Mutley

I'm of the same opinion. I used to go to a lot of concerts - all over Europe. The last few years the cost of tickets was putting me off, especially when you're beside some gobshites who talk through the whole event. So I started going to smaller gigs. That's even worse for idiots not shutting the fuck up but at least it was cheaper. They talk and shout loudly as if the music is a hindrance. It was really pissing me off to the point where it was always spoiling my night so I just stopped going.

It's been a while since I posted. I don't tend to watch movies these days. 90-120 minutes just isn't enough for character and plot development when we've being spoiled by Breaking Bad, Sopranos, etc.

Good Vibrations (2012) – Set in Norn Iron, this is the story of music legend Terri Hooley; who was the godfather figure for the punk rock scene in Belfast in the 70s. He was the guy who ‘discovered’ and signed the Undertones only to then let them go very cheaply. It has some great performances from a decent cast and it’s laugh out loud in a few places. A really fun movie and one that most people haven’t heard of. Obviously some great music throughout. 8/10

About Time (2013) – It’s a Richard Curtis film. It’s labelled as a rom-com. It’s got time travel. OK don’t let any of these things put you off. It’s not really a rom-com. There’s a few funny moments; mostly from Tom Hollander’s miserable character but it’s mostly a bittersweet movie. Any movie that has Bill Nighy and Domhnall Gleeson is worth a watch but there are also good performances from Hollander and Rachel McAdams (who might be my favourite least-annoying American actress). I can’t say much about the plot without giving away too many spoilers but there’s a couple of brilliant scenes with Gleeson and Nighy. As with any Curtis film there’s a danger of it becoming a bit twee but he mostly manages to steer it straight. It’s got a great soundtrack too. Probably my favourite feel good/feel bad movie at the moment. 8/10

The Revenant - Moody cinematography? Check. Realistic "Saving Private Ryan" type battles and injuries? Check. Tom Hardy mumbling incoherently through all his lines? Check. Simple, basic plot? Check. Characters that you care about? Eh no, not so much. Interesting and unmissable? Meh. Oscar winning performance for Leo? No but he'll get it anyway as he's "overdue". It won't be anyone's favourite movie ever. 6/10

The Hateful Eight - It's not awful. It's just too long, too drawn out and the flashbacks that Tarantino is known for don't add anything to move the story along. Kurt Russell doesn't quite have the acting chops to carry the movie - he's not bad, he's just not great. Samuel L Jackson yet again plays Samuel L Jackson. The biggest issue for me is I was just a spectator - I really didn't feel anything for the characters who I might add were at times bordering on caricatures. It's not his worst movie but it's no Inglourious Basterds or Pulp Fiction. 7/10

Steve Jobs - I like most of Aaron Sorkin's work. The West Wing has some glorious writing and characters. I feel sorry for Sorkin here as he's had to try and give a balanced view of Jobs, who let's be honest was a bit of a cunt in real life. Jobs basically stood on the shoulders of giants so when you break down the media hype surrounding him and acknowledge that he was a horrible person he turns out to be a pretty uninteresting guy - crucial as he's the focus of the movie. Fassbender plays Jobs as a bland, insular automaton and he's overshadowed by Kate Winslet in most scenes. Seth Rogan shouldn't be allowed near a serious script or movie before he takes some comprehensive acting lessons. All in all a forgettable movie. If you want a movie about Steve Jobs, watch Pirates of Silicon Valley instead. 5/10

Edit Added:

God Bless America - Independent movie from 2011 from weird comedian Bobcat Goldthwait that did no business. Stars nobody you will have heard of. Don't let any of that put you off. Last movie to really impress me. Film4 occasionally shows it after midnight; alternatively available from your local Torrent server. Deliciously dark. Thoroughly recommended. 8.5/10

Oblivion is way better than Elysium. I like sci-fi but Elysium is crap.

Guess I won't be watching Elysium then as I thought Oblivion was very poor.

Watched Now You See Me last night. First 40 minutes was quite good but it just nosedived after that. I think all the decent script writers and directors are now working in TV... or maybe the art of writing a cohesive, believable and entertaining 90-120 minute movie has been lost... or maybe all the good 90-120 minute movies have all gone and we're destined for a steady stream of below average remakes and semi-original projects.

Iron Man 3 and Star Trek Into Darkness - both competing with each other for title of Biggest Steaming Pile of Shite award 2013. Truly, truly awful.

Watched "The Guard" last night. Very good film. Brendan Gleeson was hilarious in it

I tried to watch it and found it extremely dull. Didn't even make it a third through it.

Watched Horrible Bosses last night. A couple of LOL scenes. Colin Farrell steals all the scenes he's in. Jennifer Aniston looking surprisingly hot too. 6.5/10

Hanna - average script but great acting by Saoirse Ronan. Usual ham acting from Cate Blanchett. 5/10

For my sins I watched the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Need smiley for crying or biting down on a shotgun barrel. Utter tripe. 2/10

Watched Taken, the other night. It was a French production, but in English. I thought it rather watchable. I like Luc Besson movies with The Fifth Element probably being in my top ten.

Watched 'Unknown' tonight. I've not read the book, but the film was really good. Not quite as good as Taken, but gripping thriller nonetheless.

Watched both recently. Taken was on Film4 at the weekend. Enjoyed both but preferred Taken.

Can anyone explain Juan Turner's success?

He created hundreds of sock puppets and voted for himself?

A coathanger used to do the job fine. So I'm told.

Frankie Boyle - If I could reach through your TV.... If you like comedians who's material consists primarily of paedophilia, gay sex and the word cunt then he's your man. Seriously unfunny. 1/10

 

You'll love Tramadol Nights.

 

http://www.channel4....ts/4od#series-1

 

I occasionally find him funny, he's certainly well over the line in a lot of regards but I think some of his material is misrepresented, the furore around his disabled routines for example kind of misses the point IMO.

 

Daily Mail gets righteous and misses the point, for a change

 

EDIT - Wonky link fixed.

I seen a bit of it and aside from it being cringingly awful, most of the material is lifted from the DVD. I don't find him particularly offensive just particularly unfunny. He's not a clever comedian, his delivery is very poor and his material is just the same repeated boring stuff. Substitute disabled people and gays for niggers and wops and hey presto you have Jim Davidson. Then again some people like that. Horses for courses.

Watched a load of comedy dvds this past week

Dara O'Briain - This is the show. Very funny but I'd seen him do this show when he was in the Villa. His previous DVDs are better. Falling into the trap of doing routines about his kids. 8/10

John Bishop - Elvis has left the building. Didn't think I'd like this but it was very good. He has an annoying habit of repeating himself but the material makes up for it. 8/10

Kevin Bridges - Live in Glasgow. Funny stuff but a lot of it very specific to Glasgow. 7/10

Stewart Francis - Tour de Francis. Very funny on MTW but a whole DVD of his clever one-liners is a bit too much. I had to watch it in a couple of sittings. 5/10

Milton Jones - Live Universe Tour. Again funny on MTW but the material doesn't really stretch to a whole DVD. 4/10

Rhod Gilbert - and the Cat... Rants and raves and shouts his way through all his material. Tiring for the viewer and tbh I didn't watch it to the end as he was giving me a headache. 3/10

Billy Connolly - Live in London 2010. Oh dear. It's like seeing your favourite band on a downward spiral but still continue to release CDs in the hope of reliving the early days. Watch his early stuff. 2/10

Frankie Boyle - If I could reach through your TV.... If you like comedians who's material consists primarily of paedophilia, gay sex and the word cunt then he's your man. Seriously unfunny. 1/10

Wall Street 2 - Not as good as the original obviously and a bit "all over the place" in terms of storyline but decent enough to spend time watching it. 6.5/10

The Social Network - Surprisingly good actually. I don't use FaceSpace or any of those social networks but the story was good enough to hold it's own. 7/10

Knight and Day - Cruise and Cameron. Was itching to hate it, but as an action "dodge the bullets" Hollywood fodder movie it was ok. 6/10

Iron Man 2 - Way to go to ruin a solid first movie - follow up with a turkey. 3/10

Green Zone

Matt Damon plays Jason Bourne in Iraq. Well not quite but there is plenty of action. Well paced and pretty decent. 7/10

Prince of Persia. So bad it made me want to vomit.1/10

I wasn't a fan of Nick Cage in kick ass. he was ok playing the father role but the Batman impression was terrible.

and Aye it's bang wrong to be aroused by Hit Girl. Give it ten years before you start thinking about that sort of shit yeah.

That's what I told my mate!

Went to see Toy Story 3 on Monday. Brilliant, the Pixar guys really are masters of their work. Not sure whether I'd welcome a 4th outing, as it might start to get quite over kill but if they do go for it (Tim Allen rumoured to be signed up for another one) I'm sure it'll be great too.

It's very good. Some LOL moments but is a lot darker than the first two. I gotta say though 3D sucks big time. It doesn't add to the movie and wearing uncomfortable glasses actually detracts from the movie experience. The sooner this useless gimmick fades away (again) the better.

Kick Ass. 8/10. Didn't think it would be my cup of tea but it was good escapist fun and well cast except for Nic Cage. Is it wrong to be slightly aroused by Hit Girl in full kick ass action mode?

Avatar - Dances with Wolves meets the Smurfs. 4/10

Clash of the titans, first film I've watched in 3D.

 

The films average, bit of an incoherent mess with very good action sequences. Problem is, the 3d renders all those sequences into blurry messes. Most of the screen seems to be out of focus, with just the foreground stuff standing clear. It's also really gloomy looking. Is all 3d this shit?

Nah, Clash of the Titans wasn't filmed for 3D. They 'adapted' it when they saw how successful Avatar is.

 

That said, I wouldn't say 3D adds a lot to any film, but I wouldn't judge it based on what you saw.

Saw Alice in Wonderland 3D a couple of months ago. The 3D looked very obvious and 'in your face' (pun intended). Like all effects it should be subtle, add to the movie and not look like some obvious gimmick. That said AIW is a pretty shit movie and no amount of gimmicks was going to save it. I actually fell asleep for 20 minutes in the middle. 3/10

3D as a technology? As Dara O'Briain said the other night - It didn't work in the 1950's or the 1980's and it's not working now. Personally I won't be going to see another 3D movie and I'll be glad when the fad is over for another 30 years. 1/10

Hurt Locker

This is up for an Oscar as best picture? Was 2009 really that bad for movies? I thought it was very average. Couldn't relate to the characters at all and found myself hoping they'd get shot so that the movie would end. Far too long and drawn out. Editing was poor in places and just plain annoying in others. Hand held camera shots should add something to the scene not make you feel motion sickness. The script just meandered along with no real rhyme nor reason. 4.5/10

2012

Words can't describe how bad this is. CGI is very good but so what. 3/10

Se7en

Watched this on TV last night for the umpteenth time. Great script. Great movie. 8.5/10

Heaven

This was on TV a few weeks ago. Hadn't seen it before. Enjoyable. 6.5/10

Finally watched the new Star Trek last night. It was great

I watched it last night. I thought it was really awful. Corny and as badly acted as the original series. Disappointed as I'd heard good things about it.