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The Week In The Wire

Episodes 1 to 5

So, I'm sure most if not all of you have heard of The Wire. The critically acclaimed HBO show which seems to have been everywhere for the last few weeks.

The show actually started in 2002 but was never on terrestrial TV which limited it's audience somewhat. But since the show ended last year it's popularity seems to have gone through the roof.

So the BBC, never shy of a bandwagon, had decided to show the whole thing from the beginning on week nights. Which is great for me as I've never seen it before. So, you'll be getting my thoughts as I goes along as I catch up with TV I should have watched years ago.

Thoughts so far:

1) Wouldn't really want to live in Baltimore

2) When they say explicit language, they ain't kidding. One of my favourite scenes so far was with McNulty and his partner re-visiting a crime scene and swearing like pirates. But it wasn't good just for the fruity language, it was the way you saw them figure out what happened without someone standing there explaining it for you like in CSI or something.

3) Speaking of respecting the audience's intelligence, is it just the BBC version that has no "Previously on The Wire" segments?

4) Initially, it does seem to be a more focused version of Traffic as we're dealing primarily with the drug trade in this series. But what makes it better than Traffic is the rich vein of humor that runs through the show.

5) Lesbians?

Overall, it's great so far and we're barely into it yet. Might have to say third favourite show after Lost and Harry Hill.

One week in: the iPod Touch

So, it's been a week with my first wholly owned Apple product (the Good Lady Wife had a 2nd Gen iPod Nano but I never used it that much) which means it's tell for an update:

Awesome.

You want more?

Previously my mobile entertainment has been entirely around my PSP. Which was podcasts out and about and games when at home and plugged into a power socket.

Oh boy, have I've I seen a difference. The interface on the PSP, which admittedly came out before the iPhone/iPod Touch, is so antiquated. Using the Internet is a nightmare on the Sony device, connecting to wi-fi takes ages and it feels clunky. It felt clunky before I got my hands on my iPod.

The App store is amazing, syncing it is a dream, it's amazing. And I can really understand why people love the iPhone so much, some of the Apps change the way you think about mobile devices.

Go buy one.

Film review: Know1ng

Know1ng @ IMDB

Oh boy.

Once upon a time, Nic Cage was an edgy respected actor. You only have to look at Leaving Las Vegas and Adaptation to see just how good he really is. So why is it whenever people see a film poster with his face on it do they get so concerned?

Next. Bangkok Dangerous. Ghost Rider.

It is unarguable that Cage needs to get a better agent and he is on the middle of a really bad patch. So why, despite all of the reasons to the contrary, did I love Know1ng so much?

I shouldn't. Cage's hair is one reason to dislike the film. He plays a teacher at MIT who's son is given a letter buried in a 50 year old time capsule that is basically a string of numbers. After deciphering them he discovers them to be a list of disasters that have occurred over the previous 50 years. Including three that have yet to happen.

So far, so Stephen King. And the son is annoying and the setup is a bit forced and why don't I care?

The tent poles in the film are 3 major action sequences that really don't pull any punches. The first is an intense plane crash, the second is even better and the third is crazy.

It is fair to say that the first one drew me in and hooked me. If you get to that point of the film and aren't drawn in then you should probably stop watching. It won't do anything for you.

It it does suck you in, you get a film that really sticks to it's convictions right till the very end and it deserves some respect. With this and The Mist there seems to be a new trend in dark endings that haven't been around in awhile.

I really enjoyed it, was really surprised by it and recommend it wholeheartedly. Won't hear a word against it.

In a word? Shocked.

Film review: Watchmen

Watchmen @ IMDB

This has been a really difficult review for me to approach simply because how close I am to the source material. What source material, I hear some of you cry.

To which I say go away and learn some comic history then we'll talk.

Watchmen the comic is important because it is one of those pieces of work that changes whatever medium it's based in. It's impact on comics is akin to the impact of Jaws on film: when Jaws released it ushered in the summer blockbuster era of cinema, similarly when Watchmen came out it redefined the tone of superhero comics and the themes you could express.

It many ways it was consider unfilmmable despite the attempts that have been made over the years. Now it has been filmed but can it come close to the depths of the comic?

The overall plot of Watchmen is fairly simple: a group of costumed heroes are brought out retirement in the mid eighties following the murder of one of their number. This is set against the backdrop of an escalating cold war where Nixon is still President.

Fairly straightforward, however this allowed the comic lots of space to explore the characters and the alternate world they inhabit. The comic also had 12 issues whilst the movie has two and a bit hours. Hmm.

There are two extremes of adapting comics to films. There is the school that wants to take the comic and put it up on screen word for word, panel for panel (see things like Superman). Then there is the school of take the names and throw the rest away (see Wanted)*.

Watchmen falls firmly in that first camp. It is actually astounding how close it comes to the comic. Panels are put up on the screen that are just like the comic. The overall art direction is amazing, special mention going to Dr. Manhattan who should become on of those iconic screen images.

The performances are great, the standouts being The Comedian and Rorschach.

There are, however, issues.

Whilst seeing the comic replicated so well may tickle my fanboy bones, what works on the page doesn't always work on screen. Some scenes drag and makes it feel every bit of it's long running time.

But that's the tricky thing: as a comic fan I could probably nit pick this all day but is that really helpful for someone who hasn't read the comic? Probably not.

I get the feeling that this will be one of those divisive films that will always be a conversation starter. And as such you should watch it. You may be a fan of the comic and hate it bit you should at least watch it.

It is a very brave film that doesn't quite match it's inspiration but it tries it's hardest. And that's as much as you can ask.

In a word? Almost


* Marvel seems to be plowing a third path with it's recent films like Iron Man and Hulk. They are distilling the characters down to their essence which keeps the fans happy but also changing them enough to bring in the wider audience.

I am totally in the 21st Centuary

Typing this on my new iPod Touch. Life is good.

Will get writing some reviews as well at some point.

Still the best country ever

A giant life size Gundam robot?

Somone buy me a plane ticket.

Would like to see this now please

Would be nice at Halloween but nevermind. Must see!

Star Trek is now badass

Who knew?

The History of The Internet

History of the Internet from PICOL on Vimeo.

Don't say I'm never informative.

Round 2...FIGHT!

So, 2008 was actually a weird entry into the ongoing Marvel vrs DC battle but this time in movie form: The Hulk and Iron Man vrs Batman. Difficult to say who won, probably a score draw if we're honest.

2010, however, is where the shit will go down. Marvel have unveiled their release schedule, as have Warner Bros who own DC. Here it is:

Iron Man 2 (Marvel) : May 7th, 2010
Twilight: Eclipse (Warners) : June 30th, 2010
Thor (Marvel), Inception (Warners, Christopher Nolan's next film) : July 16th, 2010
Jonah Hex (DC/Warners) : August 6th, 2010
Green Lantern (DC/Warners) : December 17th, 2010
The First Avenger: Captain America (Marvel) : May 6th, 2011
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2 (Warners), The Avengers (Marvel) : July 15th, 2011

Obviously, the big one is Potter vrs The Avengers. It will be interesting to see if either studio moves the release date for those films, Iron Man/Thor/Captain America are supposed to bulid towards The Avengers so that could have huge heat. More that Potter though?

Bet none of them get any Oscars.

A Thank You To The Doyouinverts

Yet another video but who cares

Yep, looking like a good year for movies.

Bit of business

I am now up to date with the film reviews, they're posted on the date I saw them so look back over the past month or so to find them. I won't get so behind again, promise!

And just for Ryan because he can't look for things on the Internet by himself because he gets distracted and watches videos of male rape from Oz over and over and over again, here's the new Transformers trailer:

Wow

the sopranos, uncensored. from victor solomon on Vimeo.

That's a work of fucking art.

And so it continues

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Stephen Verbally Thrashes Steve Martin

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Funny Political News

Christian Bale Parody
Joke of the Day

Still funny.

I now have a new hero

God Bless Christian Bale.

I Love The Superbowl!

And it's not for the 'football', it's for great trailer that get shown during the commercial breaks for awesome summer blockbusters.

Like this one, or this one or this one, this or this one.

Out of those, it's pretty much a tie between Transformers and GI Joe (which will hopefully be renamed Action Force over here but I doubt it).

If pushed, I'm leaning towars Joe simply because of Dennis Quaid. His wolfish grin makes my knees weak.

*sighs*

I know I have reviews still to do

But this is to good not to share.

A song written about my Wife by one of my favourite bands.

Internet fame awaits!

Film review: The Wrestler

The Wrestler @ IMDB

The end of 2008 seems to have been all about the underdog and comebacks. No more so than with Mickey Rourke and his starring role in this new film from Darren Arronofsky. The buzz surrounding this film has been immense. Considering that Arronosky's films tend to fly under the radar* this is a bit surprising.

The subject matter as well isn't necessarily something that would draw in the widest audience. Rourke stars as Randy The Ram, a professional wrestler who was once one the biggest stars in the industry. Now he's reduced to wrestling in school halls for a handful of notes.

As a wrestling fan, the film is a great look behind the curtain. Seeing the 'opponents' talking through the matches before they start, deciding on moves and how best to get the crowd excited is fascinating. It reminds me of a wrestling documentary called Beyond The Mat, it really is a warts and all view of the life of a wrestler.

And Rourke really goes for it. It is a really brave and raw performance, he becomes this tragic, battered survivor who can't let go of the memory of the good times.

This isn't to say that Rourke carries the film, the support around him doesn't let the side down either. Marissa Tomei is just as good as Rourke in her role as The Ram's potential girlfriend.

It's not perfect, some scenes seem to be there just so they can be shown as Oscar clips and the wrestling scenes may be too brutal for some. Some may have issues with the ending as well.

But it's an undeniably great film with one of the best central performances of the last year.

In a word? Powerful.

I've got 99 problems but the INQ1 ain't one of them. Ish.

So I've got a new phone and a contract with 3. The phone I went for was an INQ1 which has been tagged as the Facebook phone, which is ironic becuase since getting it the thing I've accessed the most on it is Twitter.

But anyway, I like the phone. It's got a nice sturdy feel, the screen is nice and, for the money, has got a lot of functionality.

There are only two problems:

1) The camera. It's shit. Really bad. It's 3.2mp but the pictures come out blurry and really dark if you're inside. Natural sunlight pics aren't too bad but inside, not good at all.

2) The calendar. It's shit. Doesn't work. Not great.

Other than that, good times.

The Annual Late Review of The Year

BEST FILM OF 2008

For an actual piece of cinema, has to be There Will Be Blood. For a film that made me as giddy as a schoolgirl, Cloverfield.

BEST BOOK I READ IN 2008

Didn't read many new books this year but The Marvel Chronicles is amazing. 

BEST MUSIC OF 2008

For new music it would be Cage The Elephant which lept to the top of my iTunes most played list. For music I've discovered this year it would have to be finding Baby Huey thanks to the JCVD trailer.

BEST COMIC OF 2008

Have been enjoying Mark Millar's Old Man Logan run on Wolverine, All Star Superman was simply astounding, Kick Ass has been Kick Ass (sorry) and you know what? I liked Secret Invasion. Sue me.

BEST FILM TREND OF 2008

Kick ass end credits.

Seem to have seen a lot of these this year, a stand out being the end of Tropic Thunder. But it's not just action films, Wall-E's were top drawer as well. More of this please.

Film review: Valkyrie

Valkyrie @ IMDB

Fresh from his film stealing role in Tropic Thunder, Tom Cruise now returns to familiar territory in this historical action thriller about the failed assassination of Adolf Hitler.

Woah! Spollers!

Seriously though, if that sentence spoiled the film for you then you need help.

This film had a notoriously troubled production. It's pretty much a comeback film for both Cruise and the Director Brian Singer* so a lot was riding on it.

Overall, it pretty much hits the mark. It's nothing special but it's a good solid thriller that rarely disappoints.

The main issue people seem to be having with this film is that despite being set in German everyone speaks in American/English accents. This is a tricky topic. Yes, the real way it should have been done is in German with subtitles. This sometimes works** but will alienate a large audience. A bit of consistency would have been nice though, because you have the majority of people using there own accents then up pops Eddie Izzard with a German accent last seen in 'AlloAllo '.

If you can ignore this, then the film is enjoyable. While not Singer's best work the pacing is good and it is quite nail biting in parts. It's a good ensemble cast as well.

Well worth your time.

In a word? Erfreulich.



* Jumping on sofas and Superman Returns. You can figure out which is which.

** See Mel Gibson's recent output, both in foreign (and dead) languages.

Film review: Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire @ IMDB

Danny Boyle is a pretty eclectic film maker. He's gone from zombie apocalypse to space epic to a tale of a poverty stricken child in Mumbai.

Very eclectic.

There has been a lot of buzz surrounding this film, despite the fact that a while go it nearly lost it's American distributor. One thing has helped it attract a larger audience that might otherwise be scared off by the subject matter is that it's got an accessible hook: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

The film begins with our main character, who is one question away from winning the main prize, being interrogated. Why? Because he's a slumdog, an uneducated orphan from the slums. How can someone with his background possibly get so many questions right? He must be cheating. Mustn't he?

The marketing to this film should be ignored because, as the opening sequence demonstrates, this film is not Mamma Mia. This is at times an unflinchingly brutal journey through poverty and hardship.

So how does this reconcile with the feel good tone implied by the poster? Basically, the film and the main characters earns it. He suffers through the film and has to earn any happiness.

The acting is top notch, no one lets the side down. The characters are interesting, despite a couple of clichéd moments with the older brother. And all through the film you have the thrust of the Millionaire show pulling you through. You wouldn't have thought that a quiz show would have worked so well on the big screen but the natural tension in the format is magnified. It is nail biting towards the end.

Let's be honest, the film is full of co-incidences and quirks of fate. But it doesn't feel forced, like in something like Signs. It's feels natural, it feels right. You can sit there and say "Oh, that wouldn't happen in real life" but that's not the point. In fact, if you do, it says more about you than the film.

Great looking film, great soundtrack, great story, great acting. It barely puts a foot wrong.

In a word? Great.

Oh God

No no no no no no no no no.

No.

Film review: Igor

Igor @ IMDB

As previously mentioned, everyone wants a piece of the animated kids film pie. Now we have The Weinsteins, known more for their indie flavoured movies and Oscar baiting attempts at serious cinema, sticking their oar in to the kids market.

Give it it's due, it's not following the usual cute animal path. Here we have Igor, part of a society of Mad Scientists who create evil inventions for a yearly contest which is used to blackmail the rest of the world into paying money for so the scientists don't unleash the inventions on the world.

But only mad scientists can create inventions, not Igors. However, one Igor has got an idea...

So we're in Tim Burton/Nightmare Before Christmas territory. This isn't necessarily a bad thing but it doesn't push as far as a Burton film would. It's very much a kids film despite the 'shocks' that it creates. It keeps to mawkish sentimentality rather than the subversive atmosphere of something like Nightmare Before Christmas.

This lack of effort goes into the voice acting as well, as several name actors phone in their performances for an easy pay day. It's obvious in it's themes (everyone is special! Yawn.) and lazy in it's plotting.

It's not that it's bad, it's just in that horrible section of kids films that don't try. Which seems to be in the majority these days.

In a word? Lazy.

Film Review: The Spirit

The Spirit @ IMDB

Frank Miller is a funny old sort. A giant in the comics field, he reinvigorated Daredevil and then redefined Batman. And then he went nuts.

I'm getting ahead of myself. Frank Miller and Hollywood didn't have a great start to their relationship. He wrote the script for RoboCop 2 which was gutted by the studio and drove him away from that industry. Which made Sin City, the film he co-directed based on his series of comics, such a surprise. It took the hard boiled comic book milieu developed by Miller and made it a visually stunning and influential movie.

This, then, is Miller's solo debut. He has taken the character of The Spirit, created by comic legend Will Eisner, and reimagined it. The Spirit is an ex-cop who was shot, died and came back to life. He now defends his city and tries to find out exactly what he is.

Basically? Sin City 1.5.

That shouldn't be a bad thing but the problem here, which is a problem with a lot of Miller's work, is the tone. Sin City, for all it's gruff noir craziness, plays it mostly straight. Sure you get characters that do things that are way over the top but at it's core it's a straight noir.

But The Spirit goes off the deep end. It's meant to be superhero noir but when you get characters literally hitting each other with the kitchen sink it's becomes something else entirely.

Gabriel Macht, as the Spirit, gets the idea. He's all gruff and bluster and not an issue there. We also have a raft of femme fatales thrown at the screen with various degrees of success. The problem here is that none of them really get a chance to breathe, a couple could have been trimmed and the film wouldn't have suffered.

And then there is Samuel L Jackson. He is The Octopus, The Spirit's arch nemesis.

HE.

IS.

MENTAL.

Proper, off the deep end, mental. Insane. It's such a bizarre crazy role. But it doesn't belong in this film, to be honest I'm not sure where it belongs but it's not here. It should almost be in a film by itself.

And that's the problem; the film is a great mix of ideas that don't really gel. The voiceovers drag down the pace, the flashbacks to The Spirit's youth drag it down even more. It's a shame because when the film works it's great. It needed someone like Robert Rodriguez there to keep the film on track, like with Sin City.

Close but no cigar.

In a word? Mental.

Oh, alright, THIS is the film I'm most looking forward to

A new Sam Raimi horror film.

Yes please.

Some more update will follow shortly, including several film reviews that have stacked up.

If I can be bothered, naturally.