Films and TV catch up

I’m still on the mend. I had my stitches taken out yesterday and apart from my stomach looking a little grim, things seem to be healing up fine.

While I have been signed off I have been catching up on some films that I have missed thanks to Lovefilm, I have also been catching up on some TV I’ve missed.

Anyway, here’s a quick rundown:

Films watched:

Superbad

Very likeable (if vulgar) coming of age, comedy.

7/10

Donkey Punch

Dead Calm meets Shallow Grave. But less effective than both.

5.5/10

Signs

Surprisingly touching and likeable non-twisty film from Shyamalan

7/10

The Invasion

Modern update of Body Snatchers, not bad, but week ending.

6.5/10

I’ve also started watching a couple of TV series that I hadn’t catched first time round, namely Life on Mars and Dexter. I had really high hopes for Life on Mars, but have been surprised by how unimpressed I have been with it so far. Its characters are just so clichéd and the plots, largely uninteresting. Even the is he/isn’t he back in time plotline hasn’t got me interested. Roz on the other hand, seems to be enjoying it. Dexter I have just started watching, but only after a handful of episodes it has me hooked.

Still here

Just a quick post to confirm that I am still here.

My operation on Friday went to plan, and I’m currently at home resting and recovering.

I’m not doing too bad at the moment, rather uncomfortable at times, and suffering from bloating (they inflated my stomach for the operation) and also tend to get tired very quickly, but apart from that pretty okay. I’m set to have my stitches removed next week and have this week and the next signed off from work.

Fingers crossed everything should remain okay, I’m slowly getting a little bit of an appetite back, but at present am only really managing kid sized portions (and a little scrawny kid at that).

So, that’s it for now – will likely post again soon.

Not Rated and suing Batman

Film watched:
This Film is Not Yet Rated

Interesting and entertaining documentary, which attacks the MPAA ratings system.

7/10

I also read the other day that the town of Batman (yes Batman) in Turkey, is looking to sue Christopher Nolan for the royalties to the name of “Batman”. The following is taken from io9.com reports:

“The royalty of the name ‘Batman’ belongs to us … There is only one Batman in the world. The American producers used the name of our city without informing us,” [Mayor of Batman city, Hüseyin] Kalkan told the Doğan news agency… Mayor Kalkan, speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News and the Economic Review, said last year foreign media picked up on Batman and the city’s increasing suicide rates among women. He said a columnist asked why Batman’s mayor did not sue the movie Batman for royalties while struggling with economic problems. “We found this criticism right and started to look for legal possibilities of a case like that,” he said.

And so, Kalkan plans to sue not DC Comics, who own the character, nor Warner Bros., who own DC Comics, but Christopher Nolan, director of The Dark Knight.

I assure you, it is not April 1st.

This is, in one word, utterly bonkers. Batman was conceived almost 70 years ago (1939) by Bob Kane, and it’s taken the town of Batman this long to notice! And how exactly is The Dark Knight “increasing suicide rates among women”, are they offended by the film, find it too depressing, or just hate the fact that they are unable to get their hands on the millions of dollars that the film is making (and now just a hairs breath away from the billion mark)?

Utterly, utterly bonkers.

Maybe I should sue Turkey for have a name which reminds me of a delicious Christmas feast!

(and yes - I know that the name of the bird originated from the country and not the other way around)

Mandy Lane and Birthday

Film watched:
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane

My high hopes for this were ground to pieces. Disappointing.

3/10

It was my birthday a few days ago, and I had a generally pleasant day off from work. It seems that there is so much going on at the present, what with my operation in a few days time and also dealing with the flat, that I haven’t had as much time as I would have liked to relax a little.

Anyway, I was treated by both family and friends on my birthday and received a plethora or presents. On the gaming front I received Bioshock, Little Big Planet (LBP) and Disgaea DS and on the film front, I received blu-rays of The Godfather Trilogy and The Orphanage.

I thought I’d briefly post my initial (brief) thoughts about Bioshock and LBP.

Bioshock

It’s great to be able to finally play the game, after waiting for a whole year for it to eventually be released on the PS3. So far it has been extremely atmospheric and a real joy to play. The dark steampunk environments look absolutely excellent on my marvellous new LCD, and it is decideably creepy in places.

Little Big Planet

If anything, this game has exceeded my expectations. Just about everyone that I know who has had a chance to play it has loved it so far. As a single player game it exudes enough charm for a truckload of games and the levels created by others on the PSN are nothing short of astonishing. I’ve dabbled a little with the create mode, but have not had enough time to go into this in any depth yet.

Grimm and Grim

Film watched:
The Brothers Grimm

Not bad, but ironically somehow missing the special Gilliam magic.

6/10

Hopefully (fingers crossed), things are starting to move forward in regards to our flat. I would like to think that my parents may be able to move into it sometime early December, but I try not to get my hopes too high.

Whilst dealing with the flat we needed to clear out numerous overflowing bags of rubbish from both the flat and also in the garden, some of which split whilst moving. The contents really were extremely grim, I tried clearing it up, but had to stop before I was sick. Luckily Roz’s stomach is made of stronger stuff and she was able to finish cleaning up for me. However, overall, not a very pleasant experience.

Staggered

So, I learnt yesterday that the release of Guitar Hero World Tour is to be “staggered”.

Previously it had been my understanding that the release date was due to be the 7th November, which coincidentally is also my birthday. As such, I was planning on popping down to my local HMV to pick up a copy so that I could have a good go of the game during the day (which I have off from work). Whilst it is still launching on 7th November, this is solely the game, or the game and guitar. For the full band pack (including drums and microphone), this will not be released until the 14 November, a week later.

On the 14th of November I will be going for my operation and I somehow doubt that I’ll be fit enough to play drums for a little while later.

Bummer…