The Great Big Movie Review

I've seen so many good movies lately. Sky Box Office did a deal showing two Walter Salles films for the price of one. Sadly, I barely made it through the Motorcycle Diaries without nodding off, although that wasn't because it was boring or anything. I was just knackered. I didn't even get to find out what the other film was. From what I did see though, the Motorcycle Diaries is beautifully filmed and Gael Garcia Bernal's amazing performance provides a memorable insight into the compassionate nature of the infamous Che Guevara.

Whilst Lando C was away, I finally got round to watching Pot Luck that had been lent to me by my neighbour months and months ago. I wasn't sure what to make of this one. I really enjoyed watching the interaction between the characters who all come to live in Barcelona from across Europe. It reminded me of Ultimate in many ways, the respect and tolerance for people from other nations running in parallel with the sustained belief that where you come from is best. I also enjoyed how the film was put together, some parts seemingly influenced by Jeunet and Caro. I did feel uncomfortable with the character "William" though, played by Kevin Bishop. His whole purpose in the movie was geared towards representing the British male as an ignorant, almost xenophobic, loud-mouthed, free-loader emphasised with a drunken vomit and piss in the street scene. And a great job he did too. Perhaps the whole character leaned too heavily on a cheap shot at a stereotype for my liking. Or maybe the representation was a little close to home.

Over the weekend, we watched three fantastic DVD's in an attempt to escape the real world but in a completely challenging and thought-provoking way. No guns, bombs, car chases, terrorists, JLo or drug wars here. The Aviator, Garden State and I Heart Huckabees took over instead and they were all brilliant. Since Titanic, I've (probably unfairly) given Leo a wide birth, but in The Aviator, I totally forgot about him as his portrayal of Howard Hughes was not only convincing but completely compelling.

As ever, I fell asleep during I Heart Huckabees and watched the second half the next night. I think that was a big mistake though because maybe, somehow, I missed the vital part of the movie which helps it all make sense in the end. However, I dig any film that tries to deal with existentialism in a totally humorous and straightforward manner without over doing it on the special effects and left-of-field plots. Maybe a second viewing is in order.

My favorite of the weekend was Zach Braff's Garden State. It reminded me of when Lando C goes home to Sault Ste. Marie every couple of years and how far removed he must feel from his friends and his parents who rarely, if ever, leave town. Apparently the movie is part-fiction and part-biographical which is marginally disturbing, especially as there is no obvious way to tell which part is which. I would like to think that Zach's real life hasn't been so tragic as this, although it is also wonderful to think that the nice parts may have really happened to him. Whatever the truth, he has come through the other side as the most talented young actor and director with many stories to tell representative of our lives and our generation. One for the Christmas list.

A Cycle of Gardening Misdemeanors

I had a wonderful weekend just passed. Most of the time was spent avoiding the gym and playing in the garden. It's quite difficult tending to someone else's garden, not quite knowing what has been planted where and whether one pull too many will destroy an entire eco-system. A few months ago I pulled up a heap of silver ground creeper that had started to colonize most of the back garden to realise shortly afterwards that it kept down a far more deadly creeping weed which has now killed off everything in its path. I've tried to reset the balance again by pulling up the offending plant so we'll see what happens next.

Setting myself a budget of £30.00, I headed off on Sunday to the local nursery to get some low-cost plants that we could also take with us when we leave here in the Autumn. Luckily we have heaps of terracota pots left over from previous gardening failures so I didn't have to spend money containing what I had bought and Jo had some spare tiles lying around that could be made into steps on the empty muddy slope at the front.

Just 14p over budget, I was able to buy 5 different herbs (Basil, Dill, Chives, hot and spicy Taragon, Mint), a Limonium plant (reminds me of my trip to Arizona), an unknown flowering succulent (I may regret that one), a Strawberry Parfait Dianthus, four Scarlet Geraniums, six assorted Nicotina plants and a Penstemon Pensham called "Avon Belle". Oh and I also got a new hanging basket to replace Jo's that had weathered and disintegrated and some compost. It occurred to me afterwards that apart from the Penstemon, most of my choices represent a smorgersboard of delight for the slugs and snails in the garden and with the Nicontina plants they get a choice of smokes afterwards too. The cycle of empty terracota pots and gardening misdemeanors continues...

In the meantime, the Reticule website has been a fantastic resource for identifying the wild flowers growing on the garden. I still don't know what this one below is called though.

Get me some Wonka-Vite!

Must go to the new Roald Dahl Museum at some point now that it has opened. From the website, it looks fascinating and the cafe looks intriguing. And another movie for the list - Tim Burton's recreation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory out in July I think. The Flash Site is beautiful and makes you want to head for the candy and be a kid again! Johnny Depp is so perfectly cast as Willy Wonka - the only actor I know who is totally hot but can completely creep me out at the same time. Also worth a visit is the Roald Dahl Offical Website brought to life with Quentin Blake Illustrations.

Completely unrelated - Julian Beever's 3D Pavement Drawings mess with your head. I particularly like:



and



Dick van Dyke eat your heart out!

Rivers of Profanity

Ok, so I can still hear...just, but my ankle really is knackered. I certainly didn't see a "beer injury" coming out of last weeks activities but it certainly became a feature of it. It doesn't feel as bad as the Glastonbury (tournament not festival) injury but it is more colourful with lots of purple bruising about to turn a shade of nicotine yellow. For most of the week I tended to fall on my feet but by the end I was just plain falling over.

I was going to post up a photograph of the offending ankle but let's look at something more pleasant instead.



It's poppy madness in the garden at the moment, which is just as well because the flowers only last a day or two before all the petals drop off. Soon all that will be left is a haze of poppy skeletons with explosive heads bursting their seeds everywhere to continue their circle of existence.

So time for gig round up then. Ben Folds started the week of with an amazing set opened up for him by the brilliant and very honest Clem Snide. I most enjoyed Ben Fold's cover of Dr. Dre's "Bitches ain't shit" which you can see a version of courtesy of College Humor. As Lando C commented, "It was a river of profanity" set to the beautiful sound of a grand piano. Hilarious. I manage to get my mitts on some more gig memorabilia too (I hate that phrase - any suggestions?) stealing the set list from one of the roadies. I think I'm going to organise a set on Flickr for all my souvenir plectrums (plectri?), set lists, drumsticks etc.

U2 kicked off Tuesday. I had another one of those "being in the right place at the right time" moments when I saw a crowd of about 10 people legging it out of the stadium to a food enclosure.

The security guards outside were giving out yellow wristbands and I dived in for one. Lando C tried to hold me back saying "You don't even know what they are for...what are you doing!". "Are you kidding?" I asked. "Just get the bloody wristband and ask questions later!". It just so happened that these wristbands gave us access to the Ellipse pitt enclosure at the very front of the stage. Look forward in the enclosure and you will see Bono making his way towards you along a large catwalk. He is so close, you can touch his mullet. Look back from the enclosure and you will see 40,000 fans squished up against the main barriers behind you. They are so far away, you can hardly see them wanting to kill you.

Entry number two into the Paradise Circus: Best Kept Secrets 2005: How to really get into the Ellipse at a U2 Concert? Not this way. This way - When you see a crowd running together at a gig, you don't just let them pass you by, join them because they obviously know something you don't and you will really want to be in on it.

Greenday ended it all in explosive style. This gig was great but I am not sure I enjoyed it as much as the 70,000 people stood around me. After a while Billie Joe's "Come on England!" and "Waahay! Wayho" repeated in chant around the stadium started to wear a little thin. And when they started to cover "Shout" known mainly in the UK as a Lulu and hen night classic - I felt that I'd accidentally strolled into a Robbie Williams concert. Don't get me wrong, musically Greenday are right there right now, it's just that they have sold out a little on stage.

Entry number 3 into Paradise Circus: Best Kept Secrets 2005 - The Premier Inn, Furzton, Milton Keynes. If you are going to spend a small fortune on tickets to a gig at one of the UK's largest venues, why not go the whole hog and book a room at the nearest hotel by a lake within 5 minutes walk of the stadium. And when 35,000 cars try to leave Milton Keynes at the end of the event, don't be one of them stuck getting out. Head to the hotel bar, buy a beer and relax. Perfect!

Impending Deafness

We have many appointments with amps of varying shapes and sizes this week and I look forward to my impending deafness and permanent ringing in the ears.

Tonight we're going to see Ben Folds at the Octagon, Sheffield. It's a rescheduled date from last year and I'm looking forward to reliving some old memories in my university town. Tomorrow night we go to see U2 in Manchester. This is a surprise gift from Lando C - who didn't take me to see them the last time he had tickets... At last his misdemeanors may be forgiven. No really, I am the luckiest girl in the world! That concert is going to be huge.

Finally, on Sunday we're going to see Greenday in Milton Keynes at some big festival of rock where no doubt drum kits (and ear drums) will be destroyed in their honour. We're staying at a hotel that night. I love staying at hotels.

Seeing all these bands made me think about the gigs I am missing this time round who I'd really like to see. Although I really appreciate my road trip ahead - it's always about what you can't have isn't it? A trip to Ebay may be in store, especially as we aren't going to T in the Park this year.

Here's the missed list:

• The Arcade Fire
• Brendan Benson
• The Doves
• Interpol
• Kaiser Chiefs
• Thirteen Senses

Comic Book Cactus Juicer

This is my latest great Ebay find. It cost about £2.20 and is made of wonderful moulded plastic in a matt finish. It's very kitsch.

Lando C thought I did a Sin City on this picture. We went to see the movie last night and it was awesome. Nearly as good as that other movie from this year.