We'll have the Doctor back on our screens this Christmas Day, in The Voyage of the Damned, set on the Titanic. However, it's being criticized before it's even aired. Christian groups have, quote from The Times, "expressed concern that the imagery employed was inappropriate for a BBC One Christmas evening show." Apparently at one point, he ascends through the ship's decks, carried by a pair of robotic angels. Russel T. Davies, writer and executive producer said "The series lends itself to religious iconography because the Doctor is a proper saviour", yet Stephen Green of the evangelical group Christian Voice said that "The Doctor would have to do a lot more than the usual prancing around to be a messiah. He has to save people from their sins."
So basically, these people think that a science-fiction TV shows might mislead people on issues concerning the messiah and Christianity... Do they just sit at home thinking up things to complain about? Seriously, don't they have anything better to do? There is no way that Doctor Who could ever possibly mislead kids about religion - they might well get the reference, but it doesn't mean they'll start worshiping the BBC as a religion...
Voyage of the Damned is on BBC One on Christmas Day. If you didn't know already. Which is unlikely.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
The Golden Compass
I saw the Golden Compass today, and I'm glad to say I quite enjoyed it. His Dark Materials are one of my favourite series of books, and I read them over and over again - I simply adore them. They're so clever, and so well written, and such a wonderful world(s) to be set in, wonderful characters... it's just brilliant. But could the films really live up to the books?
Well, the answer is no. But do we want them to? The first book even on it's own has hundreds of pages, thousands of characters, millions of thoughts and emotions... the film is 113 minutes long. But film is a completely different medium for it to be expressed in. And it was pretty damn good!
Firstly - it is accurate to the book. Nothing important at all is missed out, and it was all done in relatively the right order. The right characters in the right places, just the right amount of things giving that nod to people who have read the books, and right amount of time spent on each element of a film (characters, action (Iorek kicks more ass then ANYONE), fantasy world, could have had a little more on the relationships between characters I guess). What adaption was done was done well.
One thing they did change was the ending. SPOILER START, HIGHLIGHT TO READ They ended the movie after Lyra sets off with Roger to go to Lord Asriel and bring him the Alethiometer. But at some point, she delivered the line "I'll bring him exactly what he needs" (i.e. Roger), suggesting they will turn the other two books into films - which I think is no bad thing. Also, on the video game there is an unlockable clip they filmed that goes a little bit further into the first book - up to when they arrive at the house and Asriel shouts "I didn't send for you! Anyone but you!" Clip [here] if you want it. SPOILER END.
The actors were pretty awesome. Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman appeared superbly as Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter, with Ian McKellen (who ALWAYS sounds like he's eating a McVities Digestive) voicing Iorek (who happens to be more kickass than ANYONE). Derek Jacobi and Christopher Lee popped up briefly for great performances. And Dakota Blue Richards, the pretty new comer playing Lyra, gave a wonderful performance - with the exception of a couple of accent things, she delivered the character perfectly.
All in all, I really enjoyed the film. Not too long, it was pretty faithful to the books, good acting, nothing cringeworthy, and the added bonus of having THE MOST AWESOME THING EVER. Namely, Iorek the Armoured Bear. He kicks so much ass it's unbelievable.
______________________________________________________
The Golden Compass is out in cinemas now! But first, buy His Dark Materials (1. Northern Lights, 2. The Subtle Knife, 3. The Amber Spyglass) and read them - they're AWESOME!
Well, the answer is no. But do we want them to? The first book even on it's own has hundreds of pages, thousands of characters, millions of thoughts and emotions... the film is 113 minutes long. But film is a completely different medium for it to be expressed in. And it was pretty damn good!
Firstly - it is accurate to the book. Nothing important at all is missed out, and it was all done in relatively the right order. The right characters in the right places, just the right amount of things giving that nod to people who have read the books, and right amount of time spent on each element of a film (characters, action (Iorek kicks more ass then ANYONE), fantasy world, could have had a little more on the relationships between characters I guess). What adaption was done was done well.
One thing they did change was the ending. SPOILER START, HIGHLIGHT TO READ They ended the movie after Lyra sets off with Roger to go to Lord Asriel and bring him the Alethiometer. But at some point, she delivered the line "I'll bring him exactly what he needs" (i.e. Roger), suggesting they will turn the other two books into films - which I think is no bad thing. Also, on the video game there is an unlockable clip they filmed that goes a little bit further into the first book - up to when they arrive at the house and Asriel shouts "I didn't send for you! Anyone but you!" Clip [here] if you want it. SPOILER END.
The actors were pretty awesome. Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman appeared superbly as Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter, with Ian McKellen (who ALWAYS sounds like he's eating a McVities Digestive) voicing Iorek (who happens to be more kickass than ANYONE). Derek Jacobi and Christopher Lee popped up briefly for great performances. And Dakota Blue Richards, the pretty new comer playing Lyra, gave a wonderful performance - with the exception of a couple of accent things, she delivered the character perfectly.
All in all, I really enjoyed the film. Not too long, it was pretty faithful to the books, good acting, nothing cringeworthy, and the added bonus of having THE MOST AWESOME THING EVER. Namely, Iorek the Armoured Bear. He kicks so much ass it's unbelievable.
______________________________________________________
The Golden Compass is out in cinemas now! But first, buy His Dark Materials (1. Northern Lights, 2. The Subtle Knife, 3. The Amber Spyglass) and read them - they're AWESOME!
WH Smiths Vouchers Officially Suck
Christmas shopping trip today. It was fun. Saw a movie, had fun with my mates.
But WH Smiths fobbed me out of £91. That's right: nine - one. Ninety one. £91.
You know how relatives insist on giving vouchers for certain shops instead of cash? So you end up with a backlog of book vouchers and WH Smith gift cards that you never spend and just end up going out of date? Also, my old school used WH Smith vouchers as the rewards on prize day (because obviously you can't give money to an 8 year-old: they might go and buy drugs *shock horror*).
Well I had a lot of those. I was quite good at spending them on books and stuff, but I still ended up with millions of them. So I thought I'd do something really useful. I took [i]all[/i] the vouchers I had left to the WH Smith in my town, and got them all put on one [i]new[/i] card. I got a receipt with it (very careful about that one), and they said that I could use it anywhere, quite happily, it would all be there, perfectly safe.
So I went to the shopping centre with my mates to do our Christmas shopping. Went round all the shops, being a little easier with my cash than I normally would be, knowing that I could buy all my presents from WH Smith with the £91 voucher (CDs, books, cards, calendars, the lot). I'd only bought 1 game (£20), and I had about £30 left in cash.
So I get all my stuff - 4 CDs for various relatives, loads of cards, a couple of books for various people, two calendars, and a DVD. I'd worked it out - it fitted into £91 - just.
I got to the till (after a fairly long wait - I mean, at least they could employ people intelligent enough to use a Goddamn till - IT'S NOT HARD), and handed the stuff over. It fitted in my £91 budget, and I handed the card over.
"Oh, I'm sorry, we can't accept those today?" (I'm translating a bit here from whatever corrupt dialect of English he was speaking).
"What do you mean you can't accept it?
"Well, if you come in tomorrow, you'll be fine. We're just not accepting them instore today."
"Why?"
"Hang on, I'll check *goes off to check with manager or whoever* Nope, sorry, not today. Tomorrow will be fine."
WELL I'M NOT FRICKING THERE TOMORROW!!!! I'M THERE TODAY!!! And I'll tell you why it was SO annoying. Because in order to buy just 2 of the things I was wanting to buy (which I wouldn't be able to buy anywhere else), I had to use up my remaining £30 cash. Which meant I had no money for lunch, cinema or getting home. Which left me leeching off my friends for the rest of the day. Not fantastic.
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR. OK, I haven't had a moan for a while. But I just needed to rant it out. Grrrrr... Ever happened to you?
But WH Smiths fobbed me out of £91. That's right: nine - one. Ninety one. £91.
You know how relatives insist on giving vouchers for certain shops instead of cash? So you end up with a backlog of book vouchers and WH Smith gift cards that you never spend and just end up going out of date? Also, my old school used WH Smith vouchers as the rewards on prize day (because obviously you can't give money to an 8 year-old: they might go and buy drugs *shock horror*).
Well I had a lot of those. I was quite good at spending them on books and stuff, but I still ended up with millions of them. So I thought I'd do something really useful. I took [i]all[/i] the vouchers I had left to the WH Smith in my town, and got them all put on one [i]new[/i] card. I got a receipt with it (very careful about that one), and they said that I could use it anywhere, quite happily, it would all be there, perfectly safe.
So I went to the shopping centre with my mates to do our Christmas shopping. Went round all the shops, being a little easier with my cash than I normally would be, knowing that I could buy all my presents from WH Smith with the £91 voucher (CDs, books, cards, calendars, the lot). I'd only bought 1 game (£20), and I had about £30 left in cash.
So I get all my stuff - 4 CDs for various relatives, loads of cards, a couple of books for various people, two calendars, and a DVD. I'd worked it out - it fitted into £91 - just.
I got to the till (after a fairly long wait - I mean, at least they could employ people intelligent enough to use a Goddamn till - IT'S NOT HARD), and handed the stuff over. It fitted in my £91 budget, and I handed the card over.
"Oh, I'm sorry, we can't accept those today?" (I'm translating a bit here from whatever corrupt dialect of English he was speaking).
"What do you mean you can't accept it?
"Well, if you come in tomorrow, you'll be fine. We're just not accepting them instore today."
"Why?"
"Hang on, I'll check *goes off to check with manager or whoever* Nope, sorry, not today. Tomorrow will be fine."
WELL I'M NOT FRICKING THERE TOMORROW!!!! I'M THERE TODAY!!! And I'll tell you why it was SO annoying. Because in order to buy just 2 of the things I was wanting to buy (which I wouldn't be able to buy anywhere else), I had to use up my remaining £30 cash. Which meant I had no money for lunch, cinema or getting home. Which left me leeching off my friends for the rest of the day. Not fantastic.
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR. OK, I haven't had a moan for a while. But I just needed to rant it out. Grrrrr... Ever happened to you?
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