What can I say about the genesis of “Red Dwarf”?

In a strange way I am not at all surprised. I did not have very high hopes for this “series” and in a way they managed to hit the nail exactly where I thought they would. That is not to say there were not things to like.

It is just unfortunate that it fell so flat after so much hype. In case you have not seen it I wrote an article on my expectations for the new show a while back that caused some discussion.

If you intend to see the series please stop reading now. Go and watch it and make up your own mind. There might be spoilers in here, and I would not like you to hear it from me before you have seen it for yourself.

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If you don’t know me, I am a huge Dragonball fan, I have an army of Goku toys (stopped keeping a count around the 50 mark) and have watched all of Dragonball/Dragonball Z and even GT numerous times. I am a biased hard-core fan I freely admit it. I went into this movie expecting it to be a terrible adaptation but was hoping it would at least be an entertaining action film. Sadly my low hopes were shattered…

Not so detailed spoiler – It is crap

Now I am going to go into detail so you don’t have to watch it. Don’t read on if you don’t want spoilers but if you go you’re in for the ultimate spoil. Your precious time and money. Really you shouldn’t pay to see this. It’s nonsensical crap.

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Street Fighter IV is out and I am loving it. I have no doubt the others will put a great review of it and I am looking forward to what they have to say. But with Street Fighter coming back into my life after a long absence it has made me realise 3 things:

1. The computer is a cheating git, pulling off moves you have no way of doing yourself. Proof
2. I was once good at this game, now I am nothing but a noob
3. Cammy remains the best character

Chun-Li and Ryu get all the attention but for me (and most fans I know) Cammy is always the stand out favorite. Maybe its because I am British, maybe its because she is a complete psycho. But she at least has a back story and some characters traits that make her a little more than the 2 dimensional Chun-li. (more…)

This film promises a lot from its box. A martial arts film like you have never seen from the makers of Ong Bak. The film centres on Zen, an autistic girl. Whos mother (Zin) tries to give her daughter a better life away from the gangs she is trying to leave behind. But when she gets leukemia, its up to Zin to collect the money she is owed to pay for her mothers treatment.

Two things drew me two this film. Firstly the actress playing the lead spent two years training for the role, and no stunt doubles were used for her. So everything you see her do (and she does some amazing stuff) is all her. Secondly the idea of this girl, through her autism, is able to take on the abilities she sees from others is a great idea. Leading to my favorite scene when you see her mimicking Bruce Lee.

With such a promising idea, and such a fabulous actress playing the lead this film had to be a winner. Unfortunately not. (more…)

Red Dwarf as it should be

Coming back to our screens after a 10 year absence is “Red Dwarf” arguably my favorite comedy show of all time. The icing on the cake is its Sci-Fi credentials. I have seen every single episode of the show from its very first showing in 1988 all the way through to its end, and I have loved it. Almost everyone around my age grew up with this show, and it means the world to me. But, unfortunately, I don’t think it can recapture the magic it once had. It has had its day, and should be left in our memory as one of the best shows ever made.

I am not looking forward to this re-awakening of the crimson short one. Coming very soon are four entirely new “episodes” of the show. But its not being produced by the BBC, its not even showing on the BBC. It is being produced and shown on Dave. A mediocre TV channel known for showing re-runs of old BBC shows. It is great to watch them again, but I do not want them making their own content. But they are, and my favourite show at that. (more…)

You think you know Star Wars? You don’t know anything!

Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn’t seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.

This is pure genius Joe. Thank for sharing it.

It has been a very sad week.

Two actors that I can say have had a definite impact on my life have passed away. While Patrick McGoohan seemed to get all the attention (at least in the UK), Ricardo Montalban slipped away as well.

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At last Dreamworks are starting to live up to their premise. Up till now they have just made middle of the road animations. Some are OK, others are just crap. But when they are up against Pixar they have no choice but to come up with something good. Kung Fu Panda is a good film (not Pixar worthy, but a good fun film). I am hoping this will follow suit.

When “Rock, Paper, Scissors” is just not good enough.

From “The Big Bang Theory” – Currently showing on Channel 4

nikobe: Was playing around in the new version of Fireworks and decided to make this visual guide of the game and a PDF version here.

Looks great. As long as its a still image

I have been trying to fight my way through “Clone Wars”. All I can say is it is damn hard work. The plot is monotonous. The CG work is bland. The characters are unlikeable. The plot is monotonous (yes that’s in there twice, for good reason). But I just can’t understand how anyone would let this happen?

We all grew up on Star Wars. We love it. It taught us about the world, the struggle of good and evil, don’t judge someone by how they look, and when your backed into a corner.. shoot first! (more…)

One of the best British Sci-Fi mini-series

“Day of the Triffids” is a great classic British Sci-fi mini-series. The BBC have remade the concept a number of times but this one done in 1981 is by far the best.

Everyone knows the concept. Meteors rain down over the planet blinding everyone who watches them. Then the planet is over run with man eating plants (the aforementioned Triffids). These things are no match for able bodied people. But a population of blind people are easy pickings.

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Series 3 of the “The IT Crowd” starts this Friday, Channel 4, 22:00.  If you have never seen “The IT Crowd” you are missing out a great show from one the creators of “Father Ted”.

In a stroke a genius, if you look at the channel 4 web site for the show, you will notice you can’t actually find out what time its on. Those crazy jokers!

Graham Lineham does an excellent blog, worth checking out.

I am looking forward to seeing this film. I am out of touch with comics, I think living in the UK means its much harder to actually get them. Let alone follow the trends (but that is because I am out-of-the-loop). But everything I have seen from Alan Moore is astounding. I know he hates the adaptations of his work, but this does look amazing.

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Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse” looks like it is finally making its way to the small screen. After months of rumors of various problems with Fox “not understanding” the show, and an apparent re-shoot of large pieces of the pilot. It looks like it might actually make it. But will it be the show Whedon wanted, or a dumbed down version that Fox thinks people with “get”

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