Great TV Shows #1: Quantum Leap

Just watched an episode of this and figured it deserved a quick note. Any respectable fan of Sci-Fi has to remember this one. The show ran for five seasons between 1989 and 1993 and starred Scott Bakula later of Enterprise fame and Dean Stockwell of er… well I’m not sure right now but he seems to show up in stuff all over the place. The series had a somewhat unique premise which many people have compared to Sliders which was absolutely nothing at all in any way whatsoever like Sliders. That premise being that some kind of time travel experiment taking place in the distant future year of 1995 going awry stranding scientist Sam Beckett in time. Not only this but in the bodies of complete strangers alive during his lifetime and having a strange quest to change the future for the better. Normally the show relies on a combination of drama and nostalgia to advance the plot but occasionally it also relied on Sci-Fi and philosophy which earned the show a wide fan base. It was also interesting to see Sam Beckett take back with him some of the enlightened morality and ideology of the ‘future’ and although it came off as preachy at times it was interesting to watch. The plot also didn’t have many holes in it, the time travel mechanisms were kept simple and the swiss-cheese effect was used to prevent Sam from having too much knowledge of his own life (and thus a true desire to return home which turned out to be important). I often always wondered why he’d only ever leap into Americans and considered it to be a big plot hole until I saw the final episode where he gets to meet the mysterious entity ‘God, time or fate’ that had been selecting his missions (in fact none of them). In fact the final episode of the show added a new dimension to the whole thing that was almost as confusing as an average episode of Lost but ultimately made a lot of sense. People regard the epilogue that he never returned home as a sad or even tragic ending to the show but I think it was kind of bittersweet, he sacrificed his life because he wanted to change the past for the better.

This was one of the better Sci-Fi shows over the years and the constant repeats on Sky bare that out. Still a good show even if its depiction of the future Sam came from was a little… weird. It would also seem that Hollywood, fresh out of ideas after all those Twin films has now finally decided to make Quantum Leap the movie! And it’s only taken them 18 years to get round to it, still it’s a good concept and should theoretically make a good film if they get it right.

Legends #3: Prince Harry

Prince Harry, son of Diana, princess of Wales and James Hewitt Prince Charles of Wales is 3rd in line to the throne of the United Kingdom, 16 commonwealth realms and a total fucking legend.

It’s difficult to pin down exactly why he’s a legend, no wait actually it isn’t. He’s a legend because despite being 3rd in line to the throne, many people in the UK wish he was first. And what has he done to deserve this honour? Caused controversy of course. I guess the Royal family really need to be seen setting an example for the rest of the country, a prestigious image is very important and so is damage control – especially when Prince Harry’s around. In this respect the young prince has quite clearly learned a few things from Prince Phillip, an obvious candidate for being the second royal to make this list but by no means the last.

When he’s not nailing Chelsea Davy, Prince Harry spends much of his spare time smoking dope, beating up the paparazzi, getting completely bollocksed and dressing up as a member of the Third Reich. And can you believe it, the Royal family frown upon such behaviour? And perhaps it is the last of those stunts that earned Harry the most controversy in the press, he went to an African colonial and native themed party and forgot to dress up dressed as a member of the Afrika Korps. Somehow this managed to offend the Jewish community and the entire left-wing media who for some reason who demanded that Harry apologise. His father proceeded to go ballistic and insisted he visit Auschwitz. Now all this aside, I personally feel this is the kind of bullshit we have to put up with these days. Ok so the costume he wore was in poor taste given the history that is associated with it but once again the press does what it does best – create a mountain out of a molehill. This was a slap on the wrist offense at best, not a media circus. It was fucking costume party for fucks sake! Being the sort of complete and utter bastard I am, had I been in his shoes I would have probably have responded to the press by insisting that I’d naively thought Auschwitz was a Jewish holiday shortly before recommending they read some of the most excellent books by David Irving. Now that would have been a legitimate reason for people to get so pissed off. Alas even Harry isn’t that much of a legend and given the way the press reacted to the costume this would presumably have triggered some sort of interstellar war. So after visiting Auschwitz the poor kid was shipped off into the army where from all counts he served with distinction by flirting with female pilots, betting people obscene amounts of money, playing cards and occasionally doing some soldier stuff as well. And that ladies and gentlemen is why Prince Harry is a legend.

Legends #2: Nigel Farage

Thought I’d write a quick article about his guy since he easily qualifies as a legend. For the uninitiated and anyone reading this blog abroad, I’ll introduce him. Nigel Farage is the leader of the UKIP (United Kingdom Independence Party), a centre right Eurosceptic party whose primary aim is to extricate the UK from the European Union. Now I’m kind of on the fence about whether we should be part of Europe or not and whether the European Union should become a federalised state. I can see some benefits and I can see some drawbacks. The obvious benefits are that the EU as a cohesive entity would be massively more influential in world politics than any of the individual states alone. It would also seem to provide a good deal of economic security for the member states and allow Europe to continue competing on the world stage during the 21st century against such rising powers as China and India as well as providing a viable counterweight to the United States. At least that’s the theory anyway. As far as I’m aware no European politician has publically stated the United States of Europe as an aim but don’t hold me to that because I may be wrong. It is pretty obvious to anyone who’s not terminally stupid that this is the eventual objective. On the flip side of the coin, it would seem to entail a potential loss of sovereignty and recognition of behalf of the member states as people fear they would cease to be French, English, German etc and simply be European. I also repeatedly hear cries that the EU is undemocratic however I seem to remember voting in the European election so if this is the case how is it undemocratic? We voted for the governments that signed the treaties and agreements further allowing the tentacles of the EU to dictate our country’s laws and politics and now we get a vote on what politicians we place into the European parliament. It seems fairly above board to me but I think what the Eurosceptic movement boils down to is more patriotism and pride. This would also seem to be much stronger in Britain than other European states, some people in Britain are hopelessly in love with the old British institutions, history and our part in it, the pound and in a way it’s understandable. Scrapping it all does in some ways feel like a betrayal of our forefathers. But alas I digress, this article isn’t about whether we should purposely cede the last remnants of our sovereignty to countries we spent the best part of a thousand years at war with, it’s about Nigel Farage.

Nigel Farage is a priceless politician, the kind we only get once in a generation. That kind being one who just won’t take any shit from anyone whatsoever and gives constant headaches and sleepless nights to all of their political adversaries. Regardless of what you think of UKIP, you have to admit he’s a very charismatic and a fine orator and watching the uncompromising bullheadedness of the way he addresses the president of EU is just fucking hilarious. So on this basis – that of simultaneously pissing off all the Europhile elite and doing it in style he so earns the coveted title of total fucking legend. Oh how I wish I could post 20 more videos of this guy, in fact screw it he just earned his own category.

Right: Legend Nigel Farage shortly after he crashed his plane, broke 20 bones and punctured a lung. Chuck Norris won’t even have a crack at him.

Legends #1: Andy Gray & Richard Keys

First off I think I should clarify what the legends category is about. In order to qualify as a legend an individual must do something morally dubious and either intentionally or unintentionally hilarious. At least that is one of the definitions. When I say morally dubious, that precludes actions that are outright wrong but cannot exclude any comment, belief or ideology held by a person. The actions of the individual don’t necessarily have to be hilarious either although it helps if they are, they merely have to create some kind of furore or controversy. In sunny Sheffield, we use the word legend constantly when talking about people but I’m still not sure exactly what the meaning of the word is when we use it in this context. Legends can be good or bad people and usually cause some sort of schism in the population as to whether they should be admired or vilified. The dictionary would define the word legend when used to describe a person as ‘one who inspires or achieves legendary fame’ but for some reason we seem to use it in a much wider context and it can include an ordinary Joe at the pub who has just done something hilarious that does not necessarily deserve respect and isn’t necessarily going to make him famous. Over the course of this blog’s life I’ll list people who I definitely know to be legends and see if I can pin down the new meaning of the word.

So first up as stated in the title – Andy Gray and Richard Keys. They are legends in much the same way as Ron Atkinson – for those who don’t know, all three are were football commentators. Ron Atkinson caused controversy in 2004 by calling Marcel Desailly a lazy nigger during a live broadcast. He erroneously believed his microphone to be off at the time but the microphone was in fact switched on and broadcast the comment to rest of Europe and the Middle East. Whilst this caused widespread condemnation by anti-racism groups and the rest of officialdom, most people found it to be absolutely fucking hilarious that someone had committed such an epic failure of a gaffe. This kind of illustrates what the word legend means, the mans morals are questionable, he did something hilarious and caused a controversy but he didn’t do anything outstandingly evil. 

Ok so now I’ve at least tried to explain what the hell the word means in the context I’m used to using it, here’s why I’ve listed Andy Gray and Richard Keys as legends. Because they reiterated in a private conversation what every male in the UK believes to be true – that women don’t understand the offside rule. Yeah sure it’s a sexist generalisation but most women don’t! I might add they didn’t do this live, the recorded conversation was leaked to the press. And then of course everything got blown massively out of proportion because their comments offended too many people and caused some kind of scandal about sexism in the game of football. Did it cause controversy – yes, and did anyone find it fucking hilarious – yes the entire fucking country – that is apart from a few overly sensitive people from political correctness pressure groups. So henceforth Andy Gray and Richard Keys shall be known as legends for their epic work in pissing off the PC brigade. Listen to their brutal conversation below. Peace!

Back to the 80s

I stumbled across this on youtube recently. Wow does this take me back, it really was a different era. This video for some reason captures the zeitgeist of that era perfectly for me. That and for some bizarre reason one of my earliest memories is of Blockbusters. Anyone remember this show? If you do then you’re old. Just think we only had 4 channels of television back then and none of them ran 24 hours. Four?! No Sky, no Internet, no computer games (not really anyway). What the hell did everyone used to do all day? I suppose the eighties did have some compensations at least, everyone dressed like idiots and listened to excellent music that gave way in the 90s to an entire decade of absolutely terrible music. What else was going on, Maggie was doing her level best to piss off the entire working class and we still had Russia threatening to flatten us on a daily basis. I could go on for ages, oh the good old days it was!

Twin Films: The Definitive List Part #2

Continued from Part 1.

Powder (1995) Vs Phenomenon (1996)

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen powder. Probably about 15 years so it’s a little rusty in my mind. The parallels between these two films are obvious though. Both are set in rural communities and both feature a character that seemingly possesses supernatural powers. Both deal with how the community reacts to this individual and their ultimate fate – in fact both films end in roughly the same way. Phenomenon in my mind is clearly the better film. Featuring such stars as John Travolta, Forest Whitaker and Robert Duvall does little to harm it as all are well cast. The film is well written and romantic but it’s not the typical cliché Hollywood romance where the protagonists immediately fall in love, Travolta’s character George Malley has to make considerable effort to win over Kyra Sedgwick and in this respect it reflects real life much better than most movies despite its supernatural premise. The reactions of the characters in the town to George’s new found powers also seem realistic and well thought out.
IMDB Rating: Phenomenon 6.3, Powder 6.2
Verdict: Phenomenon all the way. Similarity Rating 7/10

Turner & Hooch (1989) Vs K-9 (1989)

These films are essentially identical. In both films a cop reluctantly inherits a dog as a partner who he must endure whilst he solves some non-descript crime. Both films are action comedies, both films feature lead actors well known for playing comedic roles and both films are an enjoyable yarn.
IMDB Rating: Turner & Hooch 5.6, K-9 5.6
Verdict: Tie – both are classic 80s action comedies.

 

 

The Truman Show (1998) Vs EDTV (1999)

Films that offer a commentary on the then emerging phenomenon of reality television – something that has since gripped the terminally braindead across the globe. I’ve never seen EDTV and doubt if I’ll ever watch it because in my opinion the Truman show was everything a film like this needed to be – a light-hearted warning about taking entertainment too far. The film deals with the subject well without being nearly as dark as it could have been because thinking about it, the premise is really deeply immoral. That premise being making someone the unwitting star of a soap opera broadcast across the globe and given some of the things that usually happen in soap operas to make them entertaining, were the Truman show a reality, Truman Burbank would probably have led one of the most interesting, fucked up lives in history. The film also never delves into the psychological effects that discovering your life was a set up would actually have on a person. Such psychological effects could be devastating to a person, it’s really difficult to say and it’s a shame the film doesn’t address this in some ways because writer Andrew Niccol who also directed Gattaca evidently isn’t afraid of laying bare the realities when writing speculative fiction. That said we still got a decent film with the Truman Show but I can’t help feeling like there was a missed opportunity here.
IMDB Rating: The Truman Show 8.0, EDTV 6.1
Verdict: Never having seen EDTV I can’t give one but I would suspect the Truman Show is a superior film by far.

Deep Star Six (1989) Vs Leviathan (1989) Vs The Abyss (1989)

These films are all guilty of a similar premise, that of meeting an aquatic alien species underwater that seems to want to destroy humanity for one reason or another. Honestly I haven’t seen Leviathan or Deep Star Six although I may at some point give Leviathan a watch because Peter Weller usually carries B movies to being half decent – think Screamers. The Abyss is clearly the best film here, no matter how far James Cameron loses his head up his own arse it never stops the man from making a good solid film. The Abyss is also one of his best, along with Aliens and Terminator 2 – much better than many people believe. If you’ve never seen it make sure you do yourself a favour and watch the directors cut because the theatrical cut is poor and doesn’t make any sense largely because it cuts out some of the key scenes in explaining the entire plot of the movie which is kind of stupid. The Abyss carries some of the hallmarks of James Cameron films – the strong female lead, the commentary on the dangers of nuclear weapons, the usual misanthropic angle, casting Michael Beihn etc. The film also features a fair amount of accurate science, something Sci-Fi movies often struggle with – for example oxygenated fluorocarbon emulsion – liquid air actually does exist. The scene with the rat breathing fluid wasn’t any kind of special effect although whether that kind of technology would actually let Ed Harris dive to 10,000 ft I seriously doubt. The special effects are again cutting edge for 1989 – the water tentacle scene still doesn’t look dated to this day. The Abyss for all its brilliance really should be – Ed Harris nearly drowned during the making of this film, allegedly punched James Cameron and swore never to work with him again. I do believe this was because Cameron wanted Harris’ reaction to be as lifelike as possible. Some of the rest of the cast – especially Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio called the making of this film the most painful experience of her life. The cast regularly worked 15 hours a day and constantly had to undergo decompression in hyperbaric chambers. As I understand it, it was one of the most difficult movie making endeavours in history but by God it certainly worked. 
IMDB Rating: Deep Star Six 4.4, Leviathan 5.3, The Abyss 7.6
Verdict: The Abyss by far. Similarity Rating 7/10

Toy Story (1998) Vs Small Soldiers (1998)

Ok I’m probably stretching it a little with this one but these films do feel like they ripped each other off to some degree. Both feature toys which come to life although for different reasons entirely and in both films the toys have some sort of mission or objective to achieve. Toy Story was one of if not the first film to be done completely by computer animation. Small Soldiers isn’t. Both are entertaining films and both work pretty well although Toy Story is the better of the two.
IMDB Rating: Toy Story 8.2, Small Soldiers 5.9
Verdict: No contest, Toy Story was a milestone in cinema. Similarity Rating 5/10

Avatar (2009) Vs Surrogates (2009) Vs Gamer (2009)

Three films from 2009 with a very similar premise – that of using avatars or remotely controlling the body of another being whether biological or mechanical from afar. All involve trying to save a planet / species in one way or another although not necessarily Earth and not necessarily humanity and all from entirely different threats. No one questions Avatars dominance here, although that said it’s not nearly as good as many people believe and at times it feels a bit like an episode of the Smurfs set in space. The film is probably the most hyped movie in history and had the largest budget of any movie ever made combined with largest worldwide gross of any movie ever made further enlarging James Cameron’s ego which is precisely what it needed because it wasn’t already big enough. It is a good film though, the special effects are practically unparalleled, the imagery and surrealism of Pandora is on par with excellence and many of the finer aspects of the film are well imagined. So this film clearly doesn’t suffer from a lack of imagination nor does it suffer from a lack of technical expertise and is fairly adept in the art of psychological manipulation as well (Take the big eyes of the Navi or the ridiculously pacifistic idea of the military as for instances). What it does suffer from is a poorly written script that seems to be a blatant rip off of Pocahontas and Dances with Wolves. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good film but could have been so much more. Surrogates and Gamer aren’t as good but I liked both films, they take a simpler approach and don’t use $200 million budget to get their points across. Neither is great but both are entertaining popcorn flicks.
IMDB Rating: Avatar 8.2, Surrogates 6.3, Gamer 5.6
Verdict: Avatar easily wins but the other two are worth checking out. Similarity Rating 6/10

Finding Nemo (2003) Vs Shark Tale (2004)

I haven’t seen Finding Nemo so I can’t present any sort of comparison here. Both are obviously computer animated films set in the ocean. Shark Tale seemed to be some sort of not even slightly subtle homosexuality indoctrination exercise for children. This was of course dressed up as a Shark who was shunned for ‘being different from the others’. Don’t get me wrong I’m not homophobic in the slightest but using a medium such as this to brainwash children seems to be on morally dubious ground at the very least. I’m pretty sure Disney is guilty of the same thing numerous times over and given that Walt Disney is often rumoured to have been a National Socialist that’s hardly surprising; films like this have to make you wonder how much of your moral outlook and perspective on life is truly your own. Overall Shark Tale is enjoyable despite the propaganda message, probably one day I will end up watching Nemo and find it to be better.
IMDB Rating: Finding Nemo 8.2, Shark Tale 5.9
Verdict: The vote on IMDB finds Nemo to be a better film, not spectacularly hard to believe.

Antz (1998) Vs A bugs life (1998)

I haven’t seen either of these thank God. I have seen them frequently listed as similar films so that’s why they’ve made this list. From what I gather, both are about Ants specifically one Ant who turns out to be a hero who saves the day and both are entirely computer generated children’s films. Both sound enthralling, just how on Earth is it that they’ve passed me by?
IMDB Rating: Antz 6.8, A Bugs Life 7.3
Verdict: There’s probably not much in it. Similarity Rating 8/10

Johnny Mnemonic (1995) Vs Strange Days (1995)

No list I have ever encountered has these movies paired as being similar so you might disagree with me that they are. But think about it, both came out in 1995, both set in the near future, both cyberpunk especially Johnny Mnemonic which is written by William Gibson – the king of cyberpunk and both involve the protagonist trying to get important data to the right people amidst a conspiracy to prevent exactly that from happening. Both films had some nice Sci-Fi concepts, both dealt with memories in one way or another. Strange Days was about recorded memories that could be relived whilst Johnny Mnemonic was about Keanu Reeves trying to recover his lost memories. Did I miss anything? These are twin films. Which is better? Strange Days has a more realistic vibe to it, Johnny Mnemonic is pure science fiction. Johnny Mnemonic is more dystopian and shows us a world far removed from what we know whilst Strange Days depicts a world not radically different from our own. Strange Days is a better film, it just is, don’t ask me why.
IMDB Rating: Johnny Mnemonic 5.0, Strange Days 7.1
Verdict: Strange Days is superior. Similarity Rating 6/10

Independence Day (1996) Vs The Arrival (1996)

Again I’m struggling a little with this list because it’s difficult to compare two movies if you’ve not seen one of them. There can’t be many people alive now who haven’t seen Independence Day, it is pretty much the best alien invasion blockbuster of all time. People slag it off now sure but when it first came out, it was a huge hit and everyone raved about it. Yep it’s almost as stupid as Armageddon in terms of plot holes and despite what everyone says about using an Apple Mac to hack into the alien computer I still think this is vaguely plausible although I don’t think it would have taken 12 hours to figure out how to do it – 12 years maybe. It also features one of the most jaw droppingly pompous jingoistic nationalistic speeches ever delivered in cinema but then again expecting Americans to be humble is like expecting the French not to be arrogant. The faults of this film can be overlooked because this movie was just an excuse to have a big massive alien battle showdown, light off a few nukes, have plenty of fighter jet scenes and just generally feel good at the end when humans eventually win the day. It was fun to watch and still is fun to watch. Sentimentality abounds but everything that made Armageddon bad makes this movie good, it just works so well. As for the Arrival, I’ve heard good things. It’s supposed to be a nice little Sci-Fi gem and can’t believe that I’ve let it slip by me for so long. It’s allegedly a lot darker than Independence Day and its plot is driven more by paranoia and intrigue than explosions and special effects. First opportunity I get to watch it, I’ll let you know what I think.
IMDB Rating: Independence Day 6.6, The Arrival 6.2
Verdict: Independence Day until further notice. Similarity Rating 6/10

STAY TUNED FOR PART 3!

Twin Films: The Definitive List Part #1

I’ve wanted to address this issue somehow for a long time but not really had any medium on which to do it. It involves Hollywood films which are very similar in terms of plot and released at roughly the same time (say within a year of each other). The list isn’t nearly as extensive as I thought it was but there are nonetheless quite a few movies released at roughly the same time with either very similar or identical plots. I’ve listed some of the movies which I think are most obvious first followed by some that are less obvious / perhaps not that similar followed by some suggestions from forums about movies where I haven’t seen either one or both of the films in question. The reason for their similarities? Well I’ve heard a few explanations, one being the collective unconscious twigging onto similar ideas at the same time. My own theory is that competing Hollywood directors work from a similar concept and aim to make a superior film to the other. A sort of bragging rights competition. On the other hand it may just be that ideas float around tinsel town at the same time and their being made into films at similar times is purely coincidental. Whatever the explanation for this phenomenon, I’ve decided to list as many as I could come up with. 

So here they all are:

Déjà vu (2006) Vs Next (2007)

The plot of both films involves the FBI use of time travel or time manipulation in one form or another to prevent a terrorist attack. Both protagonists meet the girl of their dreams in the process and both films try to inject some of the complexities and absurdities of time travel into the film during the process. Whilst Déjà vu has a slightly higher rating on IMDB – 7.0 vs 6.1 for Next, I don’t personally think that either film is significantly better than the other. They were both pretty entertaining although for me Next edges it just because it stars Jessica Biel. Similarity rating: 9/10

The Road (2009) Vs The Book of Eli (2010)

Another Two Sci-Fi films that seem very similar to me. A lot of people probably wouldn’t list these two as twin films but in my opinion they are very much variants on the same theme. Both are set after the apocalypse and depict a dystopian future where virtually all hope has been lost. Whilst the catastrophe in the Book of Eli was evidently some kind of nuclear war, the catastrophe in The Road is left vague and undefined. Both films feature cannibalism on the part of many of the survivors and both films remind me of the Fallout 3 computer game to varying degrees. But despite the similarities in the general theme of the films, the plot of both is somewhat different. The Book of Eli is somewhat religious in nature, has an evident direction and some semblance of civilisation and life has survived. The Road on the other hand is probably one of the darkest, bleakest, most depressing dystopian tales ever to grace the big screen. Whatever nightmare happened before the beginning of this film has destroyed literally everything including all life save for a few wandering humans. There is no real plot to the film other than the following of the father and son in their desperate struggle to survive in a world that has literally died before them. The ending is very ambiguous as well, is it a happy ending? Difficult to say really.
As for their ratings, well the book of Eli is rated 6.9 on IMDB whilst the Road is rated 7.4. Both are pretty enjoyable films but The Book of Eli is really a disposable action flick whilst the Road is more artistic and from my point of view, a far superior film. Similarity Rating 7/10

Deep Impact (1998) Vs Armageddon (1998)

Two films in the same year about an asteroid heading for Earth and the imminent extinction of the human race which must be thwarted by a team of astronauts who need to detonate nuclear weapons inside the thing to destroy it. Both feature numerous similarities including unprecedented cooperation between America and Russia, a sickeningly sentimental view of how humanity is going to become extinct and a cheesier than average love story that just makes you want to throw up. Whilst both are disposable popcorn flicks, in my opinion the superior film is clearly Deep Impact. Not because it was significantly better by any stretch of the imagination but because it was significantly less stupid. In Armageddon we have to send up a team of redneck oil miners into space and teach them to be astronauts because drilling for oil is clearly a more complicated job than piloting a space shuttle. Then we have the idea that drilling 800ft into an asteroid the size of Texas will be sufficiently near the centre to split it completely in two. Then we have Peter Stormare playing the Russian on board Mir and the film portrays him as a stereotypical drunk Russian because obviously there’s a plentiful supply of vodka on Mir. Meanwhile Michael Clarke Duncan reprises his role as John Coffey from the Green Mile and Bruce Willis reprises his role as John McClane. I suppose I can forgive Hollywood for having a sense of humour, the film was pretty funny in places and not taken too seriously I guess it’s reasonably entertaining. Deep Impact on the other hand doesn’t seem to contain as many glaring inaccuracies; they are still there for sure but the film gets a few things right at least. More thought has obviously gone into it and the film addresses such things such as government secrecy, budgetary considerations, journalistic integrity etc etc. It was even prescient enough to make the president a black man. It’s much darker in tone, less humorous and there is at least some emotional connection with the characters. It just feels like a better film.
IMDB rating for Armageddon – 6.1, rating for Deep Impact – 6.0. I don’t care Deep Impact is a better film by a mile but Armageddon works better on retards who like big bangs. Similarity rating 10/10

The Illusionist (2006) Vs The Prestige (2006)

Another two that seem like a write off competition. Both films are about magicians, both are set in the Victorian era, both are set in Europe (for the most part) and both feature magic that seems supernatural but actually isn’t although the explanations as to why differ. So the only real question is which is the better film? Can’t decide it on women because whilst the Illusionist might win by starring Jesscia Biel, the Prestige stars Scarlet Johansson which cancels what could have been a winning factor out completely. While both films are very good but I think the Prestige is better and here’s why. The plot twists and turns and ultimately the final twist I just really didn’t see coming. It’s fucking obvious the second time you see the film but the first time I saw it, just didn’t have a clue. It’s Christopher Nolan’s seemingly innate ability to make good films that wins this one. This combined with his brother’s talent for writing excellent screenplays makes the Prestige a clear winner.
IMDB Rating for the Illusionist – 7.7, rating for the Prestige 8.4. Similarity rating 9/10.

Mission to Mars (2000) Vs Red Planet (2000)

Two films released in 2000 that were about a mission to Mars set in the relatively near future. The inspiration for going there varies between the two movies, one is a rescue mission, the other is to discover what went wrong with a terraforming project. Both are cheesy and neither is a particularly great film. Quite honestly I enjoyed both despite them both being terrible films. I will get slated for this but I preferred Mission to Mars and here’s why. Mission to Mars builds to an ending that is quite existential and even profound whilst Red Planet comes off as environmentally preachy and falls into the sentimentalism trap. The cast of Mission to Mars especially Gary Senise elicit some sympathy from the audience and even carry a certain power whilst the cast of Red Planet come off as a bunch of assholes. I am certain that if the soundtrack to Mission to Mars had been a lot lot better and a few other aspects of the film had been tweaked such as the annoying computer voice and a few of Jerry O’Connell’s cringe worthy scenes that this film could have been regarded as vastly superior to what it is. Disappointing really, it was ALMOST a great film. Red Planet is a standard popcorn flick.

IMDB Rating: Mission to Mars – 5.2, Red Planet – 5.4
Mission to Mars missed the bullseye but is still a better film by far. Similarity rating 8/10

Volcano (1997) Vs Dantes Peak (1997)

Two 1997 films about volcanoes, both having a hero who must save the local inhabitants from the ensuing destruction. So which is better based on the similar premise? Well given that I can barely remember Volcano, it obviously didn’t make that much of an impression. In fact all I really remember about it is that Tommy Lee Jones was chasing a guy called Richard Kimble or something or other. No I actually don’t remember anything about this film other than him coming up with some kind of inventive plan to divert the flow of lava to the ocean. It is simply forgettable. Dante’s Peak I think is a criminally underrated film; it’s realistic, scientific and actually made me want to become a seismologist. It’s not overly sentimental but does have a fairly sentimental plot, has humour in the appropriate places and characters that you genuinely care for. Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton do a great job of leading of what is really quite a slow film that builds to a spectacular ending all the while dropping in bits of science that would interest just about anyone with an interest in the subject.

IMDB Rating: Volcano – 5.2, Dantes Peak 5.7
Dante’s Peak is better, no contest. Similarity rating 7/10

Matrix (1999) Vs The Thirteenth Floor (1999)

Not too many people realise the Matrix has a twin but it surely does. Released in 1999, this film similarly involves an artificial world created by computers although humans are in charge of those computers and not vice versa. The film involves people entering this artificial world and interacting with characters that are essentially programs. I don’t think anyone would really say the Thirteenth Floor is a better film, the Matrix was pretty much the seminal science fiction film of the decade but is the Thirteenth Floor a good film. Yes it is, it’s a nice little sci-fi gem that not too many people know about. The plot has some interesting twists and raises some of the same questions about the nature of reality that the Matrix does. It doesn’t have the level of action, special effects or general panache of the Matrix but it does have a gripping storyline and deserves to be more widely known than it is. Additionally Gretchen Mol trumps Carrie Anne-Moss on the attractiveness of the female lead front, she kind of reminds me of Samantha Mathis in Super Mario Brothers in many ways.

There are also another two films released around this time that question the nature of reality or lack thereof that are worth mentioning – Existenz (1999) and Dark City (1998) - also both decent films in their own right.  

IMDB Rating: The Matrix – 8.7, The Thirteenth Floor – 6.8
The Matrix is better no contest, but the Thirteenth Floor is more of a worthy contender than many realise. Similarity rating 7/10

Platoon (1986) Vs Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Two movies set during the Vietnam War, both featuring lead characters who face a crisis of conscience and morality and both about the horrors of war and the duality of man. Both feature characters that have mental meltdowns as a result of their experiences. I can’t say that either one is better than the other, Oliver Stone nailed Platoon and Stanley Kubrick nailed Full Metal Jacket. Both had good scripts and the direction was excellent. The monologues of Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket are priceless.

IMDB Rating: Platoon – 8.2, Full Metal Jacket – 8.4
Verdict: Tie – both are amazing films. Similarity rating 7/10

 

PART 2 COMING SOON!

Computer Gaming Antiquity #1: Command & Conquer – Tiberian Sun

Everyone fan of computer games who is old enough remembers Tiberian Dawn – the modern classic which saw the introduction of a great storyline pitting warring superpowers NOD and GDI against each other in a global struggle to control supplies of a valuable alien crystalline infestation called Tiberium. But this game also saw something else – a revolutionary change in the mechanics of RTS games and is generally regarded as the defining title in that particular genre. The quintessential formula cooked up by Westwood is still essentially unchanged to this day. This was the game that set the benchmark by which all the others are judged… and it was absolutely amazing.

But it isn’t the original I want to talk about… it’s the sequel – Tiberian Sun. I’ve been playing this game a lot recently. Not through boredom but because for some strange reason it just never gets old especially when played over LAN. Granted for LAN gamers in the early years of Windows Vista and the abolition of the IPX protocol, it was a bitch to get working but now this is easy to resolve this classic has since been given a new lease of life. The game has also since been released as freeware along with Tiberian Dawn and Red Alert. This has come as somewhat of a relief to me as over the years I have purchased more copies of this game than I care to remember. But for some strange reason I can just never find a damn Tibsun CD when I want to play the game. Tiberian Sun CDs are up there with socks as something I continually buy but never seem to have. After Red Alert 2 was released, Westwood Studios was liquidated by its parent company Electronic Arts who subsequently assumed control of further C&C games. The lacklustre Generals was followed by Tiberium Wars – the third instalment which I do regard as an excellent game. I haven’t yet had chance to play either Red Alert 3 or Tiberium Twilight although at some point in the future I will no doubt get round to it. Perhaps not the latter because the most hardcore fan of the series I know told me it was crap which really doesn’t bode too well for it at all.

In my opinion though Tiberian Sun is and continues to be the best instalment of them all. It’s the LAN play that keeps this game alive. By editing the sun.ini file, the graphics can run at the native resolution of modern machines, it doesn’t look dated. It doesn’t feel dated and you can play it for hours and hours and hours. I once played a game that lasted 12 hours, my opponent was virtually certain of their victory erroneously believing that all they were doing was hunting down the last remnants of my forces unaware that much earlier in the game I’d set up a secret base and begun mass producing Cyborg Commandos in preparation for base invasion they just hadn’t seen coming. The game is fantastically tactical and strategic; sometimes it becomes a race to control the high ground, a particular pass, a particular ore field. Sometimes it comes down to predicting what your opponent will do, attack by air, underground, engineer rush, you name it there is an attacking method and against a human opponent it becomes like an ultra sophisticated game of chess. To make this game even more interesting, it is endlessly modable, it’s easy to create new units, to tweak the capabilities of existing units, to alter the core values affecting the overall strategy of the game. By altering the rules.ini file, you can create a completely different game. And lately in LAN gaming parties, that’s precisely what I’ve been doing. If you’re a gamer and you’ve never played this game… it’s a must.

For a true sense of nostalgia play the track from Tiberian Dawn – Act on instinct.

Free download: http://www.commandandconquer.com/classic

Good site for mods: http://www.cncden.com/tsmods.shtml

Heroes #1: Jason Smith

I would put Jason Smith in the Legends category unfortunately he doesn’t quite qualify as there would have to be something controversial about his actions for me to put him there. There simply isn’t. However the Gulf war veteran with two black belts did end up cheering up a lot of Brits last year when he knocked down chav übercunt Les Andrews with a single blow. Yob culture is rampant now, just watch the Jeremy Kyle show to get an idea of exactly how fucked we are. Failed social policies these days put far too much emphasis on the rights of an individual and not enough on their responsibilities and accountabilities. In fact the crass stupidity of the justice system now in place could have even seen Jason as the criminal for er… defending himself and his family. In my own personal opinion he probably should have stamped on the chavs face a couple of times whilst he was on the floor and maybe broke a couple of bones just to get the point across. Ah whatever, he was the first hero I came across so he earns the first article on this great blog. Thumbs up Jason and if I ever meet you, the drinks are on me.

Check out the following video from youtube to see his prize winning blow. Talk about precision.  

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2672670/Hero-who-beat-up-yob-on-video-is-revealed-as-Gulf-War-veteran-with-two-black-belts.html

Introduction to this Blog

It’s difficult for me to pin down exactly what this blog is going to be about. I suppose the best way to describe it would be a completely random spawning of almost everything that passes through my consciousness. It is in some ways going to be a thought experiment, a way to collate all of my hobbies and interests into a single location and then share them anonymously with the world or anyone interested in similar things.

So I suppose in summary this blog will be about things that inspire me, things that irk me, things that interest me, things that were influential, things that are influential, things that fascinate and things that infuriate. It will be a mishmash of most of the things that cross my mind.

Some of the topics I will cover over time include:

TV Series I like, Twin Films, People who annoy me, people who inspire me, great movies, Sci-Fi movies, Ideas, Quotes, Youtube Videos, The Creationism-Evolution debate, Atheism, Great events in History, World War II and the Cold War, Projects I’m working on, Goals and progress in Life, Health and Fitness, Computer Games, Humour and jokes, Science and discovery, Astronomy, Great figures from history, music, Challenges and adventures, Photography, Art, Books and authors, Computer programming and IT, The future, Ideas and concepts, Spirituality, Politics and much much more.

In short: LIFE!

Watch this space; hopefully this will be a worthy endeavour.