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Cult Fiction - September 2006

X-Men 2

September 29th 2006 10:36
X-Men 2 (2003)


Well, here's something you don't see everyday. A sequel that far excels the original. After the disappointing 'Daredevil' it was good to see that comic franchises weren’t completely doomed.

The film picks up almost immediately from where the last one left off, following Wolverine's search for his origins. From the beginning, with it's explosive introduction of Nightcrawler, it's clear that this is going to be an interesting and action-packed ride. The film picks up the metaphorical ball and doesn't stop running with it. At all. I was worried that there would be too many characters, what with nearly all the originals returning plus a whole bunch of new mutants, as well as a new non-mutant villain. My fears were completely unfounded though, various subplots and themes intertwine throughout, making the film completely satisfying in terms of character-time and plot development. Even Storm is given something to do without shitting up the rest of the film.


The acting, well, the acting doesn't really come into it does it? Hahaha. No, but seriously, there isn't really any shit performances. Alan Cumming is a lot better than I would've given him credit for in the role of Nightcrawler. My opinion of him shot through the roof on this one. The new younger mutants were all fine, even if Collossus was only featured briefly. Still, it was nice to see him rather than not see him at all. Ian McKellen is underused as Magneto, but was still great nonetheless. Cyclops and the no-name actor who plays him was thankfully relegated to the sideline. Oh, and Rebecca-Romjin Stamos was excellent as Mystique. Her character was probably my least favourite in the first film, but she has all the best lines and bits in 'X-Men 2'.


It's a credit to director Bryan Singer that he managed to pull this off so brilliantly when there was so much going on in the film; so many characters, plot threads, etc, etc. The script is lightyears ahead of it's predecessor.

TRIVIA: There are apparently some cameos from other mutants in the movie, such as Jubilee and Beast. I didn't spot them though, so it's second-hand information. There is a Jubilee in the cast list though so she must be in there somewhere.
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Fear Her

September 28th 2006 10:27
Drawings come alive! Shock! Horror!


Last week's episode of Doctor Who, 'Fear Her', was probably the least-interesting, most uninspired and all-round boring episode of the new Doctor Who to be made yet. Whereas 'New Earth' and 'Love and Monsters' had elements that really irritated me, this episode - 'Fear Her' - is so pedestrian that I just didn't care.

The Doctor and Rose land in yet another UK council estate. This time it's 2012 and England has the Olympics - oh wow, what an amazing backdrop for an episode. I'm sorry but I really am bored by the entire premise of this episode. There's a girl and she's possessed by an alien entity that gives her the ability to trap people in drawings and to create drawings that come off the page and attack people... at one point the Doctor and Rose are attacked by a bit of scribble. I'm serious. It comes off like a bad, low-budget episode of the X-Files.

The concept of the alien featured in this episode was mildly intriguing, but I'm just so sick of seeing the Doctor hanging about in modern-day London. It's so boring, boring, boring! He has a time machine that can go anywhere and to any time, and yet we see the same places over and over again.

The only mildly redeeming part of this episode was the bit where the Doctor mentions being a Dad... but it's so offhanded and doesn't really have anything to do with the episode so it hardly saves it. It was just cool to hear the Doctor say that he had kids of his own once. Sounds like they're setting something up!

Anyway, this episode was just a bit of inoffensive fluff really. Not really interesting, not really entertaining. Can't wait for next week's episode though... the cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers it seems!
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Naomi Robson - is she a moll?

September 27th 2006 10:15

Naomi Robson 'off-camera' remarks reel - click to watch footage of Naomi mouthing off.

Not content with just reporting on it, it seems Robson can't keep out of the news either. With her scuffle with Indonesian authorities as the latest feather in her cap, we can add it to her Infamous Swearing Tape and the Case of the Drug-Dealing Boyfriend as the latest in a long line of profile-damaging faux-pas'.

But is it all that bad?

After watching the above reel I actually found her endearing! She seems like a real person... I'd watch Today Tonight more often (or at all) if she presented it in such a carefree and conversational manner Throwing in a 'bullshit' or an 'arsehole' wherever a story warranted it, not being afraid to wisecrack at the expense of her demographic. Ahhh... Naomi, you seem like a swell chick after all! A boozing, brawling, tell-it-like-is moll! Good stuff.

Unfortunately, Channel 7 insists on having her apologise and backfoot and continue the whole hypocrite thing. Such a shame.
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Extras Series 2

September 26th 2006 06:29


Well, the second episode of the second series of Extras went to air just the other night in the UK. I didn't realise the second series would be upon us so soon


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Poolhall Junkies

September 25th 2006 12:36
Poolhall Junkies (2002)


'Poolhall Junkies' is one of those films with a hip-looking cover and name. The sort of film that makes you go 'Er! Who do they think they are!' when you look at the cover… like it’s trying so hard to be all cool and ‘Lock Stock’ish. But eventually I had to give in and succumb to marketing, and so I checked it out


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Star Trek films - from Worst to Best

September 22nd 2006 11:31
Today I'm going to rank the ten Star Trek films in order of personal preference from worst to best.

10. Final Frontier


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Inferno

September 21st 2006 11:13
Inferno (1970)


This Doctor Who story can be found on DVD out and about at the moment, I think it was released just in the last month or three


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Vic Bitter

September 20th 2006 11:06
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Degrassi

September 19th 2006 10:43


As if Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High aren't the greatest shows ever! I used to watch these shows religiously when I was a kid and I was over the proverbial moon when all the episodes started getting released on DVD just recently. Suffice to say, I snapped them all up and watched them in no time


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Love and Monsters

September 18th 2006 10:19
The Abzorbaloff

What can I say about last week's Doctor Who episode? I'm not entirely sure what to think of it... half of me enjoyed it and loved it's fun attitude and willingness to break new ground in Doctor Who, the other half of me hated it for being a tremendous pile of self-serving arsery!

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The Matrix Revolutions

September 14th 2006 07:35
The Matrix Revolutions (2003)


Expectations are a hard thing to meet. I suspected ‘The Matrix’ might have had some problems in wrapping up one of the most ambitious and complex through-lines to be seen in film so far, at the time of watching 'The Matrix Reloaded' I had complete faith that the bold ideas outlined within that movie would be resolved accordingly here, or that at least it was too hard to judge Part 2 of a trilogy without seeing the final part. Either way, I have to say I'm somewhat disappointed at the overall result


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The Matrix Reloaded

September 13th 2006 07:09
The Matrix Reloaded (2003)


This was (with the possible exception of 'Lord of the Rings') my most anticipated film for a good four years. That I had to wait four days or so after it came out to finally see it was almost torture. I set about trying to avoid any sort of discussion of the film and refused knowledge of all reviews. I didn't even want to know what other people thought of it (!) until I had seen it myself


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The Matrix

September 12th 2006 10:56
The Matrix (1999)


I've always liked this movie, it took me (and a lot of other people) by surprise when it first came out, and it's stood up to a lot of re-watching, and still does. Anyone unfamiliar with the plot need not know anything more than that this is a science-fiction opus, combining the cyberpunk genre with groundbreaking special-effects, east-meets-west action, shamanistic & judeo-christian mythology and a depth of philosophical understanding seldom matched within mainstream western sci-fi cinema (at least, at the time of it’s release


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Star Trek: Nemesis

September 11th 2006 09:33
Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)


I'm not exactly a huge Star Trek fan, but I don't pretend that I never watch it. I've seen quite a fair bit actually, and have enjoyed it for the most part. This movie however... eh


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New James Bond trailer

September 10th 2006 01:42
Wasn't gonna post anything today but then I saw this and I thought 'hey yo, this shit be up yo!'

No, not really, I didn't think that


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The Mark of the Rani

September 9th 2006 08:50
The Mark of the Rani (1985, Season 22)

So... The Mark of the Rani is coming out on DVD. I gotta say this upfront - as far as television goes, The Mark of the Rani is pretty bad. My favourite episode of Doctor Who it aint.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger goes nuts

September 8th 2006 08:22
Click on picture to watch video

This is one of the craziest things I have ever seen. It's Arnold Schwarzenegger doing some kind of advertisment for a Japanese drink that apparently makes you a king of confidence. Arnie is turned from an embarressed nerd to some kind of glittering maniac.

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Howl's Moving Castle

September 7th 2006 08:30
Howl's Moving Castle (2004)


A few days ago I finally got around to watching Howl's Moving Castle. There's something about Hiyao Miyazaki's films that ignite the inner child in me... they transport me back to when I was 8 years old and enraptured in Saturday morning cartoons. Back to a time when I could lose myself completely in what I was watching and I didn't have any worries at all in the whole entire world. That's a pretty big feat for a filmmaker to achieve, I'm sure it's not just me that these films have affected... Miyazaki's films (and to a lesser extent, the other Studio Ghibli films) are pretty huge and well loved across the world. I'm kind of glad I didn't see these when I was a kid... it's left me something truly wonderful to discover in my adulthood


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Chad Vader - Day Shift Manager

September 5th 2006 08:54
Click on picture to watch video


Chad Vader isn't your typical Sith Lord. He's the mightiest and most evil day shift manager at the local supermarket. His arch nemesis, Clint, is the night shift manager. Vader must keep an eye on his staff, get a date, and face Clint if he's to remain effective in his job


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The Impossible Planet

September 4th 2006 08:48


Well, last Saturday's episode of Doctor Who was an absolute corker and one of the best of the season so far


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Daredevil

September 1st 2006 13:40
Daredevil (2003)


It seems that we can't go a couple of weeks without a comic-book film being released these days. Not that I'm complaining; some of the most entertaining and fun films I've ever seen have been based on comics. But (oh yes, there's a 'but'), as Daredevil proves, the formula can get tired pretty quickly


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