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

This trailer for this one had me more than a little perturbed - what exactly are you meant to think when you the theme from Braveheart being played on a completely different movie? If they can't be bothered, why should I?

That initial stumbling block aside, Castaway's not too bad. Not great, but not bad.

Snappily structured Castaway cunningly places action scenes so the ordeal of a single person trapped on a deserted island doesn't become boring.

And if you think Castaway looks like a big vanity trip enabling Tom Hanks to hog most of the screentime - then you may have something. But consider this: Castway's one man show is in stark contrast to the recent trend of actors playing more than one role, eg Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, Mike Myers.

I'm not sure Castaway is at all about survival, it seems to me to be more of a "back to nature" flick. Hypertense workaholic, life ruled by the clock, finds paradise on a deserted island. Coconuts, crabmeat, sushi, a cave he can call his own... Sure, he has a few problems initially, but he eventually thrives on it. This is compounded when he discovers the old idiom "You can't go home again" to be true.

I think we need to see TH playing a bad guy, or a really flawed character. Castaway's problem is that, in a sense, it's too ordinary. Well executed, but nothing special.

Did you make head or tail of the ending? I normally have a knack for deciphering this kind of thing, but TH standing in the middle of the crossroad just made no sense.

If it's supposed to represent the freedom of choice open to TH, why it did the plot then give him only one real road to follow. (I know which way I'd be heading )

Wilson was rather special, wasn't he? D'you think he fell off the raft accidentally, or he just couldn't stand being around TH anymore, deciding to end it all?

i thought the ending just left us to use our imagination, rather than spell it out for us. Castaway II perhaps?

Wilson was an irritating device. I hope it drowned!

Wilson was NOT an irritating device - he WAS a brilliantly orchestrated marketing strategy.

Just like Fed-Ex, for when you need it there yesterday...

Hidden advertising plug: the Ozzie co-pilot/navigator on the plane is well-known on NZ tv screens. He plays himself Vince Martin (credited as Vin Martin), for tire retailers Beaurepairs.

No, must strongly disagree. Wilson's insistence on drama-school method acting, à la Dustin Hoffman (who is also irritating), was a great distraction, and not at all convincing!

I gather there is a war of words between NZ and Oz in the rush to claim Russell Crowe. The imdb description begins: "Born in New Zealand, Russell has made his home in Australia since he...", which doesn't help.

It would be fair to say Russell is more Australasian than Kiwi or Oz.

Russ was born in NZ in 1964 in Wellington. The Crowes moved to Oz when he was six but came back when he was 14. He moved back to Oz on his own in the late 80's. He owns a large farm in Australia but pops back to NZ every once in a while.

Does that help?

And the war of words is nothing new, whatsoever. It's not the first time Ozzies have rushed to claim something of NZ origin, and it's not the first time NZ has desperately tried to hang on to something that has long since moved on.

I don't suppose RC has offered any thoughts on this subject?

Men of Honor opens here tomorrow - with RdN *swoon*.

Typical bloke that he is, doesn't really consider himself to be one or the other. Notoriously difficult to interview, when he 's asked this question, he says something along the lines of "aw, that's a bloody stupid question. I've spent a good deal of time in both countries. I like New Zealand, and I like Australia. Just because I live in one and not the other, people expect me to choose which one i like best. That's b***s***."

That's an approximation of course, but the casual use of, shall we say, 'frank' language is typically RC.

Men of Honor - RdN perfects his Popeye routine.

I'll wait until you see it before proffering my opinion.

Ooh, you're teasing me a bit.

MoH may have to wait until I've seen 15 Minutes (also RdN), and Enemy at the Gates. Plenty of catching up to do.

There's a new video and DVD release of Terminator doing the rounds here. I'm quite tempted to give it a go. Snatch is also out on video, which I don't mind seeing again.

I'm looking forward to Bridget Jones Diary. Can you guess why?

Hmmm, very tricky...

Could it possibly be for the comic stylings of Richard Curtis (4 Weddings & a Funeral, Blackadder)?

The robust acting of Jim Broadbent? Helena's cousin Crispin Bonham-Carter?

Is it possible our Kaeori is a closet Hugh Grant fan?

Or is there someone else I'm deliberately tiptoeing around...

Did you ever read the diary, which was originally published once a week here in a national newspaper?

If you did, you'll realise just how poignant the connection with what (or who) you're tiptoeing around is!

Besides, my interest is purely, erm, as a regular film-goer.

Regrettably I have not read the diary. Of what, may I ask, did it consist?

Take a look at:

[URL removed by moderator]

(I hope BBC don't mind this little link, with few discreet spaces inserted!)

I hate to think what you might have said there.

It was a link to a Bridget Jones Diary thingy!

Now I feel like a naughty child!

No, I'll resist the urge to make the obvious innuendo.

Currently downloading a movie trailer for a Disney flick called Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Looks rather interesting in a Jules Verne kind of way.

I really love that whole Victorian sci-fi genre.

Yes, good stuff. You can find Atlantis: Lost Empire's website through imdb.



Long days this week...

I haven't downloaded a clip for a while, so I'll give it a go.

(QT clips much, much better than RM.)

I think I've seen this trailer at the theater.

RdN is a *must* this weekend. I'll tell you what I think on Monday.