Welcome to the last post in my LiveJournal! Well, technically this isn't the last post in my LiveJournal - he says recycling a poor joke from the first post - as it's a forward dated post as part of a wrapper around it; for anyone who strays across my LiveJournal this is likely to be the first post they'll read, savvy?

Anyway, if you want to know more about me you can't do much better than by having a read of my profile. I welcome LJ friends, in a more-the-merrier sense, and also welcome friendly comments/discussion, so feel free to add me.

You don't have to be a member of LiveJournal to comment here, although I recommend it as a blogging system. You can also comment using OpenID. I think you can even login with a Facebook and Twitter account, but I've not tried it personally. Comments are screened from non-friends, but if they're genuine they'll be moderated quickly.

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There isn't much more to say than that, but if you've got any questions or comments then feel free to ask them here.

Sherlock Holmes (2009). Directed by Guy Ritchie. Set in the late 19th century, the film kicks off in the middle of action as Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and Dr. Watson (Jude Law) race to save a woman from being murdered as part of a ritual. Said ritual is being effected by Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong) for some purpose related to the black arts. It was my mistake that I watched the sequel before this, as the two dovetail into each other. I had tried to watch the first film before, but fell asleep during the first few minutes, and partly attributed it to the film. It goes to show how a rewatch in better circumstances can surprise you, as my experience couldn't have been more different the second time around. All the pieces were there for a fantastic film, and they were well assembled. Firstly there was a rich and well paced story. Secondly, Robert Downey Jr. is simply fantastic as Holmes, helped by the set pieces which follow Holmes' logic. As with the second film, Jude Law is almost at his best playing second fiddle and straight man to Downey's wonderful character. Unlike the second film for me, the protagonist this time around is much more credible and threatening, and has some screen presence. The backdrop of late 19th century London is beautifully realised, as are all the special effects. Hans Zimmer's more than competent soundtrack provides the ideal accompaniment, without overstaying its welcome. Coincidentally I watched the sequel again on the plane last night, and enjoyed it a bit more. Anyway, the first film is strongly recommended for any fan of reasonably intelligent action, albeit with the caveat that I did find it a bit bland the first time around. 5/5 (Excellent)

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011). Directed by Guy Ritchie. The film starts with an accomplice of Moriarty, Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams), delivering payment to a Dr. Hoffmanstahl. Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) intercepts them before the package is opened, and it is revealed to be a bomb. A secondary trigger is activated on the bomb, and Holmes disposes of it allowing Adler and Hoffmanstahl to escape. He then finds Hoffmanstahl killed, and when expecting to meet up with Adler finds her also poisoned by Moriarty, as revenge for her love for Holmes. It didn't help that I haven't watched the first film, which this follows on from (technically I did see the beginning of the first film, but then fell asleep - I was very tired at the time. I may have even done this twice). But after the slightly confusing opening few minutes the film settles into a clearer story of political intrigue, with Holmes pitched against Moriarty. The pacing was reasonable, but I found the story a little dull. The saving grace was Robert Downey Jr., who is fantastic as Holmes. Jude Law is surprisingly well cast as the second fiddle, and Noomi Rapace was fairly average as the third. Stephen Fry seems out of place and oddly cast as Holmes' brother. Jared Harris also seems poorly cast and/or directed as a rather ineffectual Moriarty. As an action piece with Downey's antics it was passable. Those who like their period action films should enjoy. 3/5 (Average)

Haywire (2011). Directed by Steven Soderbergh. The film starts in a diner. A woman (Gina Carano) is sitting and waiting. A man (Channing Tatum) joins her and after a short conversation orders that she leaves in his car. She refuses and he then attacks her. The woman fights back, with both clearly having some form of training, and eventually incapacitates the man after he pulls a gun and tries to shoot her. She takes the gun, a waiter, and his car. Haywire's a stylish, sexy, and rather confusing thriller; within the first few minutes there are already four timelines relating to the main character. Part of the fun though for me was in trying to keep up with the well paced story. There's a fair smattering of action, mostly in the form of well choreographed fights, between the various sections of intrigue. Carano is superb as the complex main character, and supported by a strong cast e.g. Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Bill Paxton and Michael Douglas. A sharp and cool soundtrack by David Holmes adds to the ambience. Recommended for those who like intelligent and stylish thrillers. 5/5 (Excellent)

How I Spent My Summer Vacation (2012). Directed and co-written by Adrian Grunberg. The film opens with two criminals in clown masks in a car being chased by the police following a robbery. They are quite literally on the border between the USA and Mexico, and the driver (Mel Gibson) desperately tries to escape by partly jumping and partly going through the border fence. When the Mexican police discover the car is full of money they immediately arrest the driver. His partner dies from a gunshot wound. The corrupt police steal the money, and the driver ends up in El Pueblito, a prison that is essentially a small town. I thought Get the Gringo was a good mostly revenge flick. Gibson is on reasonably good form as the downtrodden semi-hero. There's a strong supporting cast with a mix of mostly unknowns. The story has a good pace and plenty of content. If you like a reasonably intelligent action film then you should enjoy this. 4/5 (Good)

Dark Shadows (2012). Directed by Tim Burton and based on the 60s/70s TV series. The story starts over 250 years ago. The wealthy Collins family move from England to the USA to further seek their fortune. They construct a small fishing village which prospers and grows significantly, and is ultimately named Collinsport. The son of the Collins family, Barnabas (Johnny Depp), has a relationship with one of the maids, but then falls in love with someone else. It turns out the spurned maid is a witch, who curses the family. Barnabas's parents are killed in a freak accident, and his beloved throws herself off a cliff. Barnabas tries to save her and ends up falling off the cliff as well, but is turned into a vampire during the fall by the witch, and his new immortality saves him. When Barnabas continues to spurn the witch she buries him in a chained up coffin. Fast forward to the 1960s, and Barnabas is accidentally dug up by some builders, who he then proceeds to exsanguinate. A rather confused Barnabas then makes his way back to the ancestral home. Dark Shadows is probably best described as a quirky gentle black comedy. It has the Tim Burton gothic feel in spades. Depp does a good job of playing Barnabas with a strong dose of black comedy (I suspect we're all feeling a bit burned out on Depp, but I managed to hang in there) although a handful of the jokes fell flat for me. There's a reasonable supporting cast with an under-explained Michelle Pfeiffer, an inevitable and semi-loopy Helena Bonham Carter, a somewhat underwhelming Jonny Lee Miller, a teenager-y Chloe Moretz, and a show stealing Eva Green. I found the story went along at a good pace until near the end, when it seemed to falter a bit. Ultimately whether you enjoy this will depend on whether you like the quirky humour (if you don't laugh during the trailer that's a strong sign that you won't). I should also add that I haven't seen any of the original TV series, which may well colour your feelings about it. 4/5 (Good)

The Hunger Games (2012). Directed by Gary Ross, and based on the book by Suzanne Collins. The story takes place in a dystopian future after a war which nearly destroyed humanity. To satisfy humanity's need for some form of war an annual game has been established, where a boy and girl are picked from twelve different districts around the world. The story centres around District 12, where Primrose Everdeen is randomly picked to be in the games. Her older sister, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), can't stand to see her picked so volunteers to replace her, much to Primrose's upset. The Hunger Games feels like a mish mash of other films and stories e.g. The Running Man, Lord of the Flies, and of course Battle Royale. It still just about manages to carve its own niche, but ultimately fell short of greatness for me. At its worst there's a fair bit of poor characterisation and stereotyping, and predictable story. I really need something more original with more interesting characters to really enjoy it. Also Hollywood... when are you going to stop casting baddies with British accents? That's a tired cliché, and was disappointing to see. I haven't read the book, but understand that it's more introspective, and said introspection is perhaps inevitably lost in a film transfer. Those who enjoy predictable action with a somewhat teenage feel should get a kick out of it. 4/5 (Good)

Avengers Assemble (2012). Directed and co-written by Joss Whedon, and based on the Marvel comics. The story follows on from Thor (2011), after which Loki has been banished. Loki strikes a deal with an alien race called the Chitauri. They will conquer the Earth for him if he gives them the Tesseract, a small cube that contains unlimited power. Superheroes such as Thor, Captain America, Ironman, and the Hulk must pull together to save the Earth. Avengers Assemble is a lot of fun, inevitably perhaps. It brings together a mostly interesting group of superhero characters, and plays them for both laughs and action. The story weakens towards the end, as the Chitauri are a fairly dull enemy. Unlike Thor (2011), they manage to make Loki a more believable and interesting villain, but he still feels a bit dull, again more so towards the end of the film. The Hulk (mostly in his CG incarnation) and Ironman (mostly in his Robert Downey Jr. incarnation) mostly stole the show for me. Of course recommended for those who enjoy both superhero and action films. 4/5 (Good)

The Cabin in the Woods (2012). Directed and co-written by Drew Goddard. The film starts with what appear to be two office workers (Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford) getting ready for some project. The story then switches to five archetypal university students who are preparing for a weekend away at a cabin. It then becomes clear that the office workers' project and the students are connected. The Cabin in the Woods isn't quite genre busting, but it's certainly a fun twist on a familiar genre. I was entertained throughout, and felt it was both well written and acted. Although it had moments of brilliance it wasn't quite a brilliant film for me. Recommended for horror fans who don't mind something a little different. The squeamish should avoid. 4/5 (Good)

Another early night, and this time Amélie woke up around 5am. She didn't sleep much more though, so we were all downstairs after 6am.

The Bank Holiday was much welcomed this morning.

The early morning was mostly playing with Amélie. I recorded her saying "Cup 'o tea", and converted that into an iPhone sound. The late morning she had her nap and I managed to get part 1 of the website work done. Part 2 I'll either do tomorrow, or after I've taken Lu and Amélie to the airport on Wednesday.

After lunch Amélie and I went to Mum and Dad's, to give Lu a chance to finish most of the packing. We had great fun at Mum and Dad's. I finally got to record my LP, despite a misbehaving headphone adapter. Around 4pm we headed off to Squire's, a local garden centre which is full of things for Amélie to see. They feed the Koi Carp and goldfish at 4:30pm, and there was a big crowd there. All the kids were given fish food, and Amélie loved it. I availed myself of the excellent pic 'n' mix, plus they also have Jelly Belly.

From there we went back to our house, and Mum brought a pre-made casserole, which was lovely. Lu and Mum gave Amélie a bath, while Dad and I watched Star Trek.

Much like the rest of the weekend a happy day, albeit with a bit of anxiety still.

In other news, I was amazed to see my weight still just over 105kg this morning. I've been so damn hungry, and given in to my appetite lots. Sometimes though the weight gain can be delayed a couple of days :-/

Twas a mixed night. I had an early night, but Amélie woke up at 1am. Lu gave her a feed and she slept with us. We're getting towards the point where she's co-sleeping, but the bed ain't big enough for it! We all slept on (me more off than on) until around 7am.

We played with Amélie until mid-morning. Lu tried to get her to sleep but she wouldn't, so Lu went off shopping and I took her out in the car. I took her via the back roads to J3 of the M3, but she was still awake! I then took the same route back, but diverted to Farnham when she was showing no signs of sleep. Around Farnham she finally fell asleep, just after the 40 minute mark. I got home just after an hour later and managed to decant her into the cot, despite a couple of moments where she opened her eyes. It amazes me how kids can sleep through so much when deeply asleep.

Amélie woke up around 1pm in fits of tears. She was asking for Lu, who was still shopping, and for 10 minutes or so she was inconsolable. I called Lu and put her on speakerphone, which calmed her down a bit. I then gave her some lunch, and Lu arrived soon after.

Just after 2pm we headed off to Frimley Lodge Park, and coincidentally ended up entering the car park just behind steveeeee and family. We were on the first train fairly quickly. The weather was pretty rubbish for May, but it wasn't awful (just a bit cold, and spitting very lightly with rain). At least it kept most people away, so it was relatively quiet. Lu and Hayley stayed behind to take care of the pram for the first train ride, so then we swapped and stayed behind while they went on with the kids. From there we went to the nearby playground, and spent a good hour there. Then it was back for a final train ride, and we decided to leave our stuff there and all go on. Most of this was interspersed with brief visits to the Basingstoke Canal, which is right next to the railway.

Around 5pm we all headed home. Lu and I weren't sure what to eat, so ended up stopping for Chinese. My weight is slowly creeping up, which is no great surprise. I'm back to being hungry all the time, combined with a capacity to eat loads. If I could afford it I'd be tempted by gastric band surgery in Brazil, before I get really big.

After dinner I edited and uploaded my photos, and then gave Amélie a bath.

Much like yesterday it was another happy day today. It's great to be able to spend time properly with Amélie, and even better with lovely friends.

Three photos from today...



^steveeeee & Sons on the train.



^Amélie discovered throwing stones into water (the canal) for the first time, and much happiness was had.



^On the swings. Amélie loves swings, and frequently asks for "more push!".

All 28 photos from today are here at Flickr (technically 2 are from last week).

So it was a somewhat relaxed start to the morning, as we weren't leaving for Jo's until 10am. Surprisingly we were ready ahead of schedule, so left early. The drive down was wet but quick, and it must have been one of the quickest times yet. Or perhaps everything seems quick after York?

Dorset was as wet as Hampshire, if not more so, but we still had a blast inside the house. Around midday we headed off to the pub for Dad's birthday lunch celebration. It was a really pleasant place with great food, although Amélie wasn't interested in eating anything, and just wanted to run around. We took it in shifts following her. She managed to bang her head on the table, then on the car door.

When we got back to Jo's Amélie managed to bang her head on the dining room table as well. Sigh. She then wanted to take all her clothes off, which we acquiesced to. She also wanted to take off her nappy, but we stopped at that point. My sister is looking after baby chicks for school (she works as a Teaching Assistant), which hatched out at the beginning of last week. So we spent most of the afternoon cooing over the baby chicks.

Amélie was non-stop the whole afternoon, and only slept half an hour on the journey to Jo's. So we knew she would be absolutely shattered by the evening. We decided to hang on until 7pm and then leave, so she'd start her night off in the car, which seems to have worked so far.

The weather was grim driving back, and the car aquaplaned on the rather badly maintained A31 in Dorset. For a couple of moments I lost complete control, and thought we were going to be in serious trouble. Fortunately it recovered.

I grabbed some petrol on the way back, along with a pizza and some other bits 'n' bobs.

Tomorrow I'm off to Southampton to get my car serviced. I've got out the necessary cash, and am praying there's nothing else wrong with the car.



^Happy birthday to Dad, who's still as nutty as ever.



^My nephew Sam and I. Someone commented (again) today how much we look alike.



^And Amélie and chick.