Turning it up to Eleven...

Ahaahaha. See what I did there? If a pun is good enough for Steven Moffat, it's good enough for me.



You've gotta feel a bit sorry for Matt Smith. On Saturday night, the eyes of the nation literally shifted on to him, as Doctor Who came rushing back to our screens with "The Eleventh Hour". Any actor taking on the role of the Doctor has got to be a bit nervous, what with its devoted fan base. Any actor taking the role in the new series should be even more nervous, it being the most popular drama on British TV.

And if that isn't enough, poor old (young) Matt Smith has to follow David Tennant. Possibly the most popular Doctor in the shows history. Say what you want about Tom Baker, I'm pretty sure he didn't have hordes of squealing fangirls, though I'm sure he would have loved it. So, does Smith pull it off? Is he the Doctor?



Well, yeah. He performs magnificently. Playing up the regeneration to allow little shots of both Eccleston and Tennant to shine through as he goes, he managed to assert a whole new personality in the episode. A more aloof Doctor, a little bit excitable, but not as hyperactive as his previous incarnation. Smith's most impressive ability really, is that he really seems like he is over 900 years old, despite being the youngest actor ever to play the part. It's in his voice and his mannerisms, but he's alien and it really works.

Kudos to Steven Moffat here as well, as he knows the main focus of this episode had to be on the new blood, and he truly gives them a chance to shine. The writing for both Amy and the Doctor crackles, with some truly funny lines. Karen Gillian looks set to be a companion to remember, as she makes her introduction proper by knocking the Doctor out with a cricket bat. She's also truly charismatic and feisty, with a Scottish accent to die for. She more than makes a match for the Doctor straight off the bat. (Hah! I'm on a roll.) The chemistry between the two is unbelievable, and in a move thats sure to annoy a vocal amount of fans, by the end they are really flirting.



Sadly, as the episode itself concentrates on their relationship, the plot itself is a bit weak. The actual circumstances of how the Doctor and Amy meet are great (12 years!!) and of course completely appropriate from the writer that bought us "Wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey." Prisoner Zero and the Atraxi however, were a bit weak. Olivia Colman was fantastically creepy in her turn as the monster at the end, but by that point it was a case of too little too late. It's also a bit hard to believe that the entirety of Earth was sitting on their hands while this was going on, leaving it to be solved by a few people on a web conference. Lead by Patrick Moore. Two other niggles; the Atraxi looked a wee bit naff. The idea of gigantic space-eyeballs is brilliant, it just wasn't very well executed. Also, the new theme tune. It doesn't seem like much of an improvement of the previous one, it frankly seems more like a slightly poor remix done by a music student. New intro effects are lovely though.



At the end of the day, these niggles aside, the episode did exactly what it had to do - proved the new guys had the chops, and it did that brilliantly. By the point that Smith walks through the hologram of his previous selves and makes a battle-fleet leg it by simply introducing himself and saying "Run", its safe to say the Doctor is back. The passion that has made the show so successful for the past five years is clearly still there, it pours out from it. Bring on the rest of the series.



Also, come on, Look at that! New TARDIS! New screwdriver, new companion, new Doctor, nearly a new show. But only nearly...

Go and see Kick-Ass already!

"Okay you cunts... Let's see what you can do now!"



With this phrase, one of the most memorable film characters in recent years bursts onto the screen. More accurately, she pirouettes, rolls, flips and dismembers her way through a gang of drug dealers. To the Banana Splits.

Kick-Ass is not your average super-hero flick. It's the most genre-savvy film since Galaxy Quest, its got the sharpest script you could hope for, both funny and in places quite touching. It's the funnest film I've seen in ages, and its going to make the average Daily Mail reader's head explode all over the wall.

The film stars Aaron Johnson as lovable nerd Dave Lizewiski, who after being on the wrong end of petty crime for too long wonders why no-one has ever tried to be superhero. Ordering a brightly coloured diving suit online, he dons it and sets out to make a difference, and is promptly stabbed.



Not giving up, he carries on and becomes an internet sensation. There's a brilliant comment on general Western Culture here: The masses are unwilling to do anything about the dire state of affairs, but if when something does get done by God we will watch it. It's like the video of the happy slappers who don't realise their target is a professional kick-boxer. Eventually, the vigilantes do start to make a difference; Dozens more "Superheros" start to take up the mantle, inspired by the characters. The plot is a bit unlikely and scoots along on quite a lot of luck but at the end of the day when the experience is so fun you've got to give in to it.

Matthew Vaughn directs brilliantly - in particular the use of bright primary colours throughout the film give it a tone of ink, it purposefully goes towards an almost cartoony look, as opposed to the recent surge of Superhero films that try to make their characters as realistic as possible. This is exemplified by the large amount of blood, make no mistake: This is a gory film. It's clever about it though, never gratuitous without having a good reason to be, usually for the purpose of ridiculous exaggeration and comedy.

It's also filled to be brim with nerd references. In explaining his reasons for becoming a hero, Dave crosses off all the stereotypical superhero origin stories. One of the defining quotes of the film is the so-cringe-worthy-its-good "With no power comes no responsibility". And Nic Cage's Big Daddy isn't just a nod to Batman in his costume - whenever he's in costume in public he does a pitch-perfect Adam West impression.



Whilst Cage is fantastic in his best role in... a very, very long time, It's Chloë Moretz as Hit-Girl who steals the show. The foul-mouthed, violent and deadly child manages to be frighteningly psychopathic and amazingly cool, while at the same time Moretz brings across the terrible sadness at the loss of innocence in such a young girl. It's an amazing performance. Mark Strong also deserves a mention for his brilliant villain Frank D'Amico, although at this point congratulating Mark Strong for playing magnificent bastard villains perfectly seems pointless. I'm almost sure Mark Strong is actually a mob leader / supervillain, and he just does this in his spare time for kicks.

Johnson provides a very good lead, even if he is overshadowed by the pure awesomeness of his co-stars characters. Christopher Mintz-Plasse manages to do a damn good job as Red Mist, just about escaping from his "McLovin" tag. Considering the cliff-hanger at the end of the film, It will be interesting to see how he handles the sequel...

So, as you may have guessed from the title of this post, I liked the film. It's just... good! It's fun. It's controversial. It's a definitely a contender for best film of 2010. It's basically unmissable. I'll have the sequel now please.

So, I'm back.

And thus continues my usual pattern of blogging - I'll write loads for a few weeks, then stop and completely forget about it. My bad, admittedly. I have been quite busy, doing lots of writing and actual academic work in the run up to my exams. Well actually, my exam. I only have one, and then my first year of University is over, which is quite daunting. The other scary thing is its a month today, and I'm not at all prepared. I should probably do something about that actually. On the other hand, I'm going to have a ridiculous amount of time free. God knows what I'll actually do with it!



Ah yes, probably a good amount of that.

Truth be told, I'm extremely lucky to have such a good friends, both at University and back on the home front. Further truths being told, they're all stopping me from getting lots of busywork done. You know who you are, you lovely bastards.

In terms of coursework, my main creative piece is done. Or at least I keep finishing it to a point and saying its done, then going back to it. I think I might have to lock the bugger away so I'll just stop tinkering. I wonder if I'll ever stop doing that actually - do all writers reach a point when they know something is done as it will ever be, or does everyone look back and wonder? Maybe I'll have an answer for that someday, at the moment I'm far too busy fiddling with this one sentence. Bad sentence, driving me nuts. Bah.

Other things keeping me busy... well we've reached the point of the year when, for lack of a better term, all the cool shit comes out. Saw Kick Ass last week, which was fantastic, Iron Man 2 is on the way... and on the TV side LOST continues to chug along and mess with my mind. A group of us watch it together, and at the end we just look confused and pained. It's like a mild torture addiction. Ashes to Ashes is back, and so is SGU, though I haven't managed to watch that yet. I'm optimistic about this one, as I muddled through the first part of the series and all its highs and lows. Oh yeah, and Doctor Who is back, but that's too awesome a tangent to contain in one blog post. Stuff on that coming shortly.

So, I'm back, and this time I'll try to hang around for longer. Don't hold me to it though.