Nicholas Bate

For the original 1978 story conference between Steven Spielberg, George Lucas,

and Lawrence Kasdan for a film called Raiders of the Lost Ark, go here.

Think you know Orson Welles' Touch of Evil?

Take an enjoyable master-class, here.

Thank goodness. Just when...

we need him. Bond is back.

Things I Learnt from the Movies (1) : Thrillers

1. When it starts to rain that is a very bad sign.
2. Use reflective surfaces to notice who's tailing you.
3. Count the shots, dispose of the cartridges. That young guy in forensics is very smart.
4. The prettier the girl, the more treacherous she is. Sorry.
5. All cars have a much tighter turning circle than the manufacturer's hand-book reveals.
6. Body armour is cool but actual helmets to protect the most vital part of the body are for woosies and SWAT teams.
7. You can be remarkably safe in a room raked top to bottom and a full 360 degrees with autmatic gun fire. You just need an expression of steely determination. Oh and the pretty girl on your arm. And she is still wearing high-heels.
8. Evian, Perrier and Vittel are in short supply in the world of the Mafia. But hard liquor is on tap.
9. Falling off a building is OK. There will be a skip full of mattresses to break your fall.
10. Re-wiring your iPod using a stick of chewing gum and a toothbrush-while running-to create a heat-seeking satellite disk simply requires a little application and a 'can do' attitude.

With love and respect to all the great thrillers we have seen.

At last a decent

film review site here. (HT: Isaac)

Often asked, but still not answered....

why do two films on the same topic so often appear simultaneously? Here.

What are you watching?

Well Die Hard 4.0 was absolutely fine. In fact better than fine: it was very good. It delivered what was on the label: no nonsence back-to-back action with plenty of slight twists to the usual set pieces. Favourite line: "enough of this King Fu stuff". Absolutely.

We were favoured with a trailer for the new Bourne Ultimatum movie which looks particularly cool. It appears that Jason Bourne has had enough. He's fed up with being on the run; he's fed up with hiding and being reactive. He's going proactive: he's turning the tables. Excellent.

Couple of messages for all of us. Cut the Kung Fu stuff: get back to basics. And stop running; turn and face them: you know you're better than them.

Enjoy your movies.

What have you been watching?

Both Hugh Grant's Music and Lyrics and Leonardo di Caprio's Blood Diamond are well worth watching. In their respective (and of course very different) ways they deliver what they promise.

On the other hand I was very disappointed with Patrick Stewart's (and I am a huge fan of him) Antony and Cleopatra. 1-dimensional and 'read'. Where was the acting?

Whatever you do: set expectations and deliver. At the very least.