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

Name sounds familiar and indeed, the names look familiar, but no.

Certainly looks like one to look out for.

No new movies at Top Town Cinema 5 this week. Beginning to experience withdrawal...

How can there be no new movies?

Easter and the school holidays both seem to clog things up.

Just don't know what to do with meself...

Surely there should be more new films during the vacation, not none.

Perhaps you should write a scathing journalistic piece about this to focus the attention of the naitonal media on this problem.

It appears to be more of a regional problem, well, technically a New Plymouth District problem. Looking at the main centres (Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch & Dunedin), there are more than enough cineplexes to accomodate the wealth of new movies, but not in sleepy old NP.

Actually one of the first stories I did (as a student journo) was to interrogate the Top Town manager about the length of time some movies spend (or rather, don't) in Top Town. All comes down to economics, tickets sold, bums on seats, that kind of thing.

Well, just how do they expect to get bums on seats if they don't show new films in the vacation? They won't be seeing your bum, will they.

How many screens are there locally?

There's a cinema for each of the three districts in the Taranaki region. Five screens in NP, two in Hawera, and one in Stratford (not quite sure about that last one). NP gets the latest movies first, then Hawera and Stratford. So if you do miss one in NP you might be able to catch it at the others. It's about 40 minutes drive to Stratford, and 10-20 minutes more to Hawera.

The new cinema in Greenwich has 14 screens, Surrey Quays only has 10, Bluewater 13 (I think); these are our main cinemas. Mile End has a mere 5, Stratford I don't know because we were advised it wasn't nice, Warner Brothers in Dagenham is about 10 (not too sure), Showcase in Beckton has, er ,quite a few. There's some others, but I can't remember them all.

No more than 30 minutes apart (if we drive in the right direction).

Not that I'm showing off, mind.

We have a great website in the UK for this. Sadly, I'm not allowed to tell you the url. But I'm sure I'm allowed to post this highly relevant smiley.

You're a cruel temptress, Mistress K, taunting me with like that.

A temptress, eh? Sounds like fun!

Saw 'The Contender' this weekend. Not much of a plot, no surprises, all a bit clichéd really. But this didn't matter, because the acting was great , the characters really interesting. I don't usually like Jeff Bridges, but he hit the spot here (and would seem to be a far more interesting presidential possibility than, say, Harrison Ford). And what can I say about Gary Oldman – she made me feel strong about being a woman, even if I didn't agree with aspects of her character. Best film for a few weeks, that.

"And what can I say about Gary Oldman – she made me feel strong about being a woman, even if I didn't agree with aspects of her character." ;-/ Wuuhhh?

Two of favourite movies have featured Jeff Bridges: The Fisher King and The Big Lebowski.

I feel like sinking into the ground! Oh help!

Don't ask how Joan Allen became Gary Oldman. I was writing it differently, then I deleted two or three sentences, and I didn't re-read it properly before I posted. Now all I want to do is bribe an italic to wipe out that dumb mistake!



Moving swiftly on, there's a second 'Planet of the Apes' trailer out, which has raised my interest even further, despite all my initial scepticism. Well worth a download.

I may well check it out tomorrow for I have the day off.

It's Anzac Day in about an hour's time, which is a statutory holiday.

Anzac Day commemorates the fallen Kiwis and Ozzies at the battle of Gallipoli in WW1.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A311068

Wasn't there a film about that many years ago?

There was, indeed. Featuring a very young Ozzie actor by the name Mel Gibson. All about two Ozzie sprinters gallavanting off in patriotic fashion to war, and finding out the harsh realities. Directed by Peter Weir (The Truman Show).

Gallipoli and WW1 were defining moments for both NZ & Oz. NZ lost 100,000 men at a time when the population barey numbered one million.

The madness of WW1 is almost incomprehensible.

Defining moment in what sense?

Other than (but not really separate from) the enormous loss of life, was the sense of standing up as countries in our own right - sovereign nations distinct from Britain, no longer just "colonials". It didn't happen overnight, but it can said it started from that point.

And since Winston Churchill was the admiral in charge of the whole fiasco, you can imagine many Anzacs' delight that he was a leading player in WW2.

Churchill is still much admired Stateside. Presumably not in NZ.

Achtung

Couldn't help but notice this link to Nurse Betty. Have to say I hated this film...

Also on Churchill, consider the implications of having not won Galipoli (albeit at a very expensive cost). The Ottoman empire would still be ruling the Middle east. Germans would have quite possibly taken the entire Western & Eastern Europe. Later Japan would possibly have occupied A & NZ as part of its later expansionism within Asia without the support of Europe. One Third of the worlds Oil supply would be in the control of a German-Ottoman Axis. Churchill was a nasty man in a nasty job in two world wars. (All of this is of course wild nostrodamos-type predictions.)

Don't want to waste my day off, getting into an argument, so I'll just respond by saying 'debatable'.

But one aspect is correct: oil was a major factor in WW2, and much more crucial to Japanese plans than expansionism. If it didnt have oil, there would be no war machine, and thus no expansion. By the time, America dropped the atom bomb, Japan was running pretty much on fumes and probably would not have lasted much longer.