Venkman

Oh dear. I hate to be the voice of contention but I didn't think too much of Coraline

I liked it just fine but felt a lot of the five star reviews I've read where a bit much. I thought it looked amazing and I couldn't believe some parts were still stop-motion! But I felt the film was quite slow and I didn't really *feel* a lot of it. I honestly think a lot of that can be placed on the soundtrack which didn't really administer pace and I felt at several points really brought it to a halt.

Without Gaiman's authorial voice a lot of the stuff just felt odd for odd's sake - although I absolutely loved Mr Bobinsky (Ian McShane) and his jumping mouse circus.

I expect, overall, I just got a bit overhyped for the film and was expecting the moon on a stick. 3/5

We watched the remake of 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' last night. Firstly, I thought Keanu was quite far the best thing in it. That might sound like a back-handed compliment but I do mean that. Unfortunately, the film really was ill-conceived right from the get-go.

I've grown immunne to the being annoyed when slower old films are remade with a bit of crash bang wallop (Coming Soon: Paul Walker and Some girls from The OC in 'Silent Running 2: Noisy Sprint') but this was a film that seems to have had its actual point cut out from the get-go with no actual message. Sure, no one wants to be preached at about the wrong of human doings but Keanu changed his mind about ending the world for no particular reason - like they decided to cut out all the soul-searching emotional stuff only to realise they hadn't really filmed much else.

Most of the special effects stuff you've seen in the trailers already but the trailers also told us that Keanu's Klaatu was really a goodie so there was no build up to him being a world destroyer threat. So I really felt like they were trying to sell us a very diluted Deep Impact but trying to sell it as Armageddon. I don't know who they were trying to please with this one. What a waste!

Also this led to us having a very expositional conversation about 'Constantine' afterwards and Lady Venkman (non-Hellblazer reader) felt that there was a lot of backstory she wasn't privy too because of not reading the comic and was playing catch-up. As stated already - and as I then said to her - a lot of that stuff - half-breeds/Constantine's suicide redemption arc - was new to me too and not explained apart from in ruddy great chunks.

Also - 'No Country for Old Men' definitely gets an excellent if slightly oddly marketed thumbs up from me too!

And finally, am off to see 'Coraline' this evening. I think I really am as big a fan of Henry Selick as I am Neil Gaiman so hope I'm still enough of a kid to dig it

Ha. Still brilliant. I still don't understand how he was ever able to pull off such a move WITHOUT being blasted by an energy bolt. Epic.

Also, I now have further evidence that I was born several decades too late (although it does take me several decades to grow a 'tash that people can actually see! )

'Frost/Nixon' - I can kind of see all of the 'glorified TV movie' comments for this 'un but I wish I would have seen this at the cinema rather than on DVD. But would a TV budget have ever got such an amazing cast and production? Frank Langella blew me away (especially in comparison to wobbly rubber nose of Watchmen's Nixon ;) ). Nice unintrusive but dramatic music too.

8/10

I'm surprised we haven't fussed more about 'Let the Right One In' round here. I strongly recommend the book too if you liked the film.

Closer is a great film, I think. I know what you mean about Clive Owen - sometimes he either seems so fake or sometimes he seems like the perfect performance. I guess it's just finding the right role for him. (I think Theo in 'Children of Men' is definitely up there for the ideal role and his best performance...Sin City was not)

Have just finished a script about child grooming/teenage prostitution preceeded by a short play about a soldier with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Will definitely write a comedy next...

Thank you, Dr Spain :wink:

I hate random bad moods that come out of nowhere and last several days. Like the one I've had for the last few days for no valid reason.

Glad you're okay to tell us that tale. And mega-respect for the way you tell it!

Thanks for all the good wishes, little Tristan is doing a lot better and is breathing unassisted now.

Hello Tristan! Give your daddy some hassle

Me too. With this and Greek Street, I'm more excited about Vertigo than I have been in a good while!

Hey, brilliant Dogpoet! Do let us know the details so we can get our reading eyes ready!

My girlfriend always gets mad when she catches me writing Haiku too - let alone knocking out a Tanka.

Have a great weekend, Josh.

Very best with the interviews, Malin. As you say, getting three interviews is pretty darn encouraging so I really hope you'll get to find the right one for you!

I'll do some proper thoughts over the weekend, but one of my actual complaints is that any of the characters I actually identified in any with all died out long long ago!

Lou:

Finally got my hands on it.

Apart from the actual facts in your review, I disagree hole-in-my-heartedly. Before I read the final issue though, I also re-read the whole of the last story arc from beginning to issue 100...maybe that altered things?

Look forward to swapping thoughts (amid entire posts made of spoiler tags )

On the whole though I give the ending issue 7.5/10 but the whole final story arc (which I think will be the bumper final graphic novel) a lovely 9/10

I'm going to declare a love for Brian Azzarello. I'm a moderator on the 100 Bullets message board (and have been for many many years) and as a thank you, look what he had made and sent us.

What an absolute gent!

Bah, mine didn't arrive. There's a chance it could be there tomorrow though...but it really is typical.

Hopefully I'll like it more than Slinker did (I did like the end of The Sopranos after all!)

Ah - the Gareth Roberts contribution explains a little there. Definitely agree about the lack of need to revisit though - and yet somehow that worked for me in a holiday special (Dr Who was on after 'Finding Nemo' if that perhaps explains my mood)

A friend of mine texted to point out 'The Waters of Mars' is an anagram of 'War of the Masters' - I bet you this has nothing to do with the next special though but it still looks like it could be a good spooky one!

Filmed in HD I just realised. Very nice.

(Lee Evans in HD just for Mickey Eye )

Seriously, I'm the only one who saw it??? What, have you all got lives or something? :wink:

Let me add my thoughts and hopes for the best, Sophia xx

I really enjoyed 'Planet of the Dead'. And I mean that without my usual 'and I was trying really hard to enjoy it too!'

It felt nicely paced (although the epilogue stuff was the usual T Davies two minutes too long) got off to a great start, was funny, a bit charming and a lot of fun. It was co-written by RTD & Gareth Thomas ('The Shakespeare Code') so whether proper co-writing helped them or just having a bit more time to write without having to plot a whole series took the pressure off RTD so he could actually write a good game again, either way, it worked!

Nice directing too. Obviously some nice money went into this but he did a good job with the actors too. Michelle Ryan was fine and had a nice bit of rapport with The Doctor. And Tennant in particular was a lot more sedate than usual which was fantastic - just as funny but a lot more realistic rather than just shouting stuff. Maybe jetlag filming in Dubai calmed him down a bit ;) Or maybe he just had some nice material, was well directed and had the time to get it right!

Nice ominous hint for the future of the 10th Doctor too (and that's not a spoiler as he's the only person in the multiverse who doesn't know he's going to be Matt Smith by 2010!)

Overall, the story wasn't anything amazing but it was really well delivered on all fronts and really fun stuff for a Bank Holiday weekend.

4/5

If Cyberpunk was the 80's and Post-cyberpunk the 90's, what is now?

Cyber-post.

All of the fashionable rebellion and anarchy is probably safely stifled in a facebook group or being tweeted on twitter. ROFLGUHSFOL!!!!!