God save the gracio- DEEEH!

Today I woke up feeling atrocious. I find it quite irritating that after drinking a lot and having three hours sleep I'm feeling great, but after an early night in a warm comfy bed I wake up feeling as bad as everyone around me looked the morning after the party. Not to winge, its just frustrating. Due to this I called in sick to work, admittedly being a little bitch in the process. I spent the first good watching some of the ridiculously intensive making-ofs on the Lord of the Rings boxset. They're really engrossing, even from a film mking viewpoint for people who arent keen on the movies. Once I tired if this I sat with my brother and mum and watched shock treatment, the little-spoken-of sequel to Rocky Horror. It was arguably wierder than the first, but still very entertaining. It is a satire of TV, largely reality TV meaning it has somehow become much more relevant since it was made in 1981. In retrospect I feel it might have been a warped view of TV going "a step too far", but to a modern audience such as myself this "step too far" is extremely close to shows that populate our screens. Enough deep talk though, its a really dry comedy with no jokes that fell flat to me and the music is very good. It's not a masterpiece in any respect but its an entertaining, really strange film without being the modern type if strange where its trying to be kitchy and hip, or infuriatingly pretentious. It's just unashamedly odd. I give it 6/10. I decided this afternoon that it was silly to sit at home all day feeling sorry for myself so I had a cycle round Drum. It was on my return that I was assured not going to work was a decent idea because I pretty much died as soon as I got off my bike. I did manage to become less so in time for going to the cinema though, with Danny, Duncan, Ewan, and Jamie Miller. We saw an advance preview of The Expendables. That's right: two movie reviews. I went in expecting no more than throwaway entertainment. I certaintly got that but the over the top action was nestled amongst a decent movie. The plot is pretty original but in essence it does conform to the general action movie fare of dictators, corporations, big guns, explosions and man-on-man "boss battles". There are occasional moments where the action stops to allow either some character moments, one carried off stunningly by Mickey Rourke, or for some genuinely well written and well timed comedy relief. As would be expected by the exhausting cast list the action is brilliant; fight scenes are frequent, extended and very large. Naturally as the film goes on they get larger and more unapologetically crazy. It never loses control though, the plot is never neglected for a shiny fight scene, so you're kept hooked on both levels. In summary it works as a standalone movie and as a worthy tribute to the 80's style action movies that made most of the cast famous. If I have to complain it would be for the poor CGI; I found it distracting and a bit unnecessary really, but luckily it was very infrequent that such a shot cropped up, so I still give it 8/10. It won't win oscars but it does what everyone wants it to do and a good bit more. It was a good night, made better by the presence of Darroch and Drew on the bus who were a bit disappointed at having seen Knight and Day with Beast and Steph. The banter on the way home was extremely bizzare, ranging from Neo-Nazi gift shops in Portsmouth that Darroch had inadvertently visited, to truly horrific things that must not be comitted to a hard copy, lest they be used against me. Song if the day is the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers theme. It must be one of the best tv themes ever: its genuinely great. It's choice is due to me listening to it when getting ready to go out and being stunned at just how good it is.