Capote

Well, I thought the whole exploration of the death penalty theme would have been fascinating. The character acting was superb, yes, the actual nature of the subject, and my sleepiness, yet again, consipired against much enjoyment or appreciation of the film. The film may have been worth giving a five or a six, I can only though award it a two since I saw less than half of it.

A Cock and Bull Story

Well I'm not a massive fan of Steve Coogan, but since it was the only option considering I was in the mood for some comedy, I thought I'd give it my best attention. There were moments that I adored: especially the upstaging concern he has over the height of his co-star's shoe heel. 'Its not an ego thing' he says about a hundred times! The humour didn't get much beyond that, so it was in many ways a feature length vehicle for the Partridgesque satire on narcissistic, self-obsessed tendencies. The exposition of the Tristram Shandy narrative was at times compelling and at other moments given over to dullness (which added to the effect). I'd still only give it a six and half though, with bite.

Little Britain Series One

I've been catching up with Little Britain over the last three months having never watched more than a fraction of an episode previously. I have been suitably entertained and amazed by a humour that beats Chris Morris and the Trigger Happy approach to sickeningly accurate portrayals of faulty ways of living. The different with the makers of LB is that they show up our own foibles and behaviours, mediated to us through the most tasteless of characters -- its funny because it reminds us of ourselves. Take for instance 'the only gay in the village' its much more to do with wanting to be special than it is to do with sexuality for me -- I can still picture him blocking the door to the pub on the first 'gay night' he puts on, appalled at the crowds who turn up to join him.

Garden State

There are many things I appreciated about this film. Its quirkiness especially. I loved the youthfulness of the writer / male lead / director and his approach on the psycho-babble nonsense. I loved the solution to facing the catastrophic circumstances of his family circumstances: the speech to his father near the end of the film was a remarkable piece of breathtaking understated truth telling. The romance side of things was lovely, and contrasted elegantly with the odd and unpleasant character traits of many of his friends. I also enjoyed watching the cut scenes and listening to a few bits of the commentary too. Gets a 8 and a half I think!

I Capture the Castle

Amusing and decidedly quirky look on the nature of romantic love from the perspective of a young woman becoming an adult in the context of peculiarly dysfunctional 1930s artistic family. Although I only laughed out loud a couple of times I was grinning for most of it. 8/10

Anthony Gormley 'Sound II' Winchester Cathedral

It was a surprise to chance on this during a tour. Modelled on Gormley's own body, it is moving for its placing, the angle in relation to the Cathedral, and because for much of the winter it can be up to its shins or knees in water. 8/10

Goodnight and Good Luck

I had been driving most of the afternoon and early evening. This combined with a pre-film glass of wine meant I only saw the first five minutes. Was very glad of the eighty eight minutes of shut-eye I got. The friend I was with said I hadn't missed much. So 8/10 for the comfy seat, and 10/10 for the insomnia cure.