So apparently, Joss Whedon is doing Shakespeare now.
Firstly, awesome. Secondly, where has he found the time whilst he's filming The Avengers?
It seems the play he has settled on is "Much Ado About Nothing" and he's cast Buffy/Angel alumni Alexis "Wesley" Denisof and Amy "Fred" Acker. Oh and other Whedonverse stars include Reed Diamond (awesome porn name), Fran Kranz and Tom Lenk. And who can forget Nathan Fillion (certainly not my wife).
I look forward to this with baited breath. Though obviously not as much as The Avengers.
Friday, 28 October 2011
Thursday, 27 October 2011
Red Alert
I'm a massive Kevin Smith fan. I love the View Askewniverse, I modelled my retail career on the film Clerks, I love his comic books ("Quiver" was what made Green Arrow relevant again) and I've even seen him live.
Which is why his last few films have been a bit of a disappointment. Jersey Girl was too bland, Clerks 2 was rehashing old ground (but I liked the old ground so I didn't mind that much) and Cop Out was just a bit dull (but he didn't write it so no wonder).
So it is with great delight that I can report on just how much I enjoyed Red State. A complete departure from Smith's earlier work, it's edgy (by God is it edgy), it keeps you guessing and has some genuinely uncomfortable moments.
I won't reveal too much about the plot, beyond the fact it's being marketed as a horror - which is somewhat misleading as I'm not sure that I could pin it down to any one (or five) genres. John Goodman is brilliant as always and Melissa Leo (who's clearly in everything now) is squirm-inducingly excellent.
A thoroughly gripping watch which proves that Smith can be versatile as a director. Like Clerks was, it's edgy, but in an entirely different way. Smith seems to do his best work when he sticks to his indie roots.
More of this please Kevin.
Which is why his last few films have been a bit of a disappointment. Jersey Girl was too bland, Clerks 2 was rehashing old ground (but I liked the old ground so I didn't mind that much) and Cop Out was just a bit dull (but he didn't write it so no wonder).
So it is with great delight that I can report on just how much I enjoyed Red State. A complete departure from Smith's earlier work, it's edgy (by God is it edgy), it keeps you guessing and has some genuinely uncomfortable moments.
I won't reveal too much about the plot, beyond the fact it's being marketed as a horror - which is somewhat misleading as I'm not sure that I could pin it down to any one (or five) genres. John Goodman is brilliant as always and Melissa Leo (who's clearly in everything now) is squirm-inducingly excellent.
A thoroughly gripping watch which proves that Smith can be versatile as a director. Like Clerks was, it's edgy, but in an entirely different way. Smith seems to do his best work when he sticks to his indie roots.
More of this please Kevin.
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
Alpha Dog
In the wake of "Heroes" (great season one, awful season four - totally cancelled), "No Ordinary Family" (OK, but totally cancelled) and "The Cape" (diabolical, and thankfully also cancelled), I was somewhat surprised to learn that there was another "what if real people had powers" TV show on the block.
And so we have "Alphas", where a middle aged, experienced professor leads a team of young people with superpowers on missions to protect the world (or America, which in TV terms, is the world). So far, so X-Men right? Err...right. Wish I could say that it's not that, but it seems that making a carbon copy of X-Men is exactly what the producers are aiming for. Sure it's more grounded in reality than the comic, but the premise is identical.
On the plus side, it does have David Strathairn as said professor. He's clearly taken some time out from wishing us "Goodnight and Good Luck" to make some cash through a "sell-out" TV show. And good for him I say. God knows, I'd sell out if it was me.
As for "Alphas", I'll give it a few more before I pass judgement.
And so we have "Alphas", where a middle aged, experienced professor leads a team of young people with superpowers on missions to protect the world (or America, which in TV terms, is the world). So far, so X-Men right? Err...right. Wish I could say that it's not that, but it seems that making a carbon copy of X-Men is exactly what the producers are aiming for. Sure it's more grounded in reality than the comic, but the premise is identical.
On the plus side, it does have David Strathairn as said professor. He's clearly taken some time out from wishing us "Goodnight and Good Luck" to make some cash through a "sell-out" TV show. And good for him I say. God knows, I'd sell out if it was me.
As for "Alphas", I'll give it a few more before I pass judgement.
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
Quizzed to death
Another Monday, another quiz night.
This time we came fourth (again). Fail.
On average we seem to be getting worse not better, although the fact there wasn't a film round did hurt us a lot.
Still I got a question about Dick Turpin right, so it can't be all bad.
The next one's not until December, so here's hoping there's a Christmas round. As, I may have mentioned once or twice before, I do love Christmas...
This time we came fourth (again). Fail.
On average we seem to be getting worse not better, although the fact there wasn't a film round did hurt us a lot.
Still I got a question about Dick Turpin right, so it can't be all bad.
The next one's not until December, so here's hoping there's a Christmas round. As, I may have mentioned once or twice before, I do love Christmas...
Monday, 24 October 2011
Through the Ringer
So I'm still persevering with Ringer, primarily because it means that I get to keep make puns based around the word "Ringer".
Three episodes in and it's just holding my interest, however with The Walking Dead starting back now it may fall off the radar. I'm beginning to find Sarah Michelle Gellar annoying, which is a shame as I really liked Buffy. Plus, I can't quite understand why Hornblower (and he is Hornblower, except when he's Mr Fantastic) has put up with her all this time.
And then there's the ending epilogues, which each week sees the "evil" twin taking phone calls in Paris only to tell the person on the other line "she's ruining THE PLAN. We must KILL HER." It's beginning to turn into a real life version of Inspector Gadget. If "Evil" twin starts screaming "I'll get you next time Bridget!" I'm out right there.
That's not true, that'd probably pull me back in.
Three episodes in and it's just holding my interest, however with The Walking Dead starting back now it may fall off the radar. I'm beginning to find Sarah Michelle Gellar annoying, which is a shame as I really liked Buffy. Plus, I can't quite understand why Hornblower (and he is Hornblower, except when he's Mr Fantastic) has put up with her all this time.
And then there's the ending epilogues, which each week sees the "evil" twin taking phone calls in Paris only to tell the person on the other line "she's ruining THE PLAN. We must KILL HER." It's beginning to turn into a real life version of Inspector Gadget. If "Evil" twin starts screaming "I'll get you next time Bridget!" I'm out right there.
That's not true, that'd probably pull me back in.
Sunday, 23 October 2011
Jurassic Classic
So I was fairly ambivalent about "Terra Nova". On the one hand it was billed as LOST meets Jurassic Park, which are two things I like. On the other it did look a bit like Dinotopia, and it had the guy from the pretty dire American remake of "Life on Mars" in the lead. The good news is he's much better in this.
I've now watched four episodes, and whilst I'm a little concerned they're going to drag out the overarching story for an extremely protracted length of time, so far it's interesting enough to keep me involved.
Sure, the guy from Avatar is playing a nicer version of his character from Avatar. Sure the fact it's got kids and teenagers in it means it could be a little too "family" and not edgy enough. Sure the teenage boy's love interest is INCREDIBLY annoying. But it's got charm (and CGI Dinosaurs) so I'll stick with it for a bit.
Plus on a personal note, I think all of the British characters are actually played by Brits, which I always prefer.
I've now watched four episodes, and whilst I'm a little concerned they're going to drag out the overarching story for an extremely protracted length of time, so far it's interesting enough to keep me involved.
Sure, the guy from Avatar is playing a nicer version of his character from Avatar. Sure the fact it's got kids and teenagers in it means it could be a little too "family" and not edgy enough. Sure the teenage boy's love interest is INCREDIBLY annoying. But it's got charm (and CGI Dinosaurs) so I'll stick with it for a bit.
Plus on a personal note, I think all of the British characters are actually played by Brits, which I always prefer.
Saturday, 22 October 2011
Quote of the Week
This week's "Quote of the Week" came from my friend Jen (who had plied me with wine and was responsible for the Singstar travesty I mentioned yesterday).
For some reason, several of us were involved in a drunken conversation that had turned to the subject of Joss Stone. Jen abruptly interupted with the following:
"I want to take Joss Stone's face and smash it into Keira Knightley".
If that's not an amazing image for a Saturday morning, I don't know what is.
For some reason, several of us were involved in a drunken conversation that had turned to the subject of Joss Stone. Jen abruptly interupted with the following:
"I want to take Joss Stone's face and smash it into Keira Knightley".
If that's not an amazing image for a Saturday morning, I don't know what is.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)