all five horizons

I am so psyched (does anyone say that anymore?) about the new TV season which is *almost* here (well, it’s a month away and most of it won’t be over here but you know what I mean).  One of the shows I can’t wait to return is The Office.  Love the new promo - I have missed you guys!

On Monday night, we went to see The Dark Knight at the Birmingham IMAX.  I had avoided reading too much about it beforehand since I already felt that I had seen too much on the internet and in the trailers.  I was concerned that some of the big screen moments would have less impact having seen the trailer several times.  I needn’t have worried.  Firstly, I am really glad that we made the effort to go to the IMAX.

Entire sequences were filmed for the extra big screen and this really added so much to the overall movie including immense panoramic shots, high-octane action sequences and an extreme close-up of the grotesque but brillant Joker.  The hour-long wait to get our seats was completely worth it for the literally jaw-dropping IMAX scenes.

Heath Ledger’s performance was indeed inspired and would have been heralded as iconic even without his tragic death.  Christian Bale proved again that he really is Batman and his portrayal of both the dark knight and his alter-ego, Bruce Wayne, perfectly encapsulates the very different personas. Maggie Gyllenhaal did a great job as Rachel Dawes (shame she was not cast in Batman Begins too since she had less to do in some respects in this film).  Her face-off with the Joker was gripping and not a melted wax face in sight.  Finally, Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent was the biggest surprise for me since he was less featured in the marketing campaign/trailer and as such, was a bit of an unknown entity.  I was really glad because it meant that whilst I knew the general story of Dent and who he becomes, I had no clue how much would be covererd in this film.

Christopher Nolan delivered another superb piece of filmmaking with The Dark Knight.  To bring so much emotion, passion, fear and morality to a comicbook character is at once admirable and satisfying.

I watched the final act of Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog on Saturday and was not disappointed.  Surprised?  Yes.  Moved? Yes.  Entertained?  Absolutely.  I just read Stephanie’s post about this piece of filmaking history and she hit the nail on the head. I won’t even try to say it better myself so I encourage you to click on through to her fantastic post.  Here is a taster and something which rang completely true for me:

Joss Whedon is the only director I know who can have you rolling on the floor in laughter until he decides the laughter should die. And then it’s gone. Just like that.

The Deltoids of Compassion « Dube’s World.

ps I never really got the Nathan Fillion thing until I saw Firefly in full and now I am smitten.  Even when he is playing a vain, arrogant douche of a super-hero.

This weekend, we finally got round to watching the first season of Prison Break which we borrowed from our friends. I don’t know why I never got into this which it aired the first time round but for some reason, this one managed to pass me by. We watched the entire season in four days and now we are hooked! The final couple of episodes were so nerve-wracking, we were literally sweating it out on the edges of our respective seats. For those of you who don’t know, the basic premise revolves around a man who has been convicted of a murder he did not commit and has been sentence to death (played by Dominic Purcell a.k.a Drake in Blade plus he was in Heartbreak High!!) and his super-intelligent engineer brother (played by Wentworth Miller) who purposely gets himself banged up so he can break them both out.

He helped design the prison and as such, he knows it pretty well. He also got the blueprints tattooed all over as an aide-memoire. In order to carry out his plan, he has to procure various items and favours meaning he ends up with a motley crew of fellow-escapee wannabes plus the pretty doctor for whom he inevitably develops feelings. The ending of the season was a humdinger of a cliffhanger (Ricardo was not impressed!) so now we have to wait until we can get hold of the second season DVDs to carry on our viewing pleasure.  And it is a pleasure, believe me.  I mean Wentworth Miller isn’t about to get himself a Man Oscar but he sure does have that intense stare thang down.

Just seen this comparison of the trailers for the original Batman movie and the new Dark Knight film about to be released. This must be intentional!

It is true that there were few technical difficulties which meant that anyone outside the US was not able to IMMEDIATELY view part 1 of the FREE mini-film ’sing-a-long blog’ written by Joss Whedon (Buffy, Angel and Firefly), his two brothers Jed and Zach and Jed’s fiancée Maruissa Tancharoen.  The fact that these problems were sorted in a matter of hours is nothing short of heroic (well, I guess not compared to fighting fires and shit but you know what I mean) and all those people moaning about US bias should really put a sock in it because, um hello?  IT’S FREE!

So once the Hulu streaming worked for me,  I was able to sit down and joy 13 plus minutes of soft-centred goodness.  Dr Horrible, played by Neil Patrick Harris, is a super-villain who is trying to earn his stripes.  As well as trying to take over the world, he also happens to be in love with a girl in his laundrette called Penny (played by Felicia Day).

His arch-nemesis is Captain Hammer  a.k.a. him of the cute southern twang, impressive torso but questionable hair, Nathan Fillion (he’s so shiny).  Dr Horrible also has a rather soggy friend called Moist (played by Simon Helberg) whose superpower ostensibly seems to be making things erm, well, moist.

This is what the Dr Horrible MySpace page says about it (totally worth a look for the behind-the-scenes photos, BTW):

The story of a low-rent super-villain, the hero who keeps beating him up, and the cute girl from the laundromat he’s too shy to talk to. Featuring Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible, Nathan Fillion as Captain Hammer, Felicia Day as Penny and a cast of dozens. Written by Joss Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen, Jed Whedon, and Zack Whedon. Directed by Joss Whedon. Produced by David Burns, Michael Boretz, and Joss Whedon. Music by Joss Whedon and Jed Whedon. Lyrics by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen. Score and Orchestration by Jed Whedon.

The songs are great as are the performances and I am planning on watching this a few more times until Act II is available sometime on Thursday.

I will be watching the first part of Dr Horrible in about 10 minutes.  Expect an enthustiastic blog soon!

E4 has finally brought the Gilmore Girls into my life and I am therefore now completely hooked. I had heard rumblings about this show – the odd clip had shown up here and there and I was always a little bit bemused by the show. I assumed the two characters I had seen were sisters, not mother and daughter, and that there were a host more Gilmore girls that were part of some large Brady Bunch-type family. I was pleasantly surprised, then, when I sat down to watch the pilot to see this show was about a mother and daughter living in a beautiful Connecticut small town complete with a diner owned by an excessively hunky man called Luke.

I am rather perturbed to discover that he is actually turning 50 this year in real life (the show started in 2000 so he was 41 then) but this does not stop me from ever-so-slightly lusting after him in his lumberjack shirts and rolled up sleeves and backwards baseball cap and pitcher’s arms…. Where was I? Oh yes. The show. I actually love this show for more than just the yummy diner-owner. These are the things I love:

• The relationship between Lorelai (the mother) and Rory (the daughter) is what every 16 year old wishes for (most don’t have mum’s that are 32 which is why they get along so well).
• The girls are smart and witty and whilst flawed (nobody’s perfect and perfection is dull), completely loveable.
• The men in their lives have a lot to put up with since the two girls have such an exclusive club which only makes for hilarity and stuff like that.
• The sets and the back lot used to shoot the show is just delicious. It is edible. It is divine. I want to live in Stars Hollow and shop at Dooce’s market and eat in Luke’s diner and take dance classes with Miss Patty.

• The large supporting cast is rich with characters. Lorelai’s acerbic mother (played by the mum in Dirty Dancing!), Michel who works at the inn with Lorelai which is even more acerbic, Sookie the ditzy best friend, and a whole town of players who dip in and out of the lives of the Gilmore girls.
• The actors who play Lorelai and Rory are perfect – Lauren Graham does alluring and charming yet feisty and challenging to perfection. Alexis Bledel is adorable yet sharp as a tack as Rory and a perfect foil for Lauren.

I have plowed my way through the first season and the second has just started to pick up pace. I am already well aware of how Lorelai and Luke are going to get together, break up, get back together, break up and then finally kiss at the series finale. YouTube does not allow the curious to avoid such arcs. However I am still looking forward to seeing it all play out in context and for once, will enjoy seeing what happens with all the other parts of their lives. In other words, it will be nice to not get hung up on the will-they-wont-they-why-haven’t-they-already of it all. I am sure to be writing about this again soon with some more specifics. I just love this show. My birthday is soon, so please feel free to buy me the entire box-set from my Amazon wish-list!!!!!

Every telly addict needs the right equipment.  Behold our new TV!

First off, let me say I loved this film. I wasn’t really sure what to expect from it. The rather disconcerting poster did not reveal much and though I had seen a trailer, I mustn’t have paid much attention to it.

However, I did know that I love Steve Carell in pretty everything he has done and I guessed that this would be more Little Miss Sunshine thanThe 40 Year Old Virgin and I was right. It isn’t a laugh-out-loud comedy (I believe it is described as a dramedy but that word always reminds me of camels so I don’t like using it) but it is warm, touching, funny, and chock full of good performances.

Juliette Binoche plays the love interest and she brings a touch of class and intrigue to the character. You can see why he is so taken with her so quickly, only to discover that she is his younger brother’s girlfriend. The action centres around an annual family get-together at Dan’s parents’ house in New England (I guess, I haven’t looked it up).

Carell really brings pathos to this role and the audience is firmly in his corner as we cheer on this widowed man with three girls to raise. These girls really could do with a kick in the arse, by the way, as they give him no credit for all he does for them; Instead the two eldest just seem intent on bitching him out for his rather rational and fair parenting. I guess teenagers are devoid of compassion. Anyway.

The large ensemble cast with the likes of Amy Ryan (love her in the Office season finale!) and Dane Cook (I didn’t he was an actor as well as a comedian - In fact I really don’t know much about him at all but this was not what I was expecting) all contribute to the feeling of warmth and family that is so integral to the lives of the characters and ultimately make Dan’s feelings for his brother’s new girlfriend so hard for him to handle. If you like Little Miss Sunshine, then give this a whirl.