Thursday 30 April 2009

Watched yesterday

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

Sky
2255 Boogie Nights (TCM)

Sky Movies
0900 The Last King Of Scotland (Sky Indie)
0945 Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Action/Thriller)
1200 Die Hard 4.0 (Sky Action/Thriller)
1230 Letters From Iwo Jima (Sky Screen 2)
1305 Mulholland Drive (Sky Indie)
1755 The Last King Of Scotland (Sky Indie)
1805 The Sixth Sense (Sky Modern Greats)
2000 Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Action/Thriller)
2000 Fracture (Sky Drama)
2100 Sunshine (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2150 Magnolia (Sky Modern Greats)
2200 The American President (Sky Drama)
2200 The Counterfeiters (Sky Indie)
2215 Die Hard 4.0 (Sky Action/Thriller)
2340 Eastern Promises (Sky Indie)
0125 Happiness (Sky Indie)
0345 Eastern Promises (Sky Indie)

Watched yesterday

Countdown: 29th April
Hamish Williamson - 124
Dan Brusca - 79
Julie Russell - 78
Hamish actually got 134, a Countdown debut record, but I beat him to the conundrum - MACHINIST. His high score is largely attributable to thr three nine-letter words he spotted - CAROUSELS, LOITERERS and CREAMATING (the latter which I also spotted).

The Apprentice - Debra is so hot. Really want her to win but she might just be a bit too gobby for Sir Alan - 5/5

North Face - 4/5

Wednesday 29 April 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2100 Love Actually (ITV2)
2100 Mean Girls (Film4)
2200 Love Actually (ITV2+1)

Sky
2200 Mean Girls (Film4+1)

Sky Movies
0950 Die Hard 2: Die Harder (Sky Action/Thriller)
1115 Ocean's Thirteen (Sky Screen 2)
1245 Alien 3 (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1410 The Terminator (Sky Modern Greats)
1545 Freedom Writers (Sky Drama)
1740 The Matrix (Sky Action/Thriller)
2000 Die Hard (Sky Action/Thriller)
2100 Ocean's Thirteen (Sky Screen 2)
2200 Platoon (Sky Drama)
2200 The Terminator (Sky Modern Greats)
2215 Die Hard 2: Die Harder (Sky Action/Thriller)
2245 Alien 3 (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2350 Blde Runner: The Final Cut (Sky Modern Greats)

Watched yesterday

Boston Legal: Last Call - and so ends Boston Legal, forever. Shame there wasn't any 4th wall stuff in the last episode - 4/5

90210: Help Me, Rhonda - Jessica Lowndes is beyond gorgeous - 4/5

Britain's Next Top Model: Quizzes and Castings - nobody standing out for me so far. Crappy shoot again this week - 3/5

Countdown: 28th April
Julie Russell - 87
Dan Brusca - 55
David Affleck - 31
Uninspiring edition.

The Daily Show: 27th April - 4/5

Tuesday 28 April 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Sky Movies
1035 Patriot Games (Sky Action/Thriller)
1400 Knocked Up (Sky Comedy)
1510 Schindler's List (Sky Modern Greats)
1745 Patriot Games (Sky Action/Thriller)
1800 The Illusionist (Sky Drama)
1850 Breach (Sky Screen 2)
1915 The Fountain (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2000 Knocked Up (Sky Comedy)
2000 The Last Of The Mohicans (Sky Drama)
2100 I Am Legend (Sky Screen 2)
2215 Jackass Number Two (Sky Comedy)
2245 Rambo (Sky Screen 2)
0000 Bringing Out The Dead (Sky Indie)
0135 Jackass Number Two (Sky Comedy)
0235 Breaking The Waves (Sky Indie)
0250 The Krays (Sky Screen 1)

Watched yesterday

Fringe: Unleashed - 4/5

Katie & Peter: The Next Chapter: Stateside: Episode 2 - 5/5

Countdown: 27th April
Dan Brusca - 95
Julie Russell - 89
Dominic Colley - 62
Go me! Second on the bounce, got the coundrum again too - IMPLODING

Monday 27 April 2009

Spot the unfortunate headline

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2300 Total Recall (ITV2)
0000 Total Recall (ITV2+1)

Sky
2330 Point Blank (TCM)

Sky Movies
1040 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (Sky Modern Greats)
1420 Dante's Peak (Sky Action/Thriller)
1610 Twister (Sky Screen 2)
1815 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (Sky Modern Greats)
1820 Zodiac (Sky Screen 2)
2000 Dante's Peak (Sky Action/Thriller)
2000 The Thin Red Line (Sky Drama)
2000 Superbad (Sky Screen 1)
2200 Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels (Sky Action/Thriller)
2200 There Will Be Blood (Sky Indie)
0020 American History X (Sky Modern Greats)
0040 Happiness (Sky Indie)
0115 Hannibal (Sky Screen 2)
0335 Requiem For A Dream (Sky Indie)

Watched yesterday

State Of Play - 3/5

Sunday 26 April 2009

Miss California comes out against gay marriage

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2100 The Devil Wears Prada (Film4)
0100 LA Confidential (Film4)

Sky
2100 Face/Off (Watch)
2200 Face/Off (Watch+1)
2200 The Devil Wears Prada (Film4+1)
0200 LA Confidential (Film4+1)

Sky Movies
0840 The Insider (ky Modern Greats)
0935 Ocean's Thirteen (Sky Action/Thriller)
0945 Star Trek: Generations (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1140 Transformers (Aky Action/Thriller)
1245 Superbad (Sky Comedy)
1255 The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (Sky Indie)
1410 Ocean's Thirteen (Sky Action/Thriller)
1540 Letters From Iwo Jima (Sky Indie)
1700 Star Trek: Generations (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1805 X-Men (Sky Action/Thriller)
2000 Superbad (Sky Comedy)
2000 Transformers (Sky Action/Thriller)
2025 Notes On A Scandal (Sky Indie)
2200 Charlie Wilson's War (Sky Drama)
2200 The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (Sky Indie)
2200 Out Of Sight (Sky Screen 1)
0000 Platoon (Sky Drama)
0220 Face (Sky Action/Thriller)
0230 In The Line Of Fire (Sky Modern Greats)

Watched yesterday

Heroes: Turn And Face The Strange - 4/5

Shameless: Episode 6.13 - 4/5

Zoo - who would have thought a documentary about a many being fucked to death by a horse could also be a work of art? - 4/5

Criminal Minds: Riding The Lightning - 4/5

Britain's Got Talent - 4/5

Have I Got A Bit More News For You - 4/5

Saturday 25 April 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Terrestrial
2200 Goldeneye (ITV1)

Freeview
2100 The Perfect Storm (BBC Three)
2100 Mean Girls (Film4)

Sky
2200 Face/Off (Watch)
2200 Mean Girls (Film4+1)
2240 Dangerous Liaisons (TCM)
2300 Face/Off (Watch+1)

Sky Movies
0920 The Last King Of Scotland (Sky Screen 2)
0950 Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1000 The Kingdom (Sky Action/Thriller)
1000 The Sixth Sense (Sky Modern Greats)
1345 Cloverfield (Sky Screen 2)
1415 Knocked Up (Sky Comedy)
1605 The Kingdom (Sky Action/Thriller)
1720 Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1800 The Sixth Sense (Sky Modern Greats)
1855 The Last King Of Scotland (Sky Screen 2)
2000 Knocked Up (Sky Comedy)
2000 300 (Sky Action/Thriller)
2100 Cloverfield (Sky Screen 2)
2145 Knocked Up (Sky Screen 1)
2340 Rambo (Sky Action/Thriller)
0225 Bringing Out The Dead (Sky Indie)
0330 The Hunt For Red October (Sky Action/Thriller)

Watched yesterday

Prison Break: The Mother Lode - no Gretchen, disappointing - 3/5

The Daily Show: 22nd April - 3/5

The Mentalist: Redwood - no, it isn't a documentary about Tory MP John Redwood - 4/5

The Big Bang Theory: The Maternal Capacitance - 4/5

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Adam Raised A Cain - looks like the last ever episode next week :( - 4/5

Countdown: 24th April
Dan Brusca - 75
Julie Russell - 66
Patrick McCurdie - 57
Finally! Thank fuck for that. Got the conundrum too - LUBRICATE.

The Daily Show: 23rd April - 3/5

Reggie Perrin: Episode 1.1 - remake of the series 'The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin', which originally aired on the BBC in the 70s with Leonard Rossiter in the title role now occupied by Martin Clunes. The this remake is a complete abortion of a sitcom, one of the most witless to grace our screens in many a year. In fact it makes My Family look like Arrested Development in comparison. You have to wonder what the fuck is going on that the BBC when something so poorly written and unfunny can get commissioned for a full series. Did anybody bother reading the script for this first episode? Fortunately, at least one arm of the BBC has clue - the original three series are available on DVD from Monday - 1/5

The Thick Of It: Episode 1.1 - 4/5

Friday 24 April 2009

He's behind you...

Today's movie recommendations

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

Sky
2200 Robocop (Bravo)
2300 Robocop (Bravo+1)

Sky Movies
0920 Sicko (Sky Screen 2)
1620 The Italian Job (Sky Action/Thriller)
1730 Babel (Sky Drama)
1900 Sunshine (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1900 The Illusionist (Sky Screen 2)
2000 Dante's Peak (Sky Premiere)
2000 Elizabeth: The Golden Age (Sky Drama)
2100 Dante's Peak (Sky Premiere+1)
2200 3:10 To Yuma (Sky Drama)
2200 Eastern Promises (Sky Indie)
2255 Death Proof (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2340 Eyes Wide Shut (Sky Screen 1)
2345 Blade Runner: The Final Cut (Sky Modern Greats)
2345 Crash (Sky Indie)
0310 Sunshine (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
0335 Eastern Promises (Sky Indie)
0350 The Italian Job (Sky Action/Thriller)

Watched yesterday

Shameless: Episode 6.11 - 4/5

Shameless: Episode 6.12 - 4/5

Eleventh Hour: Agro - 4/5

Mad Men: The Jet Set - 4/5

Countdown: 23rd April
Patrick McCurdie - 87
Dan Brusca - 86
James Robinson - 86
Ooooooh, close!

Thursday 23 April 2009

Watched yesterday

Countdown: 22nd April
James Robinson - 91
Louise Bambury - 74
Dan Brusca - 50

In The Loop - 4/5

The Apprentice - 4/5

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
1850 Flight Of The Phoenix (Film4)
1950 Flight Of The Phoenix (Film4+1)

Sky
2300 Robocop (Bravo)
0000 Robocop (Bravo+1)

Sky Movies
0900 Jindabyne (Sky Indie)
1110 Control (Sky Indie)
1135 Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Action/Thriller)
1430 Superbad (Sky Comedy)
1645 Schindler's List (Sky Modern Greats)
1710 The Thin Red Line (Sky Drama)
1715 Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1750 Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Action/Thriller)
1845 Patriot Games (Sky Screen 2)
1955 Control (Sky Indie)
2000 Superbad (Sky Comedy)
2000 I Am Legend (Sky Action/Thriller)
2000 Freedom Writers (Sky Drama)
0035 The Terminator (Sky Screen 2)
0130 American Gangster (Sky Action/Thriller)
0130 Jindabyne (Sky Indie)
0205 Platoon (Sky Screen 1)

Wednesday 22 April 2009

That Gordon Brown plan for MPs' expenses

Our Dear Leader, in his infinite wisdom, has decided that MPs' second homes allowance should be replaced, thus pre-empting the inquiry into expenses he himself requested two weeks ago.

As things stand, MPs can claim up to just over £24,000 second home allowance. To get this, they have to produce receipts for whatever they spend.

Under Brown's plan, MPs would instead be entitled to claim a daily allowance in the region of £140-£170 for every day the attended Westminster on parliamentary or ministerial duties.

Oddly enough, given the number of days the Commons is in session, this will work out at roughly the same £24,000 as under the current arrangements, with the important difference that MPs won't have to produce receipts. So, just to be clear, Gordon Brown's plan is to give MPs the same amount of money, but make them unaccountable for how it's spent.

The other consequence of the proposal is that it will lead to MPs turning up at Westminster first thing in the morning, signing-in to claim the allowance, then clearing off again, just as happens in the Lords and the European Parliament, both of which have attendance allowances.

Brown's plan is, to be frank, a crock of shit. We shouldn't expect anything else though, given Labour's tendency to legislate without thinking through the consequences of anything, like with the abolition of the 10p tax rate for example.

No sensible person will dispute that many MPs need a second home in London, but there is understandable concern as to how the allowance for that is spent. There's no need to throw out the current system though, it just needs to be tightened up. Here are some suggestions as to what could be done:

1. MPs should not be allowed to claim mortgage payments, only rent. Why should the taxpayer help MPs buy an asset for themselves?

2. MPs should only be allowed to claim the allowance for a home in London, i.e. the allowance should only cover the property they've had to rent to support their duties as an MP.

3. MPs should not be allowed to claim the allowance for their family home. You pay for your own home from your salary, like everyone else.

4. Claims for furnishings should be restricted to necessary purchases and a price cap set for each item. Beds, chairs, fridges, cookers, microwaves, tables and a TV are fine. Patio heaters are not.

5. No allowances at all should be available to MPs living within a reasonable commuting distance of Westminster.

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2100 The Perfect Storm (BBC Three)

Sky Movies
0740 The Insider (Sky Modern Greats)
1225 Charlie Wilson's War (Sky Screen 2)
1515 Zodiac (Sky Action/Thriller)
2100 Charlie Wilson's War (Sky Screen 2)
2140 American Beauty (Sky Modern Greats)
2200 Jackass Number Two (Sky Comedy)
2200 28 Weeks Later (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2200 Fargo (Sky Indie)
2345 The Insider (Sky Modern Greats)
0115 Jackass Number Two (Sky Comedy)
0115 Summer Of Sam (Sky Indie)

Watched yesterday

Shameless: Episode 6.10 - this season, with the Paddy on heroin storyline, has really picked up - 4/5

Fringe: Inner Child - 4/5

90210: By Accident - 4/5

Britain's Next Top Model: Episode 5.1 - a mess of an episode to start the new series, not helped by the fact the 2am repeat I recorded was inexplicably 30 minutes shorter than the 9pm one, so felt like it had been edited with a machete. The whole bootcamp setup was clunky and Huggy's photoshoot was pisspoor. The new judge is a ridiculously camp milliner who looks like he's walked in from Zoolander. As for the models themselves, half of them appear pretty grim and it would appear Jimmy Hill chins are much in vogue this season. Sigh. Anyway, things can presumably only get better and next week we're treated to a guest appearance from ANTM's J. Alexander, something akin to Robert De Niro appearing on-stage with my local am-dram - 2/5

Countdown: 21st April
James Robinson - 95
Karyn Cooke - 71
Dan Brusca - 55
So much for any hope of winning now the octochamp has gone. I was pants! Got the conundrum though: LIVELIEST. Still think STARRIED should be a word.

Tuesday 21 April 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2100 Total Recall (ITV2)
2200 Total Recall (ITV2+1)
2310 City Of God (Film4)

Sky
0010 City Of God (Film4+1)

Sky Movies
0930 Ocean's Thirteen (Sky Action/Thriller)
1200 Die Hard (Sky Screen 2)
1240 Mulholland Drive (Sky Indie)
1445 Letters From Iwo Jima (Sky Screen 2)
1545 In The Line Of Fire (Sky Modern Greats)
1710 The Last King Of Scotland (Sky Indie)
1755 Ocean's Thirteen (Sky Action/Thriller)
1915 The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (Sky Indie)
2000 Three Kings (Sky Action/Thriller)
2000 Saving Private Ryan (Sky Screen 1)
2200 Rambo (Sky Action/Thriller)
2200 Death Proof (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2200 In Bruges (Sky Indie)
2250 Platoon (Sky Screen 1)
2305 Die Hard (Sky Screen 2)
2350 Requiem For A Dream (Sky Indie)
0005 American History X (Sky Modern Greats)
0135 In Bruges (Sky Indie)
0145 Rambo (Sky Action/Thriller)
0250 Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels (Sky Screen 2)

Watched yesterday

Louis Theroux: A Place For Paedophiles - 4/5

Lost: Some Like It Hoth - 4/5

Countdown: 20th April
Shane Roberts - 103
Dan Brusca - 59
Ramsay Nashet - 59
Roberts becomes an octochamp and maybe, just maybe, I might have a chance of winning again! Got one 8-letter yesterday, CANISTER, but it was really obvious.

Monday 20 April 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Terrestrial
2235 Disclosure (ITV1)

Freeview
2100 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (ITV2)
2100 The Devil Wears Prada (Film4)
2200 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (ITV2+1)

Sky
2200 The Devil Wears Prada (Film4+1)

Sky Movies
1050 Jerry Maguire (Sky Modern Greats)
1750 Sicko (Sky Indie)
2000 Jerry Maguire (Sky Modern Greats)

Watched yesterday

Shameless: Episode 6.8 - 4/5

Shameless: Episode 6.9 - 4/5

Boston Legal: Made In China - 4/5

Sunday 19 April 2009

Alas Smith and votes

(Yeah, OK, clumsy title, I know)

News today that Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is seeking the release of classified documents relating to the Hillsborough disaster, the 20th anniversary of which was marked this week.

While this is a good thing, it does beg the question, why now? Maybe I'm being cynical, but the move seems to me to have more to do with politics than any desire to shed more light on what happened that day.

Jacqui's in a tight spot, as is the government as a whole. It's typical of the government to deflect attention from their own failings by pandering to populism. Take Harriet Harman's notorious BBC appearance on the subject of Fred Goodwin as an example - Incidentally, Harriet, you explicitly stated that Goodwin wouldn't get to keep his pension. What have you done about that? - Could it be that in seeing Andy Burnham noisily hecked at Wednesday's memorial service, Jacqui saw an opportunity to curry favour in Liverpool, where Labour needs all the help it can get?

She also announced this week that there would be a review of RIPA, with a view to stopping it from being abused by local authorities spying on people to see if they really live where they say they live, or to catch people who don't clean up after their dogs and other such situations. Again, another populist move designed to win favour, this time in middle England.

The release of documents and RIPA review are, taken at face value, a welcome sign that the government is listening, but when viewed in the context of a minister trying to save her job and a government seemingly in terminal decline it's hard to shake the feeling that in reality, these are desperate rolls of the dice by a desperate politician.

NB: It's the budget on Wednesday. If we see some populist flourishes there too we'll know the policy's coming from No.10 and not just Jacqui working on her own initiative.

UPDATE 5.36PM: BBC News is now reporting that South Yorkshire police are reviewing the files relating to Hillsborough off their own bat, rather than at the request of the Home Secretary.

Amazon and adult material

There was something a storm in a teacup last week when it was revealed that Amazon were removing gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender material from some of their listings. They weren't stopping selling the products, but rather making them inaccessible unless specifically searched for, say, by title or author for a book. This was part of a policy to hide away adult materialon the site.

Quite rightly, there was public outcry over this and Amazon have now reversed the exclusion, citing an "embarassing and hamfisted cataloguing error" as being behind the problem and I'minclined to believe that. So all is well again.

Or is it?

You see, what's been overlooked is all the other adult material that's presumbly been removed from the listings and search results - the porn, basically. There's nothing illegal about this material or they wouldn't have been selling it in the first place, but still they chose to censor its presence on the site. Amazon say this exclusion is "in consideration of our entire customer base", or to put it another way, for moral reasons.

Oddly enough, this new-found sense of morality doesn't extend itself to actually stopping the sale of adult products. Tap in a title you're looking for and it may very well still appear. The company is happy to profit from the sale of adult products, but doesn't want to be seen to be doing so.

It's much like when, many years ago, Yahoo! Groups removed adult groups from their listings, but kept the actual groups themselves because they generated valuable advertising revenue. Quietly, Yahoo! have now reintroduced the groups to the listings, no doubt to encourage more traffic and sell more advertising.

Whether or not the same thing happens at Amazon remains to be seen. I'm not sure how significant the adult revenues are to Amazon, but it's a sorry state of affairs when freedom from censorship is only preserved when financial necessity compels it.

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2300 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (ITV2)
0000 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (ITV2+1)

Sky Movies
0845 Empire Of The Sun (Sky Modern Greats)
0915 Twister (Sky Action/Thriller)
1115 Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Action/Thriller)
1120 There Will Be Blood (Sky Indie)
1255 The Kingdom (Sky Screen 2)
1320 Schindler's List (Sky Modern Greats)
1600 Rocky Balboa (Sky Action/Thriller)
1635 The Godfather Part II (Sky Modern Greats)
1640 Fracture (Sky Screen 2)
1800 Twister (Sky Action/Thriller)
1920 There Will Be Blood (Sky Modern Greats)
2000 The American President (Sky Drama)
2000 Empire Of The Sun (Sky Modern Greats)
2100 The Kingdom (Sky Screen 2)
2200 Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Action/Thriller)
2200 Happiness (Sky Indie)
2255 Alien 3 (Sky Screen 2)
0030 Eyes Wide Shut (Sky Screen 1)
0215 The Krays (Sky Action/Thriller)
0305 Summer Of Sam (Sky Indie)

Watched yesterday

Shameless: Episode 6.7 - 4/5

Enchanted - 3/5

Katie & Peter: The Next Chapter: Stateside - as annoying as she can be, I love Katie - 4/5

Criminal Minds: Poison - 4/5

Britain's Got Talent - a pretty mediocre selection last night. The crowd went wild for the nice soprano sax player, but the harsh truth is that it was just muzak, the kind of music you would find on a 99p 'mood' CD at a supermarket. The other popular act was the kid at the end. Putting aside Simon Cowell's clearly staged interruption, he was OK, nothing more - 3/5

Saturday 18 April 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Terrestrial
2310 True Lies (ITV1)
0035 Memento (Channel 4)

Freeview
1850 Flight Of The Phoenix (Film4)
2100 Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow (E4)
2200 Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow (E4+1)
0135 Memento (Channel 4+1)

Sky
1950 Flight Of The Phoenix (Film4+1)
0015 The Terminal Man (TCM)

Sky Movies
0935 Die Hard 2: Die Harder (Sky Action/Thriller)
1050 The Counterfeiters (Sky Indie)
1215 Patriot Games (Sky Action/Thriller)
1215 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (Sky Modern Greats)
1800 The Last Of The Mohicans (Sky Drama)
1835 The Counterfeiters (Sky Indie)
2200 Eastern Promises (Sky Indie)
2210 The Illusionist (Sky Drama)
2240 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (Sky Modern Greats)
2345 Requiem For A Dream (Sky Indie)
0000 Die Hard 2: Die Harder (Sky Action/Thriller)
0210 Platoon (Sky Drama)
0305 Control (Sky Screen 2)
0335 Eastern Promises (Sky Indie)

Watched yesterday

Grand Designs - last week's episode, the big house in brighton - 4/5

Mad Men: The Inheritance - 4/5

The Big Bang Theory: The Financial Permeability - 4/5

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Lighthouse - 4/5

Countdown: 17th April
Shane Roberts - 90
George Robertson - 80
Dan Brusca - 55
Sigh. Got the 8-letter words DOMAINES and ENTWINED and was just beaten to the conundrum, ANNOUNCER.

Friday 17 April 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2200 Fight Club (More4)
2315 City Of G-d (Film4)

Sky
2300 Fight Club (More4+1)
0015 City Of G-d (Film4+1)
0250 Absolute Power (TCM)

Sky Movies
0840 Breach (Sky Screen 2)
1145 Transformers (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1415 The Sixth Sense (Sky Modern Greats)
1610 Jindabyne (Sky Indie)
1900 Breach (Sky Screen 2)
2100 Transformers (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2210 Rambo (Sky Action/Thriller)
2225 The Sixth Sense (Sky Modern Greats)
2335 In The Name Of The Father (Sky Screen 1)
2345 Die Hard (Sky Action/Thriller)
0200 The Usual Suspects (Sky Action/Thriller)

Watched yesterday

Torchwood: Reset - 2/5

Eleventh Hour: Cardiac - 3/5

Newswipe - 4/5

Countdown: 16th April
Shane Roberts - 91
Dan Brusca - 62
Stephen Parkes - 47
Spotted the conundrum: PRETTIEST

The Mentalist: Ladies In Red - 3/5

Thursday 16 April 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2100 Borat (Film4)

Sky
2200 Borat (Film4+1)

Sky Movies
0910 Saving Private Ryan (Sky Action/Thriller)
0940 The Fountain (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1100 Mulholland Drive (Sky Indie)
1200 Ocean's Thirteen (Sky Action/Thriller)
1710 Saving Private Ryan (Sky Action/Thriller)
2000 Ocean's Thirteen (Sky Action/Thriller)
2000 Fracture (Sky Drama)
2100 The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (Sky Screen 2)
2200 Hana-Bi (Sky Indie)
2200 Jackass Number Two (Sky Screen 1)
2345 Magnolia (Sky Modern Greats)
0115 Goodfellas (Sky Screen 1)
0225 Summer Of Sam (Sky Indie)
0245 Killer: A Journal Of Murder (Sky Drama)
0325 Bringing Out The Dead (Sky Screen 2)

Watched yesterday

Fringe: Ability - 5/5

Countdown - 15th April
Shane Roberts - 93
Dan Brusca - 54
Beth Elkins - 34
Spotted ALLIANCE when Susie Dent could only get a 5-letter word!

The Apprentice: Week 4 - 5/5

Wednesday 15 April 2009

Vivien Leigh and Alec Guinness at the Old Vic

I recently started collecting memorabilia relating to the Old Vic Theatre. eBay is quite the treasure trove for this and I just bought a book on there called "Old Vic Drama" by Audrey Williamson, a critical review of all plays staged by the theatre from Richard II in 1934 to Richard II in 1947.

It's an extensive work, full of detail, trivia and insight and a substantial number of photos, two of which caught my eye so I've scanned them below. Click for larger versions.

Firstly, here's Alec Guinness as Hamlet in 1938...

"The Hamlet of the 24-year old actor Alec Guinness fitted admirably into the production... It lacked, on the whole, much emotional turmoil. Intellectually Guinness showed much imagination bringing to the part many thoughtful details and a touching naturalness of gesture. Yet the performance did not lose in poetry, and besides being beautifully spoken was obviously deeply felt. It had much in common with John Giegud's early Hamlet..."



Here's the stunning 23-year old Vivien Leigh, on the verge of stardom, as Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1937/8. After the run, she went on to film her legendary role role as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With The Wind.

"Vivien Leigh's Titania was a bewitching partner to this Oberon: as graceful as he, beautiful as a fairy princess, silver of tongue and meltingly seductive."

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2000 Catch Me If You Can (BBC Three)
2100 Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow (E4)
2200 Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow (E4+1)

Sky
2150 Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (SciFi)
2250 Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (SciFi+1)

Sky Movies
0910 Patriot Games (Sky Action/Thriller)
1045 Blade Runner: The Final Cut (Sky Modern Greats)
1110 Three Kings (Sky Action/Thriller)
1310 Die Hard 2: Die Harder (Sky Screen 2)
1315 The Thin Red Line (Sky Drama)
1325 The Last King Of Scotland (Sky Indie)
1740 The Hunt For Red October (Sky Action/Thriller)
2200 Patriot Games (Sky Action/Thriller)
2200 The Last King Of Scotland (Sky Indie)
2210 Platoon (Sky Drama)
2245 Die Hard 2: Die Harder (Sky Screen 2)
0000 In The Line Of Fire (Sky Screen 1)
0005 Happiness (Sky Indie)
0040 American History X (Sky Modern Greats)
0245 Blade Runner: The Final Cut (Sky Modern Greats)

Watched recently

Lost: Dead Is Dead - 4/5

Countdown: 13th April
Shane Roberts - 99
Dan Brusca - 55
Clare Sudbery - 50

90210: Love Me Or Leave Me - 4/5

America's Next Top Model: The Final - yay, McKey won! Definitely the right choice, but I don't think we've seen the last of Analeigh either. A bit embarassing to see cycle 10 winner Whitney on the final runway. She looked like she had to be lifted in by a crane (though admittedly that's a bit rich coming from me right now). But hey, go McKey! - 4/5

Countdown: 14th April
Shane Roberts - 79
Dan Brusca - 64
Bob Savage - 61
Spotted a couple of eight-letter words - MONIKERS and NEEDLING - plus the conundrum, DEADLIEST.

Torchwood: Adam - 3/5

The Daily Show: 9th April - 4/5

Tuesday 14 April 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2100 The Shawshank Redemption (Film4)

Sky
1955 Jindabyne (Sky Indie)
2100 There Will Be Blood (Sky Screen 2)
2200 The Shawshank Redemption (Film4+1)
2200 The Sixth Sense (Sky Modern Greats)
2245 Hannibal (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2340 In The Heat Of The Night (Sky Classics)
0005 Breaking The Waves (Sky Indie)
0030 The Krays (Sky Screen 1)
0145 Face (Sky Action/Thriller)

Monday 13 April 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Terrestrial
1250 Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (Channel 4)
2305 Get Carter (Five)

Freeview
1350 Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (Channel 4+1)

Sky
2000 Spider-Man 2 (Watch)
2100 Spider-Man 2 (Watch+1)
2100 Dangerous Liaisons (TCM)
0125 Dangerous Liaisons (TCM)
0325 Point Blank (TCM)

Sky Movies
0925 Die Hard (Sky Action/Thriller)
1030 Titanic (Sky Drama)
1050 Ocean's Thirteen (Sky Screen 2)
1145 Die Hard 2 (Sky Action/Thriller)
1200 Cloverfield (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1205 Knocked Up (Sky Comedy)
1325 Apollo 13 (Sky Modern Greats)
1400 Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Action/Thriller)
1455 The Italian Job (Sky Screen 1)
1545 Elizabeth: The Golden Age (Sky Drama)
1620 Die Hard 4.0 (Sky Action/Thriller)
1655 The Illusionist (Sky Screen 2)
1745 Titanic (Sky Drama)
1800 Mulholland Drive (Sky Indie)
1840 Die Hard (Sky Action/Thriller)
2100 Die Hard 2 (Sky Action/Thriller)
2100 Cloverfield (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2100 Ocean's Thirteen (Sky Screen 2)
2130 Knocked Up (Sky Comedy)
2240 Apollo 13 (Sky Modern Greats)
2300 Fracture (Sky Drama)
2305 Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Action/Thriller)
0005 Bringing Out The Dead (Sky Indie)
0100 The American President (Sky Drama)
0115 Die Hard 4.0 (Sky Action/Thriller)
0220 The Italian Job (Sky Screen 1)

Watched yesterday

Eleventh Hour: Resurrection - 3/5

Doomsday - as with Doctor Who on Saturday, something average is elevated by the presence of a hot woman in black. This time it's the perenially underrated Rhona Mitra, the original Lara Croft - 3/5

Boston Legal: Juiced - 4/5

Sunday 12 April 2009

Response to Alastair Campbell

The following is a response to a post on Alastair Campbell's blog this morning on the Damian McBride affair:

"What the fall-out must not do is make Labour defensive about trying to do a better job of communicating via the web."

Labour and its supporters can have all the blogs they like, but as with Guido Fawkes, ConservativeHome etc, these are only ever going to engage with those involved in politics, the press or political junkies like myself. Rarely will they reach the masses.

Most people have either stopped listening to politicians or at best listen with a cynical ear. They also feel that politicians have stopped listening to them, which is where the real causes of political disengagement lie. Why should we care about the politicians' message when they seemingly don't care about the messages we try to send them?

I keep reading articles by people saying Labour needs to adopt an Obama-style web strategy to engage with young people and those who opt out of the traditional media, but they all fail to see the flaw in that whatever his strengths, Gordon Brown is never going to seize the popular imagination like Barack Obama did. The slick web operation only works when built around a figure people can feel inspired by and positive about and there are very, very few of those in British politics today.

Today's movie recommendations

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

Terrestrial
1450 Groundhog Day (ITV1)
1720 Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (ITV1)

Freeview
2100 Borat! (Film4)
2200 Catch Me If You Can (BBC Three)
2200 Borat! (Film4+1)
2245 Trainspotting (Film4)
2345 Trainspotting (Film4+1)

Sky
2000 Spider-Man (Watch)
2100 Spider-Man (Watch+1)
2220 Spider-Man 2 (Watch)
2320 Spider-Man 2 (Watch+1)
0020 Insomnia (Sky Arts 1)

Sky Movies
0935 I Am Legend (Sky Action/Thriller)
1045 Out Of Sight (Sky Modern Greats)
1255 Star Trek: Generations (Sky Screen 2)
1330 Control (Sky Indie)
1540 The Matrix (Sky Action/Thriller)
1635 Transformers (Sky Screen 2)
1755 Out Of Sight (Sky Modern Greats)
1800 300 (Sky Action/Thriller)
1900 Star Trek: Generations (Sky Screen 2)
2000 I Am Legend (Sky Action/Thriller)
2200 American Gangster (Sky Action/Thriller)
2200 Blood Simple (Sky Indie)
2225 Jerry Maguire (Sky Modern Greats)
2240 Transformers (Sky Screen 2)
2340 Control (Sky Indie)
0045 Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels (Sky Modern Greats)
0245 28 Weeks Later (Sky Modern Greats)
0250 The Usual Suspects (Sky Action/Thriller)

Watched yesterday

Heroes: Into Asylum - 4/5

30 Rock: Cooter - 5/5

Criminal Minds: What Fresh Hell? - 4/5

Doctor Who: Planet Of The Dead - this episode seems to have borrowed from Tomb Raider, Flight Of The Phoenix and Harry Potter. Michelle Ryan joins as Lady Christina D'Souza, a blatant Lara Croft rip-off, but damn she's sexy. A rare outing for Ryan's real accent too, which will come as a surprise to those viewers only familiar with her through Eastenders. Sadly, Ryan was hamstrung by a poor script on this occasion, but hopefully we haven't seen the last of her ladyship. Overall, mildly diverting, but a bit too contrived and a bit too silly (yes, that means you, Lee Evans) to be anything more - 3/5

Britain's Got Talent - bastard Cowell manages to make me teary every damn week with this and The X Factor. This time it was the beautifically-challenged, slightly insane Scottish woman who thought herself a bit of an Elaine Page, with the added twist that she was actually good - 4/5

Saturday 11 April 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Terrestrial
1710 Finding Nemo (BBC One)
2100 Little Miss Sunshine (Channel 4)
2230 Cliffhanger (ITV1)
0225 Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... And Spring (BBC Two)

Freeview
2200 Little Miss Sunshine (Channel 4+1)
2200 The Passion Of The Christ (More4)

Sky
2100 Patton (Discovery)
2100 Batman Forever (TCM)
2200 Spider-Man (Watch)
2200 Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (SciFi)
2200 Patton (Discovery+1)
2300 The Passion Of The Christ (More4+1)
2300 Spider-Man (Watch+1)
2300 Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (SciFi+1)

Sky Movies
0900 Sicko (Sky Indie)
0940 Star Trek IV: The Undiscovered Country (Sky Screen 2)
1030 Schindler's List (Sky Modern Greats)
1140 X-Men (Sky Screen 2)
1300 Superbad (Sky Comedy)
1330 Alien 3 (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1340 The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (Sky Indie)
1340 Cloverfield (Sky Screen 2)
1615 Rocky Balboa (Sky Drama)
1620 Clerks II (Sky Indie)
1900 X-Men (Sky Screen 2)
2000 Superbad (Sky Comedy)
2000 Charlie Wilson's War (Sky Drama)
2000 Empire Of The Sun (Sky Modern Greats)
2100 Alien 3 (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2100 Cloverfield (Sky Screen 2)
2200 Fargo (Sky Indie)
2240 American Beauty (Sky Modern Greats)
2345 Crash (Sky Indie)
0130 Fargo (Sky Indie)
0315 Clerks II (Sky Indie)

Watched yesterday

Heroes: Cold Snap - 3/5

The Daily Show: 7th April - 4/5

The Daily Show: 8th April - 3/5

Flashpoint: Between Heartbeats - 4/5

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Last Voyage Of The Jimmy Carter - read ths week that this show is probably facing imminent cancellation, a result of Fox shunting it into a Friday evening backwater in the US and poor ratings. Whil I'll be sad to see it go, I'm not surprised. Too much of this season has been spent on episodes that have gone nowhere and story arcs that have been dragged for far too long - 4/5

Countdown: 10th April
Shane Roberts - 92
Keith Butcher - 57
Dan Brusca - 51
Got STAINERS, but pretty dire otherwise.

Friday 10 April 2009

Moon



First time this film has crossed my radar, an independent British sci-fi starring Sam Rockwell as an astronuat manning a base on the far side of the moon, accompanied by a robot voiced by Kevin Spacey.

The trailer is at http://tinyurl.com/chd2a3 and looks like a mix of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Sunshine and Soderbergh's Solaris - this is no bad thing.

No word on a UK release date as yet.

http://www.moonthemovie.com

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2030 Children Of Men (ITV4)
2100 The Shawshank Redemption (Film4)

Sky
1400 Patton (Discovery)
1500 Patton (Discovery+1)
2100 Batman Returns (TCM)
2130 Children Of Men (ITV4+1)
2200 The Shawshank Redemption (Film4+1)

Sky Movies
0900 The Terminator (Sky Action/Thriller)
1045 Notes On A Scandal (Sky Indie)
1100 The Kingdom (Sky Action/Thriller)
1310 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (Sky Screen 1)
1345 Sunshine (Sky Screen 2)
1535 Die Hard 4.0 (Sky Screen 2)
1550 There Will Be Blood (Sky Indie)
1745 Titanic (Sky Screen 2)
1810 The Terminator (Sky Action/Thriller)
1835 Notes On A Scandal (Sky Indie)
2000 The Kingdom (Sky Action/Thriller)
2000 Transformers (Sky Screen 1)
2100 300 (Sky Screen 2)
2200 No Country For Old Men (Sky Premiere)
2200 In Bruges (Sky Indie)
2210 The Thin Red Line (Sky Drama)
2300 No Country For Old Men (Sky Premiere+1)
2300 Die Hard 4.0 (Sky Screen 2)
2350 There Will Be Blood (Sky Indie)
0005 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (Sky Screen 1)
0115 Sunshine (Sky Screen 2)
0150 Platoon (Sky Screen 1)
0300 Hana-Bi (Sky Indie)
0310 Hannibal (Sky Screen 2)

Watched yesterday

Torchwood: To The Last Man - 3/5

Newswipe 1.3 - 4/5

Countdown: 9th April
Shane Roberts - 87
Andrew Pearson - 83
Dan Brusca - 49
I am so pathetic at this. Got SOLDIER though.

Torchwood: Meat - 3/5

The Mentalist: Red Tide - 3/5

The Big Bang Theory: The Friendship Algorithm - 4/5

Thursday 9 April 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Sky
2200 Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (SciFi)
2300 Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (SciFi+1)

Sky Movies
1150 Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (Sky Screen 2)
1310 The Last King Of Scotland (Sky Indie)
1800 The Illusionist (Sky Drama)
2000 The American President (Sky Drama)
2000 The Sixthe Sense (Sky Modern Greats)
2145 No Country For Old Men (Sky Premiere)
2200 Jerry Maguire (Sky Screen 1)
2245 No Country For Old Men (Sky Premiere+1)
0020 The Godfather (Sky Screen 1)
0230 Happiness (Sky Indie)

Watched yesterday

Mad Men: Six Months' Leave - 4/5

Countdown: 8th April
Andrew Pearson - 89
Fiona Chambers - 58
Dan Brusca - 58
Spotted SEMIOTIC and got the conundrum - GUACAMOLE - but other than those the poor performance continues.

The Apprentice: Week 3 - surprised to read Debra Barr is 24 because she looks like she's in her 30s. Sexy though - 4/5

Wednesday 8 April 2009

From Twitter

Alexander Armstrong leaves no-one in the dark as to how he feels about a certain BBC presenter:
Xanneroo - You won't BELIEVE who's just been looking round our flat. Well you might. It wasn't Father Christmas. Or a unicorn.

Xanneroo - if I said it was like being stuck in a buffet car with a toby jug full of piss... now there's a clue

richardpbacon - @Xanneroo Adrian Chiles?

Xanneroo - it was the Chiles. He came alone. And stayed for about a minute. If he buys the flat I'll eat my sea-grass matting

Denied!

Today's movie recommendations

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

Sky
1700 The Hill (TCM)

Sky Movies
0900 Mulholland Drive (Sky Indie)
0945 Ocean's Thirteen (Sky Action/Thriller)
1130 Clerks II (Sky Indie)
1155 Mission: Impossible (Sky Action/Thriller)
1355 Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Action/Thriller)
1510 Letters From Iwo Jima (Sky Indie)
1755 Ocean's Thirteen (Sky Action/Thriller)
1950 Sicko (Sky Indie)
2000 No Country For Old Men (Sky Premiere)
2000 Mission: Impossible (Sky Action/Thriller)
2100 No Country For Old Men (Sky Premiere+1)
2210 Fracture (Sky Drama)
2250 28 Weeks Later (Sky Screen 2)
2345 Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Action/Thriller)
0200 Goodfellas (Sky Action/Thriller)
0230 Killer:A Journal Of Murder (Sky Drama)
0345 Clerks II (Sky Indie)

Watched yesterday

90210: Hello, Goodbye, Amen - in my general ogling of AnnaLynne McCord I completely overlooked that there's an even hotter actress in this, namely Jessica Lowndes who plays Adrianna. In my defence, she did spend early episodes in a drug-addled haze, which is hardly ever attractive. She's also one of those people who doesn't look that special in photos, but whose beauty shines when coupled with movement - 4/5

America's Next Top Model: Good Times And Windmills - Sam should have gone, but not matter. There's still a 2/3 chance of someone I like actually winning. Backed McKey early on, but would be equally happy if Analeigh won instead - 4/5

Countdown: 7th April
Fiona Chambers - 83
Dan Brusca - 70
Andrew Mitchell - 56

Torchwood: Sleeper - finally able to catch up with this series on Watch, after missing an episode on the initial BBC run - 3/5

The Daily Show: 6th April - 3/5

The Hospital - sobering television that should be made compulsory viewing for all teenagers - 4/5

Dan's birthday desktop - Jessica Burciaga


http://wallpaper.skins.be/jessica-burciaga/34649/1600x1200/

http://www.idreamofjessie.com

Previous birthday desktop girls:
2008 - Isla Fisher
2007 - Kylie Minogue

Tuesday 7 April 2009

The Peacock, Oakerthorpe

Just back from, among other things, lunch with my aunt at the amazing Peacock in Oakerthorpe, which is near Alfreton.

First off, they do a special menu comprising soup of the day followed by a roast beef, pork, lamb or turkey dinner for just £2.95 (though advertised as £3.95 on the website). Judging by the amount of people packed in, it's undoubtedly popular and it's what my aunt opted for. The soup is delivered almost immediately, with the sizeable main course arriving soon afterwards.

I went for the main menu, opting for the soup of the day (minestrone), followed by royal game pie, which comprised diced venison, rabbit and pheasant (I estimate the pie was 95% meat) in a red wine sauce, served as all proper pies are in a dish with a crust that was somewhere between a scone and a dumpling in texture. This was served on a 15" plate with chips, peas, carrots and onions. At £7.95 it's an utter triumph and I probably won't need to eat again for another 24 hours.

The Peacock itself is very historic, dating as far back as the 11th century and the website has an excellent overview of its history - http://www.peacockoakerthorpe.co.uk.

One neat little feature in the restaurant is a glass panel in the floor which looks down into the cellar - complete with skeleton!

I cannot recommend this place highly enough.

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2200 Children Of Men (ITV4)

Sky
2300 Children Of Men (ITV4+1)

Sky Movies
0855 The War Of The Roses (Sky Comedy)
1035 The Conversation (Sky Modern Greats)
1200 The Kingdom (Sky Action/Thriller)
1255 The Godfather (Sky Modern Greats)
1310 Sunshine (Sky Sci-Fi/Thriller)
1555 Blade Runner: The Final Cut (Sky Modern Greats)
1655 Notes On A Scandal (Sky Screen 2)
2000 No Country For Old Men (Sky Premiere)
2000 Alien 3 (Sky Action/Thriller)
2000 Rocky Balboa (Sky Drama)
2000 The Godfather (Sky Modern Greats)
2100 No Country For Old Men (Sky Premiere+1)
2100 Sunshine (Sky Sci-Fi/Thriller)
2200 The Kingdom (Sky Action/Thriller)
2200 Platoon (Sky Drama)
2200 Control (Sky Indie)
2300 The Conversation (Sky Modern Greats)
0100 Magnolia (Sky Modern Greats)
0120 The War Of The Roses (Sky Comedy)
0125 Summer Of Sam (Sky Screen 2)
0205 Requiem For A Dream (Sky Indie)

Watched yesterday

Fringe: The Transformation - 4/5

Kramer Vs Kramer - 4/5

Countdown: 6th April
Fiona Chambers - 68
Joe Caruana - 67
Dan Brusca - 61
Spotted two 8-letter words: VIOLATED THESPIANS

Law & Order UK: Alesha - 4/5

Monday 6 April 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Sky Movies
0950 X-Men (Sky Action/Thriller)
1410 The Insider (Sky Modern Greats)
1430 The Last King Of Scotland (Sky Indie)
1800 X-Men (Sky Action/Thriller)
1955 Jindabyne (Sky Indie)
2000 300 (Sky Action/Thriller)
2145 No Country For Old Men (Sky Premiere)
2210 American History X (Sky Modern Greats)
2245 No Country For Old Men (Sky Premiere+1)
0000 Happiness (Sky Indie)
0015 Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels (Sky Modern Greats)
0025 The Krays (Sky Screen 1)
0145 Face (Sky Action/Thriller)
0255 The Last King Of Scotland (Sky Indie)

Watched yesterday

Death Sentence - 3/5

Boston Legal: Thanksgiving - 4/5

Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Enlightenment - 3/5

Lost: Whatever Happened, Happened - 4/5

Sunday 5 April 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Terrestrial
1745 Ghostbusters (Channel 4)

Freeview
1845 Ghostbusters (Channel 4+1)
2205 The Wicker Man (ITV4)

Sky
2305 The Wicker Man (ITV4+1)

Sky Movies
1010 Elizabeth: The Golden Age (Sky Screen 2)
1045 In The Line Of Fire (Sky Action/Thriller)
1215 Titanic (Sky Drama)
1310 Transformers (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2000 Titanic (Sky Drama)
2100 Transformers (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2145 No Country For Old Men (Sky Premiere)
2245 No Country For Old Men (Sky Premiere+1)
2310 Elizabeth: The Golden Age (Sky Screen 2)
0005 Eyes Wide Shut (Sky Modern Greats)
0315 Bringing Out The Dead (Sky Screen 2)

Watched yesterday

Generation Kill: The Cradle Of Civilization - 3/5

Heroes: Shades Of Gray - 4/5

Kitchen Nightmares: Casa Roma, Lancaster, CA - 4/5

Criminal Minds: Blood Hungry - 4/5

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Today Is The Day - this programmes should drop the 'The Sarah Connor Chronicles'. If anything, it should be called 'The John Connor Chronicles' - 4/5

Disturbia - 3/5

Saturday 4 April 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Terrestrial
1900 The Day After Tomorrow (Channel 4)
2310 Black Book (Channel 4)

Freeview
1800 13 Going On 30 (Fiver)
2000 The Day After Tomorrow (Channel 4+1)
2155 Love Actually (ITV2)
2200 A Clockwork Orange (ITV4)
2255 Love Actually (ITV2+1)
0010 Black Book (Channel 4+1)
0050 The Wicker Man (ITV4)

Sky
1900 13 Going On 30 (Fiver+1)
2300 A Clockwork Orange (ITV4+1)
0150 The Wicker Man (ITV4+1)

Sky Movies
1155 Superbad (Sky Comedy)
1305 Ocean's Thirteen (Sky Screen 2)
1415 Die Hard 4.0 (Sky Action/Thriller)
1500 The Thin Red Line (Sky Drama)
1630 Escape From Alcatraz (Sky Action/Thriller)
1800 Blade Runner: The Final Cut (Sky Modern Greats)
1835 The Matrix (Sky Action/Thriller)
2000 Jerry Maguire (Sky Comedy)
2100 Die Hard 4.0 (Sky Action/Thriller)
2100 Ocean's Thirteen (Sky Screen 2)
2145 No Country For Old Men (Sky Premiere)
2230 Superbad (Sky Comedy)
2245 No Country For Old Men (Sky Premiere+1)
2350 Summer Of Sam (Sky Indie)

Watched yesterday

Fringe: The No Brainer - 3/5

The Mentalist: Red Hair And Silver Tape - 4/5

The Big Bang Theory: The Killer Robot Instability - 4/5

Countdown: 3rd April
Joe Caruana - 65
Dan Brusca - 60
Sue Keable - 31

The Daily Show: 2nd April - 4/5

Flashpoint: Backwards Day - 3/5
Last week's episode was actually called 'Haunting The Barn', not 'Backwards Day'.

30 Rock: Succession - 4/5

30 Rock: Dandwich Day - 4/5

Friday 3 April 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2100 13 Going On 30 (Fiver)
2100 Mission: Impossible III (Film4)
2235 Full Metal Jacket (ITV4)

Sky
2200 13 Going On 30 (Fiver+1)
2200 Mission: Impossible III (Film4
2305 Cape Fear (SciFi)
2335 Full Metal Jacket (ITV4)
0005 Cape Fear (SciFi+1)

Sky Movies
1045 Mission: Impossible (Sky Action/Thriller)
1120 Knocked Up (Sky Comedy)
1200 The Illusionist (Sky Drama)
1240 Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Action/Thriller)
1340 Cloverfield (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
1415 Freedom Writers (Sky Screen 2)
1805 The Counterfeiters (Sky Indie)
1900 Fracture (Sky Screen 2)
1905 Mission: Impossible (Sky Action/Thriller)
2000 Juno (Sky Premiere)
2000 Knocked Up (Sky Comedy)
2100 Juno (Sky Premiere+1)
2100 Die Hard With A Vengeance (Sky Action/Thriller)
2100 Cloverfield (Sky Sci-Fi/Horror)
2200 In The Name Of The Father (Sky Drama)
2200 American Beauty (Sky Modern Greats)
2200 Fargo (Sky Indie)
2250 American Gangster (Sky Screen 2)
0025 Rambo (Sky Premiere)
0125 Rambo (Sky Premiere+1)
0230 Breaking The Waves (Sky Indie)
0315 The Fountain (Sky Screen 2)

Watched yesterday

90210: That Which We Destroy - 4/5

America's Next Top Model: The Final Five - 4/5

Mad Men: A Night To Remember - 4/5

Countdown: 2nd April
Joe Caruana - 63
Sandy Kell - 63
Dan Brusca - 61
OCTANGLE isn't a word, but it sounds like it should be.

Newswipe: Episode 1.2 - 5/5

The Daily Show: 1st April - 4/5

Thursday 2 April 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Freeview
2100 Four Weddings And A Funeral (Film4)

Sky
2200 Four Weddings And A Funeral (Film4+1)

Sky Movies
1100 Clerks II (Sky Indie)
1230 Tora! Tora! Tora! (Sky Classics)
1255 The Bourne Ultimatum (Sky Action/Thriller)
1500 Die Hard 2 (Sky Action/Thriller)
1515 The Insider (Sky Modern Greats)
1820 Clerks II (Sky Indie)
2000 Juno (Sky Premiere)
2000 Rocky Balboa (Sky Drama)
2100 Juno (Sky Premiere+1)
2100 Die Hard 2 (Sky Action/Thriller)
2100 Tora! Tora! Tora! (Sky Classics)
2145 The Last Of The Mohicans (Sky Drama)
2200 Blood Simple (Sky Indie)
2200 Rambo (Sky Premiere)
2300 Rambo (Sky Premiere+1)
2310 The Bourne Ultimatum (Sky Action/Thriller)
0205 Requiem For A Dream (Sky Indie)
0325 Face (Sky Action/Thriller)
0350 Blood Simple (Sky Indie)

Watched yesterday

Law & Order UK: Paradise - 4/5

Countdown: 1st April
Cate Henderson - 85
Dan Brusca - 68
Chantalle Edgley - 41
Jerry Springer in dictionary corner!

The Daily Show: 31st March - 3/5

The Apprentice: Week 2 - 4/5

Wednesday 1 April 2009

Today's movie recommendations

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

Sky Movies
1100 Superbad (Sky Screen 1)
1200 Jerry Maguire (Sky Modern Greats)
1300 Die Hard (Sky Action/Thriller)
1420 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (Sky Modern Greats)
1600 Jindabyne (Sky Indie)
1705 I Am Legend (Sky Action/Thriller)
1735 Babel (Sky Drama)
1815 Juno (Sky Premiere)
1900 Stranger Than Fiction (Sky Screen 2)
1915 Juno (Sky Premiere)
2000 Jerry Maguire (Sky Modern Greats)
2000 Superbad (Sky Screen 1)
2100 Die Hard (Sky Action/Thriller)
2225 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (Sky Modern Greats)
2315 I Am Legend (Sky Action/Thriller)
0000 Bringing Out The Dead (Sky Indie)
0005 Magnolia (Sky Modern Greats)
0040 Eastern Promises (Sky Screen 2)
0115 The Krays (Sky Action/Thriller)

Watched recently

Lost: He's Our You - 4/5

Countdown: 30th Match
Cate Henderson - 90
Aaron Higgs - 58
Dan Brusca - 40
Again, pathetic.

Countdown: 31st March
Cate Henderson - 113
Dan Brusca - 74
Michael Bryant - 51