My fannish Christmas
I haven't read as many books as I thought I would - I think I brought too many with me. I have also been watching BBC1 more than anything, like the rest of the nation apparently, although I am currently lacking a TV 'of my own' and have to involve myself in familial negotiations. Sky High was on yay and made me grin, like it always does. Narnia was fine - I keep wondering where they're going to fit in The Magician's Nephew and The Horse and His Boy.
The more I see Dead Man's Chest, the more I get it - I finally grasped the dice game. Norrington and Gibbs are probably my favourites in the film, although I enjoy everyone. It is too long and the bit with the cannibal island, though it contains some ace cartoonish bits, should have been excised, and yes, as I watched it, I remembered all the fannish debate that arose over race and that movie.
I was then inspired to watch my DVD of At World's End, which I hadn't opened before. This is surely the hottst Will Turner film. And Barbossa is my favourite in this - some of the existential mutltitudes of Jacks is self-indulgent. But, again, the more I watch it, the more I get it. I still don't think that how Wil/Elizabeth are meant to have a happy ending when Calypso/Davy couldn't is just not in the film, so I'll keep an ear out for T and T commentary on that in the extras.
The advantage of watching this film on DVD is allowing toilet breaks, which put me in a much better mood with the end. Actually, watching the two final films back to back, I think that, apart from having to live up to a right old pearl, the problem may have been that T and T were fighting against the form - blockbusting sequels - to tell the story they wanted to tell. I mean, there's so much of it to tell, so many characters, so much pirate lore and jokes to cram in that the two films are long. And seriously confusing on first viewing. It's only now on fourth viewing or thereabouts and after cribbing from fandom, that I am beginning to get it. And the length is more manageable on DVD.
I watched Strictly Come Dancing's Christmas Special and was slightly bitter, but my family ignored me. I wanted Jill or Alesha to win. I'd heard about the voting debacle and I wanted Tom to be in the bottom hopeless two. Brendan and Lisa were clearly drunk/high on Smarties and didn't care, which was completely understandable and entertained me. Rachel cared more, but unlike Len, seeing the rumba for a third time bored me. I was very bitter whenever Tom appeared, but Camilla did look good - see also the Weakest Link special.
Kelly Brook was a surprise, and I forgave her Big Brother and Smallville for putting Tom at the bottom. (That won't last). Oh Alesha and Matthew, your dance was lovely, but Matthew should have picked something with more pizzazz (pretty much any other dance). As Darren and Jill did. Although it was good, I did think the pace of their American Smooth was way frenetic. Still, worthy winners.
What was hilarious was Bruce's moment to camera brushing away the voting debacle, when you knew that they'd spent about an hour anguishing over this, and probably giving the audience canteen vouchers and apologising.
I also watched a documentary on Rhydian on S4C. It was sort of fly on the walling for a year. Rhydian thinks Simon Cowell is great. He likes pretty girls and running. He thinks Simon Cowell is great. Leon Jackson won the X-Factor (which Rhydian kept translatingrather sweetly) but Rhydian's album outsold his by miles and, like any fule knew, will have a longer career. I have bought the album. I may review it at some point
The more I see Dead Man's Chest, the more I get it - I finally grasped the dice game. Norrington and Gibbs are probably my favourites in the film, although I enjoy everyone. It is too long and the bit with the cannibal island, though it contains some ace cartoonish bits, should have been excised, and yes, as I watched it, I remembered all the fannish debate that arose over race and that movie.
I was then inspired to watch my DVD of At World's End, which I hadn't opened before. This is surely the hottst Will Turner film. And Barbossa is my favourite in this - some of the existential mutltitudes of Jacks is self-indulgent. But, again, the more I watch it, the more I get it. I still don't think that how Wil/Elizabeth are meant to have a happy ending when Calypso/Davy couldn't is just not in the film, so I'll keep an ear out for T and T commentary on that in the extras.
The advantage of watching this film on DVD is allowing toilet breaks, which put me in a much better mood with the end. Actually, watching the two final films back to back, I think that, apart from having to live up to a right old pearl, the problem may have been that T and T were fighting against the form - blockbusting sequels - to tell the story they wanted to tell. I mean, there's so much of it to tell, so many characters, so much pirate lore and jokes to cram in that the two films are long. And seriously confusing on first viewing. It's only now on fourth viewing or thereabouts and after cribbing from fandom, that I am beginning to get it. And the length is more manageable on DVD.
I watched Strictly Come Dancing's Christmas Special and was slightly bitter, but my family ignored me. I wanted Jill or Alesha to win. I'd heard about the voting debacle and I wanted Tom to be in the bottom hopeless two. Brendan and Lisa were clearly drunk/high on Smarties and didn't care, which was completely understandable and entertained me. Rachel cared more, but unlike Len, seeing the rumba for a third time bored me. I was very bitter whenever Tom appeared, but Camilla did look good - see also the Weakest Link special.
Kelly Brook was a surprise, and I forgave her Big Brother and Smallville for putting Tom at the bottom. (That won't last). Oh Alesha and Matthew, your dance was lovely, but Matthew should have picked something with more pizzazz (pretty much any other dance). As Darren and Jill did. Although it was good, I did think the pace of their American Smooth was way frenetic. Still, worthy winners.
What was hilarious was Bruce's moment to camera brushing away the voting debacle, when you knew that they'd spent about an hour anguishing over this, and probably giving the audience canteen vouchers and apologising.
I also watched a documentary on Rhydian on S4C. It was sort of fly on the walling for a year. Rhydian thinks Simon Cowell is great. He likes pretty girls and running. He thinks Simon Cowell is great. Leon Jackson won the X-Factor (which Rhydian kept translatingrather sweetly) but Rhydian's album outsold his by miles and, like any fule knew, will have a longer career. I have bought the album. I may review it at some point