Tired

Finished working a 24 hour stint yesterday teaching camerawork and editing. Forced to be up this morning because I've got another workshop later on. Luckily it's only two hours out of my day to do. The 24 hour stint was good- named the 24 Hour Challenge, 6 young people made a film of their own, in the 24 hours, to say I was exhausted at the end of it was an understatement. Thanks to a lot of rushing about and lack of sleep.

In other news I'm going to see WWE in Sheffield, front row seats in October. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet (Note: with all the recent suspensions and firings it's hard to know who is going to be there). Peace out.

Stuff I've been Watching Lately

Really not been watching too many film lately, recently watched HARD CANDY starring Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson which stars the younger looking then she is Ellen Page as 14 year old girl meeting a 32 year old photographer played by Patrick Wilson on the internet. She prepares a Screwdriver drink for him at his house and he passes out and accuses him of pedophilia which Wilson denies and she begins to torture him, the film is not too bad, the message is a but muddled in there somewhere but the performances are top notch, also it's never too gory like what the splat pack offer.

Television as been more in my DVD player then anything lately. Dawson's Creek Season Five (must be watching the show in reverse season) was the first season of the show's college years and features a death early in the seasons of one of the main characters of the show. This was also the season that introduced the wonderful Busy Philipps to the series, worth a watch even if like me your not big on the Dawson character Extras Series Two, comfirms performance wise that Ricky Gervais is nothing but a one trick pony, while it's a often very funny series it falls behind The Office and even shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Larry Sanders Show as the celebrity cameos are sometimes a little too self aware.

Had something of a Monty Python binge earlier this week aswell. And Now For Something Completely Different is just sketches from the show just refilmed but it's funny if not quite of the same enegry of the original series. Life of Brian is probably the masterpiece movie of the Python crew which is literally a laugh a minute (or second). Seen it loads of times of course and still makes me laugh. Python related is A Fish Called Wanda which is very funny thanks to the wonderful ensemble. I think Kevin Kline just steals the movie.

That it's for now- got Rocky Balboa to watch, might comment on it soon.

Bask in the loveliness of...

Eliza Dushku

Shine on

Been absent from Blogger since Tuesday because I've been a bit on the busy side, going to be a bit busy next week aswell so I'm probably going to be a little short on enteries. My best friend since I was 12 moved out of Hull yesterday, that's a near 13 year friendship there, we talked (he's now in Manchester) yesterday and I'm going down so everything's hopeful, it's just a bit weird my best friend been all the way in another town.

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Anna Faris

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Returns after a couple of days break from the blog

Kate Winslet

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Jewel Staite

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Anne Hathaway

Scenes That Rock

Strange Behaviour (1981)

The qualification for the Scenes That Rock doesn't after neccesarily mean "Films That Rock" there are certain films out there I love scenes from like this one for example. An 1981 horror written by Bill Condon (who went on to direct Gods and Monsters and Kinsey as well as writing Chicago) it takes a similar plot to the later Katie Holmes film Disturbing Behaviour (and probably a million more movies), the film focuses on a scientist running experiments on teenagers that turn them into murderers, but the plot is not really important to this Scenes That Rock entry, the film is nothing more then a run of the mill slasher. What's important is probably what happens abou 20-25 minutes in: The teens all go to a party (as they do in slasher movies) but instead of a poor victim getting murdered the teens do a synchrosided dance number to Lou Christie's Lightning Strikes, wonderful because it looks completely out of place in a horror movie, and sets the film in a unknown era- What teens would put a not massively well known song at a party in the 80s and all dance in unision to who knows?- Anyway the song is wonderful and it help makes the entire film memorable because of it.

Recent DVD Purchases

For some reason I went over a month without buying a single DVD, this was probably the longest time in the 6 years since buying my first DVD player and DVDs that it's happened. That all changed yesterday when I purchased the following:

• The Young Ones Series One
• The Young Ones Series Two
• Fritz the Cat/The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat Double Pack
• Frasier Season Three
• Frasier Season Four
• Happy Days Season One.

Scenes That Rock

Welcome to a new section on my blog: Scenes That Rock basically about the scenes I love from the movies, whether it's pure excitement, laughs, tears or fun. Anyway Let's Get Straight down to business...

#1 Apocalypse Now (1979):

The Raid

Probably my favourite movie scene bar none from the moment the helicopters blare Wagner's Ride of the Valkryies out of the speakers to "Scare the Nativies" and the first gun shots from the copters. Made all the more impressive by all the explosions done on the set at the time. Robert Duvall's Kilgore makes the scene even better- "Fucking Savages" referring to a woman (and innocent bystanders) they'd gunned down after she'd thrown her hat which was loaded with a bomb into an helicopter and talking with surfer Lance about how the great the waves are in all the carnage. Check it Out.

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Alyssa Milano

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Amanda Seyfried

Great Television Characters

#3

George Costanzo

Played by Jason Alexander

in Seinfeld

Following on from last weeks Frank Burns is Seinfeld's George Costanza, another character lacking in nobility, Elaine (Julia Louis Dreyfuss) described him as a "short, stocky, slow-witted, bald man" and described as "Lord of the Idiots" by himself. He is very neurotic and self dominated.

Friends with Jerry Seinfeld (the character) since their middle school years. Episode plots frequently feature George manufacturing elaborate deceptions at work or in his relationships to gain or maintain some sort of small or imagined advantage. His relationships with women are always unsuccessful. His most disastrous was his engagement to Susan Ross, one of the few that ends "well" for George; he fears marriage and Susan's unexpected death saves him from the commitment and he was somewhat to blame for her by skimping on the cost of envelopes (watch the series if you don't know what I mean!)

Often desribed as dumb by his friends he is also considered an expert liar, and as often talked his way out of extraordinary situations (considered a useful skill by his friends).

George is primarily based upon co-creator Larry David and many of George's predicaments were based on the real life experiences of David. For example, when George quits his job in fury, he realizes his actions were a mistakes, he goes back to work the next day as if nothing happened, mirroring David's actions while working as a writer on Saturday Night Live.

George appeared in all but one of the Seinfeld episodes (season three's The Pen) and he goes down as one of the greatest television characters in history for his perfect self loathing and nuerosis.

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Jennifer Garner

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Kelli Garner

Switchblade Romance Review

Switchblade Romance

(aka High Tension) (aka Haute Tension)

(2003)

Reviewer Bias' Loves: Great bad guys Likes: French cinema Dislikes: Hates: Pointless violence that is there only to shock

If this film would have been made 20-30 years ago it would have easily been paired with the so-called video nasties of that time. It already somewhat conjours up the memories of The Last House on the Left, Straw Dogs Et al.

The plot sees friends Marie (Cécile De France) and Alex (Maiween Le Besco) go to visit Alex's parents in the countryside and study in their peaceful surrondings. However the peace is soon broken when during the night, a truck driver (Philippe Nahon) breaks into the house murder Alex's family and tie up Alex. Marie manages to evade the truck driver. When the man carries Alex into the back of his truck, Marie is forced to attempt to rescue her friend.

First things thing. The movie is utterly gripping from start to finish, De France is excellent in the lead role as is Nahon who is brilliantly chilling. The deaths are very glorified and linger a bit too long, it sometimes is a bit hard to like a film when a little kid is killed but I guess makes sense in the all family getting massacred sort of way.

I don't know why but I never felt completely satisified by the entire film, I guess I felt a little uneasy- bloody and gory movie deaths don't effect me but I think I was confused because the deaths seemed to be in a different tone to the rest of the gripping story. SPOILER: The twist at the end is somewhat well done, better then say Identity, worse then The Sixth Sense when it's revealed De France is actually the killer and Nahon maybe just of been a part of her split personality.

In conclusion, all I can say is, it's well worth a watch, there's a lot to recommend, occasionally intense (perhaps too intense), occasionally over gory but still a damn good watch from director Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes remake).

()()()

(3 out of 5)

Bask in the loveliness of...

Natalie Portman

Work in Progress.

Firstly, I haven't quite finished my Guilty Pleasures for this week. Also I'm in the middle of working on a couple of reviews -proper reviews- which is probably my first in over a year. All should be up tomorrow or Thursday.

You know I mentioned earlier about one of my students making a film about 9/11 conspiracy. Well South Park went and spoilt it for me the other night by making a mockery over the all situation and doing it funny which will make it a bit harder for the poor lad's film to be quite taking as serious by me.

What else can I say? I've been off the past couple of days because of Bank Holiday weekend and of course my workshop is Wednesday night -the fifth week off the top of my head- got an 18 shift coming up in September that I'm exicted/scared of.

Bask in the loveliness of...

Rachel McAdams