redfiona99

First of all ( Poirot:Hallow'een Party (spoilers inside) )

Good job on all fronts.

Thorne:Sleepyhead was less well done. I managed to catch the end through use of the V+ box.

Part of the problem is that they totally got Thorne wrong. Not totally wrong, but the feel of him was off. In the books he's well aware he's mildly ridculous, and several other characters point that out to him too. ( (Spoiler) they also changed )

They kept Alison, who is the most wonderful character in the book, and the one I was most scared of them changing, but they turn the interesting, spikey, short-cropped grey-haired Anne Coburn into someone far more traditionally comforting (and cast long, blonde-haired Natascha McElhone). None of that should be taken as a diss on the actress, who played the now somewhat under-written part as well as it could be.

They also changed the plot. Now I grant the book's plot made sense only in the book but it made sense, and was part of the whole thing that our lead character and his hunches are not always right and the great male hero complex is not a good thing, and the tv show lost all that.

However, I shall be the first to admit that I was watching this for Aiden Gillen. I was intrigued when he was cast, especially since the Radio Times made such a thing of him being in it so I watched the first episode and all he got to do was be background pathologist guy/best friend/mildly suspicious.

I did wonder why he'd taken the part, and then I remembered that this is a man who was in a WWE film, he has no sense or shame.

( Then I saw the 3rd part (mostly squeaking about Aiden Gillen below) )

So yes, I'll be watching more of it, but still for the wrong reasons.

Having seen how long this entry has gotten, meme later.

1 - Okay, the new James Bond film is called A Quantum of Solace. Which would be the title of my favourite Bond short story. So I am squeefully happy. I am well aware that nothing from the story will feature in the film, but if it has any parts set in the Bahamas or any of the characters make it over, then I will be sooooooo excessively happy that I shan't come down from the ceiling for a week.

2 - James Marsters as Piccolo in the new Dragon Ball film. See also: squeak-inducing.

Well, it was far better than last year, which was boring, an unforgivable sin, to my mind anyway.

( Some thoughts )

But yes I enjoyed it.

I shall leave it to you to imagine the dolphin noises made over the Torchwood trailer.

The Ballet Shoes was exactly what it said on the tin, which would explain why, despite what the Radio Times thinks, there are girls amongst us who haven't read it. I enjoyed it, despite the icky romance and the fact that the only one I thought had any decent ambition was Petrova, even if it was most unfortunate that they had Emma Watson playing the character who wanted to act. I did love Posey most of all in the end, if only because I have a love of tiny brats who are fully aware that they have no conscience what so ever (see also the Abomination St. Alia).

There were unfortunate moments of romance, and they appear to have found the only hair colour ever that Marc Warren can't carry off. It's also unfortunate that playing romantic leads is not exactly his strong point.

~~~~

My family make me emo. I don't think that's exactly news. But my girl cousin makes me want to shake her by the shoulders and make her eat something. She's practically wasting away and while I am aware that shaking her is going to do no good, I want to do something and I have no idea what.

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Book review:

( The Eye of Osiris by R. Austin Freeman, a Dr. Thorndyke novel )

No unsuggestions, not enough people have it. Why is beyond me, because it's such a well constructed murder mystery. Seriously, if you like CSI, you will adore this, it's 1910s style.

If you hate CSI, you might well love this.

Mostly Dracula.

I taped it last night and watched it today. It was much better than expected. Not brilliant but good.

Most I wish to say how fantastic Marc Warren was as Dracula. His voice never raised above a whisper but I could make out every word, which is rare. And he was just so right. Much love.

( Now for the spoilers )

Onto ski-jumping - the 4 Hills is now on and eee! there's a baby Austrian doing very well. But, and this is amusing possibly only to me, the commentators were so right a couple of years ago when they said that Tommi Morgenstern was the new Andi Goldberger, because Schlisauer is the more likely to win, but damn it if I don't want Tommi to win more, even though there's nothing to chose between them.

There was also this lovely little snippet of them warming up together and they're so cute. Of the little furry animal variety.

All about how I won't be posting fic because the fic that is finished annoys me in some way I can't explain, because it lacks purpose. I mean, even my character vignettes that lack plot have a purpose - it's to show either why a character reacted like that, or the things that shaped him into reacting like that or things like that. This doesn't even do that, and I don't know how to make it better. But I want to since there's a couple of lines I want to save.

Other than that, if it weren't for the quote from Ian McKellan below, I would be proclaiming the surviving members of the A-Team the coolest people ever. Given that, you know, they didn't kill Channel 4 for some of the hi-jinks they pulled.

But of course, Ian McKellan comes out with something like this - Speaking at the Cannes Film Festival in France on Wednesday, McKellen said, "When I read the book I believed it entirely. I thought that Leigh Teabing argued his case very convincingly indeed, and clever Dan Brown for twisting my mind in the right direction. And when I put the book down, I thought what a load of... and that's still going on in my mind. I'm very happy to believe that Jesus was married. And I know the Catholic church has problems with gay people and so this would be absolute proof that Jesus was not gay."

And I am much with the love.

Of course most of my remaining marbles that haven't been given over to the great God of Biology have been well and truly scrambled by the pictures of Sean O'Haire that Mynx posted.

Okay, resolutions

- I will keep up with my lecture notes (no laughing back there)
- I will get round to writing all the feedback I owe people.
- I will not have freak outs over application forms. No matter how much they freak me out.
- Less alcohol. More work.

Something which may amuse Frala: Coming back home there was a furniture shop called 'Natuzzi'.

Have no idea how the 2nd of the 4 Hills went today. (Looks it up) Blast Jacub Janda won.

However, apparently Wurz is moving from McLaren to Williams. I am decidedly iffy about this as I hate, hate, hate Williams.

But apparently this car should suit him better since he's not much taller than Mark Weber.

There was something else, but it's slipped my mind.
figured it out

Of interest only to Stasia and me, but James D'Arcy was in the new Poirot that was on tonight, playing the drunken, roguish husband. Boy is all grown up and hella hot.

Your 1 line fic choices prove your evilness ;)

Just remembering why I tend not to watch Arts programmes on TV, they tend to annoy me horribly.

This is going to get a little long:

On Thursday I watched a programme called "E=mc squared - the story behind the world's most famous equation" or something similar. ( And it was good. )

( And now I'm watching one of the Proms. )

There's going to be a documentary about the Strausses tomorrow and I'm already furious about the pre-publicity which says that waltzes are viewed as outmoded. By who? The idiots that like serious things mostly. The waltz is not meant to be a great introspective work of art. It's a dance tune, pop music, the bubblegum disposable music of it's day. I must say it's aged quite well. The only people I've ever met who dislike a good waltz are boring, serious people.

In short, biology is important, Beethoven rocks and waltzes are wonderful.

Blast, the Waltz thing and the repeat of episode 2 of Lost clash. Oh well, I'll just have to pick Lost up from ep 3. Actually everything tonight clashes. The Strauss thing with Lost and Top of the Pops, the Count of Monte Cristo with a Poirot with Paul McGann, and the first Police Academy film, and the end of the Poirot with Match of the Day 2, with the Chelsea v Arsenal match. Blast.

Computers at uni aren't working hence why you're only getting this on Monday.

Watching the first half of the top 100 war films ever thing on Channel 4 and some US film critic was talking about 'Life is Beautiful' and comes out with this piece of English - "It travesties ...". He starts about 4 sentences with that, and I'm here tearing my hair out, going, 'no mate, you're the one making a travesty of something, the English language mostly.' Argh!!!!

Also arghmachend is that Troy is at 53, about 20 places higher than Glory. How the fuck did that happen?!!! Best bit of it, is Wolfgang Petersen talking and Brian Cox proving, once again, to be an absolute darling when interviewed (the man is a fantabulous actor).

Wherein I get my geek on.

I've just finished watching a version of Henry IV (I+II) with Ronald Pickup (Aslan if you've ever watch the Chronicles of Narnia) as Henry IV, Jonathan Firth as Prince Hal, Rufus Sewell as Hotspur and David Calder as Falstaff.

- Now there were a few technical problems in that Rufus Sewell seemed to think he was in a theatre so he was projecting at way too loud for the television, while everyone else was at normal volume while Prince Hal seemed to be whispering his every line so when he actually whispered you can imagine how quite that got. I lay all of this at the feet of the director.

- I also lay the way that everyone looked horribly similar at his feet.

- It was one of those productions were everyone (except Lancaster oddly enough) is made to look as unpleasant as possible so Henry IV was a weak ruler, Hal is a manipulative, cold, hard piece of work, Falstaff is an unpleasant, gross old man, Worcester is a Machiavellian monster and Hotspur has all the brains of mollusc. This makes it somewhat hard to root for either side. It also made it hard to feel anything - I am supposed to be saddened, nay horrified, when Hal sends Falstaff away but all I could think was why didn't he get rid of the old sot sooner.

- Hotspur's death was the most stupid death scene I have ever seen. Mainly because I refuse to believe that you can have dying, agonised words and then suddenly have a lights out death scene.

- Mum wants complain about whoever restructuring scenes and leaving whole bits out - said bit included John of Lancaster being even more sneaky and manipulative than everyone else, and a scene with Owen Glendwyr. And moving Hotspur's death from the end of part 1 to the middle of part 2 and then his father and wife over his corpse to the end of part 2.

- For all that I have complained about the directing he did come up with a one moment of brilliance. Right at the start, lifting text from Richard II, he has Richard II come down from a shining light that obscures everything but the crown, and then right at the end Henry V ascends up into said shiny light. They are the only times we get bright light in the whole play and it just works, especially if you consider that the whole of Richard II, Henry IV and half of Henry V are all about who deserves to be king and the qualities a king should have.

- Cutting the scene where John of Lancaster is sneaky worked in this because, from an added in scene at the start to the end, he was supposed to be the younger, kinder, less brilliant brother. It worked to make him a suitable foil for this quick, if cruel, witted Hal. It makes the way Hal says how much he's risen in his estimation at the battle seem a lot truer and the scene in the crypt works better.

Luckily, the thing with Shakespeare is, as long as you can say the words and the director doesn't cut everything out, you're okay.

Now on to the acting:

Rufus Sewell as Hotspur was good. For all that he blustered and shouted, this was a good man, who wanted, originally, only what was his by right. And he was manly, honourable and heroic where Hal was not. Plus he got a really good death speech before the stupid bit. That was one of the bits I liked.

Plus, and this amuses me, for all this is about 12, 13 years old, it was in the Radio Times preview for this that I first saw Rufus Sewell so Hotspur is the image of him I always conjure. So it's nice to finally see it.

Jonathan Firth as Prince Hal - I put him second, mainly because Jonathan Firth is one of my favourite actors so I know I'm not going to be unbiased in this.

His Hal wasn't the traditional rebellious son, they went with the text and he was cold and clever and ever so dangerous. Part 1 is one my Mum's favourite plays and she said this is the only time she's ever been scared of Hal. It works in one way because those few moments where he is sincere, with his brother, with Hotspur, with Poins and with his father, it shines through. His scenes with his father were especially good.

Now onto David Calder as Falstaff. In many ways, he was the one most hurt by the director's choice to make everyone a shade of grey. My introduction to Falstaff was Robbie Coltrane in Branagh's Henry V (insert obligatory 'watch this' rec) where yes, he was a drunk, yes he was mean-spirited on occasion but there was the wreck of a grand man there. He wasn't allowed to be that here, he was a base letch and a drunken sot with almost no redeeming features. The question wasn't why did Hal banish him, more why did Hal put up with him? (Okay this production answered it thus - Hal looked out the most unsuitable rogues to consort with so his eventual redemption would look all the better.)

But still despite this, he managed to be affecting, especially in the scene with Justice Shallow where he realises it's been 55 years since he was a boy at the inns of court. The actor managed to convey astonishment, dread at time passing, fear of suddenly more imminent seeming death and sadness at the wasted time, without a word.

Everyone else was as they should be, Henry IV jittery, John, backupish, Poins sneaky etc. Plus it had Corin Redgrave and Paul Eddington in, so if nothing else I would have watched it for them - and they were good BTW.

Two more notes:

Having not seen it before, and having the gravest doubts about the director, am I supposed to spend part 1 and the very beginning of part 2 thinking that Hal and Poins are doing it?

Henry IV, like the Merchant of Venice, is one of those plays where the title character isn't the main character and seems to be there only to react rather than act.

Am about this far from putting a thank you to Jean-Pierre Jeunent in the disclaimer for the next part of the kissing series, because I think Amelia just gave me the greatest way out ever. And part of it did inspire part of the O'Haire character.

I'm one of those loons that talks with their hands, and when I'm writing I find myself acting out the words with one of my hands. It's most disturbing.

Gary Oldman just called Anthony Hopkins sexy. I knew there was a reason I loved the man. I think they shot his bits while he was growing his hair to play Sirius (or possibly not, but I've always thought of Sirius with long hair). The idea of Oldman as Black is beginning to grow on me.

Or it could be that I'm just that desperate to see him on a film screen again.