Another Shark Movie... With A Controversial Budget

After yesterday's shark post, I've found another upcoming shark movie. This time it comes from Australia and looks absolutely awesome based on the trailer.



Part of this awesome factor might be because this 3D movie is receiving state funding. And that's proving controversial given the portrayal of sharks as killing machines when they are far more at risk from us than we are from them. Read more here.

Upcoming Features: Sharks

Thanks to Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus, we've got a lot of shark related movies coming up. As a fan of Jaws, and of sharks in general, this can only be a good thing. As long as they are better than Dinoshark anyway...

First up is the eagerly awaited Sharktopus and the B-movie lover in me got very excited after seeing this trailer:



Then next we have the less than inspiring Super Shark (it can fly... hmm...)



And finally, actually looking quite good, we have a Jaws tribute with a twist: Swamp Shark



I think Swamp Shark might just be my most eagerly awaited monster movie for the next few months... :)

The A-Team

The A-Team is far more enjoyable than Predators was. 

When I first saw the trailer for this movie, I thought it looked like total crap; cheesy and generic. But actually, apart from the rather dull ending, it's a very fun and engaging movie that holds your interest for a good while. 

Unfortunately it's let down by the lacklustre ending. If it hadn't been for that I'd put this movie as one of my favourites of the year... good acting, good script, good simple story and plenty of action. But alas, nothing's perfect. So I'd rate this a "Give it a look if you've nothing better to do". 

Predators

I'm a franchise fan. Predator was a masterpiece, Predator II was great, Aliens Vs Predator was alright and AVP:R was.... well absolutely awful but I watched it. That's how much of a fan I am. 

I've had July's release of Predators set in my diary for a while and was really looking forward to it. Alas, it turns out to be yet another bitter disappointment. 

The pacing was all wrong. In Predator, the slow parts were short and useful for building up the tension. In Predators, the slow parts of the bulk of the movie and were useful for story advancement but failed to build up the tension at all. I didn't feel the characters were in constant jeopardy, as they should have been, and I didn't feel excited or interested about their fates. Each death came with inevitability rather than surprise. Each death was in fact far from sudden. You knew it was coming. And you just don't care. 

The acting was decent, the filming alright, the overall story had promise. But the weird, glaring errors (despite being out in the open often, none of them noticed the planets above their heads until they reached a scenic clifftop setting!!) and the total lack of pacing leads this movie to be on a par with AvP. Alright but not recommended. It's worth a watch if it comes on the telly, but don't part with any hard earned money for it!

Big Brother 11: The Final Showdown

Last night was Day One for the final series of Big Brother. In a slight twist, the housemates were "chosen" on the night as sent into the house from among a group of 81 hopefuls. Our housemates, sadly, seem to be the usual sort Big Brother sends in and not the rather ordinary types (for ordinary read.. erm... porn stars, lesbian nuns and a chicken fancier) of old. I.e. FREAKS.

We have:

Josie, a loud country girl.
Steve, a former soldier who was seriously injured in Northern Ireland (just waiting to see what sort of soldier [i.e. violent pisshead or honourable defender of these isles).
Ben, POSH
Rachael, she is pretty but conceited.
Nathan, wide boy.
Dave, loony Christian (no offence to Christians, in this case the two things might be independent)
Caoimhe, erm.
Govan, camp bisexual.
Shabby, pretentious middle class muppet/alt lifestyle hero. You decide.
Ife, seems interesting
John James, Aussie randomist. Only possible totty in house.
Sunshine. Sunset
Corin, common.
Mario, the wildcard normal guy chosen at random who is to act as BB's mole in house.

So. Same old, same old. I was looking forward to this series, but it looks like it just be BB by the numbers. I hope I'm wrong.

Eurovision Song Contest 2010 - Oslo, Norway - UPDATED

On my main blog it is a yearly tradition that I maintain a Eurovision post in the months leading up to the Final. It is kept updated as and when new selections are made and news comes out. Now that tradition moves here, where it truly belongs... 

Check out this Aussie programme... Eurovision A-Z

Location

The Telenor Arena, Greater Oslo, Norway.  

Presenters

Erik Solbakken 

Haddy Jatou N'jie

Nadia Hasnaoui

What's Different

This year the 2 Semi Final shows will introduce the same voting system as used, with quite some success, in the 2009 final. This means the votes shall be split 50/50 between a phone vote and jury vote. For more see Wikipedia

Countries, Singers and Songs 

Albania - Juliana Pasha "Nuk mundam pa ty"
Armenia - Eva Rivas "Apricot Stone"
Azerbaijan - Safura Alizadeh "Drip Drop"
Belarus - 3 + 2 "Butterflies"
Belgium - Tom Dice "Me And My Guitar"
Bosnia and Herzegovina - Vukašin Brajić "Munja i grom"
Bulgaria - Miro "Angel si ti"
Croatia - Feminnem "Lako je sve" 
Cyprus -   Jon Lilygreen and The Islanders "Life Looks Better in Spring"
Denmark - Chanée & N'evergreen "In a Moment Like This"
Estonia - Malcolm Lincoln "Siren"
Finland - Kuunkuiskaajat "Työlki ellää"
France - Jessy Matador "Allez Ola Olé"
Georgia - Sopho Nizharadze "Shine"
Germany - Lena Meyer-Landrut "Satellite" 
Greece - Giorgos Alkeos and Friends "OPA" 
Iceland - Hera Björk "Je ne sais quoi"
Ireland - Niamh Kavanagh "It's For You" 
Israel - Harel Skaat "Milim"
Latvia - Aisha "What For?"
Lithuania - InCulto "East European Funk"
Macedonia - Gjoko Taneski "Jas ja imam silata"
Malta - Thea Garrett "My Dream"
Moldova - SunStroke Project and Olio Tira "Run Away"
Netherlands - Sieneke "Ik ben verliefd, Shalalie"
Norway - Didrik Solli-Tangen "My Heart Is Yours"
Poland -  Marcin Mrozinski "Legenda" 
Portugal - Filipa Azevedo "Ha dias assim"
Romania - Paula Seling and Ovi "Playing with Fire"
Russia - Peter Nalitch Band "Lost and Forgotten" 
Serbia - Milan Stankovic "Ovo je Balkan" 
Slovakia - Kristina "Horehronie"
Slovenia - Ansambel Roka Žlindre and Kalamari "Narodnozabavni rock"
Spain - Daniel Diges "Algo pequeñito"
Sweden - Anna Bergendahl "This Is My Life"
Switzerland - Michael von der Heide "Il pleut de l'or"
Turkey - maNga "We Could Be The Same"
Ukraine - Alyosha - "Sweet People"
United Kingdom - Josh Dubovie "That Sounds Good To Me" 

Doctor Who: Amy's Choice

What with resigning my job, and moving house (ongoing) I've had little time for Pop Culture I'm afraid. I'm way behind on my American shows. I have however been watching Doctor Who. Sadly I've been... well I don't know what I've been. I've not been disappointed. I've not thought it was rubbish. But I've also not been inspired and I've not thought it was "great" like I normally do (hell, I liked Paradise Towers!). Hence lack of reviews.

But last night's Amy's Choice was absolutely awesome. Very weird, beautifully shot, rather creepy but still amusing villian. And Amy Pond is certainly becoming an excellent companion. Finally feel like "I'm getting it" again. Hurrah!! Check it out!