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So there we were our usual cinema group at a loose end last night, so one of us suggested watching a couple of episodes of the new & upcoming series of Knight Rider!! After a successful pilot episode last year, this remake has been given a full season…. There were a few small questons we all had after seeing the pilot…like was the ‘Michael Knight’ actor/character strong enough? But most importantly was K.I.T.T as a Ford Mustang ever gonna cut it?? Surely nothing beats the Trans Am!!

Anyway, we all sat down to watch the show – hot off the press from America, via the wonders of the internet!! The first thing we all thought was that we must have missed the first 10mins of the first episode as it was straight into a storyline that we had no background knowledge of…no build up at all. Then there was the over the top ‘secret headquarters’ of Knight Industries’. An underground lair full of gadgets, computer screens & all sorts of complicated stuff…all below an old dis-used warehouse. I know the headquarters have to be secret but something just seemed all a bit too far fetched etc!!

Then actually came the storyline….oh my word, what a load of over complicated, cheesey rubbish. Again, I know the original series was never gonna win an Oscar for its script etc but this new series just seemed so far fetched & in places just didn’t make sense!! I’m not going to go into detail, but those of you that saw it with me will know what I mean…perhaps you can add a comment to help explain!!

Finally, perhaps the most important thing is the car….Was K.I.T.T any good as a Mustang? Well apart from the looks & sound of the car itself – NO, not really!! You see, the producers of this current remake have decided to take K.I.T.T into the 21st Century. The turbo boost is still present – but now seems to take about 30secs to engage, what with all the thrusters & mixing of boosters etc to create the jump!! ‘Super Pursuit mode’ is back as ‘combat’ (or something) mode….it looks just as bad too!! There are a few cool things that you would expect from the ultimate of all cars – like an on board i pod & dvd player!! Oh yes….

Ok – so perhaps its not all that bad, as I’m sure I’d be moaning just as much if the car hadn’t changed at all in the past 20years, but some of the stuff has been done sooo tackily its just laughable & the use of 2nd rate CGI didn’t really help…you could see that some of the stuff was too obviously blue screen!! However, one of the biggest mistakes/out of place added gadgets to the car is the fact that now K.I.T.T is also a Transformer – you see he can now change into a 4×4 for the rough terrain…it just isn’t Knight Rider if the car can’t do it all & work its way out of every situation & I’m sure he’ll changed into a helicopter or boat in the future!! Also, it seems that K.I.T.T also can’t keep pace with a normal sports car (even in ‘Super Pursuit mode’) & stuggles to eventually chase them down!!

So guys, who watched these 2 episodes please add a comment to what you thought & whether you agree with me or not? Last & by no means least…the series does have one good thing going for it!! The amount of lovely looking ladies in the show. Firstly, Michaels assistant & daughter of K.I.T.T designer Sarah Graiman (played by Deanna Russo) looks mighty hot in episode1 – quite literally as she ends up in a burning K.I.T.T in just her undies!! Then there’s a baddie called Kellie played by Paula Garces who is just a hottie, finally office temptress Zoe (Smith Cho) also looks good!! Not forgetting to mention episode2 which is mainly based around fast cars & hot women in bikinis sitting by the pool, whilst the blokes race the cars!! Perhaps, then, the producers of this remake are actually geniuses, as they realise that all the fans of the orginal are now nearly 30 & love nothing more than hot girls & cool cars with gadgets!!!

Oh – I nearly forgot, to check out pics of the lovely ladies of the show, click here…..its the only reason to watch!!

If it wasn’t for my very good friend Andrew, I would have nearly missed this exciting TV event…the return of the Sarah Connor Chronicles!! Back on a Tuesday night on Virgin1 @ 9pm this show really does float my boat – so to speak….After only one episode of the 2nd season – I’m totally hooked & very much looking forward to the next episode. If you haven’t seen the 1st season, I don’t think you will have too much difficulty in picking up whats going on!! Basically, all you need to know is that, Sarah & John Connor are still trying to stop the creation of Skynet & the future John has sent back a Female Terminator in the form of Cameron to protect them from whatever Cyberdyne/Skynet can throw at them….

The second season, continues exactly where season one finished, with Cameron laying in the aftermath of a burnt out jeep…..Is she ok? Does she survive? – Well yes, without spoiling it too much, the explosion screws up her objectives & she tries to kill John!! (Ok, so that is kinda what the whole episode is about, so I guess I did spoil it!!) I just thought, that this was a brilliant way to kick off the new season & I’m really looking forward to see what develops next, especially with the introduction of new evil character Catherine Weaver – played by Ex-Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson!! Plus she has a rather cool dark secret….

I highly suggest you watch this series if you get chance, especially now that its been secured a full second season…I just hope it continues to be as good in the forth coming episodes as I think it is now!! Which I’m sure it will, especially as reading what might be on the cards in future episodes…..

Oh by the way, to read my season one review click here & to see some rather cool pics of the leading ladies in the show, click here.

So yet again no cinema review for a few weeks….again all due to Call out weeks falling in the wrong place & not a decent film to watch, oh and a spot of illness on my part!! Surely next week we’ll be going to see the latest James Bond film??

Anyway, until then how about a cheeky review of the latest American TV show I’ve been drawn to watching….I’m talking about Burn Notice currently showing on FX. So what’s the show about I hear you cry?? Well basically it follows Michael Western an ex spy who is trying to discover who ‘burned’ him….you see a spy doesn’t get fired, they get burned!!’ The hour long episodes follow Michael who finds himself in Miami solving local/small crimes for little money, whilst trying to get to the bottom of why is was ‘burned’ & by who!!

I’m only 3 episodes into season one but already the show is easy to watch, with light hearted comedy, the entriguing ongoing storyline ref ‘burned’ & some interesting insights into the minds/workings & tricks of a spy. I think that this series could be a nice little easy watching, fun long running series…so far something that you don’t have to think about too much when watching!! Unlike some of the others on offer – like Heroes, Fringe etc etc…..

Oh, I nearly forgot – the cast….not only does the show feature the great Bruce Campbell (he of Evil Dead fame!!), but the star of the show must be the odd but strangely beautiful girfriend of Michael, Fiona, played by British actress Gabrielle Anwar…who by luck would have it has some rather nice pics on the web…as usual click HERE to take a look!!

Have an opinion on ‘Burn Notice’? Why not leave me a comment?….Go on, I dare ya!!

You may have noticed that there’s been no film review for the past couple of weeks, that’s because we just haven’t been to the cinema!! Basically, there hasn’t been a film that we’ve all decided is a must see…plus the fact that one of our group became a Dad & I’ve been on call, so the cinema had to put on the back burner!!

Having said that, it doesn’t mean that I’ve been sitting in twiddling my thumbs (as if with a little one!!)…nope their have been a few new TV shows starting in the past few weeks, one if which being the latest offering from Lost creator J.J Abrams called Fringe. I’ve also started watching Burn Notice - more about that in a later post!!

Anyway, back to Fringe - What do you think? I have to be honest & say I’m not sure if I’m enjoying as much as I thought I would!! I love the idea/concept of it, its a bit like X-Files, but it really sounds quite interesting….A female FBI agent who is forced to work with an institutionalized scientist in order to rationalize a brewing storm of unexplained phenomena, which has been named ‘The Pattern.’ In the 1st pilot episode, FBI Agent Olivia Dunham finds herself caught up in an investigation that thrusts her into the path of weird goings on. To begin with, a plane lands on auto-pilot with all passengers & crew dead from some unexplained reaction that causes the victims organs etc to solidify. She enlists the only man that she thinks can help her – an old Scientist called Walter Bishop, who was locked away for going a bit mad, to get him released she needs the help of his son – Peter Bishop (played by Joshua Jackson). They then work out what the cause is & find the cure..which she needs to save her partner who is also infected with the disease!! This is all fine, especially when at the end we find out the her partner is infact involved in somehow spreading the disease!! We learn about the possible corrupt major company behind these weird goings on called – ‘Massive Corp’ or something!! Again, this is all fine, even the 2nd episode is pretty good, touching on the types of experimental science Walter Bishop carried out for the Government back in the day….trying to breed humans that they ‘grow’ to their peak age ready for war etc!! This experiment has been recreated today, but cannot be stopped and they are killing innocent people in order to purlong/cure the victims premature ageing!!

Again, nothig wron with all the above, in fact I found it all very interesting – will they, wont they figure out what’s going on etc before its too late!! The parts I have a problem with, is it seems they are goingto throw in weird/odd ball experiments in the middle of the episode to assist them solve the mystery!! In the 1st episode Walter convinces the FBI Agent to be drugged up high on LSD, submerged in a water tank in order to communicate with her partner through brian waves, whilst he lies in a coma!! This weeks episode, they try to figure out where the killers are holding their victims, by removing the eye of one of them getting hold of a special imaging camera (from ‘Massive Corp??), plugging the camera into a monitor & by taking pictures of the eye they can see her final images….a bridge, which they put into the FBI database, loctae & even figure out what building it was viewed from just by the angle!! WOW

I suppose, this is all possible, but I get the feeling that is just shoe-horned in, done really quickly…a bit like: Quick I’ve had an idea, if we do this, then we’ll find out this & hey presto there’s the answer we were all looking for…..plus its seems when this happens everyone seems to know exactly what to do & even understand the science behind it!!

Maybe I’m just being picky & you may not agree, but I’d be interested to know your thoughts……It’s definately no Lost, but I’ll continue to watch it as I’m sure there’s some twist involved – like its all the Police/Governments doing….’You don’t know what you’re getting into’ kinda thing!!

Overall mark for 2 episodes – 7/10 so far!!

Oh by the way – anyone else notice that the incidental/dramatic music sounds exactly the same as that used in Lost?? No – just me again then…..

UPDATE: After watching this weeks episode, I think Mr Abrams must have read my website & agreed with me that the ‘science experiments’ in the middle if the episodes were a little rushed & pointless…..This week, I felt, the idea of ‘re-wiring’ the chaps brain, so that the signals he were receiving were transferred to words rather than pictures, was a good one!! Ok, so the concept may be a little out there, but I honestly thought that this week the whole scenerio was better explained, with more time & care to involve the other characters…rather than rushing through it!! In fact it was rather clever & actually quite pivotal to the episode & in my opinion made this the best episode so far….so much so I’m really rather looking forward to next weeks!!

Hey all, just incase you haven’t heard the fantastic news…my best man Tristyn, is now a Daddy!! Close friends, Tristyn & his wife Ann are now the proud parents of Evie Louise Cooke.
Baby Evie was born yesterday morning (8th October) at the very early time of 5:46am, following a very long labour!! Both Mum, Dad & baby are all fine & doing well…..
Please join me in saying congratulations & wishing them every happiness in the future as a family!!
Welcome to the joys of parenthood Mr & Mrs Cooke!!

The last of todays post sees me bringing you a funny & clever video that I have recently stumbled across….It seems that its part of an advertising campaign by clothes manufacturer ‘Diesel’. To be honest, its a pretty clever idea, they have taken loads of old/dodgy porn clips and made them ’Safe For Work’ (SFW)….

View the video below & let me know what you think….I just thinks its pretty funny!!

More updates soon..Laters

So last night’s film was quite an experience….we went to see the latest Oscar winning performance (cough!) by Jason Statham in the film Death Race. This was no masterpiece, but then again from the trailer we knew it wouldn’t be!!

The basic plot involves Jason’s character Jensen becoming framed for killing his wife….the film is set in the future when the US prisons are run by private companies for profit after a fall in the American Economy (future??). Anyway, whilst in jail Jensen is forced to take on the role of legendary prison racing driver ‘Frankenstein’. You see the head of the jail, Hennessey (played by Joan Allen – she of the Bourne series), has created a DeathRace, which involves the inmates racing around in modified cars-laidened with guns & ammo in attempt to win the race by killing the other drivers!!

I wont give away the ending etc, but I’m sure you can guess what happens when Jensen finds out that winning the 5th race wont buy his freedom as promised & that his wife was murdered with the sole intention by Hennessey to get him to drive as ‘Frankenstein’.

Lets just say that the film was extremely cheesy, but also very enjoyable – with good action & fight sequencies….basically it did exactly what it said on the tin, so my score would be 6/10.

Having said that, the film did have one thing going for it & I’m not talking about the appearance of Lovejoy…no no no, more like the introduction of the very fine Natalie Martinez!! This 24year old Cuban beauty stars as Jensens navigator & boy does she look good in the process – check out these pictures if you don’t believe me!! Maybe, not all crap films are completely pointless…..

Right this is blatantly just an excuse for me to post nakid pictures of Keeley Hazell, but at least I can blame this post on the fact that my good friend Chris will no doubt want to see these stunning pictures!!

Basically, there ain’t goona be much writing on this post, as the pictures say it all….so without further a do, click here to see a very naked Keeley Hazell in her 2009 calendar!!

I know Chris….you can stop thanking me now!!

I’m a bit late in reviewing this film, after all it was over a week since we went to see it & therefore may have forgotten a little of the detail….The film in question was the latest offering from Ben Stiller: Tropic Thunder. This film has an all star cast, with a good few famous cameos to boot…The film follows 3 large ‘fake’ Hollywood movie stars, played by the afore mentioned Ben Stiller, Jack Black & Robert Downey Jnr as they all join together in their latest hit film!! Based on a book by an ex war veteran the 3 of them try to out do each other for screen time & big dramatic scenes…following several re-shots & bodged explosive finales, the director (Steve Coogan) decides to drop these over ego’ed stars into the jungle & shot a fly on the wall style film on how they survive what the jungle throws at them!!

Little do they realise, that they are actually dropped into the middle of a jungle tribes drug producing fields etc & they are infact attacked by real gangs, but the stars all think its part of the new script & filming technique. The film is actually pretty funny, has some really good gags & slapstick style moments…infact a few of Jack Blacks lines when he’s high on drugs are hilariously disgusting!!

Overall, the film was a good way to spend 2 hours & gave us all a good giggle, ok so some parts were a little over the top or obvious, but hey it was enjoyable…so my score would be 7/10.