Hellboy has come up in the world since the release of the first movie. The first film almost went straight to DVD in Britain when it was made. The cinema release came almost a year after America. It was a good comic book film and it won a lot of fans.
Hellboy 2 is a much more heralded creature. There has been an aggressive advertising campaign for what is a good film. Guillmero Del Torro has done it again with more style before. Where the first film had to almost introduce Hellboy and friends to the world Del Torro is able to tell a new story.
The plot revolves around a fairy prince who decides to wage war on mankind with an unbeatable Golden Army. There are a few romantic subplots, comedy moments and special effect set-pieces. Everything you need from a comic book blockbuster.
I await Hellboy 3 with eagerness.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Glasgow - world centre of music
Just read this on the NME website
http://www.nme.com/news/various-artists/39084
Glasgow has been named a world centre of music by UNESCO, the United Nations cultural orginisation. That's pretty cool.
http://www.nme.com/news/various-artists/39084
Glasgow has been named a world centre of music by UNESCO, the United Nations cultural orginisation. That's pretty cool.
Monday, August 18, 2008
I found my vaselines CD....
Thank god I didn't buy another. Now just need to buy tickets to see them play in December.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Isaac Hayes - RIP
Isaac Hayes died recently. He was a great musician and his contributuion to South Park was brilliant.
RIP
RIP
Small Bands at the Barrowlands
I went to the Barrowlands to see some local bands with one of my mates last night. There were 5 bands on the bill but we only caught the last 3.
The first band that we saw were Ketimine Deco - they were a teenage punk band and they played a couple of covers of songs by bands like Rancid, The Ramones and Blink 182. They were Ok but not amazing.
The next band that we saw were older and much more polished. They were called Callan. They were a female fronted 4-piece. They were quite tight but the songwriting wasn't the best. Their stand-out track was a cover of Rocks by Primal Scream. If they write some better songs they might be able to do something.
Finally we saw the band that we had come to see. Jumping Flash are a band from Ayr. My mate teaches at the school they attend and had bought a few tickets from them. They were actually good for a school band although I would describe them as almost being a tribute to the Killers. All of their material was original and they were managing to incorporate electronic sounds into their set which was good. They might be able to do something if they work at it. I think they have a page on myspace somewhere.
The beer in the Barrowlands was overpriced and shite which is nothing new so we fucked off to another pub pretty soon after that.
The first band that we saw were Ketimine Deco - they were a teenage punk band and they played a couple of covers of songs by bands like Rancid, The Ramones and Blink 182. They were Ok but not amazing.
The next band that we saw were older and much more polished. They were called Callan. They were a female fronted 4-piece. They were quite tight but the songwriting wasn't the best. Their stand-out track was a cover of Rocks by Primal Scream. If they write some better songs they might be able to do something.
Finally we saw the band that we had come to see. Jumping Flash are a band from Ayr. My mate teaches at the school they attend and had bought a few tickets from them. They were actually good for a school band although I would describe them as almost being a tribute to the Killers. All of their material was original and they were managing to incorporate electronic sounds into their set which was good. They might be able to do something if they work at it. I think they have a page on myspace somewhere.
The beer in the Barrowlands was overpriced and shite which is nothing new so we fucked off to another pub pretty soon after that.
Monday, August 11, 2008
More chilled out than I ever thought possible
New job is great. I could get used to research. I've just been sitting and reading papers for the past week. Loving it.
I know that this won't last but i'm gonna enjoy it while I can. It gives me more time to play with my wee blog-diary and laugh at people who get upset about it. I'm actually surprised that anyone other than my mates ever reads this thing.
I know that this won't last but i'm gonna enjoy it while I can. It gives me more time to play with my wee blog-diary and laugh at people who get upset about it. I'm actually surprised that anyone other than my mates ever reads this thing.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
The Dark Knight - film review
Dark is a good word for this film. It's very serious and very moody. It's about as serious as you can get about a man who dresses up as a giant bat to beat up evil-doers.
I guess it's a good film although I wasn't totally blown away. A lot of my friends loved it and the media have gone wild for it. Heath Ledger has been canonized for his portrayal of the Joker and while he's better than Jack Nicholson was I'm not sure it was really Oscar-winning.
The film is violent and frentic with big special effects. Some of it is rather nasty, especially the Joker's pencil trick. Something about it just didn't work for me. I felt the same about Batman Begins. Christian Bale is a good Batman but I hate the tough-guy gruff voice that he puts on with the bat-suit.
Batman probably works better in comics or cartoons. I guess we'll see another film and Ledger's Joker will be missed. I'd love to see them attempt the Dark Knight Returns after another few films but that is probably unlikely.
I guess it's a good film although I wasn't totally blown away. A lot of my friends loved it and the media have gone wild for it. Heath Ledger has been canonized for his portrayal of the Joker and while he's better than Jack Nicholson was I'm not sure it was really Oscar-winning.
The film is violent and frentic with big special effects. Some of it is rather nasty, especially the Joker's pencil trick. Something about it just didn't work for me. I felt the same about Batman Begins. Christian Bale is a good Batman but I hate the tough-guy gruff voice that he puts on with the bat-suit.
Batman probably works better in comics or cartoons. I guess we'll see another film and Ledger's Joker will be missed. I'd love to see them attempt the Dark Knight Returns after another few films but that is probably unlikely.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
I have escaped.....
Today was my first day in research and it was good. I didn't need to carry a page and I didn't need to run about too much.
I showed up, found my office and had a chat with my boss for a couple of hours. I then went to a departmental meeting and it was nice to find out that a lot of people remembered me from when I had been a student there 5 years earlier.
In the afternoon I had time to do some reading and get my thoughts in order. I also had some time to shadow one of my more experienced co-workers to find out what I should do on an average day.
It's all rather encouraging. I wish I'd got here a while ago.
I showed up, found my office and had a chat with my boss for a couple of hours. I then went to a departmental meeting and it was nice to find out that a lot of people remembered me from when I had been a student there 5 years earlier.
In the afternoon I had time to do some reading and get my thoughts in order. I also had some time to shadow one of my more experienced co-workers to find out what I should do on an average day.
It's all rather encouraging. I wish I'd got here a while ago.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Alexander Solzhenitsyn - RIP
Alexander Solzhenitsyn has died. He was a great writer. I loved his book 'one day in the life of Ivan Denisovitch' when I read it as a teenager. Everyone should read his books.
See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7540038.stm
RIP
See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7540038.stm
RIP
Fear and Loathing in Perth - Rock Start super-ego explosion
I was on a stag-night on Saturday night in Perth. Perth does not seem like an obvious choice of venue for a stag night. There are no strip-clubs in Perth. My friends studied this question in great detail.
Due to the strip-club famine we had to amuse ourselves in other ways. We did this with alcohol as it is cheap, legal and widely available. Some of my mates started drinking on Friday but as a responsible adult I only got there on Saturday afternoon just in time to crash a hovercraft and fall out of it. I also got the chance to see my 6 foot tall 15 stone mate walking about a field in a dress.
After that all Perth could offer us was alcohol. I'm not sure exactly how much I drank. I lost count at 10 pints. I wasn't drinking as much as my mates. I've never been to Perth before and I don't think I'll be there again. The town centre is nice and for some reason (possibly alcohol) we saw a lot of attractive women. The place was also full of neddy bams (scum if you don't live in Scotland) who looked a bit violent but we managed to avoid any trouble.
After about 10 hours of drinking in various dodgy night clubs we stumbled back to the hotel bar only to find that we were in the presence of pop stars. Justin Currie from Del Amitri and Edie Reader were having a drink with some other musicians in the bar. One of my mates, who is generally rather polite, went up to say hello to Mr Currie and declare his admiration for the music of Del Amitri. Currie rather rudely told him to 'fuck off'.
There was also a wedding party from Falkirk in the hotel bar. They had a guitar and they were blasting out Oasis songs in the bar. They were about as drunk as us and for the most part they were friendly. Slightly neddy, but friendly.
Apart from Raymo. Raymo (not RaymonD) looks like the result of a pig fucking a gorilla. Raymo is angry. He kept trying to fight folk. His wife kept crying and looking generally distressed. Raymo reminded me of the Incredible Hulk (Raymo Smash!). Only less green. He kept threatening my friends but luckily nothing actually kicked off.
So we kept drinking and playing guitar. Some of us played songs badly whilst drunk. One of the musicians at the Currie table came over and joined in. His name was Stuart Nisbet (I think) and he had played with The Proclaimers, Del Amitri and Pink Floyd. He played a few songs for us - Elvis, Witchita Linesman, Johnny Cash and seemed to be a generally good guy.
Justin Currie however was a monster. He was very drunk and just generally acting like a twat. He managed to knock over tables of beer on two separate occasions, at one point showering a Falkirk bridesmaid with booze. He also seemed to think that he was both more intelligent and more important than anyone else in the room. Everyone is entitled to an opinion I guess. He kept swearing and lecturing people about how they were 'singers' or 'not singers'.
It was kinda funny. My mates have videotaped him and I hope the result will be up on youtube soon.
Currie had a major personality clash with the Falkirk bridesmaid. They kept swearing at each other and generally making lots of noise. This kept us all amused until the inevitable face-off between Raymo and Currie.
Raymo kill!
It's hard to tell what lit the fuse of Raymo. Raymo probably doesn't even know cos Raymo is a cock. But Raymo decided he was going to eat Justin. Justin was also sure that he would be able to take Raymo in a fair fight. Neutral observers felt that Raymo would be triumphant but that both of them were arseholes.
Justin was just about to kick Raymo's ass when he tried to take off his jacket and got his arms stuck. Raymo was restrained by the Falkirk bridesmaid sitting on him. Justin must have had a reality check in a moment of sobriety because he ran away to escape Raymo. Raymo later managed to get himself thrown out of the hotel by threatening to assault the manager.
Raymo thick!
I stumbled to my bed at about six or seven. I had a great night but I'm sure I've damaged myself with alcohol. Don't drink kids, it's bad. If Justin Currie ever reads this page my message to him would be 'be nicer to people'. He was acting like a total cunt. If Raymo reads this page I'd be shocked. I don't think Raymo can read.
In the morning we were talking about taking out an ad in the 'Announcements & Weddings' local newspaper in Falkirk or Bonnybridge saying 'Raymo is a pussy' (with the hotel name and date to help identify him to his friends) but it would probably be too much effort. It would be fucking funny if someone did it though.
Due to the strip-club famine we had to amuse ourselves in other ways. We did this with alcohol as it is cheap, legal and widely available. Some of my mates started drinking on Friday but as a responsible adult I only got there on Saturday afternoon just in time to crash a hovercraft and fall out of it. I also got the chance to see my 6 foot tall 15 stone mate walking about a field in a dress.
After that all Perth could offer us was alcohol. I'm not sure exactly how much I drank. I lost count at 10 pints. I wasn't drinking as much as my mates. I've never been to Perth before and I don't think I'll be there again. The town centre is nice and for some reason (possibly alcohol) we saw a lot of attractive women. The place was also full of neddy bams (scum if you don't live in Scotland) who looked a bit violent but we managed to avoid any trouble.
After about 10 hours of drinking in various dodgy night clubs we stumbled back to the hotel bar only to find that we were in the presence of pop stars. Justin Currie from Del Amitri and Edie Reader were having a drink with some other musicians in the bar. One of my mates, who is generally rather polite, went up to say hello to Mr Currie and declare his admiration for the music of Del Amitri. Currie rather rudely told him to 'fuck off'.
There was also a wedding party from Falkirk in the hotel bar. They had a guitar and they were blasting out Oasis songs in the bar. They were about as drunk as us and for the most part they were friendly. Slightly neddy, but friendly.
Apart from Raymo. Raymo (not RaymonD) looks like the result of a pig fucking a gorilla. Raymo is angry. He kept trying to fight folk. His wife kept crying and looking generally distressed. Raymo reminded me of the Incredible Hulk (Raymo Smash!). Only less green. He kept threatening my friends but luckily nothing actually kicked off.
So we kept drinking and playing guitar. Some of us played songs badly whilst drunk. One of the musicians at the Currie table came over and joined in. His name was Stuart Nisbet (I think) and he had played with The Proclaimers, Del Amitri and Pink Floyd. He played a few songs for us - Elvis, Witchita Linesman, Johnny Cash and seemed to be a generally good guy.
Justin Currie however was a monster. He was very drunk and just generally acting like a twat. He managed to knock over tables of beer on two separate occasions, at one point showering a Falkirk bridesmaid with booze. He also seemed to think that he was both more intelligent and more important than anyone else in the room. Everyone is entitled to an opinion I guess. He kept swearing and lecturing people about how they were 'singers' or 'not singers'.
It was kinda funny. My mates have videotaped him and I hope the result will be up on youtube soon.
Currie had a major personality clash with the Falkirk bridesmaid. They kept swearing at each other and generally making lots of noise. This kept us all amused until the inevitable face-off between Raymo and Currie.
Raymo kill!
It's hard to tell what lit the fuse of Raymo. Raymo probably doesn't even know cos Raymo is a cock. But Raymo decided he was going to eat Justin. Justin was also sure that he would be able to take Raymo in a fair fight. Neutral observers felt that Raymo would be triumphant but that both of them were arseholes.
Justin was just about to kick Raymo's ass when he tried to take off his jacket and got his arms stuck. Raymo was restrained by the Falkirk bridesmaid sitting on him. Justin must have had a reality check in a moment of sobriety because he ran away to escape Raymo. Raymo later managed to get himself thrown out of the hotel by threatening to assault the manager.
Raymo thick!
I stumbled to my bed at about six or seven. I had a great night but I'm sure I've damaged myself with alcohol. Don't drink kids, it's bad. If Justin Currie ever reads this page my message to him would be 'be nicer to people'. He was acting like a total cunt. If Raymo reads this page I'd be shocked. I don't think Raymo can read.
In the morning we were talking about taking out an ad in the 'Announcements & Weddings' local newspaper in Falkirk or Bonnybridge saying 'Raymo is a pussy' (with the hotel name and date to help identify him to his friends) but it would probably be too much effort. It would be fucking funny if someone did it though.
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