The Blogster of Amezzeray

Did You Hear "The Hurt Locker" Nearly Swept The Oscars?

2010-03-08T23:52:00.002Z

Star Wars...

2010-03-08T03:04:00.002Z

Amy's Bookshelf #1 - The Bumper Book of Bunny Suicides

2010-03-06T21:58:00.004Z

When I was younger, I was quite the bookworm. It all began when I was grounded for being quite naughty (well, it lasted a month!) and what I did was so severe that all I was allowed to do in my spare time was read in my bedroom. No TV, no computer time, no socializing with friends and no radio or music. I remember this being around the time that the fifth Harry Potter book came out, because I remember not being allowed to get it the week it was released. So in essence, my mother made a monster out of me. I once read the first 2 Harry Potter books in one day! All I did was read! Then I got a TV in my room and it all went downhill from there...

So I was sat in my room today looking at my bookshelf. It is crammed with books. Oscar Wilde, William Shakespeare, Douglas Adams and many more! And it struck me just how little I have read recently. I haven't read anything in the last year that I didn't HAVE to read for academic purposes. A lot of my books are untouched from receiving as gifts. Others I haven't touched since I read them. So I'm going to get back into the routine... reading again!

And first we start slow. Okay, I'm just being lazy here. The Bumper Book of Bunny Suicides is a pictures book... for adults! Each page (or, for some, several pages) are cartoons in which Rabbits end their lives in a variety of creative ways, drawn by Andy Riley. Revolving doors, a toaster, a cricket ball, a boomerang, a hand-grenade, the shining sun, a magnifying glass, smoking of several cigarettes, bowling balls and any combination of these are all featured as suicidal tools. There are also many cultural references such as a Terminator finding a rabbit wearing a t-shirt saying "Sarah Connor" and an hilarious Fatal Attraction one. It started off with The Book of Bunny Suicides: Little Fluffy Rabbits Who Just Don't Want To Live Any More which came out in 2003. Then it was followed by Return of the Bunny Suicides in 2004, which included Dr Who and Lord of the Rings references. And now you can get the lot in the Bumper Book!

I got the book one Christmas and my initial reaction was "what is this crap?". But as I flicked through the pages, it became my second favourite present of that year. It would have been first had I not got a Diamond Select Locutus of Borg Figure. It is one of those books that you can flick through now and again and it will still make you laugh. I highly recommend everyone gets it because it does great things to cheer you up. Although odds are that most of you have the poster...

And now, I leave you with my personal favourite:

Happy Saturday Folks!!

T-Shirt War

2010-03-05T19:03:00.002Z

A great little video. Enjoy!

Weed...

2010-03-04T23:36:00.002Z

SOURCE: [very demotivational]

Amy's thoughts on... Spaced - US Pilot

2010-03-04T15:55:00.001Z

Oh the horror! The Horror! Oh God! I need memories erasing! Right Now! Help me!

So here's "Spaced For Dummies": Spaced (1999 - 2001) was a sitcom starring Simon Pegg, Jessica Stevenson (now Hynes), Nick Frost and lots of other talent. Almost everyone you see in this show, whether it's a main star or even just a guest star, it was early in their career and not a household name just yet. All the episodes were directed by Edgar Wright and it is famous for its rapid-fire editing, frequent pop-culture references and jokes, eclectic music, and occasional displays of surrealism. Even 11 years after the original broadcast, I still believe it to be "original" in terms of film-making. It was a technical triumph that Wright and Pegg continued to use in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.

First, lets remind ourselves of how great Spaced is with a few vids!

Spaced: The Complete Series - Tim and Brian Discuss Star Wars - Watch the top videos of the week here

Spaced - Paintball - MyVideo

And, my personal favourite:

Now this is what I'm talking about! If you haven't seen it yet, pop over to 4od!

I only watched a 4 minutes clip and I know I don't need to watch more. Now, they changed stuff, thats okay with remakes. But when they try to COPY some of the best delivered lines of the original series ("watercolours?") I am ready to rip my heart out. And ruining the "pain, fear" etc montage was the last straw for me! Edgar Wright posted a blog on his MySpace back in the day calling it "McSpaced", a reference to the exec-producer McG. Now, McG, listen to me mate! Terminatar: Salvation and Supernatural has redeemed you ever so slightly. But please, FUCK OFF!!

Usually at this point I say, enjoy! But I can't. It's too painful! Watch at your own risk!

Would you like the bleach when I'm done with it?

What If Mario Wasn't A Plumber...?

2010-03-03T19:41:00.006Z

Sorry that it's cut off slightly. It was eith really really small or really really big. The damn thing wouldn't let me go inbetween. Anyhooooo... enjoy!!

source [www.loldwell.com]

A Day In The Life of Amy: Zombie Holocaust!

2010-03-03T16:21:00.001Z

Today, the VT group did some filming for our Free Project Assessment. I tagged along to help!

the gang!

I manned the mic!

Nice make-up! Tom ate cow lung for this!!

Nasty!

I love this picture.

Hindsight Is A Very Good Thing!

2010-03-02T13:02:00.003Z

FAIL!

Amy's thoughts on... Shadows of the Empire by Steve Perry (Audiobook)

2010-02-28T15:01:00.019Z

The time came this week where I was getting sick of my iPod's inability to connect to the internet. My own fault really for not getting wireless connection set-up. So I decided to find another use for it: audiobooks. I have listened to a few over the years. Stephen Fry reading Harry Potter is one of the wonders of this Earth and I vaguely recall listening to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when I was a wee child on a cassette tape! remember those??

As I was browsing through the possibilities, I came across Shadows of the Empire, a Star Wars book that acts as an "interquel" between The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi. And yes, this is the one where "Many Bothans died to bring us this information". Overall, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire was a multimedia project created by Lucasfilm in 1996 to explore all commercial possibilities of a full motion picture release, without actually making the film. I actually still have the Nintendo 64 game. It was one of the first released for the platform and I bought it second hand from a Games shop in Manchester when I was 13! It is still one of my favourite games and, as far as I know, is a classic in the N64 format. So...

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.... *big grin*

Xizor is the reptilian head of the vast criminal organization Black Sun. He is also the No. 2 man to the Emperor, surpassed only by the dark lord of the Sith, Darth Vader. And Vader is the last obstacle between the predatorial Xizor and his goal. That's an obstacle he plans to eliminate on his rise to the top by thwarting Vader's promised attempts to retrieve the young Luke Skywalker and bring him before the Emperor. With the aide of his lieutenant, the beautiful but deadly human replicant Guri, they secretly employ assassins and bounty hunters to kill the now-in-training Skywalker and make it look as if Vader himself is out for Skywalker's blood. Meanwhile, Leia continues to hunt down the feared bounty hunter, Boba Fett, to rescue Han Solo before he can be delivered to the vile gangster Jabba the Hutt. With the help of Lando Calrissian, Rogue Squadron and a brash smuggler named Dash Rendar, Luke and Leia and the droids C-3PO and R2-D2 must dodge their way though a complex web of treachery if they are to rescue Han and uncover the identity of the mysterious Black Sun and it's cunning and deadly leader.

Shadows of the Empire, is more than just another book between the movies. Perry's writing allows the characters to come alive. Their dialogue isn't just rehashed lines from the films, and the humor has a spark to it that is all its own. In true Star Wars fashion, the plot runs in parallel development; Luke and Leia move down their separate paths that ultimately bring them back together in the climactic finale at the headquarters of Black Sun on Coruscant, the very center of the Empire itself. Also, more to the point, this book expands on the universe of Star Wars. Characters like Lando, and even Wedge Antillies, the unsung hero of Rogue squadron, are expanded on and allowed to shine. The bothans, the race of super spies, are expanded upon. And we get a chance to explore more of the worlds born in George Lucas's imagination. For his part, Steve Perry's writing is good. The book is an easy and fun read, and the plot and dialogue keep you moving from scene to scene. And in audiobook format, it is a lot more enjoyable.

Now, I love the game to pieces! I still play it now and again even though the N64 went out a very very long time ago (call it sentimental value!) and I was under the impression that the novel would take some of the events of the game into account. Now, while I do get that most games don't even follow the movies that they're based on, I have to admit that I was slightly disappointed to not see Dash Rendar (the main character of the game) hopping through the canyons in a jet pack trying to find Boba Fett (a lot of fun in the game!) whereas in the novel, he just flies over in his ship, The Outrider (a new version of the Falcon) and then leaves Leia and co to die!! However, saying that I'm probably being unreasonable. Once you actually slot of the game and book together they fit very nicely. But, as I said earlier, it still would have been nice!

Okay, no more comparisons to the game. That's unfair! So, Vader, in the past, was a naughtly boy and killed Xizor's family. So Xizor wants to get revenge against him by killing Luke and destroying Vader's reputation and hopefully to give him some kind of "feeling" of what it is like to have family murdered. His plan is cunning, with twists and turns at most parts of the story. It always kept me guessing, even though I knew how it ended; and that, my friends, is the sign of a good story. It's like watching Apollo 13! You know how it ends, but the tension and suspense almost kills you! Okay, this book is no-where near as compelling as Apollo 13 but I'm sure you get the point!

Little Nerdgasms while listening to this audiobook are the sound effects. I know most audiobooks have sound effects in the background, but these are Star Wars noises! Blasters, TIE Fighters, X-Wings, R2 beep and bleeps, hyperspace, lightsabers and the list goes on. Even parts of the soundtrack from the game and movies can be heard which is just awesome!

Dash Render is easily my favourite character in the book. He is basically a Han Solo replacement who, just like Solo in the first film, just wants to get paid and run away. However he feels responsible for the deaths of loads of Bothans during a battle to steal the plans for the new Death Star. I loved playing him in the game (especially on the Battle of Hoth level, which is always the best one!)

If you like Star Wars, I highly recommend you read this. I hope that you will agree with me that this would have made such a better movie than ANY of the prequels. But then agian, most of the Star Wars books are like that anyway!

Horny Am I!!

2010-02-27T19:27:00.001Z

source: Movie-moron

Mace Windu Vs Palpatine - How It Should Have Been

2010-02-27T18:45:00.004Z

Enjoy...

NSFW! Final Red Band Kick-Ass Trailer.

2010-02-25T19:15:00.002Z

CAN'T! WAIT! I reckon Nic Cage will be back in our good books this year :)

A Shameless Plug: My Mummy's Blog!!!

2010-02-24T20:46:00.002Z

Was chatting on the phone to my Mum today and found out about this: Bootees and Blankets. I knew about the site but this is the first time she has actually used it!!!

Check it out!!! Knowing her, I can say with the utmost confidence that it is destined for many a great things :)

New Doctor Who Trailer

2010-02-21T12:18:00.001Z

[via denofgeek.com]

British Geek Alert!!

2010-02-17T22:22:00.001Z

I have so many links on my Google Reader that I check up on it practically every hour. And in one of them (io9) popped up 2 links that I reckon is just pretty damn awesome!

The first is about a Lightsaber Flashmob in a Bristol Shopping Centre.

And the second is of Star Trek fans gathering together for the release of Star Trek Online. And I find it a bit weird to remember that I have walked the area where they gathered several times before. And amongst the crowd are people who bare an uncanny resemblance to certain Star Trek: The Next Generation characters...

[via io9.com]

Peter Kay Awesomeness...

2010-02-17T17:01:00.000Z

It was The Brits last night and a lot of people had to make a very hard decision: Should I watch The Brits or the football?? I ~~regrettably~~ opted for the football. I wish I'd watched it now because of Peter Kay, who I have been a long-time fan of. I wont spoil it but needless to say that it will go down in British television history. Enjoy!!

Now, I like Oasis a lot. They're (reasonably) local to me and they're all City fans (yay!). But My Kay is indeed right...

Amy's thoughts on... NCIS: Los Angeles 1x15 - The Bank Job

2010-02-13T23:37:00.000Z

I have kinda been raving about this show for a while now. It isn't fantastic. It's no Caprica or Battlestar but it provides great entertainment, the type that the original NCIS has been lacking as of late. I have yet to be completely disappointed by any of the 15 episodes that have been aired so far. When I heard about the casting of LL Cool J in this show I immediately went "oh God! This is going to be crap!". And while he isn't the best actor in the world, he is most definitely decent. I haven't been disappointed by him and, if anything, I have actually been rather impressed.

Just a mere 2 episodes after one of the main cast members went mysteriously missing, they decide to release a promo for a new episode saying that they could lose one of their own... again. This could probably explain the ratings spike for the episode. And while it's probably a blatant ratings ploy, the episode in itself did not disappoint.

NCIS Special Agent Kensi Blye gets shot during a bank heist before the credits even role. Then we go to the ever so popular "24 hours earlier" flashback that so many programmes use today (Supernatural for example does that quite a lot). We learn a lot about Kensi during this time and realise that she has her troubles. Their investigation leads them to believe that a group of people are going to rob a bank. So Kensi goes in undercover beforehand to find the mole in the bank that will let the robbers still millions in frozen terrorist money.

I won't spoil it for you. But needless to say that it is an exceptionally clever episode. It's not quite Ocean's 11, but it had that same effect on me where I had to rewatch the episode immediately just to "get" all the little things about how they solved the case. And Kensi?? Well does anyone remember that thing Gibbs did that time? Well, its the same.

So overall it is probably the best episode so far. I highly recommend that you watch it. Part 1... below...

Empire Awards - Done In 60 Seconds

2010-02-12T00:53:00.000Z

I have been a loyal subscriber of Empire Magazine since its 15th Birthday Issue, 6 years ago. I remember the day clearly. It was a hot day and I wanted a magazine to read in the garden. My mother had all of the gossip and TV mags but I decided to buy one of the biggun's. To be absolutely honest, I spotted a bagged magazine that was either going to have Orlando Bloom or Brad Pitt on the cover, since Troy was out that month. And being the Orly-obsessed 14-year-old that I was, I bought in. I was disappointed to see that my luck wasn't with me that day and I got Brad :( But it didn't matter. I was hooked. I bought the mag every single month. And for the last 2 christmasses, my father got me a 12-month subscription that goes straight to my post-box before my local Spar. I love it!

Anyhoooooo. Every year they do the "Empire Awards". It has gained a lot more press in recent years because it is voted for by the readers. People like Jason Issacs (Hello Jason Issacs!! Nice joke for you Kermode fans out there!) have said that they think that the awards arer very important because *we* pay to see the damn movie and *we* should therefore get a say in who is good and who is bad!

An addition the the awards in recent years is the "Done in 60 Seconds" in which readers get to submit 60-second versions of well-known films made by themselves. Some of the ones made over the years have been absolutely exception. Including the 2008 winner of Titanic (See Below)

and check out the Toy Story one as well while you're at it:

This week, Empire Online released the 20 videos that are in the shortlist for the award (View them here). Some of them are exceptional including an animated Predator that has Arnie with a Northern Accent. My personal favourites are the Avatar (with Sigourney Weaver cardboard cutout and weird 3-d obscurity) and Donnie Darko (which is just the "Mad World" song with different lyrics to hilarious effect) entries.

So get yourself down there and take a look. Its also worth taking a look at the 2009 and 2008 entries for the pure ingeniousness of them. Awesomeness...

Craig Bevan: From YouTube to the O2?

2010-02-11T23:08:00.003Z

All credit for this post must go to Shane aka Tokenbg on various internet sites. The original idea was to do this as a joint venture. But I struggled to find the words that describe how much I love Mr Bevan's work. Shane has managed to capture this in a way that will probably make you think that this blog will come up with something meaningful in the future. Sorry to disappoint you :P

Thanks Shane.

To start, a disclaimer: The subject of this post - Craig Bevan, is a man that I have listened to and enjoyed for years, so objectivity may go by the wayside here (for a start I will be referring to him by his first name rather than Mr. Bevan). His podcasting and love for 'Top Gun' nothwithstanding, his primary talent is his skill as a singer-songwriter. On Simply Syndicated's 24 hour podcasting special for Comic Relief, Craig and his 'Movies You Should See' cohort Will Tristram had quite a lot of time to kill, and part of that was filled with songs from both men. This is where I first heard, 'Drifting Along' (Jazzy Chords), more of which later.

As well as hearing snippets of his songs on the Simply Syndicated network, Craig exhibited his dulcet tones further on his own YouTube channel & MySpace page. There, Craig performed a series of cover versions, varying in genre from Kosheen's 'Catch' to La Roux's 'Bulletproof'. From there Craig auditioned for Live & Unsigned 2010 and has now made the regional finals. In an interview with BBC Radio Leeds, Craig confessed that he went to the audition with no expectations and it may have been this laissez-faire attitude that helped him impress the judges, as they didn't even need to let him finish his song before sending him through to the competition's regional finals.

Craig's vocals remind me a little of Daniel Merriweather (he covers Merriweather's 'Red' on his YouTube channel) or even a pre 'Future Sex/Love Sounds' era Justin Timberlake. And his guitar playing gives his tunes a tranquil Jack-Johnson like vibe. It's not the kind of thing you'll listen to before a night out, but maybe when you've got home after a night out. I personally think you'd hear Craig's songs in a Wes Anderson or Noah Baumbach film.

As mentioned earlier, Craig's song 'Drifting Along' (Jazzy Chords) sent him through to the regional finals. If successful, he will then progress to the Live & Unsigned Festival at the O2 Arena, where the winner gets a record deal and £30,000 for promotion purposes - it's not the X-Factor but then integrity doesn't tend to equal platinum record sales.

While the regional finals may be as far as Craig goes, and he seems to be quite phlegmatic about the whole affair, I can only hope that he does get his moment in the sun. As well as his undoubted talent, if given the opportunity, I don't see Craig as the type of person that wants to be famous for its own sake. He probably won't thank me for saying this, but he's not a kid in his late teens but a grown man in his mid-twenties, which is why I'm certain that success is a gift that Craig wouldn't waste. I can only hope that March 7th puts him one step closer to proving me right.

Yoda's Words of Wisdom...

2010-02-11T00:45:00.000Z

"Twilight" Finally Put Into Context

2010-02-10T23:32:00.001Z

Ghinzu - The Dragster Wave

2010-02-06T02:59:00.002Z

As some of my closer friends probably know, I am more of a soundtrack listener than current music itself. This is probably why I am so behind in music. I'll ask someone "So who sings this?" in Cubes and they'll be like "What!?!?!?! Its fucking Lost Prophets!!". And what not!

In my playlist I mainly have movie trailer music. Sounds a bit sad really but things like the music from the Avatar and X-Men 3 trailers are favourites of mine. But today I found a new one. And its from the trailer to "Taken". I have not seen this movie and have no intention of doing so after Kermode's wonderful review. But this music is far too good not to share. Enjoy x

Shatner... Fucking... Rocks!!

2010-02-06T01:46:00.004Z

Now this is why I watch the wrestling...

Oh Kirk...!

2010-02-06T00:37:00.002Z