What are you watching tonight?

[P.O.S.]

Gutted! They just killed off my favourite Hollyoaks babe, Theresa reclaims top spot from her!

Did I just say that?

[William the White]

I watched 'Waltz with Bashir' last night. Spellbinding animation and a gripping if depressing story. I'm still not sure if it was too soft on the IDF or unfair on them, but great stuff either way and a brave film for an Israeli to make.

Outstanding movie. A great credit to an Israeli film maker that he can make a movie as critical as this - though certainly not unfair on the IDF (the 'Defence Force' that, strangely, spends all its time in other people's countries).

It is also true, pitifully, that it is hard to name a single Arab country where this degree of liberty would be allowed to its creative artists. The best are in exile or in prison or under threat of it.

Not that the lack of freedom in Arab nations excuses Israeli atrocities or those committed by their proxies...

I am also very gutted for P.O.S. on the terrible fate of his Hollyoaks babe.

[jmjhb]

I have watched Black Swan and Buried tonight. Both fantastic.

[TANGODANCER]

Got a very pleasant surprise when the Andre Rieu CD set turned out to have a CD and a DVD.
Almost three hours of one of the best musical shows I've seen in my entire life. Won't say anything about the show to spoil it, but ten times the price of the set (£15) would just about buy you a front seat for this. Filmed in some whacking great theatre in Melbourne Australia (Dujon?) it's an utterly sensational show that must have cost a sattelite to produce. Anybody who likes classical, light/pop classics or just sheer good music and entertainment should see it. I kid you not it's incredible. Never seen a more fantastic setting or an audience have so much fun and entertainment ever. Rieu is not only a world class violinist and conducter, he's an absolute master showman. He works the audience from the first note to the last with sheer class and a cast of hundreds.

Sensational. Best £15 ever. See it.

[thebish]

ok...

watched all four of the BBC Nativity series last night through the rather marvellous Wii BBC i-player channel - which means I can watch them on the telly and not the pc-screen..

anyway...

I thought it was on the whole a fairly engaging but very "safe" production. On the one hand, "safe" is OK in that it was not like a Channel Four attempt to say summat perceiveed as controversial just for the sake of it - but on the other hand, a little bit too safe for my taste as - in trying to be safe - it simply swallowed many of the non-gospel details that have become part of "tradition" too easily...

There were some nice moments of interpretation that showed a real engagement with the story: particularly i liked the idea that Joseph was not reconciled to Mary until the moment of birth - that they were grudging travelling companions... and I liked the fairly strong way that they made real the shame of the community visited upon Mary - by neighbours and family..

I also liked the madness of king herod - he hammed it up a bit - but he did portray the paranoic madness that swirled around the middle east at the time...

I also quite liked the way they did the angel scenes - and the way the angel carefully avoided saying "the Holy Spirit will come upon you" - and the way that mary was convinced - not by external pyrotechnics and special effects - but by looking inside herself...

I didn't like the casting - and for me this was a real let-down.

It was very distracting for me to see the well-used "stable" (arf!) of BBC character actors - who in my eyes are tainted by previous high-profile roles...

I could not see past Garrow - he SOUNDED like Garrow at every turn!
Mary's mother, Elizabeth - the woman who played the very irritating and smug Mason's wife in "Lark Rise to Candleford"
the gratuitous use of the irritating Art Malik
one of the kings - the detective Wycliffe - with the indisguisably huge nose

I think it would have been MUCH better had they used unknown actors - even local palestian actors - that would have added something..

also - the whole shepherd/zealout sub-story... yes I know why that was there - but it seemed a bit of a stretch to expand the shepherds part of the story to me.

in summary - yeah, ok, watchable, i don't begrudge the time I gave it - but i doubt I will want to revisit it...

[Gooner Girl]

MY opinion (boldly and unambiguously stated) is that Mary was not a virgin - that Jesus was her first child (with either Joseph being the father, or perhaps she was a victim of rape - we'll never know) - and that he had several younger brothers and sisters...

Do you not believe that God can do miracles then? And if you do, then surely an immaculate conception is a piece of piddle to him? and if not, you're discounting half the bible aren't you as false? Or do you think that the bible lied when it said she was a virgin?

lots of questions there! I COULD go and watch Arsenal - but, there is a big difference between being able to do summat anxd actually doing it.

as for virgin birth - my reading of the hebrew and greek (with learned assistance) yields simply "young woman" rather than "virgin". Talk of a virgin birth is hardly "half of the bible" - in fact - John and Mark don't think to mention it at all in their gospels... so it can't have been that big a deal...

(tho I suspect we are wandering miles off topic without a star to guide us!)

By half of the bible i was referring to miracles in general not just a virgin birth'.

Anyway hun, you may like this (although it does refer to the virgin birth at the end ) Perhaps you could use it at work next year if you haven't seen it already?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-4y5mK_o9E" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Hoboh]

Think I might watch Oliver and Friends with my grandson.

[Bruce Rioja]

The One Ronnie. Sadly, that it was, at best, poor, came as little surprise.

[hisroyalgingerness]

Doctor Who. It did its job.

[CAPSLOCK]

Royles, then the highlight of Christmas Day.....Th'Ashes

[thebish]

Doctor Who. It did its job.

nahhh - too much Kathryn Jenkins - way too little amie pond!

[hisroyalgingerness]

Yeah but it was balanced by having Amy Pond in her PC stripper outfit

Been watching NBA on and off since 5pm too. 3 matches back to back culminating now in Miami Heat vs La Lakers. Think Man City (Heat) vs Man Utd/Chelsea (Lakers), it's been an awesome content. American sports seem to save their big matches for the holidays.

So current got Ashes on the TV and basketball on the laptop

[thebish]

Reservoir Dogs by revnev, on Flickr

[thebish]

surely there is some crafty sniggering behind the scenes at the notion of Richard (I am an utterly irritating tit) Bacon presenting a programme called "ten most irritating people of 2010" on BBC3.... surely??

[jaffka]

world championship darts

I'm one of these that has no interest in darts, and to whom a neet at th'arrers has never particularly appealed. However, having been down to this event for the past two years running I absoultely implore anyone that can to get along to it. Absolutely top-notch lad's night out.

Missed this!

It is a top night out, just been the once before and was drunk as a skunk.

No paticular interest in the sport just like how they have jazzed it up.

[William the White]

I watched a Very Long Engagement.

Just very good.

Excellent acting. Nice production with several nods to the early days of film (to match the period of the events of the story). Clever, rather beautiful photography.

Moving and, amidst the tale of carnage and cruelty, in the end, life affirming.

I've some quibbles but absolutely none that would make me say anything other than watch it - it's a fine, fine movie.

In French, English subtitles.

[jaffka]

Just watched James Wade lose me money!

Now hoping that we wrap up the ashes pretty quickly, have a busy day planned.

[hisroyalgingerness]

Finished off The Pacific. Not as instantly brilliant as Band of Brothers, but very moving.

[CrazyHorse]

Watched I am Legend again tonight. Still a great film, still a shite ending.

[2399]

I finally found Quadraphenia for sale the other week.