QUOTE:
It is, in fact, Steve Earle, and I think it's pretty good.

Really? Blimey, I'd never have guessed that.

Oops. Soz Wyatt.

DON'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT SERIES FIVE YOU AWFUL MAN.

I'm with Lyra, I just don't see the attraction

So there's nothing to do here so I just went to see Get Smart and then The Dark Knight. Get Smart was much better than I thought it was going to be. Quite inventive and sweet. The Dark Knight was a bit meh. Do we really need Michael Caine and Gary Oldman explaining the exact nature of each moral dilemma/social comment as we go along? No, we don't. And I thought Cillian Murphy was going to be in it and then he wasn't and that was a shame.

Not sure any of these is in circulation enough to merit own threads:

saw 'Jar City' (Icelandic cop film) at the weekend and really loved it. I'd read the novel already, but didn't get bored at all-the grainy and claustrophobic images were brilliantly done. Hardly an advert for Iceland's tourist board, tho' (unless you like sheep's head).

also saw French sisters-reunited-after-15-years- with-dark-secret 'Il y a longtemps que je t'aime' in which Kristin Scott Thomas really impressed. Felt it copped out a bit sentimentality-wise towards the end, but still a decent film.

And also saw 'Wall E' in a matinee-is there a thread on it?

I really want to see Jar City - I liked the book a lot too. I didn't enjoy I loved you so long as much as you did though - I guess I found it a bit too generic. Nicely miserable though.

Films I have seen recently: mostly too rubbish to really need talking about

Bangkok Dangerous - stupid, predictable, I hate Nicolas Cage
Babylon AD - stupid, less predictable, didn't like the muddy style, not what I expect from Kassowitz
Mamma Mia - had run out of other films to see - truly awful but passed the time. They did ought to have got someone else to sing for the men.
In Bruges - Liked the look of the city. The plot was stupid - it was obvious all these little things were going to come together at the end and pay off, and it was appalling
The Mummy 3 - see under Mamma Mia. It passed the time. If you even try to attempt to make sense of it you're wasting your time. Lots of action and that which is what I wanted I guess.
Mad Money By far the best and most fun film of the week. I'm sure I've seen it before though. I must check that. But yeah, really enjoyable crime caper.

I checked and it is a remake of a TV movie. Which I must have seen and forgotten.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Well I still love Woody Allen and I don't think I could fail to enjoy one of his. The plot, about whether it's possible to love and be in love and it to be reciprocal and romantic (answer: duh, no, of course not) is beside the point really. It's all very lovely and nice. Oviedo looks lovely too.

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead Depressing as all hell, this. Despairing and bleak and grim. Worth a watch.

Eagle Eye Entertaining silly fun. Enough car chases and things blowing up to keep you entertained and a nice twist on the conspiracy plot.

Ah yes Jar City was good. Another in the long line of films that screams "don't come to Iceland", but that perversely makes me miss it all the more.

Vicky Christina Barcelona is supposed to be a return to form for Allen. I know you quite liked even the more derided items in his recent output, Lyra, but was this one a cut above those?

Hehe, yeah, I think so. More about people/relationships this time without the more fanciful bits that he felt London needed, maybe. Better than Cassandra's Dream, not as good as Melinda and Melinda, maybe.

I thought In Bruges was fantastic.

Fringe A decent piece of X-Files-alike hokum with a woman lead, and one of the guys from Dawson's Creek ('Pacey' rings a bell) in it. Lots of reanimation/cloning/weird science. Enjoyable nonsense. One of the things which I (childishly) like, is when a location is mentioned (eg Harvard University) it comes up in 3D as part of the landscape. Cool.

Burn Notice A blacklisted spy has to put all the details of his life back together in his hometown of Miami, while helping out people in need. A lot better than it sounds. The lead actor (Jeffrey Donovan) is a tiny bit too cleancut and good looking for me, but otherwise, I love this, after the two pilot episodes. A huge plus point is, the lead character does the voiceover.

After getting a nil thread with my Buddha Collapsed out of Shame thread I'm going to play things safe now. It's getting cold out and I've no exams to worry about until April so I'm watching quite a few films lately.

The Fireman's Ball
Really enjoyed this. Starts off as a comedy but becomes so much more about a study of human and group behaviour. Couldn't believe it was only 70 minutes, it packed so much in.

The Birds
I love Hitchcock. The only film that I didn't really enjoy of his that I've watched was The Trouble with Harry. I was expecting much more from this. The special effects have dated horribly and I felt more of an urge to laugh than be scared. The last twenty minutes were excellent though. The tension ratcheting up whilst waiting for the attack was expertly done.

By the Bluest of Seas

Russian film from the thirties. Lovely imagery and explores friendship, love and lost love. Really impressed by it.

Sunset Boulevard

I'm not sure how I missed out seeing this until now but it's as good as everybody says it is. Billy Wilder could well be my favourite director.

Aguirre, Wrath of God

Stunning scenery, great feeling of the journey derailing. Kinski was scarily convincing. I can't put my finger on why I thought it was short of excellent but I did.

TV wise, I got around to watching Pushing Daisies. I like the premise, the bright colours and look of the programme. Anna Friel is beautiful and the Kristin Chenoweth character is endearingly ditzy. It's just too sweet though. It's brainless TV though so I'll probably keep watching. I fear Entourage has jumped the shark, the mushrooms episode was terrible.

I am in the fervid grip of a full on Battlestar Galactica addiction. It's got everything I like. Spaceships, ghosts and religious fervour. And it's so sad so much of the time, so hopeless. I love it.

I am about halfway through series 2. I have THE most ridiculous crushes on Starbuck (I so want to be Starbuck) and Helo (so beautiful). Literally the only duff thing about it is the elder Adama's scary teeth, but luckily the plot doesn't call for many smiles.