That's it

I'll have to catch it on DVD though, my mates have become very apathetic to the cinema as a result of the usual dross, and I don't fancy taking a day off work just to watch a film (much as I'd like to).

I'm watching Tales From Earthsea at the moment.

As you can tell from the fact I'm posting here midway through, it's very very slow paced.

Well that wasn't a patch on previous Studio Ghibli efforts.

Porco Rosso was on last week and I missed it.

Spirited Away and Kiki's Delivery Service are my favourites.

I really should get round to seeing Kiki's Delivery Service.

My favourite from Ghibli is Castle In The Sky (Original 80's English dub, not the Disney re-dub)
I was lucky enough to buy that before they only started selling the re-dub.

Ooh, nearly forgot. I Am Number 4. If you're a nerd and you like Smallville you might well enjoy it. Brought to you by Gough/Millar with help from Marti Noxon it ticks a lot of boxes. It's also cliche-ridden and extremely cheesy in places, but the final act switches thing up, Timothy Olyphant is in it (always a solid draw) and as books for kids go it beats the ass off Twilight.

Recommended for those of a comicky kinda persuasion. For people slightly less eccentric, probably not so much.

Oh, and Quinn from Glee is epicly hot in it. The new Joey Potter - for real!

I'm confused, I'm a bit of a nerd but never really took to Smallville, despite also being of a comicky kinda persuasion - where am I on the eccentric meter?

I'll probably wind up seeing it at my mate's via DVDrip . The trailer was intriguing but had that 'Real American Cheese' thing going on, so I'll let you know what I make of it

Hmm, this befuddles me, because all the trailers and clips I've seen for this film tell me it's nothing like you describe above.

Mark

Saw 'Paul' last night.

I found it a little hit and miss. It's certainly not another Hot Fuzz/Sean, but it's not bad. It did genuinely make me laugh out loud in a couple of places, but to be honest, those peaks stand high above a pretty average script.
In places, I did find myself thinking I could've been watching 'Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back', but perhaps that's the curse of a modern buddy road trip movie.
If Edgar Wright had been in the director's chair (and why wasn't he?) I can't help feel it'd be a different, better film.
There's some dialogue that's really clunky as well, I almost can't believe it went through a read through.

If you're a movie nerd, go and play spot the reference. When it's on DVD, you could try a drinking game around the Star Wars references.
The CGI was pretty good, Seth Rogen was a good choice to voice Paul as well.

What have you deduced from trailers and clips that contradicts me post?



Ok, Smallville absolutely rocks. For any show to make 10 seasons without (totally) jumping the shark is amazing. But for a comic-based show to create new characters in an already well known universe and bring a totally different tone to a beloved character is another major feat.

This film is ostensibly about an alien who falls for a human girl. So there's the tween bit. But unlike Twilight, stuff actually happens. (Not to mention they don't destroy 20 years of lovely mythology from Marvel films, Joss Whedon and Alan Ball).
And yes, it's ginormously cheasy and yank, but I found it to be in a way where you're not sure if they mean it, or if they're uberly ripping the piss. Like when Mark uses extremely straight sarcasm and you can't be sure if he's ripping it or not!

Kiki is aimed at a slightly younger audience than much of Studio Ghibli's output, but I loved it. Charming story and really great artwork.

I'm always very happy when that happens

That it's a huge steaming pile of horse manure.
I was looking forward to seeing it before all the teasers and trailers and clips started doing the rounds.
It just looks to me that it's a teen fantasy with nothing approaching the promise that early reports had for it.
I'm a little more discerning with the films I go to watch at the cinema these days, I think.
If it's going to cost me time and money to go and see a film then I want it to be something that's not already catered for on TV, and there's enough teen drama on TV to shake a room full of sticks at these days.

Mark

Ok, that's fair comment. Since I got my shipping out date, I've been to the cinema 5 or 6 times and intend to continue until I go. For the sake of £6.50 and some fuel, I thoroughly enjoy it.

There is enough teen drama, so on that basis, perhaps you should save your cash. But whilst this is most definitely a teen drama, it is a cut above EVERYTHING else brought to the big screen in recent years and shows real promise as a potential new franchise.

Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait



The blurb gives the impression that this is a film about football and as such not remotely alluring to those of a non-sporting bent. Nothing could be further from the truth.

This film is utterly glorious; I adore it. It takes a theme on which all of us have some opinion and a character that most of us know only one thing about and turns it completely inside-out. Yes it's a bit arthouse, more than a touch up itself and stridently Gallic but, if you can look past that, you might just have a suspenseful, thoughtful, wonderful experience. I did.

Brilliant & totally magnetic.

9.5/10

Available on BBC iPlayer until 1:59AM Mon, 14 Mar 2011
http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/hw3s2/