Ghost Town

What's It All About?
Ricky Gervais is a dentist who hates people (like the Greg House for dental hygiene). When he dies briefly during an operation he finds that he can see ghosts. Oh, and they want his help.

To get rid of the nagging undead, Ricky makes a deal with Greg Kinear: if he can stop Greg's wife marrying a do-good fiancée, then the dead will leave him alone.

Cue romantic comedy sickliness.

Pre-Thoughts
The trailer did nothing for me. The idea was nice, but it seemed all cute and sickly and predictable. We knew how the story was going to play out by the end of the two minutes, and the jokes didn't look good enough to negate this fact.

Oh well, with Bond already out and seen, there wasn't much more choice. Beggars can't be choosers and all that.

Post-Thoughts
Repeat after me: Ricky Gervais is not a romantic lead. Got it?

Because at least a dozen people in Hollywood never got this memo. No-one, from executive producer down to director, questioned the logic of putting a portly Brit in the main role in a rom-com. Not one of them sat down and really thought "David Brent? Really?!"

Don't get me wrong here, I like Ricky Gervais. He is quite the funny fellow, when writing his own part or in fitted roles. He has the bit-too-arrogant-but-sweet character down pat, but falls short here when playing disgruntled. His grumpiness never comes across as a real character trait, but more an illness that he will cure during the course of the film.

So, even with an interesting premise, the film can never reaches the heights it should. It tries. Heaven knows that it tries. It plays jokes left, right and centre; from slapstick to sophisticated. Some land, others are played wrongly and some just aren't funny. And in this hailstorm of jokes, the film forgets what it has going for it.

The film is sweet. Occasionally to the point of sickness, but predominantly just on the right side of the line. Watching the ghost's storylines get solved, or seeing the inevitable relationship form tugs on heartstrings. When the film gets melancholic, it gets good.

Greg Kinear plays the funny sidekick with skill and ease, slipping from jokey to serious within the blink of an eye. I would argue that his was the more interesting arch in the film.

Most other roles with so-so, with exceptions to a few cast members from Knocked Up.

But the script never rises above the premise. Everything unfolds like you expect it to, up to (and including) the horrid, happy ending that these type of films feel the need to nail on, despite the events previous to it.

An important plot point is wrong, which sort-of negates half the film; the main character is mostly insufferable; and the whole thing takes an age to start being anything.

So I hated it, right?

Maybe.

But it was sweet. Somehow, the sum was more than the parts and I walked out without feeling I'd wasted money. It was romantic trash, but it was romantic trash with heart. And ghosts!

And I'd already watched Bond. Beggars can't be choosers!

The Little Girl in the Daisies

A while back now, I lost a close friend in a car accident. A lorry had pulled out at twice the speed limit, slammed into the side of her, killing her almost instantly. I didn't cry when I heard the news. I didn't cry at her funeral. It wasn't until two weeks later that I let her death affect me.

I was miles away from home, and alone, in the countryside. I had found a field of daisies and sat myself down in the middle of them. I began to think about the good times gone, and the ones never had. I picked at some of the flowers around me, bright white in the sunshine. I close my eyes and let the tears fall, and I forgot about everything else.

"Are you okay?" were the words that brought be back to the real world. I opened my eyes to find them looking at a young girl. She wore a pink dress, and her hazel hair fell long down her back. She held her hands behind her back like she held a secret I wasn't allowed to see.

"I'm not sure." I replied. It was a moment of honestly I would have usually hidden. It felt wrong.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

And I told her. And as I did, I discovered why I had been crying at the same time the little girl did.

I had her look at the huge field, filled with millions of daisies, and I told her to imagine that they were all people. I had lost a friend, and it should be a terrible loss. But if I removed one daisy from the field, it wouldn't change anything. The field would still be beautiful, and anyone coming tomorrow would have no idea that a flower was even missing.

The girl listened quietly as I explained this, nodding occasionally. When I finished, she took out a handkerchief and handed it to me.

"That's a sad way to look at life."

I wiped my eyes, before questioning her logic.

"All these daisies look the same to the sky.' she explained, 'but you are down amongst them. There are millions of them, but only a few count."

She pointed to one flower. "That one is missing half of its petals."

She pointed down to my leg. "And those ones are tickling the bottom of your leg."

She sniffed the air "And that sweet smell isn't coming from the flowers all the way over there. It is coming from here, the daisies around you."

"Those daisies are important to you. They are the ones that touch you, brighten your day, and make a difference to you. The only people that don't care about the daisies are the ones with none around them. And they are lonely people. Or, the sky."

She only said one more thing. She curtsied and said "You're allowed to cry."

Then she ran away before I could thank her or return her handkerchief.

I sat for a while and thought about the little girl's words. When the world started making sense again, I picked a handful of daisies and took them with me.

When I got home, I took a drive to the church and laid them on my friend's grave. I crouched down and closed my eyes, hoping that my words would mean something.

"You were my favourite daisy."

:D

http://iceytina.deviantart.com/art/Daisy-a-Commision-for-me-30010172

Burn After Reading

What's It All About?
John Malcovich quits (read: is fired) from the CIA and decides to write a memoir. His wife is cheating on him with George Clooney (Well, who wouldn't?).

He is also cheating on her with a woman who works in a gym with Brad Pitt. They find a CD in the locker room containing John's memoir and decide to blackmail him.

It gets hard to explain what happens after that.

Pre-Thoughts
It's the Cohan brothers back on comedy form after the good, but depressing, No Country For Old Men. My favourite film of theirs is the underated The Hudsucker Proxy, and this seems to follow suit. And with George Clooney and Brad Pitt no less!

Post-Thoughts
Let me tell you a little story.

Once upon a time, I was told that the film Magnolia was very good, and deserving of a watch. So, being the trusting type, I borrowed the DVD and sat myself down at midnight to watch it. Three hours later (It's a long bloody film!) I came away thinking "That was a waste of three hours of my life!"

I have mellowed since, but the fact still remains that I didn't enjoy it. I should have. Tom Cruise acts his little button socks off, as do the rest of a surprising amazing cast. The reason I didn't like it was that throughout the whole three hour running time, there wasn't a point.

People did stuff and things happened it, but at no point did the sum of the parts become greater than the whole. It was meant to be about coincidence, but the only thing that connected everybody together was the fact that frogs rained down on them all!

But I'm not reviewing Magnolia here, as the title may have cleverly told you. I mention the story because Burn After Reading reminded me of Magnolia so much, it was creepy.

But whereas the latter was about things being connected, BFR is meant to be about nothing. It is basically a tale of much ado about nothing. That is the point. It is a film about nothing.

Did it work? No.

George Clooney, Brad Pitt, et al deliver fine performances across the board, relishing characters that the wouldn't usually get to play. Pitt is specifically outstanding as the enthusatic, idiotic gym trainer. Most of the big laughs come from him, and his fate becomes even more heartbreaking because of this.

The scenes are fun too. There are nice subtle moments, including a running gag about running and little lines that reveal how little the characters really know.

But it goes nowhere. The film follows all six of the characters at various points and it works against it. No-one grows and there is no arc. Things happen, followed by other things, until we reach the credits. It is wanders aimlessly around when they should have chosen to stick with one character.

I'd go as far as saying that it was two drafts short of being a good film. Because the ingredients were there. They had some interesting characters and a nice plot hidden amongst the things that happened. It's just a shame that it was still buried with the film they released.

Lastly, the Cohen brothers seemed to have lost the ability to end a film. No Country's ending lost it a point when I saw it during a film festival, and this time round, they just shove a dialogue scene in to recap everything that has happened.

A well-acted, but shapeless mess.

:D

Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo

I am always amazed at the nature of words. Because in essence, all we are doing is combining 26 different symbols, and the end results are communication and emotion. Letters, that have no significance on their own, gain meaning when placed next to other letters.

Okay, now I sound like a simpleton, but really think about it. These very words you read on this page right now, they don't mean anything! They are squiggles, given definition by our schooling and our experiences in life.

Take, for a quick example, these two sentences: "I got wet running through the rain" and "I got soaked running through the rain". Both are saying the same thing, yet both contain different imagery. One word, with almost exactly the same meaning, makes it seem like it is raining heavier on our character.

And those random squiggles can change the world. America voted for the word 'change' (Okay, not solely, but it was damn important). The Harry Potter series affected childhoods all over the world.

Words have power. And...

Wait.

I started this whole thing to argue the case of swearwords. I was going to say that people need to lighten up on swearing because, when it all comes down to it, a word is only a word. It seems that instead I've been building the case for my opposition.

So, let me pretend that what is written above is one argument. Let it end at 'Words have power.'

And now let me argue the opposite. Starting...now!

Sure, I say words have power, but it is a fake power. Words are like the Wizard of Oz: all big and flashy on the outside, but the truth is that they are weedy old men (Who hates talking animals, for those who've read/seen Wicked) when the curtain is removed. It is our expectations that make a word, nothing in the word itself.

Take 'Fuck' for example. A word so foul that it has The Daily Express petitioning to remove it from our television screens. But all it is made up of is four symbols. That's it. Are you offended by Uckf, or Ckfu, or Kfuc, or Fkuc? Because they contain exactly the same letters. It's like being offended by pancakes, and not Yorkshire pudding!

The offence you feel is inside of you, or inside the sentence. It isn't in the word. You can say "Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck" till the cows come home, the chickens roost, and other farmyard animals do what they do best, it will NOT be offensive. I would even argue, despite the fact that it plagiarises Stephen Fry a little, that fuck is one of the most curious words in the whole of the English language.

It has so many meanings, yet none that all. Alone, it means nothing. After "I want to...", it means 'to have sex' and before "...this", it means that you don't want to do 'this' anymore.

And we haven't even approached the ramifications of banning such words. Where do we stop? I know people who find the word 'moist' unnerving. Should we ban that? How many people need to find a word vulgar before we can't use it any more?

I'm taking back swear words. They aren't vulgar and they are not a sign of ignorance, nor a sign of a limited vocabulary. They are part of a rich selection of English words that can be used beautifully by anyone who gives a damn about what they are saying or writing.

Rise up with me brothers, and stick a big middle finger up to the world of prudes!

:P

http://lphybrid18.deviantart.com/art/Fuck-Shoes-42835024

Help a Virgin Out

Exactly what it says on the tin.

Go here, and be counted!

:D

Quantum of Solace

What's It All About?
Looking for revenge after Vesper's death, James Bond uncovers a secret evil organisation who are making dodgy deals with third-world governments and the like. But are his feelings getting in the way of his ability as a double-o? M certainly thinks so.

Pre-Thoughts
This was the follow-up to my favourite Bond film, and it promised more of everything. This was going to be twice as action-packed and twice as gritty. What more could you wish for?

Post-Thoughts
A real case of 'be careful what you wish for'. It is twice as action-packed, but to the point of action for action's sake. It is twice as gritty, but to a point where the lightness has been vacuumed out.

So the film is dark. Understandable, really. Bond is heartless and on a mission for revenge. He's allowed to be dark. The problem is that the film-makers haven't embraced this darkness. Perhaps to avoid comparisons to the Bourne franchise, glimmers of the old, quippy Bond can be seen.

Notable amongst these are the frequent trips back to M and her assistant and a second Bond girl played by Gemma Arterton. The first recalls every police chief in every 'cop on the edge' movie, cursing the heavens that they ever let such a maverick on the force. They even find time to include the requisite 'fired from the case' scene, just before he manages to solve the whole thing.

Gemma Arterton, as Agent Strawberry Fields, is a whole other level of cliché. The prissy, straight-laced, Fields has stepped right out of an older, camper Bond that I'm surprised her names wasn't more of a rude double entendre. And well all just know that Bond would bed her from the moment she uttered her first perfectly formed syllable.

Let us not blame Miss Arterton though. She plays the role with style and skill, and perhaps seven years ago she would have been welcome amongst Bond's ensemble. But in this age of no-frills Bond, she stands out like a three-piece suit at a nudist convention.

Thank the heavens then, for Olga Kurylenko as the feisty Camilla. Like Vesper before her, Camilla isn't just a girl for Bond to use and abuse. She is his equal, with a story and a personality to boot. It'd have been great to see more sparring and banter between the two of them, but the little that exists is sparky and well-written.

The film would have been amazing if not released when it was. Because it is when held up to Casino Royale that Quantum falls. The story feels more schizophrenic, thanks to the plot's tenancy to only stay in one country long enough for a chat and a fight. Casino Royale was leaner and held an arc.

And perhaps my biggest gripe is the lack of any low-point. Again, the comparisons to Casino Royale don't flatter. Bond fails in that film: he loses, he gets poisoned, he gets tortured, and he gets betrayed. Here, he hardly breaks a sweat. It robs the film of jeopardy and leaves it feeling rather flat.

But...

I feel bad leaving it at that, on a negative note. The film delivers, when the chips are down. Daniel Craig once again proves doubters wrong, and is well on his way to being the best Bond ever. The fights are kinetic and brutal. And it is still Bond done well.

And what more could you wish for?

A-Z of Film

Another list. But then, I WAS challenged. And boy was this whole thing challenging.

It is currently early in the morning, so there are still links to put on this post. I'll do them later. If, however, you are reading this later, well, you won't be reading this bit. Does that make ANY sense?!

Anyway...

The Rules

1. Pick one film (your favorite film) to represent each letter of the alphabet.

2. The letter "A" and the word "The" do not count as the beginning of a film's title, unless the film is simply titled A or The, and I don't know of any films with those titles.

3. Return of the Jedi belongs under "R," not "S" as in Star Wars Episode IV: Return of the Jedi. This rule applies to all films in the original Star Wars trilogy; all that followed start with "S." Similarly, Raiders of the Lost Ark belongs under "R," not "I" as in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. In other words, movies are stuck with the titles their owners gave them at the time of their theatrical release. Conversely, all films in the LOTR series belong under "L" and all films in the Chronicles of Narnia series belong under "C," as that's what those filmmakers called their films from the start. Use your better judgement to apply the above rule to any series/films not mentioned.

4. Films that start with a number are filed under the first letter of their number's word. 12 Monkeys would be filed under "T."

5. Link back to Blog Cabins in your post so that I can eventually type "alphabet meme" into Google and come up #1, then make a post where I declare that I am the King of Google.

6. If you're selected, you have to then select 5 more people.

So here goes...

Almost Famous (Because the main character is like me)
Brick (Because he takes his shoes off!)
Casino Royale (Because this is how Bond should have always been done)
Death to Smoochy (Because Ed Norton hasn't played a better character)
Etre et Avoir (For the cute kids)
Finding Neverland (Because Johnny Depp. That is all.)
Good Will Hunting (Because Matt Damon and Ben Affleck can write! Who knew?)
Horton Hears a Who (Because I left the cinema with a smile)
In America (For heartbreaking little Irish girls)
Jesus Camp (Because it scared me)
Knocked Up (Because I forgot about Kiss Kiss Bang Bang)
Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Because I couldn't vote for the whole trilogy)
Monsters Inc. (Because Boo is awesome!)
Notebook, The (Because they kiss in the rain)
Once upon a time in Mexico (For getting me into Robert Rodriguez)
Prestige, The (For being smarter than the average bear)
Quantum of Solace (Because I haven't seen any other films beginning with Q)
Romeo + Juliet (Because Shakespeare will never age)
Shaun of the Dead, Spirited Away, Spiderman 2, Serenity (Because all my favourite films begin with S)
Twelve Monkeys (Because the ending made it all make sense.)
Usual Suspects (For repeated viewings and amazing twists)
V for Vendetta (Because I can't think of any more films beginning with this letter)
Wall-E (Because of the robot love)
X-Men 2 (Because it was just like the comics)
You, Me and Dupree (Because *See V*)
Zoolander (Because *See Y*)

I'm meant to tag people in this, but I'm not really sure who reads this and who cares enough to do it themselves. If you do one of those two things, feel free to play. Let me know too.

Enjoy.

:D

51 Things To Do Before You Die

If you wanted them to, books can tell you 1001 amazing places to travel to. They can give you a list of 1001 films to see before you die, or 1001 songs to listen to. They can suggest 1001 meals to try, and 1001 cocktails to sip. They can tell you the buildings to see, the paintings to admire, and tell you all the exciting things you would ever need to do in your life.

And your life would be hollow.

The market for these books are growing. Some kind of 'Carpe Diem' movement is sweeping the nation, and this faux-mid-life-crisis means that people want to read about where to swim with dolphins or which beer is best.

And yet, every one of these books is missing the point. Living life in the moment isn't about living big. It is about noticing the small things, and cherishing them. It is about finding the extra in the ordinary, and rooting it out.

I'm sure the 1001 suggestions may be entertaining, but nothing can beat laying in bed with a pretty girl, or drinking a pint with your friends.

So, in honour of being hypocritical, let me present 51 things to do before you die (because I don't have the time for 1001):

1. Stay up all night for no reason at all.
2. Give a stranger money for the fare home.
3. Kiss someone in the rain.
4. Buy the whole pub a round of drinks.
5. Down a pint.
6. Throw up after downing too many pints.
7. Invent your own sandwich.
8. Cry at a film.
9. Go a different way home.
10. Pee outdoors.
11. Dance in the street.
12. Get the wrong train.
13. Go on a journey just for the sake of it.
14. Play footsie with someone.
15. Stay in bed all day, without the excuse of being ill.
16. Tell someone your worst secret.
17. Break the speed limit.
18. Walk down the street with your eyes closed.
19. Win something.
20. Lose something, and be happy about it.
21. Ring a friend to say hi.
22. Break a bone.
23. Make a speech.
24. Read a book that changes your life.
25. Meet a hero of yours.
26. Kiss a stranger.
27. Trash a hotel room.
28. Share an in-joke.
29. Sing karaoke.
30. Text someone whilst drunk.
31. Pet an animal.
32. Find money on the floor.
33. Make drink go up your nose whilst laughing.
34. Eat spaghetti.
35. Cook a huge meal for friends.
36. Lose a phone.
37. Walk through a scary, dark place.
38. Go on a roller-coaster.
39. Go to the funfair.
40. Receive a postcard.
41. Walk into a lamppost.
42. Go on a plane.
43. Spoon.
44. Wear a suit or a lovely dress.
45. Ride in a limo.
46. Talk to someone for over twelve hours, without getting bored.
47. Swim a length underwater.
48. Get sunburned.
49. Play truth or dare.
50. Walk around naked.
51. Make a list of 51 things to do before you die.

:D

http://iici-ieii.deviantart.com/art/Carpe-diem-25681620