Day 147

Still felt unwell, but a bit better than yesterday, especially after I took some powdered electrolytes drink, and got a bit of shopping done. But I also chipped a tooth and not just a little bit, a bug chuck, so didn’t have much to eat, which may have made me a bit more lightheaded/unwell!!!

So, I spent the day at home, hoping I’d feel better tomorrow and watching DVDs:

3000 Miles To Graceland  – this film has had some very harsh reviews, but I love it! It’s a weird mix of dark crime drama and screwball comedy that ticks all my boxes. It’s not a deep, deep film, but it is entertaining and has a great cast (Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Christian Slater and others) that chew the scenery when it’s needed, but keep it subtle when that’s needed.

Laura  – is a great film noir with a nice little mystery. It also stars Vincent Price, but without his moustache! He looks so odd without it! I can’t say much without spoiling the mystery, but if you want a good mystery and story about obsession, this film is for you.

…and because it’s the 35^th anniversary of John Carpenter’s The Thing I watched all three Thing films:

The Thing From Another World  – I think I first saw this on the BBCs Moviedrome series and it’s a great fifties, horror/sci-fi movie.

John Carpenter’s The Thing – is a great updating of the ’51 film and Who Goes There?, the short story that the films are based on. The film has great special effects and does a great job of depicted the paranoia that would occur if there was a shape changing alien in your midst.

The Thing – does a good job of showing what happened before John Carpenter’s film, but there are a couple of problems, the biggest for me is that the Norwegians don’t accidentally blow up the crashed spaceship when they try to dig it out, as shown in the Carpenter’s film.

I really like The Thing (and Who Goes There?) and I plan to do a longer article about them.

Day 146 - Extra

This is how to make a Joker (without including waste chemicals):

Day 146

Still felt sick and unwell this morning, but did manage to go to the local Tesco Metro and M&S to get some food, the paper and some powdered electrolytes drink (I’ve had one packet and it has perked me up and made me feel much better. It’s lunchtime now and I’m not sure if I’ll need more or not, but let’s see). 

Day 145

Still felt unwell and unsettled (little bursts of feeling ok, but longer periods of feeling unwell), so I didn’t get up to much and all I really managed to do today was watch films (mostly via Netflixs):

• Vengeance: A Love Story – is a good Nic Cage cop flick, where he takes vengeance on a group of rapists. For the first twenty or so minutes I did have a worry that this could turn into a film where the rape is just an excuse to enable the ‘hero’ to go on his vengeance rampage and the woman is forgotten after the rape (which Hollywood has done plenty of times), but I think this film does a good job of showing the aftermath of the rape, how it affects the woman and her daughter and probably spends too little time on Nic Cage’s character and why he decides to take vengeance (i.e. is this the first time he has gone outside the law or has he done this before?).  

• Scarecrows – is an average eighties horror flick (where bank robbers hold up in a farm house and get attacked by sentient scarecrows or spirits inhabiting scarecrows) and looks and sounds very much like an eighties horror flick (you could probably re-release it as a parody of eighties horror flicks). I didn’t care about any of the characters, I didn’t believe that they were bank robbers/could rob a bank and it wasn’t very scary. It’d probably be best to watch this film in a group (with a few drinks), to get the most out of it, rather than on your own.

• Gone Baby Gone – is really good, noirish film and I’m slightly annoyed that I hadn’t watched this sooner. The basic story is about a girl that goes missing and the hunt to find her, but there’s some really good, well-rounded characters (and good acting, writing and directing) doing what they think is best. And it’s got a really downbeat ending (which comes after what you think is a happy ending). Highly recommended.

• I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead  – is an ok brit-crime flick and is similar to Get Cater, with Clive Owen returning to London after the death of his brother. There are loads of good actors in this film (Clive Owen, Charlotte Rampling, Malcolm McDowell and Ken Stott), but the film itself is average and doesn’t really develop itself beyond the Get Garter similarities.

• Tequila Sunrise – a great detective/criminal cat and mouse film, where you’re never entirely sure what the characters are thinking and why they are doing what they do. It’s well written, acted and directed and I don’t want to say more, as I don’t want to spoil any of the film for you. Highly recommended.

I also read some Rick and Morty comics, which were pretty good, almost as good as the show itself.

Day 142 - Extra

This is how to make a Batman (without including murdered parents):