Well, it has been six months since I blogged here and I guess it is safe to say that I won't be back. You can find me at http://www.addictedtomedia.net/. Please comment here or there if you also have a proper blog in the blogosphere that I should follow.

Had I not just sat through two long, excruciating and painful hours (two hours that I will never reclaim in my life) I could perhaps get away with thinking that I'd just watched a "highlights" feature of the upcoming Twilight film. Alas, it wasn't a bad dream and it wasn't a disjointed mish-mash of random scenes from the book; that was actually the film and my current calculations regarding whether it could be the worst film I have ever seen says it all. I haven't figured out yet whether it is the worst film I've ever seen (I mean it is possible that it is) but I need to study now and I could have spent two hours studying rather than watching this film. I could have spent two hours watching paint dry - the possibilities are endless really.

Wow. It has just occurred to me how disappointed I am. I haven't written a review on the books yet, so I will attempt to write a review of the first two books (Twilight and New Moon) in one sentence: they are extremely badly written and yet somehow insanely addictive at the same time. I tell people not to pick them up because by then it is too late and you find yourself hooked. They say with Stephenie Meyer (the author) that it is not about the plot or the story but about the interaction between the characters. I guess that stimulates people's imaginations and you find yourself dreaming of endless romantic possibilities. I imagine that people were hoping that this film would be a continuation of that but it just wasn't.

I put 95% of the blame for this miserable excuse for a film on the director and the screenplay. It was downright awful. I am loathe to criticise Robert Pattinson and his portrayal of Edward because I think he is a decent actor and they could have (and should have) drawn a much better performance out of him. I just found the film so badly scripted that I permanently had two things on my mind: a) the comment by one reviewer that Edward Cullen has Asperger's Syndrome (the film made him seem emotionally impoverished as opposed to intensely conflicted) and b) the feeling that the film just hadn't done enough to convince us of why Bella would fall for this boy.

I can't find the Asperger's Syndrome quote but this quote from Robert Pattinson in Empire Magazine says a lot about the book and the film really:

"When you read the book," says Pattinson, looking appropriately pallid and interesting even without make-up, "It's like, 'Edward Cullen was so beautiful I creamed myself'. I mean, every line is like that. He's the most ridiculous person who's so amazing at everything. I think a lot of actors tried to play that aspect. I just couldn't do that. And the more I read the script, the more I hated this guy, so that's how I played him, as a manic-depressive who hates himself. Plus, he's a 108-year-old virgin so he's obviously got some issues there."

That full article is uploaded here. I respect the actor even more after reading that article and as I said, I think the screenplay and directing could have been much, much better.

There were one or two items good items about the film. Cam Gigandet was excellent as James (but then I have been a BIG fan of Cam Gigandet ever since he killed off Marisa in the O.C.), Kristin Stewart was decent as Bella (I really liked her voice too) and there was indeed serious eye candy in the film in the form of the aforementioned Robert and Cam as well as Jackson Rathbone and Nikki Reed as Jasper and Rosemary Hale.

Gratuitous Robert Pattinson picture:

I guess that makes it a 4 out of 10 then which in the end means it wasn't actually the worst film I have ever seen. I rated The Claim, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and The Devil Wears Prada lower at 4, 3 and 2 respectively.

This post has been crossposted from Emm Media.

Okay then. Not too certain how I feel about this. I was devastated to hear that Guy Flanagan was no longer involved with Being Human and I feel (at best) lukewarm about the latest cast announcements.

The BBC announced today that Aidan Turner will take the role of Mitchell and Lenora Crichlow will take the role of Annie. Well. I specifically didn't like Sugar Rush because of Lenora Crichlow so she is going to have to blow my socks off and give a non-irritating, superb performance if my interest in this show is going to remain. [And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how one pulls off a temper tantrum at the tender age of 35].

It looks like the team that captivated us with their chemistry is no more. I am so sad.

Icons courtesy of madmancunian at livejournal

This post has been crossposted from

Spoiler alert. Read no further unless you have finished watching season 5 of NCIS and at least the first four episodes of season 6.

NCIS is one of my favourite shows yet I tend to agree with many of the critics that the last episode of season 5 was a bit of a shambles and I'm not really sure anything happened. I want to say that it wasn't explosive enough for a season finale but then again, we did lose one of the main characters! I can't quite put my finger on it - it seems as if they needed a way to kill Director Shepard but ran out of time to do it. One of the effects of the Great Writers Strike of 2008 I guess - we are lucky the show in itself wasn't one of the casualties!

The little plot twist at the end of season 5 and the first episode of season 6 was so absolutely unnecessary that it left question in my mind as to why they actually bothered. I'm talking about the whole team breaking apart thing. The whole Special Agent Lee bit could all have been explained away by one conversation and a bit of backtracking - I would not have built that story around an entirely tangential storyline.

Episodes two and three of season 6 were average and left me somewhat disillusioned in the current state of NCIS.

And then there was episode four, Heartland.

Heartland is everything a good NCIS episode should be. An old fashioned whodunit with fabulous character development, this episode puts NCIS right back on the map for me. Stephen thinks the focus on Gibbs this season marks the end of NCIS but I doubt they would wind down the series now that they are stepping up their game.

The best thing about the episode? It stars Mark Harmon's own son, Sean Harmon, as the Young Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

Wow. How gorgeous is he? And a really good actor too. His performance was excellent and I can't believe this was his first television performance. Definitely one to watch in the future.

This episode had it all and it has become my favourite NCIS episode ever. In fact, it is right up there with the epic Logan and Veronica moment in Veronica Mars. They've set the mark though and I hope the magic continues through the rest of the season.

The Sarah Jane Adventures - season 2 - I love SJA. I love the concept that one of The Doctor's companions might have gone on to live beyond her adventures in the T.A.R.D.I.S. And of course, I love everything Doctor Who-related.

• The Last Sontaran (S02E01/02) - The season started off with one of my favourite enemies, the Sontaran. Sontaran Commander Kaagh is stranded on Earth after The Doctor burns up the sky in The Poison Sky. His aim is to destroy Earth so that he can return as a hero to Sontar. He doesn't factor in Chrissie Jackson and her stiletto heels. I enjoyed this episode but I was really sad to see Maria Jackson and her very lovely dad Alan leave the show. I liked all of the main characters in the show (Sarah Jane, Luke, Maria and Clyde) and I liked their chemistry.
• The Day of the Clown (S02E03/04) - I was all prepared to hate the new character Rani but she had me convinced within minutes. I like her and I am glad the script-writers didn't bother with the whole process of her having to be convinced and slowly coming to believe in aliens. She is completely up for it and so the series continues without Maria without skipping a beat. Now, why do clowns always get such a bad rap in supernatural shows? I used to love clowns as a child, especially Pierrot clowns - I used to paint them. *cough* I digress. This installment of SJA was really great and scary too! Hopefully next week The Husband will remember to record it so I don't have to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Gossip Girl - season 1 - this has got to be my guilty pleasure. I'm unsure as to why I never picked this show up because I was completely mad about The O.C. (as is evidenced by the fact that my cats are named Summer and Seth).

Gossip Girl is written by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage who wrote The O.C. but I didn't take any notice of that until I noticed that Gossip Girl was number 1 in the TV.com (UK version) rankings. TV.com was previously known as 'My Favourite Website in the World Ever before they did their hideous redesign and forced UK traffic onto a sad UK version of the site. Now, I get to log in every morning to see what one-season-old US shows showed on television the previous evening because TV.com in all of their wisdom are not using Greenwich Mean Time. I digress, again.

I love Gossip Girl but it's not worth breaking it down episode for episode. It's pretty shallow stuff but it has my attention for now. Maybe I am kidding myself, but I don't remember The O.C. being so shallow? Yeah right, definitely kidding myself.

Supernatural - season 4 - Supernatural, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways... I love Supernatural. I'd honestly say it is in my top 5 shows ever, along with Doctor Who, Charmed, X-files and Homicide: Life on the Street. I love Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki. I loved Katie Cassidy as Ruby, Alona Tal as Jo Harvelle and Nicki Lynn Aycox as Meg Masters. I love the music from Supernatural, as I gushed about previously. I love the storylines (not surprising given my love of all things supernatural, fantastical or magical). This season is great and I'm really pleased with the introduction of God and angels into the storyline. I think the can get really creative with this and I think we are in for an exciting storyline.

For a while now I have been pondering the state of English television. It sounds dramatic but it's not really. Not nearly as dramatic as I would like it to be. When I was growing up, I was taught that English television was made of awesome and all things good whereas US television was shallow, one-dimensional and unintelligent. This was before Australian television became a force to be reckoned with and having only lived in South Africa and England, I'm afraid I can't really comment on the programming of other countries.

Fast forward to current day and I honestly think the tables have turned. US television is surprising and inventive on so many levels across so many genres. I can rattle a couple of superb programs off the top of my head: Damages, Mad Men, Dexter, the CSI and Law & Order franchises, Desperate Housewives, House, Lost and my favourites Supernatural, Prison Break, Heroes, NCIS and Ghost Whisperer. US television has upped the ante and if programs don't perform then they are booted out. The complexity of storylines, the ingenuity of concepts and the intelligent dialogues have been the cornerstone of my personal conversion from movie buff to television addict. This is television that can make you laugh and cry and cheer and rage. I'm not trying to say that US television is all good. Far from it. But you just need to take a look at the reaction to TV.com's new UK version to see that I'm not the only who thinks that UK Telly is a bunch of shallow crap alternating with reality programming and endless soaps.

I imagine this is the point where someone reminds me that I am far too addicted to Doctor Who to be healthy and that I spend every last minute of my days obsessing about Harry Lloyd and his performances in Robin Hood and Doctor Who. (I'm really sorry about this but) gratuitous picture of Harry Lloyd (to brighten up the post):

But let's take a look at some of those staple favourites of mine. Robin Hood (and now Merlin) are formulaic to the extreme. Each week you have a new source of evil, it is beaten and destroyed and then you carry on next week as if nothing happened. There is no character development and storylines are absolutely one-dimensional. How about Spooks: Code 9? Apart from the dubious English tendency to try make government employees look way too cool for their own good, where is the depth? One of your characters is possibly dying from radiation poisoning - does that not call for some sort of (god forgive me) plot?

The inner fangirl in me won't let me touch any of the Doctor Who franchise, I'm afraid, so no complaints there (other than to say that I am not in the least bit impressed that Yasmin Paige is leaving the cast of SJA).

Bonekickers was so bad that I could not bring myself to watch more than one episode of it and I promise it had nothing to do with the fact that Harry Lloyd's girlfriend Gugulethu Mbatha-Raw stars in it. An Indiana Jones-type show where mysteries of the world are uncovered by a team of archeologists should have had me hooked. The fact that it starred Julie Graham from William and Mary should have been enough to make me stay. But it wasn't. It was, unfortunately, a complete load of crap. It was everything English television is becoming: historically inaccurate, formulaic and completely shallow; complete with a bitter and jaded protagonist, a kindly and elderly support character and flat, younger characters who simply go through the motions to deliver this week's popular take on the political world.

In fact, English television studios would definitely do well to take their noses out of the social-political arena and just do what they are best at: entertaining people. Many people have commented on how thinly disguised the references to the Iraqi war were in Robin Hood.

Like I mentioned previously, I am absolutely aware that US television is not this amazing beacon of brilliance and entertainment. It's just that English television used to be better - a lot better. And while I sit glued to programs coming over from the States, I often find myself making tea or updating my blog during English programming (except for X Factor which has me transfixed). Now what does that say about the state of English television?

My appraisal of films has never been a very sophisticated process. I base my reviews on whether I enjoy the two hours that I sit in the cinema or whether it makes me forget about the outside world and whatever is on my mind. I consider whether I relate to the characters or indeed, whether I fall in love with them. Factors such as "sitting on the edge of my seat", "screaming out loud" or "feeling like a child again" score highly in my books as does a film that keeps me thinking about it for hours or days after I have seen it. I like to think that I write people's reviews and not critics' reviews but at the same time my reviews are very personal. If I feel personally slighted by a film, I will let you know about it. Actually, I am more likely to enjoy a film and rate it highly than I am television at the moment. I've recently discovered that television can leave me highly vexed.

Back to films though: last night, Stephen and I travelled to the east of London to see the movie premier for "Taken". We went to the Genesis Cinema on Mile End Road in Stepney Green. I had won the tickets through Eros at the Evening Standard. Later tonight I'll upload pictures over at Emm in London.

Taken is a film about a former spy whose daughter is kidnapper by human traffickers while she is on holiday in France. It stars the gorgeous Liam Neeson as former-spy Bryan, Maggie Grace as his daughter Kim and Famke Janssen as his ex-wife. The film also features Katie Cassidy as Kim's friend Amanda. Katie Cassidy is better known as the gorgeous Ruby on Supernatural. Oh my! Maggie Grace played Shannon on Lost - I totally didn't recognise her!!!

Gratuitous Katie Cassidy picture:

The film was really fast paced and yes, I sat right on the edge of my chair for most of it. I found it was refreshing in that it wasn't too far fetched and a lot of the concepts were in fact quite novel. Therefore, the film wasn't your standard stereotypical action flick. I enjoyed the pace and I enjoyed the placement of other characters, for example Jean-Claude a fellow former operative turned pencil-pusher. I enjoyed the Paris setting as well and overall I'd have to say that this was a good movie expereince. I'd give it nine points out of ten, with one point deducted because I couldn't figure out what he did with the first girl he rescued. Definitely worth driving to the dodgy neighbourhood of Stepney Green for.

Well, it took forever but I finally got to see a couple of DVDs:

28 Days Later

I'd have to say that this movie wasn't what I was expecting, but then I can't exactly remember what I was expecting. Stephen's verdict was that I should hire "normal" DVD's from now on.
I found this to be a beautiful and moving film of apocalyptic proportions. In the weeks since I watched the DVD, I have often found myself thinking about it. A strange thing to say for a zombie film that could easily pass for an episode of Spooks: Code 9. (Yes, I am aware that Spooks: Code 9 came out long after this film).
This film is just different and the cinematography is really dark and sweeping. I really related to Jim's struggle as he tried to come to terms with a world completely different to the one he had left behind when he went into a coma four weeks earlier. Jim is played by the gorgeous and brilliant Cillian Murphy. Definitely an actor to keep an eye on in the future.

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The Notebook

I remember when this film came out it had a really big impact on my best friend Heather. Despite this and despite being mad about Ryan Gosling, I just never got around to seeing it.
I really love the whole premise of an old man reading a love story to an old woman. This is a really beautiful, ****c love story and it is one of those wonderful films that take you on a journey of highs and lows as you cheer and cry with the characters. It is a definite "holding hands with the hero, fall in love with the heroine" type of tale (reference to Hothouse Flowers: Movies).

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The Pianist

I remember being surprised when Adrien Brody won the Oscar for Best Actor for this film because I had not heard of the film at that time. I need not have been concerned though. This film is an absolute masterpiece and Brody's performance is absolute moving and superb. This film is the true story of Wladyslaw Szpilman's struggle to survive and escape persecution at the hands of the Nazi invaders in Warsaw. This film is epic and the story remains important today. Make sure you see it.

Go to IMDb page

Information © IMDb.com

I've wanted to see this film for a really long time but unfortunately Stephen wasn't the least bit interested in doing so. He said it was too much of a children's movie! Wow, you'd think we were both in our 30's or something!

These days it can be hard for a good children's fantasy film or story to succeed because inevitably they are compared to Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia. I believe that the more original, imaginative stories the better as it enables children's imaginations to grow and it keeps magic in the world.

Spiderwick Chronicles is both inventive and fantastical and the visual effects were very good. I thought Freddie Highmore did a great job of acting the parts of both Jared and Simon Grace and I believe he is an actor to watch in the future. (You may remember he played Peter in Finding Neverland and Charlie in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).

All in all, I really enjoyed this film and even jumped out of my skin once or twice and squealed. I'd recommend this film to all lovers of children's fantasy and adventure stories.

Go to IMDb page

Information © IMDb.com

What a phenomenal story with superb acting from Andrew Garfield. I enjoyed all 100 minutes of this film and it has left me wanting to watch it again, read the book and see more of Andrew Garfield. All in all a successful film experience then.

Boy A is based on the book of the same name written by Jonathan Trigell and it seems obvious that it was at least partly based on the Jamie Bulger murder and the subsequent release of his killers in 2001.

It's hard to reconcile my memories of that case with this beautiful and moving story but nevertheless, this is a really well-written story with beautiful cinematography and subtle directing. I'd recommend this film to all lovers of British film and am happy to say that the film is being released in the US on 24 July 2008. Of course, those of us in the UK have already caught it on Channel 4 months ago.

Gratuitous hot Andrew Garfield picture: