Ultimate Gambit

I was lucky enough to get hold of tickets to a preview screening of The Darjeeling Limited at 20th Century Fox Studios in Soho last night.

Directed by Wes Anderson, (of Royal Tenenbaums fame), i was expecting the worst. The Royal Tenenbaums really didnt sit well with me when I watched it, so I was expecting that it would be relatively dull.

Prior to the feature, there was a short called ‘Hotel Cevalier’ which on its own, I didnt think stood up to that much, and the best bit was seeing Natalie Portman in the buff! However, once this combined with the main feature it made a lot more sense.

The main feature, starring Owen Wilson and Adrien Brody, was quirky and amusing, with some genuinely laugh out loud moments. Many of the jokes were aimed at the rediculousness of the situation – americans stranded in India, with absoultely no idea of what’s going on, and the feelings assoiciated with that situation were conveyed well.

It was and interesting journey, but a journey that started to feel a little bit long towards the end. However, nearly as soon as those feelings arose, the film started to round off and began its journey to the climax.

I dont want to give any more away, but what I will say is that I know this film may not necessarily appeal to many of my friends, and it didnt immediately appeal to me, but if you go in with an open mind there is a lot to enjoy about it.

[rate 4]

You have to see this, NOW!

This film looks like it’ll be the best yet – i just cannot wait!

I found this quite surprising (but not shocking – Serenity is a great film!), but in a poll of 3000 SFX readers, Serenity won by nearly 2:1 margin in comparison to Star Wars! Wow…

via Slashdot

Well, now that 2007 is upon us, I thought it was about time i took a look back at 2006! 2006 has been a busy year for me, with a distinct lack of blogging, however, my committment to this blog will continue once i get through the busy-ness! So, lets start the year as I mean to go on!

Movies

So, first, lets look at my top Movies of 2006:

1. V for Vendetta
2. Casino Royale
3. A Good Year
4. Superman Returns
5. X-Men III: The Last Stand

Honourable Mention: Nacho Libre, Dishonourable Mention: Ice Age 2: The Meltdown

For me it seems, 2006 was all about Comic book movies. It’s no secret that I’m a fan of comics, however, i think V for Vendetta is only in this category in the loosest sense of the word. It’s always difficult to think back over a years worth of movie going, and trying to distinguish which films you’ve seen were actually released this year, but V for Vendetta stuck in my mind as being a great film, with plenty of action and a great storyline, as well as some great acting on the part of Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman.
Little needs to be said Casino Royale – a great film taking the bond series in a new (darker) direction. Daniel Craig was great as usual.
A surprise entry on my list is A Good Year, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russel Crowe. Not a box office smash (155th this year according to The Movie Times) but a charming little film, which was witty, amusing and a lovely story. It was never going to be big, but I personally would really reccommend this film – if only because it’ll give you a whole different outlook on both Crowe and Scott!
Superman again needs little said, a cracking film, with some wonderful actors – Routh takes over the boots admirably, and Spacey is quite frankly an evil genious.
X3, while a little disappointing (where was Gambit?!) in living up to X2 (one of my favorite films of all time), still had what it takes to be a great film. Shame that (for now) it’s the end of the franchise – i’d have liked to see this go the way of Bond as there are just so many stories to be told, but with a Wolverine spin-off in the works, that should satisfy!
Nacho Libre gets an honourable mention simply because of Jack Black – its very funny – especially for an (ex-)wrestling fan!
Ice Age 2, for me, was more of the same of Ice Age, and I didnt like that film. When compared to Pixar’s outings, or even some of Dreamworks better films, it just doesnt hold up. I know I’m out of the intended age range (although its supposed to be a family film), it just left me coming out stale.

So, that wraps up my Movies of 2006… now onto Games…

When i was back home recently, i went to Ikea and bought a Detolf cabinet to display my recent purchases of toys and busts. Afterall, what would be the point in buying them if they werent going to be on display?!

Now, i know many of you reading this will not appreciate the beauty of these items, however its an addiction that i cannot cure (and actually quite like). A bit like cocaine… but cheaper and less harmful to my body…
Anyway, onto the photos This is not my whole collection, rather a selection of the ones that are still at home (i have some on display up here in Nottingham too). Enjoy

A new publicity shot for Spider-man 3 has been released today. As you can see, it shows our beloved hero in a BLACK costume! Or is it…

Everywhere I look, people are raving on about how this could be the introduction on Venom – one of Spidey’s best known villians, however, i’m a bit more dubious. I personally think that this is a publicity stunt.

Firstly, if you look at the picture, the outfit could well be blue and red as standard, just with dark lighting. This would help to convey that this film is going to be dark, perhaps with the death of one of Peter’s love interests?!

On top of this, Sam Raimi has always said that he has a dislike for the Venom character, and we already know that the Sandman is going to be in this film. In the previous two films, only one villian has been focussed on – why would they change the format, when it clearly works, for the third? And if you don’t like a character, you’re hardly gonna put them in a film are you…
Look at the picture for youselves – i’d be interested to hear what you think! Either way, I’ll be looking forward to the film!