A review of 2018

Happy New Year! It’s that time again - here’s my review of life on this spinning rock in space for the last 12 months.

Sadly, I spluttered and failed in my blog writing - after starting the year well, I ended up doing just 41 posts in 2018. This is better than 2016 though (when I only managed 26), so that's something. Really must try harder!

Family
There have been big changes in the JC household this year. Firstly, no. 1 son went to high school, which was a big deal. It had been an incredibly stressful and worrying time leading up to the September term, but once the dust settled we were pleasantly surprised (and relieved). Our eldest has settled in really well and is doing great, thank goodness. Secondly, we started looking after some children as we started preparing and exploring fostering. We've been volunteering with a charity that helps to provide respite care for families who are struggling to cope (but are not serious enough to warrant social services involvement). This has involved looking after babies / toddlers for a day or two on an ad hoc basis. It has been a varied experience and we are still figuring out what works best for us, but at the moment we still feel fostering is the right way forward (but it may take a while before we're ready to start actually doing it).

Faith
It feels like my faith has stagnated recently. I can't quite think of any 'wow' moments I've had in the last year, but I've had plenty of occasions of doubt and questioning. You might argue I have a belief that's collapsing but I've always had a strong underpinning of faith that has thankfully kept me grounded. I am confident that God is real and loving ... I just feel distant from Him a lot of the time. Even so, I keep pushing ahead.

It's been just over a year since I became a deacon at church and that has proven interesting. It does take a chunk out of my time, but I do feel like I'm doing something useful to help the church.

Travel
We had one foreign trip this year, travelling to our favourite campsite in the Vendee in France. It was a nice time but sadly I think maybe the kids are too grown up to go again (esp. no. 1 son). We'll see.

We spent a weekend at Crealy Theme Park in Devon. We had fun, but it was quite small compared to other parks (like Legoland, for instance) and we'd pretty much had enough by lunchtime on the second day.

Lastly, in August we travelled to Oxford to see the in-laws.

Not much in terms of travel this year (although I did a couple of trips for work, which I've mentioned below). 2019 will see us going to France twice no less, as we first go on a big family holiday and then go to Wifey's brother's wedding. Should be fun. We're also hoping to do a proper London trip again sometime in 2019, as well as a jaunt up to Yorkshire.

Movies I've seen
I managed just over 90 films in 2018. This was less than my prefered target of 100, but hey ho. Trying to watch two films a week is actually quite difficult (especially if I want to watch other stuff on TV). My favourite films of 2018 are (in no particular order):
- Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
- Ready Player One
- They Shall Not Grow Old
- Annihilation
- The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
- Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse
I don't feel like this year's films were particularly good. Most of them were OK – with the exception of Ralph Breaks the Internet, which is the worst film I've seen for a long time. It's a cynical, soulless insult to filmmaking and is an insult to the first film, which I loved.

TV I've watched
In 2018, Wifey and I watched a fair amount of stuff on Netflix. We've been working through the excellent Homeland as well as the third series of Kimmy Shmidt. We did record the second series of The Handmaid's Tale and started watching the first few episodes but we found it so depressing and too close to home we stopped watching it for a while. It is a really well-made show, and we are planning to start watching it again. Our new comedy show is 'The Good Place' which is a great concept with some brilliant performances, but we've also started rewatching 'Friends', that old staple of Friday night TV back in the 90s. It's a bit of nostalagia trip watching Ross and co. living in a forgotten time when there were no mobile phones, internet or Trump – which is kind of comforting.
When I'm at home at lunchtimes, I often try to catch an episode of Community, where all six seasons are on All4 online. It's a great watch, very funny.

Books I've read
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Going into this, I was acutely aware of the cultural tropes and clichés associated with this eponymous character. The Prince of Darkness has appeared in everything from movies to comics to music and yet, the most well-known tropes are far removed from Stoker’s original tale. Francis Ford Copolla’s 1992 movie version tried to be faithful to the source material (but even then added in a love story that doesn’t appear in the book as well as much more gore). It’s therefore difficult to read this book without the influence of all that cultural baggage. Still, it's a gripping read in places and an interesting window into attitudes towards darkness and evil from the time.

The Cosmic Trilogy by CS lewis
Epic in scope, this science fiction series by the renowned Christian author is very different to the children's Narnia series. Probably best described as hard, mid-century sci-fi – it is sometimes difficult to follow but you can't help feeling you're reading something truly genius. The first book is a fairly straightforward 'Earthman visits aliens on Mars' story (written much like its contemporaries), while the second is a psychadelic tale of the same man visiting Venus and getting into some kind of cosmic / spiritual battle. Finally, book three takes another right turn and gives an account of a fascist organisation taking over a college in Cambridge with ambitions to dupe the British public for nefarious means (oh, and it's got Merlin from King Arthur in it too).

How to stop time by Matt Haig
A very clever and interesting tale about a man who ages ever so slowly and as a result has lived for centuries. This makes life difficult, especially when superstitious peasants start to wonder why he manages to keep his youthful looks or when he falls in love with a girl who will grow old faster than him. The plot isn't desperately sophisticated, but it serves the premise well and shows that youthfulness isn't everything.

Kangazang: Small Cosmos by Terry Cooper
The final book in the Kangazang trilogy, I am pleased to recommend this sharp and funny sci-fi comedy with some interesting concepts and themes. A great finale to the series.

Dirty Glory by Pete Grieg
I can't remember much from this book, but it was certainly an encouragement and exhortation to pray more, so I'd better get on and do that.

Work
Freelancing continues to be its familiar experience of peaks and troughs since I have no real control over the work that comes across my desk. The year started off busy with trips to North Wales for a big NHS project and various conferences. In the summer I had my usual big animation annual report project to do, which was surprisingly a lot less stressful than previous years. Weirdly, October and November were completely dead and I was beginning to seriously worry about where things were going but I then had several bookings for both December and January so that was a relief. As well as North Wales, I've traveled to Birmingham and Newtown for filming events. Birmingham is probably the furthest I've had to travel for work in a while (apart from Majorca in 2016). I enjoy these occasional trips as it breaks up the monotony of things at home, but it's usually stressful arranging childcare or navigating to a venue I've never been to before. I am painfully aware of the need to find alternate income streams to help balance out my workload and cashflow – so I'm going to try and focus on this in 2019.

I've also continued to be part of the Purple Hat Productions collective, which started off well shooting a music video in January and then a horror trailer in March. We released our comedy 'Hey Mal' in April which we'd shot the previous autumn. There was a bit of a quiet spell for the rest of the year until we had a flurry of activity filming a Brexit satire, a short for the My Rode Reel competition in October and then another short made in Penarth in November. It feels like we didn't do that much this year, but looking at that list we were pretty busy (considering this is a side-project). Hopefully we will be able to maintain momentum next year.

Health
Overall, my health has been good. I suffered from extreme back pain over the summer after our time in France – which took a couple of months to put right. I realised that my exercises were putting a lot of strain on my back and was making it difficult for me to get better. So in response, I'm doing a lot less exercises at the moment which is not ideal. I think I need to find something new to do that is both energetic and kind to my spine (no mean feat). Wifey joined Slimming World this year, which has been surprisingly effective (it's not a diet, it's more about healthy eating) and I am trying to follow it as best I can as well. One result is that I have become an expert at making low fat chips!

World Events
Sigh. Even though I was trying to be upbeat and optimistic last year, with all that's been going on at home, in America and the rest of the world I can't help but feel despair at the way the world is heading right now.

We are facing a global environmental catastrophe with only years to fix, and no-one seems to care. Britain is facing one of the biggest political crises in recent history and no-one seems to think it should be averted. The three largest economies in the world are being led by dictatorial megalomaniacs and a lot of people seem to think this is fine.

If we manage to get through to the end of 2019 unscathed (or even alive) I will be amazed, as it will be nothing short of a miracle.

Other stuff
Sadly our stick insects died this year, as did our hamster. No great loss there as I was a bit fed up of all the cleaning required. There has been talk of getting a kitten, but I'm very wary of this given the responsibilities involved, vet bills etc. It may be, however, that the cute factor will win us over eventually ...

I've also taken up British Sign Language through our church life group. This has been a fun but challenging experience. Learning a language is no mean feat in itself, but BSL is trickier because it's harder to practice on your own ... plus there are lots of regional variations which makes it difficult to know what the 'correct' sign for something is. Saying that, it's been great to be able to communicate better with the deaf couple in church and I think they really appreciate that.

As with most years, 2018 has been a mixed bag. Mercifully no great tragedies, but not tremedous occasions of joy and celebration either.

I'm just thankful to have survived another year!

Films I've seen of late (Dec '18)

#86 Ralph Breaks The Internet (2018)
Wreck It Ralph was one of those near-perfect movies that told a great story with pace, heart and humour. Its sequel is almost the total opposite. Devoid of any soul, it is dull and unfunny with gratuitous product placement wrapped around a lifeless story about friendship.  Utterly pointless.
(2/10)

#87 The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
An anthology of six tales from the old West, this Coen Brothers Film flows really well - although some of the stories are better than others. My favourite was The Gal Who Got Rattled, an endearing yet solemn tale set during the Oregon Trail.
(8/10)

#88 No Country for Old Men (2007)
The Coen Brothers explore violence, fate and old age in this grim story set in the 80s about a man who comes across a suitcase of drug money only to be pursued by a sinister hitman. Well-rounded characters and great cinematography are not enough, however, as this story seems to lose its way half way through and ends with no real resolution.
(6/10)

#89 It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
The Christmas classic surprisingly has very little Christmas in it, but is mostly focused on the life of George Bailey and how he’s impacted the people around him. Heartwarming and genuinely moving at times, it still hold up well as a timeless story about love, sacrifice and family.
(8/10)

#90 Man of Steel (2013)
This is my second viewing of Zach Snyder’s take on Superman since I last saw it in the cinema. I have to say it’s a decent movie, giving the familiar superhero format a more grown-up, serious tone. Combined with the rousing and dramatic Hans Zimmer score, I think it's actually aged rather well and equals any other recent comic book movie out there.
(8/10)

#91 Paddington 2 (2018)
The friendly teddy bear gets involved in a case of mistaken identity and ends up in prison – planning to make a daring escape to prove his innocence. Paddington's second adventure lives up to its predecessor and delivers on laughs as well as cute and heartwarming moments.
(7/10)

#92 The Holiday (2016)
Fairly bland but watchable Christmas movie about two women unhappy in love who swap homes for the festive period to get away from it all. Unsurprisingly, each of them meet a stranger who sweeps them off their feet.
(5.5/10)

#93 The Greatest Showman (2017)
PT Barnum's life is immortalised in this energetic and colourful musical with Hugh Jackman playing the lead. As with most biographies, there is a great amount of artistic licence employed – but even so, this is a good romp with breathtaking choreography.
(7.5/10)

#94 Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse (2018)
Spidey is back in animated form with a moving and vibrant tale that is probably one of the best superhero films in years. Adding parallel universes into the mix certainly changes things up a bit, but there are so many things going well for this take on the much-loved webslinger. The animation is breathtaking (simple, not showy - but effective), the action pieces are tight and exciting, the music is fresh and funky.
(9.5/10)

#95 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
A grieving mother pays for advertising boards to criticise the police handling of her daughter’s murder case, in this emotional yet funny study in anger, grief and mental health. Brilliant performances from the leads (McDormand, Harrelson, Rockwell and Caleb Landry Jones), with some subtle but thoughtful direction.
(9/10)

#96 Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018)
This clever first from Netflix is hard to define - is it a game or a film? Set in 1984, a programmer tries to complete his adventure game for an ambitious software startup while undergoing therapy and dealing with his personal demons. As he gets closer to the deadline he starts losing his mind. The twist - thanks to the wonder of video streaming - is that this is an interactive adventure and as a viewer you get to chose how the story unfolds. An intriguing concept - and I love the 80s production design - but it does get rather infuriating having to make a choice every ten minutes. I hope this is not something all films end up doing. That would, in my opinion, be a bad decision.
(7/10)

#97 Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Thanos the supervillain finally comes to the fore in this epic instalment in the seemingly never ending MCU. With so many characters it’s hard to keep track of what’s going on at times but despite all the silliness, this is actually a pretty enjoyable romp that holds up well. Mindless fun.
(7.5/10)

Films I've seen of late (Nov '18)

#77 Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond (2017)
A behind-the-scenes look at the making of 'Man on the Moon', focusing on Jim Carrey's method acting that resulted in a stressful shoot for all involved as he sought to 'become' the persona of Andy Kaufman (and his alter ego Tony Clifton). Fascinating stuff.
(8/10)

#78 Doom (2005)
Vacuous actioner, this movie of the revolutionary video game falls flat in many ways. Not only does it fail to understand the core premise of the legendary first-person-shooter, but when it does try to follow the source material it doesn't go far enough. Karl Urban and Rosamund Pike are the only good thing about it.
(5/10)

#79 The Prestige (2006)
Two rival illusionists seek to undermine each other in nineteeth century London. Christopher Nolan directs a story of love, revenge and magic that is a little hard to follow in places but still succeeds thanks to the amazing performances from all of its leads.
(8/10)

#80 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
A very different approach to the 1971 version, this adaptation of the classic Roald Dahl children's story opts for weirdness, bright colours and modern CGI to tell the story of Charlie's adventures in the mythical chocolate factory. Johnny Depp goes for a Michael Jackson-esque portrayal of the enigmatic chocolatier which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. Personally, I prefer Gene Wilder's version. Still, a solid Tim Burton movie that does well to try something new.
(7/10)

#81 They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)
Archive footage from the First World War is is restored by Peter Jackson’s Wingnut SFX company to dazzling effect, bringing the reality of the front line a century ago to life. Combined with first-hand recollections by former soldiers, this is a moving and powerful thing to watch.
(9/10)

#82 The Hateful Eight (2015)
Tarantino’s second Western still has plenty of his trademark blood, violence and swearing but is probably one of his more subtle films as it slowly builds to a deadly confrontation in a lone outpost on a snowed-out Wyoming mountain. A masterful tale of suspense and mystery – combined with the horror of how cheap life could be in the Old West.
(8/10)

#83 The Grinch (2018)
The latest retelling of the Dr Seuss story giving its titular character a softer edge and a subtle backstory explaining his attitude towards the festive season. He's still determined to steal Christmas, but inevitably gets thwarted by the season of goodwill and Whoville's endlessly positive inhabitants. Also, probably one of the few 'secular' Christmas films I've seen that actually mentions Jesus as the reason for the holiday (admittedly it's briefly said in a Christmas carol, but that's good enough for me!). And for that, I will give The Grinch an extra point!
(9/10)

#84 Split (2016)
James McAvoy plays a man with multiple personalities in this excellent thriller from M Night Shyamalan. Although on the surface it’s just a standard ‘escape-from-the-psycho’ plot, it’s clever in its execution. Saying all that, it does feel like just a precursor to the follow up ‘Glass’ in the Unbreakable trilogy.
(8/10)

#85 Widows (2018)
Four members of a Chicago criminal gang are killed when a job goes wrong – and their widowed wives are left to pay off a two million dollar debt owed to a local crime-boss-turned-politician. Overflowing with moral ambiguity, it paints a depressing picture of politics, power, race relations and gender equality. A gritty drama with great powerful female roles.
(8/10)

Films I've seen of late (Oct '18)

#65 Despicable Me 3 (2017)
Having seen this before, a repeat view a year later rendered the experience better than I'd anticipated. It's fairly predictable stuff, but Gru and co. manage to keep the 'Despicable' franchise alive and well (much moreso than the dreadful Minions Movie) with lots of nods to 80s nostalgia.
(7/10)

#66 Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
The Kingsman secret organisation is thrown into disarray when targeted by a clandestine drug overlord. After pretty much everything with the Kingsman name on it is destroyed, the surviving Eggsy and Galahad travel across the Atlantic to seek help from their American cousins, Statesman. An enjoyable yarn, with the familiar Kingsman gall and cockiness in plentiful supply.
(7/10)

#67 Nineteen eighty four (1984)
A captivating vision of an alternate Britain ruled by a totalitarian regime with 'Big Brother' watching every citizen from the insidious 'viewscreen'. Adapted from the revered book by George Orwell, its themes and social commentary are just as relevent today as they were in 1948. The squalor and hopelessness of a society crushed by its own structures and ideology is terrifying and yet all too familiar.
(9/10)

#68 Anon (2018)
No doubt inspired by the likes of 1984, Anon is set in a near-future where every citizen has a device implanted in their eye to record everything they see, accessible anytime by the authorities via the 'Ether'. Thus, crime is almost impossible to commit. And yet, a lone woman attracts a detective's attention when she appears to have no profile or presence in the Ether and is linked to a string of murders (that can't be solved by the usual methods). An interesting and compelling tale, the design and execution is solid – but doesn't quite have the garvitas of similar movies.
(7/10)

#69 Miracle Mile (1988)
Steve De Jarnatt's cold war drama is a quirky twist on the end-of-the-world scenario, with a boy and girl about to embark on a first date just as the Russians decide to nuke LA. When Harry takes a random call at a payphone (remember those?), he learns the terrible truth that the missles are on their way and a frantic chase ensues to find a way out of the city. Things decend into chaos as the rumour spreads and everything goes to hell. Dated in many ways, Miracle Mile still retains its 80s charm and is a refreshing indie flick to watch.
(8/10)

#70 Matilda (1996)
A fairly faithful adaptation of the Roal Dahl classic about a little girl with an advanced intellect and extraordinary powers. Its transference from mid-to-late century England to 90s America is slightly odd but once you get past that it's an inventive and moving film about a talented child up against horrible parents and even more horrible school (in the shape of the ghastly Ms Trunchbull). Great fun.
(8/10)

#71 Coco (2017)
The Mexican Day of the Dead gets the animated film treatment in this colourful and touching story about family and grief. Less action-y than previous Pixar films, but the visuals succeed at maintaining interest during the more mundane moments.
(7/10)

#72 Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)
Having now given this a repeat viewing, I am more convinced that this film is a decent bit of filmmaking and doesn’t warrant any of the fan-hate in my opinion. Even some of the slightly questionable moments cease to be an issue second time round, and what emerges is a complex story about failure and loss in the midst of overwhelming odds. My only criticism is the length: 2.5 hours is a hefty runtime for a family blockbuster and I hope the next instalment aims to keep things trimmer
(8/10)

#73 The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
A bit pointless, given the excellent BBC radio play and TV series, but this blockbuster take on Douglas Adams' sci-fi comedy at least delivers on the visuals that only a hollywood movie can accomplish. It's a manic rush through a fairly complicated storyline, and there's a lot to cram in (and as a result, some quite noticeable omissions). My main gripe is Mos Def, who just seems to mumble his way through his lines – although he does looks good in his part as Ford Prefect.
(7/10)

#74 The Shape of Water (2017)
A love affair between a fish man and mute woman doesn't sound like the greatest of movie pitches, but Guillermo Del Toro's Oscar-winner surprises with a beautfiul and touching story set in Cold War America. Performances from all of the main actors are fantastic and the sets are up to Del Toro's usual standards.

#75 Man on the Moon (1999)
The legend of Andy Kaufman is explored in this biography that explores the enigmatic performer's life, cut all too short by lung cancer in 1984. Jim Carrey is mesmerising as Andy, bringing his own 'Carreyness' to the character. Whilst extremely faithful to Andy's legacy, the film seems to focus more on the negative aspects of his behaviour rather than the positive - which is maybe why it didn't do so well at the box office. Even so, an important film.
(7.5/10)

#76 The BFG (2016)
Two great storytellers, Spielberg and Dahl, collide in this strong adaptation of the beloved children's book. Mark Rylance's BFG is spellbinding, and newcomer Melissa Mathison is extremely likeable as the strong-willed but tender Sophie. Given some of the subject matter (ie giants eating children), it manages to steer clear of anything too horrific and give a touching tale of two lonely souls uniting to defeat evil.
(8/10)

A brief review of the new Doctor Who

After what seemed like a really long wait, the thirteenth doctor has finally arrived and unbelievably we’ve already passed episode three - which has built on an already confident start to the series and episode four is just round the corner.

Every time a new Doctor arrives on the scene it takes a bit of getting used to. Jodie was no exception, and perhaps the fact that the Doctor’s gender has flipped makes it moreso, but I’m very much on board with this new iteration of the quintessentially British time traveller.

I’ve already written about how it’s about time we had this change, and I’m enjoying the approach taken so far. Jodie has taken to her new character with gusto and created a believable and likeable persona without much difficulty.

It’s also great to see diversity in the companions. I expect they are there to do a bit of hand holding for the audience as Jodie takes Who on a new path, but they’re also there to make a point about today’s world of division and intolerance. I’m sure the ‘gammons’ will be moaning about political correctness, but I think the point is that Britain – whether they like it or not – is not just white and male. It’s something that shouldn’t have to be explained in the 21st century of course, but sadly people are still stuck in the colonial past.

Episode three's take on Rosa Parks expands on this theme further and pulls no punches, which is important and right. I just hope the show runners don’t labour the issue too much and become too preachy.

They’ve stated their intentions and that’s great. I now want to see the Doctor and her companions just get out there and have some fun - after all, there’s an entire universe waiting.

I did a quiz!

Last week, I was getting ready for an event I'd been planning since February and feeling very nervous about it. The Cathays Ultimate Charity Movie Quiz was borne out of a desire to do some charity fundraising (but without having to run a marathon or some other similar physical torture). I've always liked pub quizzes, but since I'm a bit of a movie geek thought it would be good to combine the two and the idea of running a movie quiz was born.

I wanted to make it more than just a quiz, though, and envisaged it as an event, something akin to a movie premiere. I booked our church hall for the venue, contacted the UK Garrison (volunteers who dress up in movie-accurate Star Wars costumes) to see if some of their guys could attend, enlisted my younger brother to play some music and dragged in my own family to help. I also blagged loads of prizes for a raffle and the winning team.

I must admit, there was a point about two weeks before the date when I was worried no one would turn up. Ticket sales were small and there seemed no sign of anyone else showing interest, but I somehow held my nerve and by the day of the quiz, nearly forty people had booked tickets.

The event was, as far as I can tell, an amazing success - far exceeding my own expectations. We had sixty people in the room and raised £470 for two great charities (Llamau and Edith's Home). The Star Wars costumes added a real wow factor to the event, even though a few people were a bit scared of them!

I came away really proud of what I'd acheived, and fairly stunned too. Not wanting to blow my own trumpet, but I was responsible for pretty much most of the entire event. I did most of the planning and preparation (my mate Marv did a lot of great work on the questions) - it was only on the night when actual bodies were needed to set up and run things that other people contributed (who were all amazing, by the way).

It was good to be reminded that I am capable of making things happen, something which I have a lot of self-doubt in. I am not the most naturally of organised people, and so I've had to develop strategies to cope with my shortcomings to get stuff done. I've run a business, directed short films and started campaigning for Basic Income, to name a few things. Sure, I've made plenty of mistakes but that shouldn't stop me from trying. The main lesson I've learned from this quiz is that good preparation is key - and lots of time to get ready for it helps too.

Will I do another movie quiz again? Yes, hopefully - but not just yet. I need time to recover!

Films I've seen of late (Sept '18)

#60 The Bachelors (2017)
A husband grieving for his wife moves away with his son to start over, but the pain of their loss carries with them. A solid drama with a good cast of veteran and newcomer actors, The Bachelors deals with grief in a sympathetic and understanding way, albeit simplifying the process to satisfy the needs of a movie structure. A nice little find and a relief from predictable Hollywood blockbusters.
(8/10)

#61 Monsters University (2013)
Pixar sequels are often slightly painful affairs - trying really hard to be liked but not quite hitting the mark as their predecessor. Such is the case with MU. The story – of how Mike and Sully became friends – is an interesting angle, but it just doesn't have the same wow factor as the first film. There are some, but not many, memorable moments and the humor is less laugh-out-loud and more light chuckle.
(6/10)

#62 Sicario (2015)
An optimistic FBI agent is recruited to a clandestine operation to assassinate a Mexican drug lord.
Powerful and dark, this film certainly doesn't give you the warm and fussies, but it's an important comentary on the futility of the war on drugs and the human cost.
(8/10)

#63 BlackKKlansman (2018)
Spike Lee's movie of the true story of how a black man (Ron Stallworth) infiltrated the Colorado Springs branch of the KKK, by pretending to be a white supremacist. It struggles to find its way at the start, but picks up its stride by the time Ron has become fully accepted (with his white colleague taking his place when meeting face-to-face). Sadly, it draws too many parallels to present day events, but hopefully offers a sense of hope that people who peddle extremist views are, ultimately, doomed to fail.
(8/10)

#64 Green Room (2016)
Dark and violent thriller about a heavy metal band who witness a murder by white supremacists (yay! more films about nazis!), and barricade themselves in the titular green room as their captives plot to liquidate them. Bold stuff, but not for the fainthearted - and overshadowed by the tragic death of Anton Yelchin.
(8.5/10)

Oreo update

Seems Oreo have been busy lately, having brought out various new kinds of snacks based on the eponymous cookie. Here's a round up of what I've managed to sample lately...

Oreo Birthday Party Cookies
These are apparently caramel flavour and they have sprinkles in the creme. Quite how caramel constitutes the taste of a 'birthday' I'm not sure but I won't argue with the great Oreo creator in the sky. These taste good, actually. The difference in flavouring from normal Oreos is subtle, but they're pretty much just normal Oreo cookies.

Oreo Joy Fills
OK, when you look at the packaging you think: woah, these look amazing! Don't be fooled. They're not really. They are, simply put, just cereal re-packaged as treats. Admitedly, cereal that is loaded with sugar and all sorts of other bad stuff, but it's still cereal. I say cereal because they're not a million miles from Kellogg's Krave - another high-sugar breakfast cereal - which are the same shape. The outer 'pillow' is like eating chocolate flavour scrubbing pads and the interior creme, while not horrible-tasting, is clearly not actual Oreo creme (because it's too gooey - it's kind of a watered down version). There are other variations of Joy Fill out there (yes, I have seen them) but I'm not sure I'm going to try them.

Oreo Thins Coconut Flavour
I have to confess I love Oreo Thins, almost more than the original cookie (but not more than Double Stuff - oh no!). It must be hard to think up original new flavours though (Asparagus flavour! Double shot Tequila Flavour!), and I have to admit that coconut flavour sounded a bit dubious to me. However, having tried them I think they are pretty amazing. They remind me of Nice biscuits, which I happily hoover up whenever offered, but the fact that these are Oreo Thins - well, it's a match made in heaven in my opinion.

Films I've seen of late (Aug '18)

#50 Hotel Artemis (2018)
Jodie Foster is excellent in this comedy thriller set in a future riot-torn Los Angeles overrun by greedy corporations and criminal gangs. The titular hotel is a safehouse-cum-hospital for criminals, who only get seen if they've paid their fees and promise not to break the rules. Unsurprisingly, things go wrong when the people start to disobey these rules. I'm not a fan of the futuristic setting (which seems unneccessary and a bti silly), but Foster's performance alone is worth watching it for.
(8/10)

#51 Teen Titans Go To The Movies (2018)
I've only ever heard of Teen Titans Go thanks to my kids, and what an excellent show it is (with plenty of in-jokes for the adults). Whilst the TV episodes are crammed full of rapid fire humour, this movie outing feels a bit slower and maybe it's a bit of a stretch to put the Titans in a 90-minute feature. Even so, this is still worth a watch with its fair share of the aforementioned adult-pleasing jokes and lots of self-referencing comedy which does a good job of poking fun at DC stuff (mainly). My kids enjoyed it too!
(8/10)

#52 Justice League (2017)
Having seen this first time around, I was surprised how much I liked watching it again. I think it was good to watch it free of all the negativity that surrounded the film when it was out in cinemas. It's actually a decent superhero film with a good dose of laughs, action and – dare I say – emotion. I hope DC are able to build on this for a follow up that good deeper into the characters.
(8/10)

#53 Victoria and Abdul (2017)
Dame Judi Dench plays Queen Victoria again (10 years after her performance in Mrs Brown), this time telling the story of her Indian servant-turned-Munshi (teacher) who was with her during the final years of her life and who faced heavy opposition from the royal household. Dench is typically spellbinding as the obstinate monarch while her co-star (Ali Fazal) is no slouch in her presence, portaying Abdul's innocence, joyfulness and pride with ease. A moving and poingant true story.
(8/10)

#54 How it Ends (2018)
Apocalyptic disaster movie that starts well but loses its way in the third act, neither explaining how things actually end or giving a satisfactory conclusion.
(5/10)

#55 This is the End (2013)
A raucous comedy about a gang of celebrities in Hollywood trying to survive the biblical apocalypse. Playing caracatures of themselves, it's somewhat self indulgent but does a good job of lampooning LA life with some truly laugh out loud / gross moments.
(7/10)

#56 Extinction (2018)
Michael Peña plays a man haunted by dreams of an alien invasion, only to find them coming true. This is one of those rare movies that is hard going to watch until the third act when suddenly things change and your attitude to the film does a complete volte-face (well, mine did anyway). Thought-provoking sci-fi drama.
(7/10)

#57 Patti Cake$ (2017)
A young girl dreams of making it big as a rap star but faces an uphill struggle as family and money problems threaten to overwhelm her life. Despite being a somewhat derivative underdog story, the performances and music more than compensate.
(8/10)

#58 The Hangover (2009)
Four friends embark on a weekend bachelor party in Las Vegas with predictable results. Not as much of a ‘classic’ as has been hyped but still prety funny in places.
(7/10)

#59 Incredibles 2 (2018)
The family of superheroes return in this confident sequel that does a role-reversal from this first films with Elastigirl getting to go on various missions while Mr Incredible stays at home to look after the children. Funny with some great set pieces, there seems to be a lot of 'talkie' bits which seem to go on too long and it treads familiar ground not taking too many risks. Even so, very watchable.
(8/10)

Films I've seen of late (July '18)

#46 Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Kind of unnecessary sequel to arguably one of the best sci-fi films ever. Even so, it does well all things considered. Exquisite shots, immersive music and impressive direction at least give it a fighting chance to stand up against the original. Worth a watch.
(8/10)

#47 Gnomio and Juliet (2011)
Kiddie film about gnomes that come to life when humans aren't looking (a la Toy Story), using the Shakspearian love story as a basis. Some funny moments (especially the ultra-powered killer mega-mower), but reeks of cynical hollywood money-making tactics.
(5/10)

#48 Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)
Downey Jr delivers a Sherlock Holmes performance just as good as his Cumberbatch counterpart in this follow-up to the 2009 success. Jude Law is good too as Watson, and so is Noomi Rapace as the gypsy accomplice searching for her missing brother. The plot has a lot of similarities to Sean Connery's derided League of Extraordinary Gentlement (awkward), and has too many distracting anachronisms - but this is still a competant Sherlock sequel.
(7.5/10)

#49 Convenience (2013)
Indie film about two hapless criminals who try and rob a petrol station but end up pretending to be employees while they wait for the safe to unlock in the morning. Some great performances and plenty of quirky moments. The title doesn't quite fit (it's not a corner shop or grocery store) but that's a minor niggle for what is a simple – but fun – comedy.
(8/10)

Oreo Cakes

Here's another Oreo product report, which I occasionally do on my blog.

I found these Oreo Cakes in Home Bargains of all places and I was intrigued because I’d never seen them before so immediately figured they were some weird knock off imports or something.

Turns out I was right (sort of). They are made in Egypt by Mondelez (the company who owns the Cadbury and Oreo brands).

What do they taste like? Well, bland. The sponge is dry and not very sweet and the internal icing is just a bit meh. What is disappointing is that the chocolate it is coated in is not proper Cadbury chocolate and the filling tastes nothing like Oreo creme.

I know that different countries / regions have different palates and so recipes for well-known foods are altered to suit local preferences, but this cake didn't even remotely taste like what it should according to the packaging. Trading standards!

So if you were thinking of buying these, don't.

More Oreo reviews from the archives:
Oreo easter eggs
Snowy Oreos
Oreo Ice Cream Sandwich
Oreo Peanut Butter Flavour
Oreo Thins! 

This week I have been mostly... wb 16/08/18

Week beginning 16/08/18

No. of evening meetings: 1
Films watched: 1
Healthy eating: Good
Mental health: OK

Annoying start to the week when a client canceled on me. I wasn’t really looking forward to it (a wedding shoot), but I do need the money. Even so, it meant I could get on with those fiddly little jobs that seem to fill in the cracks and also catch up with a few people.

I’ve been ill the last two weeks with a virus which I seem to get once a year. It’s one of those cold-y type bugs which saps your strength and mental energy. It feels good to finally have shaken it off and get back into my normal routine. Illness invariably means I eat rubbish food and so I’ve had to claw my way back to eating healthily again which is a bit of a shock to the system (“where’s all the fat and sugar!” my body screams at me).

It’s the last week of term and the kids definitely need a break. Saying that, they’ve had it pretty easy in school - I don’t think they’ve done any proper schoolwork for ages so already their brains are turning to mush. I’m sure there’s a better way of organising the school year, but hey what do I know?

Sadly our pet hamster died over the weekend (we discovered him on Sunday morning). He was a present for No. 2 son for his fourth brithday and has survived for over 2 years which is pretty good going. I don't know if the current heatwave is to blame for his demise (I wouldn't be surprised) but he lived long for one of his kind so that's something. It's also be a lesson in mortality for the kids. No. 2 was upset, but has gotten over it pretty quick (he's scheming for a cat - but that's not happening ... yet).

We’re off on hols next week - can’t wait.

Duncan Jones teases Rogue Trooper movie

As promised... pic.twitter.com/6y3pzn2Cn1

— Duncan Jones (@ManMadeMoon) July 15, 2018

This is pretty cool. As a fan of all things 2000AD, I was excited when I saw the above tweet and video.

Jones, Director of Muse, Moon and Source Code is stepping into the 'Megaverse' (I didn't know that was a thing, but it's a cool name) and pretty much announced he is going to make Rogue Trooper into a film.

Rogue is probably one of my second or third favourite characters from the anarchic British comic, so it's great to hear that things are moving forward on this. I remember reading years ago that someone was trying to do this and nothing ever happened, but hopefully Jones has enough clout to get something off the ground this time around.

A Rogue Trooper fan film was released on YouTube recently, and has had pretty decent views which may be connect to Jones' announcement


I just hope it does better than another 'Megaverse' title: the excellent Karl Urban's Dredd.

Down with this sort of thing! A very British protest

Last week I managed to go along to the Tr*mp protest march. I've witnessed one or two protest marches before but this was the first one I've ever actully participated in, although I must admit I was slightly on the sidelines taking photos. But - I did shout 'down with Tr*mp' a few times in a typically British introverted manner - yay me!

Here are some photos and video of the event:

©2018 Justin Chaloner

©2018 Justin Chaloner

©2018 Justin Chaloner

©2018 Justin Chaloner

©2018 Justin Chaloner

©2018 Justin Chaloner

©2018 Justin Chaloner

©2018 Justin Chaloner

©2018 Justin Chaloner

©2018 Justin Chaloner

©2018 Justin Chaloner

It was quite a bemusing experience. There were speeches from lots of random people (which at the start were really difficult to hear due to lack of PA so made the whole thing a bit boring), and plenty of weird and wonderful human beings joining in the fun (as well as some norms like me). It was nothing like the protests in London the day after, but seeing as Cardiff is relatively small I think it was a decent turnout (apparently there was also a protest going on in Cardiff Bay by the Senedd at the same time).

I think it's a good thing to do, although whether it will succeed at effecting change is, I think, hard to prove. At least it shows people care about something, and lets those in power see the plebs aren't totally inert (and I include myself as one of those plebs).

The problem with Drumpf is that he has his own reality distortion field which means he sees 250,000 people screaming how much they hate him and claims there were many people protesting 'in his favour'. His particular brand of narcissitic personality disorder is kind of worrying seeing as he's the world's most powerful leader. As Scott Santens on Twitter points out:

Whether or not people can come together to agree on ignoring 45 is debatable (OK, well, pretty much impossible), but it would be an interesting experiment. Unfortunately, because of who Drumpf is, he can't really be ignored. He's the president of the United States, after all. If everyone ignored him and let him be, who knows what he'd get up to.

And that, sadly, may be why we are all doomed.

Universal Basic Income, anyone?

What have I been up to lately?

Well, life and work have been a bit overwhelming and trying to keep on top of this blog has proven exhausting.

Thankfully, I have finally come up for some air and managed to think about my blog again. I've just about managed to keep on top of my film reviews (almost at the 50 mark so far this year!), but not much else. I hope to try and revive my weekly updates as well as any other tidbits of news (not that I ever have much news to write about).

One thing I have been working on, however, is a new Twitter account devoted entirely to the concept of Universal Basic Income (UBI). It took me a long time to bring myself to doing it, mainly because of the fear of committing to another new project (I have too many things going on as it is), but I must say this is a subject I am really passionate about.

I have written about UBI before but not in great detail, but it is an idea which has been going around my head for years. The first time I came across it was when I read a book called 'The Play Ethic' by Pat Kane which talks about a 'social wage' - money paid to citizens without any strings attached, to fight povery and enable people to live contented, fulfilled lives . If you're unfamiliar with UBI, I strongly recommend you look it up. I won't go into detail here (not right now, at least), but do please follow my Twitter account, which is a local UBI account for the Cardiff region.

Here's the link: https://twitter.com/CardiffUbi

I've not got many followers, but it's been gradually going up since it started so hopefully I can build a decent audience. I'm not expecting to set the world on fire, but at least it feels like I'm doing my bit.

Films I've seen of late (June '18)

#45 The Longest Day (1962)
A sweeping, epic retelling of one of the most important moments in modern history, The Longest Day covers the D-Day landings from almost every perspective which is quite a challenge. Still holds up well to this day, though, even in comparison to the the grittier Saving Private Ryan.
(9/10)

#46 Atomic Blonde (2017)
Charlize Theron is enigmatic and devastating as a cold war spy in this 80s-based thriller. Such nostalgic throwback films (with their mix tape soundtracks and overly-idealisitic portrayal of the period) are slightly wearing but this makes up for it with oodles of style and intrigue along with a great performance from James McAvoy.
(8/10)

#47 Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Lacking the overall sweep of The Longest Day (and failing to include any of the other allied nations), this is still one of the greatest war films ever made. From the gut-wrenching, harrowing opening sequence on Omaha beach to the nail-biting finale this is Spielberg at his storytelling best.
(10/10)

#48 Hop (2011)
Trying to do for Easter what Christmas movies do for Christmas, Hop is a fairly entertaining movie, despite completely ignoring the fundamental religious reason for the holiday and making up some elaborate rabbit-based backstory that feels remarkably like the mythos for Santa Claus. Even so, Russell Brand is likeable as the adolescent rabbit trying to find his place in the made-up fairytale chocolate distribution business.
(6.5/10)

#49 Dunkirk (2017)
Telling the story of the remarkable British withdrawl from continental Europe at the start of World War 2, Dunkirk is beautifully shot and makes it one of the best-looking war films at least. Its story structure is (no doubt intentionally) disorienting, but helps to masterfully build tension. Thankfully Christopher Nolan steers clear of an overly long running time and keeps things tight.
(8/10)

Films I've seen of late (May '18)

#37 Twin Town (1997)
Swansea is the setting of this dark comedy about crooked cops, smalltime drug dealers and a pair of delinquent brothers. The portrayal of South Walian life is far from positive and relies on the tired stereotype of the Welsh as uncultured / good-for-nothings / junkies / criminals which is kind of sad. Still, an accomplished piece of filmmaking with some memorable performances.
(8/10)

#38 The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017)
A twist on the buddy roadtrip movie, the plot revolves around a hitman (Sam L Jackson) being unexpectedly escorted by a professional bodyguard (Ryan Reynolds) to give evidence at the trial of a former despot at the Hague. Former rivals, tensions flare from the get-go as Jackson tries to shake off his companion, all while the Despots henchmen are trying to hunt them down. Plenty of funny moments between the leads and some great action pieces ... it just feels slightly shallow and predictable.
(7/10)

#39 Captain Underpants (2017)
Fairly accomplished children's animation based on the popular books. It didn't really work for me when I saw it with the kids in the cinema, but re-watching it helped me feel a bit more charitable. Still, there are one or two plot points that make no sense which really bug me. Watchable.
(6/10)

#40 Robocop 2 (1990)
Robocop is back, ready to take on Detroit's scum and villainy in this sequel to Vehoeven's future-satire masterpiece. A new threat is in town, this time in the form of 'Nuke', the latest designer narcotic to his the streets. Although it does a good job of providing continuity with the first movie, R2 is lacking a certain something that means it doesn't quite live up to its predeccessor. It's also missing Basil Poledouris' iconic Robocop theme from the first movie, which is a travesty.
(7/10)

#41 The Other Guys (2010)
Will Ferrell and Mark Whalberg are two mismatched police partners always under the shadow of Sam L Jackson and The Rock from the same department who catch criminals in the most ridiculous public property-destroying way. When these supercops absurdly die in the course of duty, their colleagues see an opportunity to come to the fore and make their mark. An interesting take on the buddy cop movie, the ad-libbing and constant bickering between the main characters provides plenty of laughs.
(7/10)

#42 Deadpool 2 (2018)
The foul-mouthed merc returns in this bigger and louder sequel that pushes the titular character toward being a fully-fledged member of the X-Men (albeit as ‘X-Force’) while facing up against Cable and various other mutant adversaries. There’s more jokes, more action, more fourth-wall-breaking and more crudeness than before – which makes this a worthy follow up to the R-rated hit from two years ago.
(8/10)

#43 Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
One of the best-loved characters from the Star Wars universe gets his own movie, which manages to maintain a decent continuity with previous films in the franchise. There are some great characters and well-orchestrated sequences, but it all feels a little bit unspectacular. This story never really needed to be told, but Ron Howard does a pretty decent job of salvaging the potential train wreck it could have been.
(8/10)

#44 Don't Look Now (1973)
Nicholas Roeg's surreal horror thriller about a couple who are coming to terms with their daughter's death. Whilst in Venice as part of the husband's work, they encounter a psychic who tells them she's seen their child who is trying to communicate with them. Slow and a bit meandering, it feels lacking in any real meat to the story.
(6/10).

Sickening stuff (part 2)

A while back (2014 actually!) I went on a bit of a rant about new 'Saw' rides at Thorpe park.

I must admit, I do sound like a bit of a right-wing Daily Mail-reading killjoy (honestly, I'm not!) but I still stand by the sentiment of what I said. I have nothing against those kind of movies being made, but I do think it's questionable to have them out into the open as part of a 'family' theme park. If it was a 'horror' theme park, then fair enough, but Thorpe Park is for all ages and should make sure its rides are appropriate.

It seems this trend isn't going away.

Now you can go on the Walking Dead at Thorpe Park and Wicker Man.

Oh, what fun!

Have the people who commissioned those rides seen The Walking Dead? Have they bothered to watch The Wicker Man? There's nothing - nothing - family friendly about them.

What next? A medieval torture ride where kids can watch actors being flayed alive or hung, drawn and quartered?

Sheesh...

The terrifying reality of middle-age

I'm not one who particularly enjoys the fact that I'm middle-aged. Passing the '40' mark three years ago was a bit of an existential crisis for me and every now and again I stop and pause to reflect on the reality that I'm old. Like, really old.

Of course, it's all relative. My parents are much older than me. In fact, there are millions of people out there who are older or would consider me a bit of 'spring chicken' – even though I definitely do not feel like one – and I have even outlasted a quite a few of my fellow human beings so far. I know I have absolutely nothing to complain about.

One thing, however, that has struck me recently is that my generation is in the middle of taking over from the previous one.

This has become noticeable at church. I'm not sure if church is the best reflection of wider society in general, but it's interesting nonetheless. Wifey and I became church leaders last year (she an Elder and me a Deacon). Two of my friends are also elders – and they are younger than me. Ulp! Often, there will be preachers at church who are either younger or roughly the same age as me.

It used to be that I would sit in the congregation and look up to the Elders and Deacons – wisened leaders who were trying hard to discern God's will for the church and to ensure it functioned smoothly. They were the ones with all sorts of important responsibilities, making difficult decisions in order to keep this weird thing called church going.

Now, I realise I have become one of them – one of those supposedly 'wise' leaders who youngsters of today might look to for guidance and counsel. My generation is gradually becoming the one 'in charge' now, as it were.

And that is scary as heck.

Whilst it's nice to be all 'grown up' and responsible, it also feels like I have no idea what I'm doing most of the time and am constantly 'winging it' to get through the various challenges of life.

What is comforting though, is the fact that most people are likely doing the same. No matter how old or experienced you are, I think it's something of a universal truth to say that a lot of the time you're making things up or just hoping it will all work out in the end.

I wonder if we'll ever get to the point where politicians, business leaders and other such 'lofty' people will own up to this truth and admit that they don't have all the answers and rely on a 50/50 chance of getting things right most of the time.

If they did, I think the world would be much better place.

This week I have been mostly... wb 07/05/18

Week beginning: 07/05/18

No. of evening meetings: 2
Films watched: 1
Healthy eating: Good
Mental health: Could be better

This week has started with a renewed health drive as Wifey has started Slimming World and so we've been basing our meals around that. I have to give SW some credit, in that they are not about 'diets' as such but more about healthy eating and eating foods that will fill you up rather than make you starve most of the time. I'm a bit dubious about the food that they market, as it's probably not any healthier than the other 'health food' junk you can buy. You pay a premium for the branding in return for some kind of peace of mind. Even so, you don't have to buy their products and the emphasis on eating fruit and veg can't be argued with. There's also the social motivation aspect which I think helps. Again, SW makes money out of this - but peer support is probably a huge factor in the fight against obesity so it can't be knocked.

Wifey has lost some weight already, which I'm really proud of her for, and I find it's easier to join in rather than watch from the sidelines so hopefully I will lose some too. I've been trying to get healthier and thinner with limited success, but I figure trying is better than not trying. I'm also probably being a bit hard on myself. I don't think I'm obese (I'm probably a bit overweight but not by much), and I don't eat that much crap. Occasionally I will give in to a bit of cake or chocolate but I've never been one to eat junk every day. I've also gotten into the habit of eating lots more fruit and veg (more than the standard 5-a-day), partly to fill up but also partly to try and fend off any future nasties i.e. cancer. My problem is that I want to flatten my belly a bit more and, well, being a forty-something is going to make that especially hard. If I was really fat, I'd probably lose quite a lot of weight quite quickly, but I think it's the latter stages of weight loss which are exponentially more difficult.

I could go to the gym, but I don't really have the time and space to commit to that (nor the financial resources) and anyway I really hate exercising. I do a bit at home (weights and stretches) as well as brisk walking but doing a full on workout is something I just don't have the inclination to do.

I struggle with motivation if I'm honest, but at least Wifey is doing something as well so we can support each other. Also, we've got a trip to France coming up in August so I really want to be as fit and healthy as possible for when we go.

Because then I can blow out on bread, croissants, chocolate, cheese and wine!

Viva Vacances!

This week I have been mostly... wb 30/4/18

Week beginning: 30/04/18

No. of evening meetings: 2
Films watched: 1
Healthy eating: Average
Mental health: Could be better

A fairly uneventful week this week. I spent work either editing or filming (which admittedly is what I usually do), although interestingly my work took me to the place of my old comprehensive school. I've been through the town a few times recently and it's always a bit of a shock to see how things have changed since I was a teen. The most significant change is the demolishing of one of the blocks where my form room used to be, and the building of an Asda supermarket right on top of the school playing fields. They've constructed a completely new school complex which looks like something from the future (which it kinda is ... well, would have been to a kid in the 90s).

Returning to the place of my adolescent youth stirs up many emotions for me. It was a formative time in many ways and not without its drama and angst. I fell in love (but hideously crashed and burned), had my first brush with alcohol (the first of many), faced up to bullies (and lost) as well as made decisions that would ultimately affect me for the rest of my life (I'm not kidding).

Visiting my old stomping ground saddens me a bit. Everything feels just as tired and rundown as it used to be. I suppose I didn't have any frame of reference at the time but even when I was there it felt a bit sad. Some of the old shops are still there, while others have been taken over by the familiar chains such as Greggs. There were a fair share of empty shop units (thanks austerity/Brexit!).

Even so, I still have a fondness and affinity for the place. It featured in a large chunk of my life and I can't change that. I hope things eventually pick up.

Vote for Revenge of the Rabbit in My RØDE Reel Competition

I recently worked on a short film to enter into the My RØDE Reel competition along with my Purple Hat Productions mates (who also made Hey Mal, Timcide and Refuge).

Please take two minutes to vote for our film (if you haven't already!) by clicking here:
https://www.rode.com/myrodereel/watch/entry/4853

Cheers!

This week I have been mostly... wb 23/4/18

Having failed to write up my previous two weeks, I am sheepishly playing catch up. I have been doing lots of stuff:
- Celebrating no. 2 son's sixth birthday. It was a full-on weekend affair with bowling, pizza and seeing lots of family.
- Previewing the latest short film I've helped make at Chapter Movie Maker in Cardiff (you can find out a bit more here).
- Filming a weekend conference in Dinas Powys. This has resulted in a project that is over 300GB in size. Yikes!
- Making some much welcome progress with the Offworld feature film. There's still lots to do but I think we're not too far off from coming into land.
- Starting a BSL (British Sign Language) course through my church, which is fun but hard work in terms of learning the zillion signs. Not sure how well I'm going to do at it. Ulp!

- Helping to film an entry into the My RØDE Reel film competition. I don't have high hopes as we will be up against filmmakers from across the world ... but we might win a teeny weeny prize. You never know. The main thing is we shot and edited it within a week, which is a small miracle.
- Finishing my Christian leadership course after 2 years. I'm not going to miss getting up early on a Saturday once a month to go to this, but it will be a bit sad to finally say goodbye.

Films I've seen of late (April '18)

#28 Valerian and the city of a thousand planets (2017)
Luc Besson's wildly ambitious sci-fi adaptation of the French comic is good, but doesn't quite hit the mark in my opinion. It feels like it's going to up the pace at some point but never seems to get round to it. The leads (Cara Delvigne and Dan DeHaan) are great, but unfortunatly lack a certain chemistry. Still, the CGI and world-building are amazing and you can see that all the money spent is firmly up on screen.
(7/10)

#29 Ready Player One (2018)
Ernest Cline’s pop culture love letter would be a difficult book to adapt for most people, but if you’re going to get anyone to tackle such a story, Spielberg is the man to do it. RPO is more than just about all the film, TV, comic book, music and video game references – it’s actually a film that explores themes of loneliness, reality and corruption. Some of the adult themes seem unnecessary, and its Spielbergian ending feel slightly out of place, but altogether it's a terrrific popcorn movie.
(9/10)

#30 The Godfather (1971)
A classic Oscar-winner that gave birth to a plethora of gangster tropes, it's amazing to think how old this movie is and yet how influential it's been. Marlon Brando's performance as Don Corleone is probably one of the most iconic in all of cinema – a fascinating and sympathetic portrayal of a mob boss facing a new and unfamiliar post-war America. Al Pacino's Michael Corleone is just as mesmerising as (relutantly as first) he takes the family business forward into the unknown. Unmissable, The Godfather is the Godfather of all movies (see what I did there?).
(9/10)

#31 Pulp Fiction (1994)
Comprising four tales of criminal life in LA, Pulp Fiction is Tarantino firing on all cylinders as writer, director and actor. Pul featueres a string of great acting performances from the likes of Bruce Willis, John Travolta, Uma Thurman and Samuel L Jackson – and countless memorable lines that will forever be synomonous with the early 90s.
(10/10)

#32 The Breakfast Club (1985)
A slice of pure 80s teen drama, The Breakfast Club is only dated by the fact it's over thirty years old. Sure, there's no internet, smart phones or Trump in the White House – but it's just as relevant today as it was during the heights of Reagan's presidency. Teenage angst distilled into 90 minutes, The Breakfast Club is a simple idea but is so much more that five kids stuck in detention all day.
(8/10)

#33 Robocop (1987)
Part Man. Part Machine. All Cop. What an iconic tagline! Robocop is a classic 80s sci-fi flick that's more than just a dumb action movie, with layers of satire and social commentary. It has had numerous imitators and remains an enduring cultural icon (even having a Robocop statue being built in Detroit). Great script, great performances and great action scenes. 'nuff said.
(9/10)

#34 Cars 3 (2017)
After the disappointing Cars 2, a lot of work was needed to rebuild trust in the franchise. This third (final?) instalment manages to just about do that with a story with heart and emotion about Lightning McQueen facing up to old age and taking up the role of mentor to a ‘younger model’. Even though it seems a bit odd that McQueen is already hitting retirement (it's only 10 years since the first film), I guess he's a bit like football players who are only at the top of their game for a brief spell. As usual, the CGI is gorgeous. Just don't think too hard about the logic of the 'Cars Universe'.
(7/10)

#35 Alien: Covenant (2017)
This sequel to Prometheus is both frustrating and intriguing at the same time as it recycles a lot from previous Alien films while at the same time going deeper into the questions surrounding creation and creator. Michael Fassbender steals the show as two identical androids with conflicting motives and there is plenty of gruesome gore to please the fans (a bit too much for my liking though).
(6/10) 

#36 Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
The fourth MI film sees top IMF secret agent Ethan Hunt tracking down a terrorist intent on starting nuclear war using stolen Russian missile launch codes. Packed with high stakes action and nail-biting stunts, Ghost delivers well on all levels.
(8/10)

My latest short film

Check out another short film I have helped to make recently.

I say 'recently', it took about six months to get it made - mainly because the editing process was quite painful (in terms of CGI effects) and life/work got in the way.



Still, I'm pretty proud of it and quite a few people who've seen it have enjoyed it, so that makes me happy. ;-)

This week I have been mostly... w/b 02/04/18

Week beginning: 02/04/18

No. of evening meetings: 0 (woohoo!)
Films watched: 3
Healthy eating: Bad (it's the Easter hols)
Mental health: OK


The post-Easter period is a bit of a funny one as the kids are off school and I tend to keep working. Not only that, there are lots of chocolate and other Easter treats in the house which means I find it hard to avoid the crappy food.


Workwise, apart from the ton of editing to do I had a meeting to discuss an animation project and helped to film a wedding on the Saturday. I don't like working Saturdays, and I'm not a big fan of weddings either but was doing it as a favour. Luckily I wasn't filming all day and managed to head home about 3 o'clock.


We are in the process of preparing for fostering full-time (not for a while yet, though - it's probably still a few years away), but as part of the process we are helping out where we can to get some experience. We had out first proper tast of it this week with a little boy who is just under two years of age that came to stay for a bit. It went really well and we're hoping to continue helping out in the future.


I went to see Ready Player One this week, and entered the cinema with a bit of trepidation (mainly because I'd seen some mixed reviews accusing it of being nothing but a vacuous nostalgia-fest, but also because I really enjoyed the book and knew that a lot had been changed to fit it into a movie). Thankfully, I enjoyed it. It was really good fun, and had lots of great moments. I think I will try and write a proper review at some point.

This week I have been mostly... w/b 26/03/18

Week beginning: 26/03/18

No. of evening meetings: 0 (woohoo!)
Films watched: 3
Healthy eating: Good (ish - apart from the Easter treats)
Mental health: OK (with a bit of a dip)

Well, I managed to miss last week, so I am including that one as well.

The previous week was dominated by a couple of filming assignments - one was filming a conference in Cardiff and the other was a promotional film for an international company based in Stevenage. The latter required an overnight stay (in a Premier Inn, which was a bit *meh*). The filming itself didn't take long but travelling home took over five hours (!) and then I went to the school pub quiz (we didn't win). The following morning I had to go to a leadership training course before being official photographer at our church Easter party. Needless to say, I was pretty knackered after all of that.

This week number one son JKY was ill with tonsilitis, so I had to mostly be on hand to keep an eye on him. I was feeling a bit down at the beginning of the week, but I think it had something to do with exhaustion and am feeling better now. Other than that, it's been a fairly uneventful week although I have been reminded of the importance of tenacity and to never give up on something even when it seems hopeless.

I was helping a local charity we're involved with try and set up their YouTube channel, but they wanted to be able to link to their website to encourage people to donate. I don't know much time I spent on this trying to make it work but couldn't figure it out. I kept coming up against roadblock after roadblock. The only way you can have clickable links to your website on your videos is if you are a member of YouTube's partnership programme, but you can only join if you have over a 1,000 subscribers and something like 4,000 hours of video content. Seeing as this charity has only just set up their channel, all seemed lost.

At this point, I gave up. I said there was no way we could take this forward ... until someone pointed out that YouTube has a special programme for non-profits which didn't have such strict requirements. In fact, you only needed a basic account to join. There were a few more hurdles to jump after that, but eventually .... eventually we made it and now everything works.

I'm not usually a quitter, per se, but I know I'm not the most tenacious of people either. I will keep going at something if I feel it's got a good chance of success. If it seems impossible or very very unlikely, chances are I will give up.

I've always believed in the principle of working hard at achieving something, but equally I feel that sometimes it's important to know when to quit, especially if your family relationships are suffering, your health is falling apart, or you're digging yourself deeper and deeper into debt. Some things are just not worth pursuing if you leave a trail of pain and suffering in your wake.

But then, I'm sure there are instances where people have sacrificed everything to pursue a certain goal (in science or technology, for example) that ultimately changed the course of human history and maybe even saved millions of lives. Should I have just told them to give up and live a quiet life?

Having thought about it, I'm not sure.

I guess it's a case by case basis kind of thing. You have to weight things up and decide whether it's worth it of not. I suppose that sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't. There are no hard and fast rules (although if it means others suffer because if your actions, I don't think it can really be justified).

Coming back to my example, however, it didn't involve sacrifices or long nights or great expense. It just required some problem-solving and a refusal to give up. As with most things, there is a way – you just have to keep looking for it.

Films I've seen of late (March '18)

#15 Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010)
Video games and movies don’t have a great history, but Scott Pilgrim is one of the few exceptions (OK, it’s adapted from a comic book, but it has heavy video game influences). Edgar Wright plays around with fun, snappy dialogue and zany visuals to create a perfect millennial story centred around love, jealousy and ex-boyfriends. Great stuff.
(8/10)

#16 1941 (1979)
After Japan bombs pearl harbour, America is on high alert for a Japanese invasion – and this serves as the backdrop for Spielberg’s first comedy. Oddly, this took at lot of flak on its release but I can’t see why. It’s funny, well-paced and full of great actors having a laugh. A cult classic.
(9/10)

#18 Logan (2017)
Dark, gritty and bloody comic book adaptation. Good performances from the leads, especially Dafne Keen as Logan’s offspring. Despite the darker tone and brutal action scenes, it still ... feels like a comic book movie which lets it down a bit.
(8/10)

#19 Wonder Woman (2017)
Whilst it’s great to see a female leading a big budget comic book movie, Wonder Woman failed to wow me as much as I’d expected. All the usual comic book movie tropes are rehashed with nothing particularly new emerging as a result. It’s a competent film, but nothing special. Shame, really as WW is a great character.
(6.5/10)

#20 Aliens (1986)
One of my favourtite movies of all time, Aliens is that rare thing indeed: a sequel equal to or even better than the original - plus it still holds up well after 20+ years. This sci-fi / horror / war mash up is grand in scope but tight in storytelling, and shines even more in the special edition director's cut version. Outstanding.
(10/10)

#21 Dredd (2012)
Not the campy Stallone version, but the gritty and violent Karl Urban remake that does its best to stay true to the comics while keeping grounded in the real world. Urban is Judge Dredd, gravelly-voiced lawman of the future taking his rookie on assessment into a drug lord's lair. Things go south quickly and the two judges must battle it out against an army of gang members armed to the teeth. Tight, lean and visceral, this is a comic book movie done right. See my full review here.
(10/10)

#22 Black Panther (2018)
Going into this, I was aware of all the hype and so had low expectations because I'm always wary when everyone says a film is the best thing ever (especially a comic book movie). Perhaps my cynicism helped because I was pleasantly surprised. Sure, it has many of the trappings of the comic book genre, but it feels like the makers spent a lot of time and energy into trying to get things right. A well constructed story revolving around the new king of the ficticious and secretive African nation of Wakanda coming to terms with his role and the many threats it faces, Black Panther delivers on various levels to create an engaging and well-poised .
(8/10)

#23 Monster Family (2018)
Sky's attempt at imitating Netflix with origial content gets off to a sputtering start in this 'Munsters' rehash which doesn't quite hit the mark. Not a bad effort storywise, but the fact that the main characters all have English accents yet live in New York (without any explanation) is distracting. So is the terrible lip-synching.
(6/10)

#24 Annihilation (2018)
After an alien meteorite crashes near the sea, it begins to emit an eerie bubble that grows steadily outward. All who enter the bubble have failed to come out and when an all-female team goes in to investigate, they slowly discover it to be a place of madness and death. Alex Garland's multi-faceted sci-fi thriller is intelligent, provocative and creepy. Outstanding.
(9/10)

#25 Get Out (2017)
A white girl brings her black boyfriend to meet her parents over the weekend at their elegant country home, only to discover strange goings on that have a heavy racist undertone. Another hyped-up movie, this thriller/horror just about stands on its own merit, despite a slightly silly third act. The racism commentary is much more subtle than expected but the acting is great.
(7.5/10)

#26 Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
One of the better Marvel films of late, this third reboot in just over a decade mercifully skips the origin story and goes for a coming-of-age tale instead. Aided by Iron Man, he sets out to bring the winged arms dealer Vulture to justice for selling alien hybrid weapons to the criminal underworld. Not taking itself too seriously, with plenty of funny moments, Homecoming feels a little outside the orbit of its Marvel companions (despite the heavy referencing), which is no bad thing. Plus, Tom Holland is excellent as Peter Parker.
(7.5/10)

#27 Baby Driver (2017)
I saw this in the cinema last year but wanted to see it again because it's so good. In some ways it's better the second time round. Music is deeply ingrained into every scene, pushing the story along – whether it's the high octane robberies and car chases or slower, dialogue scenes. Edgar Wright is in his prime as a director and Baby Driver is evidence of that.
(9/10)