Theatre show review

Something our friend went to see. Sounds fab!

"One Man Star Wars Trilogy" - a review by Sarah

If you love "Star Wars" and possess just one (preferably more) funny bone in your body then give yourself a massive treat and buy a ticket to see Charles Ross perform his "One Man Star Wars Trilogy" show! Ross is a Canadian actor who is currently touring the UK and who claims to have seen "Star Wars" 400 times. Boy, does it show. In his hour long performance he re-creates the entire original "Star Wars" trilogy on stage on his own through sheer energy, physical flexibility, speed, and originality, performing the dialogue, action (including the battles), sound effects and even John Williams' wonderful score. All the character's personalities are there, such as Luke's whining, Han's swagger, R2's cuteness etc. In particular I thought his impression of the Emperor was scarily accurate. Like most people I have seen the original "Star Wars" films dozens of times and seeing Ross compress the stories in such a concentrated yet hilarious manner brought about a comforting feeling - these are films you can cut down to a fraction of their running time and they are still amazing to watch! Overall Ross is magnificent and I can honestly say this is the only show I have come away from with a big smile on my face!

Verdict 10/10

http://www.onemanstarwars.com/star_wars.html

My movie reviews at flixster

I've now got an account at "Flixster", which is basically one of those "friend" sites (like "Facebook", "Myspace" etc) but with a heavy "cinema" fan emphasis. You can list your favourite movies, actors, directors, and read your friend's film reviews. It has been great fun compiling my lists and doing my own mini reviews - definitely a work in progress! This is site I'm sure I'll use a lot.

Rocky

We've been making out way through the "Rocky" 1-6 DVD box-set (called "The Heavyweight Collection"), which I bought on Sunday. So far, we have watched the first three Sylvester Stallone boxing epics. Of course, the standout film is the 1976 original, which is a wonderful feel-good movie about a small time boxer who as the under-dog captures the imagination of the public as he fights the World Champion. A truly brilliant film, excellent script and great characters, which won three Oscars and was a huge box office success.

We've also enjoyed watching the other films in the series, and seeing the style of the films change (because of political climate and culture) as we go through the late 1970s and into the 1980's.

Takeshi's Castle

Not much to report over the last week, except that my wife's application for UK citizenship has been approved, and we have a date for her citizenship ceremony in late June. Thank goodness that's all organised! I'll have to take some piccies on the day.

We bought some bargain DVD's yesterday at HMV in town. "Interview with the Vampire" and "Frankenstein" & "Bride of Frankenstein" (1930's versions) set. "Interview" wasn't bad, a bit slow and talky, but the production looked beautiful. The real standout performance for me is from a very young Kirsten Dunst, playing the young vampire, Claudia. We will watch the Frankenstein films this evening. Classic B/W Boris Karloff.

It is the weekend so I have managed to have my Saturday and Sunday dose of "Takeshi's Castle" on Challenge TV. What a wonderful no-brainer this is! I love it and laugh all the way through every episode! :)

"Takeshi's Castle" is a 1980s Japanese game show, edited into half hour shows and humorously voiced over by Craig Charles (Lister from BBC's "Red Dwarf"). 100 contestants have to make their way through highly physical (and very silly) games. If they fail a challenge, they are out. If they pass the challenge, they get to go onto the next game, and eventually if their agility and skill hold out, a crack at the showdown where they try to storm the castle and win a prize (although I've never seen anyone win!) Some of the games along the way are quite evil, like "Skipping Stones" or "High Rollers" - contestants have a good chance of coming home battered and bruised! It's all a bit silly. Great stuff though. :)

..sort of like the Japanese version of Jeux Sans Frontières ("Games Without Borders") or "It’s a Knockout" for British viewers.

Update @ 4pm - got "Rocky" 1-6 box set in ASDA!