Anyone else sick of being hassled by this site about Facebook?!**** off already!

Halloween

I'm heading to Amsterdam for Halloween, it's gonna be awesome. How many times now have I blogged about going there? =P I simply love the culture

Chuck

I am an official Chuck fan. The long, long wait for s2 to come to DVD was well-worth it, it was a treat from start to finish.

Mini-season rundown:

Favourite character

Sarah – I love this character. I love strong women. I love sexy-as-hell women. She is so bloody hot, it should be illegal. Seriously. From her tortured childhood, to her kick ass moments and tough decisions, she's the heart of the show, AND she's really hot.

Favourite Couple

Ellie and Captain Awesome – okay, it may look like there's a pattern here, but they are such a hot couple. Crazy hot. Aesthetics aside, they are the Francie and Will to Chuck's spy world, and I always enjoy the home stuff, very much like I did with Alias. Very fun characters and I'm glad they become prominent characters come season's end.

Favourite episodes

The Jill 3-parter was really fun; I'd ****them as one giant episode. I have such a crush on Jordanna Brewster, she is incredibly hot. This is a very hot show =P

Chuck VS Santa Claus – starts off as such a frivolous piece of entertainment, typical of Chuck. But then it packs in a powerful ending and the first time the show felt as though it truly carried any dramatic weight to it. Very compelling.

Chuck VS The Colonel – such unbelievable payoff for sticking with the season! Everything just hits the fan; it's an incredible hour with so many things happening at once, such a dramatic difference from the stand-alone material at the start of the season. Twists, action, humour, yeah we've seen it all before. Tension, suspense, real ohmygoddidthatjusthappen?!!?-Drama, well, it's all here for almost the entire episode. And the almost-sex scene? Hawwwwwwwt. Just brilliant.

Well, that's the closest I've gotten to a real blog in quite a while.

Have a great weekend, everyone. Play safe

Thank you, higher power. Thank you.

Joss Whedon + Glee = magic.

That is all.

Hi folks,

Quick report/warning: I saw Halloween 2 and it has to be one of the worst horror films I have EVER scene. EVER. Only redeeming quality? Well, I tripped walking into the cinema, there was plenty of laughter. I also made an inappropriate joke half-way through, ok, near the end, laughter was had.

Actress - 'What's happening?!?!?'

Me - 'I'm being stabbed!'

For a good bulk of my TV-life, Buffy has been my favourite show of all time. I'm not going delve into specifics as to why – I think they're fairly obvious.

I grew up with it, season by season, and it always surprised me.

Well all that has changed.

BSG, for a spell was my favourite show. Firefly, too. But then I'd always watch Buffy and it would climb right back up to that top spot. I wonder if it'll happen again. I highly doubt it. I think I'll address Buffy as my favourite sci-fi show of all time from now on =)

My favourite show is Six Feet Under. If you have never watched this show, or just caught a random episode, please, do yourself a favour and start this show – then finish it!

Without a doubt one of the most exceptional pieces of television; what turned this into a masterpiece was its final episode. Heck, its final season. The ending, though? It was perfect. Its season finale was PERFECT. No flaws. It's probably the only episode I think ever, truly deserves a 10/10 rating.

Ya might not know it with True Blood, which is truly entertaining fluff, but Alan Ball is a genius. I really do love American Beauty, but Six Feet Under is an entirely different animal. Masterful writing and a wonderful staff of writers/directors, with some of the best actors within the industry, SFU was a bundle of emotion to watch.

I just thought I should blog this little bit, since I did leave you guys on a bit of a cliff-hanger with regards to the show and if it would ever become my new fave.

Also, I'm back to relative normalcy in work, so I'll be back to commenting on blogs, reviewing and blogging =)

I'll be doing a total SFU run-down for my next blog. Also working on a music video, too =P

I keep meaning to blog and then putting it off. Ack, I hope this doesn't turn out to be another one of my half-written blogs I suddenly decide to give up on.

Rather recently, I've made some radical decisions. All for the better, I assure you. After a particularly long summer slump, I'm finally back on that proverbial horse. I'll be saving for the entire year, and plenty of plans I had already made shall be cancelled, or shortened. Ya see I'm planning on moving to Vancouver to go to school. As you can imagine, it'll be expensive, but I'm certain I can round up the funds to start next year.

Now, I'm not cutting off all educational ties with Dublin. My brain needs to be working on something. Anything. Jam making, for heavens sake. (Psst, it's not jam making!). I'll be enrolling in several writing courses to keep myself in check. Yay, go team! I'm also using this period of time to create a portfolio, something I probably should have been working on anyways, but at least now, I have the motivation to begin and keep it up to date.

I thought I should write up a semi-personal blog letting folk know how I'm doing and what I intend to do.

Current Fave TV show: True Blood. This is such a darkly comical, whip smart television show. It also has Michelle Forbes, which is an absolute bonus. And Eric. And Eric and Sookie naked. My comp screen has suddenly gotten all steamy =P

Current fave (off-air)show I'm watching for the first time: Six Feet Under. I am falling hard and fast for this one. I'm just about to finish the 2nd season. It is probably one of the finest shows out there. Once I finish the show, and the caliber of writing, directing and acting remains the same, this will no doubt hit my top 3 shows of all time. Meaning, a Whedon show has to go - Buffy, Angel or Firefly. Oh my.

Oooh, hi there. Remember me?

Barcelona: It was magnificent. Sooo much fun. I pretty much slept all day and drank all night, isn't that how that song goes? Hrrm. Some random pics:

Our Healthy Dinner arrangements...

I'm in the back, popping out there, HA!

Myself and the lovely Tereza

Yes, I realise I look a sap. Deal with it

I'm actually going to Milan and Amsterdam in a few months, then Prague for Xmas, with some friends. Can't wait

More to come...just checking if pics actually fit...

Music

Florence + The Machine

Oh how I love her/them. The music is always so different from the last track, and her voice is ahmazing!

Raise it Up

Space Cowboy

Falling Down is such a quality tune. Listen to it - Falling Down

Girl Generation

I love Asian women. I do. But Korean women, epsecially, are just so gorram sexy/cute. This song is hella catchy Loves 'em

Movies

The AntiChrist (*)

G- Force (*)

G.I. Joe (****)

Wonder Woman (****)

Eyes Without a Face (***1/2)

Tokyo Gore Police (****)

G-force is probably one of the worst 3D offerings yet, while AntiChrist is a pretentious, explicit piece of garbage. William Defoe – your career is over. G.I. Joe, meanwhile, is a total adrenaline rush; with some great action set pieces (leave your brain at the door). Wonder Woman is probably DC's best animated feature yet (New Frontiers was a let down, while Doomsday was good, but only for one fight scene). And Tokyo Gore Police is a blast – hilarious in places, and insanely violent, it rocked (for a very select few )

Later!

Hey cadets!

Quick blog.

I bought a spanking new phone, which is all kinds of great. Naturally enough, it has a twitter app, so I'm starting to obsess.

It'd be cool to follow you peeps on here, and lord knows y'all wanna know how my day goes, riiight?

Here's the link if you'd like to add me: Dingosatemytwit

I'm off to have a blog reading marathon!

Hew folks,

I've been out of touch when it comes to blogging, so I'm going to start posting mini-blogs with bits and bobs that's going on, instead of trying (and failing numerous times) to write full length ones.

I bought a PS3

So we have every major console in our house now. I'm currently enjoying Infamous (it's awesome), Metal Gear Sold 4 (also awesome) and Dead Space (it's scuurreeee).

Celebrations

I have reached the 4 year mark on this site! WHOA. It was also my 21st on the 14th of this month I'm a big kid now.

Keeping Fit

I've been working out this past week, without fail, and I think I may be very well sticking to it. I've felt great after every workout, and the weather is fantastic, so I'm on a good buzz. I'm not going to lie, I am trying to tone up in time for Barcelona, which will be a bit of a stretch

Reviews

I'm currently reviewing the 4th season of Charmed, the 1st season of Medium, the 2nd season of True Blood and the 4th season of Xena for anyone interested. Reviews are down below.

Heyyyy non-specified gender group!

As specified, here's my first movie blog (the first of many, I hope =)).

Movies News

Ok, so for those of you haven't been living under a rock the past few nights probably already know of the new Buffy movie. Sure, it doesn't have official backup, but those eejits who made the first one own the rights to the character and seem pretty adamant about rebooting the film franchise, as opposed to trampling over Joss' TV series, which it will do either way.

My Two Cents

No, no, no, NO! Are these people stupid? No Joss Whedon? No original TV cast members?! No ******* SMG?! Who the frak are they trying to target then? WHO ELSE will want to watch this? It's baffling altogether. The only remotely positive thing that could come of this is if they cast another really good Buffy - Kirsten Bell. I doubt she'd even consider the project out of respect to Whedon, who really pimped her detective show whatever way he possibly could to get it off its feet.

To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't be half as outraged if it was simply set within the Buffyverse, with a whole new cast of characters, focusing on a different period and different slayer altogether. But no, Buffy will be in this, one way or the other, which is just....NO!?!?!Qawejdbewbcdsk.,cm xas! I just want Buffy back, ya know? The movie industry is dead - all it has to offer are remakes and reboots. That's why I much prefer to watch Asian film - very original, and it's most likely a film you'll see years before anyone else until the inevitable westernised remake.

Star Trek 11: Film Review

I've never watched a single episode of Star Trek. Honestly. I went into this film cold, cos I had heard it was the perfect jump on point for new viewers. And guess what? You bet that green-lady-from-Alias' sexy ass it was

By no means perfect, this was like sitting down in your seat only to be injected with a dose of adrenaline and having all of your senses attacked at the same time. It was an intergalactic thrill after thrill.

The appeal to me wasn't just its pretty cast. And by-gum, were they pretty. It was, as I like to call, the Abrams Effect. He's a man that just knows how to ramp it up to 11, but he never lets his characters fall to the wayside, he even supersedes Joss in that respect. Well, actually, no, I'd say this film carries all of the quirky/strong qualities of Serenity, it maybe wasn't as funny, but what can ya do. And, of course, I didn't love these characters as much as Serenity - they weren't as well defined - but they were developed upon enough for me to get what they're made of.

I digress.

So how much did I love Uhura? THIS MUCH. I wish she got more screen time, cos she reminded me quite a bit of a few sassy Abrams characters at once. Kirk? Mal, much? A spunkier, hunkier Mal, much? He was awesome! Spock? Quinton was just fantastic. Simon Pegg!! Nuff said.

So, to wrap this up, I really liked this film. It was a fluffier, bigger budgeted BSG without the aliens. These guys disobey orders. They go off-mission. They throw punches when words won't work. They quip inappropriately, and get the job done while doing so. Ok, so I wouldn't call myself a Trekkie, but I'm certainly gonna keep an eye out for the sequel, and I may just check out this series' back catalog at some point.

Quick Movie Round-Up

X-men: Wolverine

For such a big budget movie, this had some awful effects. It also takes all the darkness behind Logan's past and turns it into a joke. It's mostly played for laughs and - puke - for... Love. He became Wolverine over a woman. WHAT?! I did like the last fight, but nothing stood out - there are tones of small fights, but no baddabing finish. It just ends and in no way ties in with the first X-men film.

Night of the Museum 2

I have a 7 year old brother, so shaddup This is such an awkward movie. It's as though there was no script at all and the film kind of ran on the whim of its acting talent onboard. There are loads of supposedly funny moments that go on for far too long with these historical figures rambling about nothing. Is this what passes for humour nowadays? I genuinely felt awkward for almost everyone onscreen. No one laughed in the theaters, and it was mostly filled with kids. They tried to appeal to adult audiences with its off-beat ramblings, but it just didn't work. Amy Adams, on the other hand, won me over from the second she stepped onto my screen. If it weren't for her, I might not have survived this one.

Shinobi

This is easily one of the best live-action films I have seen in a long time. It's a feast for the eyes, and just oozes of cool. It's the x-men with a ninja twist, and who doesn't like ninjas? Who?! While a few characters aren't fleshed out that much, it didn't actually bother me as much as it did in say, well, X3. These guys, all 10 of them, each with their own Shinobi specialty, just wreak of cool - there's no other word to describe them. If ever there was hope to see a live-action version of something like Naruto, this would be the beacon of hope. The set-pieces blend into the Romeo & Juliet-esq love story nicely and apart from a rather downbeat ending, it never lets up. Anyone who enjoys their action with a bit of a love story (and ninjas!) must check this one out - the epitome of ****AND substance.

Play.Com

For anyone interested, I tend to review a lot DVDs I've seen on that site. If you happen to be a member, too, I'd appreciate some feedback. If not, well, I also tend to review some of the rarer offerings cinema has to offer, as well as commercial, so guwan over and have a Gander

Song of the Blog: Wicked Games

Let's just dive right into it, shall we?

Work

I have the most insane boss ever. Seriously. It's like he has multiple personalities - all boring, mind you - with one just happening to be a boring eccentric. So yesterday we were the discussing the weather (see, boring!) and he was telling me about this one time when he was on a mountain and got caught in thick fog on the edge of a cliff, yadayadayada.

So, in the middle of work, thankfully it was just us in the shop at that particular time, he got down on his knees to demonstrate how he attempted to navigate his way out of the fog. I really didn't know how to react as I watched this middle-aged guy crawl around the floor. I was frightened for my well being. So...I just walked away and pretended I had to finish some work.

Not THAT bad, I suppose. So what about all of the times he pulls a professor Frink? He'll be describing a situation to me, usually something that went wrong with a customer and all is calm and relatively normal, until he gets to what he thinks is the interesting part. It's not. It's just scary.

'So, Mark, then this guy comes up and demands his money back and says' and this is the part where his quiet description escalates into a mad man shouting, flailing and generally hopping around the shop as he impersonates the customer 'I WANT ME BLEEDIN' MONEY BACK' - Now he is seriously jumping, arms flapping, this childish voice which is just scary on any man over 30 then suddenly acts as though nothing just happened, and he has done this at least four times since I started. I honestly never know how to react - he's not from around here, so sarcasm is lost on him, so I really just try and back away as soon as I possibly can.

DVD Review

My word, I didn't mean to go on for so long about that guy, HA. Anyways, I do have work today, so I can't have that big of a blog, so I'll just jot down some quick thoughts on some films I managed to squeeze in recently.

The Wrestler

It's one of those rare DVDs where every single quote on the cover is accompanied by five stars. I do follow the Oscars, but I never go out of my way to go and see the Oscar-bait films in theaters. I typically await them on DVD.

So, I had heard all of the great things about this film - Rourke at his best, a dark storyline, a depressing storyline, and what have you. It had all of these things, sure. Rourke was magnificent...to a point. I still believe he shouldn't have won, because while his character was captivating, it wasn't an actual character was it? It was...him.

He goes through a lot in this film, physically and emotionally, but it was his co-stars who reeled me in. The stripper with a heart of gold (and an amazing bod), Marisa Tomei, and the always wonderful Evan Rachel Wood, I thought, gave this film the emotional edge Rourke was supposed to inject into the story. Instead of commanding a scene, he'd play off of their stronger performances.

This is a good film - I loved how it's shot, I loved how we were invited in to see some of the more mundane goings on in Randy's life, I loved Rourke working in a supermarket. But I didn't love the film. As a former fan of wrestling, I got a kick out of seeing some of the tricks revealed, but it wasn't enough.

Perhaps a surprising rating, then, but by no means an indication that this was a bad film, it wasn't, it just wasn't as good as I was lead to believe.

New TV Shows to look out for!

V: The Series

Network: ABC

First Impressions: With a very strong cast, decent FX and a good writing team, hopefully this can manage to pull the same stunt BSG did and becoming gripping sci-fi.

I'm not a greedy man. I'm already ecstatic over the fact that Alan Tudyk and Morena Baccarin will be reunited once again (and hopefully on a series that lasts more than one season). I simply demand that at some point in the series, Morena devours a gerbil/guinea pig/whatever it was. Is that too much to ask for? Please check this one out. Trailer can be found Here

Glee

Network: FOX

First Impressions: After watching the pilot, I can safely say this will be one to watch. I'll have my review up by the weekend, Sunday at the latest.

I'll jot down a bit of my review: Let's face it, if you were to recommend this to a friend, they'd probably look at you as though you had ten heads. Another High school Musical? C'mon, it's what I initially thought when I heard about this show. Of course, then I realized who created this series and it all made sense - it's from the guy who made plastic surgery, and the lives of those surgeons, look cool, sexy and slick (not to mention all kinds of messed up). He's also responsible for the extremely underrated, but highly entertaining short-lived series Popular - he deserves credit for Mary-Cherry alone. Extended trailer can be found Here

And so I gotta cut this one shorter than originally intended. Later!

Song of zee blog: Treasure Hunt - amazing!

- M@rk

Hey peeps!

My sincerest apologies for not being around here lately, I've been all kinds of busy. I know I should have some spare time to comment, but I'd get home from work and I'll just be exhausted, even though I read a few blogs before work. (My new job is crazy, I have really bizarre hours.)

Anyways, just thought I'd write up a quick blog to let ya know what to expect over the summer. Now that the only two shows that I review are over – Dollhouse and Smallville – I'll be reviewing a couple of new shows. Well, I say new, but they've been out for ages. Once I have a schedule done and dusted, I'll assign a show to each day of the week, and hopefully have the review up the next day. Worse comes to worst, I'll be watching a show every other day. So far I have Medium and Prison Break, both Sunday shows, on my list. Supernatural might be in there, too, but I think I'll hold out for the complete 4th season. Hrmm.

Yay Dollhouse and Chuck

Both shows are getting another season. I'm so excited!! And I just can't hide it!! Dollhouse still has a long way to go, but season one ended with a bang and the storylines for next year look promising. Chuck, well, lets just say the old adage applies ''if it aint broke, don't try and fix it.''

Movie Reviews

I've lost my touch, so I shall be churning out a movie blog every week. I need to get back into this community. So many of you write up these amazing blogs and I'm literally blown away every time, so I gotta keep up with these standards (Daria, Winterb, I'm lookin' at you!).

That's it for now.

Just a blog to let you all know I'm still here.

- M@rk

Hey folks,

Long time no see! I've been avoiding doing a blog cos I haven't had the energy, but this past week so many people have been churning out kick arse blogs, I just had to jump on the bandwagon

Amsterdamned

I went to Amsterdam last weekend for 2 days with 12 other friends for a 21st. It was amazing, just like last time. There was a carnival in town which was epic and the weather was great. Amsterdam is a beautiful city, and we took full advantage of its Sin City-esq nightlife

On the way back, a flock of birds decided to take on our plane, rather foolishly. What surprised was that, despite the bloody massacre, we had to land BECAUSE of them. So you could say it was a Pyrrhic victory!

While all of the other passengers were quite miffed over this (rightfully so) we took advantage of the swish airport and got drunk (as ya do ) It was funny, cos the trip went like a dream, and then this happened, only we saw the silver lining behind the cloud of bloodied bird corpses

College

Those of you who have been around a while know I had to leave college a year ago, effectively missing two terms. Sigh. Anyways, I'm starting a new course come September, only I'm not entirely sure what to do:

It's between Modern Language (I'm thinking Spanish and French) and Psychology and/or Criminology. Starking contrasts to my old course -audio/visual - and each other, but I want to do something new and interesting, ya know? I still see journalism of some sort in my future, but for the next 3 years, these will be what I'm focusing on.

Movie-Bites (reviews in 50 words or less)

The Changeling: ****

It's a thought provoking film, far darker than I expected it to be. Great performances and a strong script to boot. If you were to take a shot every time ''my son'' is said, however, you'd die of liver failure.

Dragonball: Evolution: **

It's far too reliant on CGI, but I managed to enjoy it nonetheless. The acting is questionable, while the script does little to aid the film. Still, my brother loved it and as brainless fun goes, I've seen far worse (*cough* Street Fighter *cough*).

Transporter 3: *

This is total rubbish. I don't know what I expected from it, but this is essentially the exact same film as the last two.

Shaun of the Dead: ****

Not that many belly laughs, but it's tightly scripted, wonderfully acted and slickly directed. There are plenty of nods in there for fans of Spaced, and the action and set-pieces are completely bonkers and all the more fun because of it!

Hulks Vs Thor: ***

Nowhere near as good as Wolverine's story, but there's a lot of cool action sequences, and the Hulk is used far more effectively in this instance. It looks great and the voice-work is spot on, but it hasn't got a scratch on the current batch of DC animated films.

What I've been watching

Chuck Season 2, part 1.

It takes a while for season 2 to eclipse the 1st season, but once it does, the ball really gets rolling. I love the Sarah/Chuck relationship, and Casey is feckn hilarious this season High C note, anyone? The missions, though, have been just OK. Season 1 had loads of cool moments, whereas the spy stuff this year has been rather generic. The last few episodes I watched, with Chuck's old GF in tow, have been really good. I hope it only gets better!

Music I'm Listening To...

Click here to see some tracks I'm currently listening to

Oh, and before I go, really looking forward to the new Fast & Furious (weird, huh...) and Blood: The Last Vampire. Also, have you noticed the new Wolverine game is 18s Crazy.

- M@rk

Hyef folks, it's past 6am in the morning, and I'm back from a work-related party -- we trashed our bosses apartment, BIG TIME. It was such a good night. It was messy, but it eas fun. A lot of fun.

I haven't bloggrd with a few (ahem) drinks on me in ages, so why not, eh?

Ok: New episode of Dllhouse was deadly, but why are so many ppl hating on my review, **** them! HA!

Watchmen was goo and BAND, it like had some amazing moments, but alos some majorly crap bits. Ah well. Also, it was so mother trucking long. eugh.

I'm really enjoying Fringe. Yeah...

I'm working in a few different pbranches within work right now, and it's a bad mad -my hours got cut loads so I have to work all over, Im the whore of my job. In a non sexual, hours-opnly kind of way.

Auntie and a few others (who i LOVE!) are well used to these kind of blogs (haha) but I am sorry for anyone new,\ i'm irish

Good morning all! I did nothing for paddies, so this was me making up for it!

Ah, (wo)man, I am in such a good mood right now! The sun is shining (kinda) and the weather is sweet (kinda), I want you to knoooow, I'm a rainbow too (huh?).

Go-Karting - I completely forgot to tell you folk about my Go-Karting last week...

It was my first time (I bet he uses that excuse often!) in a race against 10 people, but I actually came second (for once, wooooo!). For 22 euro we had this huge grand prix and we were surprised by how long the competition went on for - just under an hour. I even got a little cert saying I was 2nd, while my good mate John got a frakin Trophy (-_-)

Smallville, yes, it's true, has been renewed, along with Supernatural, for a 9th season.

I'm actually really excited about this, weirdly enough. Season 8 has been consistently better than almost every past season of the show, and from what I've read of future episodes, it only gets better. Much better. Like the story-lines sound so, so, so tantalising. And this is Smallville I am talking about! =/

So I finally got around to watching that gawd awful show Fringe...

...I'm joking, of course. I've reviewed it below, for anyone interested. For those who don't give a damn, I ranked it a solid 8 (which is more than I can say for you, WOOOOOOO!).

Battlestar Galactica is almost over...sniffles.

The penultimate episode before the 3 hour finale was fantastic - it had so many of those quiet moments that just make the show one of a kind. I'm dreading the finale, cos I know there's a war coming, and I'm dreading the thoughts of who will bite the bullet

Dollhouse...Oh dear.

I feel undeniably guilty for some reason, but I just can't click with this show. I really am devoted to Joss - cos I have witnessed before some of the best TV ever, and, of course, it was by the Jossman. I'm gonna stick with it, if only for the fact I don't see it lasting, and it's not so bad that I can't watch it, ya know? Eliza and Dichen don't hurt either

Lilly Allen, won't you marry me?

I have always enjoyed her music, mostly because it's so quirky, yet her lyrics are so disturbingly dark, brutal and honest. But her latest single Fear, she looks so hawt in the video. So what if she's a chav, she's a hot chav

Buffy Withdrawal...the pain!

I've been playing random episodes from random seasons and it's just so...why can't it be on with new episodes? WHY? Siiigh. I'll never get JD, though; he used to love the show, and is now saying that 4 episodes of Dollhouse have been better than Buffy. I think he jus says these things to piss me off!

JD's site... - www.cityofangels.freeforums.org

I think those who are uninitiated, should take a gander over there. You'll find some regulars over there from this once brilliant site, and it's a place where you're not censored at all (you can't even type gay on this site.) it's exceptionally designed and we have some very smexy people over there: as well as TV, films, comics, general discussions, games and so on, there's a whole section dedicated to everything naughty

Oh, and, by the by, I got me mon hair cut. Huzzaah!

edit: well, whataa ya know, I can type gay.

Not that my life revolves around this site or anything (stop looking at me like that!) but do you ever you think to yourself in work/uni/school/phalange "Oh I'll make a blog when I go home" and then when you finally get around to writing one up you just stare at the screen and go "Meh!"?

Who Watches the Watchmen?

Haven't seen it yet cos I had to work all day today, but my friends, who wouldn't even wait a frickin day for us to see it together did, and they pretty much geekasmd so much, I had a little geeking out of my own. So I shall be seeing it on Sunday, my day off, with coooler, more reliable friends. So there.

My Dollhouse is Broken

I was surprised by the amount of feedback my latest review of Dollhouse received, it was pretty awesome. The feedback, I mean, not the episode, which I ranked a charitable 4.5. Thankfully, tonight's episode looks to be a vast improvement. I truly hope so.

On the Fringe of Something Interesting

So. I finally watched the pilot of Fringe. I shant say anything about what I thought, cos I shall review it after this blog. Will I be joining the awesome Fringe club? I guess you'll have to wait see.

Talk Figther: The Legend of Lana Lang

So, yeah, I managed to catch the new Street Fighter. My expectations were so low that I did manage to find moments of awesomeness, no matter how small they may have been. Kreuk did a great job, while the rest of the film stank. The fights, while energetic, are few and far between. And even though Bison has an Irish accent, despite living his entire life in Asia, one scene involving a female punching bag gave us a glimpse at the weighty and twisted film Street Fighter could have been, if it weren't for the bad acting, Chris Kelin, an awful script, lame direction, Chris Klein, pissing all over Vega, Chris Klein and two glimpses at a film I wanted to see: Chun-li doing her signature move in her almost-signature attire, and the ending!! It tickled me more than it should have!

Khan You diggit?

Mongol, let me tell you, is a breathtakingly beautiful film. For such a visceral experience, it has some stunning cinematography. It's a compelling tale with strong performances all-round, and the simplest of moments within this revenge flick are easily some of the best and most tragic. It may be a little too long, but it's certainly one of the better action epics I have seen in a long while. Highly recommended.

Insert Porn Pun Here. Then Once You're Finished, Clean Up the Mess

I enjoyed this film, which was surprisingly graphic, but not so much so that you could have a cheeky w.......anyways, if you're easily offended by the secks, this aint your film. It's fowl, it's crude, it's rude and yet, it's kinda of, dare I say it, sweet. Seth and Elizabeth really sell these unbelievable characters, and amidst all of the naked flesh, there's a romantic comedy to be found. It's not for everyone, and it's not hysterically funny, but it's certainly enjoyable. Plus I kind of Love Elizabeth Banks, so I may be somewhat Bias on this one.

Oh, and before I go, I ordered what will hopefully be the most awesomest/insanest/funniest/weirdest film I'll ever have the pleasure of watching once it arrives from the YOU ESSS OF AAAAYY.

Later, peeps

~ M@rk

OK, first off, if you've ever wanted to hear what a typical Dublin lass sounds like...now's your chance. I stumbled upon this parody of The Hills, dubbed by Irish girls as a joke. It is TOO funny. Perhaps because I'm from Dublin and know this type (not the farting type, mind): contains strong language, thick accents and unfortunately the same way the majority of girls talk over here (not my friends, though ): Irish Hills

Been having a bit of a pissy few days, to be honest. I'm not exactly sure why, but I've just been bleh. Very bleh. Anyways, I've been having weird dreams lately. Pretty much mad dreams combining a load of different things from the day before. So I decided to experiment and so I watched The Hills Have Eyes and Superman: Doomsday last night, and wadda ya know, I had a dream that Doomsday was trying to kill me on the set of Wes Craven's horror film. It was totally bizarre and thrilling, not to mention scary - there were three kinds of Doomsday, each with their own perks (the massive hulk-like one, the small one who cuts people and the really fast one); thankfully, I didn't die ^^ So I'm hoping for a decent sequel at some point

Mini-Reviews

Scream

It's probably one of my favourite horror films of all time. Scream is cheesy, a little too satirical and OTT for its own good, but it also manages to be really suspenseful and freaky, as well as having one of the most chilling opening sequences in cinematic history.

Scream 2

I much prefer this to the first instalment, mainly because it capitalises on everything that made the original Scream great in the first place. It's much scarier than the first film. One scene involving a car crash has you clasping for air as the two victims attempt an escape. Meanwhile, the love of my life, Sarah Michelle Gellar has an exciting death-scene and the best chase sequence, akin to Syd's chase in the first film.

Hulk VS. Wolverine

I let my little brother watch this film with me but had to ask him to leave halfway through this part of the story it is that violent. It's one of the only times I've seen Hulk and Logan go all out with the abilities given to them. Wolverine slices and dices everything and anyone in his path with bloodied results, while Hulk almost rips every character a new one (or in Lady Deathstirkes case, in half!). The plot digs into Logan's past rather effectively while Deadpool has some fantastic one-liners throughout.

Superman: Doomsday

I had high hopes for this film, which stars James Marsters and Alan Baldwin, but I gotta say I was a tad disappointed. The 10+ minute fight scene is effin fantastic, but the rest of the film sort of nose-dives from there on out. Pity, really, cos this could have been all kinds of epic. Instead, though, it's a step or two behind the two-parter from the Justice League series, which handled the death of Superman much better, imo.

The Sarah Silverman Programme

I finally caught up on season 2, part 2 and I gotta say, while it may not touch season one in terms of genuine comedy, it has some far-out plots, some extremely harsh subplots and the occasional so-funny-I-can't-breath moments. This kind of comedy tickles me oh so much because it's so childish and yet quite intelligent, too. It's equal to South Park, only live-action, me thinks. Sarah, herself, is just a treat - her facial expressions kill me and officer Jay is hilarious! My favourite episode has to be High, It's Sarah

Hey, same car!

Alrighty, I best be off.

Oh and I'm loving Street Fighter IV, it's frickin' hard though !

~ M@rk

Hey there

Quick, humiliating/hysterical story with a little too much information...

I bought these sweets in the shopping centre yesterday, they were in the celiac section. I, of course, figured they were sweets for Celiacs. So, this morning, around 8, I started having a few and continued to do so on my way to work and all through the morning until around 12. I offered my boss one of the sweets, as she offered me a regular sweet and I told her I couldn't actually have those anymore. She took the bag and randomly read the back (something I should have done...)

"Uhm, Mark..."

"Yeah?"

"How many have you had?"

"Well, the bag is almost empty...why?"

"These sweets double as laxatives"...

:O

"I'm sure it's nothing, really. They say that on a lot of packaging."

"Hehe, yeah...I'm sure it's nothing *gulp*"

So I read the packet thoroughly and it advises to have around 3 sweets throughout the day...I had 15 within a few hours. The rest of my day resulted in me running to the bathroom quite often. Yeah....

Dollhouse

As expected, even the most hardcore Whedonites have greeted the pilot with luke-warm responses. It's such a pity cos I really wanted to love it like I did with Joss' other projects This coming episode looks much better, to be honest, but I'm not even remotely interested in anything that's happening, not the way I am with other shows. I also rewatched the pilot of Alias just for kicks and giggles, and it's infintly better by comparison.

A pilot a day

JD has been nagging me lately, saying that I'm far too comfy when it comes to the shows I watch. I seem to stick to a formula, he says, and that the shows I watch are either samey or crap, in his humble opinion.

To hell with him, I say. Not because he's wrong, he's not, it's mostly for the smell...oh the smell.

So, I'm gonna watch a bunch of pilots for TV shows I've missed and see if I'll add them to my "apparent" samey list of favourite shows. Pssh.

The first show was...BEING HUMAN.

It's a British TV show about a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost living together...

...still here?

This may possibly turn into one of the fastest shows I've fallen for. It's insanely good! I love that the series doesn't try to lure you in to the possible cool side of being any of these creatures. It certainly doesn't make you want to become a werewolf, that's for sure. The process is painstakingly brutal, far from the fuzzy bunny Oz was in Buffy.

The script is so, so funny and the acting is top notch, too. It looks great and it's a gripping drama piece, there's no action scenes or the likes, although there's plenty of blood and crazy amounts of black-comedy. I really cannot wait for the next episode. I rated it a 9.5 and reviewed it below if you're interested.

The next pilot I shall have a stab at shall be Fringe's pilot.

Ok, I'm all done for now.

Song of the day: Decode by Paramore.

M@rk

Hey peeps,

Got a lot to cover today, so I'll keep the intro sh...

The Trip

So, with a bit of persuading, I've managed to scrap Hong Kong from our 6 week outing. It just looks like a giant city of smog. For some reason, people don't want to visit Laos, but it's like one of my major ones to visit, that and Vietnam! Looks like I have a bit more "persuading" to do. Sexual favours is what I'm referring to, just so ya know...

The Paranoia

This site is out to get me. Seriously. I can't access my preferences (OK, I managed to do that on Explorer today, but accidentally deleted my banner...), I can't access PMs, and where is the option to change the bliiinding whiite? Eh? Through no fault of my own, I also deleted my last blog, but I might as well blame the site for that, too

The Geek

OK, any blog is a given in terms of geekdom.

I was doing some DVD shopping online when I realised I really don't have the money for any of it. It put me in a bad humour cos I severely wanted to get Superman: Doomsday, Justice League: The New Frontier, and a few horror films I hadn't seen before. So I was over in Tesco, getting some actual shopping, when I passed by a deal so juicy I couldn't have passed it up even if I had left my wallet at home, it would have been mine.

Marvel Triple Pack for a 10er!

Ultimate Avengers, Ultimate Avengers 2 and The Invincible Iron Man

I really enjoyed this film. I would have never ****d myself as an Avengers fan, but this has surely piqued my interest. It's funny, it's superbly animated, with stellar voice work and a meaty origin story. I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between Wasp and Giant Man, while it never occurred to me that Captain America could make for such a compelling lead. It seems to be Marvel's fail-safe to have the Hulk become the big bad of almost every Marvel feature out right now - still, the fight is quite the showdown.

8/10

At 80 mins long, this is a surprisingly character driven story that doesn't necessarily end the way you'd expect it to. The intro is almost identical to that of the recent film, with a few tweaks here and there, but the story takes off in radical directions and is entirely over-the-top. Tony Stark is a fantastic character; he has plenty of one-liners. There's quite a bit of innuendo in the film and a rather startling point-blank kill and plenty of blood shots, it's no wonder this was rated 12s.

8/10

I'll watch the sequel to UA in the moro.

The Food

I'm still adjusting to this new diet, but I actually feel all the better for it. I find that I have a lot more energy now than I did before I went on it. My mam made me a gluten free pizza when I came home from work, since I was complaining about all of the good foods being out of reach, it was delicious!

I have more to say, but I'm a little on the tired side.

Until next time.

~ M@rk

I think I've forgotten how to do one of these...lets see, eh?

Life

So far, so good. I'm basically planning the first half of this year around my 6 week trip to Southeast Asia. It'll cost a fair amount, so I'm applying for a senior position at my job. I have a good chance of getting it, so wish me luck (should know by next week). It'll mean quite a bit more responsibility, and we all know I try to steer clear of that as often as physically possible, but it means a set number of hours each week and a steady paycheck - something that's becoming rare in this country, and a lot of others, given the recession. I'll try to update when I can about where we're hitting, it's gonna be epic!

Film

Ah, Movies....two weeks ago was the first time I went to the cinema in over 3 months!! I'm really not living up to my username am I?

My Bloody Valentine: 3D

Uhm, I liked it...in the sense that it was so f****** bad that I could not stop larfingmonassoff. It knew it was crap, and there was a definite sense of Grindhouse about the film, but it still wasn't worth the admission price. The 3D elements were weak at best, but the entire experience was so novel, in that everyone looked like an eejit and, for the most part, felt like one too

Taken

This only came out in the states, but it's on DVD over here. I think you really need to see this on DVD, cos as a cinematic experience, I don't think you'd be able to appreciate it. Liam Neeson sells this film so convincingly, not even the line "I will tear down the Eiffel tower if I have to" ruined my enjoyment (I would have verbally crucified anyone else in the role). It's fast paced with some great action scenes (it's directed by the guy who did District 13, so it's no surprise there); and it really doesn't go about wasting time. The acting is solid (with the likes of Lost's Maggie Grace, Nip/Tuck's Famke Jenson and Supernatural's Katie Cassidy helping it along) and the storyline, while wafer-thin, never fails to hold your attention. As as DVD, with popcorn, a few mates and some beers, it works. I just think as a cinematic film, it's a few punches short of matching Jason Bourne and couple of stunts behind the likes of Bond. But if you enjoy either of those kind of films, you'll surely find yourself liking this one, as it's the edgier, less flashy cousin of the bunch.

Pineapple Express...

It sucked, end of. I really wanted to enjoy this, cos I dig my stoner comedies, but this was just universally lame. I didn't laugh once =/ If you're interested in a good stoner comedy, check out Smiley Face, starring Anna Faris - it's a h00t!

Tropic Thunder...

I know, what's with all of the films that are SO last year. Well, I live on the side of the pond that takes forever for them to hit our shores. I actually enjoyed this mess of a film that's never really consistent with its gags, with a lot of them failing miserably. Jr., however, is hysterical simply because you forget it's him several times throughout and burst into laughter once you remind yourself at various intervals. Ben, well, I really don't like his comedy **** but he has a flare for directing. Jack Black gets an effin' brilliant scene where he's tied to a tree and the film tends to hit its pique when it resorts to physical comedy. So, it's good then, but it could have been Stiller, I mean stellar. Arf.

GAMES

Currently Playing: Lost Odyssey. It's 4 discs of Microsoft's answer to the Final Fantasy franchise. I may not be as emotionally invested as I was with some FF's previous offerings, but then again, I'm only on the first disc. Some gorgeous cut-scenes, great monster designs, interesting characters, and a story so politically driven it's gives BSG a run for its money, make it a great game. I only hope it gets better.

Finished: Gears of War 2. Well, that was Funkin EPIC! Almost better than its predecessor in every.single.way. My only gripe is that it left a good few things unanswered...and there was no hint of a sequel.

Also Playing: Super Smash Bros (aweeesome!); Prince of Persia (cracking game!) and shall start the new LOTR game soon.

TV

Well, I've been a very bad tvdotcommer. I'm only watching...two current shows? Wow, that's crazy. Smallville is still kicking arse, although the quality has dipped a fair bit with the last two episodes. BSG, meanwhile, is outstanding!! "The Oath" was one of the best hours of TV in AGES.

Old TV

I'm becoming so nostalgic as of late. Friends is officially the best sitcom ever made. Don't believe me? I dare you to watch season 1 and say otherwise! Season 2 and 3 are also magnificent. I'm just dreading the inevitable decline... Buffy - I need to get over this show. But I just can't. I'm almost finished re-watching season 5 and it's quite possibly a season of perfection. Sucks for you if you didn't like Glory, but I did. Season 6 is supposed to be the "dark" year, but this is way darker. Season 6 was the whiny EMO year, let's face it.

Music

I've really gotten into a band called Owl City. They're really mellow, and the vocalist reminds me of Daft Punk. Not for everyone, but I'm in a sappy mood right now, so shaddup ;-) Hello Seattle is a great song, for anyone interested.

February - Month of the Geek

• Street Fighter IV comes out on PS3/XBOX 360. Gawd, I've been waiting for this for frickin EVER.
• Street Fighter comes out in the cinema! Everyone IRL I've talked to about this has cringed, but I remain hopeful. I have to. Please, please, don't be a pile of shyte. PLEASE!!
• Dollhouse starts! Need I say any-bloody-more?!
• We've seen Dean in My Bloody Valentine, but let's hope Sam can deliver on the goods with the remake of Friday the 13th. It was one of the first films to ever scurrr me, so I hope, at the very least, I get a kick out of it. Jason is badass!

Righty-o, that's all from me.

Sorry for being of the non existent kind, but I'm baaack. Just like the Terminator franchise! W00T!

~ M@rk

Greetings fellow TVdotcommers,

I hope this blog sees you well. This blog sees me cold...very cold. I had a great Christmas, mind, in spite of the weather; I've developed an eating disorder over the past week - I just can't.stop.eating. Christmas dinner was amazing, made all the better by the fact it lasted over two days. I love it when my mam cooks for a family of 8, even though there's only four of us

Since I won't be here over the next week, I thought I'd blog about what I'm looking forward to in TV land in the new year. Here goes:

While we have to wait that bit longer for it, it's the big gun I cannot wait for! Yep, Dollhouse.

There have been many rumblings of the bad kind circling as of late, from fans and press alike, but I remain optimistic. The entire ensemble looks promising, we have our Joss elites on-board the writing team and promos have been amazing. I just hope fans of Joss tune in and FOX allow the show to breathe and last for more than one season!

The Good: Joss + Eliza + more Buffy/Angel affiliation than you can shake a stick at!

The Bad: Friday night death slot could box this show away quite early

____

Only ten episodes left and it's goodbye to one of the best shows ever. Excuse me a moment, I've got something in my eye...

BSG has been an amazing series that has proved that has proved sci-fi can be more than just wacky TV with things going boom. It's intense, it's political, it's thrilling and it fraking rocks my socks! There's rarely a dud and the quality is just so consistent I often pity those who never gave it a chance. Yeah, you! No, not you. You.

The Good: Erm, a-dur, it's back on TV!! After the mid season cliffhanger, and the events of season four, things have never been so up in the air.

The Bad: Hrrm, are our extremely high expectations going to set us up for disappointment? Frak no, it's BSG, it'll pull the rug from right under us once again. And again. And ag--oh you get the point. Watch this show!

____

I rarely watch British sci-fi. I was practically mentally broken down and forced to watch Doctor Who by various people on this site. Thankfully, it got better and better. Now, though, a new series has caught my eye:

What I appreciate about Demons is how original it looks. The premise - a descendant of Van Helsing - sounds a bit whiffy, but promo shots and various pre-buzz reviews have really got my interest piqued. I just hope it can deliver a darker tone than the profusion of British sci-fi so adamant on staying on the right side of family viewing...

The Good: The production values seem to be top ****- I'm really diggin the hyena demons. Very cool!

The Bad: This could go either way. Do ITV have the balls to really utilize its Gothic London underground premise. I hope so...

____

Eight years...eight years...can we just ignore seasons six and seven and pretend we're only on the 6th?! Cos, yep, I'm saying it again, Smallville has all of a sudden clicked, and I'd like to see more seasons...

There's not long to wait until season 8 returns, and from what I've seen of the new preview, the season is continuing with strong story-lines, tons of DC lore brought in to mix things up and the ongoing arc continues! Of course, it's still candyfloss viewing, but it's structured now; every character has a drive and we're getting really close to the mythos we all know of. It's saying something when Season 8 of Smallville has hands down trampled all over Heroes 3rd and rather shallow season.

The Good: More of everything from the season so far seems to be what's in store - Doomsday, Lex, Clark accepting his destiny once and for all. Hurrah!

The Bad: It has happened in the past - the show has had a run of great episodes only to drop the ball and **** it all up. It could so easily happen...

_____

Ah, season one, you seem like such a distant memory of a better time. Eugh season two, you were the root canal of TV. And season three, you were the child I dropped on the head...poor thing...can't even string a decent plot together.

Bryan Fuller. I am sorry for the loss of Pushing Daisies, but you have to man up and bring this show around! To be fair, it's sounding fairly good, with everyone having lives again, as one of season three's breaking points had to be the fact none of these people had jobs/interests to keep them occupied between annoying plot developments. They just fought each other every week. Cool action scenes don't make a good super-hero show, gorramit!

The Good: It looks like we'll start to care about these people again. I hope they can find a balance - ah, season one!

The Bad: I have a feeling we may have to wait till s4 to fully see Bryan's input take effect. I hope I'm wrong.

Will you be watching any of these shows? Are there any sci-fi shows I should watch?

~ M@rk