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

Ah - you mean absolute power!

Only over one's self - and perhaps one or two key personnel on a short leash.

I have had a busy cinema-going week.

Managed to catch Nurse Betty, which enjoyed only a limited release in London. Perhas 'quaint' would be my definitive verdict!

I was very, very brave and went to see Pitch Black, whose trailers have been scaring me for weeks. Worth a viewing, I guess - and interesting to see Muslims making it into space.

The Yards disappointed. It wasn't bad - but nothing to make it stand out. A bit flat, really.

Disney's The Kid should probably have been avoided. A bit lame, primarily because the script is thin and the kid is limited in his range. But Mr Willis was fun to watch. I like him!

And I notice that they're trailing 'Unbreakable' - Willis and Shalayaman (sp?) together again. Sixth Sense is a hard act to follow.

Seeing the trailers for Unbreakable gave me flashbacks of Twelve Monkeys. Which reminded me how long it's been since I saw a Terry Gilliam film - always has an over-the-top grandeur to them, and a great line in villains and psychological demons.

Haven't seen much about The Yards, although I did see Mark Wahlberg waffling on about it on Letterman (but mainly talking about the horseriding he has to do for the Planet of the Apes remake).

Me, I've just had a busy but mostly good week. Not a lot of movies but got to meet a few local celebs and government ministers.

Cheers!

Damn, that didn't work...

Maybe should do the trick... aah, yes, that hit the spot!

I find the words easier to remember than the symbols - nice that we have a choice for the smileys.

I liked Twelve Monkeys. I'm quite well disposed towards Mr Willis. Of course, Sixth Sense elevated him to dizzying new heights. I only hope he doesn't fall.

I'm catching up on Mel Gibson today. No, he's not meeting me for lunch. I missed payback the first time around, so I'm watching the DVD. MG is nice even when he's not nice.

Y'know Mel was one of the contenders for the spot of Wolverine in X-Men - at least in the fans' minds. And closely followed by Russell Crowe (or is that Kaeori? ) - check out LA Confidential to see why.

The stand-out movie this week seems to be Chopper, the Australians taking a leaf out of the Brits' books with a bit of homegrown thuggery.

LA Confidential is on my 'catch up' list of movies to watch - and now I'm very intrigued.

Mel, Russell - I'd be quite happy with either of these very nice guys. Mr Gibson always comes across as a fun, friendly person.

I must say that in Payback although the character Mel plays is a bad guy, everyone in the film (with the possible exception of the pooch) is bad. No good guys or gals at all. With sadism running thru it from beginning to end.

It did seem to travel very much in a straight, flat line. No twists or turns or curvy bits to speak of, or indeed, make it interesting.

Chopper should be quite sadistic - it's the true story of Aussie murderer Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read.

"I'm just an average bloke; an average bloke who likes a lot of torture."

Speaking of Aussie flicks, do many make it to your neck of the woods?

Mad Max? I don't know, perhaps you could mention some recent Oz films.

How about Pitch Black? Shot in Oz, mostly Ozzie cast.

Top, must-see Oz films include "Muriel's Wedding", "Priscilla Queen of the Desert", and "Strictly Ballroom".

The Matrix could almost be called an Ozzie film, shot in Sydney, with Ozzies and NZers making up the cast numbers. Star Wars Episode 2 will be the same way.

More recent Oz features include "The W*g Boy", "Two Hands" (excellent!) and the biopic "Chopper" which I've just seen.

Well, of course I've seen The Matrix, but you're probably stretching the point! The Hollywood studios shoot lots of stuff in England, but generally there's no way of telling so long as the extras keep their mouths closed.

At least one of the characters in Pitch Black had an Oz accent. I've not seen any of the other films you've mentioned.

This weekend was slightly strange, cinema-wise. First we saw 'Black and White', but the emulation of black American culture by middle-class white Americans has little resonance in Britain. The film will be memorable if only for Mike Tyson's role, in which he didn't disgrace himself in acting terms. But it does leave a big question mark as to how far he's rehabilitated himself. Or, indeed, taken to heart the Muslim faith he now professes.

The second film was 'The Way of the Gun'. More mindless violence. But a highly watchable, even intriguing film. And the second appearance by James Caan in the space of a week (cf. The Yards). His supporting role in this film was far more satisfying.

Love and Sex tomorrow. The film, of course!

Love and Sex - not worth the effort. (That opens the door for all manner of responses!)

Memento, on the other hand, may well be. Interesting, clever, and a challenge to follow.

About someone has no short-term memory - he cannot make new memories. The film is shot backwards. No, not played backwards thru the projector (well, almost not). It begins with the most recent event, then works its way backwards. I think you have to see it to make sense of it...

... which is where you come in, Mustapha. I tried hard to follow the plot, but I got slightly lost, and now I don't think I know what happened. Sal thought she knew, but has changed her mind.

Please see the film, the explain it for us.

Although I haven't seen the film, it does sound familiar. Kind of like a murder mystery - which starts with the most recent event and then works backwards. Even if whodunnit isn't the end result of this flick, I am assuming there is some key event the story is working towards?

Yes, sort of. I think you're right. But when we ended up at what might have been the beginning, I found I was lost.

If you see what I mean.

I think you should see it.

Then explain it to me in words of one syllable!

Apologies for my lexical largesse.

You can imagine how it is for journalist when you consider the reading level aimed for is that of a 12 year-old. I actually have to use a thesaurus to help simplify my verbiage!

Of course, I was not having a go at your lovely language.

Rather, I was emphasizing that by not understanding Memento, I was showing myself to be a bit dim.

Not necessarily a case of dim-wittedness, more usually, it's a case of not seeing the forest for the trees. If you look at enough forests, you can begin to tell one from another.

Have just seen a trailer for Red Planet and looks like just as much a 2001 ripoff as Mission 2 Mars.

And though you're not affected by this, its reviews so far have been almost as poor as M2M.

Speaking of which, Charlie's Angels is out this week /