Random Ramblings

 - Over the past week I have been working my way through all of Pixar's masterpieces. Saw Cars for the first time. While still a lot of fun, it is certainly one of their weaker films. I really didn't like Lightning McQueen at all, and I thought it was just far too long. I was reminded, however, just how fantastic their 2007 follow-up film, Ratatouille, was. I watched it for just the second time, and it is an extraordinary feat of animation. A Bug's Life didn't blow me away, but then it never did. But Finding Nemo, also one of their best, made me happy...again!! A list of my favorite Pixar films and the results of the poll will be discussed in a later post.

 -  I re-watched The Red Riding Trilogy (1974,1980 and 1983), the brilliant British TV miniseries documenting a period in West Yorkshire which was plagued by the Yorkshire Ripper, an abductor and murderer of young girls and the sordid corrupt regime of the West Yorkshire Police Department. All three are beautifully shot and scored throughout. They feature stand-out performances from Andrew Garfield and Rebecca Hall (1974), Paddy Considine (1980) and David Morrisey (1983), amongst a wealth of veteran British supporting actors. It's bleak, chilling stuff, but a must see!

 - I also started Season 3 of Mad Men, and it is just as cool and sharply dialogued as the the first two seasons.

 - I am currently reading Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. It's fantastic. The divine, scandalous novel has been twice adapted into film. I had never read the novel prior, but I have seen Stanley Kubrick's adaptation. I have the less-appreciated Adrian Lyne adaptation ready to go once I finish the novel.

Thanks for reading.

Regards,

Andy Buckle