take this to relax you

global warming, my ass. this guy's just a dickhead.

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 17:02:49 GMT

Dear States of Australia,

I have come to the recent but inescapable conclusion that you have been living in lovely, temperate weather patterns for too long. Yes, you boil come Summer every year, but you know what, SHUT THE FRACK UP YOU DON'T GET SNOWED ON.

As such, I have seen it fit to commence weeks of much fuckery with you. Since I finished with the UK the other day, and my 5000 piece puzzle of a rainforest last night, I've been bored.

Terms and Conditions:

Queensland: You will drown. Period. You will be hot and sticky and wet, as always, but I've been on a huge video game high lately so from now on I'm going to make you row a dinghy to work as you attempt to avoid crocodiles. Also, I'll take a few hundred of your houses. Ta.

New South Wales: ALL ABOUT THE MIND GAMES, BABY. 45C on Monday. 14C on Wednesday. Rain on Tuesday. A few thunderstorms for Thursday. Should you take your jumper? What about your raincoat? Longsleeves? Shorts? Thongs or shoes? MWA HA HA HA HA! This is going to be too much fun. (Also, just a friendly heads-up, you should save yourselves some money and fire all your weathermen. They won't be worth shit for a few weeks to come. Particularly that one on Ten. But he's a douchebag all the time so fire him anyway.)

Australian Capital Territory: Somehow you have managed to create your own weather independent of the South Walers. For that, I will give you a year off.

Victoria: BURN, BABY, BURN. No, I didn't order a fire on your ass - that was your own fracked up selves that lit those. But you know what, in an attempt to remove said assholes, I'm gonna heat your winds up a few degrees for fun. I also like the look of Central Australia this time of year. Maybe I can be even more of an moron and try and emulate that a little further south...

Northern Territory: You get fucked every year. Things will remain so.

Western Australia: You are too big and I haven't had my morning shower yet so I can't be bothered screwing with you right now. I will PM you later.

Tasmania: Oh my God, you've already dug yourselves out of the snow? Shite. Well, I didn't expect that till mid-April, so... hang tight.

See y'all in Autumn.

Much love,

The Weather

irritating motherfucking respiratory system.

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 14:31:59 GMT

I have the hiccups.

Motherfucker.

on a new fandom, that i will yet again totally miss in its prime.

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:41:42 GMT

Who thinks I should start watching this weird, mysterious, totally unknown show called Battlestar Gallactica?

If it helps, I'm a big Stargate and Farscape fan, though never got into Star Trek or any other spacey sci-fi shows. The only real question I have is: is it ever funny? I love very dramatic sci-fi, but I can't get through a whole series comfortably if it doesn't make me laugh every so often.

Of course, totally in my style, as it comes to an end I will probably ignite a small passion for it, a la SG-1.

EDIT: Does it have sexy people dressed in leather?

because some of us need to have lives at 2pm.

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:42:20 GMT

for those who missed it.

interactive obama dnc speech / transcript

i'm not a mad-happy obama "fanatic", but i think i'd be happy enough (as an aussie) if he won office. and come on, even if you're a cainer, you can't disagree that the man's got it. the kennedy boys had it, fdr had it, i think that washington and lincoln probably "had it" in their respective contextual time periods. it really is about time that the US got itself another cool one.

i really admired the fact that the race issue was largely avoided on the night (despite it being the 45th [?] anniversary of mlk's march on washington), because really, it shouldn't have anything to do with whether or not he gets elected, be it a positive or negative in your eyes. he did allude to mlk's speech at one point though, which was nice: "america, we can't turn back. not with so much to be done." clever dick.

and if nothing else, i'd vote for the guy just to get his speech writers into office. i wouldn't mind listening to americans prattle on (no offense, guys) if they all sounded like this guy.

- & -

screw winter.

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:14:45 GMT

i am typing this from a hammock.

it is fucking awesome.

that is all for today.

- & -

mix: red wine stain on your jeans, and don't forget to indicate

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 23:11:17 GMT

red wine stain on your jeans, and don't forget to indicate.

music for those mornings after when you're not quite sure whether you're more scared of falling asleep at the wheel or inadvertently ruining the upholstery. greasy fry-up churning in your belly and the volume turned down to five, you're a rocker but your head's not quite co-operating.

link

- & -

I Missed You, Football.

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:04:01 GMT

Well, I'll start with the most recent, and I'll get this out of my system while people are still actually discussing it: Batman.

I finally went and saw it last night. Well, it was actually this morning: I went to a midnight showing at the IMAX, because it was either that or 2:30am and I do still have a few cells left functioning in the reason realm of my brain.

I really only have three words: It. Was. Cool.

There was nothing absolutely, unbelievably groundbreaking about it, neither was it at all disappointing, despite the incessantly promising reviews (which do tend to lead me to inevitable anticlimaxes). The characters were all portrayed well (except by perhaps Maggie Gyllenhaal, who wasn't bad, she just didn't... jump... like the rest, which really is to be expected in light of the script), the action was phenomonal and the script was sufficiently enthralling. I know that sounds really poncy, but I don't care.

Firstly, Batman/Bruce Wayne. Nothing really massive to say here. He was great, played the role well, and lived up to the character from the first movie. To be honest, despite Christian Bale being name-above-title, I think this movie was far more about the secondary characters than Batman or BW. It was about Joker and Dent and Gordon, all struggling in their individual ways to take control of Gotham's morality, with Batman just stepping in every so often to lend an extra punch or save an extra DA. I really quite liked that dynamic, particularly because it's exactly how Batman/BW sees himself - he's not a superhero, he's not a main player - he's there to clean up the rubbish, do the dirty work nobody else wants to. Yeah, sure, he wanted to inspire people (originally, at least), but he knew that he wasn't the one who could bend the codes and morals of the people - that was up to Joker, Dent and Gordon to sort out.

Heath Ledger really was brilliant as the Joker. You hear all the hoohah about his performance, and to be honest, I expected to be majorly let-down. But, for once, there was method to fandom's madness. He really did jump off the screen (and by jump I mean pole-vaulted, violently), particularly seeing as he probably had a billion people whispering "Jack Nicholson" just out of earshot. Personally, I thought his performance couldn't have been further from that of Nicholson's, which is exactly what this film needed. Nicholson was part of the comically block-stenciled Batman; Ledger's part of the darkly charcoal-rubbed franchise. He was horrifying, and hilarious and completely demoralising, which is exactly what he had to be - completely in line with the comic too. I actually couldn't believe how many times I laughed because of him, and it's this really awkward laugh, because you're not laughing with him, and you're not laughing at him. You don't quite know what you're laughing at - it's this grey area, where you're kind of laughing at how morally sick this guy is, which just depresses you that little bit further.

Harvey Dent, and his casting, was a small stroke of genius. Perfectly likeable as the charming White Knight DA, and although I still couldn't quite take him as seriously as a malicious baddie as I wanted to (although I think that was probably deliberate of the Nolan's), I couldn't think of any better ways to take his character. I think the Two-Face arc was well seeded, but it could've been drawn out and concluded in the next movie. He was a far more interesting and involving character than I think the script gave him credit for. Then again, that's exactly why and where good actors come in. It's just a shame when their fate is sealed before they can really prove themselves to be that good. I really do think with a whole feature's length to draw out his burgeoning evilness, Eckhart would've made an excellent, excellent vilian for #3.

I pretty well cried when I thought Gordon was dead. I think that's all I have to say about him.

VISUAL EFFECTS. Holy fuck, did anyone else notice how brilliant they were? For starters, at an IMAX, you can see everything. And I mean, everything. There were bits of fluff and hair that had obviously been caught on the stock at points which you'd never see in a cinema, but which get blown up to the size of a football on that screen. They were distracting, so you can imagine how shoddy bad VFX would look. But they didn't. For starters, I wasn't thinking about most of them, which is always a good sign, and was just completely sold that yes, Christian Bale just totally jumped off that building and flew threw a CBD somewhere in China, and yes, it's totally reasonable to ask Aaron Eckhart to cut off half his face (for the good of the film) - it's obviously livable isn't it? It wasn't really until the completely non-existent, ten-story airfield-sized Gotham General Hospital completely blew up that I actually went, "Okay, shit. That's not fair. How the fuck did they do that?"

One major point that I do have to add is that if you do get the chance to see it at the IMAX - DO IT. NOW. BOOK. TICKETS. NOW. Quite a few of the sequences were shot on IMAX cameras (most notably the opening action and a lot of the exterior building/cityscape/establishing shots) and you can definitely tell. The first shot where the camera pushes in toward the building made people in our audience go, "Whoa, my God," out loud. In fact, very loudly. The guy beside me accidentally grabbed my hand to "hold on" during one of the sweeping shots, instead of the armrest. He bruised a knuckle, bastard. One woman actually had to leave the theatre due to motion sickness in the scene where he jumps off the huge skyscraper in China. Those shots were absolutely stunning, and so perfectly designed for an IMAX screen that anyone who gets the chance to experience it, should do so immediately. (Like, now.)

It kind of sums it up when you leave the theatre and the only complaint you hear is, "I hated it because there wasn't enough of it." I think I'm going to go see it again tonight, at a normal theatre, so I don't constantly feel like I'm gonna fall out of my chair any time Batman decides to jump out of a window to catch someone. Plus, if there's any film out there right now that could inspire people to pay to see stuff at the cinema and not download a shitty videotaped copy to watch on their 12-inch laptop, it's this one. You really, really need to see it on an abhorrently large screen to get all of the awesomeness that it is.

NEXT: I know you all probably heard this... what, forever ago, or something, but I've been slightly out of the loop and I cannot believe that I missed THIS of all things:

WTF?

...

...

...

I say again: What. The. Fuck? How... when... why did it take me this long to find this out? (P.S. How adorable does he look in that photo?)

I only just watched 4.08 and 4.09 of DW last night (which were both very good, I should add) so, um, THANK YOU ALMIGHTY DOCTOR WHO GODS OF AWESOMENESS.

Today is now officially dubbed my, "I Love Everyone and Everyone Should Love the Moffat Day". Everyone gets cake.

- & -

Only 180 episodes left to go. Awesome.

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 12:57:59 GMT

Wow, no post in over two weeks. Go me.

Much has happened in that time, but the only really important bit is:

STARGATE.

Oh. My. God.

To anyone and everyone who suggested I get the series while I was in Melbourne - Thank You. Sincerely, from the bottom of my heart - Thank You. Quite seriously, I have never been so taken by a show like this since Doctor Who. It is just so much bloody fun. And come on, a sci-fi show that actually deals with Einstein's theories of relativity and space-time with a bit of respect, significance and intelligence? So awesome. Except the hyper-lightspeed travel, and you know, actual wormhole travel... but I'm sure there are completely logical explanations for those...

The one aspect of this brilliant discovery that I do hate is that apparently primary characters die. Um, not cool. I know it's ten seasons long, so kind of inevitable, but come on! It's been ages since I've found a tv show with an ensemble cast that I actually like as a whole! There is something I like about every single one of them. And every single time one of them almost dies (or does die), I can only cope because I'll have already seen the icon screencap for one of the next episodes and that character's face will have been in it. The worst bit is that one of them will die, permanently, and I'll just have this forlorn, prolonged hope that they'll just magically jump into a Sarcophagus or be sent to the Nox and be all better. Even Teal'c, who when I first met him, seemed that he would just persist as a stone-cold alien warrior, has turned into the coolest extra-terrestrial ever. The thesaurus/colloquialism jokes never get old.

But seriously, if you're a sci-fan, or even if you're not, go get an episode of Stargate: SG-1. Now. Stop reading and do it.

- & -

Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick.

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:23:21 GMT

I love you all. You're completely brilliant and bonkers and wonderful. Your exquisitely random and farcical posts today full of pretty, hate, fannishness, geekness, insanity and higgledy-piggledy have made my relatively shit day full of candy again. Just thought you all should know.

I'm now off to fall on the floor because it's 3am and I have a plane to catch at 10am. I am totally not going to get on the wrong flight.

(And yes, I really am listening to the song in my subject. This is who you are friends with you foolish people.)

- & -

Torchwood 2.12 Fragments

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:23:44 GMT

A very random, quite boring bulletted reaction post because it's four a.m. and I'm about to fall over from lack of sleep. Real post tommorow.

01. Good episode. Not quite as great as last week, although still really very good.

02. I think the structure is what put me off most. I'm all for flashbacks and batch editing, but the whole episode did feel very blocky. Jack's turn then Tosh's turn then Ianto's turn etc. It was incredibly predictable, which is usually rare (in that area) for Torchwood. I didn't know what each character's "bit" was going to be, but I knew they were coming which was a bit off-putting. I also didn't exactly get why they were having flashbacks. I'm ~~assuming~~ hoping that it will have something to do with the next episode 'cause otherwise, when you look at it, they were kind of useless. Great segments to watch but ultimately they didn't form a narrative plot whatsoever. Bombs were planted by Cpt. John, in an attempt to kill the team, and that's all we got.

03. I don't know why, but the shot where we see Owen looking up to find the glass frame above him was brilliant. Don't ask me, it's weird, but I think it was one of the best bits of the episode.

04. Some quite good ensemble acting in there: You could see the team dynamic developing before it's even been formed. I loved seeing Jack with Owen again in his "fragile" state. He got out the father figure gear again, which was nice, and you can totally see exactly why Owen is what he is. Tosh was also great - a completely different side to her passiveness that we haven't really seen before. She's a very docile and acquiescent character, and we still saw that, but in a very traumatic manner. She was so damaged and frail and it was a little heartbreaking to see her like that.

05. He he he. Jones. Ianto Jones: A dinosaur-catching James Bonder who shoplifted in his teens. Also, as much as I really lurve Ianto in a suit, he needs to get out of it more often.

06. I'm going to go with the fandom flow and gah over Ianto's bit as well, because, quite simply, it was awesomesauce. There was no particular writing or acting marvels in there, but damn it was fun and funny. Gareth's comic timing is getting better with every episode and the repartee and banter between him and Jack was great ("Oh, so you let the pterodactyl in and not me?"), particularly once Ianto started telling Jack what to do. Completely Torchwood, because really, where else in the world would you get hired for a job only after getting your future boss caught by a pterodactyl and then proceeding to almost!snog him on a warehouse floor?

07. RETRO COMMS!! HA HA HA! Such a geek moment, but it was so funny to see the dorky, clunky ear comm devices from Season 1. I guess I'd gotten so used to all of them just randomly pressing their ears that I hadn't even remembered they existed.

08. Is it just me or did that injection "needle" he gave Ianto for the pterodactyl look like it had come straight out of Fisher Price's My First Medical Kit?

09. Also, did I miss something in the warehouse? Why was Ianto almost crying when he was walking out? They weren't even happy tears.

If someone dies next week, I will seriously break something. Big. Most likely Chris Chibnall's arm. Or neck.

- & -

Question:

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 12:32:07 GMT

As I said in an earlier post, I'm going to Melbourne next week to see a friend. I've realised that while I'm down there I'm going to have full access to his University servers which are chock-a-block full of tellie, films and music files. I have hundreds of gigabytes still free on my new ext. harddrive and wish to fill them with some quality programming.

So far, I already know that I'm going straight for How I Met Your Mother and the latest of Underbelly and Hustle. But I know I won't have time to get everything else, so I'd really like y'all honest opinions on which should get preference.

I'd also absolutely LOVE a fan of Stargate and/or Battlestar Galactica and/or Farscape (and I know they're not all the same fandom, I just can't honestly tell the difference at this point) to explain to me what the hell those series are about and perhaps which one you think I'd like the most. I've heard many good things about them and in light of the recent discovery of my sci-fi kink, would really love to pop in and have a look around.

Tick as many as you want. Just not, you know, ALL of them.

View Poll: #1158528

Also, please don't ask me why I've only seen from Season 5 onwards of The X-Files. I'm just that insane.

So, go ahead, convince me.

Unplaced. Day and time to be confirmed BBC ONE.

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:30:40 GMT

Okay, so I completely posted through *our* 21st March doom and gloom strike day and didn't even realise it 'cause we're like a hundred hours ahead of you Euro/Brit/Americans over here in Australia and NZ and everyone on my f-list is still actually just posting about the fact that it's going to happen on their journals so "beware" etc etc.

BUT, anyway, even if I had wanted to join the strike (I'm still quite content that I didn't), how could I not break it for THIS. April 5th FTW! That feels so good... to just know that it has a "tentative, completely unconfirmed" date somewhere throughout the week April 5th - 11th. *sigh*

My hand is bubbling away like crazy!!

DOCTOR WHOOOOOOO!!!!!

/squee

Torchwood 2.11 Adrit

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:24:31 GMT

NOW I REMEMBER WHY I WATCH THIS SHOW.

Firstly, as I said, I'm going to link straight here, to prettyquotable

- & -

I killed a man once. Just so ya know.

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 14:24:20 GMT

01. I think I've decided that I want to be Patti Smith when I grow up. I've just spent the last four hours jumping around to Horses - complete with air guitar and crazy insane lead singer dancing. I feel invincible.

02. Oh. My. God. I love you Darrell Lea. If you are able to gain access (legally or not) to a Darrell Lea store, I am ordering you to go out and buy a Chocolate Nougat Egg, right now. Just do it.

03. Keely IS DEFENDED. (For those who didn't get my "tone" there, go back and watch the last bit of Christmas Invasion).

Okay, I admit it, a week ago I was not a huge fan of Ashes to Ashes. I certainly wouldn't have attacked it (and most definitely not Keeley, as she has always been simply brilliant), but I wouldn't have really rushed to defend it to many people. However, I am now officially a changed woman. I was persuaded to stick with it and I am so happy I did. And Phil Glennister is now not only a brilliant actor but also officially a sweetheart.

04. I think I seriously need to invest in the purchasing of some more icon space. I've got the 35 from having a paid account but I'm still adding/deleting at least once a day or so. It's irritating the hell outta me. Grr. But I have to renew the account in two months - should I just wait, or should I give into my incredible lack of discipline and self-control?

05. Hallam Foe is taking on the world! That's insane! It hardly got an audience in Britain. But who cares?! When this movie finally arrives in your cinemas, go see it. Such awesomeness. Except they're calling it Mister Foe now. That's... odd. But anyway, even if you don't like indie/odd/different films, it has Jamie Bell and Sophia Myles in it for crying out loud. It's darkly twisted sweetness personified. (Plus, the original music soundtrack is wonderful.)

04. I finally got around to watching Justice's new DVNO video. The song mix is different in certain parts, which is weird. But there is always just so much prettyness in their stuff. If you are into electronic music and you haven't heard of these guys, shame on you. =-P If you have been living under a rock and you like the song, you can download the full album here. You won't regret it. If you are a fan, I'd love to know how many of you got the lyrics wrong for that song. Go look up a lyrics sheet and check it. I swear, there's about a mistake a line for me.

05. fated_addiction also got me thinking this week. What is my theme song? Random, I know, but we all want one. I want one. So, my challenge to you today is to name your theme song. Simple enough. Upload it if you care to share. Now, go, scroll through 40GB of iTunes mp3s and drive yourself insane.

- & -

Torchwood 2.10 From Out of the Rain

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 02:44:05 GMT

Many words danced around my head as I watched this ep - Weird. Awesome. Cute. Awful. Flimsy. Creepy. Geeky. Expected.

First one was: Weird. Well, this one's kind of a given. As with all Torchwood episodes. It looked a tad ridiculous in the trailer and it certainly lived up to that tone. It didn't really even follow the plot of a "normal" Torchwood episode (then again, is there really such a thing?). The concept was odd, but intriguing, and I don't think I was as pessimistic going into it as most people were. Still, it was incredibly eerie and bizzare and very removed from the humanistic-based episodes we've been fed of late. It reminded me a lot of Season 1.

Awesome. This word appeared when I realised that a majority of the episode was going to be dealing with film stock and film cameras. This probably appealed to very few other people in the world, but my eyes wowed and my mouth creeped into a wee smile as soon as a saw the film cannisters littering the ground and those little perforated strips feeding through the projector *geek-facepalm*. I also really liked the fact that the director and/or writer kept this "classic film theme" running through the episode. I saw plenty of tiny little references to vintage films - The Third Man, The Birds and Cinema Paridiso (well, obviously), just to name a few. If you didn't catch them, go back and re-watch it, carefully. Lastly, I absolutely loved The Electro. I would kill to have a place like that in my area... that is, if the owners promised that people from the films wouldn't magically start walking out of their frames as living, celluloidal beings. I don't think I could deal with Norman Bates greeting me at the popcorn counter.

Cute. Despite the sinister and ominous atmosphere, there were plenty of sugarcoated moments. Gwen and Owen mucking around together for the first time in ages. Owen finally beginning to joke about his situation (not that death is a laughing matter). The kid projectionist - it's the Welsh thing, I swear. Oh and okay, did anyone else want that final scene in the hospital to cut to one of Jack and Ianto signing adoption papers of that kid? Adorable or no? And Ianto welling up... *aw*.

Awful. It was around the time the creepy Ghostmaker man began popping up that the word 'awful' began popping into my head. Perhaps it was his acting, perhaps it was his make-up, perhaps he's just an easy target for me to place all of the blame on for this episode. The Ghostmaker was, at small intervals, a tad hair-raising - I'll give him that. But every other moment he was... well, just irritating. And his little sadistic dolphin-girlfriend (who btw, we didn't even get to see do her trick, wtf?) was pretty well useless. Jack's part in the carnival went absolutely nowhere so I don't even know why they bothered to include it, other than to go, "Hey! Look! We remember that Jack can't die! And we remember that Jack's been around for over a hundred years! Do you?" The reveal with the little "insane" lady at the psychiatry ward was terrible as well. It's Exposition 101 - No Explicatory Monologues. You know, don't even bother trying to be creative about it and only reveal certain clues to the mystery little bits at a time - no, spit it all out at once so Jack and the team can quickly catch up with everything the audience already knows. Urgh. Show the audience less. Get some red herrings in there, man.

Flimsy. This, again refers specifically to the script. It just was, plain and simple, unconvincing. I know Torchwood is always a stretch, but I think this one pushed the boundaries a little too much. There was a tad more "We'll just brush over it" than normal. For starters, there was the big, fat issue of the celluloidal film strips that somehow just *became* real life as they were played. No reason other than they were passed through a projector (and by the way, why didn't they come out the first time?). It would've been fine if they'd said yep, the Night People (or whatever their names were) accidentally hitched a ride on the Cardiff Space-Time Rift Express and popped out in 2008. BUT, they didn't. They said there was "rift activity", but that the people themselves had actually come from the film itself. They were made of exposed film and therefore just needed to be overexposed to be destroyed (another argument which I won't even go into any further because it will result in an incredibly long, tedious, nerdy and ultimately dull explanation). There were also plenty of unnecessary scenes and lines that (along with Jack's circus stint) didn't go anywhere, eg. Tosh's "I can hear the Ocean." I know that was meant to be something to do with the girl, but what? Lastly, and this is just a tiny, weeny, little problem - didn't the cannister he was storing the 'last breaths' in come with him from the past? Would that not mean it was made of film and thus destroyable by overexposure? Anyway, I won't go any further into it 'cause I'll start boring even myself. Personally, I think the whole IDEA was absolutely fantastic. It had so much potential, but they just couldn't make it work.

Creepy. Pretty self-explanatory. Men suddenly slamming themselves against car windows, eerie "hurdy-gurdy" music wafting through corridors, breath being drained, ghosts, circuses, clowns, Owen's face when he was being "sucked", empty projection theatres: they can't be good for the nerves.

Geeky. About three quarters of the way through this episode - around the time Ianto started discussing developing agents and nitrate and Jack began using a camera as a gun - I realised I was smiling like a little idiot kid in a candy store. It was all very simple stuff, but come on, med students get their weekly dose of med-talk on House and CSI and even from Owen, law students get their justice shows etc. No one ever gets their science fiction soap operas talking about exposure levels and focal measurements and anything that actually goes on behind the camera. If nothing else, I will love the episode just for that one scene in the loft where the entire room is covered in reels of unwound film (because secretly, that's what all loaders have nightmares about).

I also love that Ianto loves it all. If he wasn't already my homeboy, he is now.

Expected. This ep belongs to the group of two to three episodes before the finale-eps that have to fill space between the mid-plot and the big climax plot. It's got no real continuity ties to any other episodes and is expected to stand alone in holding the audience's attention between the dramatic cliffhangers and emotional, character melodramatics. If it's any comparison, it's running along the lines of "Boom Town", "Combat", "Love & Monsters" and "Fear Her" (we'll leave Blink out of this list becase it just isn't healthy for other episodes' self-esteem). So, that is why the quality of this episode is "expected". At least it had a shot.

Next week's episode does look a lot better though, so my love/hate relationship with Torchwood looks like it will continue.

- & -

I'm Medium Patrick. Nice to meet you.

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:37:01 GMT

I watched Once and Gone, Baby, Gone yesterday. I am so pissed off at myself for taking this long to get around to them.

The former is just made of yum. The songs may well be the most enjoyable and noticeable aspect, but there are some marvels in writing and direction in there too. It's a simple, beautiful, heartfelt and user-friendly film, and never tries to be anything more than it actually is. No flashy dance sequences or ridiculously overwrought dramatics. It's a down-to-earth romance with real characters and a real story and you will want to rewind and hit play again as soon as the credits roll, just to make sure it was really as good as you remember it. And while it's rewinding, you'll have already hit the "download" button for the soundtrack.

The latter is, well, the complete opposite. Complex, gritty, noirish and challenging. It's just... well, you've got to see it to understand it. It's excellent. Really, really excellent. Fantastic performances all around, particularly from Casey, who literally gets away an emotional punch in every single scene he's present. And, it's official: his brother isn't completely embarrassing anymore. Ben Affleck shines as a director/co-scripter, and whilst you shouldn't expect innovation or inspiration, you will be pleasantly surprised. It's one of those films that you'll find yourself pondering days later, as it continues to question your own views on right and wrong and all that yucky stuff.

And for all those Doctor Who fans on my f-list, I thought I'd drop a few links, just 'cause I stumbled upon them and thought they might be interesting. A lot of people might have already seen/read them, but I figured it's about time I start working myself up for the new season and thought I'd share the love:

3-Part Comic Relief 1999: The Curse of Fatal Death (written by Stephen Moffat fyi) + + +
Doctor Who: 44 Years in 4 Minutes +
Um, just watch it + (bonus points for Monty Python fans)

SPOILER WARNING for links below:

Some great little bits and pieces of speculation about Season 4 episodes, as well as a few sentences about 2009 & 2010 +
Another one found at artic_fox's journal +

I found a pair of my headphones in the washing machine today. And they still work. Blessed are ye that work at Apple.

I actually started cleaning my room today. It already looks so good. I can see timber floorboards and everything.

- & -

TV... 'Cause What Else is LJ For?

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 08:06:23 GMT

Okay, so I just finished watching the season premiere of NCIS. One word: disappointing.

Honestly, as much as I have adored this show, it started to drag a bit in the final episodes of last season as it became more and more bogged down in this "over-arching" plot; a plot which was given probably one of the worst, let-down endings that I've seen on television in a long time. The medium of television allows you to carry on these story arcs, but the idea is to use PACE to your advantage: a slow build up, maybe some hints in the beginning, a quick rush for the middle and then (usually, on NCIS) an explosive ending with a bit of an impact on the team. This story arc, really, didn't have any of the above, particularly the last. Unless I'm mistaken and there is still more of this story to come (in which case, awful way to end an episode, even as a "cliffhanger"), the lack of resolution is just plain irritating, rather than intriguing, and the writers still seemed to just brush aside a whole heap of plot points: Who planted the bomb? What was with all the fingerprints from Jenny's father? The man seeing Jenny's father in hospital? Why were those few episodes last season (showing Jenny traveling, getting shot at etc.) actually needed?

The thing that really attracted me to this show in the first place was the dynamic that the team had and the chemistry they all had together on screen. Unfortunately, this seems to have been brazenly absent in the last few hours of airtime and I think has been sorely missed by its solid base of fans. I really am just hoping that now this "arc" is over, the show returns to its humourous, buddy-buddy-buddy-buddy crime-solving roots, rather than sticking with its recent slew of higher-than-NCIS cases (which, ultimately and ironically, does rule NCIS itself out of most of it).

Honestly, I do care about those stories, the ones where Americans get to profess their undying patriotism and maybe even slip a bit of heroics in there too; I loved the Ari story and even the Gibbs-amnesia plot was pretty well-executed last season. This, I just couldn't like. I don't know if it was direction (which isn't feature film quality, so don't try and make it look like it, guys), script, or acting. I'm punching at the script and its lack of the above "NCIS-defining qualities", although I wouldn't rule out some of the acting. Lauren Holly, unfortunately, sticks out like a sore thumb in this department to me. Jenny is a lovely character and I'm not going to berate her like so many of the show's fans, however, she DOESN'T have the same level of chemistry with the team that the rest do and I think her character fitted in well as one for Gibbs to play off in the background, but that's all. I certainly haven't enjoyed these last few episodes which have obviously been building up to an uneventful focus on her.

I also hope Jeanne DOESN'T come back. I loved seeing Tony in love, and hated that sink-down from the couch, but there was just something about that woman/character (not sure which) that I couldn't quite get my usually very accepting mind around.

And my final, one last rant about the show as of late, is that Lauren Holly's name is now a permanent credit sequence fixture and NOT BRIAN DIETZEN! Honestly, the guy is pretty brilliant in this show, kind of an elder Michael Cera-esque character, and now honestly deserves a spot.
In other, happier news, I have discovered this little-known show called Heroes. That, and Californication. Both have been due to my recent desire for something to download and get me through 'till Doctor Who at Christmas (I'm ignoring the fact I'll then have another four or five months 'till Season Four). Unfortunately, living on this side of the Atlantic does have it's downsides, and a lack of new US drama and reliable and plannable television scheduling is nearing number one on that list. At least back home we got fairly consistent airings (depending on the channel) of US shows a week or so after they'd aired across the globe.

I also downloaded 30 Rock, and although admittedly I've only seen the pilot, it hasn't leapt out at me. Stupidly enough, the worst thing for me is its production. The sound and sound editing was just awful, and I mean awful. I'm only a recent graduate and it sounded awful to me. So much so that it actually detracts from what is going on on-screen: big no-no. I was waiting for fuzz and buzz to appear and disappear between shots which you just shouldn't be getting on good-budget television. Still, mainly because of its Emmy, I'm going to hold on for a few episodes. Baldwin might cut through the crappy boom operators.

It's actually only through LJ that I've discovered these shows in the last few months. It was really starting to bug me what all these weird new icons were from, featuring cheerleaders, flying politicians and a funny-looking Asian man who always seemed to be laughing. That, and who the hell had finally taken that brilliant Chili Pepper's title and turned it into something cooler. Oh, and then I found out the latter starred David Duchovny. That was a nice surprise. And that it wasn't an OC spin-off. Also good news.

Love for the Emmy's.

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 16:16:23 GMT

Overall, I'm pretty damn pleased with the results of the Emmy's - for once. Usually, I see shows that are winning the ratings winning the awards, although for once quite a few that didn't win the race got their just kudos.

First of all, I'm ecstatic that The Sopranos won Outstanding Drama and Outstanding Writing and Outstanding Directing. They've deserved every award they've received over the years and more, and this year it was beautiful to see that they weren't overlooked. Little peeved that Gandolfini didn't get his Best Actor in his final year, but I think James Spader is just as deserving.

Wonderful to see 30 Rock win for best Comedy, myself being one of its "dozens and dozens" of viewers. In particular, it was great not to see The Office win. I'm sorry, but I just can't get into the US Office. Probably because I fell in love with the British one when it aired and I just can't take Steve Carell (except in Anchorman). Which is probably why I'm even more elated that Gervais snubbed out Carell for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. Extras is brilliant, mainly because of Ricky, and he deserved it. It's just a shame that he never got anything (American) for his work on The "Real" Office. I do admit though, Greg Daniels deserves his Emmy, not for his work on The Office, but at least for his input into Seinfield, The Simpsons and SNL.

Yays! also for Jeremy Piven and Katie Heigl. My fav nominees in both categories. Katie's really been on my radar since Knocked Up (I've only seen bits and pieces of Grey's) and Piven's been, well, I've loved him for years. It was also great to see Jaime Pressly win, who I think is magnificent. She really makes Earl for me, rather than whats-his-name.

And The Amazing Race won again. Whoot! It's really the only reality series I've ever gotten into, and I guess there's a reason. Good on ya Jerry, at least you've got one thing going for you... ;-)

Also really happy to see Planet Earth do so well in the non-aired categories. If anyone is reading this and hasn't seen the docu-series, GO. RENT. BUY. IT. NOW. I've never been so amazed by nature or by Attenborough's voice.

So, overall, I'm pretty darn pleased with the winners. Unfortunately I had to read the results this morning and couldn't catch them last night on TV, so can't really comment on how the ceremony itself played out. I've seen excerpts of a few of the speeches etc. though and it seemed to be a fairly normal evening. So, yes, congrats all!
In other news, I saw Superbad the other night. Can't say that I lurved it. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't fall-down funny. I expected a little more from Apatow Prod., particularly seeing as though I'm assuming that this was a more relatable topic for them. Michael Cera, of course, was brilliant, although he did play an incredibly similar part to that in Arrested Development. The other kids were great, and it was those three boys that kept the movie going, rather than the script. Rogen and the other cop were fun, and it was interesting to see him with short hair again, :D . Unfortunately, though, it still just didn't live up to their previous stuff. I absolutely adored Knocked Up, and really enjoyed the 40 Year Old Virgin, despite my dislike of Carell, so I do have to admit I felt a little let down. Nonetheless, I didn't feel like I lost two hours of my life; it was a good laugh, and if nothing else, an interesting insight into the workings of the 18-year-old male brain.

Above all, it was still far better than Run, Fatboy, Run, despite the lovely-looking British casting. I was so excited to see Simon again, and particularly Dylan Moran. Still, Schwimmer didn't seem to be able to pull it out of the can quite right and a lot of the film just fell flat on it's face. So much of the direction was switching between arty, to dramatic, to humourous and you just didn't quite know where to put everything together in one neat spot. Most of the lines and the "funny moments" were completely expected and didn't give you the laugh-out-loud reaction a good comedy warrants. I still think the best moment in the film is the saddest, least funny one, where Dennis finds his son (who's run away) under the tree. No exchange of lines, just tears in the eyes and a hug. That scene, was brilliantly acted (perhaps directed). In all honesty, I just think Schwimmer should stick to acting. He was (sometimes) great as Ross and I adored him in Band of Brothers. Someone tell him to please stop branching out.

I also saw Heath Ledger in the pub yesterday which was cool. My friend gave him a light and his hands were trembling. Apparently all that was going through his head was, What the fuck is the name of the new Batman film? What the fuck is the name of the new Batman film?

- & -

OMFG

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 02:02:45 GMT

Oh my frickin' God I can't believe what I've just seen Scotland just beat France at home that doesn't happen what the fuck happened France are world champions what the hell did Scotland do we just beat them in PARIS 1 - 0 oh my fuckin' God McFadden is being proposed to all over the world right now and I'm not even Scottish but I am on the biggest high right now and I had to post something I friggin' love Brown and Boyd and McManus and frickin' Gordon and oh my God my Scottish friends are going mental one of the best nights of football EVER!

What comes next? Water into wine? Loch Fyne turning to blood? Or does the sky fall?

Hello Hello

Tue, 28 Nov 2006 10:52:31 GMT

Okay, I finally surrendered and created a LJ because I am sick of lurking and commenting anonymously.

I am not yet sure what I will do with this journal, I created it to participate in a few communities and to keep up with a few friends.

I've made about a billion of this blogs and journals, but hopefully this one will stick. It's going to be where I post... well, pretty much everything. I'm planning on starting a community for my photography and for my icons/graphics, as soon as I get my arse into gear.

Uh, that's about all I feel like writing right now. So, bye.

Oh, and I know the header's screwed, and again, I just can't be bothered fixing it. Maybe later.