mockney piers

I'm quite enjoying this, it's a bit better than the previous series. Thank gawd no Saskia Reeves* this time. Enjoyable tosh, just like Spooks, which it's not surprising to learn is done by the same folks. *I'm actually quite partial to our Saskia, but she was just awful in Luther.

In fact the doctor quoted there is the one who described the breastfeeding regime as chaotic. She obviously feels bad that her findings have contributed to the situation and is speaking out, but she obviously doesn't have all the information to hand. http://www.elpais.com/articulo/sociedad/Separada/hija/darle/pecho/elpepusoc/20110608elpepusoc_9/Tes And neither do I so I'm inclined not to prejudge the situation. There's a judicial investigation to ensure things have been done right. http://www.elpais.com/articulo/sociedad/fiscalia/pide/juez/informe/medico/psicosocial/Habiba/elpepusoc/20110620elpepusoc_10/Tes Mistakes do occur and when children are removed from a parent it better be for very very good reasons (and ideally should be placed with family, but I guess as she's Moroccan she may not have any support network in the country) but then noone wants a Baby P to happen through inaction do they. Damned if you do....

Rumour has it that Clement and Le Frenais of Likely Lads and Auf Wiedersehen Pet fame rescued the script for The Rock, and that they are uncredited rescuers of quite a number of Hollywood scripts. I watched their Killing Bono the other day. It passed the time adequately but they didn't recapture their Commitments magic. I'm digressing again aren't I.

Oooh, oooh, The Rock. Quality action film.

Has anybody seen Windtalkers? I challenge anybody to name a worse war film or worse acting than Nicholas Cage in that one. Although admittedly Captain Correli's Mandolin and Nicholas Cage once again both come close.

Actually I didn't like SPR at all. Apart from two stomach clenching actions scenes which admittedly are handled brilliantly, the rest of the film felt hammy. It was much more the successor of some of the films made during world war two that betrayed their stage origins like The Eve of St Mark than it was a modern war film. Mind you they got it absolutely right on Band of Brothers, I imagine having some of the original soldiers and Stephen Ambrose as consultants on set helped a great deal with that.

I read the story on the day and it was utterly heart breaking. I guess there are as many reasons for getting into addiction as there are human beings in this world. At school many parents would probably have considered me the wrong crowd, but I was just another youth experimenting with the widening boundaries of the world, as were many of my friends. I think most come out the other side relatively unscarred. I certainly didn't do anything I considered dodgy (certainly not hard drugs) but then my parents would still have been horrified at the things I did do (I know because we've discussed it subsequently); I think though mine was a pretty typical middle class, middle England suburban tale of boredom if you ask me. Most of my friends dabbled in drugs and crime at some point to a greater or lesser degree and most have come out the other side fine upstanding members of society*. I did lose some friends on the way, two to heroin overdoses, and I don't think they had deep seated issues that drove them to addiction, they just made bad decisions and or were unlucky and paid the ultimate price. Now as a parent I know that sooner or later the mocklet (well he'll just be the mock by then I guess) will come face to face with the real world and I hope I'll have helped him to achieve the maturity to navigate safely, as I guess my parents had for me. *I've talked to the chief strategist at the Youth Justice Board when I worked there and he felt very strongly that kids shouldn't be criminalised, that even good kids will smash a window or let down the odd tyre or shoplift a bit and will still grow up to be good people. Currently we have the balance all wrong and that shoving them through the heavy handed youth team/youth justice system can be too damaging, but that's a debate for another thread I guess.

Talking of Korean films, I'm wondering whether war films are a subset of action flicks, ort whether it entirely depends on the film. It's Brotherhood that brings it to mind. Huge action set pieces, although the pitch of the film quickly rises to lunatic and never relents. I'm reminded of Sam Pekinaph too, action? Not sure. Again, generally lunatic though. But then I guess you have much more contemplative approaches to war films such as The Thin Red Line.

Ahhh, Juno, not an action film but mighty mighty fine. In a similar vein, Ghost World. We digress though.

It's written and directed by the same chap who did Spaced. Admittedly you can be a bit cleverer in an 8 episode low budget late night sit com noone was expecting much from, but much of the approach was quite similar. Plus when you consider how many good films good English writer-directors have made in Hollywood....go on, name them. Bruce Robinson of Killing Fields and Withnail & I fame went to America and did.....Jennifer Eight anyone? Then errr went home. In terms of that Edgar Wright hasn't had a bad stab, though he's probably reading the Evening Standard employment pages as we speak.

I'm a little surprised at that as I had some full on belly laughs. Maybe you have to be a geeky gaming horror buff, cinefile with muso leanings and a soft spot for Toronto to enjoy it. Kind of a niche market I'm guessing.

Batman Begins, starts well, develops ok, third act falls off something sheer and tall to an abyss far below. Dark Knight was ok, I don't know, just a bit meh. Want to see Kickass but haven't yet. Can I recommend Scott Pilgrim vs the World again? Not strictly speaking action, though as it's about a chap who has to fight the 7 eveil exes in order to win her heart it can't be far off.

It's consonantist if you ask me!!!

tbh the first one is pretty poor too in retrospect, though a colossus of cinema in comparison to the sequels. Zardoz, don't do it!!! Is Princess Bride action? It is class however.

Atrocity Exhibition - Joy Division If Only Tonight We Could Sleep - The Cure Never Had No One Ever - The Smiths yeeeeah paaartayyyyy!

Almost Bob, I watched LW1 a few months back and was surprised by how awful it was to a grown up me. Similarly I caught Logan's Run on Film Four recently. I'd seen that when I was about 9 and thought it the most profound piece of cinema I'd ever see. Oh dear god how wrong I was!!!! Jenny Agutter was still fit mind!

I liked the Lethal Weapon films when I was young but they have not aged well, that hair, that 'portable' phone!!! Or maybe I just grew up a bit.

Ooh Con Air, hugely silly fun "DWhy couldn't you put the bunny back in the box?". Also had its world premiere in Letchworth rather unbelievably.

I'm pretty sure this forum reached critical mass because of its childishness rather than its pofacedness.

Wow DJ, I realise your pathological need to be right means you can't retract anything, but you really do dig holes deep when you try to justify some of the crap you come out with.

How do we define action film? Brainless rollercoaster ride? In which case probably not many good ones no, but it seems unfair on the genre to remove the good subdivisions like heist and thriller. Would Bullit or even the Great Escape count as action films? I like to think so. Heist films are surely usually action films aren't they (maybe not so much in the heyday of intelligent cinema (early to mid 70s before star wars ruined everything and introduced the Blockbuster) think Dog Day Afternoon). Anyhoo, Hong Kong cinema has loads of great films, even John Woo who has yet to make a good one in Hollywood managed some classics. The Matrix (Keanu...again?!?!) really was rather good, though the less said about the sequels the better I guess. Never could stand the Speed films, though the Father Ted pastiche is one of the greats.

I would have thought that custody should go to the best parent for the child irrespective of gender, and where possible some degree of shared custody should be encouraged; I don't see why it should be all or nothing.

"For centuries women have been subjegated to the role of mother - it's a bit late now to start arguing the opposite." Wow, way to go feminism in changing those outdated social attitudes!! Or is this a cake and eat it situation?

I've liked E Milliband for quite a while, I thought he was one of the few genuinely capable people in Brown's gov't and he seemed earnest and even (unthinkable under blair and anathema under Brown) occasioanlly admitted that the gov't got things wrong. But, and I hate to say it because politics should be about more than appearance and spin, he's just not very good at this leadership stuff. You don't get any clear sense of direction and he hasn't really capitalised on a whole bunch of badly thought out olicies, u turns etc. Having said that I'd actually think about voting for them, something I would never have considered under Blair or Brown and he was right, strategically, to distant himself and the party from that era. He just needs to say what they is* as well as what they isn't. *poetic licence

Ha, I watched Taken too last night. There was something bout the gargantua plot holes and unabashed silliness that made it oddly entertaining, quality no, but fun...