DVD Extras

Transporter 3 extras
- The Making of Transporter 3
- Storyboard Comparison
- Special FX
- Set/Production Design
- Car Stunts

With a combined running time of 27 minutes, there's not a great deal here. On the other hand, some of it's so lightweight that becomes a blessing. The Making Of featurette takes up most of the time at 16 minutes, but it's very weak, often just showing some behind-the-scenes footage with no explanation.

The four featurettes all feature commentary from director Olivier Megaton and are much better. Though they run for just two to three minutes each, they manage a passable amount of detail about their chosen topics. The storyboards one is especially interesting because, in spite of the title, it shows two unfilmed sequences (and no storyboard-to-screen comparisons).

Films

Flash Gordon (1980)
[#27a in 100 Films in a Year 2009]

Despite having seen this before -- only once, I think, and a long time ago when I was very young -- and having a huge review backlog I've still taken the time to write a piece on this. I have my reasons. Anyway, I'll post it in a few days, quite cynically leaving time for my Alien and Predator reviews to garner hits from DVD Times' front page.

Fiction

The Recently Deflowered Girl by Hyacinthe Phypps
Pages 6 - 47

This is a bit random: a comedy book from 1965, actually written/illustrated by Mel Juffe (if he's real) and Edward Gorey (though it's so obscure it's not even on his Wikipedia bibliography) offering advice on what to say in certain potentially embarrassing post-deflowerment situations.

Someone's scanned a significant chunk (though apparently not all) of it and put it online here. Some of it's very funny, other bits just wish they were. Look to this blog post for a little more info.

new reviews at 100 Films

A pair of new reviews have been posted over at 100 Films today...

Alien: The Director's Cut (1979/2003)

Alien feels unchanged. It’s been said many times before but, first and foremost, it’s a horror movie — it just happens to be one set in space with plenty of sci-fi trappings… Whatever effect Scott’s trims may have had, they haven’t made it any less effective in this regard

Predator (1987)

it’s an entertaining war flick that turns into a sci-fi/action/horror skirmish thingy — but it doesn’t have the same finesse that imbues Alien and its sequel.

Read the full reviews at 100 Films.

There are currently 15 new films in the review pipeline at 100 Films, plus three shorts. As ever, updates here as and when they're posted.

Films

Transporter 3 (2008)
[#27 in 100 Films in a Year 2009]

Articles

Review of Terminator Salvation by Devin Faraci
(from Empire)
A positive perspective on the widely panned new Terminator entry. Sounds pretty good to me.

Poem of the Week: Casey at the Bat

by Ernest Lawrence Thayer

As promised last week, here's another selection from The Nation's Favourite Comic Verse. It's about baseball -- or, to us Brits, 'glorified rounders' -- though a lack of knowledge on that front is no barrier to enjoyment, as the basic theme of this could easily apply to most sports (and for much of it could be about most sports).

The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day;
The score stood four to two with but one inning more to play.
So when Cooney died at second, and Burrows did the same,
A pallor wreathed the features of the patrons of the game.
A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest
Clung to the hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought, 'If only Casey could but get a whack at that --
We'd put up even money now with Casey at the bat.'
But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake,
And the former was a lulu and the latter was a fake;
So upon that stricken multitude a deathlike silence sat,
For there seemed but little chance of Casey's getting to the bat.
But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,
And Blake, the much despis-ed, tore the cover off the ball;
And when the dust had lifted, and the men saw what had occurred,
There was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third.
Then from five thousand throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled in the mountaintops, it rattled in the dell;
It knocked upon the hillside and recoiled upon the flat,
For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.
There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile on Casey's face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Casey at the bat.
Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;
Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt.
Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,
Defiance gleamed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip.
And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,
And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.
Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped --
'That ain't my style,' said Casey -- 'Strike one,' the Umpire said.
From the benches black with people, there went up a muffled roar,
Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore.
"Kill him! kill the umpire!" shouted someone on the stand;
And it's likely they'd have killed him had not Casey raised his hand.
With a smile of Christian charity great Casey's visage shone;
He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on;
He signalled to the pitcher, and once more the spheroid flew;
But Casey still ignored it, and the Umpire said, "Strike two."
'Fraud!' cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered, 'Fraud!'
But one scornful look from Casey and the multitude was awed.
They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
And they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again.
The sneer is gone from Casey's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate;
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate.
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow.
Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville -- mighty Casey has struck out.

This was first published in a newspaper in 1888, a year which looks kinda nice written down. It's clearly Thayer's most famous poem and has its own Wikipedia page here with more info than you could ever need.

There's also a version of the poem at Wikisource which has many notable differences to the one I've published here, which is taken directly from The Nation's Favourite Comic Verse. It's not just a case of formatting or punctuation -- some lines are almost entirely different. Wikisource says their version is the original from the paper; I don't know where this (revised, presumably) version originates.

TV

I didn't watch Question Time -- unlike most of twitter, it would seem -- but I did watch these:

The Graham Norton Show
5x10 (14/5/09 edition, uncut repeat)
Very surprised how much I liked Lily Allen on this. Amused that she could say the controversial lyrics from her song but wasn't allowed to sing them -- presumably the bit where she spelt it out was cut from the first broadcast (which has an earlier timeslot).
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Mentalist
1x09 Flame Red
Although the actual plot was a little light, it was thematically significant. Nice to see Jane's steely side too. I'm really enjoying this show -- very glad it's actually been a hit in America and isn't faced with cancellation, as so many of the best shows often are.
[Watch it (again) on Demand Five.]

The Omid Djalili Show
2x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

At the risk of getting dreadfully behind, for various personal reasons The Wire will now return next week.

Articles

C’est Magnifique - The Red Shoes Wows Cannes by John Hodson
(from From the Cheap Seats)
"The Red Shoes has been meticulously restored and [received] a special screening at the 62nd Cannes International Film Festival... 'I had never seen The Red Shoes on the big screen, leave alone like this. The restoration is stupendous... The colours absolutely leap from the screen.'"
The restored Red Shoes hits UK DVD and Blu-ray on June 29th.

Details on next-gen iPhone leaked? by Mark Langshaw
(from Digital Spy)
"Consistent with past rumours, the system will allegedly include a digital compass and video recorder. A built-in FM transmitter and an OLED screen to improve battery life will also be incorporated, while the RAM and processing power are double that of the current iPhone. The system’s digital camera will be significantly more powerful than its predecessor's, and users will also be able to send photographs and video material via text message."
True or not, there's definitely a software update coming for existing iPhones this summer, and some of that could be incorporated there too.

Film review: Inglourious Basterds by Emma Jones
(from BBC News)
BBC News' balanced opinion on Tarantino's new film (see yesterday and further down for more).

The new 1982 by primus
(from The Ark)
An interesting theory (that 1982 is remembered as a classic year for genre cinema, but has there been one as good since?) and intriguingly argued, though I'm not convinced he's found a genuinely viable alternative.

The Next Dimension: Does 3D Really Work? by Dan Jolin
(from the Empire Blog)
Some valuable 3D skepticism.

We've Seen Inglourious Basterds! by Chris Hewitt
(from Empire)
And finally, a glowing report/review of That Tarantino Film.

TV

Damages
2x13 Trust Me [season finale]
And so Damages' highly variable second season toddles to its conclusion. It's a twisty windy episode of twists and counter-twists, which rather relies on the audience just going along with it as much as genuinely understanding it. Hidden within all that are some bits that make sense and some that really don't. By the end, I wasn't sure if it was brilliantly done and amazingly written, or a total mess and dreadfully written.
Either way, season two's plot was fully wrapped up, and everything left hanging from season one was finished off too. Fresh start for season three? That's what I'm hoping for...

The Wire
2x07 Backwash
Well I never thought I'd see The Wire sink to a clichéd and predictable subplot! (I speak of the Tennis Ball Bug bits.) Much of it's still great, of course, and the plot's finally moving forward. Still not a patch on season one though.

Poetry

Hoping It Might Be So: Poems 1974-2000 by Kit Wright
Bump-Starting the Hearse (1984) (pages 120-151)
That's the end of that 'chapter' (each chapter in this volume is a book in its own right, collected here). Now I must read some other poets, because I have an essay to write that should ideally refer to lots of them.

Articles

Movie Reviews: Inglourious Basterds
(from Studio Briefing)
Tarantino's new film has premiered at Cannes, and the critics weren't impressed.

Mega Shark Vs Giant Octopus trailer

Apparently this has been the talk of the Internet recently. I've rather missed that, so clearly I need to pay more attention.

Anyway, I heard about it a little while ago but finally got round to watching the trailer. Looks like suitably B-movie-esque fun. Here it is for your benefit:

DVD Extras

Commentary! The Musical
(from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog)
[#26a in 100 Films in a Year 2009]

This is utterly brilliant, and worth every cent of the Amazon.com-exclusive $10.49 (+ p&p) asking price all by itself (the DVD is Region Free). I'll post a full review at 100 Films sometime, so will leave the rest of my thoughts 'til then, but this really is worth hearing for any film fan. And if you liked Dr. Horrible, it's essential.

Some more info about it can be found here.

Magazines

Radio Times 23-29 May 2009
The RT's new 'Point of View' column (which began when they relaunched the mag at Easter), with its roster of ten (mostly-)famous writers ready to offer up their opinions, has produced some excellent articles so far. The stand out is still Xander Armstrong's take on Sundays, but this week's piece comes close:
Michael Parkinson bemoans ITV's cancellation of The South Bank Show, something all us intelligent TV viewers can get on board with, and also the amount of drivel that particular network broadcasts generally.
It's on page 12; you should read it.

Articles

Battlestar Galactica - Disc-by-Disc Bonus Material Listings, Specs for Blu-ray & DVD Complete Series
and
Battlestar Galactica - Awesome New Images of Packaging for Season 4.5 Blu & Complete Series
by David Lambert
(from TVShowsOnDVD.com)
I've never seen any of the relaunched Battlestar Galactica, simply because I missed the original miniseries -- I think it clashed with something, and when the DVD came out the UK release was so inferior to the US one I refused to buy it. Later, I moved to Uni, thereby missing out on Sky and making it even harder to see -- and so even less incentive to watch.
But it's one of the most praised shows of the past few years, if not ever, and this rather beautiful and extras-packed Blu-ray set looks like a nice way to get caught up.

Also, see today's Magazines section.

Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes trailer

Follow links for larger versions.

Any thoughts?

For my money, it's not really Sherlock Holmes, but it does look like an awful lot of fun as a Victorian era action/adventure movie. The final gag is especially reminiscent of the Iron Man trailer, which I feel may be the broad tone being aimed at here. At the very least, Downey Jr. has absolutely nailed the accent and should be nothing short of magnificent.

new review at 100 Films

Marnie (1964)

Marnie is a film grounded in the field of psychoanalysis, though that word is never used and none of the characters are a therapist. Instead, it just concerns itself with a main character suffering under the strain of repressed childhood memories... Unfortunately, psychoanalysis was only an emerging area at the time, and the price Marnie pays for being ahead of the pack in the mid ’60s is that it looks dated and inaccurate now.

Read the full review at 100 Films.

There are currently 14 new films in the review pipeline at 100 Films, not to mention three shorts, a film I've previously seen, and an alternate cut. As ever, updates here as and when they're posted.

TV

Have I Got News For You
37x04 (15/5/09 edition; uncut repeat)
An excellent edition of the topical news quiz. The current poor state of our politics is wonderful fodder for this series, which when it's on form is among the very best things on TV. Plus, guest host Rolf Harris was super -- a lovely guy and clearly game for a laugh.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Robin Hood
3x07 Too Hot to Handle
Prince John is still brilliant, but this episode wasn't -- there were several plot holes big enough for Little John to fit through. A pair of excellent fight scenes though, which does go some way toward making up for it.
From the trailer, the next episode looks oddly like a season finale. Most strange...
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Non-Fiction / Art

Jack Vettriano by Jack Vettriano & Anthony Quinn
Lovers and Other Strangers: 1997 - 2000 (p102-145)
Affairs of the Heart: 2001 - 2004 (p146-183) [the end]
As I said yesterday, I like Vettriano's style, but it can become a bit samey when viewed in so concentrated a way.