David Blaine made it through the 44 days without food, dangling above the Thames. Lost a few pounds, gained a few (UK) pounds, as he delivered Sky One’s most solid ratings ever. No McDonald’s or something like that anytime soon though, as solid food would kill him after such a long time of fasting.
With no big names attached to it, and only a remake stamp on it, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (opens here 22 Jan) slashed a $29.1 million slice of the box office. In its second week, Kill Bill Volume 1 managed to get some too, $12.5 million, almost down 50% from last week. Runaway Jury (opens here 11 Mar) has enough big names to take the top spot, but strangely lands a nr 3 spot with only $12.1 million. School of Rock finishes fourth with an admirable $11.3 million. Critically acclaimed Mystic River (opens here 23 Oct), helmed by Clint Eastwood, finishes the top 5 with $10.3 million, showing promise, as it opened in far less theatres than the others.
Well, there are still pirates in the Carribean, as the director put the stamp on the sequel, with Johnny, Orlando and Keira already signed to star. With a $300 million domestic US Box Office, I can only imagine mr. Disney’s and Bruckheimer’s smiles that would make the Joker jealous.
After a few consistently written episodes, the signs of tiredness are already showing. Episode 305 showed us a writer’s block larger than the whole Milky Way galaxy, and while the episode after that tried some character exploration, it was too predictable. Hopes are down, only 75% more of a season to go.
BBC reports, Aaron Caffrey, aged 19, has been cleared of trying to bring one of the US’s biggest ports to a standstill by hacking into its computer systems.
The reason ? A stupid jury. It happens more and more, hackers convincing the jury that it was actually their own computer that was hacked, and then later used to control other thousands of hacked machines. Not only was there no evidence supporting this theory, the kid in question actually admitted he was a hacker himself. A hacker wouldn’t be stupid enough to let someone else try those tricks on his own system, but with so many cases already thrown out, it’s a proven method to evade jail time.
I’d better practice a sad face, and maybe a tear here and there, as that’s more worth to a jury than the actual evidence, which are just zeros and ones they don’t understand.
Rate 1 (sucks) to 5 (cool). Only rate the latest pictures, otherwise I can’t keep track of the average.
Total: 406 out of 126 votes > Average is: 3.222
Wohoow, 19″, 15″ and 18″, all very payable.
Almost a typical independent movie which radiates intimacy and depth of character. The way the story is told (with good actors all around) and how it moves towards the end makes this a nice little cute movie with the power to tear a jerk (or the other way around), but also pulls off a smile here and there. Must see if you’re trying to break free from the box office styled movies.7+.
Another crime show on the CBS line-up, and after only 2 show, you kinda have the whole concept figured out. Every episode revolves around an old unsolved case, circa 20 years or so. Then comes in a witness or a victim, trying to push the case. And so the investigation begins. One small clue is enough to get the whole gang started, all witnesses are miraculously still in town and easy to find. They also prove to have excellent crystal clear memories. All have some kinda intricate detail they didn’t mention 20 years earlier, and conveniently decide to spill it after all this time. Crosscut a few young and a few old actors to get the whole feeling right, and put on some happy eighties rock tunes (even though the cases are mostly about murders) on, and all you have is a show with no promise.
Starting the album with White Flag was a smart choice, as it’s the only positive thing to say. While the Dido signature (slow high fades to slow low fade) drips from most songs, there are even a few unexpected, yet unexciting turns. An uptempo dance beat song called Stoned, a folklore inspired Don’t Leave Home, keeps you interested, but only for a few minutes. In the end, this whole experience will be forgotten in just a few days.
This time, it’s Smallville’s Lana Lang. It’s not that it took me more than 2 years to find out, it’s that I just found out she’s half Dutch, half Chinese. Could there be a more perfect match for me ? *cough* *cough*
Anywayz, take a look at Kristin Kreuk here (English pronounciation sounds a bit like “cruck”). More pictures here.
Ending last season with quite a cliff-hanger, it needed 2 episodes to resolve it all to a more normal state. While most characters are more elevated to the extreme side, the subtlety, which has given this drama series its flair, is still there. With the drama so overpowering, one can easily overlook the details that are not thoroughly worked out, and nitpickers will have a joy finding them again, but the lack hereof is not really distracting, as the writers keep you engaged.
While previous seasons lacked strong written episodes in the middle of the season, the ending and beginning made up a whole lot. Let’s hope this season keeps its high quality throughout the whole run.
Quentin Tarantino’s 4th movie, Kill Bill: Volume 1 (opens here 20 Nov), slaughtered the box office with a $22.2 million opener. Quite a feat for the usually mellow October month. Jack Black proves he can make a lot of people laugh with second week’s School of Rock, down 22% from last week, $15.4 million is good for nr. 2. Intolerable Cruelty seems not so intolerable at the number 3 spot with a $13 million opening.
Rate 1 (FR#^&% MESS !) to 5 (how very tidy !). Only rate the latest picture, otherwise I can’t keep track of the average.
Total: 901 out of 249 votes > Average is: 3.618
That brown thing on the left magically appeared in my freezer, and it’s supposedly some kinda water ice, but in hard plastic. Usually, it’s in soft foily plastic, making consuming the water much easier. WHO INVENTED THIS NEW KIND (I can kill him, even if I didn’t pay for it) ????
Also a CBS show, advertised as Emmy Award winner starrer, Joe Pantoliano (which he did for The Sopranos), plays a very busy FBI agent. Training rookies, keeping contacts with a few undercover agent, and all that in a day, without breaking a sweat. Not only a bit far fetched, but the perfect good cop routine is so cliche, it’s not interesting anymore, even if played by an Emmy Award winning actor.
Another new show from the CBS, which already have around 10 shows running on various law enforcement issues. A spin-off from JAG, if focuses on anything with Navy and Marine, and while that seems very limiting, the stories have so far been interesting (and with the same focus, JAG is already in its ninth season too), with enough variety so they won’t feel like last week’s episode. Mark Harmon as the lead character, is a no brainer, as he has always been a good TV actor. Other characters around him get some screen time too, although with a lot less depth. This is at least a point the show can improve on. Not overly serious, there’s room for humor to give the show a lighter feeling. There’s even a few mysterious traits left to be discovered for the Mark Harmon’s character. Propaganda or not, for now it’s fun.
