3DD!3

It wasn’t as bad as I feared. The screenplay was definitely intriguing and, in a thieving blend way, original (you see, nobody has blended these ingredients together before now). In terms of acting, pretty decent (even Megan managed to squeeze something out if herself) and, if it weren’t for the tired direction, maybe I would have given one more star.

Season one: Life is a crock of shit and it’s fine to get a good night’s sleep occasionally. And when you have writer’s block everything’s twice as bad. Hank Moody deals with it with a Camel, a glass of scotch and a new woman every other day. But life is still a crock of shit. When I watch Californication, I get this nice warm feeling inside that I’m not up shit creek alone... Season two: Damn, that’s Rick Rubin’s house! Or isn’t it? Season three: A change of job brought a breath of fresh air with it and, after a slightly week season two, it’s heading to the top again. Three new beauties and an unbelievably overloaded last episode grabbed me by the heart. Lots of luck, Hank. Season four: Like the last chapter of a book that never ends. The excellent ending to season three caused this one to have a really strong take-off (maybe the best yet) and the endings were always very powerful. Then everything returned to the same old rut until toward the end the standard rose again. The excellent episode with flashbacks to days even before the pilot shows that a lot of water has gone under the bridge, but the quality remains high. One thing is beginning to annoy me and that’s Charlie. Is he exaggerating just to make Hank’s most difficult moment more bearable? Maybe. But some lines just shouldn’t be crossed. As for the last episode, they couldn’t have given us a better ending. The circle that began with episode one has closed and now an empty road lies before us. What stories await us on it? Season five: The break in New York did Hank good and it had a pretty good effect on the entire season. To begin with the moody writer is literally dragged back into the series against his will and his short trip to California turns into a long-term vacation. “It all started well, then it went a bit weird and in the end everything was completely fucked up." The supporting character that stands out most is mad Sam. Apoc. and he’s a younger version of Hank who is dating his daughter. A perfect ending, showing that it doesn’t help even if you do everything right, things still won’t go the way you want, because God hates us all. I hope we see each other soon, Hank. Season six: This was supposed to be the last season, but money has to spin. I can’t help thinking that all of this californicating is beginning to spiral all the way down to hell with Lew Ashby behind the bar. A good half of the episodes were trash. The beginning is pretty fine, the rehab center was interesting and the fairies were duly funny, on the other hand the rock opera is just pitiful. Even Hank says that. The idea with the muse Faith (the ravishing Maggie Grace) as the new “first lady" in Hank’s life promised more than it gave. Would it have been such a problem to drive things to greater extremes? The whole thing is starting to be really forced and some parts are boring and a tasteless cesspit revolving around its own absurdity. I’m not very pleased that there’s going to be another season because we’re witnessing the fall of another people’s hero. I sometimes watched it just out of habit. Well, perhaps this is just a weak spot and they’ll make up for it next time. Season seven: Wrack and ruin. The arrival of the prodigal son is the worst thing that could have hit Californication. The situations are becoming even more absurd. Filth, stupidity and humiliation are mounting up. This season was no better, more like a painful crawl to the finish. Really, only the last three or four episodes are any good. Thanks to those Hank Moody leaves with honor, a little dented, broken and immobile, but with honor. Farewell, Hank, but you should have stayed in New York after season four. Farewell, old brother.

So this was a bit of a disappointment. They could’ve gotten much more out of Gamer and you can clearly see that in some scenes. Neveldine and Taylor are literally bursting with ideas, sadly not all of them are good and some crossed the line of good taste (I get it with the Crank franchise, but this was meant to be a movie for the wider public, dammit). The whole part where they’re playing “Society" came across as unnecessary and very, very over the top. On the other hand, Hall’s puppeteering finale (amazing dance scene “I’ve Got You Under My Skin") is perfect and so fresh. It’s a shame the movie is so self-contradictory. It’s a wasted opportunity.

For a moment there I thought we were in trouble. A legendary classic that I could never get round to watching until today, at last. Paul Newman and Robert Redford reeling off immortal great lines in an unforgettable story...

I always enjoyed Emmerich’s megalomanic demolition of our Mother Earth, and the promise that this time destruction would be ultimate left my humanity-hating self excited to the max. The trailer massage did not disappoint and the movie in itself came up to my expectations. Don’t get me wrong, it is complete bullshit, with a stupid script, but it has a certain charm. The “last minute" escapes are just mouth watering. The whole driving through L. A. scene is so ridiculously cheesy and cool, it may well make it into my TOP movie scenes. When there’s no destruction going on, we have great actors who are fun to watch. I strongly recommend watching 2012 in a movie theater. Same as with all destruction movies. - Whoa, that’s a big plane. - It’s Russian.

This is not the Wild West we know from old Westerns with John Wayne or the younger version of Clint. This is the stone cold reality of the late eighteenth century. The main heroes aren’t heroes at all, but ordinary people who might even miss, talk tough, fall off a horse or maybe their eyesight is just not as good anymore. Eastwood, Hackman and Freeman are great actors and the amazing finale which shatters all the Western movie clichés is just the icing on top of this extraordinary performance.

Definitely the surprise of the year. I really didn’t expect D9 to be this good. The original approach of the guy who I’d almost written off during the test shots for Halo blew my mind. Blomkamp knows his stuff. He’s good at provoking mixed feelings, where you don’t know whether to laugh or be disgusted. The whole movie is supported by an amazing performance from the unknown Sharlto Copley and his Wikus is everything but a good-guy main lead. Regardless everything he does at the beginning, the viewer still can be on board with him. Most of the people and the prawns, are bastards anyway. When I think about it, the only actual good guy was Chris. :-) It’s the best sci-fi so far this year (but this will probably be beaten by Avatar which comes out December 17th). This year’s Terminator can go take a walk. - Should I shoot the little bastard? - , you can’t shoot it now, it’s illegal to do that.

Terrible crap. I was rather perversely looking forward to watching this movie (?), but it really was a bit too much. I forced myself to watch through to the end, so I would never have to go through the experience ever again. Oh yeah, and Lorenzo Lamas is an excellent actor in comparison with the rest of the ensemble. Never again.

A solid and mainly atmospheric sci-fi horror that has a couple of really nice aces up its sleeve. Both Foster and Quaid are very good and the former is the powerhouse of this movie. The surprise in the finale got to me and I was pleasantly surprised in fact by the overall feeling of the movie. This style simply appeals to me. I wasn’t bored for a moment.

The first hour drags on a bit and unlike the straightforward story it needlessly draws out events, but the last half hour redeems the movie’s reputation. Slater is cool and Wes Bentley also tries hard. King’s short story is a lot better, even though it isn’t one of my favorites, and the same applies to the movie. Nothing earth-shattering, but worth a watch (or a read). P.S.: I was annoyed in the introduction about the furtive verbal confusion of scumbag Dolan with mega-swine Flagg. King fans will know what I mean.