Tuesday 29 June 2010

TV Reviews:

Smallville: When it first aired it had some impact, but after character additions it has become over-dramatic and droll. Too much camera panning and scene hogging. I'd rather have intelligent story-lines and a faster tempo, thanks. B

Spartacus: Blood and Sand: Dud

Saturday 26 June 2010

TV Reviews:

The I.T. Crowd: I want this show to be better than it is—but it lacks that spark of intelligence. Some of the jokes are funny but most of them leave me feeling they could have done more with the characters. I still like this show—if only for what could be. A−
Album Reviews:

Dixie Chicks: Wide Open Spaces:

I like the musical and instrumental talent that is obvious here. What annoys me is the haste to create catchy hooks over intelligent songs—I wish they had taken more time—a slightly slower, more serious endeavor. Like I said, I do like the general vibe and they have great voices and some great talent too—if only they were brave enough to roll with it. ** (‘Wide Open Spaces’, ‘Give It Up or Let Me Go’)

Paolo Nutini: These Streets:

Dud

Friday 25 June 2010

Holy shit—this guy is good! :p

Album Reviews:

Eminem: Recovery:

After the abysmal Relapse I had serious doubts whether Eminem could pull himself back to form. It may not be the smartest of his CD's but he's back with a vengeance—keeping the beats simple and hard—it has allowed him to gain his confidence back. Often, with his older work, he doesn't seem to face some of his issues head-on—here, at least, he admits them (if only for himself) and wants to change. A−

Saturday 19 June 2010

Film Reviews:

Johnny English: A complete waste of time—this movie is poor in every-which-way. 1.5 Stars

Murder on the Orient Express: I hate this Poaro—his timing is so bad! The plot is too obvious and dull. Some of the character interactions are quite nice, though, and the cast is quite impressive too (shit Poaros aside). 3 Stars

Friday 18 June 2010

Gotta love Seinfeld/guess what I'm doing tonight…?

I just bought the Anime version of Metropolis on DVD from Amazon—it's going to take two days—I can't wait!

Metropolis (Anime): This is the kind of animation that just doesn't feel like an animation when you watch it. A beautifully told story—which has great character development. I always feel so upset for the robot girl I'm almost embarrassed—as it's an animation—although saying that I also cared about the girl in Spirited Away and that didn't bother me? 4 Stars
My greatest horror movies of all time list:

1. King Kong
2. Repulsion
3. The Bride of Frankenstein
4. Alien
5. Psycho
6. Frankenstein
7. Jaws
8. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
9. Nosferatu
10. Peeping Tom

11. Rosemary's Baby
12. Exotica
13. Dracula
14. Halloween
15. The Evil Dead
16. Dawn of the Dead
17. The Shining
18. The Exorcist
19. The Blair Witch Project
20. Silence of the Lambs
21. Carrie
22. The Descent
23. Aliens
24. The Wicker Man
25. The Night of the Living Dead
26. The Devil's Rejects

I need to get ‘Don't Look Now’, ‘The Last House on the Left’ and ‘Let the Right One In’ in here—‘Devil's Rejects’ should be 27th…
Game Reviews:

Mappy: What I love about this game is it's infuriating addictiveness. I can seriously play this game for hours at a time and get so annoyed when I die—it is such a well paced game—it's a personal favourite of mine. A lot of people say the music gets tiring but I love it. It is a simple game, though. A−

Film Reviews:

Crash: The characters are so beautifully created they transcend all hatred and cliches when in the face of racism, sexism and ignorance. The way the story unfolds itself is also pretty good—subtle—playing on the emotions of each character rather than the suspense. Smart, but doesn't outreach itself ever. 4 Stars

Fargo: I don't know why it has taken me so long to see this movie. It's probably one of the best films I have ever seen—definitely one of the best of the 90's. Hilarious and tragic at the same time—the film kind of creeps up on you and then, suddenly, you're sucked in. I need to get this on DVD… 4 Stars

Thursday 17 June 2010

TV Reviews:

Everybody Loves Raymond: An impressive cast—each member of the family has a strong role in the show. What lacks here are the jokes—they're usually pretty immature and short—leaving me feeling like this isn't very good as a comedy. What I do like is the interaction between the characters—this is where the show shines. A−

Friday 11 June 2010

Film Reviews:

Starship Troopers: I, admittedly, liked this as a teen. God knows why. The intended humour behind the film is, probably, the best aspect of the film. The characters are lazy, the plot almost irrelevant (it could have easily been a pure action film) and the dialogue dumb as hell. One word I will never forget: ‘MEDIIIIC!!!’. 2 Stars

Spiderman 2: This movie is so much better than it's predecessor it's almost blinding. Finally the saga decides to follow the man behind the mask rather than creating a pure action flick. There is also less emotional overkill than the first and the film flows in a real and intelligent manor. 4 Stars

The Bourne Identity: It's filmed well for an action movie. Matt Damon plays his part well and the movie does what it needs to do. It could be a little more mature though—have a more intelligent back-story—but, as I said, it is enough. 3 Stars

Thursday 10 June 2010

The most disappointing film series series: Back to the Future

Back to the Future. 3.5 Stars

Back to the Future II. 3 Stars

Back to the Future III. 2 Stars
I think I should do an update on my raw food diet (plus I haven't done a regular post in a while). I have been doing a raw food diet now for almost 3 months. I have had the occasional cooked meal (plus the occasional slip-up!). What I have learned, so far, from eating raw foods is that they make you feel happier. A lot happier. You know that feeling you had as a child—that feeling of free-rolling happiness with some background apprehension? That's how I feel—all the time! Every time I have a cooked meal, processed chocolate or junk food I feel lethargic, I often get a headache (which I never used to and I rarely get headaches anyway), my mood becomes more unstable and I generally feel unwell. I have also lost almost 6 and a half kilograms. I'm not so bothered about the weight—it's the realization that most of the fat on my body is made up of deposits of starchy carbohydrates and processed fats. I can imagine people thinking that I am too skinny (I am now 63.7 kg/10.03 stone/140.4 lbs) but in reality they are too fat! I don't mean this in any superior or malevolent way—remember I don't care about my weight. I believe that people are meant to be a lot thinner than they are—only carrying a small amount of (natural) fat—not all these left-over carbohydrates. My veins stick out more, my ribs protrude and my skin is becoming tighter to my muscles, but also, my skin is becoming clearer, my breath fresher, I sweat less, I have more energy, i am less stressed and I come home after a 12 hour shift feeling full of energy—now who can say that?
Film Reviews:

The Simpsons Movie: Like everyone who saw the trailer, I was a little apprehensive at first. I thought the plot would be stale and I have it ingrained in my mind that TV series rarely transcend well onto the big screen. Surprisingly, it actually turned out to be a pretty good movie—a lot of the jokes were obvious but a lot of them were fresh and funny too. The animation kept the story running smoothly and helped the show transcend to film. I thought the story was a little uninspired. But hay, it was still pretty good. 3 Stars

Salem's Lot: I always remember that scene where the kid floats up to the window and asks to come in—it is terrifying! I quite like this adaptation, though it is a little dull—there hardly seems to be any atmospheric terror during the day (some of the direction could have been better) but then isn't this a vampire movie? 2.5 Stars
Album Reviews:

The Rolling Stones: Exile on Main Street (Deluxe Edition):

I was really excited when I heard about this re-issue but I also had a nagging sense of apprehension—what if they remastered it and it sounded worse, lost it's atmosphere or they changed the tracks from the originals? I can safely say that the re-issue has been superbly re-mastered and the bonus tracks (of which, I was also apprehensive of) are some of the best tracks I have heard in years. How many of them were performed by the artists now and how much it has been professionally produced I don't know. A+
I feel bad for posting three Youtube videos in a row—but fuck it.


TV Reviews:

Everwood: Based on some common mining-town cliches, Everwood is not a bad show. It's not a great show either. While having a good cast they never seem to act anything more than appropriately. The plot seems good on paper but lack of intelligent direction renders the show a little futile. ***

Monday 7 June 2010

TV Reviews:

Gilmore Girls: The characters always seem to talk as if they are in a novel—unnaturally. There is a nice connection between the characters but the plot never really goes anywhere beyond their basic day-to-day lives and it's boring. Probably a show women would prefer over men. B+

Fraiser: Clever and funny at the same time? Seinfeld springs to mind and then there's Frasier. There seems to be a love hate relationship from the general public—some people call it dull. I think they're out of their minds. Sometimes the cast focus too much on character development rather than the individual scenes or jokes. A+

Bones: I hate to say it (well, no, he was underrated in Buffy) but David Boreanaz is quite the lead. Emily Deschanel, on the other-hand, is a bad actress. Just another high contrast, flashing images, slow-mo CSI rip-off. *

Sunday 6 June 2010

Film Reviews:

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King: While I thoroughly enjoyed the first installment to the series the second and, especially, the third are a little trite. Return of the King is more action-sequence based leaving the other scenes seeming necessary only for the completion of the plot. It's almost as if they ran out of steam and are just going with the flow. It's still fun to watch though. 3.5 Stars

Kindergarten Cop: I am always surprised by this movie as it should be a lot worse then it is. The film is actually enjoyable, for the most part, due to the impressive scene arrangement. Surprisingly, Schwarzenegger is not too bad either. 3 Stars

Friday 4 June 2010

This is one thing I miss about Japan so much—clean streets! :p

Thursday 3 June 2010

TV Reviews:

Burn Notice: Bad acting (especially Jeffrey Donovan), poor plot, poor direction—you get the picture. It's dumb and it's loud but it's still no fun. B−

The King of Queens: I don't know why but I really dislike Kevin James (it may be that he seems so lazy). There are some funny jokes but they seem half baked. B+
Album Reviews:

Nas & Damian Marley: Distant Relatives:

What I like about this album is that the music is mostly reggae which allows a refreshing take on rap. Damian seems to give most of the melodies (taking inspirational verses every so often) leaving Nas to juxtapose his street-poet flow over the top. I heard about this collaboration last year (I assumed it, even, before that) and I was thoroughly excited as I like both artists. I think they could have been smarter with this—Marley with his melodies and Nas with his rhymes—they seem a little lazy. I do like the general vibe though. A−

Wednesday 2 June 2010

Film Reviews:

After Hours: I first saw this movie when I was in my early teens and I was so frustrated because I forgot the name of the film. One of the most well crafted and experimental comedies I have ever seen. The film almost plays like an exaggerated twilight episode and some of the scenes are really visually exciting. It does feel a little hodge-podge though—there are a lot of ideas floating around and I don't think they knew how to tie it all together. 4 Stars

Tuesday 1 June 2010

I need to find the first part—but here's the second part to Terry Pratchett's Going Postal:

TV Reviews:

NCIS: Dud