Silver horses ran down moonbeams in your dark eyes
Happy new year everyone! I rang in the new year at home with a cup of tea and reruns of Father Ted. Start as you mean to go on, that's my motto.....
I've been busy watching things - The Hobbit! Sherlock! American Hustle!
[The Hobbit - Spoilers]The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug - Went to see this in the cinema on Monday. We saw it in 2D because there were no 3D showings at a convenient time - did anyone see it in 3D and can tell me if it was worth it or not? I thought not - I'm never really impressed by 3D. Anyway, I liked it a lot. There was a lot going on, wasn't there? James Nesbitt remains my favourite dwarf, though Kíli was also excellent. I liked his storyline with Tauriel, that was a nice side-plot. Also - suprise Stephen Fry! How did I not know that he was in this? Overall, I didn't think the film was as interesting plot-wise as the first one, but then second films in trilogies hardly ever are. There was just a lot of action - not that that's necessarily a bad thing, because I thought it was all very well done (especially the bit with the barrels). I missed the moments of comic relief that the first film had in plenty, and I wish we'd seen more of Radagast. Martin Freeman is just a star though, isn't he? Love him.
[Sherlock S03 E01 - Spoilers]Sherlock - I was so excited for this, and it didn't disappoint. My favourite bit was probably when Mycroft and Sherlock were playing Operation - I loved the sibling rivalry. I'm intrigued as to the identity of the man we got a glimpse of at the end, and why John ended up in a bonfire. The way the episode played around with fan theories was brilliant, especially with Anderson now being a 'Sherlock' superfan. I have one or two quibbles though: a) Sherlock seems to have a new, more 'human' side, which we see when he tells Molly that she matters and when he shows veiled concern for Mycroft's loneliness and when he humours his parents, but he still tricks John in the train carriage at the end? and b) Mary. So her boyfriend has been depressed about the death of his friend for the whole length of their relationship, and suddenly said friend shows up out of the blue and she instantly 'likes' him? And that's it? She's not angry at all on John's behalf? I don't know, it just seemed a little strange and unbelievable. But that said, I think she'll probably grow into an interesting character. All in all, a good episode.
[American Hustle - Spoilers]American Hustle - I read a good review of this and saw it on a whim. It's set in the late 1970s, and it's sort of about a member of the CIA getting involved with a pair of con artists in order to catch important politicians taking bribes...or something. I won't lie, I found the plot slightly tricky to follow. But maybe that was because I was distracted by the soundtrack (excellent) and the acting (even more excellent). Seriously, the cast is top-level. Christian Bale is sort of the main character, with a huge belly and a combover, but is oddly likeable. Amy Adams (so much love for her) is amazing and emotionally raw and beautiful. Bradley Cooper's in it too - one of my favourite scenes takes place in the flat he shares with his mother and fiancée. And bonus Jennifer Lawrence as Christian Bale's wife - she shows so much emotion in her acting, it's incredible. It's really good, guys, you should see it. (and something fun happened - I spilled my entire bucket of popcorn when I sat down, and one of the ushers came running up to replace it. How nice is that?)
I'll make another post tomorrow maybe with my new year's resolutions. For now, I'm just enjoying the rest of the holiday - back to France and work on Monday, sigh.
I've been busy watching things - The Hobbit! Sherlock! American Hustle!
[The Hobbit - Spoilers]The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug - Went to see this in the cinema on Monday. We saw it in 2D because there were no 3D showings at a convenient time - did anyone see it in 3D and can tell me if it was worth it or not? I thought not - I'm never really impressed by 3D. Anyway, I liked it a lot. There was a lot going on, wasn't there? James Nesbitt remains my favourite dwarf, though Kíli was also excellent. I liked his storyline with Tauriel, that was a nice side-plot. Also - suprise Stephen Fry! How did I not know that he was in this? Overall, I didn't think the film was as interesting plot-wise as the first one, but then second films in trilogies hardly ever are. There was just a lot of action - not that that's necessarily a bad thing, because I thought it was all very well done (especially the bit with the barrels). I missed the moments of comic relief that the first film had in plenty, and I wish we'd seen more of Radagast. Martin Freeman is just a star though, isn't he? Love him.
[Sherlock S03 E01 - Spoilers]Sherlock - I was so excited for this, and it didn't disappoint. My favourite bit was probably when Mycroft and Sherlock were playing Operation - I loved the sibling rivalry. I'm intrigued as to the identity of the man we got a glimpse of at the end, and why John ended up in a bonfire. The way the episode played around with fan theories was brilliant, especially with Anderson now being a 'Sherlock' superfan. I have one or two quibbles though: a) Sherlock seems to have a new, more 'human' side, which we see when he tells Molly that she matters and when he shows veiled concern for Mycroft's loneliness and when he humours his parents, but he still tricks John in the train carriage at the end? and b) Mary. So her boyfriend has been depressed about the death of his friend for the whole length of their relationship, and suddenly said friend shows up out of the blue and she instantly 'likes' him? And that's it? She's not angry at all on John's behalf? I don't know, it just seemed a little strange and unbelievable. But that said, I think she'll probably grow into an interesting character. All in all, a good episode.
[American Hustle - Spoilers]American Hustle - I read a good review of this and saw it on a whim. It's set in the late 1970s, and it's sort of about a member of the CIA getting involved with a pair of con artists in order to catch important politicians taking bribes...or something. I won't lie, I found the plot slightly tricky to follow. But maybe that was because I was distracted by the soundtrack (excellent) and the acting (even more excellent). Seriously, the cast is top-level. Christian Bale is sort of the main character, with a huge belly and a combover, but is oddly likeable. Amy Adams (so much love for her) is amazing and emotionally raw and beautiful. Bradley Cooper's in it too - one of my favourite scenes takes place in the flat he shares with his mother and fiancée. And bonus Jennifer Lawrence as Christian Bale's wife - she shows so much emotion in her acting, it's incredible. It's really good, guys, you should see it. (and something fun happened - I spilled my entire bucket of popcorn when I sat down, and one of the ushers came running up to replace it. How nice is that?)
I'll make another post tomorrow maybe with my new year's resolutions. For now, I'm just enjoying the rest of the holiday - back to France and work on Monday, sigh.