Today

4/5 and 5/5 rated films on British TV today.

Freeview
2305 Alien: Resurrection (E4)
0005 Alien: Resurrection (E4+1)

Sky Movies
0910 The Illusionist (Sky Drama)
1110 Die Hard 4.0 (Sky Drama)
1335 The Sixth Sense (Sky Modern Greats)
1510 Dead Man Walking (Sky Drama)
1615 Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Screen 2)
1750 Freedom Writers (Sky Drama)
1920 The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (Sky Indie)
2150 Die Hard 4.0 (Sky Drama)
2200 Rambo (Sky Action/Thriller)
2200 Hannibal (Sky Screen 2)
2330 Summer Of Sam (Sky Modern Greats)
0005 Crash (Sky Indie)
0200 Midnight Cowboy (Sky Modern Greats)
0345 Hana-Bi (Sky Indie)

Watched yesterday

The Hotel Inspector: Crown Inn, Lewes - all a bit tedious really. Basically, this show is Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares for hotels. Trouble is that while Alex Polizzi is fine, she's no Gordon Ramsey - 2/5

Big Brother: Day 38 - 4/5

Alien 3 - 4/5

Dan's daily desktop - Leighton Meester

http://wallpaper.skins.be/leighton-meester/35856/1600x1200/

http://leightonmeester.us

Alessandra Ambrosio

My favourite model, as you may have gathered...



Hattip: Dan Leonardo

Today's movie recommendations

4/5 and 5/5 rated films on British TV today.

Terrestrial
2325 Jackass: The Movie (Channel 4)

Freeview
2200 Alien: Resurrection (E4)
2300 Pretty Woman (ITV2)
2300 Alien: Resurrection (E4+1)

Sky
0000 Pretty Woman (ITV2+1)
0025 Jackass: The Movie (Channel 4+1)

Sky Movies
1210 Saving Private Ryan (Sky Action/Thriller)
1225 Titanic (Sky Modern Greats)
1410 Juno (Sky Indie)
2000 Titanic (Sky Modern Greats)
2100 Saving Private Ryan (Sky Action/Thriller)
2100 I Am Legend (Sky Screen 2)
2145 Jerry Maguire (Sky Screen 1)
2200 Juno (Sky Indie)
0120 American Beauty (Sky Modern Greats)

Watched yesterday

University Challenge: Christ's College Cambridge v University of Warwick
I answered 20 questions correctly.

Goldeneye - 4/5

Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow: Brighton - 3/5

Big Brother: Day 37 - 3/5

Dan's daily desktop - Olivia Munn

http://wallpaper.skins.be/olivia-munn/35773/1600x1200/

http://www.oliviamunn.com

Desktop debut!

Today's movie recommendations

4/5 and 5/5 rated films on British TV today.

Terrestrial
2230 True Lies (ITV1)
2245 Armageddon (BBC One)

Sky Movies
0900 The Savages (Sky Indie)
0945 Die Hard 2: Die Harder (Sky Action/Thriller)
1215 Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Action/Thriller)
1350 Austin Powers: The Spy WHo Shagged Me (Sky Screen 2)
1415 Blade Runner: The Final Cut (Sky Modern Greats)
1635 Die Hard 2: Die Harder (Sky Action/Thriller)
1830 The Savages (Sky Indie)
1845 Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Action/Thriller)
2000 Charlie Wilson's War (Sky Drama)
2100 The Mist (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2200 Schindler's List (Sky Modern Greats)
2310 I Am Legend (Sky Screen 2)
2320 Austin Powers: The Spy WHo Shagged Me (Sky Screen 2)
2355 American History X (Sky Indie)
0000 Fracture (Sky Drama)

Watched yesterday

Katie & Peter: The Next Chapter - 4/5

Californication: In Utero - 4/5

Big Brother: Day 35 - 4/5

Countdown: 10th July
Andrew Hulme - 116
Dan Brusca - 54
Eileen Broadhead - 52
Just one 8-letter word - NAUSEATE

Vicky Cristina Barcelona - once again, I failt to be moved by Woody Allen. Rebecca Hall was excellent though - 2/5

Big Brother: Day 36 - 3/5

Dan's daily desktop - Ashley Tisdale

http://wallpaper.skins.be/ashley-tisdale/35623/1600x1200/

http://www.ashleytisdale.com

On the radio on Monday

I'll be on BBC Radio 5 Live on Monday morning, doing music reviews on Victoria Derbyshire's show between 11.30 and 12.

Will be giving my ill-considered opinions on:

JLS - Beat Again (single)
Chicane - Poppiholla (single)
V.V. Brown - Travelling Like The Light (album)
Dan Black - Un (album)

I won't be telling you what I think of them before then, so don't ask :P

Today's movie recommendations

4/5 and 5/5 rated films on British TV today.

Freeview
2200 The Mission (ITV3)
0005 Wild At Heart (ITV4)

Sky
2100 Boogie Nights (TCM)
2300 The Mission (ITV3+1)

Sky Movies
0835 No Country For Old Men (Sky Screen 2)
1100 The Bourne Ultimatum (Sky Modern Greats)
1235 Transformers (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1300 The Thin Red Line (Sky Modern Greats)
1500 Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1600 X-Men (Sky Action/Thriller)
1600 The Sixth Sense (Sky Modern Greats)
1820 Zodiac (Sky Action/Thriller)
2100 Transformers (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2205 The Bourne Ultimatum (Sky Modern Greats)
2210 The Illusionist (Sky Drama)
2255 No Country For Old Men (Sky Screen 2)
2305 X-Men (Sky Action/Thriller)
0005 The Sixth Sense (Sky Modern Greats)
0100 American Gangster (Sky Screen 2)
0140 Death Proof (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
0245 Bringing Out The Dead (Sky Indie)

Watched yesterday

Big Brother: Day 33 - 4/5

Big Brother: Day 34 - 4/5

Countdown: 9th July
Andrew Hulme - 126
Micheal Harris - 94
Dan Brusca - 66
I was never in this, despite spotting MATERIAL, MEDIATES, TAILORED and the conundrum, COMMANDER. Things got off to a bad start when the other two spotted a 9-letter word in the first round, then another one later on ^_^

Jaws 2 - 3/5

Mock The Week - never watched this before but heard it was funny, so thought I would give it a go. Disappointed to be honest. Good gags, but entirely pre-scripted so it felt forced - 2/5

Dan's daily desktop - Lindsay Lohan

http://wallpaper.skins.be/lindsay-lohan/35846/1600x1200/

http://www.myspace.com/lindsaylohan

Today's movie recommendations

4/5 and 5/5 rated films on British TV today.

Freeview
2100 The Untouchables (Film4)

Sky
2100 Batman Forever (TCM)
2200 The Untouchables (Film4+1)

Sky Movies
0920 Breach (Sky Action/Thriller)
0930 Control (Sky Indie)
1140 Sunshine (Sky Indie)
1545 Dante's Peak (Sky Action/Thriller)
1715 Elizabeth: The Golden Age (Sky Screen 2)
1750 Sicko (Sky Indie)
2000 Sunshine (Sky Indie)
2100 Dante's Peak (Sky Action/Thriller)
2200 Control (Sky Indie)
2255 Eatern Promises (Sky Action/Thriller)
0005 Requiem For A Dream (Sky Indie)
0040 The Krays (Sky Action/Thriller)
0240 Eyes Wide Shut (Sky Screen 1)
0255 Bringing Out The Dead (Sky Screen 2)

Watched yesterday

Big Brother: Day 33 - 3/5

Taken - 4/5

Countdown: 8th July
Micheal Harris - 89
Dan Brusca - 62
Anne Hughes - 56

Dan's daily desktop - Alessandra Ambrosio

http://wallpaper.skins.be/alessandra-ambrosio/35788/1600x1200/

http://www.alessandraambrosio.com

Today's movie recommendations

4/5 and 5/5 rated films on British TV today.

Terrestrial
2100 Panic Room (Five)
2330 Buster (BBC One) - I wonder if the BBC scheduled this believing that Ronnie Biggs would have been paroled?

Freeview
2100 Love Actually (ITV2)
2200 Love Actually (ITV2+1)
2300 The Killing Fields (ITV3)

Sky
2100 Batman Returns (TCM)
0000 The Killing Fields (ITV3+1)
0300 The Terminal Man (TCM)

Sky Movies
1035 There Will Be Blood (Sky Indie)
1150 Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Screen 2)
1400 Die Hard (Sky Modern Greats)
1615 Escape From Alcatraz (Sky Modern Greats)
1620 The Kingdom (Sky Screen 2)
1820 The Insider (Sky Screen 2)
1920 There Will Be Blood 9Sky Indie)
2000 Fracture (Sky Drama)
2000 Die Hard (Sky Modern Greats)
2205 Die Hard 4.0 (Sky Drama)
2215 Escape From Alcatraz (Sky Modern Greats)
2300 The Kingdom (Sky Screen 2)
0055 Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Screen 2)
0115 Midnight Cowboy (Sky Screen 1)
0305 Sumemr Of Sam (Sky Screen 2)
0335 Face (Sky Indie)

Watched yesterday

Rendition - simplistic and predictable, but the cast make it emminently watchable - 3/5

Countdown: 7th July
Dan Brusca - 100
Anne Hughes - 81
Joe Banin - 38
That's more like it, my highest ever score! Didn't get any words over 8-letters, but did get the conundrum: MENTIONED.

You Have been Watching - new vehicle for the ever-amusing Charlie Brooker. Screenwipe meets Telly Addicts. Would be better without the game show elements, which are tortuously contrived. In short, it should just been Screenwipe - 3/5

I also watched the Michael Jackson memorial. I was never really a fan of Jackson. Didn't dislike him at all, I was just indifferent. Only bought one of his records, the Scream single. However, like many people I found myself surprisingly moved by the memorial and did tear up a few times. It was hard not to feel human empathy for and be moved by some of the speakers and their heartfelt sentiments, particularly Brooke Shields who had a unique relationship with him. Also teared up when Jermaine lost it at the end of Smile and, of course, when Paris spoke at the end. All in all, a very fitting tribute.

The broadcast itself was pretty well staged for something put together on such short notice. The sound here in the UK was a bit ropey, but maybe that had something to do with weather conditions around London, which may have affected the incoming feed. Sky's Kay Burley was live outside the Staples Center and gave us this gem when setting up some VT:

Shall I tell you a little bit about his life as we prepare to celebrate his death?

Oops.

Over on BBC Two, there was commentary by Trevor Nelson and Paul Gambaccini. Usually, I can't stand Gambaccini, but he was spot-on throughout. Unfortunately, Trevor Nelson lost all credibility because you could clearly hear a producer telling him exactly what to say.

Dan's daily desktop - Alessandra Ambrosio

http://wallpaper.skins.be/alessandra-ambrosio/35787/1600x1200/

http://www.alessandraambrosio.com

Today's movie recommendations

4/5 and 5/5 rated films on British TV today.

Terrestrial
2100 Girl With A Pearl Earring (BBC Two)

Freeview
0020 Private Parts (ITV4)

Sky
2100 Cape Fear (Movies 24)
0120 Private Parts (ITV4+1)

Sky Movies
1010 Letters From Iwo Jima (Sky Screen 2)
1245 The Illusionist (Sky Screen 2)
1430 Twister (Sky Family)
2200 Twister (Sky Family)
0000 Bringing Out The Dead (Sky Indie)
0035 The Usual Suspects (Sky Action/Thriller)
0430 Empire Of The Sun (Sky Modern Greats)
0455 The Illusionist (Sky Screen 2)

Watched yesterday

Working Girl - 3/5

Countdown: 7th July
Innis Carson - 104
Chris Bergamn - 67
Dan Brusca - 56
Innis becomes an octochamp. Does this mean I might have a chance of winning today? Spotted one 8-letter word, HAMPERED. Top marks to Rachel's dress.

Dan's daily desktop - Alessandra Ambrosio

http://wallpaper.skins.be/alessandra-ambrosio/35786/1600x1200/

http://www.alessandraambrosio.com