Haven't watched too many movies lately because I've been slowly getting through 'The Shield' season 7, plus 'Breaking Bad' and 'My Name Is Earl'. All great shows. I did venture out to the cinema yesterday though.

'Sherlock Holmes' (2009) directed by Guy Ritchie

This film is just so-so. It's fairly entertaining and well written but it just seems to lack a spark. It doesn't feel exciting or funny, it just feels pretty flat and monotone throughout and I'm not sure why. There are some decent fight sequences, the story is compelling enough (although pretty predictable) and Holmes is an interesting character. So what was it? I guess it comes down to the characters. Their relationships aren't developed enough so I didn't have any real investment in the film. Plus the whole film is quite dark colourwise, the colour palette is mainly greys. Also, Robert Downey Jr. plays Holmes in a very understated, detached way and so there is this strange flatness to the film - it never quite kicks off like you expect it to. A bit dissatisfying.

Well, it's Christmas Day-night. Christmas night I guess you'd call it. It was a good day, spent with my family, eating duck and ham and vegetables and pudding and drinking wine. There was ample wine. Michelle visited in the evening and we all exchanged presents. Christmas is nice, isn't it.

The other day I watched all of season three of 'The Mighty Boosh'. I have now watched every season and all the associated special features. It's a curious show. After watching the first season, I declared it to be very overrated. It was original, yes, quirky, colourful, interesting to look at, bizarre, improvised. In short, it had a bunch of great qualities. The thing was, I just didn't find it all that funny. I guess I found it a little badly directed in terms of the comedy, some of the improvised dialogue seemed to go on a bit too long and the beats were in the wrong spots or completely missing. People said to me "you must watch season two though! you'll love it." So you know what I did? Exactly that.

Season two was a lot better, I thought. It definitely benefited from re-locating the show from the zoo to the flat. It seemed to open things up a lot more. 'The Priest and the Beast' was the first episode I watched where I thought "wow, great show". That episode blew me away, it's brilliantly written. Still, I found the season to be a little hit and miss overall. The darker episodes are my favourites in this season by far, particularly the last two "The Legend of Old Gregg" and "The Nightmare of Milky Joe". The Boosh seem to be at their best when they're being as edgy as possible, pushing things in a very dark direction.

So, the third season which I just watched the other day. It's not a great season really, probably about the same as season one. I mean, it's very watchable, interesting television but just not any brilliant episodes like there were in season two. The best for me was "The Strange Tale of the Crack Fox", but chiefly because of the Crack Fox character. It's a really demented episode but it seems to lose some steam in the second half. The interplay between Vince and the Fox is great but unfortunately shortlived.

So, what to make of 'The Mighty Boosh'? The show is consistently quite good, sometimes even brilliant. It's certainly different from anything else out there, which is a good thing. But I don't know, I kinda wish it was consistently brilliant rather than just consistently good. I think when they tie themselves down to a location, such as the zoo or the shop, the episodes tend to suffer. They tend to come across as much more restrained, even sitcom-like. Perhaps it just comes down to personal preference, but the episodes that I love are those where Vince and Howard are on some adventure somewhere without any real explanation for why.

Christmas Eve! Yesterday I ventured back to uni to get out of this Summer subject that I had enrolled in. Stopped by the Lucky Coq for a beer and a pizza too and then headed to the city. Did a lot of walking around with no particular aim. I've been sitting around at home a lot lately, so it was good to get out and about. Also went to see Tom's band 'ATM 15' play at the Evelyn last night. It was a pretty fun gig. Stayed at Tom's place that night, woke up with a killer headache. Seems to feel better now. Also had dinner last night at some place on Brunswick St. The service was really bad, the waitress was quite aggressive at one point, effectively blaming me for a mistake that she'd made. Made things quite uncomfortable.

'Planet Terror' (2007) directed by Robert Rodriguez

I found this movie pretty boring. It's a weird one, because the whole thing is meant to be a pastiche of those 70s era d-grade horror films which is a cool idea in principle. In practice though, I didn't really get the point. It wasn't really funny at all and the violence was too cartoonish to be entertaining. It basically felt like a poorly executed episode of 'Garth Marenghi's Darkplace', with all of the humour removed. Perhaps if the characters were a bit more interesting or likeable it would have worked better. The fake trailer at the start of the film for 'Machete' looked like a way better movie.

'Avatar' (2009) directed by James Cameron

Ok, it's a given that this film is visually spectacular. It's definitely unlike anything I've seen, the 3D and the colour, the whole thing, it is a genuine cinematic experience. Definitely see this in the cinema, don't wait for the DVD. Aside from that though, the story of the film is pretty bland and predicatable. If it wasn't so visually arresting, I think I would have gotten quite bored. In fact, I did get a little bored in parts because the story just didn't excite me in the same way that the effects did. It's a story ridden with cliches meaning that it felt like I'd seen this movie before. It's basically your classic epic tale of a soldier falling in love with a woman from the enemy side and then being faced with the decision about where his allegiances truly lie. The problem is, this classic structure makes the film utterly predictable and the characters aren't strong enough to make it really interesting. There's a sci-fi twist to it, sure, but there is some pretty shocking writing in this film, the opening third is pure exposition of the worst kind and there appear to be some scenes and speeches virtually lifted straight from 'Braveheart'. This film also suffers from having "bad guys" who are "bad" simply because they are "bad guys". I can't stand that kind of thing. At the end of the day though, this film is really all about dazzling special effects and it truly delivers in this respect, it is certainly amazing to look at. I just wish the effort put into the visual side of things was matched by the writing.

'Dog Day Afternoon' (1975) directed by Sidney Lumet

Excellent film. I really, really liked it. The performances are excellent, particularly Al Pacino who just dominates. He's an amazing actor. I really liked the largely improvised dialogue between characters, improvisation creates an interesting dynamic. The way the film is structured is really interesting too, there's always this build up of tension and then the tension is broken, this pattern repeats constantly, subtly giving more information about the characters. You never really get the sense that the central characters are essentially doomed, there is always this element of hope and humour in the film.

'The Square' (2008) directed by Nash Edgerton

Really solid, tightly written Australian thriller about a man whose life slowly unravels around him following a series of poor choices. It's well acted and feels very gritty and realistic. In terms of lighting, the film is quite dark in parts; scenes could perhaps have been better lit. Overall though, a very satisfying and gripping thriller.

'Stranger Than Fiction' (2006) directed by Marc Forster

This film is about a man who starts hearing a voice that is narrating his life as he lives it. Based on this premise, I was expecting this film to be a bit cheesy and to not quite work. However, it really won me over and I enjoyed the film a lot. This is largely due to the strong cast, the relationship between Harold (Will Ferrell) and Ana (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is convincing and compelling while there are strong supporting roles provided by Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson. The story progresses well and I found the conclusion satisfying and not predictable. Worth watching.

'Good Night, and Good Luck' (2005) directed by George Clooney

Well made and brilliantly shot in black and white, I found this to be a really interesting film despite not knowing much detail about the period in history that it represented. It's very well acted, particularly noteworthy is the central performance of David Strathairn.

'Yes Man' (2008) directed by Peyton Reed

Really enjoyable light comedy. I quite like Jim Carrey and although the story is pretty unbelievable in parts, I couldn't help but smile most of the way through. Rhys Darby is an excellent supporting comic actor too.

A full week back at work. Been quite busy though.

Monday night Tom and Marty dropped by. Hadn't seen Marty for quite a while and he was sporting a rather impressive beard. We did the only sensible thing given the circumstances and went to Nando's to eat delicious chicken. Stopped by the video store, the collection of which was sadly pretty lacklustre. However, managed to pick up 7 weeklies and headed home to watch a DVD.

Tuesday night was Laura's birthday. It involved lots of vegetarian food, playing the 'Glee' soundtrack loudly and drinking countless bottles of wine. And then watching 'Man vs. Wild'. It was obviously a good night.

And last night? Well, met up with Mike in Camberwell to watch a film. Then stopped by Sofia's for some dinner and said "Hi" to Omar who was working.

What else is new? I finished reading a book, 'The Visitor' by Lee Child. It was good, a real page turner. I'll read more of his stuff I reckon. Also, turns out I'll have lots of work in Jan and Feb which will be handy money-wise. I'd like to try and balance that work with a couple of writing projects that I'm developing though. One is a feature length zombie film, quite dark but may have comic elements. The other is a TV show idea, a comedy-drama focusing on a middle aged man and his family. My focus at the moment is really getting the structure right before I start writing dialogue and action and stuff.

'Look Both Ways' (2005) directed by Sarah Watt

Well acted, good characters, some cool animation. Felt pretty slow though, the pace of it was quite drawn out and given the film's focus on death, it felt pretty heavy going. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, still a good film. Just not a lot of action, more of a character piece.

'A Serious Man' (2009) directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

An incredibly complex film despite it's fairly simple plotline. It's full of mysterious loose threads, unexplained subplots, compelling peripheral characters and brief vignettes. It really feels like a Coen brothers film. I found it engaging and well put together but ultimately it was a little dissatisfying. I guess there were so many elements that I would have liked to have been carried through more but having said that, that's also part of the charm of the film. Not everything is spelled out or developed as you might expect, most of the really interesting stuff is only hinted at. There is no real conclusion to the film either, it kind of stops short, leaving things ambiguous. I'm still thinking about this film though, definitely thought provoking.

'Waltz With Bashir' (2008) directed by Ari Folman

Incredible film. Totally engrossing story and the animation is brilliant. It's an interesting pairing of story and animation, but it works really well. This film is totally original, like nothing I've seen before. It's visually so impressive and the ending is intense.

'Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs' (2009) directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller

I was initially not so keen on seeing this film. Based on the title and the previews, I thought it might be too much for kids. However, I really enjoyed it. It's smartly written, the concept works quite well and it's actually very funny. The characters feel well fleshed out and original, the story develops well and there's some really smart relationships and dialogue in this film. The 3D animation is great too, just a really enjoyable film.

'The Invention of Lying' (2009) directed by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson

Oh dear. This film sucks. The concept could probably have worked but it seems that the script wasn't anywhere near developed enough, leaving the film feeling really flat and monotone. It's full of little plot holes which would be easily overlooked if it was funny. But it isn't. I barely laughed at all. I just didn't care about the characters, the relationships felt unrealistic, the script was really lacking in jokes and even though it's full of awesome cameos, every single one feels wasted. The thing is, it's not particularly badly made, it's just clearly a bad script. Would have been the worst film of the year but then Rhys reminded me of 'Year One'. Even so, it's still a coin flip.

Sydney re-cap continued.

So Saturday we went to 'Homebake'. It was a great day but long and exhausting. We got there at about 11am and left after 11pm. Here's a rundown of who I saw.

• 'Boy & Bear' - Amelia's friend's band. They were really good, one of the best bands I saw actually.
• 'The Middle East' - Excellent. Really getting into this band.
• 'The Bumblebeez' - Just nuts, dudes dancing around in rabbit/skull masks.
• 'Underground Lovers' - Vince's band, was cool to see them at Homebake, had a brief chat to Vince afterwards.
• 'Eskimo Joe' - Not bad, wasn't really into it though.
• 'Hilltop Hoods' - Awesome set, it seemed pretty stripped back though. Live hip-hop is a totally different experience compared with listening to an album. There just aren't those same production elements, rather it's all about the performance. Great stuff.
• 'Jet' - Good live band but I'm really not into Jet. It didn't help that there were all these asshole Jet fans behind us being asshole Jet fans.
• 'Powderfinger' - Great way to end the night, we were in a prime position less than a metre from the front. Would've been even better if they'd played some of their earlier slower stuff but still, I'm quite liking the stuff from the new album.

That was about it, not including brief fragments of sets that you catch as you take a break. If the schedule was different, I would have loved to have seen 'Tumbleweed', Paul Dempsey, Sia and Sarah Blasko but inevitably at festivals, there are time clashes. By the end of the day our legs were totally wrecked. Went back to the hotel, jumped into the sauna followed by a quick swim. (we did this every night - brilliant) Thoroughly exhausting day.

On the Sunday, Nathan and Amelia picked Rhys and I up (Eleonora met us later on) and we headed to Manly. It's a weird name for a place, Manly. Had a bit of a wander round, ate a pub lunch and ended up at this little beach with this man-made rock/sea water swimming pool that was part of the beach. Cool day. That night we ate lasagne at the apartment and watched 'The 40 Year Old Virgin' on TV. And of course, had a sauna and a swim.

Monday was a day of very little. We kinda just hung out, stayed close to the apartment and saw another movie (see below). That evening we headed out to a bar to meet up with Amelia, but the line was pretty huge (especially for a Monday) so instead we went to a nearby pub, had a beer and played some pool. Amelia crashed at the apartment later on too.

Tuesday we took the train and the bus to Bondi Beach. It was about 35 degrees and the beach was pretty packed with people. I pretty much just relaxed, read a book in the sun. After that we went to 'Hurricanes' and got these mad burgers and ate them at a picnic table as seagulls bickered over the last of the chips.

Wednesday we headed for home, back to Sydney airport, back on the plane and by the afternoon we were all back in Melbourne. The week was a bit of a blur. We managed to cram a lot in, I reckon. Top week.

Oh, and it would be remiss of me not to mention the discovery of 'Mad Mike and Mark', an unintentionally hilarious show on Animal Planet that we became a bit obsessed with. Mad Mike and Mark are a pair of South African (actually I think Mad Mike was Botswanan) guys who travel around Africa taking photos of wild animals. The photos are usually really appalling, totally out of focus and badly framed but the main appeal of the show is the duo's relationship. They're kind of like competitive brothers but they also have a bit of a bickering married couple vibe to them. Anyway, it had Rhys and I impersonating them all week. Check it out.

'Zombieland' (2009) directed by Ruben Fleischer

Pretty good fun overall but not at all scary. By the end I think I felt a bit underwhelmed, like it was more style over substance. Still, I enjoyed it, particularly the Bill Murray cameo which has to go down as one of the greatest cameos of all time. Somehow I didn't feel that the four main characters really gelled as a group though, perhaps there was too much of a contrast between Woody Harrelson's "tough-as-rusty-nails-dipped-in-poison" Tallahassee and Jesse Eisenberg's "Woody Allen-straight-outta-grade-school" Columbus. I'm a sucker for zombie films though, particularly comedy zombie films so this is well worth a looksee.

Wow. I haven't posted for quite some time. But there's a good reason for it. I've been in Sydney! Here's a bit of a re-cap.

Rhys, Eleonora and I flew up and stayed in an apartment in the south of Sydney. It was a pretty good location, close to Central station and a shopping centre. The apartment was cool too, plus the place had a sauna, swimming pool and spa.

We flew Tiger and despite hearing some dodgy stories, I found them to be totally fine. Everything was on time, no issues at all. The train in Sydney to get from the airport to the city (a 10 minute train ride) was a massive rip off though.

The first night, we did some food shopping and picked up some booze and then went and watched a movie (see below).

The following day we headed to the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, just wandering around, sightseeing. Sydney totally blows me away every time I go. After that we headed over to the 'Hamish and Andy BYO Pool Party' where the queue to get in was getting huge. Still, we joined the queue and after a little while we got in and secured an awesome spot pretty close to both stages. What followed was a fair amount of waiting around and chilling. At one point I ventured out on a food finding expedition as we were all starving and returned with bountiful provisions. We were set and eventually the show got underway. It was really cool to see Hamish and Andy doing a live show, having been a fan of theirs for ages. Plus we got to see Powderfinger and John Butler Trio perform and we had a great spot. Megan Gale was there too, just kind of hanging around. The crowd there was big and filled with heaps of screaming teens. It seemed that any time any one mentioned the word 'Hamish', the crowd went nuts.

We were pretty exhausted, but that night we met up with Nathan, Lisa and Amelia, my Sydney buddies that I met in Europe. It was rad seeing them again, it's been a while. We went to Newtown and had dinner at the impressively named 'Thai-tanic' (best pun of the week) and then went to a bar for a quick drink. Called it a night early cos the next day was pretty huge.

'Where The Wild Things Are' (2009) directed by Spike Jonze

I thought this was great. Visually amazing, I loved the way that the wild things looked and the locations too. You could really pick the Australian landscape. The story is quite simple, there's not a lot of action, but the themes are actually pretty dark with the film focusing on the relationships between the wild things and the central character Max. The actor who played Max is a little bit annoying but still suited the character quite well. I'd like to see this again, it's almost hypnotic to watch.

I'll continue this re-cap in my next post.