5
For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.
Monday, 11 August 2008
Articles
Inside the World of Warner Premiere Motion Comics
(from Newsarama.com)
Quite interesting interview about Warner's new Motion Comics thingies (turning DC Comics into part-animated, narrated videos). Unfortunately it's clearly an interview with some form of mid-level executive rather than fan or creative, as it's packed with copywriter-sanitized middle-management marketing speak.
Review of Star Wars: The Clone Wars by James Dyer
(from Empire Online)
"It may not be what the (now older) fans are hoping for, but this is entirely in keeping with Lucas’ original vision -- whether you like it or not."
(from Newsarama.com)
Quite interesting interview about Warner's new Motion Comics thingies (turning DC Comics into part-animated, narrated videos). Unfortunately it's clearly an interview with some form of mid-level executive rather than fan or creative, as it's packed with copywriter-sanitized middle-management marketing speak.
Review of Star Wars: The Clone Wars by James Dyer
(from Empire Online)
"It may not be what the (now older) fans are hoping for, but this is entirely in keeping with Lucas’ original vision -- whether you like it or not."
Sunday, 10 August 2008
Films
Hamlet (1996)
[#50 in 100 Films in a Year 2008]
[1st half]
Kenneth Branagh's four-hour full-text adaptation of arguably Shakespeare's most famous play. So long it has an official intermission inserted, which is where I watched to -- it's a bit much for one sitting if you ask me. At least the current David Tennant-starring production, which I'll be seeing in September, has been edited.
[#50 in 100 Films in a Year 2008]
[1st half]
Kenneth Branagh's four-hour full-text adaptation of arguably Shakespeare's most famous play. So long it has an official intermission inserted, which is where I watched to -- it's a bit much for one sitting if you ask me. At least the current David Tennant-starring production, which I'll be seeing in September, has been edited.
Non-Fiction
Overheard in New York by S. Morgan Friedman & Michael Malice
Forward by Marc Shaiman
Introduction: The Whole World is Listening by Lawrence Block
"Behind Closed Doors"
"Going Underground" (pages 101-137)
'Best of' volume from the blog of the same name, which collects amusing things people have been overheard saying in New York (the title really is self explanatory).
Forward by Marc Shaiman
Introduction: The Whole World is Listening by Lawrence Block
"Behind Closed Doors"
"Going Underground" (pages 101-137)
'Best of' volume from the blog of the same name, which collects amusing things people have been overheard saying in New York (the title really is self explanatory).
Saturday, 9 August 2008
TV
Beijing 2008 Olympics: Opening Ceremony
I'm still not convinced that the Chinese should have the Olympics (the IOC insist that the Olympics should not be political and are about unity or harmony or something, yet they're in a country infamous for its human rights violations? Do they have no sense of irony?), but this opening ceremony -- a vast, impressive mix of techniques and styles, directed by filmmaker Zhang Yimou -- is too startling to miss. Of course, they wasted a helluva lot of money on it, so of course it does. I expect any participant who did their bit wrong will be taken out and shot. (Watched on NBC with US commentary, which was surprisingly good.)
I'm still not convinced that the Chinese should have the Olympics (the IOC insist that the Olympics should not be political and are about unity or harmony or something, yet they're in a country infamous for its human rights violations? Do they have no sense of irony?), but this opening ceremony -- a vast, impressive mix of techniques and styles, directed by filmmaker Zhang Yimou -- is too startling to miss. Of course, they wasted a helluva lot of money on it, so of course it does. I expect any participant who did their bit wrong will be taken out and shot. (Watched on NBC with US commentary, which was surprisingly good.)
Articles
Beijing Olympics: Britain sends twice as many public workers as athletes by Gordon Rayner, Sarah Knapton and Jon Swaine
(from Telegraph.co.uk)
"Whilst Team GB comprises 313 athletes, more than 600 publicly-funded workers will be attending the Games... In 2004, just seven public servants attended the Athens Olympics." Except these opening statistics are incredibly misleading, as the article later reveals that "by far the biggest British contingent at the Games will be the BBC, which has sent 437 staff... The record number is 33 more than the corporation sent to Athens" -- so include that and the seven becomes 413! The reason for the extra people is that we're hosting the next Olympics and this is a chance for various officials to find out how it's done. Perhaps we are overspending on this, but at least some of it is justifiable.
How do other countries rate Batman?
(from BBC News)
After the controversy over the BBFC's rating of The Dark Knight, BBC News looks at how eight other nations rated the film. Two of them, including France, gave it the equivalent of a U!
"It's kind of locked in this no-man's land." by Matt Weston
(from CommanderBond.net)
Interview with Rare's senior software engineer, Nick Burton, about what's going on with the GoldenEye remake for Xbox LIVE Arcade / Wii. It's a big legal problem, really. Burton also talks about whether or not GoldenEye's shadow hangs over the company.
Nigerian advises against 86 wives by Andrew Walker
(from BBC News)
It starts out sounding like an amusing story about an old guy with a ludicrous number of wives, but it quickly becomes clear it's actually some sort of scary cult thing goin' on.
Potter prequel book sets record
(from BBC News)
"A book featuring a new Harry Potter tale by JK Rowling has become the fastest-selling collection of short stories of all time in the UK. What's Your Story? contains 13 postcard-sized tales by authors including Doris Lessing, Nick Hornby and Sebastian Faulks... Irvine Welsh, Michael Rosen, Tom Stoppard and Margaret Atwood... More than 10,000 copies were bought on its first day of release, with some shops sold out by Thursday lunchtime." It's only available from Waterstone's, as it's launched from their initiative, but the BBC article cunningly doesn't mention this!
(from Telegraph.co.uk)
"Whilst Team GB comprises 313 athletes, more than 600 publicly-funded workers will be attending the Games... In 2004, just seven public servants attended the Athens Olympics." Except these opening statistics are incredibly misleading, as the article later reveals that "by far the biggest British contingent at the Games will be the BBC, which has sent 437 staff... The record number is 33 more than the corporation sent to Athens" -- so include that and the seven becomes 413! The reason for the extra people is that we're hosting the next Olympics and this is a chance for various officials to find out how it's done. Perhaps we are overspending on this, but at least some of it is justifiable.
How do other countries rate Batman?
(from BBC News)
After the controversy over the BBFC's rating of The Dark Knight, BBC News looks at how eight other nations rated the film. Two of them, including France, gave it the equivalent of a U!
"It's kind of locked in this no-man's land." by Matt Weston
(from CommanderBond.net)
Interview with Rare's senior software engineer, Nick Burton, about what's going on with the GoldenEye remake for Xbox LIVE Arcade / Wii. It's a big legal problem, really. Burton also talks about whether or not GoldenEye's shadow hangs over the company.
Nigerian advises against 86 wives by Andrew Walker
(from BBC News)
It starts out sounding like an amusing story about an old guy with a ludicrous number of wives, but it quickly becomes clear it's actually some sort of scary cult thing goin' on.
Potter prequel book sets record
(from BBC News)
"A book featuring a new Harry Potter tale by JK Rowling has become the fastest-selling collection of short stories of all time in the UK. What's Your Story? contains 13 postcard-sized tales by authors including Doris Lessing, Nick Hornby and Sebastian Faulks... Irvine Welsh, Michael Rosen, Tom Stoppard and Margaret Atwood... More than 10,000 copies were bought on its first day of release, with some shops sold out by Thursday lunchtime." It's only available from Waterstone's, as it's launched from their initiative, but the BBC article cunningly doesn't mention this!
Friday, 8 August 2008
Films
Mad Detective Trailer
Out in US cinemas now; out on DVD in the UK on 3rd November from Masters of Cinema. Looks pretty good to me.
Out in US cinemas now; out on DVD in the UK on 3rd November from Masters of Cinema. Looks pretty good to me.
Music
Quantum of Solace (song) by Joe Cornish
Thanks to Empire Online for bringing this to my attention -- an alternate theme for the forthcoming 22nd Bond film by comedian Joe Cornish (the second half of comedy duo Adam & Joe). "Did The Bond Producers Pick Wrong Song?" asks the headline. Well, no, but once it gets going it does have a few half decent jokes.
Thanks to Empire Online for bringing this to my attention -- an alternate theme for the forthcoming 22nd Bond film by comedian Joe Cornish (the second half of comedy duo Adam & Joe). "Did The Bond Producers Pick Wrong Song?" asks the headline. Well, no, but once it gets going it does have a few half decent jokes.
Articles
Ang Lee Is Taking Woodstock by Olly Richards
(from Empire Online)
"the only way this could sound less like an Ang Lee project would be if you threw in a big, green, giant man... oh, hang on."
After directing films as diverse as Sense and Sensibility, Brokeback Mountain and Hulk, I don't think anything can sound unlike an Ang Lee project.
James Cameron's 'Avatar' creating tech buzz by Carolyn Giardina
(from THR.com)
Very interesting article (especially once it gets going) about the amazing technical innovations on James Cameron's forthcoming (in December 2009) film Avatar.
Is Hollywood overestimating the clout of the geek? by Steven Zeitchik
(from THR.com)
Great article about the importance (or not?) of the Comic-Con geek-crowd to the success of movies and TV shows.
Lucas says Indiana Jones needs Ford to continue by Ryan Pearson
(from Mail.com)
Interesting interview with George Lucas in which he discusses a potential Indy 5, Star Wars in 3D, and Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie (yes, really).
Net address bug worse than feared by Maggie Shiels
(from BBC News)
Though the article seems to conclude that, actually, the bug is relatively minor and unlikely to cause problems. BBC News is beginning to seem a bit sensationalist to me.
Rebecca Hall Joins Ealing's Dorian Gray by Chris Hewitt
(from Empire Online)
"Hall isn’t alone in joining the cast of Oliver Parker’s movie, which is currently shooting. In fact, roughly half the population of Britain has signed on in one fell swoop, with Ben Chaplin, Emilia Fox, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Max Irons..., Fiona Shaw, Pip Torrens, Douglas Henshall, Caroline Goodall, Michael Culkin, Johnny Harris, Hugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grub all signing on the line that is dotted. And that, dear readers, is one hell of a cast." Plus there's Colin Firth and Maryam d'Abo, as well as Prince Caspian himself Ben Barnes as the titular Gray.
(from Empire Online)
"the only way this could sound less like an Ang Lee project would be if you threw in a big, green, giant man... oh, hang on."
After directing films as diverse as Sense and Sensibility, Brokeback Mountain and Hulk, I don't think anything can sound unlike an Ang Lee project.
James Cameron's 'Avatar' creating tech buzz by Carolyn Giardina
(from THR.com)
Very interesting article (especially once it gets going) about the amazing technical innovations on James Cameron's forthcoming (in December 2009) film Avatar.
Is Hollywood overestimating the clout of the geek? by Steven Zeitchik
(from THR.com)
Great article about the importance (or not?) of the Comic-Con geek-crowd to the success of movies and TV shows.
Lucas says Indiana Jones needs Ford to continue by Ryan Pearson
(from Mail.com)
Interesting interview with George Lucas in which he discusses a potential Indy 5, Star Wars in 3D, and Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie (yes, really).
Net address bug worse than feared by Maggie Shiels
(from BBC News)
Though the article seems to conclude that, actually, the bug is relatively minor and unlikely to cause problems. BBC News is beginning to seem a bit sensationalist to me.
Rebecca Hall Joins Ealing's Dorian Gray by Chris Hewitt
(from Empire Online)
"Hall isn’t alone in joining the cast of Oliver Parker’s movie, which is currently shooting. In fact, roughly half the population of Britain has signed on in one fell swoop, with Ben Chaplin, Emilia Fox, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Max Irons..., Fiona Shaw, Pip Torrens, Douglas Henshall, Caroline Goodall, Michael Culkin, Johnny Harris, Hugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grub all signing on the line that is dotted. And that, dear readers, is one hell of a cast." Plus there's Colin Firth and Maryam d'Abo, as well as Prince Caspian himself Ben Barnes as the titular Gray.
Thursday, 7 August 2008
Articles
Batman film breaks another record
(from BBC News)
The Dark Knight is now the fastest film to reach $400m in the US (after breaking just about every other record in existence on its way there). The previous record holder was Shrek 2, which managed it in 43 days -- The Dark Knight did it in just 18.
The Dark Knight Hits $400m Domestic
(from Empire Online)
A more amusingly-told version of the above news.
(from BBC News)
The Dark Knight is now the fastest film to reach $400m in the US (after breaking just about every other record in existence on its way there). The previous record holder was Shrek 2, which managed it in 43 days -- The Dark Knight did it in just 18.
The Dark Knight Hits $400m Domestic
(from Empire Online)
A more amusingly-told version of the above news.
Articles: more Hamlet reviews
"Tennant was able to overcome the hype and prove his abilities as a “really fine, athletic and technically accomplished classical actor”... A few critics were sceptical about Gregory Doran’s cuts to the original text, particularly in the final scenes, but overall, there was great excitement surrounding this “full-value production”." (from WhatsOnStage.com's superior review round-up)
Five more reviews today (after the five yesterday), plus five varying round-ups -- if you read just one Hamlet article, make it the WhatsOnStage summary.
Reviews
Alas poor Doctor Who... you're okay but not out of this world by Quentin Letts
(from Mail Online)
Letts seems to want to dislike this production more than he actually does, forcing his way into any small fault he sees in poor attempts to widen them.
David Tennant thrills in Hamlet by David Baldwin
(from Metro.co.uk)
"there's no sense of righteous anger here, no earth-shattering grief. That doesn't make this a bad performance though, merely a different interpretation of the role. Doran seems to have understood what would suit Tennant best and gone with that, which pays dividends... It's not a Hamlet for the ages, but rather one for the here and now."
Hamlet, Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon by Paul Taylor
(from The Independent)
A very good, balanced review, including a more sensible list of great modern Hamlets than the Guardian's.
Hamlet (RSC, Stratford) by Michael Coveney
(from WhatsOnStage.com)
"Hamlet should be exciting. And Gregory Doran’s full-value production for the RSC in the Courtyard is exactly that... We should respond to Hamlet himself as a funny, fast, sardonic, headstrong prince with a streak of fatal prevarication and sense of his own intellectual superiority. And that we certainly do... This is easily the most complete Hamlet of recent years, and one of the most enjoyable."
Here's a prince for our time by Nicholas de Jongh
(originally from the Evening Standard)
Tennant "achieves something sensational and never managed in the past 40 years. He unlocks the key to the mystery of Hamlet and offers a convincing explanation for the prince's famous delay in avenging his father's murder... I was dazzled and excited by this concept... I hope Tennant can endow his historic Hamlet with what it crucially misses -- a heart."
Summaries
Mixed response to Tennant's play
(from BBC News)
The report correctly notes that the reviews have been mixed, though broadly positive and, having read a few myself, I'd say the most common conclusion is that it's a pretty damn good production. That's not as newsworthy as people slating it, of course, which is what this article initially focuses on.
Rave reviews for David Tennant's Hamlet
(from Metro.co.uk)
The yin to the BBC's summary's yang.
Review Round-up: Is Tennant Hamlet Hype or Hit? by Kate Jackson
(from WhatsOnStage.com)
Great round-up of many reviews: an accurate summation (after a few paragraphs of facts) followed by key quotes from seven different reviews (all of which I've featured here too).
Reviews roundup: Hamlet by Natalie Hanman
(from guardian.co.uk)
"The hype, it seems, was justified."
'Subtle', 'surreal' and the 'best in years'... David Tennant's Hamlet wins over the critics (mostly) by Graham Smith
(from Mail Online)
"while some critics made barbed comments about theatre companies using big names to fill seats, Tennant's performance received a generally positive response - with a few reservations."
"At the time of writing, if you want to pick up a good pair of seats for this sold out production of Hamlet on eBay, you'll have to shell out about £500." (Stratford performances are sold out; tickets for the 3-week London run go on sale in September.)
Five more reviews today (after the five yesterday), plus five varying round-ups -- if you read just one Hamlet article, make it the WhatsOnStage summary.
Reviews
Alas poor Doctor Who... you're okay but not out of this world by Quentin Letts
(from Mail Online)
Letts seems to want to dislike this production more than he actually does, forcing his way into any small fault he sees in poor attempts to widen them.
David Tennant thrills in Hamlet by David Baldwin
(from Metro.co.uk)
"there's no sense of righteous anger here, no earth-shattering grief. That doesn't make this a bad performance though, merely a different interpretation of the role. Doran seems to have understood what would suit Tennant best and gone with that, which pays dividends... It's not a Hamlet for the ages, but rather one for the here and now."
Hamlet, Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon by Paul Taylor
(from The Independent)
A very good, balanced review, including a more sensible list of great modern Hamlets than the Guardian's.
Hamlet (RSC, Stratford) by Michael Coveney
(from WhatsOnStage.com)
"Hamlet should be exciting. And Gregory Doran’s full-value production for the RSC in the Courtyard is exactly that... We should respond to Hamlet himself as a funny, fast, sardonic, headstrong prince with a streak of fatal prevarication and sense of his own intellectual superiority. And that we certainly do... This is easily the most complete Hamlet of recent years, and one of the most enjoyable."
Here's a prince for our time by Nicholas de Jongh
(originally from the Evening Standard)
Tennant "achieves something sensational and never managed in the past 40 years. He unlocks the key to the mystery of Hamlet and offers a convincing explanation for the prince's famous delay in avenging his father's murder... I was dazzled and excited by this concept... I hope Tennant can endow his historic Hamlet with what it crucially misses -- a heart."
Summaries
Mixed response to Tennant's play
(from BBC News)
The report correctly notes that the reviews have been mixed, though broadly positive and, having read a few myself, I'd say the most common conclusion is that it's a pretty damn good production. That's not as newsworthy as people slating it, of course, which is what this article initially focuses on.
Rave reviews for David Tennant's Hamlet
(from Metro.co.uk)
The yin to the BBC's summary's yang.
Review Round-up: Is Tennant Hamlet Hype or Hit? by Kate Jackson
(from WhatsOnStage.com)
Great round-up of many reviews: an accurate summation (after a few paragraphs of facts) followed by key quotes from seven different reviews (all of which I've featured here too).
Reviews roundup: Hamlet by Natalie Hanman
(from guardian.co.uk)
"The hype, it seems, was justified."
'Subtle', 'surreal' and the 'best in years'... David Tennant's Hamlet wins over the critics (mostly) by Graham Smith
(from Mail Online)
"while some critics made barbed comments about theatre companies using big names to fill seats, Tennant's performance received a generally positive response - with a few reservations."
"At the time of writing, if you want to pick up a good pair of seats for this sold out production of Hamlet on eBay, you'll have to shell out about £500." (Stratford performances are sold out; tickets for the 3-week London run go on sale in September.)
Wednesday, 6 August 2008
Theatre
Avenue Q
(at the Golden Theater, New York)
Hilariously funny and consistently entertaining, much more so than any other musical I've ever seen. Can't recommend this highly enough to anyone who enjoys a good laugh.
(at the Golden Theater, New York)
Hilariously funny and consistently entertaining, much more so than any other musical I've ever seen. Can't recommend this highly enough to anyone who enjoys a good laugh.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)