Belated 28 Weeks Later Review

Saw this just a couple of hours ago, the last showing at the Cineworld Luton! So glad I did. A real big screen type of movie, even though anyone not seeing it up to this point will probably now have to wait for the DVD. That's fine just move an armchair up really close to the telly! This film had so many amazing sequences it's hard to remember them all, some of the shots of a deserted or dilapitated London were breathtaking. The firebombing, the opening cottage attack, the attack on the car, the helicopter blades, Robert Carlyle's transformation, the night scope scene, the zig-zag and Wembley Stadium! A superb action adventure, and for me the best, "infected/zombie" film I have ever seen. Way better, in my opinion, than the original which I thought was over-rated somewhat. And a lot better than Shaun Of The Dead, which, I'm sorry, I also think is overrated! I seem to be much more of a Hot Fuzz type of bloke! So many people have just turned against me! It's just one film and I loved Spaced! Something I've always been bemused about with the George. A. Romero type of films is how slow the undead move. Just jog and you'll get away from them! But not in the 28 movies! That was what was so fresh about the original, but everything is taken up a notch here. Robert Carlyle is terrifying at times. Always an actor I've liked to watch, particularly, if like me, you thought he was one of the greatest murderers the Cracker series ever produced. The pace and tension hardly lets up in this fantastic blood soaked thrill ride (certainly not for the squeamish!) And I felt it had more tension in a single minute than Danny Boyle's own Sunshine produced in almost 2 hours! (controversial!!) From the credits this certainly looked like a British film (which is hard to define these days.) And if that is the case, we are doing very well! We can do moody mellodrama, but action, can we honestly compete with Hollywood there? Yes! On the strength of this! Michael Bay eat your heart out, (or get Robert Carlyle to eat your heart out for you, he seems really hungry these days for human flesh, although, can I just say, Mr Bay, please, please make Transformers as good as the last trailer. I am so excited!!)

Well done to all concerned (28 weeks later, not Transformers, we'll pass judgement on that in July), and I award you

4 and a half stars out of 5

because although most of the camerawork was mesmerising, some of it made me want to empty my bag of popcorn and use the bag as a....well, I think you can guess! The words, motion and sickness very much come to mind!

Into Battle! And Other Theatricals!

Performed "The Word Made Fresh" in Battle which is near Hastings on Friday night. Went well. A lot of young people in the balconey, so was quite noisy, I felt I had to "up" certain parts to win them over and I think it worked. Had to have my battery replaced during the second half of the show. Well not my battery, I don't think I have a battery, I mean more the battery in my radio mike! Good feedback at the end, again, nothing to do with the mike or the battery, more the people who watched, and then we headed for home. Another 7 hour round trip, touring is tiring! The night before I went to see St. Andrew's Players performance of Godspell. Which was very good-that group really do have talent, as anyone who saw their, "Hired Man" will testify. Great set, great lighting within the church and exquisite harmonies. Like Jesus Christ Superstar, the writers of Godspell didn't think Christ's resurrection was worth putting in to the end of the production, which is a shame because it's probably the most important miracle Jesus ever performed! To conclude a thoroughly theatrical few days, I went to see, "A Murder Is Announced" produced by my beloved St. Christopher Players at the library theatre. Funny not to be at all involved but I thought they did an excellent job. Some excellent performances by very good friends of mine, fantastic set and all held very well together by my good friend Calvin who was directing and seems to have a real knack for these murder mystery type things!

This Is England 5 Star Review

It has been a long time since I have had such a powerful experience watching a film. This Is England is an incredible piece of work. The performance of Shaun, the little boy whom we join as the drama unfolds is simply breathtaking. So untypical of a Hollywood Movie Kid but the cause of me having tears running down my face on at least two occasions in this troubling, fascinating piece of work. Growing up in the 80's, Shane Meadows had me from the moment Roland Rat appeared on the screen! There were so many moments where I was immersed back in my childhood. But it is through the eyes of Shaun that we walk, and it is quite a journey. Meadows is a quite brilliant film-maker. There were moments where the humour and warmth reminded of Mike Leigh, and then the people sitting around chatting about anything, an on form Tarantino and then the flip from slowly built up tension to explosive violence, a Mean Streets echoing Martin Scorsese. I loved this film, but of course found it at times to be extremely uncomfortable. What is England? There are so many brilliant performances in this film, I could go on and on. It is rare in a film that you sit there willing the protaganist to make a different choice though understanding when he does make a wrong one. Shaun's deceaced in the Falkland's father being the cause of probably the most decisive decision he makes. When Shaun stands up to the returning from prison leader of the skin-heads, I was on the edge of my seat. Getting a young actor to portray so much hidden anger and then far from hidden remorse in a scene which is so full of tension anyway, deserves every acting nod this young lads shelf can hold. This film should be seen, films like this affect you, so few films coming out this Summer will do that. They will be entertaining but ultimately forgettable. Some scenes in This Is England will never leave me. I remember in 1995 when Empire magazine said loudly on the release of Trainspotting, "Come in Hollywood! Your time is Up!" Well, we don't need Hollywood on the strength of films like this. They provide the popcorn, Shane Meadows provides the meat. I am aware that some will search out this film on the strength of this review and others but can I just say this film is not for everybody. The language is absolutely extreme. The F word being used by characters like I would say, maybe, or really. But that's part of the point, for some, bad language is there language in everyday life and thus it does have a naturalistic appeal which you get used to. Obviously the moments of racist abuse are very hard to swallow, but again, that's kind of the point. The character who says them has chosen a road that will have extreme consequences on him and those around him. This film hits so many emotional buttons, I came out a quivering wreck!

So 5 stars, thumbs ups, squiggley symbols, whatever you want to call them. A brilliant piece of work and if this isn't up for many many BAFTA'a next year, I will personally destroy my copy of The Queen which I believe was up for about 7!

Zodiac

Before I start this review let me just say that I am a huge fan of the works of director David Fincher, Seven and Panic Room are superb pieces of entertainment. I even enjoyed The Game and parts of Alien 3! So I went into this film with very high expectations due to the serial killer masterpiece which is the afore-mentioned Seven. That film has stayed with me for a very long time. So, to Zodiac. Again, I am a big fan of the three actors involved with this film, whose names you can see on the poster to the left of these words. The performances were excellent, and Fincher shows once again that he is a master with a camera, the opening shot of the film is simply stunning. There was some tension in certain scenes, particularly the build up and what Zodiac says to the mother of the baby before we see her on the side of the road. But my biggest problem with this film, and I'm going to get a lot of flack off some of my friends for writing this. But a lot of the time, I found it, well...dull! Yes, dull. A David Fincher film! A man who can make a camera swoop around a kitchen entertaining. It just seemed to plod along with different excellent actors looking at many different pieces of paper. The Zodiac scenes, the attacks, had some real cinematic value. But because we know they never caught the killer when we go into the cinema, it all seems a little anti-climactic. Though the coda at the end of the film would seem to indicate that some resolution was brought to the case. It was a bold choice to work from the viewpoint of the investigators, and the comic writer, but it didn't have enough momentum to sustain a two and a half hour running time. Not in my opinion. I wil be going back to Seven many times in the future, but probably not Zodiac. Sometimes a true story isn't enough to make a gripping film, you also need something inherently cinematic to work alongside that. Yes, All The President's Men has a similar set up, but the tension invoked in that film far outweighs what we have here.

So, 3 out of 5 for the quality of all those involved, but definitely not the new 7!

Meat And Potato Pies And Interruptions!!

Had a great day yesterday (Sunday.) Began by performing the "Gideon" monologue at a local Methodist Church which was celebrating its 168th anniversary. Good times. My good friends Alan, Bob and Neal were also involved in the service and we were shown to the vestry on our arrival so we could prepare, and so I knew where to change into my "frock" when the time was right. There was also a sort of en-suite toilet within the vestry where one could powder whatever needed powdering and wash one's hands etc. So, at the appropriate point I left the service and went into the vestry to change. I am just getting changed, note I hadn't completely changed at this point, when the toilet door from within the vestry opened and a lady and her daughter came out and were very surprised to see me standing there and sort of covering myself hurriedly with a Biblical outfit. They left with the mother covering her daughter's eyes, and then another lady came in a few moments later, also trying to avert her eyes while quietly giggling to herself. This little toilet inside the vestry wasn't a little private facility for clergy and visiting performers to only use at all, it was open (literally) to the whole congregation! On a regular basis! Whenever they wanted! Anyway all eventually went well, and Gideon blew his own trumpet at the appropriate time. I just didn't enjoy the experience of almost revealing my trumpet to complete strangers in the vestry of a Methodist Church!
So then it was home for a quick change and a bite of lunch before my good friend Dave Grundy picked me up to take me to the evening performance at Lymm, North of Manchester. Good journey and we arrived at the Baptist church in good time. Fantastic people, great venue and felt particularly welcomed by the co-ordinator of the event, Mark and his family. All went well, good responses. And then we go into the second act, which involves 7 New Testament characters. So, I had just finished "Peter" when a lady came to the side of the stage and started telling me off for "being the man who sold out Jesus!" Of course that wasn't technically true, that was Judas. Anyway I tried to explain to her that, literally in about 6 seconds I was about to play a much happier Thomas who had seen the risen Jesus, and she seemed okay about this. Mark carefully helped the lady away and on we went! Had great feedback at the end of the show and then I WAS PRACTICALLY FORCED TO FALL OFF THE WAGON!! Now, let me explain, my wagon is the one that involves healthy eating and a distinct lack of fatty foods etc. because I have become a bit of a fatty over the years, and I have decided to make some changes. And they are working! Until Dave Grundy who I love to bits, decided that we really couldn't leave "up North!" until I had partaken in a meat and potato pie and chips made from (put on strong northern accent) "Hard Lard!!" So I had my first portion of chips in about 4 months and I have got to say, they tasted great! Dave had a steak and kidney PUDDING with chips, gravy and mushy peas! Oh, Dave's Renault Scenic smelt like Heaven! It was a great end to a great night, and indeed a great day. I am well and truly back on the wagon, and....clinging on for dear life!!

Incident not Accident!!

I performed three monologues from "The Word Made Fresh" at the CRE or Christian Resources Exhibition in a delightful place called Esher today. I say I performed three monologues, because I was actually supposed to perform 5! I was late! The M25 struck again! It took me 2 hours and 40 mins to get there, because there was an incident! It wasn't an accident, it was an incident! So, was it an accident as we would understand it (someone gets rear-ended or something) but on this occasion someone crashed into someone deliberately so it wasn't an accident at all, it was a deliberate, and if they had called it an accident instead of an incident would they have gotten into trouble by the trades description people!? Of course, on a serious note I hope and pray no-one was hurt in the incident and monologues are hardly as important as what might have transpired on the motorway this morning.
Anyway I got there and had to park miles away from the venue. Of course I came off the motorway and followed this massive stream of fishes attached to cars all to the way to the showground. We were like a group of salmon. I finally found the arts theatre and Matt Summerfield, ever the trooper that he is, had been covering for me, talking about the tour and no doubt a few other things. So up I got and went through, Noah, Gideon and Jonah. Went well, seemed to be a fair amount of interest and I met two lovely ladies from an arts centre in London, which sounds fantastic! On Sunday I have a High Town Methodist Church's 168th celebration and then it's off to Lymm in north Manchester in the evening! Looking forward to it!

The Word Made Fresh Keeps Getting Fresh!

Performed in a place called Tadworth last Sunday night. About an hour and a half away from sunny Luton. Had a good time. Smaller crowd than last week, maybe 60 people but most seemed pleased and perhaps in some very small way blessed by the experience! Had fun in the second act as it began. A short recorded narration introduces each of the 14 monologues. So Act 2 has seven monos inspired by New Testament characters (from the Bible if you hadn't already worked that out.) So I talk to the very nice guy hosting the event and he opens the door and just says, "go ahead Dave". Which generally means I go onto the stage, the narration is played and off we go! So I get onto the stage, put down my carefully prepared glass of Really Really Really light Ribena, and turn my back on the audience. I notice that the stage lights are on, which is a bit strange, but never mind as the old pro I am, I stand there and await my cue. And wait, and wait. I then turn to the young lady offstage and sort of mime pressing a button to start the narration. With which she quickly replies, "we've already played it." It had been played while I was outside chatting with the nice chap at the end of the interval! I then turned to the audience and apologised and asked if they'd enjoyed the interval, I thought my "was the coffee nice?" comment went down particularly well, as did, "we're not filming this one, are we?" So on I went, but it was then I realised that that 30 second narration really helps focus my mind and helps me to "get into character" as those nambey pambey actors always go on about! I've discovered I am one! I am nambey pambey! Of course a quick prayer before each monologue also helps! But all's well that carried on well! And someone even washed up my Ribena glass! What a great night!

A Saviour, Not An Exclamation!!!

Now for a bit of a rant (we've certainly had enough ramblings and reviews so far on this blog!) Just finished reading the daily newspaper and I came to the last but one page and of course, Sir Alex Ferguson is very pleased that his team have won the Premiership. This is not a rant about Alex Ferguson or Manchester United, but as I read the article, I come across this; Sir Alex says, "I can't be that old! Jesus Christ-somebody wrote that I was 66 this week!" Can I just say, I'm getting a bit tired of a personal friend of mine (Jesus) being used as an exclamation! Like, "Flipping heck" or "For crying out loud!" or "Well, knock me over with a feather duster!" Jesus is deserving of a lot more respect than that! Really! If I was bold enough to get a t-shirt printed, well, I suppose, I'm bold enought to get a t-shirt printed, I'm not so sure about wearing it, the shirt would definitely say, "Jesus Christ! A Saviour-Not An Exclamation!!!!!!"

Spiderman 3 review!

And look the first photo on my blog! So Spidey 3 and just to say there is a SPOILER WARNING on this review, and I have always wanted to type that! So, if you haven't seen the movie and want to keep the secrets secret, watch the film and then read me later.
I have read a number of reviews for this movie, Empire 3 stars etc and thought they must have got it wrong, Sam Raimi (the director) knows what he's doing, the trailers look fantastic. Well, something did go wrong and most of the lukewarm reviews were right. This is definitely the weakest of the three Spiderman films. At times I felt like the writers of the Hulk movie and Batman and Robin had got together to write this film because the original Spiderman writers were too busy. What I mean is, we have a scene (their fight is all too brief, and we should have had more of that amd less of the singing and dancing!) between Sandman and Venom where they decide to join forces to beat Spiderman, just like Poison Ivy and Mr Freeze, in Batman And Robin (and Batman Forever but that had Jim Carey in it so all was forgiven) and the film also turns into heavy drama, taking itself far too seriously for a comic book Summer blockbuster, which is exactly where Ang Lee went wrong with the Hulk movie. Tobey Maguire should have a bonus for all the crying he had to do. I felt like throwing him a hankie! More action, less moaping around!
Where the villains are concerned, I don't think there are too many of them, they're just not very good! They had all the screen time they deserved, which is why the movie should be 20 mins shorter. Stop the whining! Venom and Sandman are just not in the same league as Dock Ock and the Green Goblin, they didn't deserve a movie each, and that's the point, there are not too many villains they are just really weak villains. So, yes, the movie is a disappointment, and surely we should have ended with a proposal and then a wedding!? Wrap things up nicely, that's what I say. Which they didn't really do with Sandman. Though, I have to say everyone gave their all, acting wise, for what really should have been picked up at the script stage. This is not a soap opera, it's an action flick that spends so much time motivating all the characters, we've run out of time to see what they were motivated to do!
So, yes, I'd have to agree with Empire, 3 stars out of 5 most definitely. Roll on Johnny Depp and crew, let's see what you have to offer!

Kingdom Business!

The tour continues! Last night was the 6th performance of the "Word Made Fresh". This is a year long tour that I have embarked on in partnership with Urban Saints. It is a one man show which I have written and I portray 14 men from the Bible. 7 from the Old Testament and 7 from the New Teastament and I get to wear a frock! A Biblical frock, if it was any other kind of frock I would also be portraying some women from the Bible, but I don't think that would go down very well, at all, ever. The tour has been going really well, I have been to Taunton, Lemmington Spa, Letchworth, Romford, Harpenden, and last night I was at the opening night of the "Kingdom Business" conference at the Bethel Convention Centre in West Bromwich. I really enjoyed being in a big venue with a lot of people, it "lifted" me somewhat and we had great fun. There were about 800 people there by the end, I say by the end, because being the opening night of a conference, with people travelling in from all over the country, coach loads of people kept coming in during the show! It got a little distracting, but I don't think it marred the enjoyment of anyone. I did have a bit of a panic just a couple of minutes before going on stage though. My mike sort of collapsed on the floor while I was in my dressing room. Yes, dressing room, I had a dressing room with sink and guess what? A fruit platter! I was given a fruit platter! I've never been so excited, I felt like I was at Live Aid or 8...or whatever. My own fruit platter! So back to the mike, which was depressing me with it's mangled position on the floor, so I decide to enter the auditorium so I can speak to one of the nice sound chaps, and one comes down to see me fairly quickly. But we had to go out of the auditorium to be able to communicate. You'd have thought I could have put a mike on myself but as the performance was to be recorded and filmed and the production team had to check my glass for my perfectly proportioned drink of ribena, which I sip, or gulp down, as the need may be between monologues, so that it would look right on camera, I thought I'd better check my mike! So, it was all sorted. But I turned round and a lovely lady wouldn't let me back into the auditorium! Because I didn't have my, "Kingdom Business" id tag on which was on the t-shirt I had arrived in! I was now in my Biblical frock, outside the auditorium, due to be going onstage in 2 minutes! They didn't have colourful laminated badges in the times of Noah and Moses, you see! I expressed this as lovingly and as urgently as I could and after a quick walkie talkie conference I was allowed in, and all was well! It was a great night and the hospitality of the all the people involved with the conference, their kindness and true servant hearts really made a difference and made us feel at home, even though, we weren't! After the show there was great feedback, and a little boy came up to me and handed me a drawing he had done of me! Which was touching and sweet and very scarey (I am eating healthily, I am!) So thank you, New Testament Church of God! You rocked!

The Hills Are Alive!

I think it is time for a review, as that's in the title of this blog. I'll ramble later, unless I'm actually rambling now, which I might be. Well, after much back scratching, begging and credit card transactions I was able to obtain for my darling wife and I, tickets to The Sound Of Music at the London Palladium. We have been married now, eleven years! But not to each other. No, that was a joke, of course to each other. So, to the delight of my wife we went and saw Connie off the telly. And it was very good. (When do I give a mark out 5? I'm not sure.) It was also Lesley Garrett's last performance as the Mother Superior so there was much blubbing and flower throwing at the end. The songs are excellent in this musical, instantly recognisable, apart from the three that weren't recognisable. Because they weren't even in the movie. Connie was excellent (come on, she's had some time off recently.) The set was amazing, children cute and characters well defined. But whenever the wonderful (as seen on "Celebrity Fame Academy"!) Lesley Garrett was onstage, and sang or, "belted out" as is probably more the case any number, I kept thinking, wow! that poor, lowly Mother Superior must have spent a lot of time in the opera. She must have been classically trained at some point. She was so overwhelmingly operatic that it sort of pulled me out of the production, because she sounded so different to all the other nuns. But, if anyone didn't have a tear in their eye at the end of act one as the Mother Superior sang, "Climb Every Mountain" and it came to it's crowd pleasing, rousing conclusion, then they should probably be checked for a pulse.
So all in all a fantastic night out. Glad to get such sort after tickets without having to resort to selling a kidney. I just had to lend one to someone for a week.
4 and a half stars out of 5 (would have been 5 out of 5 but Lesley sang almost too well!)

I have become a blogger!!

So this is it, I'm typing words and they will be available for people to read on the World Wide Interweb! Now I've just got to think about something to write......Won't be long now.....Actually I think I'd better go away and have a think.