King Kong

Being a Peter Jackson film I had great expectations about King Kong and all the reviews I came across only sought to increase my anticipation. I have to say I was not disappointed.

It starts off a little slow with probably a little too much background which is probably my only criticism of this movie.

The creatures are brilliant, the action is breathtaking. It's scary. It's funny and it's ultimately heartbreaking.

Naomi Watts is luminescently beautiful and stole every scene she was in. And as for Kong.... I just love Andy Sirkis anyway and he made him come to life in the same way as he gave Gollum his own personality and je ne c'est quoi. Jack Black also deserves a mention for playing the nasty man in his own inimitable way!

This is a classic remake of a classic film and everyone should see it. Small kids will probably be scared but it's a good type of scary!

The March of the Penguins

I wasn't too sure about this one before I went, because while I have absoloutely nothing against penguins and their life cycle, I did watch the David Attenborough version, which was made some years ago, recently and loved it, and I wasn't convinced that there would be anything more to see in this documentary.

Unfortunately, I was right. And in my opinion the David Attenborough one was better, and more dramatic. Or maybe I only thought that because it was new the first time and not so new the second time!

It's a lovely gentle film, perfect for families and people who go awww at cute things. It's an amazing story of survival and evoloution and I don't see how the creationism argument is strengthened by this film! But that's an argument for another day!

Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire

This HP film is by far and away the best one to date. It's a two and a half hour rollercoaster ride from start to finish and is to be highly recommended.

I am biased in that I love the books, but was very disapointed by the first two films in a massive way. In fact I didn't bother going to see the third one on the basis that I hated the first two so much. However I did see it at home and loved it, and was pleasantly proven wrong.

This film version is difficult to fault. The kids have come on in leaps and bounds in term of acting, the story is really entertaining and very dark. Voldemort makes a definitive appearance and is brilliantly portrayed by Ralph Fiennes, and the story has really begun to take off.

I think one of the best endorsements of this film is that people who have had no interest in the books or previous films have really enjoyed it. One caveat is that in my opinion this is not a film for little children. It's dark, it's violent and I jumped out my skin once or twice, despite the fact I knew what was coming!

The Constant Gardener

This is by far and away my movie of the year to date. It is a gripping story of love, intrigue, deception and Africa and I just can't fault it.

The director Meirelles, who previously directed the equally stunning City of God, really does this story credit. The documentary style, shooting using hand held cameras gets the viewer very close to the action and the settings, to the point where you feel that if you tried a little harder you could smell the slum.

Fiennes and Weisz both do a magnificent job in portraying characters that, I for one, really cared about. Although the character Fiennes plays appears initially to be weak and inconsequential I found myself falling a little in love with him by the end of the film, as his strength, intelligence and commitment to his wife became overpowering factors in his true self.

Weisz has never convinced me before of her ability to act, but here in this film she shon. Her character is beautiful, intelligent, feisty, and loyal and there is so much to like about her that, her loss made me grieve too.

I cried during this movie. But more tellingly, I cried afterwards too, on the way home, when I thought about it. All I can say is that you won't regret going to see this one.

The Three Day Road - Joesph Boyden

My folks recently reviewed this book at their book club meeting and it attracted very lively and animated discussion for at least three hours from the participants of the meeting. Having witnessed the excitement generated by the book I felt that I really should read it myself to find out what all the excitement was about.

I enjoyed the book. But I wouldn't say it was a fantasic read or a gripping story. I found the main characters, 2 Indian sharp shooters, to be a little remote. I liked the character of the medicine woman aunt and the accounts of life in the bush and of living in the Indian community in the wilds of Canada.

The accounts of the First World War are difficult to comment on, however having read other fictional accounts of the war, the descriptions in this book tally with other accounts. But saying this it didn't increase my knowledge of the war and the experience of those who lived through it, and I don't feel that it was in anyway a ground breaking experience in literary terms.

The best aspect of this book, for me, was the accounts of the spiritual and religious beliefs of the Indian trio, the errosion of faith and their perception of western religion. Otherwise I felt the book lacked something more definitive, maybe it tried to do too much in not enough pages. Saying that it didn't end too abruptly which for me is a cardinal sin, but it did leave me a little dissatisfied all the same.

Nanny McPhee

I'm a sucker for kids films involving a good moral tale and a bit of magic and as such Nanny McPhee scores well.

I enjoyed it on the level that it's meant to be enjoyed, a very simple one!

The costumes, the colours the setting are all fantastically OTT and luscious. Although I could have done without the inclusion of dead men's feet in the scenes in the undertakers - very unpleasant and a damn sight more horrifying than I can only suppose it was meant to be!

But any film with the delectable Colin Firth in it is always going to have an edge with me! If you have little kids or like me are a little kid this is a sweet funny, amusing film for you to enjoy!

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

This is by far my least favourite Austen story. I personally found it to be formulaic, dull and irritating!

The characters are the weakest of all her stories, which means that they are generally unlikeable and this left me not caring whether or not they lived happily ever after!

The heroine of the piece Fanny Price is a judgemental, weak, repressed and boring individual with very little to redeem her. The love interest Edmund is a preaching, uncertain boring and also repressed second son who's only ambition is to be a clergy man, he wasn't my type!
As a result I found myself rooting for the villain of the piece and hoped against hope that there would be a shock ending where Mr. Crawford won over Fanny's affections and they ran off together to live happily ever after. Fat chance.

If you want a decent Austen novel don't read this one, I recommend Pride & Prejudice or Sense & Sensibility as being ultimatley superiour!

The House of Flying Daggers

This is a visually stunning and engaging film in the same vein as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon with some wire fighting and a bit of tree jumping being seen in both. The story is a Romeo and Juliet type affair with intrique and mystery added to the mix of martial arts and unrequited love.
It's a fantastic film. I can't praise it enough and it leaves you wanting to watch it all over again because of the sheer beauty of the cinematography. Go watch it if you haven't seen it already!

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde - Playing in the Abbey Theatre Dubli

This classic commentary on Victorian manners is given an excellent and surprising make over in this Connal Morrison adaptation of Wilde's most successful play.



The lead roles of Oscar Wilde and Lady Bracknall are played by the always brilliant Alan Stanford. His on stage transformation from Wilde to Lady Bracknall is hilarious (I especially loved Lady Bracknall's fabulous peacock hat!). The costumes are sumptious and it has to be said that the all male cast do them justice! The female characters of Gwendoline and Cecilly stole the show in my opinion. They were played with fabulous flippery and really brought the house down.



The Art Nouveau setting of the play is pretty and and engaging and is also deserving of a mention!

Charlie & the Chocolate Factory

This was my hangover film of choice this weekend as I didn't think I'd be able to handle anything very involved and I really love the original Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory not to mention all of Roald Dahl's books, so I mean how could it not be fun?

I did laugh a lot during the film which is a positive. Johnny Depp scared me as Wonka which is a negative. The Charlie kid was better than the original in terms of cuteness which is a positive. There was no Slugworth and moral lesson which was a negative. The Oompa Loompa was funny - positive. The songs were only ok. I just don't know if I liked the damn film or not?!

I think on the face of it and if I hadn't seen the original version a million times I would have liked it better, but that doesn't mean its a bad film. It's enjoyable and fun and silly and weird and its enjoyable. I just don't know if I liked it!

We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families

This book by Philip Gorevitch seeks to examine the truth behind the genocide which took place in Rwanda in the early to mid nineties. Most people are now aware that the truth is that there was a genocide taking place in this small African state right under the noses of the rest of the world and no- one lifted a finger to intervene or aid those who were being targeted on ethnic grounds. Like most people at the time my knowledge of the events in Rwanda was limited to Hutus good Tutsis bad. This it turns out was due to the misinformation and lies which were propogated by both the Hutu "government" and also by the French government. It was this intervention on the side of the Hutu killers by the French and the setting up of the so called Turquoise zone in which many of the remaining Tutsis who were surviving in that area were rounded up by the French in order to "protect" them only to find on their return that the people they were supposed to protect had been murdered by wandering Hutu Interhamwe.

This book gripped and shocked me in a profound way. It does not dwell in a lewd or grisly way on the facts of the genocide but at the same time it leaves you with a very clear image of what happened during 1994 in Rwanda.

For anyone who is interested in learning about the truth behind one of the most notorious and unreported series of mass killings to happen in recent times them I recommend this even handed and well written not to mention exhaustively researched book very highly.

Seabiscuit

Yes I know another old one but I had DVD weekend this weekend so bare with me!

Ah yes a movie about a horse. This was inoffensive and very relaxing film to watch. You don't have to engage your brain at all and therefore is perfect for those nights you just want to veg out in front of the telly.

Iceage

This is a light hearted not at all factually acurate tale of survival of the fittest, with a warm fluffy moral twist about the importance of friendship.
What can I say? It has a cute animated kid, silly animals with great lines and lots of laughs. It did the trick for me!

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

As promised on the other page I faithfully went and purchased my very own copy of the latest addition to the Harry Potter story line on Saturday morning. I'm not commited enough to get up in the middle of the night and haul my ass into the shops to buy it at midnight! I then spent every spare moment over the weekend reading the damn thing (I had other work to do so I didn't get to finish it until about midnight last night).

Ok so lets establish that I like the books and was indeed looking forward to sinking my teeth into this, the sixth in the series.

However, I have to report that I was really disappointed with this one. I found I trawled through the pages waiting for something to happen and I all I got was a feeling of being slightly nauseated by the predominance of "love stories". I'm all for the kids getting their kicks, but the planted images of Ron placing tonsil hockey with his chosen bird was, to be honest, gross. I can't imagine it will be a hit with the kids either! I preferred the darker angrier Harry, at least he was interesting.

The ending adds a significant punch to the storyline, however compared to the breath stopping fights at the end of both the previous books it falls short on this score as well in my opinion. I don't want to give away what happens cause I think mean spirited people do that (you know who you are!) so I won't say anymore about it. Though I will say I'm still pinching myself about the revelations and do wonder is just another layer of deception, but then I'm a sap and love a good conspiracy theory!

Although I found the Half Blood Prince overall was a bit of a wet lettuce I think the last book has been set up to be the best of all of them, this one was the filler book that just moved the story on a little bit while leaving ample opportunity for a full blooded finale. But I'll have to wait and see how that little theory pans out as well!

War of the Worlds

>This Film is Brilliant! Spielberg at his rock 'n' roll loving alien best! Its a movie jam packed with tension and thrills and its a perfect summer block buster! Do you remember the bit in Signs when the family are in the basement and there is a massive build up of tension and suspension and fear? Well War of the Worlds produces that same level of tension throughout the whole movie! I just loved it! I want to go see it again!

King Leopold's Ghost

This book by Adam Hochschild blew my mind. I am a little fickle when it comes to reading and to be perfectly frank just like to get my teeth into a good story and if I learn something then all the better. The lovely boy on the other hand has a library full of informative and educational material that he is constantly stuffing into his brain, and good luck to him say I as I reach for another Maeve Binchy or whatever other piece of trash I am wasting my time on! However this book is different.
It informs the reader in a very accessible and attention grabbing way of the history of the establishment and development of the Belgian colony in the Congo region of Africa. Prior to picking this book up I was aware the Congo was a Belgian colony, had briefly wondered how little Belgium could have been able to be a colonial power and then promptly forgot about it. Shame on me.
This book outlines the destruction of this territory, of its people and its natural resources by one man (who never set foot in Africa) hell bent on becoming very rich at whatever the cost. It is a tale of human tragedy and mass murder on a scale that made me at time gasp out loud. It is a shameful indictment of human nature and the depths of deprivity that people are capable of stooping to.

Overall I would whole heartedly recommend this book to anyone and would be very surprised if you didn't find it unputdownable.

A Cry From Heaven

The Abbey Theatre in Dublin is currently showing Vincent Wood's A Cry From Heaven and I went to view it last night.
The story is based on the Irish mythology Deirdre of the Sorrows - which as a child was one of my favourite storys and always made me cry. I even had a crush on Naoise and wanted him to rescue me too. (If you want my version of the story just ask!)
The Abbey's production which is directed by Olivier Py is breathtaking.
The costumes and scenery are modern with the scenery being moved around and created into different locations by the cast as the play progresses. There is a huge reliance on sound and tones which succeeds in creating an air of confusion and almost puts pressure on the audience as the atmosphere builds on stage.
Its a hugely powerful story and although the theatre was by no means full on Monday night the audience seemed to be held in the powerful grip that was wrought by the players. So much so that it took about 15-20 seconds for anyone to react once the final curtain fell.

Sin City

I was eagerly awaiting this Robert Rodriguez offering for the past few months. Any trailers I had seen had definately whetted my appetite and I was looking forward to a movie with a different edge and direction.
I wasn't disappointed. The adaption from the comic book format to the silver screen was very impressive and I really enjoyed what this movie had to offer. From the sublime to the ridiculous this movie has a good smattering of entertainment value, but it may not be everyones cup of tea!

Champions League Final

It was with great trepidation and excitement that I settled in to watch the Champion's League Final between Liverpool FC and AC Milan. I'm not a huge Liverpool supporter by any means but at the same time I really really wanted them to win last night as a blow for the under dog if for no other reason.
But my God was it a match! AC Milan scored in the first minute of the first half which really put Liverpool on the back foot before anyone had time to find their feet. It was a great header from Maldini which looked like it surprised him as much as anyone else. The next 2 goals both came from Milan and were scored by Crespo but it has to be said that Kaka was the main play maker on the Milan side and without his incredible inch perfect pass the second Crespo goal just would not have been possible.
So at half time the score line was 3-0 and it was really beginning to look like the match was going to be a horrendous embarrassment to the 'Pool.
It was a strange night last night, normally with a scoreline like that I would have been itching to turn over and forget about the whole disaster, but this time I wasn't. I didn't feel like it was over at all and I found myself looking forward to the second half.
I am so glad I did stick it out! 3 goals in 8 minutes from Liverpool starting with a captain's strike from Gerrard and followed very quickly by a second by Smicer and then finally a penalty won by Gerrard and taken by Alonso who scored it on the rebound! It was magnificent! The game went on to extra time which saw a fabulous save by the often hit and miss Dudek and finally the decision as to who was going to win was left to penalties.
Personnally I don't think that Milan put their best men forward for the penalties but saying that watching Dudek's antics on the goal line as he imitated Grobellaar in the 1984 final I couldn't help but believe that they were going to do it! Whether it was Dudek leaping around or just the pressure of the night Milan fell apart and it was glorious to watch the reds win that trophy.
It was a truly great Champion's League Final and one that the history books will no doubt note.

Star Wars III - Revenge of the Sith

Ok so every dog and divil who has any interest in popular culture at all will beat a path to the cinema to see the latest and possibly last of George Lucas's Star Wars movies. It feels a little defunct that I should bother creating my own review of the movie as there have been so many others done already. But this is my Blog and its purpose is to review the things I have seen and done recently and as Star Wars was the highlight of my weekend that's what I am going to review!
I am not a massive Star Wars fan as in I can't quote large tracts of the scripts and to be honest strain to remember all of the twists and turns of the story line. But I do have a decent grasp of the characters and the basic story line so that I can write with some degree of knowledge about the final part in this trilogy of movies.
Having read some preview reviews I was already aware that by and large this film was going to be better than the both I & II. Which is why I allowed myself to look forward to seeing this one. By and large it is far superior to Phantom Menace (which I found to be boring) and it does surpass Attack of the Clones ( which I did enjoy but wouldn't be in a rush to see again). However the script remains very weak in this film and the acting abilities of Hayden Christiansen are in a word, dire. But its the story that really attracts people to this movie and you can forgive the bad acting and terrible dialogue in this case as Lucas has finally delivered to us the missing link in the story. The story of how Annekan Skywalker was attracted to the dark side and became the infamous Darth Vadar was always what I for one wanted to hear about. I liked the way that, bad as the first two movies were, the development of Annekan as an unhappy and insecure individual can be traced, and it is this thread which holds the key to the story.
Its a pity that Hayden Christiansen just doesn't have the gravitas to pull off this role. I think that his character could have been portrayed more sympathetically which would have made his transition to the dark side more profound. Also the fact that Natalie Portman's character went from being a swash buckling hero in the 2nd movie to a wimpy weeping woman with terrible dialogue in this film was also a real shame and is a great injustice to what could have been a great female role.
Also the story involving Chancellor Palpatine was by far and away the best part of this movie, Iain McDiarmaid played a blinder and stole the show in every scene he was in.
So overall if you enjoy Star Wars and are interested in the story I don't see how you could fail not to get a kick out of this movie. If you don't like Star Wars and are one of those people who get confused about its chronology then you probably won't. Either way that's my two cents worth on a topic I'm sure most people have an opinion on.

HitchHikers Guide to the Galaxy

I realise the rest of the world saw HHGG weeks ago but I only got the opportunity to view it this weekend and so it will be my topic for waffling on about this week! I read the book in my early teens and remember being very confused and highly amused by it in equal measures. The film offering left me less confused and not half as amused as the book. The problem is I'm not entirely sure that that's the way it should be or not?!
Anyway the film is loads of fun. A bit silly and has some really cool visual effects such as the factory floor part - which as I do recall did not make much sense in my head when I read the book and made plenty of sense in the film.
Mmm I don't think this review is making much sense either so I think I will leave it at that.
It gets a 6 out of 10 from me.

Kingdom of Heaven

Now for my first review!
For the record I love a good epic! I get a kick out of grisly battle scenes in a film and sweeping vistas, great love scenes, and lots of historical references! And so, I was quite excited about the prospect of this movie despite the fact that there have been so many complete and utter dud offerings in this genre in recent times. I won't mention the duds by name right now but you can make an intelligent stab at it!
The good news is that Kingdom of Heaven is, thankfully, not in this league. Dont' get me wrong it's not perfect. It is unsatisfactory in places and there are plot holes so large and gaping in the story that it irritated me to a large extent. Saying that though, I did enjoy it.
However the biggest problem with this film is that it tries to do too much. The hero becomes all things to all men very quickly and easily without giving us any indication of how he became so wise and knowledgeable considering he was a simple blacksmith at the start of the film. You could probably read into the events and surmise that the sum total of his experiences while travelling to Jeruseluem made the boy into a man but it really wasn't that clear from the story in the film whether this is in fact the case.

On a different level I'm not sure I like Orlando Bloom without his blonde wig and pointy ears and he didn't really convince me of his hero status in this film but he did an adequate job. He looks comfortable with a sword and lets face it he's a very pretty boy and thats always worth a point or two! Out of the substantial and impressive cast in this film, Jeremy Irons ran away with it for me. Although I have to mention Brendan Gleeson as well as he played the boorish evil minded drunk to perfection!

So that's it. Overall I enjoyed this movie. It wasn't perfect but it wasn't terrible I wouldn't say to you go out and see it immediately but at the same time if you have a spare 2 and a half hours its not a bad way to spend your time!

Reviewing Stuff

I plan to use this space mostly for reviewing stuff. Haven't seen or read anything lately but will soon and that's when I will put my plan into action!