Well, another day, another diary entry..

Just spent my lunchtime fixing this website, thanks to the W3C HTML Validator. Lots of petty things can up (like the fact you are supposed to use quotes if you do something like <td width=”50%”>), but there were loads of proper HTML errors too, especially in my tables (</tr></td> is always a good ‘un).

So anyway, apologies for any of you who couldn’t read my tables!!

Also, off to Stirling on Wednesday for a week’s graduate school – should be fun!

Star wars – what can you say? I thought Phantom Menace was a huge disappointment, and a recent re-watch on DVD only confirmed this opinion.

Clones is a different matter. I was distinctly underwhelmed on my first viewing – just seemed to be another film entirely consisting of ‘set-up’ with no substance. Anakin also completely failed to grab me – I know he needs to make the transition to the dark side, but he just comes across as a petulant teenager who’s sulkly and with a huge chip on his shoulder. And this is a 20 year old with a decade of Jedi training?
Similarly Padme falls down on this point – the way he talks should make her run a mile, not give in to his charms..

That said, the acting generally rocks – nice to see Obi Wan lighten up a bit, plus the interplay between Obi Wan and Anakin is very poignant given the scenes on the Death Star in 2 movies time.. Natlie Portman is a complete star, Samuel L is, as always, the man, and as for Yoda…

I decided to give it another shot though, and was much happier with it second time round. The humour is spot on – very understated, in-jokes a plenty (did you spot the Millenium Falcon?), and the action scenes are actually quite breath-taking.
Plus the end fight betweem Dooku and the Jedi – most cool. Plus the plot is starting to get more interesting.. I was muttering to myself about ridiculous plot-holes and continuity errors, when I suddenly realised the game the Dark Side’s playing – very crafty (although I remain unconvinced on certain issues).

So, on balance by no means a classic film – barely scrapes in a being worthy of the title ‘Star Wars’, but then that’s a high accolade.
Seen at Ster Century, Leeds

Firstly I’m going to come out and say I’m a huge Jodie Foster fan, which will inevitably bias my view!
.. But I really enjoyed this film. Thought that the casting was spot on, the story’s a good yarn (and mostly believable) – the ‘home alone’ moments were played very well, and yet there was also the constant spectre of horror hovering, which more often then not was never delivered (thank goodness!).
The ending was a little weak and cliched, but otherwise a fine film. Seen at Ster Century, Leeds.

Interesting film – Kate Winslet really shines in it, as does Dougray Scott, although Saffron Burrows failed to really convince.
I must admit I failed to grasp some of the subtleties of the plot, but neither did I enjoy it enough to want to rush out and see it again. Pleasing enough home entertainment – worth the effort when it’s shown on terrestrial.

This is a top film. It’s a little disturbing/shocking, and engages the heart a lot more than the mind.

The acting is faultless, Winona – well, what can you say – and the rest of the cast shape up very nicely. You can’t help loving all those girls (as Winona’s character ends up doing), and Whoopi does the business as usual.
Angelia Jolie though… I guess she’s a good actress, but it’s impossible to tell since she plays exactly the same character in all the films I’ve seen (wild eyed magnetic vixen woman).

On a technical note, the DVD looks and sounds great (Dolby Digital, with that cool helicopter show-off sequence at the beginning), and one of the best director’s commentary’s I’ve listened to – where he actually shows his art: why and how camera angles and cuts were chosen, the location, the lighting. Often these commentaries rapidly degenerate into back-slapping and reminiscing, but not so Girl, Interrupted.

So I think it would have to get full marks – not a relaxing or even enjoyable film to watch, but you can’t help but to get drawn in and really care about the characters. And it is fundamentally an optimistic and even upbeat film, strange as it sounds. Unlike that amazing opus Moulin Rouge, it is a film full of hope and a feeling that there is a way out – and that it is possible to make sense of this crazy life.

Where to start? Well, this is a Britney Spears film. It’s all about Britney Spears – Britney Spears cute and adorable. Britney Spears Science Nerd and valedictorian (and no, she doesn’t pull it off). Britney Spears closet kareoke queen, thrust unwillingly into the limelight (and a recording contract). Oh yes, and then there’s the sobbing Britney Spears abandoned by mother (oops, spoilt the plot).
To be fair, she’s got the doe-eyed “aren’t I adorable” down pat, but this is a film all about her. There is only one major scene which doesn’t have her in it, and probably a sum total of 15 minutes screen-time without her.

That said, fundamentally there are only two things wrong with this film – the acting and the script. There is only one character with any hint of depth (Mimi, superbly played by Taryn Manning), although Ben (Anson Mount) does a fair job of salvaging the poor role he’s landed (plus he gets to snog Britney, which he probably considered a plus – oops, spoilt the rest of the plot). As for the rest – characters that have no depth and you care about even less.

The premise is quite promising – three childhood friends, who’s different courses in life have pulled them apart get together (for various reasons) for a road-trip to LA. Lucy (our Brit) is the top-of-the-year nerd with no friends (except her lab partner – who she almost sleeps with, in a scene which young male Britney worshippers will drool over, and she parades in lingerie), who is driven by her father (played a bit woodenly by Dan Akroyd, which is a shame because he’s a comic genius) who also drove her mother away. Lucy decides to join this trip to get away from her driving father and see her long-lost mother. Mimi is the school trailer-park tramp, who’s pregnant from a back seat fumble, and is going to front a band if only she can get to the rehearsals in LA. Kit (Zoe Saldana) is the prom-queen type miss popular, who is also a bit of a cow, but wants to go to LA to see her fiance (who strangly isn’t coming home for the Easter break – h’mm, wonder why not? Oh shucks, that’s the rest of the plot gone too). Last of all is Ben, the poor smhuck who agrees to drive them all there (who also is a musician with a penchant for putting Britney’s poems to music).

Sadly, the promise is never born out. The characters are never truly believable, the former antagonists hugging “lets never lose each other again” is so cliched and predictable, and the whole universe revolves around Brit.. I mean Lucy.
The sole redeeming graces, as I already mentioned, are Mimi’s character, who is great and full of surprises, and Anson as Ben , who doesn’t take any of seriously, and is just along for the ride (plus the chance to snog BS).

One to watch on teressetial TV, if you must.

Seen at Ster Century, Leeds.

What a great film – superb animation, and a great plot. Instantly likeable characters which you can really relate too, as well.
The only thing which wrankled a bit was why children were seen as being toxic, when clearly they’re not.. h’mmm…
Still not to detract – has to rank up there with the likes of Toy Story and Bugs Life.

Seen at Ster Century, Leeds.

Very enjoyable film.. gotta love suspense-y detective films, and I admit I didn’t see the twist coming (but wasn’t trying too hard). Morgan Freeman is just excellent, and certainly makes the film, in my opinion.
The car crash at the beginning is pretty brutal though – doesn’t do to watch that more than once!

Naff all extras though, which is a shame in this day and age. Oh, except for a “Making of..” nonsense which is horribly back-slappy about how wonderful everyone in the film was to work with.

H’mm – not very good at doing this, am I?
Right, finished Z.O.E. all through, although if I can be bothered I’ll go through again and do it a bit better, which releases new options in the head-to-head mode. Got a lack of other games at the mo, so might do it…

Saw Monsters Inc. and Ocean’s 11 at the cinema recently. Very different films, but both are very good and enjoyable. I think Monsters Inc. just gets the edge – could see the ruse in Ocean’s 11 a mile off, and personally think it could have been done a lot better (take a leaf out of “The Sting”, for example).
Also saw Along Came A Spider on DVD – very enjoyable film.. gotta love suspense-y detective films, and I admit I didn’t see the twist coming (but wasn’t trying too hard). Naff all extras though, which is a shame in this day and age.

On the DVD front, just got 3 through from Oz – Big Trouble in Little China.. superb film, and loads of extras on the DVD, although I’ve only got half way through the director’s commentary. The commentary is.. um.. interesting – seems to be Kurt Russell and John Carpenter in hysterics and catching up on all their news, and occasionally remembering to comment on the movie.
The other two are Dead Poet’s Society and Jerry McGuire, neither of which I’ve played yet.

Finally, just ordered Spyro 2 on PSX. I hugely enjoyed Spyro 1, and it turns out there’s another 2 or 3 Spyro’s on PSX, and a Spyro on PS2 on the way! Strongly tempted by Gran Turismo 3 on PS2 platinum at only 19.99 now, but am trying to save up for the Linux kit in May.

What a fab, cool, and groovy film. Could see the ruse a mile off, and personally think it could have been done a lot better (take a leaf out of “The Sting”, for example), but still highly enjoyable to watch.
George Clooney is (I’m told) pleasing on the eye, but in all his films I’m very aware it’s Clooney I’m watching.. not exactly type-case, but there’s an inescapable clooney-ism about him. The same used to be true of Tom Hanks, but (in my books) he’s more than proved his diversity.

But I digress. Lots of nice clothes, lots of cool people, very understated action, and a lot of confidence tricks!!!

Seen at Ster Century, Leeds.