the wicker man: may god have mercy on our souls

the remake of the 1973 horror classic 'the wicker man' opened today without a press screening - never a good sign.

i went to see it in the vague hope that neil la bute would show some of the serious flair present in his earlier, heavier films such as 'in the company of men'.

sadly, this horror film is one of the funniest i've ever seen. so much effort and attention has been paid to the set design that they forgot the best parts of the script - the religious questions, the sinister way otherwise innocuous things appear, the sheer terror has been replaced by nicolas cage in a bear suit and ellen burstyn - my favourite actress - playing the role that underlines the theory that it's the exception that proves the rule.

the question i'm left with is to wonder if the religious aspects of the film were removed because it is assumed that today's audiences don't want to engage with them. and i don't think anyone who thinks seriously about these things would agree with that.

a scanner darkly

philip k dick was a tragic figure who made art out of his pain

richard linklater is a film maker who manages to straddle both the mainstream ('school of rock') and indie ('before sunrise') scenes

keanu reeves is an actor who rarely succeeds on his own, but when he's in the right context, he does things that no one else can

'a scanner darkly' is a superb film about the divided self, the fearsome power of drug misuse, the encroachments of the state, the uses and abuses of personal freedom, and the life of the mind

it's the first film i've seen this year that i immediately wanted to see again

dvd catastrophe

hey folks

my dvd player has stopped working - anyone know how to fix it?

it's a really cool sony player, and worked fine til i went to greenbelt - now every time i put a disc in it says 'cannot play this disc'...anyone know why?

first person to solve the problem gets a free dvd from my collection.

back from greenbelt

hey folks

sorry i've been off-line for a few days - decided for the first time not to take my computer to greenbelt - turned out just right as it was the busiest festival i've ever had.

so, highlights:

michael franti's near-spontaneous combustion as he enacted everything i could possibly wish for a euphoric last night on mainstage

dancing in the organic beer tent

re-connecting with beautiful friends - mr steve lawson & mr alastair mcintosh, mr kester brewin as three stand-outs

feeling at home again

great to see so many of you there

the spirit grows