Nick Jordan

IMGP7867 by mattbuck4950, on Flickr

On a couple of occasions recently I’ve arrived at a London Overground station on time, only to find that my train arrived early and, much worse, left early and I’ve missed it. This is, as far as I’m concerned, even more frustrating than the trains running late.

Surely, if a train arrives at a station early for some reason the driver should be made to wait at the station until the scheduled departure time, so that those of us who arrive just in the nick of time aren’t made to wait on a cold, windy platform for the next one.

Last night I watched Inside Man, starring Denzel Washington as a police detective who’s pitted against a bank robber played by Clive Owen. At first, the robbery seems straightforward, if clever, but as the story unfolds it becomes apparent that much more is going on than meets the eye. With good support from the likes of Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer and Willem Dafoe, the tale develops at a good pace and in interesting directions. Spike Lee’s directing keeps things taut and exciting and shows New York City off nicely.

This is one I’d definitely spend good money on, having rented it, since I think it will only improve with further viewings. Recommended.

Last night I watched the first, um, episode, of Episodes, a new sit-com on Channel 4, starring Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig as a pair of comedy writers and Matt LeBlanc as, apparently, the star of the US version of a hit UK TV comedy supposedly written by them. I say ‘apparently’ because he only put in an appearance at the very start of the show, being involved in a car accident with Greig’s character, the rest of the programme being a flashback.

I have to say that I expected more from this cast. The gags, especially a piece of shtick with the security guard at a gated community in Beverly Hills, fell pretty flat and I didn’t smile once, let alone laugh. However, it’s really hard to do much with some stories until you’ve set the scene and established the characters, so I shall reserve full judgement until I’ve seen a bit more. I hated Only Fools and Horses at first, and look how good that got in its heyday. Maybe I’ll write a bit more once we’re well into the series.

Last night I watched Next, a film starring Nicolas Cage as a man who can see into his own future. The catch is that he can usually only see two minutes ahead, which is enough to allow him to run his own magic act and make a little money in the casino, as well as avoiding a certain amount of trouble, but not enough to allow for really big stuff.

The plot revolves around the search for a stolen nuclear device, and a government agent’s attempts to involve our hero in tracking it down and preventing a disaster. All Cage’s character really wants, however, is to pursue the girl of his dreams. The film is based on a story by Philip K. Dick, a science-fiction author of some note, and largely stands up well. I particularly liked the surprise ending, even though it left the story hanging a bit. I felt that the bad guys weren’t really sinister enough, and were completely one-dimensional, but they’re really almost incidental to the plot.

On the whole, then, a thoroughly entertaining movie, and well worth renting. I’d buy it if it was suitably cheap (as it is at Amazon right now) but not at full price.

Yet another question from Ang:

What is a good present for a 3 year old little girl?

How about this Sylvanian Families Motorcycle and Sidecar? It’s kinda cute, and it’s a motorbike. Seems perfect to me.

For Xmas my lovely girlfriend Juliet bought me Screen Burn by Charlie Brooker (review to follow, once I’ve actually read it) and Dandelion Mind by Bill Bailey, who I’m very fond of.

The DVD is of the quality we’ve come to expect from Bill Bailey, with the usual verbal nonsense interspersed with musical items utilising a large variety of instruments, both ancient and  modern, notably the oud, a middle-eastern instrument similar in appearance to the lute. I won’t spoil your fun by listing all the musical treats on the DVD, but I will say that we’re treated to the usual blending of genres. If you really must know, I’m sure you’ll find clips on YouTube. Personally, I’d just buy the DVD and enjoy the experience on a proper-sized screen.

If I had to level any criticism of the show at all, it would have to be that it’s way too short. This is not to say that you don’t get your money’s worth – you most certainly do – but only that however long the thing is, it’s not enough.

I’m currently reading The Complete Sherlock Holmes, which I got as an ebook from Amazon, and I have to say that although I’m only halfway through I can already highly recommend it. I expected it to be fairly tough going for some reason, probably because of the era in which it was written, but it’s actually a really easy read and thoroughly compelling.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle manages to bring the characters of Holmes and his sidekick Watson out beautifully, even though he tends to avoid long descriptive passages. Perhaps that’s because we’re fed little titbits of information in each story, or perhaps it’s simply that the characters are so well-known that we already have a good idea of who they are before we even pick up the book.

I confess that a part of me was dreading reading The Hound of the Baskervilles, simply because I’d seen the screen adaptations and somehow doubted that the book would live up to them. Odd, because I almost always prefer the book to the film when it comes to stories. However, I’m delighted to be able to say that the book is, as it should be, much better than any movie or TV version. Read it for yourself and you’ll see.

All in all, I’m thoroughly enjoying the book and would very happily recommend it to anybody.