Not many people know this but I’m an avid UFC fan (that’s the Ultimate Fighting Championship) for people that haven’t a clue what I’m talking about. It’s one of the fastest growing sports in the world and has the potential to be the largest sport probably behind Football (Soccer) in years to come. It’s currently a billion dollar industry and has been going for more than 10 years in one form or another. Lets not talk about the real UFC for a second and concentrate on the console game, UFC 2009 – Undisputed.
I’m not usually into fighting games on a console and take a much bigger part in First Person Shooters which most recently has been Battlefield: Bad Company. Over the past couple of months I’ve not even touched the 360, however knowing that the UFC demo was available I thought I’d give it an hour of my time just to see what it was like. My prediction was that it would be horrendous like all of the other fighting computer games. They usually don’t feel right, the transitions don’t flow, the punches are “plain” and it just doesn’t seem like it’s supposed to.
I was pleasantly surprised. First off by the lack of a health bar, the huge defining factor in most fighting games that you’re about to get your ass kicked and lose a match. In the UFC a knockout can come at any time and it’s the same for the game, granted you can become gassed if your cardio isn’t up to scratch and this can have an effect on your fight but even a last ditch attempt at a knockout can be successful.
I’ve only played this game for one afternoon and haven’t explored the full thing but was so impressed I thought I’d write up about it.
At the end of the day I’m impressed, the visuals are crisp, the transitions and fighting flows, the soundtrack as with most UFC events is terrific and I’ve not thrown the controller through the wall. One funny part of the game is the fighters, they look very realistic and in fact look more a less identical to the actual real life fighters yet Dana White looks nothing like Dana.
It’s 2009 and Fast and Furious is back. The cars, the music, the racing is all back including Dom Toretto. This Fast and Furious could well be called an interquel as it’s set 5 years after the first movie but before the Tokyo Drift movie. Apparently Vin Diesel wanted to make a proper movie and the best time to set it was after the first movie instead of faffing around with the story lines from the latter two movies.
The movie starts how it means to go on with a high octane snatch and grab of fuel. Dom and Letty are still together with a new group containing some new characters and Brian isn’t far behind. After the snatch and grab Dom realises he needs to cut away before the whole team are taken down by the cops and leaves Letty with the gang.
Dom and Brian end up crossing paths in LA and briefly fight each other before realising they are about to fight a common enemy. During the explosive plot the duo are together till the end with plenty of woah and holy crap high speed moments. I had heard there was a lack of cars in the film however I believe there were just enough to keep the story on track and the film entertaining unlike some of the previous films where they dragged.
An all round good movie if you’re into the Fast and Furious series.
If you’d like to see the trailer before buying your tickets, head over to Moovees (one of my sites where I collate film trailers).
The Fast & Furious OST is pretty good and the tracks are featured below;
Rye Rye – Bang (feat. M.I.A.)
Busta Rhymes – G-Stro
Kenna – Loose Wires
Pitbull – Blanco (feat. Pharrell)
Pitbull – Krazy (feat. Lil Jon)
Pitbull – You Slip, She Grip (feat. Tego Calderon)
I never have been one to show great interest in fiction books. From a young age, I tried desperately to be like everyone else, reading the latest teenage fiction novel to no avail. Obviously during education I had to read a certain percentage of novels especially to get through my English Literature exams, but for some reason they never did ‘float my boat’ so to speak. Give me a magazine, research material or philosophical texts and I?m quite happy to read up on my gossip and debate things like the existence of god. This has always been the way until recently when I was introduced to a range of novels written by Sophie Kinsella.
Confessions of a Shopaholic had me hooked within the first few pages, a sneak peek into the life of Rebecca Bloomwood – Financial Journalist. I stood by her as she went through the twists and turns of life, through her tears and joys, love and heartbreak. A character whom I think we can all identify with to some degree, for myself, alongside loving shopping, it was the belief that if I hide bad things away for long enough they might just disappear. My addiction had begun. Each book that followed carried on the story.
Needless to say when it was announced that they were making the story into a film, I was looking forward to it. Being able to re-live the novel, but this time on the big screen where the characters are brought to life. The trailers teased and made the anticipation that little more exciting.
As Rebecca Bloomwood would write; ?Contemplating the film on the big screen was like finding the perfect dress you’ve longed for, in the sale at Barney’s; it’s the right size and has no faults. The feeling of exhilaration flows through your veins, everything seems better. Until you realise when you wear it to the most amazing ball that the perfect dress has a nick in it at the hem, at first not that noticeable, but through the night, the hem slowly unravels and the dress falls apart at the seams. You’re so disappointed, you feel let down as if you’ve been cheated.’
One of the main nick?s in the hem of my perfect dress was evident within the first 5 minutes. As I watched in disbelief, I couldn’t help thinking to myself; “This didn’t happen in the novel”, ”I don’t understand” and “I don?t remember it happening like that in the novel”, so much so that I found it very difficult to absorb myself in the film. There were so many inconsistencies; so many so that I asked if we?d walked into the wrong theatre therefore missing part of the story. Why was it all set in New York? Why was Becky working for Successful Saving? Why did she go to work for Luke? Why was Alicia ?Bitch? Longlegs working for Elite fashion magazine? Why were Tarquin and Suze engaged within the first 5 minutes? Where was the on air argument between Becky and Luke? Why did Becky not work on Morning Coffee in a regular slot? And so many more…
The unraveling of my hem happened before my eyes as we were introduced to the main characters of the story. The character of Rebecca Bloomwood was unbelievable, although Becky is slightly naive in her dealings and imaginings within the novel and obviously does have a shopping addiction; the movie portrayed her as a plastic, simple minded and superficial. Suze was impersonal, unlike how she is described within the novel; she lacked her caring and motherly side and instead came across as quite aggressive and selfish. What happened to the girl who would do anything for her friend, who stuck by Becky no matter how many mistakes she made? Tarquin was quite confusing, he held a very small role so it was impossible to judge the character too much, yet I was left asking the question; what happened to the scrawny, un-stylish and awkward character described in the novel that Rebecca found so repulsive? Luke Brandon was possibly the most believable character within the movie, although I found it difficult to relate Luke?s mysterious, almost distant and driven characteristics portrayed by Kinsella to the actor playing the role. Whatever did happen to him running Brandon communications from the beginning?
I understand that changes have to be made on screen to fill the film reel and that sometimes it may be necessary for the range of novels to be merged slightly. Yet why the producers and script writers omitted important events and almost re-wrote an already fantastic storyline is beyond me.
I can?t help but feel rather deflated; the lovable and hilarious ?Confessions of a Shopaholic? was obviously lost in translation.
The first guest post by Jennifer as she had read all of the Sophie Kinsella books to know the difference between the two mediums.
Doug Beattie was born in Northern Ireland and joined the British Army at 16. A boy soldier who at 15 had accidentally shot his best friend in the head. His friend survived however Doug needed to get out of Northern Ireland. Following in family foot steps Doug joined the Royal Irish Regiment and throughout training was subjected to intense bullying. Quickly recognised for his soldiering skills Doug was promoted through the ranks to Regimental Sergeant Major and then commissioned. As a Captain in the Royal Irish Regiment he was sent to Garmsir, Afghanistan as part of a Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team (OMLT).
Doug was part of a small contingent of British Forces sent to to recapture Garmsir with the help of member of the Afghan National Army (ANA) and the Afghan National Police (ANP), whilst this was supposed to be a 48hr operation it ended up over a week long with British and Afghan casualties. They were up against a determined enemy with a small amount of forces, Doug leading from the front came close to losing his own life on numerous occasions. JTAC Sam New and Doug fighting from the front on regular occasions bringing in fast air strikes within 60 metres of their own position, well within the safety guidelines.
The silence was broken by a burst of fire from the first building on the left, which was still only just emerging into view. The earth in front of the Danish sergeant erupted into little fountains of dust. Then more bullets came my way, zipping and fizzing through the air, scything through the crops. Instinctively I ducked even lower and pulled my trigger, spewing ammunition towards our attacks.
Doug Beattie, MC – “An Ordinary Soldier”
Doug left Garmsir on R&R and only took 48hrs to get back to his wife and family in the U.K. No one at home could imagine the ferocious fighting he had been through after all he had stabbed an enemy fighter through the throat with his bayonet, fired on and slotted a number of enemy as well as bringing 500lb + bombs down on groups of fighters dismembering bodies.
He saw through his own two eyes like so many other soldiers around the world. He was invited to go back to Afghanistan even though he was determined to leave the Army however he had to do something first. He had to write about his experiences to help him deal with what had happened, he had to write “An Ordinary Soldier”.
He pulls no punches and doesn’t look for forgiveness for what he made decisions to do, he has enough time answering the questions he asks himself. It’s a terrific read and constantly keeps you engaged throughout the entirety of the book.
