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The Missing
Ron Howard’s latest film is The Missing, which the distributors seem at pains to not call a western. Well it is a western – of that there can be no doubt. We’re in 1885 Arizona, and if that’s not the west, then call me the man with no name. Cate Blanchett is the local medicine…
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State of the Union
On the day that Bush presents his last State of the Union address before the election, The Independent today presented a staggering indictment of his presidency to date. They did it in the form of numbers. Just read through it (while it’s still free!).
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Zero Rated Shows
Emily Bell’s written an interesting piece in today’s Media Guardian abgut what our new regulator, Ofcom, should or should not do about “zero rated” programmes. What I find most curious is that she almost openly admits that it’s the likes of Mediaguardian, as well as Broadcast, that feverishly examine a programme’s ratings as the most…
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Girl with a Pearl Earring
Two Scarlett Johansson films in as many weeks? But you are spoiling us. It took a little to persuade me to see this film. Colin Firth isn’t exactly a box office draw in my book, but the beauty of the film was mentioned by everyone I heard talk about it. So I relented. Taking a…
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Democracy of Access – No Democracy of Talent
“The vast majority of them, I would say, are not worth the time it took to type them into the keyboard.” Val McDermed speaking about weblogs on The Message. I certainly hope that this writing isn’t “sub Bridget Jones” and I can honestly say that despite the fact that I read The Guardian, I don’t…
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The Boat Show
I last went to the Boat Show about five or six years ago, and must admit that I had a thoroughly good time. It’s full of large vessels for which you must earn millions to even think about owning. But there’s more to it than that. I suppose it comes of being an island race…
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Paycheck
From the outset, let’s just say that this is not a good film. Ben Affleck is so so, Uma Thurman seems to be on autopilot after Kill Bill, and there’s no chemistry between them whatsoever. Based on a Philip K Dick story, the producers no doubt thought they’d be more than happy with Bladerunner or…
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Mars and Space Exploration
So what to make of all the excitement we’ve had over the near year period about space exploration? We’ve had the disappointment of the Beagle 2 which does now seem lost. Then the success of NASA’s first Mars lander, including this spectacular Martian landscape. And now the lander has rolled out it’s lander. This is…
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A Dedicated Man
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Dodgy TV Comedies
Tuesday night seems to be new comedy night, and I certainly can’t claim to have watched any or all of them properly, but there’s something suspicious when a pair of programmes appear from 10.35 on BBC1 after the news without any notable previewing. First up there was Doctors and Nurses which stars Adrian Edmondson. This…
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The Avalanches
I’ve just been listening to a show on BBC London that I’ve never heard before presented by Sean Rowley (I think). He played a remix of a Belle & Sebastian song that’s soon to be released as a single. It’s an amazing remix with some very African influences. I can’t quite remember the details of…
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Lost In Translation
I’d been curious about this film from the poster alone, so when I didn’t manage to get along to the cinema at the weekend, tonight seemed a good time to go, and what a marvellous film. It’s slightly disconcerting to discover that director Sofia Coppolla is a couple of years younger than me – well…
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Yellowface/All The Lovers In The Night
Yellowface by R F Kuang I first came across R F Kuang with last year’s very enjoyable Babel, an alternate history of the British Empire told in a world where magic exists and is controlled by an elite group of individuals. Yellowface is very different, but no less enjoyable. It’s a book about books, and…
Hadrian’s Wall
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