As for films, I enjoyed my cinema trips and DVD watching in '11 - my favourite blockbusters being either "Thor" or "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" .....can't decide! I think my most unusual cinema visit last year was to see the excellent "We Need to Talk About Kevin", which Carla and I went to see on a Sunday morning back in the autumn, at one of our local cinemas - the Coventry Showcase. The screen we were in is also used as a live venue, often for evening comedy shows, so only the back of the screen had the typical cinema seasting. The rest of the auditorium had tables and chairs, and there was a bar to the right. Apart from the odd layout, we were in there ON OUR OWN, so it was basically a private screening of what proved to be a very gripping picture. Tilda Swinton gives an amazing performance as a mother 'on the edge'!
We had
a nice simple Hallowe'en weekend, but I always enjoy that time of year. We put up a few decorations and carved a couple of pumpkins as usual. Our pal Teresa came round and we watched "Trick R Treat" and "Halloween H20". I have to say, "Trick R Treat" is a gem of a horror film, very exciting and funny in places -a solid anthology flick.Our Christmas break was ok as well - we had a nice time off work relaxing. I got Carla the "Battlestar Galactica" DVD box set - the 're-imagined' version of the series that was broadcast between 2003-2009. This afternoon we completed watching series 2 (we were both off work today for Carla's birthday) which is arguably the best series of the show. It has been wonderful to watch these episodes again; the characters are well realised, and for the most part the plots/scripts are very good, and for television the visual effects are excellent. My favourite cast member is James Callis who plays Dr. Giaus Baltar, and his pairing with the tall blonde Cylon woman, Caprica 6 (played by Tricia Helfer) makes for some great scenes. Carla got me "The Benny Hill Show: 1980-1989" DVD boxset, which I've watched a lot of so far and have thoroughly enjoyed! I don't care if the comedy is dated, Benny and his team of regulars, including his main Hill's Angels girls, Louise English and Sue Upton, make me laugh my head off. The best sketch so far has been 'A Tribute to the Lower Tidmarsh Volunteer Fire Brigade'! Great retro tv. :)
Some new TV highlights for us recently have been the first part of series 2 of "The Walking Dead" (what a cracking end to the first half of the season!) and the rather oddball "American Horror Story", which has improved by leaps and bounds over its run. What I like in that show is spotting the horror film/TV cliches in every episode - you can almost tick them off a list! Another TV highlight of recent weeks has been "The World's Strongest Man", this time won by an American, Brian Shaw, on his home turf. Well done to Brian for pipping Savikas to the title in the last event, the Atlas Stones.
Oh, also well done to my pal Trudi for appearing in a National Geographic TV special, called "Roman Murder Mystery" - a very interesting show.
It was sad to hear about the recent passing of Bob Holness, most famous for presenting "Blockbusters". That was in my thoughts recently, as Challenge TV have started to screen episodes from the early 90's, which have been enjoyable to watch.
Anyway, as the weather improves and as we head into spring, hopefully we can start doing some day-trips to castles, historical sites, and do some more country walking again. Looking forward to it! Not to bothered about the Olympics this year, but the Euro 2012 finals should be good.
