whopping 4.3 inches of viewing pleasure), my noise-isolating Klipsch
earphones, and two cosy 1-hour bus commutes each day has continued to
facilitate an unprecedented decimation of my "To Watch" list. Here are
the latest casualties:
Archer - Season Three: this smart, funny, and surprisingly racy
cartoon spy comedy continues to entertain. Be sure to catch the
3-episode pirate island prequel to the season proper.
Californication - Season Five: a show that's well past its used-by
date, but continues to be midly entertaining. It actually got slightly
better towards the end of the season.
Band of Brothers: I'd heard a lot about this WWII series by HBO, and I
have to say I wasn't disappointed. It's a great watch -- and with its
standalone 10 x 1-hour episode format, it's roughly equivalent in
length a 3-part mini-series epic.
Battle Royale (2000): a cult classic, this ultra-violent Japanese film
was the inspiration for Tarantino's Kill Bill Vol. 1, and supposedly
shares many similarities with the new Hunger Games franchise. I really
enjoyed it, and suspect that so will most Tarantino fans.
The Player (1992): Hollywood self-satire flick, starring Tim Robbins
and Greta Scacchi, as well as half of Hollywood as themselves (also
look out for a bit part from Jeremy Piven). I found it kind of boring
-- and not quite as clever as it tries to be.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007): French film based on the
memoirs of Jean-Dominique Bauby who. following a stroke, awoke to find
himself literally trapped in his own body -- able to communicate (and
ultimately write his book) solely by blinking one eye. It's a sad but
beautiful film and well worth a look. I watched it sans-soutitres ftw!
Morvern Callar (2002): low-budget BBC flick set in Glasgow. It's the
classic story: boyfriend commits suicide before publishing his novel;
girlfriend hides the body and publishes the novel under her own name.
It's a dreary yawnfest that leaves you wondering, why?
My Name Is Joe (1998): another hard-hitting Ken Loach film set in
gritty working-class Glasgow. I enjoyed it even if I did find Joe's
character and his transformation a little implausible.
Valkyrie (2008): starring Tom Cruise as the eye-patching wearing and
utterly hapless Colonel von Stauffenberg who led an (obviously)
unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Hitler towards the end of the war.
Pretty forgettable fare.
Woodstock (1970): concert film from the 3-day musical hippiefest. I
was surprised by the overall mediocrity of the performances ---
Hendrix was probably the only real highlight for me.
Micmacs a tire larigot (2009): another quirky, nostalgia-drenched
Parisian fable from the director of Amelie, Jean-Pierre Jeunet. The
formula that worked so well in that film (and many of the same actors)
are shamelessly trotted out again here, but not to quite as good
effect.
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