Bill and Ted 3!!

As a bit of light relief in between blogs about our grim future, I wanted to talk about something totally amazing (possibly) that might happen soon; Bill and Ted 3!

I have always been a fan of Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, which is definitely one of my all-time favourite movies, as well as Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. They came out nearly thirty years ago but Bogus Journey is still as fun now as it was when it first appeared. Now, supposedly (unless it gets delayed again), there will finally be a third Bill and Ted movie. Here's a quick trailer from the guys:


'Arrival' film review

I'd been looking forward to watching 'Arrival' for the last few months and, fortunately, it didn't disappoint. I do like thoughtful science fiction movies and although Hollywood can produce some absolute turkey sci-fi films, along with a steady stream of macho-xenophobic-US-centric tosh, they can also make some excellent offerings. Contact with Jodie Foster was excellent, so was Gravity (which was actually filmed mostly in London's Soho), along with the Stephen Soderberg remake of 'Solaris'. I even liked Matt Damon's 'The Martian', or at least until the schmaltz and woefully impossible orbiting times in the latter half of that movie tarnished the story.

Arrival revolves around Amy Adam's character, an academic linguist who studies language structures as well as knowing multitudes of languages fluently. Although the film is supposed to be about the aliens, it's really about her as a mother, (mild plot spoilers) overcoming a family tragedy. For anyone who blurts out 'but that's exactly the premise of Sandra Bullock's character in Gravity!' I can only say that it seems to currently be the view in Hollywood that the only type of woman who can reach out to the stars and be intelligent and resourceful has to have seriously suffered as a mum. Read More...

Two decades of great science-fiction movies

I think it was so much better in the olden days… No! That's not true! I do not want to be an old, boring moaner with rose-tinted spectacles! (At least not all the time) That being said, I do want to say that there really was a brilliant twenty-year period in U.K. and North American science-fiction cinema that started in 1962 and ended in 1982. For various cultural and historical reasons, it just seemed to be a time when film-makers had the freedom, opportunity, motivation and inspiration to create a lot of clever, inventive, disturbing and memorable science-fiction ideas and scenarios. It really was a golden age. I was going to waffle about each film, but that would take a lot of time, so I thought I'd just show the posters in rough date order, one for every year. Here goes:

In praise of 'Galaxy Quest'

I spotted a little nugget of news this week that's reporting that the 1999 science fiction comedy film 'Galaxy Quest' may be made into a T.V. series some time soon. It got me thinking and I've come to a strange and surprising conclusion:

'Galaxy Quest' is the best-written science fiction movie ever made.

I know, it sounds barmy. 'Galaxy Quest' is a fun, tongue-in-cheek sci-fi romp that came and went in the annals of sci-fi moviedom. Why am I choosing it over '2001: A space odyssey'? Or 'Star Wars', or 'Battle beyond the stars'? (okay, maybe not 'battle beyond the stars') Or 'Solaris'? The list is long. The thing is, 'Solaris' and '2001' and 'Star Wars' are wonderful movies. 'Solaris' and '2001' have brilliant ideas. 'Star Wars' has brilliant acting, top-notch production values and cutting edge special effects that haven't actually been bettered in terms of immersive involvement. But I won't be swayed, 'Galaxy Quest' is the best-written science-fiction movie I've ever watched. Read More...

Quantum of Solace rant

It’s coming, filling the horizon like a great dark storm cloud with a massive advertising logo stuck on the side. The new James Bond movie is out this year and I’m dreading it.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been a huge fan of Bond movies my whole life, from the dark weirdness of Dr No, through the snazzy kit and cool style of Goldfinger, all the way to the visual panache and charisma of Goldeneye. I even like Timothy Dalton’s ‘The Living Daylights’, which, if you give it another go, is a really enjoyable action movie. But I hated Quantum of Solace. I hated it with vengeance. For months afterwards, I made voodoo Quantum of Solace dolls and stabbed them repeatedly with home made stilettos (which originally referred to a thin dagger by the way, rather than women’s shoes). I cursed the name ‘Quantum of Solace’ aloud on moonlit nights in the centre of standing stones, hoping for demons to do my bidding and remove it from reality, or alternatively a Chthulhu-like beast to come from another dimension and suck every square inch of its footage into the nether voids of space. Either would do.


My favourite cycling books and films

A friend asked me recently to recommend some cycling books and films. Instead of just telling him, I thought I'd stick them on my blog so everyone can check them out.

First off, an absolute gem of a French animated movie called 'Belleville Rendezvous'. There's not much dialogue but there doesn't have to be. The expressions and actions tell you everything you need to know. A young french lad is given a bicycle and it transforms his life. With the help of his grandmother, he becomes a professional racer (incredibly skinny apart from HUGE thighs). He takes part in the Tour de France but ends up in the broom wagon. From there, he is kidnapped, taken to New York and made to take part in a 'simulation' Tour De France ran by gambling gangsters. Strange, magical, often hysterically funny. The only criticism I would have is that the middle section about the three old ladies - the Belleville triplets - drags on a little too long. Apart from that, brilliant.