Year: 2003

Film: The Good Girl

Good. But not good enough. While Aniston is good, she is not great. It seems much of the praise is due to the fact that she is playing against the Friends Rachel-type. She an actress for goodness sake, if she only has that one role she has no career. This role proves she can play against type and, I guess, that means she is an actress.

What has surprised me about Miguel Arteta’s The Good Girl, starring Jennifer Aniston, are the generally positive (if not glowing glowing) reviews for this film.

Admittedly this is not quite the Jennifer Aniston vehicle that you would expect from Hollywood right now. It’s no romantic comedy, rather a drama following Justine (Aniston), a woman in a dead-end job in a dead end town, who falls for Jake ‘Donnie Darko’ Gyllenhaal’s Holden Worther. Not much to it so far and certainly not enough reason for the praise.

So, to the plot. Problem one for our lead, Justine is married to a full time stoner (part time painter) played with conviction by John C. Reilly. Problem two, Holden seems to think he is Holden Caulfield, the central character in Catcher in The Rye. If I was to say he was “unhinged” I’d be playing it down. So, cue a crisis of conscience for her and a serious infatuation/breakdown for him.

While Aniston is good, she is not great. It seems much of the praise is due to the fact that she is playing against the Friends Rachel-type. She an actress for goodness sake, if she only has that one role she has no career. This role proves she can play against type and, I guess, that means she is an actress. Her narration is okay but somewhat draining to listen to. Gyllenhaal’s good but, given the characters are odd-balls not a million miles apart, he is not as engaging as he was in Donnie Darko.

I guess it hangs on the believability of the adulterous relationship and, for me, it was not that credible. Perhaps it hangs on the ability for Aniston and Reilly to be a couple at the end, but it’s not convincing. There were words unspoken which should have been spoken. Where are the sparks? Where was the fire and the passion between any of the characters?

Sadly, it lacked the ability to engage me for the one and three-quarter hours. Which meant I started to feel the cinema seat beneath me. At that point, I knew this wasn’t going to be added to my “greatest films” list. Which is a shame. Good. But not good enough.

Hooked on LBC

A week after the relaunch, I am hooked on London’s news station, LBC. Wonder how long this will last?

Last week I discussed the re-birth of London newstalk station LBC. Despite the fact that it’s not been that great and has had a whole pile of technical problems, I’ve been addicted for a week. So what if the news station doesn’t actually talk to that many news makers and the air seems full of journalists slapping their backs while gathering opinions from other journalists. So what if most of, what little real news there is, seems lifted from Sky. The whole thing has been addictive and if they keep this up I am convinced their audience will be huge. Not very well informed, but huge. Robbie Vincent has some interesting points in Media Guardian this week and it’s good to see a journalist of Brian Hayes’ standing tell the breakfast show presenters to stop interrupting each other. Regardless, I will be listening in the morning and that’s what they want from me.

Our Radio Rocks

The GlobalTuner InTune200 is a small portable radio that connects to a computer wirelessly, providing access to any music on the PC or to thousands of internet radio stations.

I am quite excited by this new radio. It’s a wireless one (so, what, I hear you ask). But it’s a wireless radio that you link to your computer. Internet radio around the house on a proper tranny (the radios, not the tall people in stilettoes).

The GlobalTuner InTune200 is a small portable radio that connects to a computer wirelessly, providing access to any music on the PC or to thousands of internet radio stations. [BBC News]

Entitlement Cards

The consultation period for comments on the introduction of ID cards in the UK is coming to an end

A lot of the blogs I read regularly have highlighted STAND and there seems to be a lot of negative feeling about the introduction of identity/entitlement cards in the UK. I am very undecided as I think they could make so many things easier.

It’s disappointing that there are not more privacy controls in place to make illegal use/access of the data a criminal offence. It’s also very worrying that there doesn’t seem to have been more debate about them and greater publicity surrounding the consultation period. I feel it’s important to add my voice but do I have time to sensibly consider my own thoughts on the matter? I just don’t know what to say. [consultation]

LBC Back On Air

LBC is back on the air on FM in London

This morning, London’s news and talk stations, LBC, came back on air. Of course, LBC is not really new nor has it really been away. The Chrysalis Radio Group have acquired the London speech licences from London News Radio and are continuing to use the LBC names (LBC being the original London commercial news station).

Sadly, while using the name with a heritage of almost thirty years, day one seemed a bit shambolic. The most noticeable and irritating part for me is the constant paper shuffling that goes on when the presenters are on air. I suspect, back when the news talk version was on AM, that this wasn’t that audible. Now, it’s irritating. Then there are presenters whispering to each other but still clearly there. It’s as if there is no off button on the microphones. This evening, there seems to be no off button the computers that play out the commercials as poor Clive Bull seems to be suffering from the fact that the advertisements keep starting and he seems blissfully unaware that they are about to play.

Still, I am pleased that the rolling news format has moved to AM. Not because it’s on AM but because it means most of my portable radios (which are FM only) have the more interesting of the two talk stations. These early teething troubles will, hopefully, be rectified and we’ll have a decent commercial talk station for London again (although, IMHO, BBC London seems to have been doing a fine job). I just wonder who is going to listen to the rolling-news on AM.

Continue reading “LBC Back On Air”

The Grand Old Duke

I decided to go on the backstage tour at The Duke of York’s Theatre. It is a fascinating tour of the old London theatre that was built when the area was underdeveloped and helped transform that side of Charing Cross Road into the entertainment area it is today.

It is often said that those of us who call London home do not benefit from the great advantages that the capital city brings. People have been heard to suggest that Londoners do not use London. Well, glancing through a copy of this week’s Time Out I came across the backstage tour of The Duke of York’s Theatre on St. Martin’s Lane and decided to go. The tour wasn’t very expensive and lasted almost two hours and I reckon it must be one of the best value guided events around.

It is a fascinating tour of the old London theatre that was built when the area was underdeveloped and helped transform that side of Charing Cross Road into the entertainment area it is today. It’s the theatre that first staged Peter Pan, the theatre that first saw actors agree to the forming of UK Equity and it has seen many greats play its stage since.

I can now say that I have appeared on the West End Stage, and standing on the stage looking into the auditorium I was surprised at how close theatergoers would appear to the actors. I was also struck by how small the stage area really was and by how big the under stage area is. Also intriguing to know that Capital Radio once owned it.

A lesson leant, that’s for sure. I will be spending more time each week with the what’s on listings and try to take advantage of some of the things this city has to offer.