Tuesday 31 March 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2200-0045 - Love Actually (ITV2)
2300-0145 - Love Actually (ITV2+1)

Sky
2255-0110 - Batman (TCM)

Sky Movies
1010-1210 - Stranger Than Fiction (Sky Comedy)
1200-1350 - X-Men (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1550-1755 - The Last King Of Scotland (Sky Indie)
1755-2000 - Sicko (Sky Indie)
1800-2000 - The Illusionist (Sky Drama)
1855-2100 - Three Kings (Sky Action/Thriller)
1910-2100 - X-Men (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2000-2200 - Juno (Sky Premiere)
2000-2200 - Charlie Wilson's War (Sky Drama)
2000-2200 - O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Sky Indie)
2100-2300 - Juno (Sky Premiere+1)
2100-2315 - Ocean's Thirteen (Sky Action/Thriller)
2100-2345 - The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (Sky Screen 2)
2200-2340 - Blood Simple (Sky Indie)
2200-2345 - Rambo (Sky Premiere)
2220-0010 - Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels (Sky Modern Greats)
2300-0045 - Rambo (Sky Premiere+1)
2340-0140 - Stranger Than Fiction (Sky Comedy)
0140-0320 - Rushmore (Sky Comedy)
0140-0325 - Crash (Sky Indie)
0215-0445 - The Doors (Sky Drama)
0325-0530 - The Last King Of Scotland (Sky Indie)

Monday 30 March 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Terrestrial
2335-0105 - This Is Spinal Tap (ITV1)

Freeview
2100-2335 - Notting Hill (ITV2)
2100-2310 - Crash (Film4)
2200-0035 - Notting Hill (ITV2+1)

Sky
2200-0010 - Crash (Film4+1)

Sky Movies
1000-1200 - Juno (Sky Premiere)
1100-1300 - Juno (Sky Premiere+1)
1705-1900 - The Kingdom (Sky Action/Thriller)
1900-2100 - 300 (Sky Action/Thriller)
2000-2200 - Juno (Sky Premiere)
2000-2200 - Rocky Balboa (Sky Drama)
2000-2315 - Schindler's List (Sky Modern Greats)
2100-2300 - Juno (Sky Premiere+1)
2145-2355 - Unforgiven (Sky Screen 1)
2200-2345 - Rambo (Sky Premiere)
2200-2350 - O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Sky Indie)
2300-0045 - Rambo (Sky Premiere+1)
2310-0105 - The Kingdom (Sky Action/Thriller)
0100-0310 - Death Proof (Sky Screen 2)
0250-0450 - Rocky Balboa (Sky Drama)
0300-0530 - Goodfellas (Sky Action/Thriller)

Watched yesterday

Generation Kill: Get Some - 3/5

ER: Dream Runner - 2/5

Rambo - 4/5

Boston Legal: Kill, Baby, Mill - 3/5

The Damned United - 4/5

Sunday 29 March 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
1455-1705 - School Of Rock (Film4)
2100-2320 - Mission: Impossible III (Film4)

Sky
1555-1805 - School Of Rock (Film4+1)
2100-2300 - Signs (Watch)
2100-2320 - Absolute Power (TCM)
2200-0000 - Signs (Watch+1)
2200-0020 - Mission: Impossible III (Film4+1)
0205-0425 - Absolute Power (TCM)

Sky Movies
1000-1200 - Juno (Sky Premiere)
1100-1300 - Juno (Sky Premiere+1)
1225-1420 - Twister (Sky Action/Thriler)
1245-1525 - There Will Be Blood (Sky Screen 2)
1415-1615 - Superbad (Sky Comedy)
1625-1905 - Zodiac (Sky Action/Thriller)
1905-2100 - Twister (Sky Action/Thriler)
2000-2200 - Juno (Sky Premiere)
2000-2200 - The Truman Show (Sky Drama)
2100-2300 - Juno (Sky Premiere+1)
2100-2340 - There Will Be Blood (Sky Screen 2)
2145-2345 - Superbad (Sky Comedy)
2200-0005 - Control (Sky Indie)
2345-0125 - Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (Sky Comedy)
0010-0210 - The Last Of The Mohicans (Sky Drama)
0150-0400 - Hannibal (Sky Screen 2)
0220-0440 - The Hunt For Red October (Sky Modern Greats)
0340-0530 - Requiem For A Dream (Sky Indie)

Watched yesterday

30 Rock: MILF Island - 4/5

Flashpoint: Backwards Day - 4/5

Mad Men: The Gold Violin - 4/5

Grey's Anatomy: Rise Up - 4/5

Grey's Anatomy: These Ties That Bind - 4/5

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Ourselves Alone - 3/5

Saturday 28 March 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Don't forget that clocks go forward an hour overnight tonight.

Terrestrial
2315-0225 - A Beautiful Mind (BBC Two)
2335-0235 - 8 Mile (ITV1)
2350-0255 - Monster's Ball (Channel 4)

Freeview
2100-2310 - School Of Rock (Film4)
2200-0000 - Spirited Away (BBC Four)
2200-0010 - School Of Rock (Film4+1)
0050-0355 - Monster's Ball (Channel 4+1)

Sky
2100-2335 - Boogie Nights (TCM)
2200-0005 - Signs (Watch)
2300-0105 - Signs (Watch+1)

Sky Movies
1145-1340 - The Sixth Sense (Sky Screen 2)
1230-1420 - The Terminator (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1315-1510 - Mission: Impossible (Sky Action/Thriller)
1425-1640 - Knocked Up (Sky Comedy)
1425-1650 - Transformers (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1510-1720 - Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Action/Thriller)
1650-1850 - Sunshine (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2000-2200 - Juno (Sky Premiere)
2000-2315 - Titanic (Sky Drama)
2100-2255 - Mission: Impossible (Sky Action/Thriller)
2100-2300 - Juno (Sky Premiere+1)
2100-2325 - Transformers (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2200-0015 - Knocked Up (Sky Comedy)
2240-0035 - The Sixth Sense (Sky Screen 2)
2325-0015 - The Terminator (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
0015-0350 - Eyes Wide Shut (Sky Screen 1)
0035-0330 - Hard Candy (Sky Screen 2)
0055-0350 - Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Action/Thriller)
0215-0415 - Sunshine (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)

Watched yesterday

Countdown: 27th March
Cate Henderson - 87
Dan Brusca - 52
Helen Kerr - 51

The Mentalist: Pilot - 4/5

The Big Bang Theory: The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis - 4/5

Grey's Anatomy: Brave New World - 3/5

Grey's Anatomy: There's No 'I' In Team - 3/5

Grey's Anatomy: Life During Wartime - 4/5

Kitchen Nightmares: The Black Pearl, Manhattan - 4/5

30 Rock: Subway Hero - Alec Baldwin as Nixon is genius, but boo to Five USA for showing episodes out of sequence - 4/5

Final poster for the new Star Trek

Click for a larger version.

Friday 27 March 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2200-0025 - Pretty Woman (ITV2)
2300-0125 - Pretty Woman (ITV2+1)

Sky
2340-0200 - The Color Of Money (Watch)
0040-0300 - The Color Of Money (Watch)

Sky Premiere
0900-1100 - The Last King Of Scotland (Sky Indie)
1250-1440 - Rocky Balboa (Sky Screen 2)
1310-1515 - Jindabyne (Sky Indie)
1415-1650 - The Insider (Sky Drama)
1955-2155 - The Last King Of Scotland (Sky Indie)
2000-2140 - I Am Legend (Sky Premiere)
2000-2245 - The Thin Red Line (Sky Drama)
2100-2240 - I Am Legend (Sky Premiere+1)
2200-2350 - Alien 3 (Sky Premiere)
2250-0045 - Platoon (Sky Drama)
2300-0050 - Alien 3 (Sky Premiere+1)
2310-0100 - Rocky Balboa (Sky Screen 2)
0100-0300 - Wild At Heart (Sky Drama)
0120-0340 - Summer Of Sam (Sky Indie)
0310-0510 - The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover (Sky Drama)

Watched yesterday

Countdown: 26th March
Cate Henderson - 98
Gerald Conley - 50
Dan Brusca - 37
Pathetic!

Newswipe - another triumph for Charlie Brooker! - 4/5

Heroes: Exposed - 3/5

I Own Britain's Best Home: 2009.1 - really nice houses, but the show is staggeringly vapid - 3/5

Thursday 26 March 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2100-2305 - Crash (Film4)

Sky
2200-0005 - Crash (Film4+1)

Sky Movies
1000-1140 - I Am Legend (Sky Premiere)
1050-1240 - X-Men (Sky Screen 2)
1100-1240 - I Am Legend (Sky Premiere+1)
1215-1425 - Die Hard 4.0 (Sky Action/Thriller)
1610-1830 - Mulholland Drive (Sky Indie)
1700-1855 - Fracture (Sky Action/Thriller)
2000-2150 - The Illusionist (Sky Drama)
2100-2300 - 300 (Sky Screen 2)
2100-2310 - Die Hard 4.0 (Sky Action/Thriller)
2145-2325 - I Am Legend (Sky Premiere)
2245-0025 - I Am Legend (Sky Premiere+1)
2300-0050 - X-Men (Sky Screen 2)
2310-0145 - American Gangter (Sky Action/Thriller)
2335-0135 - American Beauty (Sky Modern Greats)
0005-0225 - Mulholland Drive (Sky Indie)
0105-0255 - Stranger Than Fiction (Sky Comedy)
0215-0400 - Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels (Sky Modern Greats)

Watched yesterday

Countdown: 25th March
Cate Henderson - 83
Dan Brusca - 64
Richard Gray - 35

ER: Separation Anxiety - 3/5

America's Next Top Model: Planes, Trains and Slow Automobiles - 4/5

The Apprentice: Episode 5.1 - So here we go again! we haven't had a proper look at all the candidates, but my favourite so far is Debra, who nearly got the boot last night. I find her confidence quite sexy... Why does the blonde talk out of the side of her mouth? Local boy Howard led the boys' winning team, huzzah! - 4/5

Wednesday 25 March 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Sky Movies
1000-1210 - In The Name Of The Father (Sky Modern Greats)
1245-1425 - Clerks II (Sky Indie)
1745-1945 - Freedom Writers (Sky Drama)
1900-2100 - Breach (Sky Screen 2)
2000-2140 - I Am Legend (Sky Premiere)
2020-2200 - Clerks II (Sky Indie)
2100-2240 - I Am Legend (Sky Premiere+1)
2200-0005 - Full Metal Jacket (Sky Screen 1)
0120-0250 - Rushmore (Sky Comedy)

Battlestar Galactica: Daybreak parts 2 and 3 (spoilers!)

So the greatest TV sci-fi series of all time (sorry, Star Trek) comes to and end... on Earth! Without wishing to sound smug, I strongly suspected that it would turn out BSG was set in our past and that the colonials were, in fact, our ancestors. I had also theorized that the planet they originally thought was Earth actually wasn't, but it was only that, a theory among many. Actually seeing it realized in last night's episode was still a pleasant surprise.

So in summary, Galactica jumped into the jaws of the Cylon colony, rammed it, boarded and Hera was rescued. Cylons led by Cavill fought their way to Galactica's C'n'C to recapture Hera and there was an armed stand-off, broken when the final five (well, four of them), promised to give the Cylons the secret of resurrection. They linked with Anders to transmit the data to the colony, but this meant they shared their memories and Tyrol learned Tory had killed Callie, at which point he broke the link (and Tory's neck). Cavill thought he was being betrayed and a firefight broke out in which Cavill blew his own head off.

With raiders piling in on Galactica and the colony exploding thanks to a battery of missiles from a raptor, Adama ordered Starbuck to jump to anywhere. She then realised that the tune in her head was giving her coordinates. She punched them into the FTL control and Galactica jumped, breaking its back in the process but still retaining conventional engines. Just as well that the coordinates had taken them to Earth...

On the surface it was established that they had arrived in the days of early man. We were hunting and burying our dead, but were still pretty primitive. It was decided that the fleet would be scuttled, sent into the sun under the control of Anders, and that the surivivors would spread throughout the Earth, setting up their own colonies (though the Centurions were given the basestar). Tyrol decided to head-off on his own (possibly to Scotland!). Admiral Adama took Roslin for one last spin in a raptor, during which she died. He also chose to live alone and started to build a cabin somewhere. Lee and Starbuck decided to go their separate ways, with Starbuck quite literally vanishing while Lee's back was turned. Baltar, along with Caprica Six (who, it turns out, had been seeing an imaginary Baltar all along in the same way Baltar was seeing an imaginary Six), headed off to become a farmer. Tigh and Ellen went off with one colony and Helo, Athena and Hera did too.

Jump forward 150,000 years and we're in our own near future, where we learn that Hera was Mitochondrial Eve, the most recent common ancestor of all humans. Imaginary Baltar and imaginary Six, walking through Time Square, remind us that all this has happened before and all this will happen again, maybe...

Some random observations on all this...

1. Despite most of the key characters surviving, I found these episodes full of profound sorrow. There seemed great sadness in these people, who had been through so much together, going their separate ways. It seemed wrong that Adama would choose to live on his own in a cabin somewhere. You like to think of him growing old(er) wth Tigh, getting off his face on homebrew, or maybe tending his own garden with family around him, like Vito Corleone in The Godfather. Also, dating the BSG saga 150,000 years ago reduces it to a mere speck in the history of the universe. That's not a criticism at all, it's actually quite a bold thing to do, but it does remind us all of our insignificance in the great scheme of things. Haven't felt something like that since I read the Stephen Baxter novel 'Titan'.

2. The revelation that Caprica Six had her own imaginary Baltar was a very neat little touch. We don't know how they came to see eachother, even if we do now know why. There are other unanswered questions like this, but they're besides the point. We were being asked to have faith that it was all part of G-d's plan. We don't need to know how Starbuck came back to life, which just need to know that G-d had it happen for a purpose.

3. Kudos for invoking the classic BSG theme as the fleet headed for the sun. A perfect TV moment.

4. Small criticism - some of the CGI was a little too CGIey looking, unlike in earlier seasons.

5. Embarassing personal revelation - when Galactica jumped to the colony and came under immediate bombardment from cannon and raiders, I got a little teary for it... *blush*

6. Why did Adama decide in part 1 to risk Galactica and crew by going after Hera? It struck me as a little implausible, but on reflection maybe he thought it was a last roll of the dice for humanity itself after 'Earth' turned out to be a busted flush and Galactica started falling apart. It was his destiny to do it, but what got him to take the decision?

I'm sure more will come to me later, but I really must press on and do some work. For me, Battlestar Galactica concluded on a high, even if I did think it was full of sadness, which is a great achievement and a testament to the vision of the writers, producers and others who have rarely put a foot wrong over the past six years in delivering, yes, the greatest television sci-fi of all time.

Roll on Caprica...

Watched yesterday

Countdown: 24th March
Cate Henderson - 73
Dan Brusca - 59
Sadhana Mehendale - 45
Pulled two eight-letter words out of this: RELOCATE and STARGAZE. Maybe it's a message...

Law & Order: Buried - 4/5

90210: Games People Play - Sent my friend Tish a text message last night saying that if AnnaLynne McCord is 16 then I'm a Victorian street urchin (turns out she's actually 21).

Battlestar Galactica: Daybreak Parts 2 and 3 - Will post separately on this shortly - 5/5

Tuesday 24 March 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2100-2300 - The X-Files (Film4)
2200-0035 - Notting Hill (ITV2)
2300-0135 - Notting Hill (ITV2+1)
0130-0300 - La Antena (Film4)

Sky
2200-0000 - The X-Files (Film4+1)
0230-0400 - La Antena (Film4+1)

Sky Movies
0805-1025 - Apollo 13 (Sky Modern Greats)
0825-1020 - The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (Sky Classics)
1000-1140 - I Am Legend (Sky Premiere)
1100-1240 - I Am Legend (Sky Premiere+1)
1125-1405 - The Thin Red Line (Sky Drama)
1735-1955 - Apollo 13 (Sky Modern Greats)
1900-2055 - The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (Sky Classics)
2000-2140 - I Am Legend (Sky Premiere)
2000-2240 - There Will Be Blood (Sky Drama)
2100-0040 - I Am Legend (Sky Premiere+1)
2200-2340 - Requiem For A Dream (Sky Indie)
2245-0040 - Dangerous Liaisons (TCM)
0020-0230 - Bringing Out The Dead (Sky Screen 2)
0045-0220 - Killer: A Journal Of Murder (Sky Drama)
0140-0330 - Stranger Than Fiction (Sky Comedy)
0200-0340 - Hana-Bi (Sky Indie)

Watched yesterday

Countdown: 23rd March
Cate Henderson - 88
Stephen Porritt - 86
Dan Brusca - 63
Today's excuse is that I was distracted by Rachel's dress. Rarely is something so figure-hugging seen on daytime television.



Fringe: Bound - as ridiculous, but also ridiculously enjoyable as ever - 4/5

Lost: Namaste - 4/5

Monday 23 March 2009

[NSFW] Danielle Lloyd photoshoot for Nuts



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk5TlzVzk2E

Danielle is this week's Nuts cover girl.

David Lynch doing the weather



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eruvQY5_jFU

Lynch posts daily weather updates to his site at DavidLynch.com.

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2100-2325 - Pretty Woman (ITV3)
2200-0025 - Pretty Woman (ITV3+1)

Sky Movies
0900-1105 - Jindabyne (Sky Indie)
1110-1250 - The Counterfeiters (Sky Indie)
1225-1430 - Ocean's Thirteen (Sky Action/Thriller)
1430-1605 - Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (Sky Comedy)
1625-1830 - Jindabyne (Sky Indie)
1650-1845 - Fracture (Sky Action/Thriller)
1830-2110 - The Counterfeiters (Sky Indie)
2000-2310 - Titanic (Sky Drama)
2100-2305 - Ocean's Thirteen (Sky Action/Thriller)
2145-2320 - Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (Sky Comedy)
2145-2325 - I Am Legend (Sky Premiere)
2200-0000 - The Last King Of Scotland (Sky Indie)
2245-0025 - I Am Legend (Sky Premiere+1)
2300-0055 - The Terminator (Sky Screen 2)
0005-0225 - Summer Of Sam (Sky Indie)
0115-0310 - Platoon (Sky Drama)
0300-0440 - Hard Candy (Sky Action/Thriller)
0315-0515 - Wild At Heart (Sky Drama)

Watched yesterday

La Antena - Near silent, retro-futurist story of a city whose inhabitants have had their voices stolen, presided over by Mr TV, the boss of the city's only TV station who plans to take more than just their voices... If I'm honest, I tuned out of the story for a while in the middle, but that's cancelled out by the film's stunning technical and artistic achievement. Visualy reminiscent of Fritz Lang, early David Lynch and Czechoslovakian animation it look amazing, quite unlike anything to appear in a cinema in years. Quite swiftly paced, but I did find myself tuning out a little in the middle as I wasn't entirely engaged with the story, but nevertheless this deserves a look - 4/5

QI XL: Food - 5/5

Great Train Journeys: Tokyo To Kagoshima - 3/5

Mad Men: Maidenform - 4/5

Sunday 22 March 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2100-2235 - Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery (Film4)

Sky
2200-2335 - Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery (Film4+1)

Sky Movies
0835-1020 - In The Heat Of The Night (Sky Classics)
0900-1130 - Mulholland Drive (Sky Indie)
0950-1135 - The Sixth Sense (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1015-1245 - Transformers (Sky Screen 1)
1030-1210 - I Am Legend (Sky Premiere)
1130-1310 - I Am Legend (Sky Premiere+1)
1200-1355 - The Bourne Ultimatum (Sky Action/Thriller)
1220-1430 - Knocked Up (Sky Comedy)
1310-1500 - Charlie Wilson's War (Sky Screen 2)
1710-1855 - The Sixth Sense (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1930-2200 - Mulholland Drive (Sky Indie)
2000-2140 - I Am Legend (Sky Premiere)
2000-2200 - Three Kings (Sky Modern Greats)
2000-2230 - Transformers (Sky Screen 1)
2100-2240 - I Am Legend (Sky Premiere+1)
2100-2245 - In The Heat Of The Night (Sky Classics)
2100-2245 - Charlie Wilson's War (Sky Screen 2)
2100-2255 - The Bourne Ultimatum (Sky Action/Thriller)
2130-2340 - Knocked Up (Sky Comedy)
2200-2340 - Crash (Sky Indie)
2215-0010 - Elizabeth: The Golden Age (Sky Drama)
2300-0045 - Face (Sky Action/Thriller)
0000-0155 - American History X (Sky Modern Greats)

RIP Jade Goody, 1981-2009

Watched yesterday

Criminal Minds: Derailed - 4/5

Flashpoint: Eagle Two - this is a hidden gem of a show on ITV3, a *Canadian* drama about a police armed response unit. Very much a procedural in sensibilities where the regular characters take second place to each week's story, but you can still engage with those regulars (as with, for example, CSI LV) and the stories are strong enough to carry the show each week - 4/5

Boston Legal: Rose - 3/5

Free Agents: Episode 1.6 - 4/5

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Some Must Watch, While Some Must Sleep - dismal episode, clearly one of those that producers of sci-fi shows have to knock together for pennies so that they can spend money on big set-piece episodes. Furthermore, it didn't advance the story in the slightest and if you haven't seen it can be skipped if you're short of time. That said, a couple of positives in there. It looks like the writers are again starting to play around with the idea that Jon might be attracted to Cameron. They did it a bit clunkily, but it will be interesting to see how that unfolds. Also, nice to see a guest spot for Julie Ann Emery, even if she did deserve something better than this - 2/5

Saturday 21 March 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Terrestrial
2100-2320 - Notting Hill (ITV1)
2100-2340 - Gosford Park (Channel 4)
2340-0155 - Courage Under Fire (Channel 4)

Freeview
2200-0040 - Gosford Park (Channel 4+1)
0040-0255 - Courage Under Fire (Channel 4+1)

Sky
2200-0045 - Black Hawk Down (Watch)
2300-0145 - Black Hawk Down (Watch+1)

Sky Movies
1030-1210 - I Am Legend (Sky Premiere)
1130-1310 - I Am Legend (Sky Premiere+1)
1220-1420 - Out Of Sight (Sky Modern Greats)
1610-1810 - Sicko (Sky Indie)
1645-1955 - Schindler's List (Sky Modern Greats)
1700-1840 - X-Men (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1705-1900 - The Illusionist (Sky Screen 2)
2000-2140 - I Am Legend (Sky Premiere)
2000-2145 - O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Sky Modern Greats)
2100-2240 - I Am Legend (Sky Premiere+1)
2200-0000 - Out Of Sight (Sky Modern Greats)
2200-0105 - Magnolia (Sky Indie)
2305-0145 - American Gangster (Sky Screen 2)
0005-0150 - Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels (Sky Modern Greats)
0110-0250 - 28 Weeks Later (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
0115-0255 - Eastern Promises (Sky Indie)
0230-0445 - The Doors (Sky Drama)

Watched yesterday

Countdown: 21st March
Dan Brusca - 85
Stephen Porritt - 60
Tony Robinson - 60
That's more like it! Got two eight-letter words - REMAINED, HOLINESS - and the first conundrum, LUXURIANT.

The Daily Show: 18th March - 4/5

1408 - Despite warnings from the manager (Samuel L. Jackson), a sceptical writer of books on the paranormal (John Cusack) checks himself into an allegedly haunted hotel room and finds himself its physical and psychological prisoner. Neat concept, generally well executed, but which loses restraint in the final third. Good to see Mary McCormack in it - 3/5

The Daily Show: 19th March - 3/5

Heroes: Cold Wars - 3/5

30 Rock: Ludachristmas - 4/5

30 Rock: Episode 210 - 4/5

Kitchen Nightmares: Handlebar, Mount Sinai - 4/5

Friday 20 March 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2200-0015 - Patriot Games (More4)

Sky
2300-0115 - Patriot Games (More4+1)
2340-0215 - Black Hawk Down (Watch)
0040-0315 - Black Hawk Down (Watch+1)

Sky Movies
1130-1305 - The Fountain (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1155-1400 - Ocean's Thirteen (Sky Modern Greats)
1205-1415 - Die Hard (Sky Action/Thriller)
1630-1855 - Letters From Iwo Jima (Sky Screen 2)
1635-1910 - Zodiac (Sky Action/Thriller)
1745-1950 - World Trade Center (Sky Drama)
1915-2050 - The Fountain (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2000-2205 - Ocean's Thirteen (Sky Modern Greats)
2100-2310 - Die Hard (Sky Action/Thriller)
2145-2335 - Superbad (Sky Comedy)
2200-2335 - Notes On A Scandal (Sky Indie)
2205-2350 - O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Sky Modern Greats)
0145-0325 - Rocky Balboa (Sky Drama)

Watched yesterday

Countdown: 20th March
Stephen Porritt - 67
Jennie Foster - 54
Dan Brusca - 53
Pleased that I got PALMETTO, but I lost an early lead towards the end. On the bright side, I heard from Kezra Shakir thanking me for calling her gorgeous. Isn't that nice?

America's Next Top Model - 4/5

90210: There's No Place Like Homecoming - 4/5

90210: Secrets & Lies - 3/5

Thursday 19 March 2009

A small victory for liberty

Back in January I posted how the government planned to give bailiffs extra powers to enter properties to recover debts, including introducing the power to physically restrain occupants.

I'm pleased to pass on the news that the government have now backed away from these proposals.

You can read the full press release here.

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2240-0005 - Wrong Turn (Film4)

Sky
2340-0105 - Wrong Turn (Film4+1)

Sky Movies
1245-1520 - The Insider (Sky Drama)
1705-1905 - Stranger Than Fiction (Sky Screen 2)
1730-1950 - Babel (Sky Drama)
2000-2140 - The Truman Show (Sky Drama)
2200-0020 - The Matrix (Sky Screen 1)
2245-0055 - Control (Sky Screen 2)
2300-0110 - Hannibal (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2330-0100 - Rushmore (Sky Comedy)
0020-0230 - Platoon (Sky Screen 1)
0130-0330 - Wild At Heart (Sky Drama)
0220-0455 - Eyes Wide Shut (Sky Modern Greats)

Watched yesterday

Countdown: 19th March
Stephen Porritt - 86
Dan Brusca - 60
Kezra Shakir - 19
Shakir was gorgeous... *mental note to self* - doing Countdown while eating beef sandwiches isn't very effective.

Bronson - the life of Charles Bronson, Britain's most notorious prisoner, who has spent 34 years in prison, 30 of which in solitary due to his violent nature. It's important to make it clear what this film isn't. It's not a conventional biopic, nor is it a narrative drama in the usual sense. Those expecting a Guy Ritchie-esque portrayal of Bronson as some kind of lovable geezer will be disappointed.

The film focuses on various 'highlights' from Bronson's life, tied together with Bronson (Tom Hardy) both narrating directly to camera or, in dinner jacket and Joker-esque facepaint, on stage addressing a theatre audience. The latter is a curious but interesting device which plays to Bronson's self-image as the entertainer, ringmaster and master of ceremonies in his own world.

Essentially this is an arthouse film, both in its unconventional approach to the biopic genre and in it's production. Larry Smith's photography is stunning, as befits a cinematographer who learnt his trade under Stanley Kubrick. The use of music is terrific, with scenes either elevated to cinematic ballet through the use of classical music, or given an edge with skittish electro.

At the centre of proceedings is Tom Hardy as Bronson. His performance is nothing short of sensational. Powerful, brooding, occasionally humorous and often just downright scary, he dominates virtually every frame of the film. It's a tribute to both Hardy and director Nicholas Winding Refn that while the audience is placed in Bronson's corner, the film doesn't glorify him. We're left in no doubt that Bronson is a brutal thug, not an antihero to the masses - 5/5

Wednesday 18 March 2009

Received today - Silk Spectre poster!

Today's movie recommendations

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

Terrestrial
1320-1525 - Kind Hearts And Coronets (Channel 4)
2245-0045 - The Peacemaker (BBC One)

Freeview
1420-1625 - Kind Hearts And Coronets (Channel 4+1)
2100-2300 - The X-Files (Film4)

Sky
2200-0000 - The X-Files (Film4+1)

Sky Movies
0950-1135 - The Sixth Sense (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1230-1415 - The Terminator (Sky Screen 2)
1745-1950 - The Last King Of Scotland (Sky Indie)
1900-2045 - The Sixth Sense (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2000-2205 - 3:10 To Yuma (Sky Drama)
2100-2245 - The Terminator (Sky Screen 2)
2200-2350 - Three Kings (Sky Modern Greats)
0005-0220 - Unforgiven (Sky Screen 1)
0020-0220 - The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover (Sky Drama)
0130-0335 - The Last King Of Scotland (Sky Indie)

Watched yesterday

Countdown: 17th March
Kirk Bevins - 114
Dan Brusca - 67
Rosie Owen - 67
In defence of my poor performances recently, I would point out that with this eighth successive win, Bevins became the highest-scoring octochamp in Countdown history with a total of 925 points.

Law & Order UK: Unsafe - 4/5

I, Samurai - 4/5

ER: The High Holiday - 4/5

Battlestar Galactica: Daybreak, Part 1 - 4/5

Tuesday 17 March 2009

RIP Jade Goody? OK jumps the gun



Here we have the new edition of OK magazine, a tribute to Jade Goody who sadly passed away recently following her battle against cervical cancer.

Hang on...

Something about that doesn't sound right...

What is it? Hmmm... oh, I know!

SHE'S STILL ALIVE!

Seriously, WTF? It even says 'in loving memory' under the title. Now I have no problem with Jade selling her final weeks to OK or whoever she damn well pleases, but isn't it just a bit tasteless to publish the magazine as if she was was dead? It raises the ghoulish thought that maybe they assumed she would have died by now and had the magazine mocked up and ready to go only to be thwarted by Goody's stubborn determination to, ya know, LIVE.

Today's movie recommendations

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

Sky Movies
1040-1245 - Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Action/Thriller)
1200-1405 - Ocean's Thirteen (Sky Modern Greats)
1405-1610 - Out Of Sight (Sky Modern Greats)
1600-1750 - Stranger Than Fiction (Sky Comedy)
1845-2050 - Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Action/Thriller)
1920-2200 - The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (Sky Indie)
2000-2150 - The Last Of The Mohicans (Sky Drama)
2000-2205 - Out Of Sight (Sky Modern Greats)
2200-0005 - World Trade Center (Sky Drama)
2205-0010 - Ocean's Thirteen (Sky Modern Greats)
0015-0155 - Rocky Balboa (Sky Drama)
0100-0250 - Stranger Than Fiction (Sky Comedy)
0305-0525 - Goodfellas (Sky Action/Thriller)

Watched yesterday

Countdown: 16th March
Kirk Bevins - 106
Ian Payn - 71
Dan Brusca - 42
Top tip: Countdown is much harder when you've been drinking.

Boston Legal: Mad Cows - Julie Bowen is looking as uberhot as ever - 3/5

Monday 16 March 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Terrestrial
2200-0110 - Gangs Of New York (Channel 4)

Freeview
2300-0210 - Gangs Of New York (Channel 4+1)

Sky Movies
1035-1225 - X-Men (Sky Screen 2)
1225-1520 - The Thin Red Line (Sky Screen 2)
1720-1915 - Full Metal Jacket (Sky Action/Thriller)
1900-2050 - X-Men (Sky Screen 2)
2000-2140 - Charlie Wilson's War (Sky Drama)
2100-2315 - The Matrix (Sky Action/Thriller)
2140-2355 - In The Line Of Fire (Sky Screen 1)
2200-2340 - Eastern Promises (Sky Indie)
2310-0000 - Death Proof (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2320-0105 - Face (Sky Action/Thriller)
2345-0200 - Happiness (Sky Indie)
0200-0335 - Killer: A Journal Of Murder (Sky Drama)
0205-0345 - Requiem For A Dream (Sky Indie)

Watched yesterday

Mad Men: The New Girl - 4/5

A Mighty Heart - Daniel Pearl was an American journalist kidnapped and beheaded in Karachi in 2002. This true story follows the eight-day period from his kidnap and death, centered on his wife, Marianne (played by Angelia Jolie) and the investigation into his disappearance. It's an almost documentary-style telling of the events that sticks to recounting the facts, rather than speculate about events that were unseen. For example, we don't have scenes of Daniel in captivity. If there's no witness, we don't see it.

Jolie is good as Marianne, never letting her superstar status overshadow the character and support is ably provided by a largely unknown cast. However the film is rendered somewhat redundant by the certainty of the outcome. That doesn't have to be the case if the events leading up to the conclusion are interesting in and of themselves (for example, United 93 or Valkyrie), but that's not the case for much of this film and it's only when the focus shifts slight away from Marianne to the intelligence officer leading the investigation that an element of dramatic tension is introduced - 3/5

Sunday 15 March 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Terrestrial
2200-0050 - The Departed (Channel 4)
2300-0150 - The Departed (Channel 4+1)

Freeview
1505-1720 - Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights (ITV3)
2300-0125 - Basic Instinct (ITV2)
0000-0225 - Basic Instinct (ITV2+1)

Sky
1605-1820 - Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights (ITV3)

Sky Movies
1130-1330 - Sicko (Sky Indie)
1145-1335 - Breach (Sky Action/Thriller)
1430-1745 - The Godfather Part II (Sky Modern Greats)
1600-1805 - The Last King Of Scotland (Sky Indie)
1805-2010 - Jindabyne (Sky Indie)
1905-2055 - Breach (Sky Action/Thriller)
2100-2300 - 300 (Sky Screen 2)
2145-0000 - Knocked Up (Sky Screen 1)
2200-2350 - The Illusionist (Sky Drama)
2200-0005 - The Last King Of Scotland (Sky Indie)
2210-0010 - Bringing Out The Dead (Sky Modern Greats)
2300-0120 - Die Hard (Sky Screen 2)
0000-0200 - The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover (Sky Drama)
0015-0225 - Unforgiven (Sky Modern Greats)
0210-0410 - Wild At Heart (Sky Drama)
0235-0415 - Hard Candy (Sky Action/Thriller)

Also, I would like to recommend Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby on Five at 8.15pm. It's not a very good film, but it does star my favourite actress Leslie Bibb, who is ridiculously hot. This also gives me the excuse to post this photo again, from a Stuff magazine shoot tied-in to the film's cinema release...

Watched yesterday

Free Agents: Episode 1.5 - 5/5

Shameless: Episode ?.? - 3/5

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Desert Cantos - 4/5

Grey's Anatomy: Here Comes The Flood - 3/5

Saturday 14 March 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Terrestrial
2100-2250 - About A Boy (ITV1)
2100-2310 - I, Robot (Channel 4)
2310-0205 - Ali (Channel 4)

Freeview
2100-2310 - The Fifth Element (Film4)
2100-2315 - Blown Away (Virgin 1)
2200-0010 - I, Robot (Channel 4+1)
0010-0305 - Ali (Channel 4+1)

Sky
2200-0010 - The Fifth Element (Film4+1)
2200-0015 - Blown Away (Virgin 1+1)

Sky Movies
1050-1255 - Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Action/Thriller)
1300-1515 - Die Hard 4.0 (Sky Screen 2)
1305-1510 - Ocean's Thirteen (Sky Action/Thriller)
1820-2055 - Zodiac (Sky Action/Thriller)
2015-2155 - Clerks II (Sky Indie)
2100-2305 - Ocean's Thirteen (Sky Action/Thriller)
2100-2315 - Die Hard 4.0 (Sky Screen 2)
2305-0110 - Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Action/Thriller)
2345-0145 - American Beauty (Sky Modern Greats)
0130-0320 - Stranger Than Fiction (Sky Comedy)
0155-0335 - Clerks II (Sky Indie)
0200-0405 - World Trade Center (Sky Drama)
0340-0520 - Hana-Bi (Sky Indie)

Watched yesterday

Flashpoint: Planets Aligned - 5/5

Mad Men: The Benefactor - 4/5

Mad Men: Three Sundays - 4/5

Heroes: Trust And Blood - 4/5

Heroes: Building 26 - 4/5

30 Rock: Cougars - 4/5

30 Rock: Secrets And Lies - 4/5

I also watched over four hours of Comic Relief. Good intentions aside, the standard of comedy on offer was very poor. The highlight was Harry Hill, right at the beginning, but the rest was dross. Especially poor were the French and Saunders Mamma Mia! parody (if ever there was a film beyond parody, surely it's Mamma Mia!) and the excruciatingly bad 'computer says no' sketch with David Walliams and Catherine Tate.

Friday 13 March 2009

Geoff Randall in the Telegraph

Q: What's the difference between Bernard Madoff and Gordon Brown?

A: One has drained fortunes from gullible victims, plundering their income and savings to create an illusion of prosperity. The other is going to jail.

Today's movie recommendations

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

Sky Movies
1115-1325 - In The Name Of The Father (Sky Modern Greats)
1515-1715 - Blade Runner: The Final Cut (Sky Modern Greats)
2000-2140 - Rocky Balboa (Sky Drama)
2330-0115 - Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (Sky Screen 1)
2355-0155 - Blade Runner: The Final Cut (Sky Modern Greats)
0000-0150 - In Bruges (Sky Premiere)
0045-0255 - Hannibal (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
0100-0250 - In Bruges (Sky Premiere+1)
0135-0315 - Requiem For A Dream (Sky Indie)
0200-0435 - Eyes Wide Shut (Sky Modern Greats)

Watched yesterday

Grand Designs - a stunning building, though I wasn't won over by the interior - 4/5

Kilimanjaro: The Big Red Nose Climb - great stuff and I have to say that the celebs involved impressed me immensely. Worth a donation, don't you think? (even if the site doesn't appear to work in Firefox) - 5/5

Kitchen Nightmares: Trabiano's, Great Neck, New Jersey - 4/5

Comic Relief Does The Apprentice - disappointed by this. With the exception of Jonathan Ross, I didn't find the celebrities particularly interesting or engaging - 3/5

Thursday 12 March 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Terrestrial
2345-0115 - The Wicker Man (ITV1)

Freeview
2100-2325 - Batman (Film4)

Sky
2200-0025 - Batman (Film4+1)

Sky Movies
1130-1310 - X-Men (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1210-1400 - Twister (Sky Action/Thriller)
1320-1545 - Transformers (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1410-1605 - Full Metal Jacket (Sky Action/Thriller)
1440-1640 - Sicko (Sky Screen 2)
1655-1910 - Letters From Iwo Jima (Sky Indie)
1800-1950 - Twister (Sky Action/Thriller)
1910-2050 - X-Men (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2100-2325 - Transformers (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2200-2350 - In Bruges (Sky Premiere)
2300-0050 - In Bruges (Sky Premiere+1)
2310-0050 - 28 Weeks Later (Sky Screen 2)
2350-0220 - Goodfellas (Sky Screen 1)
0015-0210 - American History X (Sky Modern Greats)
0225-0445 - Summer Of Sam (Sky Indie)

Watched yesterday

Battlestar Galactica: Islanded In A Stream Of Stars - had a long conversation with my next-door neighbour about BSG yesterday. Concluded that the guy playing the piano last week was only visible to Starbuck in much the same was the Six was only visible to Baltar and that he's the boxed Daniel and, possibly, father of Starbuck (who is a hybrid). Or something. We could have just been talking bollocks - 4/5

Wednesday 11 March 2009

Jon Stewart - Brown In The USA

Today's movie recommendations

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

Sky Movies
1330-1535 - World Trade Center (Sky Modern Greats)
1535-1710 - The Fountain (Sky Screen 2)
1540-1745 - Jindabyne (Sky Indie)
1855-2055 - Freedom Writers (Sky Screen 2)
2000-2200 - 300 (Sky Action/Thriller)
2000-2205 - World Trade Center (Sky Modern Greats)
2200-2335 - Jackass Number Two (Sky Comedy)
2200-2350 - In Bruges (Sky Premiere)
2210-0055 - The Thin Red Line (Sky Drama)
2215-0015 - Wild At Heart (Sky Modern Greats)
2300-0050 - In Bruges (Sky Preniere+1)
0105-0240 - Jackass Number Two (Sky Comedy)
0135-0325 - Death Proof (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)

Watched yesterday

Law & Order UK: Vice - probably the best thing on ITV now and one of their bestshows in recent years. Simple really, a well-written script combined with quality production values and a capable cast produces good TV. Worth noting that these episodes are based on US ones. Given the culture of executive interference over at ITV it's hard to imagine original UK episodes coming out as successfully - 4/5

America's Next Top Model: The Fiercee Awards - WTF? How the fuck did Samantha (aka Pat Butcher) survive ahead of Lauren Brie, who produced some amazing shots? There seems no logic to those judges at all - 4/5

ER: Let It Snow - ER seems to be very much treading water in this final season, but it's not without its occasional signs of life, as evidenced in the unexpected and dramatic conclusion to this episode - 3/5

Kitchen Nightmares: Jack's, St Clair Shore, Michigan - 4/5

Heston's Medieval Feast - 4/5

Tuesday 10 March 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Sky Movies
0900-1125 - Mulholland Drive (Sky Indie)
1145-1330 - Sunshine (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1335-1520 - The Sixth Sense (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1800-1955 - Platoon (Sky Drama)
1910-2055 - Sunshine (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1935-2200 - Mulholland Drive (Sky Indie)
2100-2245 - The Sixth Sense (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2200-2350 - In Bruges (Sky Premiere)
2200-2355 - Superbad (Sky Screen 1)
2300-0050 - In Bruges (Sky Premiere)
2325-0110 - Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels (Sky Modern Greats)
2335-0120 - Face (Sky Action/Thriller)
0000-0210 - Unforgiven (Sky Screen 1)

Watched yesterday

Grand Designs - lost track of which episode I'm up to, but this was the contemporary farmhouse - 4/5

Countdown: 9th March
Kirk Bevins - 114
Dan Brusca - 69
Anne Adams - 53
Kirk came up with the word ONANIST, which Susie Dent quickly confirmed without elaborating on what it mean, heh. No more Countdown until next Monday, thanks to the racing at Cheltenham.

Lost: Lefleur - 3/5

90210: Wide Awake And Dreaming - 3/5

90210: Model Behavior - 4/5

90210: Hollywood Forever - 4/5

Monday 9 March 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2330-0155 - Basic Instinct (ITV2)
0030-0255 - Basic Instinct (ITV2+1)

Sky Movies
1045-1225 - Rocky Balboa (Sky Drama)
1235-1510 - The Insider (Sky Drama)
2000-2150 - The Illusionist (Sky Drama)
2100-2335 - Zodiac (Sky Screen 2)
2200-2350 - In Bruges (Sky Premiere)
2200-0000 - The Last King Of Scotland (Sky Drama)
2300-0050 - In Bruges (Sky Premiere+1)
2300-0110 - Hannibal (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
0130-0320 - Stranger Than Fiction (Sky Comedy)
0200-0415 - The Doors (Sky Drama)

Watched yesterday

Watchmen - visually spectacular, thoroughly absorbing redefining of the superhero genre. Only real criticism is that the last 30-40 minutes is somewhat more conventional than that which precedes it. Malin Akerman looks fantastic in her latex Silk Spectre 2 costume - 4/5 (though that may be increased to 5/5. It's a tough call.)

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Good Wound - 4/5

QI XL: Film - 4/5

Sunday 8 March 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
1300-1430 - Napoleon Dynamite (Film4)
1815-2030 - Independence Day (Film4)
2100-2305 - Batman (Film4)

Sky
1400-1530 - Napoleon Dynamite (Film4+1)
1915-2130 - Independence Day (Film4+1)
2200-0000 - The Peacemaker (Bravo)
2200-0005 - Batman (Film4+1)
2300-0100 - The Peacemaker (Bravo+1)

Sky Movies
1215-1430 - Ocean's Thirteen (Sky Screen 2)
1220-1400 - X-Men (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1515-1810 - The Godfather (Sky Modern Greats)
1630-1830 - The Last Of The Mohicans (Sky Screen 2)
1640-1925 - Saving Private Ryan (Sky Action/Thriller)
1900-2040 - X-Men (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2100-2305 - Ocean's Thirteen (Sky Screen 2)
2200-2350 - In Bruges (Sky Premiere)
2300-0050 - In Bruges (Sky Premiere+1)
2305-0055 - Eastern Promises (Sky Screen 2)
2310-0155 - Saving Private Ryan (Sky Action/Thriller)
0055-0255 - The Last Of The Mohicans (Sky Screen 2)
0305-0435 - Rushmore (Sky Comedy)

Watched yesterday

30 Rock: Somebody To Love - 4/5

Boston Legal: Happy Trails - it would seem the the decision to cancel this show was the right one, but it's a pale shadow of its former self. Were it not for the fact I've watched every episode of every previous season, I would have stopped watching by now - 3/5

Free Agents: Episode 1.4 - 4/5

90210: We're Not In Kansas Anymore - 4/5
90210: The Jet Set - 3/5
90210: Lucky Strike - 4/5
90210: The Bubble - 4/5
Against expectations, I really rather enjoyed this. OK, that's a lie, I did actually think I might enjoy it, but still it did exceed those expectations. It is, of course, the resurrected Beverly Hills: 90210 and these early episodes at least include two of the original cast members, Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty. However it's also influenced by The O.C. and is very much filling the California high school drama slot left by that show. The new cast are all pretty good and the characters are likeable, which puts it into stark contrast with the somewhat cold Gossip Girl. My favourite? Has to be Nip/Tuck alumnus AnnaLynne McCord...

Saturday 7 March 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2100-2300 - The X-Files (Film4)
2200-0000 - Fortress (Five USA)
2320-0155 - Discloure (ITV2)
0020-0255 - Disclosure (ITV2+1)

Sky
2200-0000 - The X-Files (Film4+1)
2300-0100 - Fortress (Five USA+1)

Sky Movies
1105-1305 - Blade Runner: The Final Cut (Sky Modern Greats)
1130-1340 - Knocked Up (Sky Comedy)
1300-1445 - The Kingdom (Sky Action/Thriller)
1345-1520 - Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (Sky Comedy)
1450-1645 - Fracture (Sky Screen 2)
1600-1800 - Freedom Writers (Sky Drama)
1715-1910 - Full Metal Jacket (Sky Action/Thriller)
2000-2140 - Charlie Wilson's War (Sky Drama)
2000-2210 - Knocked Up (Sky Comedy)
2100-2245 - The Kingdom (Sky Action/Thriller)
2200-2350 - In Bruges (Sky Premiere)
2200-0025 - Mulholland Drive (Sky Indie)
2215-2350 - Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (Sky Comedy)
2300-0050 - In Bruges (Sky Premiere+1)
0205-0400 - American History X (Sky Modern Greats)

Watched yesterday

Countdown: 6th March
Kirk Bevins - 111
Dan Brusca - 59
Barrie Robinson - 39
Came up with an eight-letter word - ARBORIST.

Flashpoint: Never Kissed A Girl - 3/5

Red Riding: In The Year Of Our Lord 1974 - at one point I was actually a little bored with this, but by the end I was won over completely and emphatically. A triumph in every respect - the acting, writing, direction and photography were all excellent - 5/5

Moving Wallpaper: Episode 2.2 - 3/5

30 Rock: Greenzo - 4/5

Friday 6 March 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2200-0015 - Patriot Games (More4)

Sky
2300-0115 - Patriot Games (More4+1)

Sky Movies
1105-1245 - The Counterfeiters (Sky Indie)
1330-1550 - Babel (Sky Drama)
1645-1850 - Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Action/Thriller)
1815-1955 - The Counterfeiters (Sky Indie)
1845-2055 - The Prestige (Sky Screen 2)
2000-2200 - Superbad (Sky Screen 1)
2000-2210 - Unforgiven (Sky Modern Greats)
2000-2215 - Jerry Maguire (Sky Premiere)
2100-2305 - Dangerous Liaisons (TCM)
2100-2315 - Jerry Maguire (Sky Premiere+1)
2100-2245 - In The Heat Of The Night (Sky Classics)
2200-0045 - The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (Sky Indie)
2205-0040 - The Insider (Sky Drama)
2225-2350 - Cloverfield (Sky Premiere)
2325-0050 - Cloverfield (Sky Premiere+1)
2350-0150 - American Beauty (Sky Modern Greats)
0030-0235 - Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Action/Thriller)
0035-0225 - Death Proof (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
0105-0325 - Summer Of Sam (Sky Screen 2)
0250-0455 - Dangerous Liaisons (TCM)
0300-0500 - Wild At Heart (Sky Drama)

Watched yesterday

Countdown: 4th March
Kirk Bevins - 126
Ben Nicholas - 47
Dan Brusca - 39

Countdown: 5th March
Kirk Bevins - 130
Peter Bennett - 55
Dan Brusca - 45
Seriously, Bevins is a machine! Came up with one nine-letter word on Wednesday - DOGMATISE - and three yesterday - PREDATION, REEDLINGS, UNCREATES.

The Daily Show: 3rd March - 3/5

Battlestar Galactica: Someone To Watch Over Me - first half of this was boring beyond belief, second half was fantastic, therefore - 3/5

The Daily Show: 4th March - losing interest in this now. He needs to stick to taking the piss out of Republicans. Taking it out of Obama just doesn't work - 3/5

"James T. Kirk was a great man, but that was another life"

One of the best trailers I've seen in years. Star Trek gets epic...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4XXydDEkG0

Thursday 5 March 2009

Brown's US visit: the unflattering US view



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ46cSXNDbE

Daily Mail in 'flawless' Katie Holmes shock!

From Mail Online today:
As Hollywood wife to Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes is under enormous pressure to keep up her sleek and stylish look, usually in the latest designer fashions.

So fans will understand why the 30-year-old might enjoy letting her down in an edgy role in her new movie, The Extra Man.

In contrast to her usual flawless appearance, Katie's free-spirited character wears Jamaican hair beads, usually favoured by young children.

Usual flawless appearance, Mr Mail? That's not what you said on 2nd March:
Frail and dishevelled Katie Holmes steps out for dinner... looking anything but A-list

Or 23rd February:
Katie Holmes looks even thinner after extreme diet

Or 4th February:
Thinning Katie Holmes exposes her bony breastplate in badly chosen low-cut dress

Or 3rd February:
Katie Holmes looks thin and less than curvy in unflattering swimsuit

Or 21st January:
What's happened to Katie? Mrs Cruise looks thinner than ever as she joins Tom at his premiere

Or 1st January:
Are death threats by Scientology haters why Katie Holmes is looking so miserable?

Or 31st December:
Strain shows on Katie Holmes as Cruise steps up security due to 'death threats'

Or 21st December:
Gaunt, tired and run-down: Katie Holmes juggles the demands of motherhood and Broadway

I could go on ad infinitum, but you get the idea...

Today's movie recommendations

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

Sky
2200-2355 - The Truman Show (Sky2)
2300-0055 - The Truman Show (Sky2+1)

Sky Movies
0935-1125 - Breach (Sky Action/Thriller)
1240-1445 - Jindabyne (Sky Indie)
1700-1910 - World Trade Center (Sky Screen 2)
1705-1850 - Sunshine (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1900-2045 - The Sixth Sense (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2000-2125 - Cloverfield (Sky Premiere)
2025-2200 - Notes On A Scandal (Sky Indie)
2100-2225 - Cloverfield (Sky Premiere+1)
0105-0250 - Sunshine (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
0140-0355 - The Doors (Sky Drama)
0340-0520 - Hana-Bi (Sky Indie)

Wednesday 4 March 2009

Today's movie recommendations

4/5 amd 5/5 films on British TV today.

Terrestrial
2200-0035 - Thelma & Louise (Five)

Sky
2100-2255 - The Truman Show (Sky 1)

Sky Movies
1155-1350 - Elizabeth: The Golden Age (Sky Screen 2)
1800-1940 - Rocky Balboa (Sky Drama)
2000-2200 - The Last King Of Scotland (Sky Drama)
2100-2250 - Three Kings (Sky Action/Thriller)
2100-2255 - Elizabeth: The Golden Age (Sky Screen 2)
2145-2310 - Cloverfield (Sky Premiere)
2200-0105 - Magnolia (Sky Indie)
2245-0010 - Cloverfield (Sky Premiere+1)
2300-0055 - The Krays (Sky Action/Thriller)
2340-0145 - Platoon (Sky Screen 1)
0000-0145 - Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels (Sky Modern Greats)
0105-0340 - American Gangster (Sky Action/Thriller)
0345-0530 - Face (Sky Action/Thriller)

Watched yesterday

Heroes: A Clear And Present Danger - Heroes returns, got off to a slow start but the whole sequence on the plane was tremendous - 4/5

Countdown: 3rd March
Kirk Bevins - 69
Dan Brusca - 66
Fiona Shaw - 61
Maybe this guy isn't so invincible after all. I beat him to the conundrum - MITIGATED. Incidentally, the score of 127 he achieved on Monday was apparently a record for a Countdown debut.

Law & Order UK: Unloved - kept daydreaming about Lego while watching this, so didn't properly engage with it - 3/5

America's Next Top Model: Natural Beauty - seriously, how the fuck could they boot Clark out instead of Joslyn? Is it because Joslyn's the only black girl left? - 4/5

The Daily Show: 2nd March - 3/5

Heston's Victorian Feast - decided to watch this on a whim and am pleased I did, because it was thoroughly entertaining. While I've always been aware of Blumenthal and his unusual dishes, I've never watched any of his programmes before. It really is most interesting how he concocts receipes - 4/5

Tuesday 3 March 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2100-2315 - Panic Room (Five USA)
2100-2345 - Independence Day (Film4)

Sky
2200-0015 - Panic Room (Five USA+1)
2200-0045 - Independence Day (Film4+1)
2300-0055 - The Truman Show (Sky 1)

Sky Movies
0830-1005 - The Fountain (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1045-1235 - The Illusionist (Sky Screen 2)
1150-1400 - Die Hard (Sky Action/Thriller)
1420-1625 - Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Action/Thriller)
1550-1725 - The Fountain (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1835-2045 - Die Hard (Sky Action/Thriller)
2000-2125 - Cloverfield (Sky Premiere)
2000-2205 - In The Line Of Fire (Sky Modern Greats)
2000-2310 - Titanic (Sky Drama)
2100-2225 - Cloverfield (Sky Premiere+1)
2100-2250 - The Illusionist (Sky Screen 2)
2100-2305 - Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Action/Thriller)
2200-0000 - Full Metal Jacket (Sky Screen 1)
2300-0050 - Death Proof (Sky Screen 2)
2315-0200 - The Thin Red Line (Sky Drama)
0000-0245 - Eyes Wide Shut (Sky Screen 1)
0100-0225 - Cloverfield (Sky Premiere)
0100-0310 - Hannibal (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
0200-0325 - Cloverfield (Sky Premiere+1)
0215-0415 - The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover (Sky Drama)
0340-0520 - Hard Candy (Sky Action/Thriller)

Watched yesterday

Countdown: 2nd March
Kirk Bevins - 127
Ann Abel - 54
Dan Brusca - 47
I'm thinking that I'm not going to do very well for the next seven episodes...

Lost: The Life And Death Of Jeremy Bentham - 4/5

Margaret - story of the final days of Maragaret Thatcher as Prime Minister. Overlong and, for the most part, lacking dramatic tension. Would have been much better coming in under 90 minutes. Not without its pleasures though, including Kevin McNally's Kenneth Clarke and Michael Maloney as John Major, portrayed as a faintly sinister background figure, biding his time at home under the pretence of recovering from dnetal surgery - 3/5

One missed from Sunday:

Gran Torino - a retired, racist, widower finds his prejudices challenged when a Hmong family move in next door. What could have just been a formulaic, cliche-ridden story is raised to another level by te magnetic presence of Clint Eastwood in the lead role (which he says will be his last acting performance) - 4/5

Monday 2 March 2009

Harman rattles the sabres

Labour's deputy leader, Harriet Harman, has upped the ante over Fred Goodwin's pension, telling the BBC's Andrew Marr yesterday:
Sir Fred Goodwin should not count on being £650,000 a year better off because it is not going to happen.

That's a pretty definitive statement, so either the government has something concrete in mind or she's shooting her mouth off for short-term political gain. I wouldn't exclude either possibility.

As I wrote yesterday, there's no easy way to get the pension revoked through legal routes because proving negligence would be exceptionally difficult. There's some speculation that the government might seek to introduce retrospective legislation, a sort of Sir Fred Goodwin (Revocation of Pension) Act, but nobody in their right mind can surely believe that would stand up in court? It would almost certainly breach the Human Rights Act and European law, not to mention set a heinous precedent for government overreach.

There's undoubtedly an element of pandering to the court of public opinion in Harman's remarks. Goodwin has few friends and makes an easy target for a craven populist like Harman, who appears keen to both shore up her credentials with the Labour left ahead of a possible leadership bid after the next election and also deflect attention from her own government's economic failure over the past decade.

Today's movie recommendations

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

Terrestrial
2200-2335 - Phone Booth (Channel 4)
2235-0105 - A Time To Kill (BBC One)

Freeview
1900-2025 - Napoleon Dynamite (Film4)
2100-2300 - The X-Files (Film4)
2300-0035 - Phone Booth (Channel 4+1)
2310-0115 - The Graduate (ITV3)

Sky
2000-2125 - Napoleon Dynamite (Film4+1)
2200-0000 - The X-Files (Film4+1)
0010-0215 - The Graduate (ITV3+1)

Sky Movies
1000-1125 - Cloverfield (Sky Premiere)
1100-1225 - Cloverfield (Sky Premiere+1)
1350-1535 - The Sixth Sense (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1640-1840 - Blade Runner: The Final Cut (Sky Screen 2)
1645-1910 - Mulholland Drive (Sky Indie)
1850-2100 - The Prestige (Sky Screen 2)
2200-2325 - Cloverfield (Sky Premiere)
2200-0000 - Bringing Out The Dead (Sky Indie)
2200-0010 - Unforgiven (Sky Modern Greats)
2245-0030 - Clerks II (Sky Screen 1)
2300-0025 - Cloverfield (Sky Premiere+1)
2300-0045 - The Sixth Sense (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
0005-0145 - Hana-Bi (Sky Indie)

Watched yesterday

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Earthlings Welcome Here - 4/5

Free Agents: Episode 1.3 - 4/5

Sunday 1 March 2009

Do you envy Piers Morgan?

Congratulations to the Mail website for giving us the most hilarious headline in weeks...
Just when you thought that you couldn't get any more envious of Piers Morgan!

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2100-2255 - The Sum Of All Fears (Film4)
2100-2300 - The Queen (ITV3)

Sky
2200-2355 - The Sum Of All Fears (Film4+1)
2200-0000 - The Queen (ITV3+1)

Sky Movies
0900-1110 - In The Name Of The Father (Sky Modern Greats)
1030-1155 - Cloverfield (Sky Premiere)
1130-1255 - Cloverfield (Sky Premiere+1)
1150-1355 - Die Hard 4.0 (Sky Action/Thriller)
1215-1440 - Trasnformers (Sky Screen 2)
1225-1425 - Mission: Impossible (Sky Screen 1)
1440-1650 - World Trade Center (Sky Screen 2)
1645-1955 - Schindler's List (Sky Modern Greats)
1830-2045 - The Matrix (Sky Action/Thriller)
2000-2125 - Cloverfield (Sky Premiere)
2100-2225 - Cloverfield (Sky Premiere+1)
2100-2255 - Die Hard 4.0 (Sky Action/Thriller)
2100-2325 - Trasnformers (Sky Screen 2)
2215-0015 - Mission: Impossible (Sky Screen 1)
2310-0055 - Face (Sky Action/Thriller)
0000-0155 - Platoon (Sky Drama)
0230-0405 - Blood Simple (Sky Modern Greats)
0300-0525 - World Trade Center (Sky Screen 2)
0305-0545 - Goodfellas (Sky Action/Thriller)

Watched yesterday

QI: Flora and Fauna - 3/5

30 Rock: Rosemary's Baby - Help me, Liz Lemon, you're my only hope! - 4/5

Chandon Pictures: Back To School - 3/5

Boston Legal: The Bad Seed - 3/5

ER: Age Of Innocence - real starting to fall for actress Emily Rose, can't imagine why... - 3/5

Fred Goodwin should keep his pension

It's way too early for me. The trouble is that I ate too much curry last night and felt really tired, so went to bed early at 9.30. Consequently, I woke up at 3.38 this morning and just couldn't get back to sleep. Ho-hum. Still, had I not been able to take the dog for a walk at 5, I wouldn't have witnessed a guy getting out of a taxi in his underwear in the village square and going to the cash machine. Clearly one too many sherberts...

Been meaning to post something about Fred Goodwin all week but didn't have the time. There's been much outrage over his near £700,000pa pension, which understandable given that he turned one of the world's largest banks into a basket-case. Many are calling for him to give the money back and the likes of Gordon Brown are jumping on the populist bandwagon with empty threats of legal action to recover the money - how typical of a politician to divert attention from their own failings by picking on an easy target third-party. This isn't a new story, it got a few column inches last year but got drowned out in the surrounding sea of calamitous economic news. How convenient for it to be resurrected on the day RBS has to be bailed out again by the government.

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't believe that Goodwin deserved this pension. It's a stark example of reward for failure (though admittedly it's not all from RBS - his previous pension was rolled into this when he joined the bank), but I don't think he should give back a single penny.

Firstly, whether we like it or not it seems that there was nothing illegal in the RBS board giving him the pension. You could maybe argue that he was negligent or wreckless and as such in breach of contract and the law about directors' responsibilities, but that's a notoriously difficult thing to prove. He was clearly incompetent, but that's no crime.

Secondly, the government, in the form of Lord Myners, approved the pension arrangements. Why isn't he taking responsibility? He claims that he thought the arrangements were contractual, but surely it was encumbent upon him to check, particularly given the political sensitivity of the matter?

However the main reason why I think he should hang on to the pension is because of the sheer hypocrisy of those calling on him to give it back. I wonder how many of those people would give it back were they in his shoes? It's easy to claim the moral high ground when you're not the one with the money.