Sunday, November 30, 2008

Slipping...

I have been trying hard recently to not allow my terrible taste in music to dominate my life.

e.g.  I have not been watching the X-Factor at all.  I have not been listening to Abba, Meatloaf, Kylie or Britney in the car!!!

However this last week has seen me slipping back to form...

1/  Mamma Mia!  Oh Boy!  I can't help myself!  It has been watched twice since Tuesday (the second time with the Sing Along Lyrics on screen)!!!!!!!!!!!!

2/  I recorded the X-Factor results show last night just to watch Britney.  Very disappointing!  Plus her arse was definitely too large for those shorts - not pretty!

Ho Hum!  Time for some Bat Out of Hell!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Dungeons and Dragons

Two words that are so emotive, and generally (in my experience) give such a negative connotation to something brilliant.

Well DND is continuing to evolve.  We have had some terrible films; a pretty average MMORPG version; some excellent PC Games (Neverwinter Nights and Baldur's Gate being the pinnacles for me) and finally DND Insider.

Here is a good intro-video on the BBC web-site.

And here is the real web-site.

I like the look of the dungeon builder tool (coming soon) and at $5 a month it looks a steal to me compared to something like World of Warcraft or Everquest!

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Quantum of Bond

Well I have taken a good few days before sitting down to write this review of Quantum of Solace. This has been a very deliberate choice as I wanted to ruminate on the experience a bit before I rushed to any conclusions.

Now that I have you all worried, let me state that this is a good film, I am just not convinced that it ticks all the boxes as a "Bond Film".

Lets see...

Action - most definitely Yes, with the biggest BUT attached... the director and cinematographer have produced action sequences so frenetic it is all but impossible to absorb them, which results in the impressive stunts being difficult to appreciate. The pre-title sequence is heart-breaking (in it's treatment of a gorgeous DB-S), and I am certain the driving skills are magnificent, but it is over in the blink of an eye and you are left feeling "WTF just happened there?". Next we have some more free running that pales in comparison to Casino Royale's stomach churning first big chase. Skipping forward to the end we have the "usual" destruction of the Bad Guy's lair, and again the only real enemy on show is "fire".

Bad Guy - I miss Elliot Carver! Our modern Bad Guy could almost be my Boss on a bad day! Sure he is "nasty" but you never really get a sense of the motivations or madness that is driving him. In the end is just comes down to scary eyes!

Girls - We have two token Bond Girls here, of which only Gemma Arterton is true "Bond Girl" with the ridiculous name of Strawberry Fields! Not that this is a bad thing as Olga Kurylenko's character is more about plot and character than sex.

M - Dame Judi is excellent as always, although I would like to have seen her snatch up a gun at one point and shoot one of the baddies who double-crossed her!

Gadgets - None, beyond Sony product placements.

Pithy One Liners - Hmmm, if they were there (and I am sure they were), then I can't remember a single one.

In fact I think that last one summarises the film for me as a whole. There is so little memorable about it. If you had cast Matt Damon and called it "The Bourne Explosion", then I think it would have worked just as well.

Perhaps I am being harsh? Don't get me wrong in general the cast are all outstanding, with special nods going to Giancarlo Giannini reprising the role of Mathis from Casino Royale and Olga Kurylenko as the seriously damaged Camille. It is just that it didn't work for me as a Bond Film. I didn't care about the plot and I didn't really hate the Bad Guys. What I did care about was Bond, Mathis, Agent Fields, M and Camille.

Overall this is a Bond Film, but only just. It is a good follow on from Casino Royale, in as much as it ties up the loose ends and gives Bond some measure of solace (if not revenge) and will hopefully allow him to move forward, now that we have seen his character grow.

So my score.... I think 6/10 is fair. More "Licence to Kill" than "Goldfinger"!