All hail the almighty DCI Gene Hunt. Or whatever. Ashes to Ashes looks set to be as good as Life on Mars. We'll see.

So Tuesday was both Pancake Day and Super Tuesday and I must admit I ended up spending more time with the pancakes than the politics. That was sort of because the whole Super Tuesday thing peaked just around my deepest sleep, and the next day I was kind of busy at work. I have caught up later, though, and hear Mitt Romney has pulled out of the race. Seriously, guys, if McCain is the only candidate left come summer, and you're not sure about his politics, at least consider this: Can you really stand listening to that voice for four years?

Watched No Country for Old Men, which was good, although slightly tedious towards the end. Perhaps I had drunk too much sugared coffee. The actors were good, though.

Then yesterday I read John Grisham's The Summons, which unfortunately wasn't as exciting as other Grisham books. I hope they won't waste their time making a film out of it (uhmm, they haven't, have they?) I'm still disappointed about the film version of The Runaway Jury. Even having favourite Dustin Hoffman and semi-favourite John Cusack in it didn't save that film, I think.

Guess I'm going to tag along to the theatre tonight; third time I'm going to see La cage aux folles. It's been six weeks since last time, and I am looking forward to finally seeing Douglas Hodge in the lead, opposite Philip Quast.

First, though, I'm going to read a bit more of The King of Torts (also Grisham.)

By the way, by Monday Greg Proops will have become my most listened to artist on Last.fm, beating even Erasure. I'm not sure if I should be proud or embarrassed or really, really scared.

Labels: current affairs, dustin hoffman, film, greg proops, literature, music, musicals, philip quast, TV

Perfume - The Story of a Murderer; the story of a perverted moron, more like, but certainly a feast for the eyes, this film! Honestly, if you like beautiful photography and camera work, you should see Perfume. The plot was...interesting and silly at the same time, and the film lasted at least 30 minutes too long for such a plot, but at least a couple of my favourites were in it (Dustin Hoffman and of course Alan Rickman).

I have added a new link under "Things that matter"; Feel the Edge. It's all about charity, man! And, uhmm, snowboarding.

Labels: Alan Rickman, current affairs, dustin hoffman, film

I'm moving house at the moment and that means I have a lot of tidying up to do. I'm very attached to memories, but this time around I've decided to be very firm and throw away most things that I haven't used for years. That actually includes my old Amiga 500!!! My apologies to classic gamers out there, but read a bit further to understand my decision: Mouse. Nest. Pee. I wouldn't risk turning on the old bugger only to be fried. There are plenty of emulators out there. So my trusty Friend, AKA Mike Amiga (yes, I named it) (I was nine) (excuses, excuses), whose input devices hardly work anymore, will have to die. The same goes for my old typewriter. Let's face it, if I would want to go back to "the good old days" I would much rather choose a manual typewriter, not the electrical one I've got. Might as well use a computer then.

So, the mouse, who was also named (Kåre) (not by me), turned up to frighten me in the middle of the tidying up and after that I hardly touched anything before my companion had checked everything. Twice. I'm such a wuss. I mean, I'm used to gerbils and hamsters, for god's sake, and Kåre was very cute, but I guess the surprise factor got to me. Anyway, he'd had the most wonderful time partying amongst most of my things, so I basically rescued what I could and threw away all the rest. What a clever little creature, shortening the time I used for tidying up so well!

No matter, I did find quite a lot of old memories. Photos. Postcards. Letters. Upon letters. I was an avid letter writer until I discovered the 'Net. A few years after that, too. But then it all died out. I found letters just now from people I couldn't remember ever having written to. I had penfriends all over the world. I was probably the one who ended the friendship in most cases, by not replying all of a sudden. Very me.

I also found my old wallets, which brings me to the point du jour. (Speaking of points; what the hell went on during the Eurovision Song Contest? Ooh, the less said, the better, I suppose.) My oldest wallet, which I believe I was given by a classmate back in year two, when I was popular (that didn't last, LOL, when they found out how weird I was), is white (-ish) and has lots of writing on it. On one side you can more or less clearly see the following, astounding, names: Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen, Ralph Macchio, Prince, Andy Bell (singer, Erasure)...so far, so good. Then, after a bit of squinting and turning of the wallet, I can make out Twisted Sister being written there. But then...Nigel Havers, Peter Coyote, Eric Idle, Michael York (really? Can't remember that), Michael Palin and Dustin Hoffman. Now, the latter two plus Nigel I still like quite a lot, but not "like that". I remember my old diary had Tom Cruise and Paul Newman written side by side on the cover. I have to admit I put Tom's name there to balance things out, because I've never fancied him. LOL! Ah, the memories...

Labels: computers, dustin hoffman, erasure, michael palin, music, personal, TV

Arthur Miller died yesterday at the age of 89. Coincidentally, one of his most known plays, Death of a Salesman, is playing both in London (with Brian Dennehy) and in Oslo (with Dennis Storhøi) this year. I would like to see both versions, as well as the fim starring Dustin Hoffman and John Malkovich.

Current track: Nothing.

Labels: dennis storhøi, dustin hoffman, literature, theatre, writing

It's obviously that time of year when I start publishing my Lists(TM); could be because I had a delicious supper, or just because I was getting tired of people constantly asking me which films I've got. So here is my film collection. I keep a huge database in Excel with loads more info than this, but I decided on just listing the titles here. I have kept my four categories, though: Normal, where most of my films are kept - these films are not among my favourites, but they were good enough for me to keep in my collection; Classic - older films (often in black and white), also not my absolute favourites; Must-see - newer films that I adore; Champ - classic films that I absolutely love.

Having browsed my newly updated list, I discovered that my Top Ten list of actors appearing in most films (in my collection, that is) is as follows:

William Hurt - 24 films
Alan Rickman - 18
Dustin Hoffman - 18
Geoffrey Rush - 18
John Cleese - 17
David Niven - 16
John Lithgow - 16
Sir Alec Guinness - 16
James Garner - 15
Michael Palin - 14

Further investigations left me with these additions - these are the ones that appear in ten or more films within my collection:

Christopher Walken - 12 films
Kenneth Branagh - 12
Alfred Molina - 11
Kevin Kline - 11
Bruce Willis - 10 (What? Must be the Die Hard films.)
Eric Idle - 10

The first actress appearing on the list is right beneath Eric Idle with her nine films; Emma Thompson. We need more parts for women in the film industry!

Current track: D12 - How Come

Labels: Alan Rickman, alec guinness, alfred molina, david niven, dustin hoffman, film, geoffrey rush, james garner, john lithgow, kevin kline, lists, michael palin, william hurt

I have currently exactly 600 films on the Excel list of my film collection, which I don't actually consider a real collection, as it's more of a bunch of films that I personally appreciate, I don't just buy them because they're a must-have. However, I know there are a few films I haven't catalogued yet, must be about 25-40 in all. In other words, the collection is growing larger (and by the minute, I'd say - I just popped by Play to find a photo and two minutes later I'd ordered four films (well, they're Sir Alec Guinness classics that I don't have already.) Shame on me.

Actually, "personally appreciate" is a bit of a lie. I like most of the films, but some of them I bought because of some actor appearing in them and they turned out to be utter crap. So I guess from that aspect it's more of a collection; like I have to have all the films in which old so-and-so has appeared. Some of the films I've regretted (but still aren't as bad as Safe, directed by Todd Haynes and starring Julianne Moore - it has become the film I put every other film up against; we managed to sit through all of Safe but we were so bored it felt like it lasted for about four and a half hours, and I'm not exaggerating. It truly is pure boredom) are:

Alice - I generally hate Woody Allen films, but William Hurt (AKA The Actor of Which I Own the Most Films) was in it. Haven't managed to watch the whole film yet, and I got it eight or nine years ago.

American Buffalo - I like David Mamet and love Dustin Hoffman but this film was pointless.

The Beach - Not sure why I've got this. Because of Robert Carlyle, perhaps?

Caligula - Now this I bought merely because of Malcolm McDowell and because it's a cult film. Haven't watched all of it yet. Probably never will.

Cleopatra (the American TV version) - Bought it just because of Philip Quast (he's not appearing in that many films); have watched about 1/3 of it, but it's so Hollywood I can barely look at the cover without feeling a bit under the weather.

Eyes Wide Shut - I am really, really sorry, but even though I'm a huge fan of Stanley Kubrick, I thought this film gave me absolutely nothing. It was part of a Kubrick collection, otherwise I wouldn't have bought it.

The Fall - Another Philip Quast film. He's in four scenes. They're brilliant. The rest of the film is boring me to tears.

Fire, Ice & Dynamite - It's got a hilarious Simon Shepherd in it. The rest is very embarrassing.

Here on Earth - I have no idea why I've got this.

Little Noises - I think Crispin Glover is playing well in this, but I bought it because of Rik Mayall. Otherwise it's a pointless film.

Scorpion Spring - Because of Alfred Molina. He's cool, the film is...uhmm...have I used "boring" too much yet?

Current track: Erasure - Run to the Sun (Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun Mix)

Labels: alec guinness, alfred molina, dustin hoffman, film, lists, online shopping, philip quast, rik mayall, simon shepherd, william hurt