James Bond is back later this month.
The publicity machine has already started rolling for the latest film Quantum of Solace, which will be out on October 31.
It will be Daniel Craig's second time playing Bond and his first outing as the secret agent in Casino Royale, was the most successful Bond movie of all.
Quantum of Solace is a sequel to Casino Royale. This time 007 is seeking revenge for the death of his lover Vesper Lynd in the last film.
The makers have copied a scene from Goldfinger in the new movie where Goldfinger's accomplice is killed by being covered in gold paint, after sleeping with James Bond. In the new movie the scene is similar but this time Gemma Arterton, who has been appearing in Tess of The D’Urbervilles, drowns in crude oil.
Quantum of Solace promises to have all the ingredients of a James Bond film: beautiful girls, plenty of action, fast cars and exotic locations.
What I didn’t like about the last film though was the lack of humour, it seemed to be too dark. In earlier Bond films the jokes provided some lighter moments. Roger Moore was the best at comedy.
In my opinion the stories are not as strong as they used to be either. The best Bond movies were those taken from Ian Fleming books such as: Goldfinger and Dr No.
But the latest release is something to look forward to as the nights draw in.
Wednesday, 8 October 2008
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
Fantastic flight
ONE story lifted the spirits last week.
It was the tale of Yves Rossy, aka Fusionman, who became the first human jet to fly the channel.
Fusionman took ten minutes to fly from Calais to Dover with the jet-propelled wing on his back.
The Swiss adventurer had very few instruments to help him and had no flight controls, just his body. To move the wing Mr Rossy had to move his head and limbs slightly.
The wing was built by Rossy in his garage.
It took me by surprise watching his flight across the channel on the TV last week.
Will his jet wing catch-on? It would be useful in a traffic jam.
Meanwhile two weeks ago America got their hands on the Ryder Cup for the first time this century.
Nick Faldo should shoulder the majority of the blame.
It looked like he was unable to generate the team spirit, which had played a major factor in Europe’s last three wins.
He also should have spread his best players out in the final singles. America gained momentum on the final day and this was to be crucial in their win.
Tuesday, 16 September 2008
We're still here
We are still here then.
Concerns that the whole world might be sucked into a black hole following an experiment to recreate the conditions after the Big Bang were proved to be wrong last week.
The Large Hadron Collider cost £5 billion, took 14 years to make and involved 10,000 researchers, but it left me thinking: what was the point?
Meanwhile the end of Summer sees new TV dramas being shown. And the return of old favourites.
The first episode in a new series of Casualty was broadcast on Saturday. I am usually a fan of Casualty, however I did not see the need for them to show someone being impaled.
Also we wait for weeks for a TV drama to come along and then two are shown on the same night, at the same time no less.
My gripe concerns last Sunday where Tess Of The D’Urbervilles was being shown on one side and Poirot on the other. Why couldn’t they have been shown on different nights?
Finally Liverpool has beaten Manchester United.
This match always proves to be an amazing sporting occasion and you can cut the tension with a knife. This game means a lot to both players and supporters. And for the first time in years Liverpool have the upper hand over United, although it is very early in the season.
Concerns that the whole world might be sucked into a black hole following an experiment to recreate the conditions after the Big Bang were proved to be wrong last week.
The Large Hadron Collider cost £5 billion, took 14 years to make and involved 10,000 researchers, but it left me thinking: what was the point?
Meanwhile the end of Summer sees new TV dramas being shown. And the return of old favourites.
The first episode in a new series of Casualty was broadcast on Saturday. I am usually a fan of Casualty, however I did not see the need for them to show someone being impaled.
Also we wait for weeks for a TV drama to come along and then two are shown on the same night, at the same time no less.
My gripe concerns last Sunday where Tess Of The D’Urbervilles was being shown on one side and Poirot on the other. Why couldn’t they have been shown on different nights?
Finally Liverpool has beaten Manchester United.
This match always proves to be an amazing sporting occasion and you can cut the tension with a knife. This game means a lot to both players and supporters. And for the first time in years Liverpool have the upper hand over United, although it is very early in the season.
Thursday, 4 September 2008
Faldo takes gamble on Poulter
SO Nick Faldo has gone for Ian Poulter as his wild card Ryder Cup pick over Darren Clarke and Colin Montgomerie.
Poulter’s inclusion in the Ryder Cup has been seen as a gamble in many quarters because Montgomerie had played in eight successive matches, never losing a Ryder Cup singles.
And Clarke had experienced a successful partnership with Lee Westwood that had won six points from a possible eight in Ryder Cup matches.
In the last month Clarke has seen a return to form and he picked up his 19th professional title recently.
Many believed Poulter had already been given the nod by Faldo, because Poulter didn’t try and qualify outright for a Ryder Cup place at Gleneagles. However Poulter and Faldo had been quick to deny this accusation.
Poulter is also above Montgomerie and Clarke on the world rankings and had impressed last month at The Open at Birkdale.
It is said he will be paired with Justin Rose and only time will tell if this partnership will gel.
Europe, who have won the last three encounters, will start as favourites for this year’s cup, even thought the competition is being played in America.
But maybe the Americans will come together more as a team without Tiger Woods, who is injured. Woods is one of the greatest golfers of all time, although he never seems to excel in a team.
If Europe are to retain the Cup, they will be looking to Padraig Harrington (The Open and USPGA winner) and Sergio Garcia to play lead roles.
Poulter’s inclusion in the Ryder Cup has been seen as a gamble in many quarters because Montgomerie had played in eight successive matches, never losing a Ryder Cup singles.
And Clarke had experienced a successful partnership with Lee Westwood that had won six points from a possible eight in Ryder Cup matches.
In the last month Clarke has seen a return to form and he picked up his 19th professional title recently.
Many believed Poulter had already been given the nod by Faldo, because Poulter didn’t try and qualify outright for a Ryder Cup place at Gleneagles. However Poulter and Faldo had been quick to deny this accusation.
Poulter is also above Montgomerie and Clarke on the world rankings and had impressed last month at The Open at Birkdale.
It is said he will be paired with Justin Rose and only time will tell if this partnership will gel.
Europe, who have won the last three encounters, will start as favourites for this year’s cup, even thought the competition is being played in America.
But maybe the Americans will come together more as a team without Tiger Woods, who is injured. Woods is one of the greatest golfers of all time, although he never seems to excel in a team.
If Europe are to retain the Cup, they will be looking to Padraig Harrington (The Open and USPGA winner) and Sergio Garcia to play lead roles.
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
The X-Factor is back
A TOTAL of 182,000 people put their names forward to be on this year’s X-Factor.
And after watching the show on Saturday it looks like most of them were rubbish.
The audition episodes are usually the most entertaining.
The people who appear on it think they can sing and when they are told by the panel they were awful, they look shell-shocked.
It is always funny to see the look of horror on the faces of the panel, when they have to sit through a bad audition.
Two men even had to be escorted off by the bouncer, because they would not take no for an answer. The Rick Astley impersonator was passable, but his friend was laughable.
Occasionally though, someone appears on the show who has a fantastic voice.
Sharon Osbourne is no longer a panellist on the X-Factor and the new judge is Cheryl Cole of Girls Aloud. She is very similar in personality to Dannii Minogue and I am not sure if she will work as well as Sharon Osbourne. But I bet there will be a few clashes between the two of them in forthcoming weeks.
The most interesting part of the show was when Cheryl was confronted with a fellow contestant from Popstars:The Rivals. The difference in the fortunes between the two was staggering.
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
New England cricket captain
THE announcement of Kevin Pietersen as England cricket captain might have been seen as a surprise to some people, but I think his leadership has brought a breath of fresh air to the team.
Michael Vaughan's first spell as captain was very successful and led to England regaining The Ashes in 2005. However his second spell was tired and it was if he had run out of ideas.
Vaughan was at one time one of the leading batters in the world, but in the latest series against South Africa he had failed to make any significant innings of note.
By contrast Pietersen made 100 in his first innings at The Oval and hit 94 at Edgbaston, before being caught trying to hit a six to reach his 100.
Critics of Pietersen have said he is too selfish and showy to be captain, but in this latest test his hands-on approach has helped bowlers, such as Harmison who had been out of favour with selectors.
He is also very vocal in the field and quick to offer a word of encouragement to a member of his team, if he feels that they need it.
Meanwhile, walking into HMV at lunchtime recently I made the observation – although I may be wrong – that they are selling less CDs. It seemed they had more DVDs and less albums. I thought to myself why could this be?
The only answer I could come up with is that more people are now downloading their music instead of buying it in a shop.
I also think that shoppers must be buying more DVDs than CDs.
Will CDs go the way of vinyl and audio cassettes and video cassettes?
Michael Vaughan's first spell as captain was very successful and led to England regaining The Ashes in 2005. However his second spell was tired and it was if he had run out of ideas.
Vaughan was at one time one of the leading batters in the world, but in the latest series against South Africa he had failed to make any significant innings of note.
By contrast Pietersen made 100 in his first innings at The Oval and hit 94 at Edgbaston, before being caught trying to hit a six to reach his 100.
Critics of Pietersen have said he is too selfish and showy to be captain, but in this latest test his hands-on approach has helped bowlers, such as Harmison who had been out of favour with selectors.
He is also very vocal in the field and quick to offer a word of encouragement to a member of his team, if he feels that they need it.
Meanwhile, walking into HMV at lunchtime recently I made the observation – although I may be wrong – that they are selling less CDs. It seemed they had more DVDs and less albums. I thought to myself why could this be?
The only answer I could come up with is that more people are now downloading their music instead of buying it in a shop.
I also think that shoppers must be buying more DVDs than CDs.
Will CDs go the way of vinyl and audio cassettes and video cassettes?
Tuesday, 5 August 2008
The Dark Knight
THE new Batman film – The Dark Knight – kept me on the edge of the seat when I watched it last week.
I remember going to watch the original Batman film almost 20 years ago at the cinema and being mesmerised by that film too.
It never seemed as good when I watched it again when it was shown on TV a few years later.
I think Blockbusters have to be seen at the cinema and it is only here that you pick up all the sounds and images.
I was surprised to see that the film was a 12A though.
A 12A certificate means that children of 12 can watch it unaccompanied, and younger children can go to watch it if they are with their parents.
Apparently the British Board of Film classification has already received 70 complaints about the film.
In certain parts of the film parents have had to put their hands over their children’s eyes.
Scenes that parents have complained about include one where a man’s eye is jabbed with a pencil.
Another scene to cause concern is where The Joker graphically tells how he has knifed people.
In the original Batman film Jack Nicholson played the Joker for laughs in some scenes, Heath Ledger’s portrayal is equally brilliant, but much darker.Critics have also said there are scenes of “gratuitous violence” in the Dark Knight.
I remember going to watch the original Batman film almost 20 years ago at the cinema and being mesmerised by that film too.
It never seemed as good when I watched it again when it was shown on TV a few years later.
I think Blockbusters have to be seen at the cinema and it is only here that you pick up all the sounds and images.
I was surprised to see that the film was a 12A though.
A 12A certificate means that children of 12 can watch it unaccompanied, and younger children can go to watch it if they are with their parents.
Apparently the British Board of Film classification has already received 70 complaints about the film.
In certain parts of the film parents have had to put their hands over their children’s eyes.
Scenes that parents have complained about include one where a man’s eye is jabbed with a pencil.
Another scene to cause concern is where The Joker graphically tells how he has knifed people.
In the original Batman film Jack Nicholson played the Joker for laughs in some scenes, Heath Ledger’s portrayal is equally brilliant, but much darker.Critics have also said there are scenes of “gratuitous violence” in the Dark Knight.
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