Harriet Harman and Blair's departure

So Harriet Harman's been elected as Labour's Deputy Leader. I didn't vote for her at all, but I'll have to accept the decision.

Blair has now stopped being PM and Gordon is in charge. Let's see what he does first. I've met him and I think he'll be good though.

Happy Feet

Watched this on Monday off Sky Box Office. Not bad, but not brilliant. Lacked a certain je ne sais quoi. Why did the other penguins have to be (somewhat stereotypical) Mexicans?

Alien: Resurrection

Watched this for the sake of completeness recently.

Some quick points:

1. How does a fresh clone have painted fingernails?
2. I didn't recognise Winona Ryder at all.
3. The "black man sacrificing himself" trope in these kind of films is starting to get a bit cliched.

Benn for Deputy

www.benn4deputy.org

Read why I and many others are backing Hilary Benn for Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.

He rocks.

Soylent Green

Saw this a couple of days ago (taped off the telly). It's a reasonably good sci-fi film, albeit somewhat dated looking. Oh, and the fake blood looked really fake.

I suppose everyone knows the big secret, but I won't reveal it here.

Elections in June

3 June: Senegal, Parliament
June 10: Belgium, Parliament
10 June: Mayotte, Assembly
June 10 and June 17: France, Legislature Sarkozy's lost should do well.
13 June: Israel, President
June 20: Togo, Parliament
20 June: Nepal, Constituent Assembly
24 June: Republic of the Congo, Parliament (1st round)
30 June: East Timor, Parliament
30 June-10 July: Papua New Guinea, Parliament
June: British Virgin Islands, Legislature
June: Jordan, Parliament
June: Kiribati, Parliament
June: Nauru, President
June: Samoa, o le Ao o le Malo That's the head of state. The previous one died after four and a half decades in the post.

Predator

Saw this a few days ago and thought it was reasonably good. Mind you, the way Arnie avoids the Predator got busted by the MythBusters...

Also features two later state governors (Arnie and Jesse Ventura)

The Descent

I watched this yesterday. Word of advice, try not to watch this while eating- I spilt my drink at a jumpy bit.

A pretty good film, though rather gory and sweary (I recorded the sign language version and now know the BSL for a certain four-letter word). An interesting ending.

Vote Labour

Tomorrow is the local and devolved government elections in the UK. You may have issues with Tony Blair, but he'll be gone soon. Don't take your anger out on hardworking Labour councillors.

That's just one reason to vote Labour.

The American President

I haven't posted here for a while, but I saw this film recently (I taped it off the telly).

I'm not the biggest fan of romantic films, but I liked this one. It's written by Aaron Sorkin, the creator of The West Wing and features three people who would appear in the show (most notably Martin Sheen.

I recommend it.

The Prisoner of Zenda (1952)

Quite a good film, with a nice swordfight at the end. Stewart Granger plays two roles and it's an early example of having two versions of the same person in one shot.

Ghostbusters 2

Not a bad sequel, but not brilliant. Better in the second half. Peter MacNichol- not so good.

First film is better.

Happy Easter!

Just want to wish all my readers a Happy Easter.

He is risen indeed!

West Ham 1 Arsenal 0

Well, that's a turn up for the books.

Keep going like this and we'll stay up. Something must have changed in the West Ham side.

By the way, there is still only one Bobby Zamora.

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

Watched this one because a part of it was covered in MythBusters.

Quite a good film, although there was a plot hole. I prefer Errol Flynn's Robin Hood to that of Jonas Armstrong, although he did laugh a bit too much.

Good Friday

Remember the reason for today.

It's the death of Jesus so our sins can be forgiven and we can go to heaven. Of course, he would rise again on Easter Sunday.

2001: A Space Odyssey

I have a strong suspicion that the SFX poll got vote-rocked (i.e. mass-voted on) by Firefly fans. My earlier comments on the film still stand, though.

The film that is the title of the post got into there as well. Not so sure about that one, which I finished watching today. Well shot, realistic in many ways, but drags awfully in many places. There's not even many jokes.

I prefer Serenity, definitely.

The Falklands- 25 years on

I'm a bit young to remember the Falklands War. I won't say how young I am.

On BBC Parliament yesterday, they were showing old news coverage of the war. I didn't even know the Argentines had an aircraft carrier back then...

Let us remember those who died liberating the Falkland Islands and the poor Argentine soldiers who died for a corrupt junta.

Serenity voted best sci-fi film by SFX readers

http://www.sfx.co.uk/page/sfx?entry=lord_of_the_fireflies

Well, that's a turn up for the books. It's a good film and I intend to watch the series.

The Iranian hostage situation

I suppose this has been covered in some depth in other blogs, so let me add some points of my own.

Firstly, it's going to be pretty much impossible to prove one way or the other where the British boat in question actually was. Maps and evidence can be faked and I don't think the Americans had a spy satellite in the right place at the right time.

Secondly, either the British have done something very stupid or the Iranians have. I'd personally favour the Iranians.

Thirdly, does anyone think that the British military personnel have been tortured or threatened with torture?

Comments are welcome.