Sorry so long without a post but hey, it’s not like you’re not used to frequent inexplicable losses of signal from this direction, is it?
Here’s a measure of how eventful and thrilling my life’s been in the time I’ve been away: I’m seriously considering trying to re-watch my entire DVD collection. In alphabetical order. The drawbacks I can see to this plan are a) it would would mean watching Alien, Alien 3, Alien Resurrection then Aliens, and b) it would mean watching Batman & Robin.
Anyway, some stuff that’s been great that I’ve discovered in the last three months:
The latest Metric album (especially Gold Guns Girls). The latest Raveonettes album (especially Heart Of Stone). Moon. Mount & Blade. The latest Yeah Yeah Yeahs album (especially Dragon Queen). The Incredible Hercules. Drag Me To Hell. The Sounds (especially No-One Sleeps When I’m Awake). Castle. Lloyd Doyley’s first ever senior goal. Forza Motorsport 3 (especially after finally working out how to use the XBox steering wheel I got for Christmas last year and has been lying shamefully unused since because of my general hamfistedness. Turns out I just needed some patient tutoring. Actually, one sentence of impatient tutoring. Actually, just my wife saying “You’re turning that wheel like you’re driving a hugging clown car”). The second series of Being Human. The second series of Newswipe. Pretty much everything Gail Simone’s written for DC Comics, especially her brilliant brilliant work on Birds Of Prey, Wonder Woman and Secret Six. The Answer Me This podcast. Lego Rock Band. Snow. Oh, and the iPhone.
Some stuff that’s not been great in the last three months:
Champions Online. Work. The Doctor Who Christmas special. The end of the best coverage of any sport on UK telly as Channel Five show (probably) their last Yankee Helmetball game. The Digital Economy bill. All car insurance ads in the history of all things, ever. Flash Forward. The iPhone’s battery life when you’re playing games on it.
So yeah. Alive and reasonably well. Further updates to follow. Eventually.
With you on Batman & Robin (2nd worst film of all time).
Flashforward’s not that bad. Apart from having a massive flaw in the concept, having no likeable characters, being really badly acted, and having a definitive end point thereby kind of limiting future series, it’s fine. It’s actually the first TV show you can watch using only your peripheral vision and not miss anything! Fact!
Newswipe round 2 was better in places than the first series – especially with the inclusion of Doug Stanhope. He’s playing in London in September – interested?
Batman and Robin was simply horrific. You should just burn it and pretend it never existed before you start your DVDathon.
Although if you’re going to blog about every movie you watch on this epic journey, (and you will be, right?), then maybe you should leave it in. The after-viewing report should be entertaining.
At least watching the Aliens films in alpha order will bracket the two crap ones with the two good ones.
No likeable characters? FlashForward has barely got any characters full stop. So absent any actual drama all you’ve got is the high concept that you just know they’re going to screw up either by dragging it out too long (hello Lost!) or by explaining it in a way that’s a) nonsensical, b) irritating or c) both (hello Heroes!).
And don’t get me started on the episode with the high-stakes poker game. Honestly, don’t.
I was planning some bloggery of my voyage into the darkest corners of my DVD collection, but I’d probably need to find an angle of some sort. I don’t know enough about films to write with much interest or any real insight about movies that I quite like but that don’t provoke any particular passion. Dunno. I’ll ponder it a bit this weekend.
And don’t get me started on the episode with the high-stakes poker game. Honestly, don’t
TV always messes up poker. It’s like Star Trek and time travel. You shouldn’t expect any more.
“I was planning some bloggery of my voyage into the darkest corners of my DVD collection, but I’d probably need to find an angle of some sort.”
Knowing your DVD collection, there could be a lot of mileage in “If I’d hadn’t bought these DVD’s, I could have had my iPhone 2 years sooner!”
Surely your angle should be “DVDs that didn’t involve Canoe Reeves but made me swear a lot”.
I like swearing, y’see?