Hustle 7.4 and District 9 (watch out for the spoilers!)
Hustle series 7 episode 4 "Benny's Funeral" was for me definitely the most enjoyable series 7 episode so far.
Original con was not particularly impressive, but then again, it has been a while since Hustle had anything new to offer. Benny's con was more clever, if overly elaborate, though it hardly came as a surprise to me that he was conning the team. Simply not credible that he should have failed to notice anything useful about Danush, after presumably being a con-artist for most of his adult life.
I'm pretty darn sure the subconscious suggestion thing would have backfired if "Danush" hadn't been in on it from the start - I mean, even if you battered a mark with subconscious suggestions, would he be just a tad suspicious (or, less likely to pick that box) if only one box had any kind of distinguishing mark at all?
I may miss the old Ash at times (the unfashionable, chain-smoking, "everyman" Ash, who always worked hard but rarely got to reap the benefits), but he once again reminded me of how much I love him. In this episode, they meet up with another fixer who once nearly took Ash' spot on the team years ago - for any other character in any other series, this would bring on some "OMG, I'm about to be replaced!" angst. Not so with Ash:) Also, while I've yet to see any evidence of fans other than me shipping Ash/Mickey, they shared a very nice moment at the end of this episode I feel the need to mention:)
Yay, Eddie finally managed to learn a card trick, and was useful to the plot to boot!
I also finally got around to watching District 9. Wrote way more than usual about it in the document created for the purpose, so I thought I might as well share it now, rather than when I sum up the films I've watched in 2011 next December. Nothing I'd call a considerable spoiler below, but discretion is a virtue.
District 9 (26.01.11) - To tell the truth, the only reason I watched this after deciding to give it a miss in the cinemas was Sharlto Copley. Ended up enjoying it a lot! The third act kind of disappointed me, but I liked the ambiguous ending very much. Very impressed by Sharlto’s performance too - Wikus is a bureaucratic, xenophobic jerk who curses a lot, whose loyalties are liable to change at the drop of a hat (He’s perfectly aware of the latter though. "Go! Go now, before I change my mind!" I LOLed), and who does at least one fairly horrifying thing. He never should have been put in charge of a field operation. His love for his wife is just about his only positive trait, but Sharlto still managed to elicit a lot of sympathy from me by giving an absolutely heartbreaking performance - he goes through just about every major emotion, mostly conveyed through the use of puppy-dog eyes:). Also, he ends up being quite badass by the end, strangely enough. Real hero of the story is of course Christopher - is it strange to say I enjoyed the performance of a CG, insectoid character?;)
I enjoyed the format - the interspersed "mockumentary" sections and so on - quite a lot. Every favourite scene of mine was more conventional though.
I confess I watch films for entertainment, not deeper meaning, messages and stuff like that, but, you know, the film presents some important themes and social issues very nicely too. My biggest beefs with this film are the third act and the overly stereotypical "crazy mercenary" character Koobus.
In other, related news, spell check wants to replace “Sharlto” with “harlot”…
Original con was not particularly impressive, but then again, it has been a while since Hustle had anything new to offer. Benny's con was more clever, if overly elaborate, though it hardly came as a surprise to me that he was conning the team. Simply not credible that he should have failed to notice anything useful about Danush, after presumably being a con-artist for most of his adult life.
I'm pretty darn sure the subconscious suggestion thing would have backfired if "Danush" hadn't been in on it from the start - I mean, even if you battered a mark with subconscious suggestions, would he be just a tad suspicious (or, less likely to pick that box) if only one box had any kind of distinguishing mark at all?
I may miss the old Ash at times (the unfashionable, chain-smoking, "everyman" Ash, who always worked hard but rarely got to reap the benefits), but he once again reminded me of how much I love him. In this episode, they meet up with another fixer who once nearly took Ash' spot on the team years ago - for any other character in any other series, this would bring on some "OMG, I'm about to be replaced!" angst. Not so with Ash:) Also, while I've yet to see any evidence of fans other than me shipping Ash/Mickey, they shared a very nice moment at the end of this episode I feel the need to mention:)
Yay, Eddie finally managed to learn a card trick, and was useful to the plot to boot!
I also finally got around to watching District 9. Wrote way more than usual about it in the document created for the purpose, so I thought I might as well share it now, rather than when I sum up the films I've watched in 2011 next December. Nothing I'd call a considerable spoiler below, but discretion is a virtue.
District 9 (26.01.11) - To tell the truth, the only reason I watched this after deciding to give it a miss in the cinemas was Sharlto Copley. Ended up enjoying it a lot! The third act kind of disappointed me, but I liked the ambiguous ending very much. Very impressed by Sharlto’s performance too - Wikus is a bureaucratic, xenophobic jerk who curses a lot, whose loyalties are liable to change at the drop of a hat (He’s perfectly aware of the latter though. "Go! Go now, before I change my mind!" I LOLed), and who does at least one fairly horrifying thing. He never should have been put in charge of a field operation. His love for his wife is just about his only positive trait, but Sharlto still managed to elicit a lot of sympathy from me by giving an absolutely heartbreaking performance - he goes through just about every major emotion, mostly conveyed through the use of puppy-dog eyes:). Also, he ends up being quite badass by the end, strangely enough. Real hero of the story is of course Christopher - is it strange to say I enjoyed the performance of a CG, insectoid character?;)
I enjoyed the format - the interspersed "mockumentary" sections and so on - quite a lot. Every favourite scene of mine was more conventional though.
I confess I watch films for entertainment, not deeper meaning, messages and stuff like that, but, you know, the film presents some important themes and social issues very nicely too. My biggest beefs with this film are the third act and the overly stereotypical "crazy mercenary" character Koobus.
In other, related news, spell check wants to replace “Sharlto” with “harlot”…