M: If you're gonna criticise Dr who, I'm gonna catch a case with you

Super Saph: Bring it!

Agent M: NERD ALERT? There is nothing nerdy about watching Dr who it is a very intellectual program. So u wanna start a war? Don't make me get the Dr's screw driver

Super S: Sorry, I laughed so hard I forgot to breath

Agent M: WHAT? Are you mocking me and Dr who? Buffy does not even measure up to Dr who. Buffy is below there while Dr who is wayyy up there (Context: a previous phone conversation featured me talking about the awesomeness that is Buffy)

Super Saph: You know what? I will watch the highest rated episode of Dr who and then write an ESSAY about why it is not better than the best episode of Buffy

Agent M: Fine, I know you would not write more than 6 words, Dr who is better than Buffy

Agent M's status update: Dr. Who was great ( I got a double bill) [Super Saph] please find it in your heart to STOP hating.

Super Saph: Oh please! How long have you been a Dr Who fan? I really didn't know this

Agent M: Since the middle of last year, but it wasn't as great as it is now, I got really into it the beginning of this year

Super Saph: Nerd! One of us! One of us! Gobble, gobble, one of us!

Agent M: I am not a nerd, NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In response to the status update

Super Saph: I think you should realise that I haven't said one bad thing about Dr Who. All I said saw that it's a nerdy show, that's not an insult, most shows that have developed cult status such as Dr Who, Star Trek, Buffy and Freak and Geeks have done so because of their nerd following, there's nothing wrong with that. On a side note, Dr Who pales in comparison to Star Trek, Star Trek, Buffy and Freaks and Geeks, Battlestar Galactica and most other cult shows - there's my insult

Agent M: It is SOOOO much better than those crappy shows you just mentioned. How can you say that it pales in comparison? At least Dr who has variety he is a time lord who travels through time those crappy ones always do the same thing over and over again. I mean don't the ppl of battle whatever get out of the spaceship for some air gosh. Anyway as I said Dr. Who is of great intelligence and i would love to one day become one of his accomplices (wow i should have written that in my personal statement)

The Bear: Ok sapphire

Agent M: And Saph, watching Dr Who does not make you a nerd. It makes you an interesting person. Watching battle star whatever on the other hand makes you the king or queen of Nerdom (new country)

E.G: Dr. Who is pooo

Agent M: E.G we are no longer friends loooooooooool

Bay Leaf: All the shows u mentioned are crap!! lmao!! Accept it! Write that on ur personal statement Mina lol!

E.G: Awwww mini, I'm sorry but it is the truth it is a boring old granny programme, sept my nanny does not even like it HAHAHAHAH, get in to PRISON BREAK, its on tonight 10.00 on sky one, its the BESTTTT WOOOOO, Love You MiNIE X X XX XX X X X X

Jimi: Dr who is wank, Heroes is the shit

Agent M: E.G prison break is dead now. I mean they are out of prison now so why is it still on? Wasn't the whole concept to get out of prison. We want a new show. Next, and trust me when i say your granny records it and watches it when u guys are not there.
Leanne kiss my arse, even tho your comment made me laugh.
Jimi, Heroes is the shit but dr who is not wank. YOU ARE!

Bay Leaf: The best shows of this century are Heroes and desperate housewives

Agent M: I bet all of you who are condemning Dr. Who would love a ride in his Tardis.

Super Saph: And now for my comeback;
Not one of the television shows I have mentioned does the same thing repeatedly unlike the "alien of the week" series Dr Who. This is something Star Trek used to do back in 1966, it has grown out of this since then. Dr Who however, is older than Star Trek and is yet to learn, what does that say? Back to the "same thing" issue, Battlestar Galactica had a complete change in the structure and subject of the show between the original series and the new one and there is a new theme and various story arcs between each season. Freaks and Geeks did something new with each episode (it's not a Sci-Fi show). Buffy is another show that constantly changed, the same thing never happened repeatedly. And, for the record, the people often get out of their ships in Star Trek and Star Trek: DS9 wasn’t even set on a ship. Watching a TV show, regardless of what it is (except QI of course), does not make you an interesting person. What is interesting is the extent to which you can analyse and find deeper meanings with television shows. You used Battlestar as an example so I'll go with that. Battlestar Galactica is not just about people in space, very few Sci-Fi shows are. Battlestar Galactica hosts a range of philosophical issues and when it boils down to it, it about religion and faith. Mina, the fact that you have taken what I have said so seriously, and have argued so much serves only to prove that you are indeed a nerd, get over it.

Bay Leaf: Sorry Mina, Sapphire kicked ur arse!! Lol

Agent M: You mean Buffy does not always fight vampires? Really Saph?.
Alien of the week. Yeah, because they are always trying to destroy the earth and Dr. who is always trying to save it. And he doesn't even get a thank - you from doing so.
Battlestar Galactica IS a show about ppl or aliens whatever in space. Every time I'm channel surfing they are always in the ship thingy controlling something. Philosophical issues like what: 'The controls are down, we are finally going to die'. Or 'We are heading in to an astroid belt and there's nothing we can do about it'. At least Dr. Who's Tardis locks on to the nearest center of gravity.
Maybe faith, but religion?
Dr. Who is such a good story. It shows how one man just wants to bring peace everywhere by fighting intergalactic forces that are evil. And he saves the Earth so many times.
AND I AM NOT A NERD (I have been called that this and last week due to various reasons and i'd like to say I so am not)

Agent M: Bay Leaf before you make your little comments read the next piece you cow monkey fish

Bay Leaf: she still won but it was close, u were funny though.

Agent M: Kiss my arse Bay Leaf. Ain't no competition anyway. its a matter of opinions

Bay Leaf: Well, sapp had a stronger opinion, Dr Who is 4 kids and grannys who don't know any better lol!

Super Saph: Mina, something is becoming increasingly clear to me and that is that YOU HAVE NEVER WATCHED ANY OF THE TV SHOWS I AM TAKING ABOUT! No Buffy doesn't just fight vampires:
Seasons 1 & 2-vampires and demons
Season 3- the mayor
Season 4- a kinematically redundant, bio-mechanical demonoid
Season 5- a god
Season 6- a witch (also serving as an exploration... Read More of addiction)
Season 7-the source of all evil
You have proved me right, I quote you, "Alien of the week. yeah. because they are always trying to destroy the earth and Dr. who is always trying to save it." This is highly simplistic - every show I mentioned is more complex than this, and the fact you haven't said that the Dr Who has any duality proves me right. Science fiction is not supposed to be simplistic, it always serves more than 1 purpose. Science fiction is an existential metaphor that allows us to tell stories about the human condition. Isaac Asimov once said, "Individual science fiction stories may seem as trivial as ever to the blinded critics and philosophers of today, but the core of science fiction, its essence, has become crucial to our salvation, if we are to be saved at all." Star Trek was made to confront issues surrounding racism, Battlestar was designed to talk about religion and terrorism, Buffy is technically about the trials an tribulations faced when growing up.
Mina, faith and religion go hand in hand. Battlestar Galactica is essentially about the opposing beliefs of monotheism and polytheism. Battlestar focuses on many issues such as what make us human and whether religion should be trusted or followed. Tell me, does Dr Who have any such issues? Also, there are NO aliens in Battlestar Galactica.
Seriously though Mina, have you watched any of the TV shows you are taking about?

Agent M: So who is Battlestar for? Ppl that don't have friends? Surely not coz saph watches it and she has friends so don't be ignorant, William watches Dr Who, Liradonna too.

Bay Leaf: WILL THIS EVER END??

Super Saph: Never!!!!!!!! This argument is going in my blog

Agent M: I see. But Dr. who does have such issues. like todays episode. A species divided into 2 that started fighting each other. they were created by the same being "the creator" but they still fight and they were trying to get to the temple to get the new world solution (long story) but there are such issues. And Dr Who's daughter even dies because of the beef (yes he did have a daughter).
If there not any aliens then the beings sure do look like aliens or is that star trek (excuse my ignorance).
Saph believe me when i say i have tried. Those half terms back in the day, when there was nothing to do during the day so you watch day time TV, Battlestar, star trek and buffy was on. I don't know if they we on during the same period but i have tried and then i get bored or disinterested (so i used to watch charmed, will and grace and maury instead hehehe)

Agent M: It is not an argument. it's a difference of opinions. Arguments make it sound like beef. we are just trying to say why our shows are great.

Super Saph: Hmmm, your example sounds like an analogy for conflict within mankind. Dr Who may actually have duality, touche. Give me more examples like that and perhaps I shall respect it more.
Really, there are no aliens in Battlestar.
Battlestar isn't daytime TV. It can't come on before the watershed. Can we conclude that you don't know what you're talking about, only joking. Can we conclude that as you have never managed to get through these shows, you're not really in the position to say certain things about them. You can't judge a show you've never watched, believe it or not, I've watched episodes of Dr Who, I wouldn't speak ill of it if I hadn't.
Is this the end of this chapter?

Agent M: Nope.
What is the point of watching the end of something you don't have interest in? If i lose interest in the middle of it there's no point in finishing it because there's gonna be the same outcome. It has to grip me from beginning throughout the middle and then to the end. So whats the point of wasting time when I could watch something else?
Oooo there was a Jane Austin episode. That was good, in fact they are going to show it 2moro again but I'm going to bed now. Because of this i have hardly done any learning (I did some while watching the good dr)

Agent M: Sorry did I say Jane Austin. I meant Agatha Christie!

Super Saph: As I said before, I can tell which episode would be the best for you to watch.
"what is the point of watching the end of something you don't have interest in." I'll answer that with the following "How can you judge something that you haven't seen" - This is what this argument has come down to. You cannot conclude that the shows I have mentioned are bad as you haven't watched them. Can you acknowledge this?

This concludes the argument thus far, jolly good stuff

November in Summary

October

To compensate for my not having written all month

A Bit of an Update

Hmmm, a few moments ago, it occurred to me that I have a blog, several blogs to be more precise (but not of course, completely precise). So, I had a quick look at my last post which consisted of me saying I had started watching Battlestar Galactica, I expressed some mad Once Upon A Time In America love, some Crash dislike and some Dark Knight indifference. Now, to recap. I have managed to watch every episode of Battlestar Galactica, some more than once, I have the same feelings towards Once Upon a Time in America and Crash and I’m yet to watch The Dark Knight again.

I haven’t written for quite some time, one month and nine days to be exact. What the frak has happened since August 7th?

The IMDB war has ended, but do we care?
Nope, not really

Some of us may remember that around July/ August, there was a bit of a war going on. The Dark Knight fans and The Godfather fans fought a lengthy battle of mice and keyboards all try to get the favourite movie onto the number 1 spot on imdb’s top 250. As you may have noticed from the title, the war is now over. The Dark Knight remained at number one for quite some time but, as some of use predicted, it is number 1 no longer. The Dark Knight has trickled down to number 3, and I believe it will only fall further. However, evidence of the war remains. Initially, the top 3 films were, in order, The Godfather, The Shawshank Redemption and The Godfather: Part II. There’s been a bit of a switcheroo between The Godfather and The Shawshank Redemption, the damage from the war brought The Godfather’s rating down.

The keyboards were at a bit of a disadvantage

Saturday Night Live returns
Political sketches n’ all.

Saturday Night Live has returned from its Summer hiatus with some good stuff…and some not so good stuff. I opened, as we have come to expect, with a sketch about the upcoming election. Amy Poeler appeared as Hillary Cinton and surprisingly, Tina Fey played Alaska Governor and Republican vice-presidential nominee, Sarah Palin. The aesthetic similarities between these two had not occurred to me until I saw the sketch. I believe this calls for a split screen.

Palin, left, Fey, Right. Or am I messing with you?

I strongly suggest checking it out, ‘tis hilarious. That was part of the good stuff, now for the not to good stuff. The first episode back was hosted by American Olympic hero, Michael Phelps, lets just say, he’s not the best actor.

Dr Horrible and that gosh darn sing-along Blog
Is there nothing Joss Whedon can’t do?

A while ago, by a while I mean weeks ago, a web series named Dr Horribles’s Sing-Along Blog was a available to watch for free online. It was fantastic. I wouldn’t say it was the greatest internet creation since gmail but it was great for what it was. It told the fun story of Dr. Horrible, a less than terrifying villain who was trying to get into the Evil League of Evil (run by Bad Horse). All the while being impeded in his efforts by Captain Hammer (played by none other than Firefly’s Nathan Fillion) who had caught the eye of Dr. Horrible’s love interest, Penny. If you’re a fan of Whedon, particularly the humour found in Whedon’s creations, I’d say you’d enjoy it. Oh snap! Yeah…it’s not free online anymore, check if you like it on you tube and if you do, you can buy the episodes and the soundtrack on iTunes….or…go through other channels *cough* torrents *cough*.

Welcome to the Dollhouse
We've got fun 'n' games

Continuing with the Whedon theme, the trailer for Joss Whedon’s new TV series, Dollhouse. Rather actually write about it, like some kind of peasant, here’s the trailer. It looks good to me, but then again, I intentionally watch rubbish.



Trailer Daze
Phrase “borrowed” from the IFC news podcast

Apple trailers has released some goodies since I last wrote. I’m not sure if the Watchmen trailer adventure happened before or after I last wrote, but here’s the story. Empire Online basically said that they had the exclusive new Watchmen trailer and it would only be available at 5am on the site on this day in question. Losers such as myself actually woke up at 5am to watch the trailer and lo and behold, it was available on Apple trailers already. I watched it, downloaded it in HD and went back to sleep. Now…about the trailer. In my sleepiness, it looked like the best trailer I had ever seen. Hooooowever, in my awakened state, it wasn’t too great. The images in the film looked good, but on the whole, not the best trailer I’ve been privy to. Watching the trailer made me even more aware of how unfamiliar I am with the cast, which may turn out to be a good thing as I don’t have them typecast. The thing is, I recognised one of the cast member, and he played a rather interesting character in another film. The film in question was Hard Candy, and he played a paedophile…hopefully I’ll forget once the film comes out of his performance will be so awesome that he’ll make me forget. Watchmen is a comic (trade paperback if you want to be precise) that had a lot of complex story that is generally hard to tell, I can’t help but worry that a lot will be left out. Kevin Smith saw it and said it was great, but he also liked Star Wars episode 3.

Woah, Watchmen got loads of attention. Erm, I think I’ll just do a separate post for trailers. Yeah…

The (not so) Secret Life the American Teenager
How this is still being made, I don’t know, but keep it coming

Have you ever watched something knowing that it was absolutely awful? This is the relationship I have with the ABC “family drama”, The Secret Life of the American Teenager. I was just browsing…a website, and I stumbled upon The Secret Life of the American Teenager. The thing that caught my attention was Molly Ringwald’s name who I have seen since in anything made after, erm, 1986? So, I watched the first episode and what terrible goodness it was. The acting is atrocious, the characters are walking stereotypes and the story is just, blah. However, as it is so bad, I can’t help but watch it. This drama is one of the best comedies I watch at the moment.

Guess what it‘s about

Getting tired…

On a final note, additional things that have happened, of that I have become aware of are:
-Ingmar Bergman is awesome
-The Ice Bar is as cold as you think
-Tropic Thunder was not as funny as I expected
-Caribbean Ice Tea is so very tasty
-Ruby Blue is rubbish
-The Daily Show is the best way to spend 25 minutes

And…

When you want people to arrive at a particular time, tell them to arrive half an hour earlier

Once Upon A Time

Yesterday, I spent much of the day doing filing for my mother. I didn’t accomplish much, all I really did was put the papers I was filing into different piles, by the time I finished doing this I suddenly felt sick and didn’t do anymore. It dawned on me during the course of the day that I still hadn’t finished watching season three of Battlestar Galactica, I blame Virgin Media (never shall I forgive them). So, as I filed and sat on my living room floor thinking about how ill I felt, I started watching Battlestar again. For the life of me I couldn’t remember where I left off so I began from the first episode. I haven’t watched much Sci-Fi recently so it was good to get back to what I had been neglecting.

I lent my laptop to my mother in the evening and suddenly I was without anything to watch. I looked at my DVD shelf and not one thing appealed to me, I need more DVDs. I decided to go through all my recordable DVDs to see what I had recorded over the last few months and hadn’t gotten around to watching. It was then that I stumbled upon Once Upon a Time in America on a disc with My Beautiful Launderette. I’d taken my time to watch it largely due to the length, it’s 4 hours long. Anyway, for some reason I started watching it at 11pm. This is something I don’t usually do because of something I call, “The Godfather Effect”. This basically refers to something that happens to me when I watch films late at night, and it has happened to me most often when watching The Godfather. The Godfather never comes on before 10pm, so whenever I watch a 10pm showing I start to fall asleep by 11ish. I just can’t seem to help it.

Back to Once Upon a Time in America. I started watching it at 11 expecting to fall asleep by 12, this didn’t happen. After 3am I finished watching it and couldn’t believe 4 hours had passed. The story didn’t seem slow or boring, I was engaged throughout the whole film. I’m glad I saw the 4 hour version as apposed to the shorted version as I don’t see how it could be edited down. I’m sure the storyline must suffer quite a lot. All in all, I’d say it was great film, it has easily become one of my favourites. As soon as it finished, I wouldn’t have minded watching it again but that would have meant going to bed after 7 and I usually wake up around 8. I’m thinking of watching it again right now.

A few days ago I was talking to someone about Crash (the Paul Haggis one) and why I have problems with it. As I was explaining this, I decided that I should probably watch Crash again as it had been a while since I saw it. There was strong possibility that I made it worse in my head so my motivation was the unreliable nature of human memory. So, I watched Crash again. My opinion of it is no higher. It’s just so obvious in it’s exploration of problems in society, and human nature, I found it hard to watch. Apparently, loads of people are racist and there are many ways in which racism can be represented. Who knew? What I can commend Crash on is the performances, on the whole they’re very strong, but apart from that, blah.

I can’t believe I written so much but failed the write about the fact that I saw The Dark Knight last Friday. It was a good watch. “ONLY and good watch” said the internet. Damn right, I said only. The thing is, the theatre was packed, I had a really bad seat and when I see certain films with my sister I can’t help but see what her reaction is. So, it wasn’t the best viewing experience. I’m going to see it again this week with my brother, his seat was worse than mine, I’ll comment on it again then.

Goodbye Godfather, Hello Dark Knight?

I never thought I'd see the day. Ever since I started using imdb so many moons ago, the top of the list had always housed The Godfather part 1. It was then followed by The Shawshank Redemption and The Godfather part 2. Today, I was randomly pondering whether The Dark Knight had gotten into the top 250 yet, not because I’d seen it and thought it was great (which I haven’t), but because there have been quite a few previews for it and with most films nowadays, as soon as they come out, they receive a surge of votes and end up in the top 250. This year this has been the case for Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Indy 4, Wall-E and many more. So, I went on imdb to check The Dark Knight’s position and my gosh, I saw something I’ve never seen before. The Godfather was not in the number one spot. The Dark Knight had topped imdb’s top 250.

The question is: Is this further evidence that imdb’s top 250 is not reliable and valid or Is The Dark Knight the greatest film of all time? At this time I cannot comment, I’m yet to see The Dark Knight, as mentioned previously, it isn’t in the running to be my favourite film due to my clown problem but it may still turn out be a great film. I’m yet to get over the shock of seeing The Godfather at number 2. Strange. What one needs to remember is that this is the initial reaction to the film, this may be the responses of all The Dark Knight fan boys who where going to give it 10 stars regardless of how good it was. Then again, Empire gave it five stars (out of five). Oooo, I feel so conflicted. There’s a strong chance that it will go down, like I said before, more than four other films from 2008 got into the top 250 when they came out, only two remain.

No Country For Old Tropical Robots (Can't say that's not original)

On Tuesday the 19 February 2008, I went to see No Country for Old Men. As soon as I got home I wrote noted for a review on my white board and wrote a quick blog post about how amazing it was. It was not until today that I actually finished my review, 5 months after I started. I’ve even written other reviews since then, strange. Anyhoo my review is now available on Amateur Critic Reviews.

Around a week ago, I got an email from the Times about a free preview of Wall-E showing yesterday. I immediately signed up for 4 tickets (the maximum) as all the internet buzz about it got me quite excited. I first heard about it in my January issue of Empire, they did a showcase of the top films that would be coming out this year. I ignored it at this point, it failed to grab me. However, as soon as I started to see clips on the internet I was hooked. Anyhoo, it was great! I saw it with my brother, sister and cousin, I would go so far as to say that it is the best Pixar film so far. Unlike most Pixar films, there was a clear dark undercurrent allowing the film to work on 2 levels. I wrote a review of it too. I’ve certainly been busytoday.

A film I’ve mentioned previously is Tropic Thunder, a war movie farce starring Ben Stiller, jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. I’ve been following this online for months and have been wondering how I will manage to wait until September to see it. The solution, I won’t see it in September! They’re holding previews of it in August and I’ve made It my mission to se it. I presently have no cash, this will of course be rectified after a trip to the bank. The seats are selling fast so I may have to sort this out tomorrow. Here’s a nice Wall-E clip to take up some space, In mean. for your viewing pleasure.

On IMDB and Hancock

Those people on imdb love to annoy me. Today I was insulted on imdb for the first time, well, technically it was a while ago but I only just returned to the board. It all started when the trailer for Adulthood came out. I considered the Kidulthood to be rather unrealistic and generally bad, but I decided to see whether the sequel would be better. Based on what I saw, I don’t think it is. Here’s the trailer in question.


This was the subject of a thread on imdb resulting in many people saying how great it looked and how good the film would be. I personally think the trailer was a bit long for a trailer. Who makes a 4 minute trailer? More importantly, how do does one make a 4 minute trailer without giving any details of the storyline. This is basically what followed all the Adulthood trailer love:

Bahometh: wow, looks terrible! i hope people who said it looks good dont really mean it.

I then responded with

SaphMB: You just made the most logical statement on this thread so far

I can support this claim as I believe the trailer looked awful. It started fine; the monologue looked like a good set up for the trailer and the film in general. However, after that, it is essentially a channel U music video. I didn’t notice that someone had responded to my post until today, here it is.

Legolased12: And you two are *beep* If you don't like this film then don't comment the board. People like you are mugs. Quick to complain about things and post negative comments online but if you actually see someone getting beaten you will just walk past and ignore it,and then complain about todays youth.

I had to respond to this. My thoughts as they were are expressed by my response.

SaphMB: Hmmm, okay then. Something you should be made aware of is the fact that the message boards on imdb are not just for those who want to compliment films but those who want to criticise them too. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, mine is based on my belief that the trailer does not look impressive. The monologue at the beginning looks like a great set-up but as soon as the monologue comes to an end , the trailer suddenly turns into a music video showcasing what garage now offers. Few elements of a story line are given and it’s bit too long to be a teaser trailer so this must be the theatrical one.

"People like you are mugs. Quick to complain about things and post negative comments online but if you actually see someone getting beaten you will just walk past and ignore it,and then complain about todays youth."

You have no reasoning to call me a mug or anything other than someone who did not like the trailer. My opinion of a trailer has nothing to do with what kind of person I am or what I would do in a situation where someone was being assaulted. As for complaining about today's youth, I am one of today's youth and I am constantly given reason. In London, there are many cases of children assaulting and killing others; some are reported, many are unreported. The problem is not that someone may walk past when someone is being assaulted, then problem is the fact that assault is so common in society today.

I hope Legolased12 sees that.

I saw Hancock today, wow, I watch some of the most mainstream films ever at the cinema. Oh well. Hancock; not that great, disappointing actually. My brother FELL ASLEEP, TWICE. This was my main source of entertainment as my brother snores, quite loudly actually. As a result of this, I decided to play a little game. I tried to see how long I could go without getting him to wake up meaning, how long would I allow the snoring to go on for. I allowed it to go on for a while but he woke himself up. I sent most of the text message I’ve sent this week during that film, I also listened to my iPod for a while. That’s how good Hancock was.

I think my may be growing tired of Will Smith’s humour. He’s essentially given to same type of jokes in most of the films he’s in; it gets old. What someone needs to do is give him a role that allows him to show greater range than we have previously seen. Jason Bateman was good, I’ve only really noticed him since I started watching Arrested Development; a jolly good watch. I’ve also be watching Six Feet Under. I watched 3 and a half seasons in 4 days. Evidence that the show is great and that there isn’t much to my life.

Leave civilisation and embrace nature?

Today, I watched the Sean Penn film, Into the Wild. Essentially, it’s about a young man(Christopher McCandless later Alexander super tramp) who, tired of the hypocrisy and focus of material “things” around him, decides to give the $24,000 of his savings to charity, and travels to Alaska. This led to me to ponder, would I be willing to leave the civilised, concrete jungle of London, to travel without unnecessary possessions and live in the wilderness? 

Why I wouldn’t
My immediate response would be no. I like films, I like music, I like my creature comforts. I appreciate what I have, and honestly, I’m not sure what I’d do without them. So many times if I’m felling low, indifferent, sad (or happy for that matter), I throw on a good DVD to enhance my mood. It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve seen a film or how ludicrous the storyline may appear to be (yes, I accept that The Goonies has a ludicrous storyline) but if I’m feeling low, I like to watch something where I know everything will be alright even if life might not be. Plus, I like having a roof over my head and knowing where my next meal will come from.

Why I might consider it
Often, I wish I was a bit more free. I understand that there are many places on this planet that I am yet to explore or even hear about. I find it admirable that people go on quests and discover new things about the world as well as themselves. It’s exciting, that’s what it is. I lead a highly uneventful life, I nearly always know what is going to happen and it is because of that that a venture such as leaving my life behind stating anew is somewhat welcoming.

That’s it I guess.

Coming out of Shawshank

I now know how Andy felt at the end of The Shawshank Redemption. I have left the prison that is full time education (well, for 3 months) and I got through the crap filled tunnel that is A-Levels. Yes I tells ya, I’m free. Okay, so maybe it’s not exactly the same as Shawshank, but I don’t think I could feel any better than I do right now.

See, I’m that happy, actually, that looks a bit scary. Anyhoo, I don’t know what to do with myself, my plan was to start looking for a job on Monday, but, my mother had other things in mind. You see, me being off from school means that there someone to make the house extra clean. That’s freedom for you. I’m sure when Andy got out he didn’t get to everything he wanted, come on, he was building a boat, now that’s hard work.

My last exam was on Thursday, Sociology. It was possibly the worst exam experience of this exam season, just when I thought it was going well. I’ve spent the last few days procrastination, actually, it’s probably not procrastinating when really have nothing to do. Let me rephrase that, I’ve spent the last few days enjoying my freedom. I’ve watched High Fidelity, Kiss Kiss bang Bang and Venus. I also watched Arrested Development and Oz, the prison show, not the musical. It turned out to be pretty good but some parts were just horrifying.

I’m meant to be going to see The Incredible Hulk today. If you, like me, can’t stand listening to the sounds of children laughing, gasping or making any other unnecessary noise during films, I strongly recommend seeing films on Sundays or before 12 on weekdays. I went to check the rating online (I say went like I got out of my seat) and, in turn, accidentally saw the Rotten Tomatoes fresh rating. It’s 64% fresh, that isn’t good. Despite this, I bet it’ll spend at least one day on imdb’s top 250. Empire gave it 3 stars, the same as Iron Man, let’s see whether it’s better or worse than it’s predecessor (by predecessor I mean the previous Marvel funded film, Iron Man). We’ll just have to wait and see.

Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na [Insert word here] Man!

Last Sunday brought us the MTV Movie Awards of 2008 which I must say was a jolly good watch. The MTV Movie Awards are probably the only awards I’ve watched every year for like, the last 7 years. They’re always fun. There were two highly notable sketches this year, some were a bit blah, but these two were awesome. Mike Myers and Dana Carvey reprised their roles as Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar for sketch giving the top 10 porno names based on films of 2008. My intention was to provide a YouTube video of this, unfortunately, the video is no longer available. The other awesome sketch was a promotional video for Tropic Thunder; I found that one.

When they showed that on Monday, they missed quite a few bits of it, damn MTV. Oh well. Hehe, “It’ll do…until Dark Knight comes out”. It appears to be the consensus that Dark Knight will be better than Iron Man. This may turn out be true, but I know right now that that I personally will prefer Iron Man, I’ll probably only watch Dark Nigh once. My reasoning for this is the same reasoning for why I rarely watch Tim Burton’s Batman, I don’t; like clowns. They freak me out more than anything else and Batman confirms my theory; clowns are evil. Iron Man will be the more enjoyable film for me.

Speaking of the Dark Knight, I was watching Batman Begins, which I downloaded on iTunes. Yes, you can now download movies on iTunes. I feel this was geared towards people like me who aren’t bothered go out to rent films at Blockbusters and don’t want to receive random films that they may want to watch at some point through Love Film. Today, I felt like watching Batman Begins because honestly, I don’t remembered what happened. It’s taking much longer to download than I thought it would. I watched around an hour and a half of it while it was downloading but now, it needs to continue for a while. I never realised how good Cillian Murphy was, this may have been because I had no frame of reference for him when I watched Batman Begins initially. Ummm, I think I can go back to watching it now but before I go, here’s some thing everyone can enjoy, except maybe the Coulrophobics.

On Racism

People entertain me so much these days. Today has been a relatively entertaining day in relation to people’s views on racism and I’ve concluded that some people are simply prejudiced or dare I say it, stupid.

Dispatches: In God’s Name
Channel 4 is one of my favourite television channels, not just because it shows some of my favourite American shows (ER, Scrubs ect) but because it also shows the fantastic show, Dispatches. Channel Four is the British TV channel that’s probably the most left field. One of the ways the difference between Channel 4 and other channels is expressed is through Dispatches where a various issues ignored by other channels and often the government are expressed.

The episode of Dispatches I just watched was not one of the hard-hitting, gritty stories about what’s really going on in society, it was not one of the episodes that points a finger at the government, what I consider it to be is an examination of a rising sub-culture. The focus of the episode was Christian fundamentalism. I say sub-culture because this is not representative of Christianity, most Christians are not like this. Some of these people really scare me. During the course of the show they indirectly stated that anyone that disagreed with them was evil. This means, as a result of my support for abortion, gay-marriage and acknowledgment of Islam (I’ll get back to that) I would pretty much be evil. The main thought that went through my head was, “this is none of their business”. I don’t understand why so many people believe that they have the right to attempt to change the lives of others.

Now, to the main reason why I felt the need to comment on this show. There was this man and in addition to protesting about Jerry Springer: The Opera, he, and a group of others took it upon themselves to protest about the opening of a Mosque in East London. They basically stated that Islam was not a religion, all Muslims are the same, they are not peaceful people, Allah is Satan and then proceeded to give thoughtless “explanations” as to why they thought they were right. All religions are based on faith, belief without proof, this, in turn means that no religion can be proved or disproved. No-one of any religion has the right to say that another is wrong.

Tropic Thunder
Now, you just read an account of what is definitely racism in modern day society. However, there are always those who blow issues waaaaaaaaay out of proportion. For those who haven’t seen the trailer for Tropic Thunder firstly, shame on you, and secondly, here it is:


Okay, fun wasn’t it. And yes, that really was Robert Downey Jr and this is also the “issue”. People have stated that Robert Downey Jr’s playing a character, playing a character who is black is racist. If anyone believes this, please, give me a logical explanation why. I mentioned a REAL account of racism previously, THIS, however, is foolishness, It’s not racism, it’s entertainment (I do understand that entertainment can be racist but this is not one of those cases). The strange thing is, this has happened in reverse on several occasions, White chicks (which committed sins against cinema for even existing) and various Eddie Murphy films. I just hope that people don’t take out their foolishness on Robert Downey Jr, it’s his year, don’t mess it up fools.

Let’s leave this on a fun note


Hehehe, Albino Shape-Shifting Lizard Bitches-Classic

Ooo, I just read this, it really doesn’t sound eloquent, drat. Oh yeah, where it says Dispatches: In God’s Name, I’m not being blasphemous, In God’s Name was the name of the episode of Dispatches.

Rocket+Car=Rocketcar

I mentioned in a previous post that I’ve been watching Ally McBeal partially because it makes me feel saner. I also mentioned that I feel happy knowing that I’m not hallucinating. Yesterday, I got very worried that I was indeed hallucinating. I was sitting on the bus on my way to college and I could see a rocket coming into my view. It was a rocketcar! I kid you not. My first thought after thinking about the greatness I was seeing was that I must be hallucinating, come on, a rocketcar? I took a picture to clarify whether or not I saw what I though I saw. After getting some second opinions, It turned out I really did see a rocketcar. Look!

Yesterday was also my very last day of college, well, that’s what they say. We still have to go back for exams and leavers afternoon. Lets just say, my last lessons at college were on Friday. Regardless, I still think this deserves a…

People Getting Punched

Ever just want to watch people get puched

...just before eating


...just before breaking AF1 rules!!!

Ever feel a bit...blah?

It’s official. Exam season has begun. My first exam is tomorrow; if I had done better in my exams last year I wouldn’t be taking this one. You see, this is a re-take of my AS maths exam. I’ve tried reasonably hard to prepare for this, but, as usual, my efforts have gone unrewarded. Every practise paper I have taken thus far has given me a grade C or lower. It’s not that I expect to get an A in maths, but I just hope to get at least a B on the paper I’ve spent two years preparing for. My sister insists that my grades last year were good and that I have really high expectations of myself. She compares me to others that I have not done as well as myself. At these such times, a quote from William Faulkner springs to mind, “Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.” It is these words that I try to live by, at least academically.

Today, I revised for around 7 hours (taking food and YouTube breaks) and during this time I tried not to be distracted by checking my e-mail. To avoid this, I didn’t open iGoogle…until 20 minutes ago. I don’t really care about horoscopes, I find it highly unlikely that 1/12 of the worlds population will have the same experiences on any day. Despite this, I have my horoscope on my iGoogle page, partially because the picture matches my iGoogle design. My horoscope caught my attention today, possibly because of the word, disillusionment. It said:

Your career goals may not be as in touch with reality as you think and you could face disillusionment if you try to hold on to them. Unfortunately, working harder won't turn a fantasy into something that's real. Take an objective look at what you are doing and consider whether or not it fits with a sensible plan.

I’m not sure the way these words should be taken. Does this mean, screw A levels, you’re not going to pass so stop trying OR do your frickin’ A-Levels, you’ll never be a film director OR, could it possibly mean, do SOMETHING with your life, this waiting for your calling just isn’t working. Oh the triple entendre.

As I mentioned previously, I have an exam tomorrow (technically two). At this point I should be nervous or scared in some way. Strange thing, I’m not. I’m beginning to think that I don’t care. It’s not that I’m prepared (which I’m not), I simply don’t care. (I smell a rant coming on). This is all rubbish, education should be one small aspect of ones life, at 18, it should not be the only thing I worry about. Every once and awhile I think about forgetting about all of this, pursuing something I enjoy. Right now, I think the most important thing about any occupation I take on in the future should be that I enjoy it. I don’t want to be a psychologist. I can’t help people with their problems, I stand by my belief that someone as messed up as myself does not have the right to tell other people that they need to be helped. I’ve been watching a lot of Ally McBeal recently, it’s a show that always leaves me feeling a bit saner. Right now, I feel better because I know that despite all the things that make my sanity somewhat questionable, at least I’m not hallucinating. Dear God I’m using a fictional character to determine my sanity.

I don’t think I’m any better that Rae Charles. Help.

Remember...Gap Adverts

So, back to my Iron Man adventure. We went to the cinema on Monday to see our free film. The whole time my brother was speaking to the staff, I was just thinking that they had no proof that we had free tickets and they’d send us home. They did not. One of the members of staff just told the others that they didn’t need to see our tickets. I was a bit of a Jedi mind tricks moment.

What happened on Sunday: As I mentioned previously we were running 10 minutes late for the 5pm show. What appears to have happened was, we went into the show that started one hour before the one we thought we were going to see so we missed an hour or so of the four pm show. I didn’t enjoy the second showing as much as the first mainly because I felt quite ill. I ate a large amount of sweet popcorn and Pespsi. That was not a good idea.

Whilst at the cinema I saw one of the most awesome adverts I have ever been privy to so I thought that I’d dedicate this blog to some of my favourite adverts. Indeed.

This is the advert that I saw at the cinema. It basically tells the tale of me, every time I start to revise, I mean, when I try to get my stuff done.



This advert was one of the most impressive adverts I had ever seen. I made me want to learn how to dance (it soon wore off).



Who does better adverts that Gap? It saddens me that I don’t see gap adverts anymore so here’s a tribute to some of my favourites.

Just one of those days...Until...

Today started off as one of those days, you know, you want to go back to sleep but you can’t, you want to eat but you’re strangely full, you want to work but you just have no motivation and, most importantly, you want to download your favourite podcast but it’s not in the feed yet. Or...maybe this is just me. After some computer time i finally hit the books and revised for my impending C4 (that’s core maths to the people smart enough not to choose maths A-Level) mock exam. My real exam is under 4 weeks away so technically I was revising for that too. Anyhoo, back to it being one of those days, I’ve been working in my kitchen as opposed to my bedroom for two reasons; 1) There is barely any natural light in my room which makes it a reasonably unpleasant place to work in, and 2) My desk is quite high; combine this with my being under average height and you get a reasonably uncomfortable work station. So I’m working in my kitchen, a communal area and naturally, I get interrupted by the family, over, and over, and over again. I completed 1 and a half modules, significantly less than I intended to. Now, let’s get to the interesting part of my day.

Around, four thirty my brother comes to the house, we’d planned to see Iron Man. He, of course did not check what time the film started and a quick internet search resulted in me dressing very quickly to get to the 5pm show. There’s no way I could have left my house in what I was wearing previously. I got up this morning and I had a strange desire to wear shorts, so I put on theses horridious (yeah, horridious-a hybrid of horrible and hideous) purple shorts and one of the baggiest t-shirts I own. This, is what I call, studying clothes.

Back to the cinema segment of this piece; I was ready at 4:50 giving us 10 minutes to get to the cinema. We got there at around 10 past 5. You’d expect us to see trailers when we got there right? Wrong. As we open the doors I see Tony Stark being rescued by the military. You don’t need to have seen the film to know that a whole load happened before that moment. We still watch the film (because, you know, it’s our fault) and it turned out to relatively awesome, I’ll speak about the film and express some mad Robert Downey Jr love later. As I got home I went straight to the computer to watch the 10 minutes of the film I missed (don’t get me wrong, I don’t condone watching films online). It turns out, we missed around half an hour of the film, 38 minutes and 21seconds to be exact. That means it was not our fault. My brother has gone to complain and hopefully get us some free tickets as compensation. Yeah Boi.

He just got back, apparently we’ve got free tickets for a screening tomorrow. Unfortunately, my brother appears to have no proof of this so I’ll just see what happens.

Okay, back to what I saw of Iron Man (and the RDJ love). Iron man is what I call a great start to a story that will (yeah, I said will) be even better. It’s an origins story and we all know that origins stories can be, well, crap (Hulk anyone?). It was a film that relied heavily on the performances and the interactions between the various characters. Luckily, the acting and chemistry was fantabulous (hybrid of fantastic and fabulous). There were some great moments between Robert “Cooler than nitro” Downey Jr and Jeff “The Dude” Bridges, between “Cool Hand” Robert Downey Jr and Gwyneth “kinda growing on me” paltrow and between Robert “Got the cool” Downey Jr and Terrence “I’ve only seen you in Iron Man and Crash” Howard. I’m sensing a theme here, oh Yeah, Robert Downey Jr was Awesome (in the Bill and Ted sense). There were many Downey Jr-isms present and that added a drop of, I don’t know, liquid perfection to the film. Iron Man was not necessarily faultless in terms of story and progression, but what I can say is that the next instalment will be exceptional. Can I get a Yeah Boi?

On a final note, if you actually read this and trust me, at least in the movie sense, you’ll watch iron man and If you do, WATCH THE BIT AFTER THE CREDITS. Yeah boi, fan boys, Nick Fury is coming.

Ken and Boris and Brian and...Charlie?

‘tis a very important day in London. The final segment, the important part of the Mayoral Election takes place today, well, until 10pm this evening. Today, I voted for the first time. Sure it’s not a general election, but it’s pretty damn important. I’ve decided not to disclose who I voted for to anyone, not even my dear readers, sorry, I’m just not willing to go into a long conversation defending myself and my opinions. You can at least know that I didn’t vote for the BNP. I’m sure that quite a few people think I voted for the Green Party (good old Sian), mainly because I’ve been saying vote Green for the last however many years. Oh yeah, I’ve turned 18 since I last wrote, hence the voting.

I went around one week without watching any films in full, it’s strange. There is barely any time to do anything these days. Right now I really should be working, but I just can’t bring myself to pick up a pen. I’ve been approaching most things with indifference, I’m not really the most fun person to be around right now. This is what A Levels do to people.

I watched the film Chaplin (1992) the other day. I’d taken to watching Charlie Chaplin films so I thought I’d learn a bit more about the man behind the tramp, not to mention, Robert Downey Jr is supercool. Anyhoo, despite not really bearing a physical resemblance to Chaplin (except maybe in relation to height) I never doubted that he was Chaplin. And, for an American, he pulled off a reasonably good British accent. My conclusion: not only is Robert Downey Jr supercool, he’s cooler than liquid nitrogen. So, I watched Chaplin, and it turned out to be a jolly good watch. Richard Attenborough is a pretty talented director.

Old Charlie was an interesting guy, and he made great films (based on what I have seen thus far). There’s scene from The Great Dictator (which cause a load of controversy at the time because people didn’t really see anything wrong with what the Nazis were doing), that almost anyone would enjoy. It’s hilarious, well , there are two scenes, have fun.