Archive for May 1st, 2008

May 01 2008

A Light Lunch In The Green

Published by under Blog

I picked up my bagel and a new pair of sunglasses and whiled away my late lunch in St Stephen’s Green. After a few minutes of wandering, I found a free bench and sat to watch the world go by. What a great day and a great life I have.

Okay, the sunshine is unlikely to give me a tan and if I took off my coat, I’d probably catch a cold, but this is Ireland – anyone waiting for the good weather to enjoy their day will die very unhappy. There is a light breeze and a warm sun – what could be nicer.

I love people-watching and to watch a mother worry about her toddler who is chasing pigeons, to watch a young couple laughing together in the grass, to watch three businessmen kick a football around, to watch two people dancing around the gazebo is a wonderful experience and disintegrates all cynicisms. I could sit here all day and smile at the goings on.

But, alas, I must go back to work. I must once again join the hustle and bustle of Dublin City centre.

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May 01 2008

Bad Movies And Guilty Pleasures

Published by under Blog,Movies

Helen O’Hara in Empire Magazine writes about the really really bad movies that she’s reviewed in recent times – it is her job afterall. She tells us to avoid Pamela Anderson and Denise Richards’ Blonde and Blonder and rips through Eddie Murphy’s abysmal Norbit.

But she begins her piece talking about one of her guilty pleasures, watching Van Helsing, a ‘bad movie’ which she enjoys. It got me thinking about the movies I like to watch that, eh, wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea.

I first saw Tremors very late one night on a very fuzzy 14 inch TV while in my Granny’s house. I loved it immediately and couldn’t wait to see it again. I remember having great difficulties finding it. Our video store wasn’t great and didn’t have it and I was a poor young lad back then, so couldn’t go up to the big city to buy it. I finally managed to get a copy of it one night when I was babysitting in a neighbour’s house. They had some new fangled thing called Sky Movies.

For a long while Tremors was one of those movies I watched and watched and watched. I still pull it out of the DVD press occassionally and I still love it.

While playing Mario Kart a few nights ago, we were discussing the Super Mario Brothers Movie with Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo. It seems to be one of those movies that’s universally accepted as being awful…but I remember it fondly. Okay, it’s many years since I saw it and I’m not sure if I should spoil the memory I have by watching it again now. If anyone wants to buy it for me, I’ll watch it. 🙂

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is, of course, one of my favourite movies and I would argue that it’s too good to be considered a ‘bad movie’…but the acting is brutal, the set design is frightening and the lip synching leaves a lot to be desired. But all the bad points add to the charm.

And then there’s a string of bad horror movies that I just adore. All the Freddy movies (yep, ALL of them), the Critters movies, Friday the 13th and its sequels, the Psycho sequels and the Exorcist sequels (and prequels). It’s just so much fun to switch off your brain and fall into the messed up worlds these films create.

Has anyone else any guilty pleasure, any movies that are more likely to be found in the bargain basement than on IMDB’s top 100 list?

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