I Saw the Signs no comments

I sort of avoided Signs when it came out. M. Night Shyamalan had caused a stir with Sixth Sense, then a backlash with Unbreakable (then later indifference with The Village) so even though I enjoyed Unbreakable I was put off by the reviews of Signs.

So one tired evening it appears on t.v. and I thought what the hell . . .

. . . and enjoyed it for a surprising reason: I think it was the very ordinariness of Merrill, played by Joaquin Phoenix.

I think he had the same sort of intensity as when he played Commodus in Gladiator, but applied to this ordinary guy, helping to look after his brother (Gibson) and family made him even more compelling.

Otherwise I liked the is-it-isn't-it-an invasion ride, but do you remember the Superbowl episode of The Simpsons? A Superbowl episode with Dolly Parton that featured no sport and no singing?

I suppose I felt slightly cheated by an alien invasion movie with no spaceships or aliens, but the human story held the twee ending together.

And didn't the scene in the cellar remind you of George Pal's War of the Worlds? (You know, the low-budget 50's one with poor special effects. Destined to be remembered as a million times better than the remake. They'll be violating Day the Earth Stood Still next . . .) Homage, no doubt.

I was also disappointed that the thing on the roof didn't turn out to be the Mothman, but I'm probably a bit confused about that!

Holy Cowell! It's the Whinger! no comments

Simon Cowell is hogging the front pages these days by whining about the "ridiculous and unfair" ratings war launched by the BBC.

Apparently it's unfair to the viewers to make them choose one program over the other.

Excuse me, but when I was young(er) we had this thing called a "video recorder" which enabled you to "record" one program whilst watching another. When it had finished you could then watch the other at your leisure.

So why in the age of DVD recorders, watch again, iplayer and pausible cable boxes is this suddenly a big deal again?

The answer is as simple as it is obvious: if you watch the program an hour later the voting is closed, halving the amount of revenue pouring through the phone lines. Unfair to Simon's bank balance more likely.

Aside from that, when did ITV ever shirk from the ratings battle?

Only when they didn't think they would win!

Reaping, as ye were Sowing (Sewing?) no comments

Been away, which has disrupted my erratic schedule . . .

Got back from a tiring time away and decided to watch a film as an excuse for a sit down.

As luck would have it The Reaping was on, starring Hilary Swank, who I best remember from Boys Don't Cry. (A sad disappointment, I thought it was going to be like Dancer in the Dark with Robert Smith in the Bjork rôle!)

As an added bonus David Morrissey was in it. You know, the guy who was The Next Doctor in that Dr Who special. If I'd known that I'd have seen it in the cinema. I can't work out if he's a Brit with a good American accent or a Yank with a flawless British accent. Either way he's a damn good actor.

(Aside: Idris Elba, who plays Ben, is apparently also British, which totally escaped me. This movie has more quality performers than I'd realised.)

When the film came out they had some fabulous big posters in the cinema at Bracknell, done in an orangy-red duotone sort of way. The trees in the swamp looked awesome with the red river as a backdrop. But I can't find any photos, with only the internet as a resource . . .

As it happens I can't help thinking of this as a novel twist on The Wicker Man, which is more than I can say for the remake of The Wicker Man. (Nicholas Cage, shame on you! Should have made Ghost Rider II instead!) Ignorant innocent get's hauled off to the back of beyond, to stick their noses were they shouldn't be, looking out for a lost girl . . .

. . . to great effect. There are murmurings of a sequel, but I doubt it'd live up to this.

As Channel Fve goes (and who'd notice if they did?) this was a winner which I wish I'd taken the trouble to watch sooner. Such is life.