h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Oh, and the biggest surprise in Rock of Ages was Catherine Zeta-Jones. All-singing, all-dancing and very self-mocking. And the girl who played the journalist was a really good comic.

I agree about "Rock of Ages," TC. There was a lot of funny satire and parody. I've always liked to *watch* rock music, and this was over-the-top fun. The parody of boy band music was scathing .

Did you see "Burlesque" a few years ago? Christine Aguilera, Cher, and Stanley Tucci were great in that.

No, haven't seen that, not for not wanting to. I'll keep a lookout for it.

Eurgh, I hated Burlesque. Was it a parody? Rock of Ages' endearing charm is that it knows it is sending itself up. I thought Cher and co were playing it straight in Burlesque (terrible plotline, music not that strong)

Watched "Flight" last night - Denzel Washington as a hard-drinking/ smoking/ drug using pilot in charge of a plane which goes into a nosedive. John Goodman cameos as the cocaine dealer.

I watched Machine Gun Preacher - mostly because sometimes I just want to (at Gerard Butler in this case) but it was quite a gripping story. But oh my, I wish I had known how many really harrowing gory scenes were suddenly going to pop up. And it's really very tragic.

Sorry about Burlesque, Beatrice. What it shares with "Rock of Ages" is a "let's save the place from foreclosure by putting on a show" theme. It's not very original, but I wasn't expecting originality anyway.

Coma. This was a remake of the very good original, which had starred Geneviève Bujold and Michael Douglas (1978).

I didn't read the but my partner said the remake was much truer to the book. Hmm, the heroine used a mobile phone to text for help when she was being stalked by a crazy man who had just murdered 2 security guards to get to her. Was that in the book? As the remake featured this extra stalking-maniac stuff, as well as all the coma investigation from the original, you'll not be surprised to learn it lasted over 3 hours (incl. adverts as it was on Channel 5). The remake starred Richard Dreyfuss, whom I didn't recognise until I heard his voice, it's been a long time since Close Encounters. I was more shocked at the state of Geena Davis' face than the actual film, has she had bad plastic surgery?

GB

They were showing both Night at the Museum movies on TV. Good family movies I'd say, and it was nice to have Ben Stiller go through two whole movies without losing his temper. They would probably also be good for making kids interested in finding out more about the historical characters.

I just watched Bounce because it was on the TV. Sweet.

I enjoyed "Now you see me." Granted, there were some pretty big plot holes, but it was fast moving and exciting. Plus, I've always loved merry-go-rounds, so the last scene was enchanting.

Going to see Man of Steel next week - will report back.

Fast & Furious 6.

Did what it said on the tin, but I think we should have started at #1.

I'm about to go and see "This is the end," starring James Franco, seth Rogen, and a number of other celebrities who are at a party when the Apocalypse comes.

Man Of Steel.

Right well first things first I didn't *dislike* MOS. To start with I thought the principle cast were all excellent cast, and did very good jobs. I liked Cavill as Supes, and Michael Shannon and Amy Adams were both marvellous as Zod and Lois respectively.

I thought the story was interesting and and it certainly engaged me with the characters.

But....

I found myself less than moved by the film as a whole. The action sequences reminded me of Transformers (and for the avoidance of doubt this is supposed to be a stinging criticism). Hard to follow, too long, too loud. After a bit they were just utterly boring. Which is a shame because a lot of the Zod vs Supes stuff had real interest and pathos.

So I'm glad I watched it, and I hope it earns enough to get a sequel.
But if it does I really hope they get someone better in to direct.*

I'm somone (one of the few I think) who actually really, really liked Superman Returns. For my money this is clearly the inferior product.

FB

*Though I do wonder if my anti Snyder prejudice has poisoned me against the film before I even started watching it. I don't think so.

I've just gotten back from Man of Steel and I quite enjoyed it. As FB says, Amy Adams and Michael Shannon were both very good (I've yet to see Amy Adams give a performance I didn't enjoy). I took a lot of nerd pleasure from a lot of the supporting cast: I spotted Richard Schiff (Toby from West Wing), Chris Meloni (Keller from Oz), Tahmoh Penikett and Alessandro Juliani (from the new BSG).

The action sequences worked for me: I like Snyder's visual style (though he's not a patch on true visionary like Del Toro) but they needed someone stronger to pull the story together. There was a lot to like about the story and I think the principals all sold it well, it just didn't pull together very well.

Another problem was it felt a bit derivative. Criticising a Superman film for being derivative feels a bit like criticising water for being wet, but there were times I though Snyder had simply copy-pasted from other films and it pulled me out of the world.

I'd love to see them go off the beaten track for a villain in a Supes big screen adventure. Given the probable topic of the Avengers 2 I guess Darkseid might seem a little generic (though I would love to see Apokolips on the big screen).

But given the importance of BRAINIAC in the supes cannon why has he never been the antagonist?

But my main wish for MOS 2 is a new director. Any director (with the exception of Michael Bay).

FB

We managed to see Star Trek Into Darkness in 3D on Friday lunchtime.

Loved it. Even Ian stayed awake. Being a Trekkie I guessed what was going to happen but it didn't spoil my enjoyment. Ian hadn't seen the other films so I had to explain the plot homage afterwards

GB

"This is the End" was uneven, but there was an inspired segment featuring Jonah Hill, who got infected with a demon and needed to be exorcised. The segment was called "The Exorcism of Jonah Hill." Jay Baruchel did the exorcism using a cross and a Bible, and admitted that all he knew about exorcisms was what he had learned form watching "The Exorcist." Jonah Hill kept telling him how silly he was.

"The Internship" was just weird. A fish out of water scenario in which Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughan play laid-off wristwatch salesmen who try to get jobs at Google by going through an internship program. Google already gets plenty of exposure anyway. Why devote a movie to showcasing them?

Tonight I saw "Before Midnight," starring Ethan Hawke. There was a lot of talking in it, but it was done in a spontaneous way with long takes and deep character development.

I finally got around to watching Django Unchained at the weekend a

I finally got around to watching Django Unchained at the weekend and I have to say I was very impressed. The film was enjoyable and funny. Great nods to the Leone spaghetti westerns.

Probably the best QT films since Jackie Brown, maybe even since Pulp Fiction I'd say.

I do rather think though it is the moment we know for sure that Tarantino is Oasis and not Radiohead. He is basically releasing the same album over and over again. And sometimes it is better than others.

I would love to see QT really challenge himself, not make an indulgent self written film but take a directing gig. See if he oculd make something exceptional when out of his comfort zone. I doubt he will ever do that now. Which is, for me, a shame.

FB