Who knows I might actually start doing some videos too.

So to get started:-

My channel currently resides at: http://www.twitch.tv/the_pudding_earl

My twitter account: https://twitter.com/pudding_earl This one is useful because I make a post to say when I’m going live!

My email address in case any of you guys feel like send me an email is: pudding.earl.streams@gmail.com  I’ll do my best to reply to you!

And finally if you ever feel insane enough to throw money at me. Here’s the place to do it:
http://puddingearlstreams.chipin.com/pudding-earl-streams

That’s about it for now, have fun!
Pudding over and out!

http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=001901

I’m gonna start blogging Pudding Adventures and tying this blog into my streaming channel.

Also It’s nearing a time I like to refer to as “Cagemas- Christmas of the Cage” So I’d like to do a few posts about Nicolas Cage Movies.

Watch this space. Or not…

Before going to watch Hanna all I knew is that it had Cate Blanchett in it and music by ‘the chemical brothers’  which as it turns out was the best set up. I had not seen any trailers, I had no idea what the film was going to be like. As it turns out, glorious!

This review is going to be entirely spoiler free as always with these types of finds, I feel that the film should be seen by anyone who is interested.

The basic premise is this, A young girl named Hanna is trained by her father at survival skills and in combat. We later learn he is a spy or an agent of some sort caught up in a plot that endangers both his and his daughter’s life. He then sends his daughter on a mission to save them both.

On the surface this might not appear to be very interesting but it’s the atmosphere of the film. The shooting style of the director, the desperate situations, the bewitching scenery, and most of all the soundtrack. I found that the soundtrack made the film so engrossing, every note played for atmosphere perfectly in synch with the timing of the events, woven intricately during the softer scenes and played harshly to compliment the action sequences.  To the very end a masterpiece.

From one high point to another, the acting . I feel the film was cast wonderfully right from the leading actresses down to each side character. In particular Saoirse Ronan for being convincing as a 16-year-old killer, I can’t really think of any young actresses that could pull of this part as well as she did in this film. I’d say it was a flawless performance!

Camera work, oh boy, the camera work. Transitional shots, 360 degree rotation shots, shakey cam, point of view shots. Usually I’d class a mixture of these things as being a total nightmare but it’s handled so well in this film. Moments of stress are accentuated and the mixture of these camera effects leads to an overall sense of unease and claustrophobia which just further adds to the intense atmosphere of the film as a whole.

So in summation. Brilliant acting, amazing  direction and a superb soundtrack all add up to make one of the few films I’ve seen in a very long time to have such a deep and profound impact upon me since ‘Let me in’.

This is Pudding signing off and saying ‘I just missed your heart.’

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Films like these don’t come around very often but when they do I always get the best kind of entertainment. Sometimes you just wanna sit back and watch limbs fly whilst indulging in your sense of black humour. Sometimes you want to watch the most ridiculous action sequences known to man. Sometimes fun is just a Drive Angry 3D away…

The film opens with a kick ass soundtrack, rock music of course and one crazy looking truck full of hicks waiting to get a face full of buck shot. A short car chase followed by Nicolas Cage wielding a shot-gun in one hand and just cold maiming dudes in a manner so cool it’s at the pinnacle of STYLE!

All Nic really wants is his baby granddaughter and he escaped from HELL to fetch her. I know, I know – implausible whatever. Just deal with it, relax, enjoy your film because you know what? It just gets better and better.

The 3D seems to only come into effect where the cars and guns are concerned giving it that ‘in your face’ cheesy-ness that totally ruins other more serious films. But I have to go with the Daily Star on this one and say it is indeed ‘The film 3D is made for’ and don’t get me wrong I think the Daily Star is a terrible newspaper but they have a good point with this one. I never felt once that the 3D was too intrusive like I did whilst watching say The Green Hornet or Resident Evil 4 it seemed to fit perfectly.

Another thing that really made this film worthwhile for me is that they were not afraid to be brutal with the violence. Many films shy away from violence but it’s stuff like this that can add a really sick edge to the humour because it’s done in such an over the top way. I’m not lying when I compare it to Crank it that sense – it even has a weird gratuitous sex scene… Squicky – yes but also hilarious!

I find a certain draw to Nicolas Cage, I always find his acting quite unique and to a point unintentionally hilarious (see The Wicker Man) however he seemed to be cast just right in this film, the script was corny but he pulled it off flawlessly. Why? Because he’s dead fucking serious about every role he plays! I just find it so entertaining to see him being a cool guy and not taking no for an answer!

I don’t really want to give the contents of this film away but I will say that if you are the type of person who is not faint hearted, loves crazy action and any of the films I mentioned during this blog then you’ll certainly enjoy Drive Angry!

Pudding over and out!
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Lovely

I’m going to review a Swedish film and its American remake in one go. There’ll be a little comparing and contrasting but I assure you that there will be no film bashing! I don’t believe that either film is better than the other and that they are both outstanding films on their own merits.

The basic story of these films is as follows: A young downtrodden boy of the age of 12 is having a tough time both at home and at school, his parents are separated and he has the most horrific bullies. During this time of hardship he develops a friendship with a strange new neighbour. A girl of the same age with a terrible secret, she needs to consume blood to live. The stories of these two films are nearly scene for scene the same with a few minor exceptions. Personally I’d say it doesn’t matter if you only watch one or both you’ll still get the same amount of enjoyment out of them. The only major difference with the stories is that the narrative, in the American version it’s told ‘in medias res’ meaning that the film starts partway through the story and then flashbacks to loop back round again and then end whereas the Swedish version is told chronologically.

In Swedish the boy’s name is Oskar and the girl’s name is Eli. In the American it’s Owen and Abby respectively.

I hate to use the term ‘vampire movie’ since this genre has been heavily tarred by the release of the Twilight Saga in recent years alongside such alternatives as ‘Daybreakers’ you don’t really imagine a positive image of a film when you realise it falls into this subcategory. So yes, these films are about a vampire but They are also horror films to their very core.

I want to discuss various points about this film in a bit of detail. Towards the end of the review I’ll enter spoiler territory but I’ll put a ‘read more’ tag in there to cover it up so don’t worry!

The first thing I noticed of both films was the scenery, being nearly identical in both. You could have almost swore that they used the same outer set for the apartment complex in which the characters live. It’s very stark due to the plain design of the buildings and the crisp white snow. The interiors of the sets are much the same, mundane magnolia paint and plain furniture. This makes the setting seem understated which works to the films credit, and I believe makes the horror scenes even more terrifying just by taking place in these completely normal surroundings.

The American version of the film makes use of the fact that it’s the 80′s but it doesn’t really rub it in your face. Just subtle things such as the music the characters listen to and the type of candy the main character eats. I think this was a nice touch.

Now, camera work. This was bound to come up since the American film had the director of Cloverfield working on it. I wasn’t aware of this until after I had watched the film in the cinema which is good because it didn’t taint my expectations of what the film would be like. The Swedish film didn’t really have any fancy camera work but the angles things were shot from and the fact that there were a lot of wide shots added to the stark nature of the film.

In the American version however there were a few things I picked up upon which were actually very interesting, for example there were quite a few ‘point of view’ camera shots which really pulled you into the atmosphere and gravity of the film. One scene in particular stands out – there is a car crash scene where the whole sequence is shot from when the car pulls out of a petrol station and crashes really horrifically which is shot as if you were a passenger in that car. Very good effects, made the scene particularly gripping.

One other aspect of the camera work  in the American version really made me think. During the course of the film you never once see the face of Owen’s mum clearly make of this what you will but I believe that it correlates strongly to Owen’s detachment from his family life and that his mother is never in focus because Owen doesn’t consider her to be very important. Whatever the directors reason for doing this he managed to pull it off.

Now, let’s talk gore. The Swedish film was cursed with something called low production values so it’s not that the gore was any less traumatising just that it was not as detailed as it’s American counterpart. So whilst the American version had a higher budget allowing for more gore I don’t think this enhanced the film. I will mention one thing about the American film the CG was not very convincing in the scenes where Abby attacks people, it looked very fake a little bit of a bad decision but nothing that can’t be overlooked.

Onto a different topic. The nature of Oskar/Owen and Eli/Abby’s relationship. And this is where I get into spoiler territory! Read no further if you wish to remain unspoiled!

I’d like to say that they are both too young to consider a sexual relationship of any kind, this is certainly true of Oskar/Owen however Eli/Abby only has the body of a 12-year-old but the mind of something a lot older. This leads to many implications if you think about it too deeply. I tend to think of it in this way, at the bottom of it Eli/Abby is a cold calculating monster who will do anything to ensure she is fed, this much is proved by the fact that for the first part of the film she has an old man going out and collecting her meals by blood letting innocents. Any emotional attachments she may or may not have to either the Old Man character or Oskar/Owen are purely incidental. When you consider the ending of this film the situation becomes even more daunting a concept. You see the two main characters escaping together to a new life… A life of murder and thievery. Sweet on the surface maybe but the implications will get to you when you think about it.

This brings me to a point that I believe the Swedish film does better than the American. Eli/Abby’s gender. It is hinted at in both films that Eli/Abby does not view ‘herself’ as being a girl. When pressed she said she was ‘Not anything’. In the American film it is simply left at that, however in the Swedish film you catch a glimpse of ‘her’ sewn up genitalia. This is where the original book comes in, I have not read it as of yet but I’ve been told the book explains this a lot better. I found this aspect very interesting indeed.

And on that note, it’s time to wrap the review up! Both films were very good, thought-provoking and genuinely horrific (if not for the gore but the terrible implications). I’d highly recommend either to someone who just wants to watch an outstanding and solid horror film.

These pretty princesses are Toru, Yuujiro and Mikoto from the Shounen-ai series Princess Princess. Don’t they look angelic!

Next time I’ll be super serious next time!
Pudding out~
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You might be surprised to hear this but I was glad that I was able to watch this film in 3D, whilst it may have been overdone I don’t believe there would have been much of a spectacle otherwise. Where I really think they used the 3D well was in scenes that had just that hint of depth without it being too in your face. Although there was quite a bit of things being thrown directly into your field of vision to give that cheesy ‘WOAHHH THREEEE DEEEEE’ effect.

The one thing I was really hoping for in this film was the appearance of Leon S Kennedy. Unfortunately this did not happen. Maybe they are leaving it for the sequel. You think I jest? No this film ends on the most over the top cliffhanger but I’ll get to that later.

What we do have in this film is a token black guy who doesn’t die, the return of Claire Redfield and the introduction of a pint-sized version of Chris Redfield. I say pint-sized because this guys arms were not the same size as his head like Chris’s are in the games :p Also Albert Wesker.

I’m not sure if I can spoil this film. It’s not worth picking the plot apart since it’s pretty simple. There are some really neat action sequences alongside the bullshit action sequences as per expectation.

Some of the parts of this film made me laugh so hard I’m sure that the other cinema goers were getting annoyed. For example crows flocking out of a seemingly abandoned airplane. How? When did they even get in there? Why would they be so startled as to fly right in Alice’s face just because she twitched the door? Why didn’t we hear them making crow noises until they attacked?

Also Albert Wesker’s face! When we spoke his upper lip had minimal movement like it’d been paralysed or was glued in place which made taking him seriously a real problem for me.

One of the most hilarious moments of the film is where Wesker is fighting Claire and Chris whilst Alice was stood next to two zombie dogs. The dogs did not attack Alice like you expected them to neither did Alice take the opportunity of the dogs being apparently stunned due to the camera not focusing on them to move to kill them. Instead the zombie dogs and Alice seemed to have an unspoken pact whereby they would not move until Claire and Chris’s conflict with Wesker had resolved itself. WHAT IS THIS EVEN?

The ending. Oh the ending. If for some bizarre reason you feel like reading this would make you feel like I’d spoiled you deeply then do not continue to read past this cut. For everyone else just click ‘more’ below!

Okay a bunch of stuff happens and Alice and her new best friend the Redfield siblings end up taking control of an Umbrella Corp. boat after ceremoniously blowing up Wesker’s helicopter. They set all the human test subjects free and all of a sudden 500 HELICOPTERS HEADING STRAIGHT TOWARDS THE BOAT! BECAUSE? I DON’T EVEN KNOW?! AND JILL VALENTINE WITH EVIL MIND CONTROL DEVICE THis isn’t even making sense anymore. Umbrella Corp. are just so incompetent. So a sequel looks like it’s in the works. I’ll still go and see it forever hoping for an RL version of Leon S Kennedy (in my mind he’s played by a bulked up Cillian Murphy *sigh*).

Don’t get me wrong though you can enjoy this film if you switch your brain off. It just has a few hilarious issues.

Pudding signing off and wondering where the hell that guy got his huge hammer from… no really!

Watching this show does mean you have to commit a lot of time to it. This can be troublesome if, like me, you are used to watching anime as each episode is between 40-45 minutes long. That’s two full episodes of anime including OP and ED themes per episode of Galactica. It’s true I could have watched a 100+ episode anime series instead but I didn’t! And here is why…

Take two fistfuls of good actors, a team of awesome writing staff, a decent production value and Edward James Olmos put them all in the same film studio and you get a show which has the perfect mix of complex characters, fluid action sequences, intricate plot devices and EPIC space battles. It’s no surprise I fell in love with this series so quickly.

I’m going to take some time now to explain the plot a little. The series begins on the colony planet called Caprica, which is one of 12 different colonies in this solar system. Its hosts are seemingly happy until THE ENTIRE PLANET GETS NUKED TO HELL. It is revealed that the technology on this planet has advanced to such a level that a separate race of sentient machines called Cylons were created to take on menial tasks, however they rebelled, evolved and gained independence from the human race.

As it turns out the Cylons had been at war with the humans before but now they have decided to launch an all out attack on the humans to wipe out their race. It is also revealed that some Cylons have been changed and altered so that they have human forms however the humans do not know what these Cylons look like and sometimes the Cylon in question is programmed into believing that they are a human.

Back to the planet being destroyed. As it turns out all of the colonies suffered under the attack and were blown to pieces. Enter the Galactica. Mere hours before the attack the Battlestar Galactica (a gigantic space war-ship) had opened it’s doors to the public for a press release, due to this the crew is all on board. When the attack hit the Battlestar, along with its able crew, managed to get the ship into the air and out of harms way taking some all-important civilian ships with it. After this we are left with just over 50,000 human survivors with no place to go, rationed resources and limited patience. The paranoia that set upon the fleet as they learn about the disguised Cylons along with all the political and military disagreements and general unease creates an extremely tense atmosphere and as a result a really enjoyable and interesting series.

Bearing this in mind I am aware that a series like this is not for everyone however if you give it a chance you might just find that you enjoy it even a little bit.

All hands this is the Admiral signing off and saying ‘Frak those toasters!’
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