Second First Impressions
Before I start I want to explicitly state that this blog post should be read only by people who have seen ‘Skyfall‘. It has spoilers from throughout the film and would spoil your experience to read this before watching.
Somebody Has Already Said It Better*
I don’t know which way i’m going, i don’t know which way i’ve come
and all the roads we have to walk are winding, and all the lights that lead us are blinding
no direction home, a complete unknown like a rolling stone
everyone seems to know the score, they’ve seen it all before
i came in from the wilderness a creature void of form
how can I know that and not know who i am?
so let us not talk falsely now the hour is getting late
but all my words come back to me in shades of mediocrity
i offered up my innocence and got repaid with scorn
look at what they make you give
well I know what i’ve been told, gotta break free to break the hold
i wanna know if all you need is love
try imagining a place where it’s always safe and warm
put your hands in your pockets looked away and smiled
Slightly different from my usual posts, the above is a poem that I ‘composed’ during a university module on identity. Thought I’d post it up here because it speaks to how much TV, Film & Music can shape the language we use to discuss ourselves and the things around us.
*even that
What Films I’ve Been Watching In 2012
After writing up my top ten of 2012, I looked back at it and realised it didn’t include any films. I thought I would correct that, so here is my top ten films of 2012. Thats right, I’m really bending the rules.
10. That film you can’t believe I’ve forgotten/left out.
Released earlier this year, starring thingy from that other thing. Some people didn’t like it but what do they know?
First Impressions
Build up to Skyfall has reminded me of my memories of sitting in the cinema watching Casino Royale. Die Another Day had been a bitterly mediocre disappointment, but we were promised a clean break with Daniel Craig, expectations were high. MGM logo, no gun barrel, black and white scene, all very calm, considered. Some clever dialogue intercut with a flash back to earlier tense action. Wasn’t sure what I was seeing, certainly didn’t look and sound like Bond, but it was definitely intriguing. Suddenly the dialogue stops, a double agent neatly dispatched and the earlier action isn’t over. Bond has too put a bullet in his first victim to finish him off, as we cut to a new angle the end of the scene doubles as Craig’s first Bond gun-barrel. Cue the music and a massive smile from me, I’m in I think to myself. The first two or so minutes of Casino Royale show off everything which was great about the film, this was Bond the character and the franchise boiled now to its bare essentials, they’d use what was useful, what had a place. This all continued into the title sequence itself, the silhouetted dancing-girls had gone, the theme tune had a hard self-assured edge to it. A truly terrific first impression. Read more 
The Dark Knight Rises: Good Film, Great Final Act
Before I start I’m really keen I don’t spoil anything about Rises for anybody who hasn’t seen it (or even colour anyones expectations). So to summarise, i’d highly recommend seeing The Dark Knight Rises in the cinema, but i’d also suggest watching or rewatching both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight before you do.
If you have seen Rises read on for why it’s a much better final act than it is a film, and it’s a pretty damn good film.
X-Men: First Class
Just a quick post this week to get into the swing of it. Saw X-Men: First Class last weekend. I went in with high expectations based on a few twitter whispers i’d read, and while it unfortunately couldn’t meet all those expectations, it did pleasantly fill it’s two hour run time and is generally speaking good popcorn fooder. Read more
I’m Not There
Just re-watched “I’m Not There“, love that film, sums up perfectly everything I love about Dylan, the idea of constantly trying to find yourself, figure out who you are, trying to be a better you, whoever that is. That will probably sound like waffle to a lot of people, probably to a lot of Dylan fans as well. Some Dylan fans may even think i’ve completely missed the point of most of Dylan’s music and the film, since they get a completely different message from Dylan’s music, for me the fact that different people hear different messages and take different things away is the point.
CTU: Provo Available on Youtube
The below post was originally posted on one of my other sites “24fans.com” earlier in the year.
It’s been a while since we’ve had anything newsworthy to post, my apologies for not posting more regularly with news on the 24: Movie, unfortunately the only news is, their is no news, and it didn’t seem worthwhile posting until I have something slightly more up beat to discuss. So i’m pleased to tell you that I bring you news of “A ’24′ Film” (Just not “The ’24′ Film”).
A few years ago during the longer than normal break between seasons 6 & 7 due to the WGA writers strike, I posted several fan made efforts to help us all get our fix. By far the best of these was CTU: Provo, a feature length film which tells the story of a terrorist threat to Utah posed by Tree Hugging Eco-Terrorists & 70′s Teen Idols turned bad and the efforts of CTU’s regional office in Provo to stop them. (You can read my original review here). Read more
The Bourne Ultimatum : I Would Stand In Line For This
…there always room in life for this. I saw the bourne ultimatum today, great film, brilliant, superb, best of the summer by far, while I was watching it I could almost imagine other action thriller producers make notes. Believe me, Bond 22 will bare the marks of Ultimatum, just like Casino Royale bore those of Supremacy. In some ways I feel like a moment in movie history has just played out in front of me, The Bourne trilogy I think has guaranteed it’s place in every made for TV film retrospective for the next 50 years. Don’t believe me, go see.
The title of this entry comes from the moby song which has played over the credits of every bourne film. I use it not just because it’s a good line, but because it helps me make a further point, too many of this summers blockbusters i’ve been able to shrug off and say, “ah, i’ll see it on dvd.”, the industry keeps bemoaning falling attendances at cinema, blaming downloading and pirate dvd’s. Produce more films like bourne, films up too that standard, and people will stand in line, maybe even come back a second time.
I came out of the cinema today, genuinely glad i’d gone to see Bourne on the big screen, and as cheesy as it sounds thinking, “i would stand in line for this.”