Emm Media

Film review: 12 Rounds (2009)

2009-07-11T19:02:00.001+01:00

12 Rounds is a WWE Studios film featuring professional wrestler-turned-actor John Cena.

Stephen had seen a feature on the film and pretty much told me the entire story there at the ticket counter. I think he assumed that I wouldn’t be interested in the story and to be honest, I had my doubts when I heard that it was a WWE film and it starred an ex-wrestler.

Despite that, I decided I had nothing to lose and we bought tickets anyway. We went into the film expecting absolutely nothing more than to wile away another two hours at the movies as we had already seen Night at the Museum 2 that morning.

Well, we were pleasantly surprised. This is a classic action, race against time film with Cena playing Detective Danny Fisher and Aidan Gillen playing the sociopathic genius Miles Jackson. Jackson’s girlfriend is accidentally killed as the cops bring down his heist and he escapes from jail a year later to seek revenge against Detective Fisher. He takes him through twelve rounds of near-impossible tasks and puzzles which Fisher must solve if he wants to save his fiancée.

Cena is surprisingly funny and not as wooden as I would have expected. Aidan Gillen steals the show though.

Aidan Gillen stars as Miles Jackson

He is brilliant as the evil and unhinged Miles Jackson and his performance has me once again wishing I’d watched The Wire, in which he plays duplicitous Mayor Tommy Carcetti.

I really enjoyed this film and while it certainly isn't award-winning material, it was a good suspense thriller and two hours well spent.

I give the film 3 stars plus an extra star for turning me on to a New Favourite Actor.

Film review: Gran Torino (2008)

2009-07-10T05:32:00.000+01:00

As a rule, I try to review all the films I see and books that I read. I really enjoy doing so – it’s a hobby for me and I see this blog as a kind of scrapbook where I can stick in all of my memories and look back over time at the brilliant stories I’ve encountered and the worlds I’ve visited.

Sometimes though, I’ll encounter a film or book that I just can’t review immediately and it is partially for the same reason that I review less of the television or music that I consume. It has to do with the greater depth at which I experience it and the impact that it has on me. Sometimes, words just won’t do it justice. Detractors of television often seem to imply that it is a lesser art but they’ve obviously not been exposed to some of the most powerful and moving moments in television history.

Gran Torino was just such a film for me. It is a really fantastic film with a strong cast and well-written script. Clint Eastwood gives a powerful performance and greatly deserves the various award nominations that he received. I first watched Gran Torino back in April and I let it brew in my mind for a couple of months until I watched it again on the plane on the way back from New York.

Gran Torino deals with themes of racism, intercultural relations and the scourge of gangs and its impact on youth culture. Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, a Korean War veteran who finds that his neighbourhood has become increasingly populated by Hmong people from Vietnam. In his first interactions with his neighbours, he stereotypes them and lumps them into the “gook” category and he is hostile and antagonistic towards them. The onscreen relationship develops subtly and masterfully though and at no stage does it feel forced or contrived. What emerges is an incredible relationship and a strong bond that changes all of the characters’ lives forever.

Gran Torino has been doing really well on the DVD charts lately and has topped the charts for several weeks.

This is another film that I happily give five stars for! We’re having a good year.

Book review: Succubus Dreams - Richelle Mead

2009-07-09T05:51:00.002+01:00

This is the third book in Richelle Mead's Georgina Kincaid series about a succubus and her posse of immortal friends and colleagues. In Succubus Dreams, Georgina has to contend with a new succubus in town and not only does she have to mentor this particularly useless new recruit, she also has to figure out why the angel mafia is in town and who or what is sucking her succubus energy out of her body during her dreams.

Mead continues her character development in this book and manages to escape the trap of falling into comfortable and familiar stories and patterns in this third installment. I really enjoyed this book and as usual, my favourite characters were the jaded and sardonic angels and we were treated to a whole gang of them this time! What is the collective noun for a gang of angels anyway?

I wouldn' say this is my favourite book in the series so far. That might be because I didn't like the ending but that fact makes me respect Mead for delivering an ending that people aren't necessarily going to like. Also, I think it is that I specifically liked the Nephilim mythology in the first novel and so that will always be my favourite in the series.

This was a competent third novel in the series and it makes me look forward to the next instalment ub the series. In the mentime, I've started reading Mead's young adult novel Vampire Academy. It is okay so far but I am not yet finding it as engaging as the Georgina Kincaid series.

For keeping me delighted after the third book, I give this one four stars. It loses a star because the ending was sad but that also paves the way for a higher rating of the next book.

Click here for my review of the first two books.

Music Monday # 7: New York – Frank Sinatra

2009-06-22T00:01:00.001+01:00

There's no surprise what this week's selection for Music Monday is! I arrived in New York yesterday afternoon and obviously I would choose Frank Sinatra singing the theme from New York, New York. I absolutely love this song and we even played it at our wedding at the moment when we entered the reception after taking photos.

I have dreamed for so many years of going to New York and I am finally here!

More Music Monday posts at Lady Java’s Lounge.

TV: Merlin on the way back this autumn

2009-06-19T06:19:00.000+01:00

[Photo source]

My lovely friend at Electric Bunnies reviewed Merlin season 1 the other day and I went online to see whether it had been renewed for a new season. The excellent news is that yes, in fact, it has been renewed and we can expect the second season of Merlin on our screens this autumn.

[Insert total tangent here] Is it just me or is it annoying when they say "back this spring" or "back this autumn"? US television begins with a big bang around September each year and seasons are an average of 22 episodes long. You know when a show is starting and you're also looking out for the new offerings on the various networks. Announcements are also really clear about what shows have been renewed or not and there are no 18-month hiatuses between shows. In the UK, they never give you a clear idea and shows can start any time from August to October or February to April respectively it seems. I also find that the start is often quite sudden with little advertising beforehand. I know I am often surprised to find that Doctor Who or Robin Hood is starting that week. If I didn't subscribe to TV Today at The Stage, I'd be completely lost. Maybe I need to pay more attention or buy trashy TV magazines? [end of useless tangent]

The excellent news was released on 26 May - once again, maybe I need to pay more attention? This is a really exciting, well written press release and gives an exciting glimpse of some of the guest stars we can expect to see in season 2 of Merlin.

From left to right, guest stars on the new show include Sarah Parish, Charles Dance, Adrian Lester, Santiago Cabrera and Mackenzie Crook. Let's hope this is a good one!

Book review: Full Moon Rising – Keri Arthur

2009-06-17T23:02:00.002+01:00

Full Moon Rising is the first book in the Riley Jenson series by Australian author Keri Arthur. This is an urban fantasy set in Melbourne featuring Riley Jenson, a werewolf/vampire hybrid, and a host of other vampires, werewolves and other creatures. This is not a young adult book by any measure and is suitable for adults only.

I’ve found it hard to rate this book because I kept having to restart the book and figure out what had happened before. There could be two possible reasons for this. The first is that I took out several “urban fantasy” books from the library (including the dreadful Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K Hamilton) and I didn’t like any of them except for this one. I was still waiting for the third instalment in the Georgina Kincaid series at that stage. So I had started about three other books without finishing them and was starting to get confused.

The other possible reason is that there was so much action in the book and the characters are rushing about exploring so many leads in their investigation that I just got lost at times. There are also quite a few racy scenes which were great but also added to the distraction after a while. I had to wonder if they were all necessary or if they were adding to the story.

In the end though, I did enjoy the book and I found Riley to be a really likeable character. The fact that the story is set in Australia also gives the story a cool, unique twist and I enjoyed reading the book with an Aussie accent in mind.

I’ll definitely read the next book in the series and I might look into Keri Arthur’s other series too. The Spook Squad series in particular looks good.

Given my positive overall experience but taking into account my being lost for most of the book, I give it three-and-a-half stars but I do think it will get better as the series progresses, as we get to know the characters and as the author settles into her style.

Music Monday # 6: Grace – Will Young

2009-06-15T00:04:00.002+01:00

I love Will Young and I absolutely love this song. Those mornings when I’m struggling to get out of bed and I just want to hide under my covers for the rest of the week, I think of this song and it just makes me happy.

This is an angry yet empowering song and it fits Will Young’s proud, self-assured style perfectly. The song has been featured in the latest Natwest television adverts.

Grace lyrics

More Music Monday posts at Lady Java’s Lounge.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

TV: 90210 season 1

2009-06-13T20:44:00.001+01:00

We've come to the end of the first season of the new, revamped 90210 and it has been one of the best surprises I had of the 2008/2009 television season. I very nearly didn’t bother at all to watch this show as I went through loving the original series at first and then getting very, very bored with it towards the end. I’m so glad I gave it a chance though – this is the one show of the season that had me hooked and looking forward to Tuesdays so that I could get my fix on the latest episode of the show.

The first sixteen episodes, up to the hiatus in February / March were the best and I came to love the characters and the storylines. In order of how much I loved them, my favourite characters were:

Ryan Matthews [played by Ryan Eggold]

I wrote a post once about how I always seem to fall for the grumpy, jaded characters in shows (and in real life) and Ryan Matthews is no exception. He plays the role of the English teacher at West Beverley Hills High School but he takes dark moods and petulance to a whole new level. What’s surprising about this is that he’s not even playing one of the teenage leads but is supposedly ‘mature’ and ‘grown up’– he’s great! I guess he was justified in some of his responses and he was put through quite a ringer by the other characters; I just hope that we see a lot more of him next season.

Adrianna Tate-Duncan [played by Jessica Lowndes]

I love Adrianna. I love everything about her from her beautiful eyes to her fashion sense to her storylines and character. Naturally, she’s not a drop-dead gorgeous man like Ryan Matthews, so that is why she is second on this list. While I thought some of the screen relationships and storylines went downhill after the February / March hiatus, I continued to enjoy the storylines with Adrianna and I like her relationship with Navid too. That said, I think Jessica Lowndes is a strong actress and I think she can fare perfectly well on her own in season 2. I just hope she gets some suitably challenging and worthy storylines.

Ethan Ward [played by Dustin Milligan]

There you have it again, brooding, dark and grumpy, all the things I like in a leading man. I liked Ethan because he reminded me of some of the popular guys I used to know; his confidence and self-assurance was dazzling. The problem with guys like that is while they aren’t as shallow as people think, they do often see the world in rigid black and white terms and that was certainly true of Ethan.

Oh! I see that the change in direction after the winter hiatus was down to new producer Rebecca Rand Kirshner Sinclair who used to produce Gilmore Girls. In March it was announced that they were not bringing back Ethan in a full time capacity in season 2. WTF? That sucks.

Liam Court [played by Matt Lanter]

Oh my greatness. This man is ridiculously hot. In the same article where it was announced that Ethan would not be back in a fulltime capacity next season, it was confirmed that Liam would be and that is a real consolation. I prefer it when they allow him to show depth in his character as opposed to the mindless, rebel-without-a-clue storylines and it will remain to be seen if they continue to write decent stories about him. The absolute shocker in the final episode was great and should result in lots of fun in the next season.

Rebecca Sinclair has said that she doesn’t usually check the internet for reactions on her shows but that she might be looking now. I hope she does look and I hope she doesn’t ruin this series. I think the new revamped 90210 really has potential and there are some really good actors in the cast. She took Gilmore Girls to absolute success, I hope she can do the same with this show. Whatever they do, they have to avoid the bland, one-dimensional, ridiculous mess that the original 90210 series became.

Film Review: They Call Me Trinity (1970)

2009-06-10T06:00:00.000+01:00

For a self-professed film addict, I have seen a scandalously low number of classic films in my time. In fact, I haven't seen any of the classics such as Casablanca or Breakfast at Tiffany's. Obviously, this is something I would like to correct over time and so I conceded when my friend Patrick suggested we watch They Call Me Trinity.

My biggest concern regarding old films had always been the quality. Grainy black and white pictures or garish Technicolor simply wasn't to my liking and that was often compounded by bad sound or a dodgy television signal (anyone who ever tried to tune in to SABC 2 knows precisely what I'm talking about). The best thing about the digital age is that these concerns are a thing of the past. We watched They Call Me Trinity on DVD on a giant flat screen TV with surround sound and the whole experience was fabulous. The film has been digitally remastered and the sound was brilliant. I am definitely going to try some of the other old classics now, starting with everything with Audrey Hepburn in and all the old Hitchcock too.

Terence Hill plays Trinity in a hilarious satire of the spaghetti western genre. This is the first film that Hill starred in with Bud Spencer and it shot the two to stardom in Italy and in the US. Trinity is a drifter who comes into town and finds his outlaw brother, Bambino, is posing as sheriff of the town. The film has all the hallmarks of a good western - the scenery, the bad guys (in the form of the ruthless landgrabbing Major) and fantastic music. But what makes this film special is the humour and the fabulous partnership of Terence Hill and Bud Spencer. I can see why they cashed in on their winning formula and made so many more films together. I would certainly recommend this film and will be trying ot get my hands on the sequel.

Wasn't Terence Hill gorgeous? I would have been crazy about him if I was around at that time. He has his own website at http://www.terencehill.com/ and it is full of great photos and stills from his film locations like the one below. I just love his irreverent style and can't wait to see more of him.

For entertainment, eye candy and introducing me to a whole new world of classic films and the spaghetti western genre, I give the film 5 out of 5 stars.

Music Monday # 5: Muse – Butterflies and Hurricanes

2009-06-08T17:20:00.004+01:00

This week's Music Monday is brought to you by a very sad Emm. Tickets for the Muse concert in London in November sold out in 9 minutes and I was unable to get a ticket. How very sad!

This is an exciting, dramatic song about chaos theory and the effect of one butterfly.

If one fangirl in London doesn't get tickets to the Muse gig, will the effect be felt the world over?

By the way, I am so not going to buy tickets for double the price they were available for on Friday. I did that twice with Glastonbury tickets and Pixies tickets and I won't do it again. There will be other Muse concerts. I used the money to buy new Sennheiser earphones for my iPod which made listening to my iPod today a very pleasurable experience.

More Music Monday posts at Lady Java’s Lounge.

TV: Ghost Whisperer season 4

2009-06-05T06:48:00.000+01:00

***MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT*** Do not read further if you have not seen seasons 3 and 4 of Ghost Whisperer

Ghost Whisperer used to be one of my favourite TV shows. In fact, I used to count myself lucky that there was all this paranormal, fantastical fare on TV like Heroes, Supernatural and Ghost Whisperer, not to mention favourites like Prison Break and Grey’s Anatomy.

So what went wrong?

First, I have to say that I am such a fan and this was such a huge favourite of mine that I will give it a chance next season and I am glad it has been renewed. [Here comes the but…] But, this was the worst season in Ghost Whisperer so far and I absolutely hated the storylines and character development.

I miss Professor Rick Payne (played by Jay Mohr) and I really, really hate Jamie Kennedy in his role as Eli James. I think he comes across as insincere and the guy cannot act. Also, the fact that Jennifer Love Hewitt ended her relationship with her fiancé to be with Jamie Kennedy just makes me ill, quite frankly.

Then the whole idea of Jim dying and refusing to cross over was bad enough but then Jim’s ghost jumped into the body of a dying man (how convenient) but then Dead Guy Sam didn’t actually remember Melinda (is my writing starting to confuse you? Don’t worry, I felt the same about the writing of this season’s storyline). So where were we? Oh yes. The gorgeous David Conrad was kept around because even though Dead Guy Sam thought he was, well, Sam, Melinda knew he was really Jim and so we kept David on our screens.

Now it is no secret that I am a complete wench and often sanction the sacrifice of a plot in the pursuit of good eye candy, but even I have to draw the line at some point. This went far beyond the suspension of disbelief and dramatic license – the storyline was getting ridiculous and we were willing to lose the gorgeous David if it just meant wrapping it up.

Alas, no. Dead Guy Sam bumps his head or nearly drowns trying to rescue Melinda or something and suddenly he is Jim again. How truly convenient! Then, wonder of wonders it seems that Melinda is pregnant (and the baby is Jim’s, how vanilla!) Yawn. I can’t be bothered to go on about this – I hate this storyline and so did most fans.

Unfortunately, in the lamest season finale in television history, we have a hasty story about some colleague of Eli dying and some book is introduced to the plot and Melinda is having a boy and Dead Guy Sam / Reborn Jim and Melinda quickly get married in the town square with the whole population of ghosts in attendance… and yes, my long, unpunctuated sentence is meant to reflect the protracted, contrived, badly sequenced experience of the season finale. It was terrible.

So, for season 5 of Ghost Whisperer, I have a couple of requests:

- Teach Jamie Kennedy to act or better yet, arrange some freak ‘paranormal’ accident on set and have him killed off.

- Camryn Manheim (who plays Delia) used to be a good actress. Please use her and make her onscreen son, Ned, interesting.

- Clean up the Dead Guy Sam / Reborn Jim story. Please, please, please. Make it a bad dream, make it a miracle. Whatever, just stop showing me his ugly reflection the whole time.

- And try not to steal from Charmed / Rosemary’s Baby / the Bible / Breaking Dawn too much with the whole baby storyline. I get that he will be special but let’s not lose the plot completely. Please. That means no more kittens, no super powers, messiah complexes or saving the mother from within the womb.

I think that about wraps it up then. I really hope I’m not sitting here in a year’s time conducting a sticky post-mortem on the show.

Film Review: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)

2009-06-04T06:10:00.001+01:00

We went to see Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian on Saturday. Considering the grilling I gave Pink Panther 2, Stephen was massively surprised that I agreed to see this film but I have to say, I quite enjoyed it! The general consensus out there seems to be that people have been pleasantly surprised with the film.

As a rule, comedy is not my genre of choice but I laughed a lot during this film and I really enjoyed myself. I was impressed with the costumes and effects and while it didn’t have the strongest plot, it was a fun film.

I loved Hank Azaria as Kahmunrah. I’ve been a fan of Hank’s for a while (and was gutted when Huff was cancelled) and he was just great in this film.

Amy Adams (Giselle from Enchanted) was surreal as Amelia Earhart and Owen Wilson was brilliant as a thumb-sized Jedediah Smith.

So the verdict is this: it is not exactly a film of Oscar winning performances or script but it was fun and entertaining and visually appealing. It is a film I would recommend seeing at the cinema because of the visual effects and costumes.

While the critics slated the film on Rotten Tomatoes, the RT community gave it 65% and I concur. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Book review: Across the Wall: A Tale of the Abhorsen and Other Stories - Garth Nix

2009-06-03T20:13:00.002+01:00

I have never been a fan of short stories but I had to read this collection by Garth Nix because it includes the final epilogue, if you will, of the Old Kingdom series.

The first story in the book is the novella ‘Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case’ which takes place about 6 months after the events of Abhorsen. I really enjoyed this story – it was brilliantly written and conceptualised and was a great conclusion to the Old Kingdom series. The best thing about it was that it finally answered the one question I had once I finished Abhorsen. I won’t spoil it for you but it was great.

This is a worthy collection because before each story is told, Garth Nix gives the story behind why he wrote that particular story. He is such an inspired, talented author and I really look forward to reading more of his work.

Across the Wall contains a good mix of fantasy and fictional short stories, including two Arthurian interpretations (even though Nix admits to not being a fan of Arthurian legend). Apart from the Nicholas Sayre novella, my favourite stories were ‘Charlie Rabbit’ and ‘Lightning Bringer’. Like Garth Nix, I too have a fascination for lightning and once watched as Stephen was very, very nearly struck by lightning.

I give the collection four out of five stars because despite being a Garth Nix collection, I still don’t like short stories much and I didn’t like all the tales.

Music Monday # 4: Ambient Dub

2009-06-01T22:59:00.001+01:00

I wasn’t going to do Music Monday today because I was in a bad mood and generally don’t play well with others at the best of times.* However, I have been inspired.

My friend Bas over at themixfiles.com uploaded an excellent cosmopolitan tribalism mix. He thought I might like it and he was absolutely right. It took me back over the past 15 years or so to some of the music that has touched my heart. He called it ‘cosmopolitan tribalism’ which is an excellent term actually but the genre it matches the closest to on my iMandy is ‘ambient dub’.

1. Banco de Gaia - Last Train to Lhasa

One of the first overtly political dance acts that I encountered, Banco de Gaia have done so much to raise awareness of the situation in Tibet. The album “Last Train to Lhasa” contained much information on Tibet and this is the amazing title track off that album.

2. Radar – Running Away

From the amazing album Nothing is Real. Radar is made up of Francis Peyrat and Christophe Goze and they have only made one album so far. I absolutely love the haunting Arabic vocals and sounds and this albums takes me back to the one night we spent in a bedouin desert camp in Dubai. If you’re reading this Francis and Chrstophe, please for the love of all things holy bring out another album. I have just about burnt a hole through my Nothing is Real cd.

3. Rhythm of Space - Celeste

Taken from the 1996 Return to the Source album The Chakra Journey, this wasn’t my favourite song RTTS son but it was just about the only one I could find on YouTube. This song reminds me of the mornings after long, long nights and I must have listened to it thousands of times before. I think I have every RTTS release on cd and must upload a playlist of my favourite songs one day (when I have resolved the playlist issue).

More Music Monday posts at Lady Java’s Lounge.

*I generally don't like doing memes or such posts on my blogs but I thought this particluar one would fit well on this blog, being a media blog. I also thought it would force me to blog about music on a weekly basis which is a good thing. But it can't ever be an excuse for writing crap posts, which is why I wasn't going to post today unless I came up with something good.

New Doctor Who companion named

2009-05-30T18:49:00.001+01:00

…and once again, I am not disappointed.

Well the news is out and the new Doctor Who companion was announced yesterday. Karen Gillan, a 21-year-old actress from Inverness in Scotland, will be the new companion to Matt Smith’s 11th Doctor and she’ll appear on our screen in Spring 2010.

This is the best news that I’ve had since we found out in January that Matt Smith is going to be the 11th Doctor. The initial reason for my excitement is that the new companion is not Michelle Ryan, Lily Allen, Kelly Brook or Georgia Moffet and not all of my reasoning was, well, reasonable.

I really disliked the character that Michelle Ryan played in the Easter special Planet of the Dead. In today’s economic climate and atmosphere of MPs claiming expenses because they feel they aren’t being paid enough, I really couldn’t stomach the idea of a poor little rich girl who thieves because she is bored. Then again, the entire Easter special was so underwhelming that I completely neglected to write a review of it and honestly don’t intend to.

Lily Allen is not really my cup of tea as a performer but I take issue with her drug taking and her publicly stating that taking drugs is okay. It is not okay Miss Allen and drugs like cocaine ruin lives and communities. Maybe one day you can sit down and think about why you’re not the right kind of role model for a Doctor Who companion.

Kelly Brook just can’t really act. I’m sorry, that’s mean, but I’m glad it wasn’t her.

And, um, my reasoning behind not wanting to see Georgia Moffet as the companion is completely unreasonable. I’m just jealous that she is David Tennant’s girlfriend. I’m sorry if that’s pathetic but it is honest.

What do we know about Karen Gillan then? Not much really. Having acted in theatre groups and at school, Karen decided to take acting seriously and at the age of 16 she applied to the Italia Conti academy in London (Italia Conti is Britain’s oldest theatre training arts school).

She appeared in single episodes of Rebus, Harley Street and Coming Up and appeared in several episodes of The Kevin Bishop Show.

Last year, we saw her in the Doctor Who episode Fires of Pompeii as the Soothsayer. I had actually heard rumours that the Soothsayer was considered for the role, now that I think about it.

Not knowing much else about her, my general feeling is that I am glad that she is a virtual unknown. She’ll be able to mould this role into her own and I think that she and Matt will like a much needed breath of fresh air to the show. Here’s hoping anyway… I don’t think I could get any much more disenchanted and uninspired than I have been lately. This is meant to be my lifelong favourite show after all.

Books: The Georgina Kincaid series by Richelle Mead

2009-05-27T22:28:00.003+01:00

I've not had much luck with the libraries in Bexley, which is the area I live in. I used to go to the library next door to where I work but it is closed for a year for refurbishments. Anyway, I wasn't able to find the next Horowitz or Nix books at the library and decided to check out Richelle Mead, author of the Vampire Academy series. All I could find, though, was Succubus Nights which is the second book in Mead’s Georgina Kincaid series.

I decided to give it a try but I didn’t really hold any hopes of it being any good. I have figured out that I’m not really into vampire stories (strange that, given that I have a blood phobia) and it did seem a bit… trashy.

Well, I am happy to say that I was definitely wrong. I had only read twenty pages in when I felt invested enough in the story and the characters to want to read the first book, Succubus Blues and so I ordered it through eBay.

Part of the reason that I enjoyed this series so much is that it is not a simple vampire story. In fact, while there are vampires in the story, their nature plays a very small part in the storylines of both books. The world of the Georgina Kincaid books is one where creatures of darkness, such as vampires, incubi, succubi, imps and other lessor immortals are all managed in a great bureaucracy by demons or greater immortals. Georgina’s particular ‘coven’ is joined by a sardonic, self-righteous angel although thankfully, they are not joined by any of the other creatures of good.

The books are funny and the characters are really well-written and totally likeable. These are not children’s books so keep that in mind; in fact, a succubus is a creature of the night that seduces men in order to steal their souls. There is a lot of sex in these books but I must say, I really enjoyed the scenes and thought they were well done.

Both books have a murder-mystery feel to them. Succubus Blues revolves around the murder of several lesser-immortals and Georgina has to figure out who is doing the killing and Succubus Nights has Georgina trying to figure out where her mortal friends suddenly got their superhuman abilities from.

One of my favourite parts of the books is that Georgina works in a bookstore and much of the story takes place in the store. A major character is Seth Mortensen, a famous writer and it is great to see Mead’s insight into the writing process and the life of a writer as she describes what Seth goes through to get a book finished. I imagine she is describing her own process and it is fascinating to read – in fact, it reminds me of what I was like when I used to write essays at university.

Richelle Mead has a website and a LiveJournal and she seems so down to earth and accessible. It is a huge contrast to how full of crap JK Rowling and Stephenie Meyer are, that’s for sure. I’m probably going to finish this series of hers and then I’ll move on to her Vampire Academy and Dark Swan series.

I give both books four out of five stars. They are not high literature and definitely have a chick-lit, trashy feel to them but I really enjoyed them. These are also the first ‘urban fantasy’ books I have read and I might expand on the genre.

Music Monday #3 – The Faint

2009-05-25T10:19:00.001+01:00

The Faint are one of my favourite bands ever (second only to Cranes on my last.fm page). This is the fifth song from their 2004 album Wet From Birth and I absolute love this song! I can listen to it over and over again.

This is a fan video that someone has made on YouTube but I think they’ve done a great job. I couldn’t find an official video (except for this short 44 second one which is supposed to be the official one) so it was nice to find an animated video as that is always more interesting than just an album cover.

More Music Monday posts at Lady Java’s Lounge.

TV: Robin Hood season 3

2009-05-22T21:35:00.001+01:00

For those of us lucky enough to have TiVo or a PVR, I'm sure we've all encountered the following scenario in our homes: you set up a couple of shows on series link, safe and secure in the knowledge that come rain or shine, your trusty PVR will record the show for you to watch at a later, more convenient time (am I the only one that hardly ever watches live TV?). Anyway, you later go onto the hard drive of your trusty machine to discover that some random sports event (like the FA cup final) has conflicted with your programme and it hasn't recorded! Panic stations and loud arguments ensue and it is a definite grounds for divorce.

So you can imagine my reaction when Stephen told me that season 3 of the BBC’s Robin Hood had not recorded while we were on holiday and that we had missed four episodes. "Oh, that's nice", I said whilst stifling a yawn and continuing to read my trashy chick-lit novel. [Insert sound of brakes screeching and squealing tyres here]. Yup, you read right. I simply couldn't care less and given my initial reaction to this show a mere 15 months ago, no one is more surprised than me, believe me! So what is behind the decline from a five-star review to my current feelings of not even being bothered to find a one-star gif to post on my blog?

*** Warning: spoilers below – do not read if you’ve not at least completed season 2. Contains season 3 spoilers too.

Harry Lloyd leaving: I won't try to hide it. I was devastated when Harry Lloyd left the cast at the end of season 2. Seeing him in Doctor Who and Robin Hood is what made me such a huge fan of his to begin with and my inner fan-girl is in mourning. He really made Robin Hood worth watching.
Actor loyalty: But it is not just that. There seems to be little actor loyalty in this production and it is ruining the show. Come on, Will Scarlet and Maid Marian have left the show and it was even announced at the end of production last year that Robin Hood himself is leaving. How exactly do you have a Robin Hood show without Robin Hood or the other characters that make up the legend? I do not dispute that actors have a right to leave and move on but I do think the producers are handling it incorrectly.
Bad PR: it is bad enough that the actors are walking out and they are not replacing the major characters with other actors perhaps but surely they should get a grip on leaking this news to the press. Knowing that Robin Hood is going to be killed or leave the show at the end of episode 13 doesn't exactly make me want to bother watching the show at all. I am very particular about what I watch and how my time is spent and I tend to give up easily on dying shows. In fact, we also knew long before the end of season 2 that Will Scarlet was going to remain in the holy land with Djaq, so I guess I have been feeling this way for some time.

Lack of fan liaison (or treating fans like they are annoying idiots): one day I will dedicate an entire post to how I think celebrities, production companies, authors and bands need to spend a lot more time getting to know their fans and rewarding loyal supporters. Being a member of both HarryLloyd.net and harrylloydfans on Livejournal, I know of a couple of people who contacted Harry’s agent, Tiger Aspect Productions and even Harry himself for confirmation of the rumours that he was leaving. More importantly, given how lame TV shows can be (especially this one), they wanted to know if he was definitely gone once the season finale had aired. Given that Anjali Jay and Harry Lloyd had definitely left the show, would it have been so hard for Tiger Aspect Productions to answer the numerous emails sent to them asking for confirmation of that departure? The characters said they were staying in the holy land and if they weren't going to “change their minds” and be back in action by the second episode of the third season, surely it wouldn't hurt or spoil the story to just give the heartbroken fans [who are taking the time to email you and are your clients after all] the confirmation they were looking for. (No, I didn't email them personally so this is not sour grapes). Instead, people got short, cryptic emails in response regarding how the story could not be spoiled.
Suspension of disbelief: in my own personal experience, drawing viewers’ attention away from the fantasy world of Robin Hood and into the real world of actors walking out really messes with the ability to suspend disbelief. I went along with the storylines being thinly disguised commentaries on the situation in the Middle East; I even accepted that Will Scarlett built a counter-balanced wooden fortress using technologies that would only become popular eight centuries later. But having to constantly quieten my thoughts about Jonas Armstrong leaving at the end of the season makes it hard to go along with the shaky plot and improbable scenarios.
Telling your audience what to think: I’m getting really irritated with not being allowed to make up my own mind. Maybe my love affair with Robin Hood is over and it is making me more sensitive, who knows. All I know is that I hate the new female lead, Kate, despite the directors being oh-so-determined that we fall in love with her. And instead of developing the personality and character of Tuck, they have a cardboard Ghandi who is obviously being groomed to take over the helm when Jonas Armstrong leaves at the end of the season. Oh, please… give me a break. I can make up my own mind and I have decided that I don’t like this show any more.

All images are my own screencaps from season 2, episode 9.

Music Monday #2 - Songs of protest

2009-05-18T11:52:00.002+01:00

This song always brings tears to my eyes and when I heard it on my iPod this morning, I knew it was my song for today. It reminds me of the way South Africa was 20 years ago and how far we have come. This song is about Mandela and his incarceration as well as the countless activists who were detained or disappeared.

More Music Monday posts at Lady Java’s Lounge.

I’ve copied the lyrics from the YouTube site. I do this not to breach copyright but to give you an idea of the incredible meaning of the lyrics.

Asimbonanga (Mandela)

Original from Third World Child 1987

Chorus : (2x)
Asimbonanga (We have not seen him)
Asimbonang' uMandela thina (We have not seen Mandela)
Laph'ekhona (In the place where he is)
Laph'ehleli khona (In the place where he is kept)

Oh the sea is cold and the sky is grey
Look across the Island into the Bay
We are all islands till comes the day
We cross the burning water

Chorus :
Asimbonanga (We have not seen him)
Asimbonang' uMandela thina (We have not seen Mandela)
Laph'ekhona (In the place where he is)
Laph'ehleli khona (In the place where he is kept)

A seagull wings across the sea
Broken silence is what I dream
Who has the words to close the distance
Between you and me

Chorus :
Asimbonanga (We have not seen him)
Asimbonang' uMandela thina (We have not seen Mandela)
Laph'ekhona (In the place where he is)
Laph'ehleli khona (In the place where he is kept)

Steve Biko

Chorus :
Asimbonanga
Asimbonang 'umfowethu thina (we have not seen our brother)
Laph'ekhona (In the place where he is)
Laph'wafela khona (In the place where he died)

Victoria Mxenge

Chorus :
Asimbonanga
Asimbonang 'umfowethu thina (we have not seen our brother)
Laph'ekhona (In the place where he is)
Laph'wafela khona (In the place where he died)

Neil Aggett

Hey wena (Hey you!)
Hey wena nawe (Hey you and you as well)
Siyofika nini la' siyakhona (When will we arrive at our destination)

Chorus :
Asimbonanga
Asimbonang 'umfowethu thina (we have not seen our brother)
Laph'ekhona (In the place where he is)
Laph'wafela khona (In the place where he died)

http://johnnyclegg.de.vu

http://www.johnnyclegg.com

Music: Parlotones to be released in UK

2009-05-14T22:19:00.001+01:00

The Parlotones, darlings of the South African alternative music scene, are set for a major release in the UK with their latest album “A World Next Door To Yours” due out on 01 June 2009. While their previous album Radiocontrolledrobot is available on Amazon.co.uk, this is the first time I have seen proper marketing and media releases in the press in this country. It is very exciting indeed but nothing less than this magnificent band deserves.

Taken at Hillfox Market on 11 March 2007, just before I left South Africa. I got to see them five or six times live in settings varying from a live radio studio to a massive concert venue.

I first discovered The Parlotones on 5 November 2005. They were supporting Violent Femmes at the Dome in Northgate and I ran to the front to buy their CD within about ten minutes of their act starting. They are that good and their explosive stage acts are matched by their excellent and world class CD releases.

This is the first single from the album, Giant Mistake. The single was released in South Africa in 2007 and went to no 1 on the charts. Here’s hoping it does well here.

The band are perhaps most famous for their cover of the Boom Boom Room classic "Here Comes The Man". This is still my favourite song of theirs.

Parlotones at Amazon.co.uk
Official website
MySpace
Facebook

Book review: Abhorsen - Garth Nix

2009-05-13T21:52:00.003+01:00

Abhorsen is the final book in the Old Kingdom trilogy which is a fantasy series set in the imaginary realms of Ancelstierre and the Old Kingdom. The Old Kingdom is full of magic and the lines between life and death are constantly blurred and manipulated. As magic interferes with electricity and modern machines, there is no “modern” technology in the Old Kingdom and this is contrasted with the modernity of Ancelstierre. Ancelstierre is very similar to the England of the World War I era, with its planes, telegraphs, electrical lights and telephones. The two realms are separated by a wall and such is the magic of the Old Kingdom that the two sides of the wall experience different seasons and even different times of day.

It is within this setting that the epic battles against evil and the dead occur and the events in the book date back over about 20 years with references dating back to the dawn of time.

The Old Kingdom series has it all. Believable, likeable characters; excellent writing; page-turning, heart-stopping, breathtaking battles; magic, fantasy and superb imagination and the most amazing cat and dog you will ever read about.

I thoroughly enjoyed Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series and JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series but I felt slightly unfulfilled with the way in which those series ended. In contrast, I was positively in raptures as I raced towards the end of Abhorsen and the experience was as thrilling as a big budget action film.

The best thing about finishing the book is that it doesn’t all end there! Garth Nix released another book containing a novella and short stories about the Old Kingdom called Across the Wall: A Tale of the Abhorsen and Other Stories and I am just glad that I don’t have tear myself away from this series just yet. I’ll be sure to review the book in the next couple of weeks.

I have one final thing to say, for now with respect to the Old Kingdom series.

Harry Lloyd for Nicholas Sayre!!!!!

(Garth Nix has famously declined offers to make films of his books, a decision I greatly respect. I absolutely agree with his position that he would rather have no film at all than a bad film. But, if a film were to be made, then I would absolutely love to see Harry Lloyd in the role of Nicholas Sayre).

Music Monday #1 - Trance

2009-05-11T21:11:00.002+01:00

I’ve decided to shuffle things around here at Emm Media. I usually post book reviews on a Monday but I’ve decided to participate in Music Mondays which I discovered over at Lady Java's Lounge. I don’t know if there are any rules so hopefully I don’t break them!!

My theme today is songs that make me happy and they are all banging trance. Nothing like some dance music to get the week started (and it is ages since I reviewed anything other than indie music on this blog anyway).

It's really hard to decide which I love more. On The Move by Barthezz is a relatively new song and only came out in 2001. Still, I woke up this morning with it in my mind and it definitely put a bounce in my step today. It is pretty exciting that these great songs are being released on single and for mp3 download again lately and this single is available at Amazon.

Cactus came out in 1994 and featured on Carl Cox's legendary F.A.C.T. album in 1996. Cactus is an obvious choice for the title of Best Trance Song Ever. (Available from Amazon too).

Raz also featured on Carl Cox's F.A.C.T. and it is testament to how often I played the disc that my copy always jumps in this song (I reckon the bass in the song caused a glitch). I was thrilled to see this available on Amazon and downloaded it yesterday when I placed my massive birthday order through the site.

Click for more Music Monday sites.

Film: X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

2009-05-07T22:57:00.002+01:00

On Tuesday it was my birthday and we went off to movies to watch X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Wow. I absolutely LOVED this film! I felt like a child again and sat on the very edge of my seat for the whole 107 minutes, thoroughly captivated and entranced.

The film is directed by Gavin Hood, the ultra-cool South African director who wrote and directed the Oscar-winning film Tsotsi. That he directed Wolverine was the only thing I knew about the film (other than that it was part of the X-Men franchise and that it starred Hugh Jackman) but I was pretty confident he would do a good job.

I enjoyed the performances by Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Liev Schreiber (Sabretooth), Dominic Monaghan (Bolt) and especially Daniel Henney (Agent Zero) but for me, Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson / Deadpool stole the show.

I think Wade Wilson is the best super hero I have ever encountered and I fell madly in love with him the minute he hit the screens with those swords of his.

The most excellent, most fantastic news is that it has been confirmed today that Ryan Reynolds will be starring in the X-Men spinoff “Deadpool”. How fortuitous that I get this news immediately upon developing a brand, new obsession?

I’ve been obsessed with Wes Bentley’s Blackheart and Harry Lloyd’s everything for two years now but I have a sneaky feeling that Ryan Reynolds / Wade Wilson is about to usurp their positions as supreme objects of my affection and obsession. ♥

Despite ridiculously low ratings on Rotten Tomatoes and weak ratings on IMDb, the film is top of the box office this week and I give it full marks!

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Book review: Breathe – Cliff McNish

2009-05-05T06:01:00.000+01:00

For someone who has admitted to still being scared of the dark at my ripe old age, I have a strange love for all things paranormal and supernatural. I grabbed this book as soon as I saw that it was about ghosts.

This is a classic tale of a haunted house and a young boy who can see and hear ghosts. The book is aimed at a younger audience but the characters were quite well developed and it was an enjoyable and quick read. The book is quite scary but I don’t think it is too frightening for the younger reader (especially if it didn’t scare me!). Each chapter ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger so it is near impossible to put the book down and I managed to finish the book in a couple of days.

Sadly, though, I think the last couple of pages really let the book down. It wasn’t a very long book so I feel the author could possibly have spent a couple of more pages to finish the book off properly. As it was, the ending was just too neat and convenient and it was quite a contrast to the rest of the book which was actually quite well written. I give it four out of five stars for this reason.

Rating:

Film: Batman Begins (2005)

2009-05-03T23:39:00.001+01:00

Image Source

Sometimes I honestly wonder about myself. Christian Bale is one of my favourite actors, Batman is one of my favourite comic franchises of all time and Batman Begins scored 84% at both IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes. Yet for some completely unknown reason, I never saw this film and being of the slightly obsessive persuasion, I can’t possibly watch The Dark Knight without watching the first film in the series.

While we were on holiday, I finally saw Batman Begins. The film is absolutely awesome and it benefits from impressive cinematography and brilliant acting. Even Katie Holmes manages to be slightly less annoying than usual (Katie played one of my favourite characters in Dawson’s Creek and then she suddenly became a whiny, emotional leech rivalled only by Marissa on The O.C.).

I think I will definitely watch this film again because it has the fandom, repeat viewing quality that so few films have these days. It chronicles Bruce Wayne’s early days, the death of his parents (no, that is no a spoiler. If you don’t know the basic story behind the Batman franchise then I’m sorry, but have you grown up underground?) and the events which lead up to him becoming a clandestine crime fighter.

Image source

What would one of my posts be without some gratuitous and entirely unnecessary eye candy?

Christian Bale was absolutely stunning in this film. I have been a fan of his since his brilliant performance in Empire of the Sun, a film that topped my all time list of favourite films for many years (and I found the recording of him going batshit on someone to be quite unsettling but a turn on nonetheless).

Strangely, though, that wasn’t the best thing about this film. The best thing about Batman Begins was Cillian Murphy and his fantastic performance as Dr Jonathan Crane / The Scarecrow. I’ve admired Cillian Murphy once before on this blog when I reviewed 28 Days Later but this performance was inspired and The Scarecrow is possibly the second best performance in an evil bad guy role I’ve ever seen (the best being Wes Bentley as Blackheart in Ghost Rider). I loved how unhinged and morally bereft he was and I cannot wait to see more of him in The Dark Knight.

Image source

So there you go. I went from not really being interested in this latest instalment of the Batman story to totally loving it and being a fan. I hope to watch, love and review The Dark Knight soon.

Rating: