Book of Eli: Review

Now this will be a new avenue for me. In my sober daze i have found myself on i have coherent thoughts, which put towards a film, culminate in a review.

Just got back from Book of Eli which i saw with a friend, and well here goes...

A couple of friends have seen it and said things like "Well i wouldn't really pay to see that" or "utterly pointless".. Anyway. From the very beginning it is what you would imagine a post-apocalyptic dystopia to be. Raiders, bleached sky, no water and more importantly no hope. Denzel Washington, as with most roles, brings his A game. Putting everything into Eli. A man on a mission, even if your unsure of what his mission is. Walking the wasteland with his book on his back unleashing justice, of sorts, on those who come into his way.


Fight scenes were quick and decent to watch "You put your hand on me again and your not getting it back" was brilliant. The other characters just set the story really. From Gary Oldmans 'Carnegie' and Mila Klunis 'Solara'. Two of the best characters are the old couple, with the brilliant Micheal Gambon.

The whole undertone surrounding Eli's book is religion. Which as stated in the film is how people understood the war to have started, and as a result went around burning all the books. Leaving Eli with his only copy and his quest to take this to the West coast of the USA. There is a twist to the story, and its a good one but will leave you with a 'WTF' moment or two as you replay parts of the movie over in your head trying to get around what you've just learnt, and how it could come to be that Eli is and does what he does, but its all a matter of faith ;)

Really good film with a superb soundtrack which works well with the post-apocalyptic world in which it's set in.

I'd give it a 7/10. Only because i was thinking 'Fallout, this is kind of like a Fallout film'... shame.

BBC Introducing Sobriety

So my first outing into Readings nightlife was to the Oakford to see I Blame Coco and 30 Watt Bayonets. I was a little bit apprehensive as I'm not drinking but i went along as my thirst for new music is far greater than the need for alcohol. I Blame Coco were excellent. A nice breath of fresh air, very polished and sounded awesome. A nice and husky voice coupled with a brilliant band it screams for you to listen to her. A slight twinge of Sting in her voice (Understandable considering that's her father), especially on some of the long notes, and well on the most part of Ceaser. Definitely a band i need to keep an eye on as they were amazing.

The next band was 30 Watt Bayonets which, frankly scared me, but in a good way. From the get go the lead singer was banging the drum with fury, and spent most of the gig in the crowd. I'm a big fan of crowd participation but i hid. Shameful i know but there were alot of scared faces in the crowd. But that's what made it a good gig. Not afraid to be different, challenging the preconception that artists should stay on the stage. Was really good to see and sounded great.


So i think I'm going to make the Oakford a regular occurrence as i need new music in my life, and with the two bands I've seen I'm thoroughly looking forward to the upcoming nights.

Tales of a Drunkard: Finale

Well this is the last drunken re-cap which was New Years. We started out at my friends where we played some Mario on the Wii and drunk a punch concoction of vodka, rum and fruit juice. Stayed there for quite some time just playing and drinking, mini dartgun fight too. We trundled along to the Hope Tap, i had foolishly left my coat at home thinking we wouldnt be wearing them. How wrong i was. Everyone else was wrapped up warm and i was freezing my nuts off. Though the walk was a long and cold one (it was actually fairly short but still cold).

We started the drinking games, Three Coins. Rules of which are:

You have three coins which you throw onto the table and depending on what comes up you do the following:Br:
Two Heads - You drink

Two Tails - You nominate someone to drink

Three Heads - Everyone Drinks

Three Tails - New Rule

With the new rule it could be anything like 'Everyone drinks with their opposite hand' or 'everyone time someone is nominated, the person to their left drinks" you know the idea...

Anyway we got quite drunk and by 9.30pm we were all drunk, far from the midnight celebration, but continued with the games. Twice the bouncer came over and told us to calm down, i mean yeah we were noisy but there were only 4 of us, not like we were rowdy. And its New Years for fucks sake. We left and went to Lounge 108 which is below a sushi bar.

Its an awesome venue with an amazing sound system. The decor is all white seats and its fairly small, fitting about 50 people in, 60 at full capacity. So our new years was intimate. Though we got there about quarter to eleven it was fairly empty. We had free shots and at midnight a glass of champagne with a shot of black sambuca in i think, was wierd but was nice. We celebrated new years and sat around drinking and having fun. Smashed two glasses, well someone did, and by the end of the night stank of stale beer.

Our night pretty much ended around half one. We walked back to our friends flat stopping off at Maccy D's. Now if you know me (which none of you probably do) you'll know i havent eaten McDonalds in about 3 years now. But it was cold, i was really really drunk and tired and needed food. It was a means to an end and im ashamed but i bought a Cheesburger and chips.... The shame... And well thats the last one for another 3 years :D

We went back and i passed out on the sofa, which was 3x too small for me but i've slept on worse before. Got up around 11am and most of us were fine (Mark) and ventured out to have a fry up at the pub we left the night before. Unfortunatly i was talking about how i'd like to spend New Years day drinking all day with friends and ordered a beer with my breakfast. Thankfully not drinking for 6months isnt a New Years resoloution and just a choice, but i drank that beer for medicinal reasons. It helped my liver process the alcohol in my system thus preventing any long lasting damage.

Went shopping, bought Borderlands and spent the day playing Borderlands with my friends. Also bumped into a friend and got my bag of 25 DvDs i lent her when she broke her back a few years ago. So all in all a good New Years Day.

Even though New Years Eve was fairly quiet and there were just a few of us, it was one of the best New Years Eve nights i have had in quite some time. So here's to next year.

Tales of a Drunkard: Sober

Well that time of the year for resolutions and celebrations. I for one and continuing on my abstinence of alcohol. Last year i went for 4 months without alcohol from Jan 1st to April. This year I'm going one better and going 6months with no alcohol till June which is my birthday. This also gives me time to plan the most epic of drinking nights/days that i could possibly embark on.

So this drunkard is hanging up his Tankard for 6months. So this blog will change from drunken recollections to other musings. Probably stoned musings, but musings and random encounters nontheless.

Till June my little drunkards. Till June.

Twenty Ten

We've had a tumultous year in 2009. The entire world has been effected by the economic downturn and a great flu pandemic.
We've seen amazing strides in acceptance in the political world from the United States but unfortunatly we have all suffered
great losses in the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan.

As we enter 2010, one cannot but wonder if this is the world that the invisionaries of the past imagined. There are no robot
servants, no flying cars and no monoliths. We enter a new age, a new decade in fact, still reeling from our past decisions.
We remember what has been done in the past and yet we seem doomed to repeat those actions. We look in the face of terror and
say no more. Yet we look in the face of global warming and shrug our shoulders. We should hold both manufactured and biological
terrorism in the same vein. Why should the immediate danger overshadow the forthcoming danger? Maybe it wont effect ourselves
but in the long run its our children and childrens children that will face the brunt of the impeding disaster. We embrace technology
as our saviour, yet it will most probably be our downfall in the years to come. We must rely on each other more so than the circutboards
made by technicians and scientists.

Take back our lives. 2010 is the year of self worth.