The 10th Sci-fi London Festival is currently on. As quite a few people may be on holidays this week in an attempt at scrounging as many days off work as possible I reckon you should try and get yourself a ticket to one of their events or screenings : http://www.sci-fi-london.com/festival/2011/programme
I am off to see Super on Monday 2nd May which is showing at Apollo Piccadilly Circus. To book tickets click here .
There are loads of other films showing there too, including a FREE screening of Escape to Witch MountainBook tickets here.
I was particularly intrigued by the London Girl Geek Dinner which takes place on 28th April @ 6.30. Leilani Holmes and Anna Higgs will both be in attendance talking about their work and use of new media. Click here for more information
I went to the cinema to see Burlesque with a friend and it delivered exactly what I wanted - a film that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Joined in my viewing by a bunch of teenage girls who screamed every time the dude from Twilight was on screen and a couple of men who squealed in delight at numerous points throughout I thoroughly enjoyed myself. So there!!! *Contains Spoilers*
Something’s Got A Hold On Me
Aguilera works in a small town crap hole, but she dreams of bigger things. Whilst belting out this powerful soul tune she dry humps a chair and excessively swings her hair. This opening performance gives the audience a good idea of what they have let themselves in for. She decides to make her move to LA to break into the big time!
Welcome to Burlesque
Aguilera has made it to the big smoke and is wowed by a seedy little Burlesque club that Cher runs. Cher is scantily clad as she sings this circus style song that introduces all the misfits that work in the bar. Make of this what you will.
Tough Lover
Landing a job in the bar she longs to amaze the clientele with her “mutant lungs” but Cher isn’t convinced. Then the power goes out; what can the performers do without all their backing tracks to mime to? Hang on a minute…. Christina Aguilera takes to the stage and belts out her infamous growl – just as they thought the night was ruined Cher raises the curtain in awe. All her dreams have come true!!!
But I Am A Good Girl
Aiming for a Marilyn Monroe-esque performance in its breathy and comedic style and Aguilera cleverly wears a short blonde wig. Meanwhile in the backstory the continually sloshed Kristen Bell is angered by the threat of Aguilera taking over her slot. Some bitchy remarks are thrown back and forth and Aguilera looks sadly in a mirror. No one wants to be her friend :(
Guy What Takes His Time
Another Aguilera performance - a song with trumpets which is slightly more in line with the Burlesque theme. Things are progressing in her life – she has moved in with that guy from Twilight who wears eyeliner and a bowler hat at work. But they are just friends – he has a fiancé.
Express
Aguilera has taken over from Bell as the big Burlesque act and the other dancers ask her out for pizza. No more looking sadly in a mirror (for a few minutes anyway). Bell is off somewhere getting drunk and being trashy. Aguilera is having problems with her love life; does she choose the big shot or the bar tender?
You Haven’t Seen The Last Of Me
Cher needs to do a last minute sound-check and she is having money problems and feeling a bit mopey. She stands alone on stage with only the sound man as an audience. He is so overwhelmed (in what can only be described as the best moment in the film) by her powerful performance he earnestly nods his head with affinity for her dilemmas. He just KNOWS she will make it – what a strong woman and an inspiration! This song didn’t even get nominated for an Oscar… I think Cher may have been upset about that, but I can’t remember http://twitter.com/#!/cher/status/30006805534867456
Bound To You
Aguilera is super sad –she really did fancy the guy from Twilightand they did it. But his fiancé suddenly appears and Aguilera storms out over to Stanley Tucci’s place.
Show Me How You Burlesque
With Cher’s money problems solved by Aguilera’s sharp mind and the emotional return of Bell it’s time for a group hug and one last mega performance.
The Beautiful People
In a crazy afterthought the closing credits sample Marilyn Manson’s song of the same title in a suitably demented way!
Burlesque is released on DVD and Blu-ray on 25th April 2011.
My attention has just been brought to this low budget horror, that has achieved a lower rating on IMDB than even The Pit, which makes me REALLY want to watch it!
Let me just start with the tag line: Jamie wouldn't kill anyone...unless Teddy told him to!
A weirdly wonderful and funny horror movie that is simply unpredictable. Jamie Benjamin, played by Sammy Snyders (yes that is his real name) is an autistic child who is bullied by the local community and his classmates. Whilst taking a stroll one day he comes across a pit in the forest that is filled with carnivorous creatures that feast on human flesh... Revenge ensues.
Jamie with his blonde bowl hair-cut and turtle neck sweaters stares at boobs all day and has conversations with his demonic teddy at night. The teddy does talk back. He loves boobs so much he stages an elaborate plan to get topless photos of the school librarian. When he brings back his stash of naughties teddy exclaims "I'm gonna look at these a lot" in an extremely sincere and disturbing way. Everytime Jamie talks there is "atmospheric" music piped in to accompany the close up shots of his bulging eyes - to suggest how evil he really is.
He wreaks revenge on the community that bully him by feeding them to some monsters he found in a pit. The movie is basically death scenes, boobs, bullying and Jamie staring insanely and running about in a strop if anything upsets him. A few deaths are accompanied by jolly, uplifting marching band music in a montage scene where an old lady in a wheelchair and an aspiring football player come to their grisly ends; Jamie is having the time of his life.
With DVD chapter titles such as, Disturbing Bathtime, Handicapped Accessible and Half-naked lunch there really is no level of depravity the film-makers do not touch upon. There is no give in this relentless tale of voyeuristic perversion.
I love this film for its extreme close-up nipple shots, bad acting, bad editing, red-eyed monsters and depravity. It makes me laugh like no comedy ever could. Nothing compares to it.
If you LOVE Karaoke, keep reading. Duets combines two of my favourite things; Karaoke and a road trip. This is the film where I fell in love with Paul Giamatti as a man who gets sick of the American dream, flips out, takes a road trip away from his family and sings some karaoke. Giamatti knows how to do breakdown and I love a "man on the edge" performance. Watch as he duets here with Andre Braugher:
As his road trip nears the end and his wife finally tracks him down in a karaoke bar to persuade him to come home he very sincerely says: "I can't go back to who I was. I'm different now. I sing." BRILLIANT! As cheesy as the whole thing is I found it poignant and a tear or two may have been shed.
His performance is stand out in the film and I have followed his career religiously ever since.
There are two other duet performances in this film. Huey Lewis plays Gwyneth Paltrow's estranged father and they bond over, you guessed it, Karaoke. As much as I usually hate Paltrow's whiny little guts she is a pretty decent singer and I may have even liked her for the duration of this film. Lewis is just an awesome singer - this we all know.
The third duet relationship is between the wonderful Maria Bello and Scott Speedman who strike up an uneasy romance on the road. It is probably the weakest of the three storylines but Bello belts out her take on the Eurythmics Sweet Dreams and her damaged character is endearing.
This is my guilty pleasure for all the feel good Karaoke moments, the building road trip relationships and Paul Giamatti. Not sure why the haven't released it on blu-ray yet...
So, I haven't posted for a while but that doesn't mean I haven't still been busy writing. The lovely Purl About Town has suggested my blog worthy of the Liebster award which has given me a kick up the ass to update it. I will explain more about the award in my next post, but you can read all about it on Purl About Town's crafty blog here.
I have been busy reviewing films and have been posting them on the wonderful Cinetalk website. I got the opportunity to interview the acclaimed Russian Director Andrei Konchalovsky who with films like Runaway Train and Tango & Cash under his belt had a great sense of humour about the whole Hollywood Industry but took his work very seriously. I made some people angry by writing this scathing review. I indulged in some literary adaptation by watching Never Let Me Go which is one of my favourite books. I went to see Paul with my husband Paul (and Brett). I was disappointed by the new Ivan Reitman flick, No Strings Attached and overwhelmed by the greatness of some melodramatic Japanese cinema in Confessions.
And finally, I went to see Rango, which is out in the UK today. You can read my review here.
Over the next few weeks I will be updating my blog religiously with my choice of Guilty Pleasures - both film and books. Hopefully see you soon.
A poignant tale about where imaginary best friends go after we are done with them. This story focuses on, Mr Paloobi; a suited bear like figure that is conjured up from the imagination of a lonely, overlooked young boy. They play chess and eat dinner together, but never share chocolate, and build up a very sweet and innocent relationship.When the young boy discovers girls and finally starts growing up Mr Paloobi gets sent to “warm the bench” where he spends his time dwelling on the friendship that developed, was nurtured and then lost. After 70yrs on the bench, he is finally called back into play. As the ageing process starts to deteriorate his long, lost friend’s mind, you are left contemplating the worries faced when getting older. The author has put a positive spin on these problems by providing a comforting idea that it may not be all that lonely when your memories start to fade.An accessible story that touches on the uncertainties of ageing in a sensitive and thoughtful way.
Bench Warmer is available to buy here and is published by Fortykey.
