“Is there a word for total screaming genius that sounds modest and a tiny bit sexy?”

Hello Everyone :-)

It’s that time of year again…. the new series of ‘Doctor Who’ has started!

As always I will be sharing my humble opinions in the coming weeks. I’m going to try my best to be spoiler free but if the occasion calls for it I’ll flag it up by giving a “SPOILERS AHOY” notice at the start of each post.

Episode 1 of series 7 aired on Saturday 1^st September at 20 past 7 and is called ‘Asylum of the Daleks’.

We re-join our favourite Timelord as he is lured into a trap on Skaro and beamed to the Parliament of the Daleks. There he is joined by the similarly captured and newly divorced Amy and Rory. It transpires that our beloved trio have been enlisted by the Daleks to help obliterate a planet facility called ‘The Asylum’ to which the Daleks banish those who go insane. The Dalek Prime Minister (who knew the Daleks had such an organised Governmental structure?!?!) explains that a ship has crashed into the Asylum and broken the force-field surrounding the planet. The Daleks wish to destroy the planet to stop any of the unhinged residents escaping but are too afraid of the of the aforementioned inhabitants to go down to the planet and turn off the force-field in order to do so. The Doctor and his companions have to travel to the Asylum in order to shut down the force-field.

I cannot begin to tell you how happy it makes me that ‘Asylum of the Daleks’ is awesome :-)

I loved last season’s, second half opener ‘Let’s Kill Hitler’ but there was a lot of exposition in that episode due to the massive amount of loose threads that the series had yet to tie up. This series, however, is a fresh start and as such is unburdened by unanswered questions. What ‘Asylum of the Daleks’ does is set up what I think is going to be a bit of a puzzle that will keep Whovians guessing till Christmas.

I said no spoilers and I stand by that so all I’m going to sat is there is a surprise performance in this episode. It’s really good; in fact it’s heart-breakingly wonderful and has made me super excited about the rest of the series. I shall say no more on the subject :-)

You may remember my none too favourable look at ‘Closing Time’ from last series and my criticism of their use of the Cybermen, you’ll be pleased to know I have no such baddie qualms here. The Daleks have been used so much in the past that last series Steven Moffat made the conscious decision to “rest” them. That decision has paid off dividends. There is a nice twist at the end that means that they can go wherever they like with the Doctor’s greatest nemesis which I loved.

Arthur Darvill… GORGEOUS in this episode. Seriously, even my Mum said “when did he get so handsome”! He’s come a long way since he was Rory the Nurse… Incidentally there’s a sequence when he’s in a room with some seemingly dormant Daleks that is genuinely ‘hide behind a cushion’ scary. I held my breath for the whole scene.

The only place this episode falls down is the emotional aside of Amy and Rory’s marriage break-down. I won’t give away the reasons behind it but to me it doesn’t make any sense. I think they would have survived the issue that caused the break-up so the motives don’t really ring true. That said the scenes between those characters are sweet and I enjoyed them.

‘Asylum of the Daleks’ is a wonderful example of Doctor Who at its heart-string tugging best. One minor quibble aside I think it was a fantastic opening to the new series :-)

Now let’s seen if we can’t find some…

Reasons to be cheerful :-)
1. Catching Fire has started filming! There’s been lots of additions to the cast, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Sam Clafin and Jena Malone are all new. I’m looking forward to it, it is my favourite of the books and with a cast like that it’s sure to be good :-)

2. New ‘Wreck it Ralph’ Trailer! I can’t wait, this looks like it’s going to be really special :-) One to look out for in 2013!

3. New pictures from 'Thor:The Dark World' (aka Thor 2)! Thor and the Lady Sif kick ass! I'm excited :-)

That’s all from me for today.

Goodbye till next time :-)
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“A day where anything can happen. A day where I can change my fate”

Hello Everyone :-)

Oh Pixar. Dear, lovely Pixar. Thought by many to be incapable of making a bad film, in 2011 the released ‘Cars 2’. Garnering mainly negative reviews it’s seen by many to be the company’s first toyetic release which was disappointing from a company that seemed to have the ethos ‘only tell stories worth telling’.

But now they’re back with their first fantasy, fairy-tale adventure and I’ve been to see it.

‘Brave’ centres on Merida (Kelly Macdonald), a Scottish Princess from Clan Dunbroch. Merida is a free-spirited teenager who loves riding her horse, rock climbing and archery but this all comes to a halt when she is told by her Mother Elinor (Emma Thompson) that she is to be betrothed to one of the Princes of the other Clans. Merida is none too pleased about this and sets about finding a way to change her fate.

This is just lovely :-)

First and foremost, this is aimed at an older audience. Obviously it’s still a children’s film but probably more the older end of the scale rather than the under 7’s at which ‘Cars’ and ‘Cars 2’ was obviously aimed. As a result the film has a darker edge to it. ‘Brave’ seems to have been made in the same mold as the original Brother’s Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen tales, all of which have sinister undertones. It is, by all accounts, Pixar’s first fantasy film.

The standard of animation and voice work is as high as always (say what you will about the muddled plot of ‘Cars 2’, at least it still looked nice).

The filmmakers have done a wonderful job of capturing the breathtaking vistas north of the border (unsurprisingly the Scottish tourist board have jumped on this and are using it in their current promotional ads). It not only looks beautiful but they weave Scotland into the tapestry of the story so ultimately it isn’t just an incidental gorgeous setting, it makes it seem like this story couldn’t take place anywhere other than the highlands.

The cast is excellent. Billy Connolly as Fergus is such a big, warm, bear of a voice it’s easy to see why Merida is a Daddy’s girl and Emma Thompson does very well as the prim and proper Queen Elinor. Originally Reese Witherspoon was down to play Merida which sounds too horrible for words (that’s not a slight on Reese Witherspoon, I love Reese Witherspoon, I just wouldn’t have been able to cope with a Scottish Princess with an American twang…). Thankfully the always wonderful Kelly Macdonald is on hand to lend her native Gaelic brogue to proceedings.

I’m always astounded by how much chemistry Pixar seem to get from their characters. Considering the act of voice recording is usually a solo endeavor, Macdonald and Thompson bounce off each other, as if they recorded their dialogue together and really convince as a Mother/Daughter duo.

It’s not as continually funny as Pixar’s films aimed at a younger audience, but there are some choice scenes that I liked, most of which come from the conflict between Clans and choice lines from the incomprehensible Young MacGuffin. King Fergus is great and the triplets Hamish, Hubert and Harris are adorable.

Like almost all of the Pixar films that have gone before it, ‘Brave’ is a story about parent-child relationships. More obvious in that respect than the ‘Toy Story’ trilogy; the central pairing in ‘Brave’ is Merida and her Mother, Queen Elinor. I’m not sure whether it was the way the story was told or the simple fact that it was a Mother and Daughter pairing but it tugged at my heartstrings and my friends and I were in tears before the end (any of you that follow me on Twitter will know that me in tears is a common occurrence but I assure you, my friends are made of sterner stuff).

As someone that went through a (albeit brief) rebellious period, when I came out of the screening of ‘Brave’ I just wanted to ring my Mum and apologise for all the times I’ve ever been a pain in the arse.

It’s not as instantly iconic as ‘Toy Story’ and it’s not as bright and colourful as ‘Finding Nemo’ but ‘Brave has a charm, wit and beauty all of its own. Whilst I’m sure it can be enjoyed by both genders ‘Brave’ might be particularly effective on a female audience, it’s likely that you’ve either been or know an unruly teenager or a pushy Mother. Back on form, Pixar have given us a gem.

Now, let’s a have a look at some…

Reasons to be Cheerful :-)

1. ‘The Avengers/Assemble’ has made $1.5 billion worldwide. That makes me so happy! It’s great to see a fun, well written film do so well. I also love the little note at the end of that article. “Nolan's box office figures have been achieved without the financial fillip of 3D cinema screenings, which incur a higher ticket price.” Hahaha!!! In your FACE 3D!

2. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ looks set to be Marvel’s big 2014 release. It’ll be released in May 2014, the same year as ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’.

3. We have a Finnick Odair! His name is Sam Clafin. I’m not familiar with his work but he’s a bit cute :-) This could work!

That’s all for today!

Goodbye till next time :-)

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