As Jonnyboy has started off the 'Books' strand with aplomb, I take it upon myself to introduce the 'Films' strand of Badgerfest.

Jonnyboy and I have seen a couple of good films recently in Stevenage on Tuesday cheap night at Cineworld (Williams, Tart etc if u are free any Tuesday let us know).
We saw 'Confidence' (Ed Burns, Dustin Hoffmann etc) which was kind of trying to be Ocean's Eleven crossed with an American Lock, Stock and it was actually not bad. The major selling point was that it had the unbelievably gorgeous Rachel Weisz in it, who succeeded in being unbelievably gorgeous for pretty much the entire film.
We also saw Once Upon a Time in Mexico which was completely bonkers but also very enjoyable. Johnny Depp as ever was quality, providing the unforgettable, and also incomprehensible, line, "I can't see, Fuckmook!"

Upcoming films which have to be seen, Kill Bill obviously, Finding Nemo (Pixar - the people who did Toy Story). Bad Boys II looks a bit pants but may have to be seen anyway for a laugh. Also watch out for 'Intolerable Cruelty' (Clooney, Zeta-Jones) the new Coen Brothers film, bound to be class.

As for all time greats, I am a big Scorcese fan (Taxi Driver, Goodfellas have to be up there) plus anything from the Coen Brothers (if you havent seen Fargo you are some kind of mentalist).

One bizarre one which no one has seen: Glengarry Glen Ross. Pacino, Spacey, Harris, Pryce and Lemmon, in real estate David Mamet stylee intrigue. Go find, watch, enjoy, rinse and repeat.

Sammyboy

Unfortunately, as I have no friends and the nearest cinema is in Bracknell ,the only films I get to see in the cinema I have to go with my brother and although he has taste, he can't be arsed to go and see some film on the off chance and certainly can't be having with any of this comic book crap (though I got him to see X2). So most of mine are semi-old:

Donnie Darko - excellently wierd, cult imfamy surely beckons - get on this bandwagon quick.

Adaption - a bit wierd but it's pure Charlie Kauffman..if you liked 'Being John Malkovich' and 'Confessions of a Dangerous Mind'...watch the film then watch the trailer and it starts to make more sense.

Orange County - It's got Jack Black in it...need I say more?

Pitch Black - dark low budget austrailian sci-fi, Vin Diesel has never been better.

Bowling for Columbine - I haven't actually seen it yet but...it got an Oscar.

If you like Mamet try 'The Spanish Prisoner' and esp. 'State and Maine' quietly funny with Phillip Seymour Hoffman, William H Macy, Alec J Baldwin (OK so I invented the J) among loads of others.

I second all of Sam's upcoming movies but want to add 'Holes' about a guy called Stanley Yelnats who gets sent a work camp where they have to dig 'mysterious' holes all day.

I'm also interested in seeing 'Intacto' about a plane-crash survivour who leaches luck off people (involves running through woods with blindfolds on...nice) and maybe 'Spirited Away' though I'm not sure about anime, even if 'Wossy' soiled his underwear about it (though not as much as Kill Bill).

Oh and watch Singin' In The Rain...it's good honest...you can borrow my DVD if you want.

See I don't just read books.

King

I thought about starting a television version of these topics, but as there is so little good telly about and as some of us are currently residing in random American states run by comedy-voiced filmstars, I decided that it might be better to tag it onto the film forum.

Two programmes: QI and Grumpy Old Men. The latter proves to me that we are all wise beyond our years as everything we spend our time moaning about is also moaned about on this programme by John Peel and co.

i would like to add a film into this frame...

my recommended film to watch (not being top shelf stuff).. a classic that may have slipped yoru minds..

TEENWOLF

Thats right...Michael J Fox puts in an exceptional performance as a teenager who plays basketball for his school..and yes..he becomes a warewolf..or should i say..a TEENwolf..muhahaha...

you don't see any nudity really...besides shoulders..but it does have Surfin' USA in the soundtrack and also includes some very 1980's dancing.

Bayda - Film away

Finding Nemo.
Fantastic.
See it.
Right now.

a good tv series to see....

James Martin - Delicious

on UK food...it is a masterful show with great ideas for all your pastry needs..makes good asparegus tart!

bayda...what a tart!

Kill Bill
Oh... My... God

Also...

Matrix Revolutions Trailer
Oh... My... God

Also...

New 118-118 advert ripping off the Honda advert
Oh... My... God

Yes indeed, all three of those things were magnifick.

Just saw 'Inhume William'...am all Janice (that's 'Oh...My...Gawd!)...decided that the bride should be avatar...don't mess. Must see.

I saw the trailer for Timeline (Michael Crichton blockbuster type effort).
King: It seems to be fairly faithful to the book although I think that they have added a father-son relationship to spice things up a bit, in true Hollywood style.

Yes...no...arse!

Is Billy Connolly in everything?

Just saw this on a review for The Pirates of the Caribbean on amazon.com I thought you guys might enjoy it--or be able to translate it into "simplified" language for me. Perhaps it was written by the same people who reviewed David Hasselhoff?

i like the part about the gotats..

bayda

So he liked it then? Um...actually I'm not sure...I think I'll go back to reading the Times' reviews, they're simpler...or just not as full of utter bollocks.

You should send it to Pseud's Corner in Private Eye magazine. They love stuff like that.

Saw Love Actually on Monday and my God; it's so cheesy it's almost American (no offense intended to our cross-Atlantic cousins you understand, but they do seem to like a good bit o cheese). It's probably worth seeing but it is a touch diffuse; too many storyline methinks. One of them involves the dense son from My Family going to America to pick up chicks, walking into a bar and meeting 3 fit birds and going back to their place for endless sex. Then at the end he turns up at the airport with Shannon Elizabeth and Denise Richards. Nice but a bit pointless. The film only really had one big laugh when Bill Nighy is on The Ant & Dec Show.

Saw LotR: RotK yesterday and it was fantastic. Once the war is over it takes a while to end but never mind it's still bloody brilliant with all the running and the screaming...

Yes Yes. Bonjour.

So how've you all been?

Thought seeing as I have access to the internet easily from home I should check out Badgerfest (not having seen the new one before)

So Tonight, I am breaking my bagderfest silence.

and I thought first i'd give my thoughts on the ROTK.

Basically it's fantastic marvellous in almost every way as KingDingle says. However I have issues!!

particularly with the film although I have other issues too, but I'm not discussing those here. Maybe another strand.

When Aragorn shouts "For Frodo" at the dirty gate I just couldn't have cared. For some of the other characters maybe but not him. Wankstain!! Fuck Elijah wood out of the film completely and replace him with a Walnut or something.

And bollocks to the ending. They missed out the Scouring of the Shire THE BEST BIT of the book. But then none of you people have read the book so don't get it.

a 20 minute ending to effectively a 9 hour film is fair though. It needed to be done properly.

A Congratulations On making this so easy!!!!

Saw it again last night a it's still very good...one last viewing in the cinema needed to complete the tradition.

On a similar note did anyone notice a similarity to the begining of ESB when the Mumakils attacked? I half expected Legolas to cut it open and chuck in a hand grenade. Oh and Gollum was very Ripley in Alien3 when falling into the lava...and kinda T2 when disappearing...no thumbs up though.

Hey punks, LOTR was fantasmagroover. I agree with Drew that Elijah Wood was the weakest thing about the three films. He just isn't good enough. He bleats and whinges his way through all three, something that simply doesn't happen in the books. Okay, the ring makes him weaker, but it makes him stronger and scarier in many ways as well, and Wood just doesn't bring any of that out. Shame really, cos the rest of the film is the nuts. Just when we thought Legolas couldn't do anything cooler in a battle he pulls his best trick yet out of the hat. Genius. I disagree with Drew about the Shire at the end, but it would have been nice to see the bit where Gandalf gives Saruman a good verbal spanking in Orthanc.
Oh, and you can see it for a third time after the meal on Sunday if you like, Kingol, cos I blatantly want to see it again. Or we could go bowling...whatever.

Or both? I kinda wanna go bowling as well!

Right, just watched Secretary: It was good, I think I'll have to watch it again just to cement my opinion...basically it's a love story...a quite screwed love story but a love story none-the-less.
I recomend that you all watch it, though not with your parents...they have a habit of wondering in and asking things like "Why is he spanking her? Did she do something wrong?"

I also quite like Maggie Gyllenwhatsit, but that's another story.

Just watched a film "Murder in the first" about an inmate in Alcatraz who is stuck in solitary for 3 years straight, finally let out and then goes and kills the guy who grassed him up. Legal story and looks like it might be based on something but not sure. Good movie.

Kevin Bacon and Christian Slater.

I'd get the Secretary on that review but I'd still feel like i was buying porn from the cover picture.

oh and happy new year King!

Hey the cover's one of the best features....oh and Murder in the First is based on a true story.

HNY to you too Dan my man.

This post was brought to you by Narmolanya aka Aerandir Lossehelin

just so you don't get any hopes up timeline is shit.

another chricton book ruined on film

This week I mostly want to see:

Lost In Translation.

Same here.

I saw 28 days later last night...I'm now very scared...I had to watch the entire first season of Family Guy to recover.

The film was great, but seeing Naomi Harris hacking a guy to bits with a machete was a bit much for me...and if the ending wasn't as vaguely positive I think I might have cried; the alternatives were a bit crap in my opinion.

Lost in Translation. Oh my word, what a genius film. Bill Murray is genius. Scarlet Johansson is genius. Scarlet Johansson's arse is genius. Japanese karaoke version of Sex Pistols' God Save the Queen is genius.
Did I mention it was genius?

I really wanted to go and see 'Lost in Translation' but My mate ambushed me on the way in and dragged me into 'Cold Mountain', Best bit - Jude Law, Worst bit - not enough Jude Law. Otherwise it was about as interesting as old underpants!

Look out for Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow coming out sometime this year - looks bonkers.
Also, for anyone who liked Pitch Black (who didn't?), The Chronicles of Riddick is coming out this year as well.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/

I'm so not sure about that Riddick trailer...I mean Judy Dench? In Sci-Fi? BOD has, however, been given.

For those who haven't been spending every waking hour reading the Empire Film Forum stuff since King brought it to our attention, I feel I ought to note with pride that the next Batman film will be directed by an Old Haileyburian. Yep, Chris Nolan (director of Memento and Insomnia) will be directing Batman: Intimidation. The other good news is that there will be no Robin and no Batgirl. Woohoo! Ra's Al Ghul and Scarecrow are the villains.
Come on Haileybury!
Up the College!

Oh, and moving avatars are the way forward. Damn that rascal King for already choosing the best one.

On a similar note; Hitchhiker's Guide casting:
Martin Freeman as Arthur Dent (Nice),
Bill Nighy as Slartibartfast (cool),
Zooey Deschanel as Trillian (sorted),
Warwick Davis as Marvin (Willow? ok),
and Mos Def as Ford Prefect (fin...I'm sorry what?)
I said MOS DEF as Ford Prefect...NOOOOOOOOOOOO! it was looking so good (sob).

Check out Marvin

On the subject of moving avs I have to say I blatantly stole mine. I wanted an even better one involving some guy slashing a load of cartoon japanese schoolgirls to death, but the url is too long and the file way too big to upload. I have it on my comp though.

interesting choice towards the end there - are you sure you ahve not been eating too many sugar coated frosties it sounds unlikely. then again who am i to argue?

so johnny depp for the oscar then????

Johnny Depp, my big fat arse. If he wins the Oscar ahead of Bill Murray, then I will personally shoot everyone involved in the voting process. Lolling your head about a bit and doing some half-arsed English drunkard accent does not make for the best acting performance of the year. I am astonished that he even got nominated. They might as well have nominated Keira Knightley for having her mouth permanently ajar throughout the entire film in that ridiculous pout she has these days.

Johnny Depp, my big fat arse. If he wins the Oscar ahead of Bill Murray, then I will personally shoot everyone involved in the voting process. Lolling your head about a bit and doing some half-arsed English drunkard accent does not make for the best acting performance of the year. I am astonished that he even got nominated. They might as well have nominated Keira Knightley for having her mouth permanently ajar throughout the entire film in that ridiculous pout she has these days.

Erm.. I have no idea why that was posted twice. Perhaps the website recognised my anger and decided to add some emphasis to my argument.

its definately a first a web site with an opinion on the oscars but then again its a contentious issue. me i'm all for bill murray as lost in translation was superb however i do think that johnny depp's eyeliner should get an honorable mention for services rendered.

Saw LiT last night but I'm too hungry to review it other than; 4/5 good work Bill, Scarlett and Sophia.

I saw lost in trans...

thought it was a waste of time, granted billy murry was good, and is the only thing worth looking at in the film...

apart from that, it was utter crap

also saw scary movie 3, slightly dissapointing but then again i hadnt seen many of the 'rip-off' films

First of all, I could look at Scarlet Johansson forever. No trouble at all.

Secondly, how could you be disappointed by Scary Movie 3? That would mean that you expected it to be in some way good. Did you not realise that it was going to be a huge pile of steaming shite? The other two piles of steaming shite in the series ought to have been a clue.

clearly Lost In translation is amazing and should be held up as such - bill murray superb and as mention scarlett johnanson also great and spends most of the time in her pants - what is wrong with this.

i just saw big fish and have to say it was gorgeously whimsical (which is a word i dont use so often) - it goes nowhere but see it anyway.

Let us continue this LiT debate as it is interesting...

I think the main problem the old Ween Pie has with Lost in Translation is that nothing really 'happens' (i.e. cars blowing up, nuclear bombs being defused, someone making a joke about farting) but if you look at it on a 'why are we all here' kind of level, it is truly genius. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the odd action blockbuster/ James Bond type film, but Lost In Translation is about two people who don't really know where they're going with their lives, don't know why they're in this bizarre country, and that is what brings them together, along with laughter, mutual fascination, and so on.

Ok so there is no plot or story as such but that is what makes it so genius.

It is quite a deep film when you think about it... yeah crazy man... peace... like...woah and stuff... too much halo and project gotham man... dulls your senses

On a lighter note: Jonnyboy your joke about the man with the orange head made me wet myself and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

Thats all I have to say about that.

Ween; you're wrong; you thought LiT was fecking brilliant and would be content to never see another film in your life...just thought you might like to be made aware of this fact before you tried watching another film...in fact this is obviously why you were disappointed with SM3, that and the fact that it is probably shite (I can't conclusively comment as I have not seen it).

LiT is another in a long line of very fine films where nothing of any consequence happens ever. Depending primarily on how you view the filmgoing experience, these can either enrich your soul and induce a feeling af peace and wellbeing, or can leave you fuming at a wasted six quid and itching to punch a stranger to inject some excitment into the ether. Personally I love this sort of film and very much enjoyed the bewildered experience of Bill and Scarlett. I particularly liked the pink wig. And the fact that Frank (Phoebe's brother) was in it. And the BB gun, if that's what it was. Didn't inspire me to visit Japan much though...perhaps they should sue.
I actually wondered what the Japanese people in the audience when I saw it thought of the film. Did they think 'Yeah so?'? Or do they know enough of our culture etc. to think, 'Actually, that's quite funny. I hadant thort of tha!(In a Spaced stylee.)'

Thoughts?

Oh, I read that Orange head joke before 8 in the morning...it's not funny then, believe me. Try me at a decent time when my blood alcohol level is at giggly.

Primarily for Tart as he's probably the only one who knows who the feck Fabiola actually is.




Hey I'm at work; what the hell else is there to do?

again on LiT

i acctually thought it portrayed japanese people as really freidnly and happy but totally alien to our 'heros def not a place to visit if you are not sure whats going on in your life - i agree on the pink wig and did you notice someone in the amusement archade was playing 'hyper bishi bashi' a game that used to grace the stevenage bowling alley - spooky or what?

i will stand strong in this debate....
bill murry was funny, but is the only thing worth watching in the film....

its a very obvious story line of two people in a wierd place being drawn together...

i'm pissed off i wasted

This coming from a man who hasn't seen and doesn't like Lord of the Rings.

Thank you please.

By the way, has anyone noticed the similarity between my avatar and Ween's avatar. Spooky or what.