A Gentle Joke About The Queen
You don’t hear many repeatable jokes about the Royal Family and especially the Queen. But this video contains a good one from Daniel Day Lewis at the Golden Globes. He is probably one of the last you’d think would make such a joke, given some of the things he’s said in the past.
I Like This Advert
The London Underground has more many decades been famed for its posters, graphics and art.
I Like This Advert
Their own adverts are usual better than companies and organisations that pay for them. I do feel too that some shouldn’t be allowed to advertise.
I Don’t Like This Advert
I don’t think any religious or quasi-religious adverts should be allowed, with the possible exception of charities that do good work, like the Salvation Army or Christian Aid. But Scientology should definitely not be allowed.
Apparently, they are having a media blitz according to this article in Wired magazine. Here’s the first paragraph.
The Church of Scientology is in the midst of a multi-million dollar media campaign that includes running ads on news sites, satellite dish networks, 37 cable stations, and even Wired.com — a blitz that seems to have not so much won new friends or influenced people as stir up more animosity towards the group many consider nothing more than a greedy cult.
I was pleased to read this, as the last bit is my view of this scientifically-incorrect movement.
I certainly won’t be watching a Tom Cruise film. In fact, I don’t think I ever have. Nicole Kidman is another matter though!
I Don’t Watch Long Films
Some of the films released now are overly long. Skyfall at just under two and a half hours was probably my limit.
But Les Miserables is just under three hours, as is The Hobbit and Django Unchained.
I always look at the duration of a film and if it’s too long I don’t go.
Tom Brook is discussing the trend here.
In some ways though, I wonder if long films are also a turn-off for cinemas, as they must restrict the number of shows and therefore the number of paying punters.
I’ve Only Seen Three Of The Highest Grossing Films
I found this list of the fifty highest grossing films on Wikipedia.
They are Titanic, Skyfall and Star Wars.
But then most in the list don’t appeal to me.
Gerard Depardieu May Become Russian
Who’d have thought Russia would be a tax haven, but this story says that it only has a personal income tax of 13%.
Putin seems to be welcoming Gerard Depardieu with open arms, but then I don’t think the French actor is a man, to whom a lot of the principles that guide most of us apply. He certainly seems very selfish and looking at his personal life, women are just toys in his life.
Incidentally, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in a film.
Aspall’s New Bottle
I went to the Barbican cinema yesterday to see the film, Safety Not Guaranteed. The link is to the review in the Guardian, which gets it about right.
I did though get a bottle of Aspall’s cyder to take in to the screening. The draught cyder was in a new shape bottle.
Aspall’s New Bottle
It looked different and I suspect it saves glass and energy, but at least the cyder tasted the same.
America – The Sick
This film is being advertised all over London at the moment.
America – The Sick
After the latest shootings in Connecticut, who needs a chainsaw?
Anyway the original massacre happened in Wisconsin, not Texas.
But judging by the number of adverts, the film is probably an absolute dud.
A Day Without Violent Crime
New York is celebrating Monday, which was a day without violent crime. It’s reported here on the BBC.
I’m reminded of an episode in the Peter Seller’s film called The Wrong Arm of the Law. London is suffering a crime wave from an Australian gang, who impersonate police officers to do major crimes. So London’s two criminal masterminds, played by Sellers and Bernard Cribbins, decide to have a crime-free day to trap the Australian gang.
I hadn’t realised but this comedy was written in part by Galton and Simpson.
The Anonymous Widower 