Model Citizen

 

The amazing moment when Vader is revealed at long last

Luke: Father! Look everyone, it's little orphan Annie!

Vader: Luke, tell your sister you were right, it's a blooming hard knock life innit!"

 

A wonderful moment.

 

 

Like a lot of people's reviews I've read on this film, I'll echo one sentiment. I did'nt know they made movies like this! It's not often you can watch a movie and feel better for having done so, but this is one of those. Facing The Giants is a "Christian Film", it has at it's central core the belief that God can change lives and events. From different reviews I've read this point seems to be hotly debated, maybe because when He does it does'nt make the news...but more of than in a minute.

 

The story follows A High School football coach, Grant Taylor, who's life is just full of those little upsets that piled together can bring someone to their knees. His car is a piece of junk, he only earns enough to tick over, not enough to go out and buy another car or commit to that kind of a loan. His house smells terrible, something has died in the floorboards somewhere! The cooker is on the blink. His job is'nt going anywhere, the team are losing games and he might be replaced and lose his job. And to top it off he has some condition that is preventing him and his wife from having children. Some mountains he has in his life, probably easier to deal with in small doses but brought together are a tsunami for him and he is literally brought to his knees where he asks God for help. Grant is then used by God as a fulcrum for a revival in the high school as he makes a stand and brings Christian standards into the football code. The team has a complete turnaround and starts winning, enabling them to finally meet the biggest team in the State, the Giants. Before going further I must point out, that though this is a Hollywood quality film with high production values, the cast are not actors. Most of them are apparently members of the church where writer/director/star Alex Kendrick goes. Does this make a big difference? from my viewing I'd say no. It took me a bit of time to get used to the accents but after that you soon found that these 'real' people are acting very 'real'. You really feel for Grant and his wife. It's not common to see men cry on film, but in the situation he is in I think most would.

 

OK, the 'religious bit', is this film based in fantasy land? Is the sort of 'revival' shown remotley possible? Well as of writing this today I can tell you I personally know of 3 revivals happening in the world right now! I'm talking of an event where God has for some reason decided to show his power. There are such miraculous things happening that when you hear of them you can't help but wonder why they're not shown on the news every night...instead of getting no coverage at all. Anyway, the 3 I know of are Todd Bentley in Florida. There's Chandra Kant in India. There are so many miracles happening in india right now that only the 'big' ones are reported to the church. When i say big I'm referring to people who have had limbs grow back or have been raised from the dead! I kid you not. Then there's also Bishop Ricardo Pereira in Cuba. Things that have been happening there include such bizzare events as peoples teeth growing back again! These events dont even include what is happening in places like the Phillipines and China where it is now reported that approximatley 30'000 people come to Christ every month!

 

So, a good film? Real enough? Insiring? Yes, yes and yes. If you want to watch something that could genuinely lift your spirits as well as maybe just show you an answer to life then watch this movie. Me, I'm looking forward to getting the first film from this group "Flywheel" and also seeing there most recent one "Fireproof" too.

 

 

  A few years old now this film, but after watching it last night with the kids it deserves a mention.

If there was ever a story that could be disasterous it's this. The synopsis is this:

Knoxville, who I dont particularly rate as an actor, especially after he was one of those responsible for trying to ruin all that was good about The Dukes Of Hazzard. Anyway, he plays Steve, a bit of an office loser who as the film starts is listening to self help motivational tapes at work. The result is he goes to his boss to ask for more responsibility...which he gets in the form of having to fire the janitor, a very sweet old man called Stavvi. Steve just can't do this so instead offers him a job cutting grass at his home complex. What happens next happens quickly, as Stavvi is trying to cut the lawn with the clapped out mower, he leans down to fix it and has 3 of his fingers cut off by the blade. At the hospital, without insurance, Steve has to pay $28'000 if Stavvi is to keep his fingers. After an attempt to borrow money from his loser uncle, a gambler, his uncle hits upon an idea to solve all their money issues...rig the Special Olympics.

 

 

  As said, if ever there was a film with the potential to be completeley politically uncorrect, this film was it. That it managed to steer well clear of any type of sentiment like that is amazing, but what you see is one of the most warm hearted, endeering, funny and thought provoking movies I've seen in a long time.

As Steve goes under cover at the Special olympics as a mentally challenged man called Geoffey he very quickly learns that the other athletes, real mentally challenged people, not only deserve his respect and honesty but eventually deserve a lot more than he has on offer.

  I think what struck me about the film after was just how much fun was being had by those who would be thought of as simple,tenting in their bedroom, having water fights, wheras the more sophisticated people I know have a good time by drinking until they vomit, clubbing to music so loud you can't hear yourself shout and then sleep with who ever's available. Hmmm, yeah, fun, right.

Back to the film. Well, if you've not seen this. Thought this was going to be just about the worst taste film possible.Think again, it's well worth the few quid it can be bought from on Amazon and leaves a lastingly good impression.

Rated 4 out of 5

 

Last 3 films.

I've not seen any movies for ages. I've been watching American TV series for months and months. Veronica Mars 1 & 2, 24 series 6, all excellent and highly recommended.
So, before I make a start on Life on Mars 1 & 2 I thought I'd try and get through some of my movies that have been piling up.

The Science Of Sleep

 

 

????One of those films that I felt a little bit bad about not loving. I think it's supposed to be brilliant, but I was struggling to keep up with the "is he awake or is this a dream". The story is very basic about 2 neighbours Stephan and Stephanie who don't sort of fall in love. It all gets a bit weird. There are some funny moments but I had one of those apocryphal moments 10 seconds before it finished when i said, "oh no, they're not going to leave it there are they!?"

I'm afraid out of 5 I'd only give this 2 at most.

Die Hard 4

Superb. A really good action flick. It's based on computer hacking, which is'nt the most exciting cinema experience, but it's very, very good. Bruce still has it, even at 60+ or however old he is. The only bits that don't quite sit right are when he reverts to the original character, talking to himself or making that laugh. When he's in Sin City mode he's perfect.
4 out of 5

Miami Vice

NO NO NO! How can you make a movie of this series with absolutely no nod to the original. Not even the music. Come on, you've got to have the music! The only similarity I came up with was the quiet voices that leave you wondering "what did he say?". A real mish-mash of a movie, even without the Miami Vice name tag.
I'd give it a 1.

Somehow this film just passed through. I remember seeing the trailer last year but did'nt really see any reviews or comments on it. This usually means this is a turkey to be well avoided, but I saw it on sale (another bad omen) and decided to buy it for my boy. On the cover it says it's won an award for best CGI movie of 07?

The start is unusual, it makes no mention of origins, of how they came to be where they are or who they are. It starts in fact with the four Turtle brothers split, Leo is in South America, where he has been for just over a year acting as an unseen protector for a small village until he is tracked down by April. She tells Leo what the other brothers are doing, and none of them are doing that great, one doing IT support, one a kids party entertainer and Raphael a masked vigilante (unknown to all).

The main story refreshingly has nothing to do with Shredder, though the Foot Clan are involved. The story is pretty involved and a bit of a 3 way fight. You have an Eternal Champion figure who's family of 4 generals were turned to stone by his seeking immortality, he has lived through the ages ammasing wealth and power hoping to rectify his mistake. At the moment of his mistake he also unleashed 13 monsters into the world. April, along with Casey has been collecting the 4 stone statues, who the Champion reanimates, but still as stone warriors. They are tasked along with the Foot Clan to locate the 13 monsters and capture them, along the way they of course meet the Turtles.

There's enough in the story to keep you interested and guessing just what is happening. It's also voiced by some excellent actors including Sarah Michelle Gellar, Patrick Stewart and Lawrence Fishburne.

As for the mentioned CGI?
It is well worthy of the award. I've not been impressed with a CGI film for a while now, but the level of detail and quality in this film really took me back. Maybe it's because I'm learning CGI myself, but the quality of textures and modelling really stood out. There's no corners cut either, when the rain comes and  you see the tiny splatters on the bodies fighting it really is very well done.
As a kids movie this is maybe the best all CGI boys film I've seen, as a film in general, it's still a lot of fun and as said, a visual treat.

 

Here's a handy little site.

You ever thought of buying something at Amazon but did'nt want to pay the postage as the item was under £18?

 

Well this site: http://www.filleritem.com/uk.html  could be the answer to all that.

 

Just type in the amount you need to take you to free postage and it will give you a list of links to items of that price. Just add a few little gifts or pressies and get the free postage.

 

Brilliant! 

 

p.s. you see the post below about Choices? Well, that's all over. they're gone. The store has now been taken over by Blockbuster. 

Some may know, that I've recently been buying up quite a few DVD's from the store Choices.
I heard they were going bust, so decided to pay a trip to my local store to see if there were any closing down sales's. mercenary, I know.
Anyway, there was no sign of them closing, but plenty of deals to be had. Most notable were the 3 for £10, and the 5 for £10 on selected titles.
Also, what drew my attention was there "bargain bin", which has literally hundreds of discs in it all without boxes. For some reason or other the box is damaged or lost and the disc ends up here, weather it's a very old film, or a very new one.
I've been buying quite a few of these, as they are only 4 for £5!


Choices

So, what do you do with all these loose discs?
Well I have a storage book, that most go into, but for some, that I've really enjoyed I've been putting them in boxes and printing of covers. And this is where DVD Cover Fuzion comes into the story. They are a website that have thousands of covers available for download, for free. They also have custom covers, if you want something a bit special. There's also regular competitions to design new covers. All in all a good site to bookmark.

DVD Cover Fuzion

Just back from the latest Summer Memrobilia Show at the NEC. Always good fun and a chance to meet some of the stars. Here is me with Mira Furlan, who plays Danielle Rousseau, the slightly crazy French lady in Lost. Oh, the little fellow behind is her son.

Also met Billy Boyd (Pippin from LOTR), my boy Nathan was almost responsible for crippling him as he tried to lift him onto a desk.

The show is really a celebration of anything sci-fi or fantasy related as well as cult TV. There is tonnes to see and buy. You usually bump into the odd Stormtrooper or Dalek or Jedi as well while your there who are more than happy to muck around with you and pose for photos.

Not sure if I'll go next year, I might try the Bristol Comic Expo, apparently the largest comic convention in the UK.

 

A bit of a social comment this one.
I recently entered into a debate over at AV Talk concerning the film Captivity. At the time the thread was started the film was not yet at the cinema. So the post centered on the advertising poster, which apparently had had numerous complaints.
The question was asked "Do you find this offensive?"

I have to say, I was very surprised at the answers. It very quickly turned into a debate on censorship. Is it right, is it wrong. There seemed to be more against ANY form of censorship than those for, or was it just that they had the loudest voices, I dont know.

The whole episode though I found worrying. So will give my thoughts on it.
I agree with censorship. I've known times when I've scratched my head at some of their decisions, most notably Enter the Dragon and the Nunchux scene which was banned for years in the UK, but readily watchable from the US. However, apart from the odd one or two head scratchings I think they do a good job. I say good too as in the meaning of good.
# Acting in the interest of good; ethical (good intentions).
# Useful for a particular purpose (it’s a good watch).

I've never been a horror fan. I've not understood it for years, different people have given me their views on the genre, and it's a big one with different sub genre's and seriousness. There are people who happily watch a "slasher" film, enjoying it for the OTT performances and cliches, not really thinking at all that this is supposed to be a realistic film. However, there's a trend at the moment towards ultra real, ultra shocking horror. Not many have lived up to the hype when actually seen, but the advertising promises us the worst we can imagine.

For me, this is becoming worrying. When I last looked at the Poll for who found the poster above offensive I was one of the 2 people who had voted yes. Even now, when the film is out and it is apparent that none of the events advertised actually happen to the lead, the idea that hardly anyone found the advertisement of a film where a young girl is stalked, kidnapped, tortured and then murdered....all for the viewers pleasure, not the least bit troubling, is indeed maybe the most troubling thing of all.

The basic argument is if it's not real then anything goes. I have to say I dont believe that argument holds much weight. Sure we can tell our brains that something is'nt real, but at different ages you become more and less impressionable, people become involved in films, people get scared with horror films (of course).
Do we need this type of film, what pleasure or entertainment will it give us?

I'm stopping there. All I would say is have a think. Look at the poster and what it offers. is that something you desire?

Following on from my new found love of Contemporary Country music (well, over a year now) I've been buying up various music DVD's. Rather than do seperate reviews I thought I'd just lump them all together in one Country Round Up. Yeeha!

First off, a good DVD to mention is Today's Best Country Music. featuring 10 tracks by various artists, that I will list for you:

Six-Pack Summer: Phil Vassar
How Forever Feels: Kenny Chesney
One More Day: Diamond Rio
Born To Fly: Sara Evans
Everything's Changed: Lonestar
Guys Do It All The Time: Mindy McCready
Just Let Me Be In Love: Tracy Byrd
Complicated: Carolyn Dawn Johnson
He Didn't Have To Be: Brad Paisley
You Wont Ever Be Lonely: Andy Griggs

A few things worth mentioning from this list. First, Tracy Byrd, is a bloke. No, really!
Second, other than Tracy, Andy Griggs and Phil Vassar I ended up buying albums from all the other artists. Lonestar and Brad Paisley, I'll go into later.
Another thing worth mentioning is how different these videos are to your average MTV nonsense. These guys and gals are'nt interested in being the next sexy star, poncing around in underwear, rather they're interested in telling stories and having fun. In fact that seems to be the overriding factor with this genre. Stories and fun.

OK, on to some other DVD's.

 

 

Brad Paisley The Video Collection 2006.

After seeing Brad's song He Didn't Have To Be above, it was clear he's a cut above average. This is a guy that can very easily engage you with some very emotional songs, and then have you grinning with his sense of humour.
Tracks worth noting:
Did you know Brad hosts a Bass fishing tournament? Well he does, and one song focuses on his girlfriends dislike of all his time out on the lake. He has to choose between her or the fish. The song is called "I'm Gonna Miss Her", also featuring Jerry Springer.
When I Get Where I'm Going. Featuring Dolly Parton. She's only in the video for a second, but wow, she looks good for her age! I reckon anyone who sees this video and hears the song will think, I want this song playing when I go.
Whiskey Lullaby featuring Alison Krauss. An outstanding duet. Featured on Alison's album A Hundred Miles or More. A heartbreaking story in the aftermath of WW2.

 

  

 

Lonestar Greatest Video Hits

After seeing Lonestar's video Everything's Changed, you again realise this is another very accomplished group. A very successful band, it's quite a surprise to hear their lyrics and see their videos and realise this is a group with family very much at the heart of what they do.
Although you only get 6 tracks on this video (for a very cheap price mind you), not one is a filler. All of them are genuine hits. Starting with Amazed, the song that made the band famous. Also of note are My Front Porch looking In, if your not singing this by the end get your money back. Not A Day, which was dedicated to the US soldiers in Iraq and was adopted by them as their song.
A superb group. I did read that the lead singer is due to move on and go solo, this will be a big loss if true to a wonderful group.

 

 

Shania Twain The Platinum Collection

By far the most disappointing DVD here. Which is a shame when you thing Shania has probably done more than most to bring Country to the ears of the masses. If the MTV style video is what you like, little content but lots of girls in different outfits, then you'll probably like it. It has to be said though, the videos improve as you watch (a massive 21 videos!), but I think that also says, Shanias best was her first. I'll just sum this one up by saying the CD sounds a LOT better.

 

 

Martina has a very similar approach to brad. In this collection of 11 videos, with introductory interviews on about 9 of them, you have a collection of very moving, emotional songs with a few good laughs too. The interviews are pretty good, though I watched them after I'd seen all the videos. Some of the stories have a slightly enigmatic ending, and Martina is kind enough to go into detail on what really happened. I wont spoil the stories for you here, but I will say they're happy endings.
There are some real Country Rock ballads amongst this collection, Wild Angels, Love's The Only House and Life Number 9, and it's good to see some thought put into the stories that accompany what are some very hard subjects.
Overall, it's a surprise watching this collection. I'd heard her music a number of times but when you really see what she's singing about it's an eye opener that means you wont listen again the same way.

 

 

An Evening With The Dixie Chicks

This is the only live performance I've bought, though a lot of the videos have a few live performances on them, this is a full concert.
Basically featuring the whole of Home, which at the time was their new CD. First thing to note, is it's probably good that it was new at the time because the songs the audiance do know are all accompanied by their singing.
Another thing to note, as with all these DVD's, when offered with 5.1 or stereo sound, the stereo is best. In the case of this DVD you get PCM stereo, which is superb.
The actual quality of this live video is slightly strange, all the others I'd see have been your typical music video quality, which on the whole is very good. Here there are 2 distinct types of quality depending on which camera is shooting at the time. You have a very clear TV quality camera for most of the show, but interspersed with widescreen film quality footage. Strange, but you get used to it after a while.
Even though this is Home sandwiched between a few other tracks, it really is like listening to a Best Of album, there are so many fabulous songs here. The girls themselves, self confessing White Trash, introduce a lot of the songs, and you can't help but like these misfits.
For what is the most successful girl group ever in any genre they really are a normal bunch.
You have Martie Maguire  talking about how her second husbands plan was to go to Vegas and win enough money for a wedding ring, a story that inspired the track White Trash Wedding, you have Emily Robison confessing to taking a break and getting "knocked up" and now they'll have to take another break, and of course Natalie Maines fresh after getting herself in trouble again, by what sounds like badmouthing the national anthem. I did'nt look up what the actual offence was, but the crowd did'nt seem that bothered. I was also amazed how good these girls are at playing. Flute, guitar, banjo, they really are a talented trio.
Natalie Maines also knows how to engage the audiance, telling stories and generally having a great time doing what she's doing. Nice to see her Dad there too playing guitar.
A very enjoyable concert from a superb group that unfortunatley got themselves in hot water, but need to bring out another album soon.


Summary.
If you can get hold of a copy of Today's Best Country Music, to be had on Amazon for a few quid. Take a good look at some of today's best Country artists and then dive in with the ones you like.