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Spectre


I can't believe three years have elapsed since I saw Skyfall at the cinema. A film I found disappointing - mainly because of it's hammy villain.

And you know what?... Spectre is exactly the same. I feel like Sam Mendes has taken James Bond backwards and has completely undone the new direction taken in Casino Royale (a vastly superior film).

Daniel Craig once again portrays Bond brilliantly. The remaining characters are all pretty one dimensional apart from Q.

There is a plot twist and a big reveal which you can see coming a mile off if you know your Bond mythology. The obligatory fights in a helicopter and on a train and the usual car chase. Loads of continuity errors are strewn throughout. And once again a hammy villain!!!

Entertaining... but not great.

Rating: 7/10

Primary Colours Portillo


Hey!... Michael!!... What's with the strident reds, greens and blues?

You look like one of the characters from that Dick Tracy film with Warren Beatty.

Rant over.

Now I'm getting really excited!

Ashley Madison


I don't have much sympathy for the people foolish enough to sign up for this "dating" website who have had their identities revealed but what astonished me was the fact that there are 32,000,000 of them!!!!

UNBELIEVABLE!

"CEO Secrets: Sir James Dyson says back scientists"


Well... "Sir" James why don't you back British workers and manufacture your bloody vacuum cleaners in the UK rather than Malaysia like you did pre-2002. You reek of hypocrisy!

Rant over.

Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman


I just thought I would post this photo simply to get rid of Harriet Harman from the top of my blog.

Calais calamity...



I am certainly no Tory but I couldn't believe the moronic garbage Harriet Harman reportedly came out with... ie. Criticising Cameron for not demanding that the French should pay compensation to British business' for lost income because it is their fault for not resolving the migrant crisis!

As if the French would seriously cough up any compo! They couldn't give a sh*t about British business or in fact anything British.

Now please don't get me wrong... I am pro-European but I acknowledge we are a detested nation and stand zero chance of ever being listened to seriously.

Rant over.

Tour de France vs Masterchef...



I was listening to the news the other day on one of the BBC radio stations and I couldn't believe it when they followed up a report on the sheer brilliance of Chris Froome winning the Tour de France for the second time with a report on whoever it was who had won Celebrity Masterchef... Like the two are comparable achievements!!! Ridiculous...

Rant over.

John Bercow MP


Why would anyone vote for this tw*t?

Frequently in the news for no good reasons, this money grabbing Tory turd has now been revealed as having claimed over £31,000 in expenses - including hundreds of pounds in very short car journeys.

Why is this obnoxious specimen allowed to get away with it? And why do the idiots of Buckingham continue to vote for him. Absolutely no redeeming features whatsoever and his wife is a vile money grabber too!

Rant over.

True Detective Season 2


After the sheer brilliance of Season 1 I was really looking forward to the second season of HBO's top flight police drama.

Is it as good as the original?

Unfortunately not.

It tries to be... and the actors pull out all the stops but regrettably it is inferior in every single way. And I reckon that is down to not giving a toss about who was murdered, why they were murdered and who the murderer is.

As the viewer you just don't care!

Having said all that I will watch the remaining episodes.

Rating: 6/10

Stretchy sleeves...


Why do young women who are wearing jumpers always stretch their sleeves down over their hands?

What's all that about?

Rant over.

Fear The Walking Dead


Love this poster for the new spin off series: Fear The Walking Dead... very clever!

OXO


Today was the longest day of the year and it was also Father's Day. So to celebrate we had lunch at the OXO Brasserie situated along the South Bank near to the National Theatre.

I must admit I was expecting something pretentious, but in fact it was far from it. The staff were courteous, quick and efficient and the food was excellent. I was expecting small portions but was delighted to discover that they were more than generous. In fact I felt completely stuffed by the end of it. We had the steak which at £30 sounded expensive but was actually great value when you considered the quality and where you were eating it.

Would I go back?

I most certainly would!

We had parked our car at London Zoo and taken a leisurely stroll through Regents Park. Then took the tube to Embankment. It was also the first time we had paid for a train ticket contactlessly with a debit card so I hope to god that the correct amount has been debited. Most disconcerting!

A great day out... Rating: 10/10

Farewell Mr Spock

Leonard Nimoy - you portrayed one of the greatest and most iconic characters of all time.

Rest in peace.

Heads in the trough... Again!



"A fresh row erupted over MPs' pay today as a senior Tory caught in a 'cash for access' scandal said he sought extra business deals on top of his £67,000 salary to secure the standard of living he is 'entitled' to enjoy.


Sir Malcolm Rifkind, who chairs the Intelligence and Security Select Committee, has been suspended from the Conservative party after bragging that he could see any foreign ambassador in London and has 'useful access' to every British ambassador in the world.


But in a series of disastrous media interviews, he claimed today that it was 'quite unrealistic' to expect backbench MPs with professional backgrounds to 'simply accept a salary of £60,000'.

Sir Malcolm and former Labour foreign secretary Jack Straw were secretly filmed discussing how they could use their contacts to benefit a private company and both boasted about charging at least £5,000-a-day. Mr Straw has also been suspended by the Labour party over the 'disturbing' allegations." -- Daily Mail website.


"Quite unrealistic to simply accept a salary of £60,000"... But Malcolm is it realistic for the public to accept you using the contacts you acquired whilst in public office to line your own pockets from benefitting a private company?


I think not.


Completely out of touch with the world the rest of us live in!


Rant over.



Oh to be an Oscar nominee...



The annual backslapping luvvies awards ceremony is on this evening and no doubt someone you’ve never heard of will come away with a gong for appearing in a film you never have the intention of watching… But what gets me is that just for being nominated you receive a $125,000 goodie bag.

Yes… $125,000 worth of freebies for being on a list.

Why?

Rant over.

Fortitude


Three episodes in and I am still undecided whether I actually like Sky Atlantic’s new homegrown drama series Fortitude.

My first question is… Where is the town of Fortitude?

We know it is within the Arctic circle with a population of 700… But in what country is it located?

Why does it have a multinational population? Scandinavians, British, Spanish… Why? What is the reason for people living in such an inhospitable environment?

Does it really matter? Probably not.

It is difficult to feel much sympathy for many of the characters though and the writers employ the usual unsubtle tactic in making us believe a couple of them are the prime suspects where as they are almost certainly red herrings.

Stanley Tucci is by far the best actor and portrays the most interesting character. Michael Gambon is his usual overrated self: cynical, slightly drunk, a chip on his shoulder and starts speaking common every so often (much like his role as The Singing Detective). The philandering black guy with the son in hospital is crap. Christopher Ecclestone was hardly in it before becoming the victim.

Anyway… It’s not great but I will probably watch the remaining episodes simply because I am intrigued to discover who the murderer is.

Rating: 6/10

Helena Bonham-Carter gets naked with a giant tuna...



Now that is what I call disturbing!

Weird.

Amazing Spider-Man 2


A truly terrible film.

I finally got around to watching this the other night and dozed off midway through it. Jamie Foxx was appalling. In fact everyone was pretty dreadful... all except Andrew Garfield's portrayal of Spider-Man (not as Peter Parker though).

Don't bother watching it.

Rating: 2/10

Cara Delevingne... GO AWAY!!!


I don't know who this woman is - except that every time you go online you see her bloody picture... usually with some other mediocre "celebrity".

And as for those Denis Healey caterpillar eyebrows! Bleurghhh!!

Rant over.

Birthday dinner at The Grove



As it was N's birthday we decided to splash out and have dinner at The Grove Hotel & Spa over in Watford. Funnily enough we went there last year for breakfast along with the girls.

This time (without the girls who were being babysat by MO) we plumped for the huge buffet they serve there every evening. And when I say huge... I mean HUGE!!! There was so much on offer it was difficult to decide what to start with.

I managed to devour four courses which included a fish course, followed by cold meats etc, a vast roast dinner including pork, beef and duck and then concluding with three different desserts and by the end of it I felt as if my stomach was literally going to explode! I think the trouble I have with buffets is that I want to get my money's worth and that results in stuffing myself stupid!

Pure greed!

Do I care?

Nope!

Would I recommend The Grove? I most certainly would!

Rating: 8.5/10

Katie Price: Worth £45,000,000 and gets the taxpayer to pay for her disabled son to be ferried to school



That tidbit of information came out in Celebrity Big Brother the other night... and although she and her family maybe entitled to claim the "£1,000" you would think she would put her hand in her own pocket and shell out the cash rather than expect the rest of us to pay.

Wouldn't you?

Nah!!!

Too thick and selfish.

Rant over

"Foot-shaped radish with five toes goes on display in Japan - fit for a size 12 shoe"


Spooky!

"Historic move to safeguard cyclists"

"Cyclists will take centre stage in Britain's transport network after plans were drawn up for the first government safe cycling budget." The Times.

It goes on to say "calling on the government investing longterm in safe cycle routes"

BUT NO F*CKER USES THEM!!!

As I have said several times before the cycle paths where we live are woefully underused. The times you see cyclists on the road literally a couple of metres from an empty cycle path.

A complete and utter waste of money!

Rant over.

Thunderbirds Are Go!


Bloody 'ell!

Talk about giving you the creeps... the characters from the new series of Thunderbirds look like CGI members of One Direction.

Rant over.

Snooker loopy

This is another thing that annoys me intensely!

I haven't watched snooker properly for ages... then literally just ten minutes ago I caught a snippet of a match between Ronnie O'Sullivan and some bloke I've never heard of and the bloody commentator managed to mention the word clinch twice in the space of two sentences.

"This young man only needs the blue and the pink to clinch the frame"

Nothing changes!

They always always always use the word clinch!

Rant over.

Katie Hopkins... how old?


39?!!!... Good grief!

You don't age well do you Katie?

Rant over.

World's most DANGEROUS door discovered in London - beware!



I wouldn't open this door!

Would you?

The Raid: Redemption


After reading rave reviews on AICN about this film I was actually disappointed with this overrated action thriller. Yes the fight scenes are impressive... But after the initial bloodbath between the SWAT team and the gang members the fights are reduced to one on one combat between our invincible and inexhaustible hero and the main baddy's characterless minions.

It's okay... But Dredd is a lot better.

Rating: 7/10

Kristin Scott Thomas... again!


Amazing how I ranted about Kristin Scott Thomas last month by asking the question has anyone ever wanted to watch a film she has been in?

Well strike a light... this actress who has been in a number of films I've never heard of, who lives in France, has brought her kids up in France and considers herself more French than British has been made a Dame (she was awarded an OBE in 2003). I googled the question why has she been given these awards and I can't find an answer apart from the fact she is an actress.

Which leads me to ask why has someone decided to bestow this on her?

An utter and complete mockery.

It is just as perverse as giving awards to two of those overpaid parasites at National Rail for completely failing whilst "working" for a company that is a complete monopoly.

Disgusting!

Rant over.