MPZ: the official obligatory blog bit

2008-12-16T22:11:00.002Z

I was really saddened to hear of the death last week of Oliver Postgate, one of the most legendary figures in British animation. For anybody who grew up in this country in the seventies or eighties, the classic show that Postgate co-created with collaborator and friend Peter Firmin are likely one of their most treasured memories. They made just thirteen episodes of Bagpuss (old saggy cloth cat-puss) back in the seventies, yet they seemed to be permanently on TV at least into the late Eighties when I would have got the chance to see it. Years later it is regularly voted the most loved Children's programme in polls, and is still available on DVD and showing on satellite TV. If you don't know Postgate's work, or even if you do, you can see some of his finest moments here or here

Bagpuss has a really personal resonance with me, even to this day. Lovingly hand-made in a shed only a few miles form where I live, I even got a visit from the real Bagpuss at my primary school (sadly I can't remember if it was Postgate or Firmin who visited with him, seeing as I was just a nipper at the time). Today the original old Cloth cat has a permanent home at the local museum in my hometown. However the loss was felt all over the country by many different people, and I've heard tributes from as different sources as animator Nick Park and Screenwipe host Charlie Brooker. Rest in Piece Mr Postgate, you'll be sorely missed.

Wii is 2.

2008-12-08T19:05:00.003Z

This week marks the second anniversary of the Nintendo Wii launching in Europe, and what a couple of years the little white box has had. Even the most hardened Nintendo fanboy would have to admit it hasn't all been plain sailing. The console boasts a modest library of classic titles but there aren't enough, and at times it can seem that the majority of games for it are shoddy, badly presented mini-game cash-ins. However I've had more fun with my Wii than with any other system I can remember. It's worth baring in mind that the reason there's so much crap on it is because it's been such as success at expanding the audience.I'm sick of so-called hardcore gamers who criticise the Wii and DS as being for 'girls, kids and grannies', when that's just part of the audience- they are trying to appeal to everybody. Anybody who likes to call themselves a 'true gamer' should be pleased that the audience is expanding and that more people are playing games. Maybe the games they enjoy are not the same as what you do, but why begrudge them that? There's enough games for everybody. And who knows, having played Brain Training and Wii Sports, maybe they'll graduate to more 'gamey' games later. Personally I don't care whether games are casual or 'proper' games- as long as they're fun. The Wii's future looks bright- it looks likely to sell out again this Christmas, (the third in a row) and all without ever having a price cut. Not so long ago Ninty's stratergy was seen by many as crazy, now here we are with them outselling the competition (Put together!) and with Microsoft desperately trying to grab a bit of the casual market. What a difference two years can make.

ice ice baby....

2008-11-23T17:31:00.003Z

Regardless of what you think of the finished films (and I enjoy them personally) you'd have to be missing some vital organs not to enjoy the teaser trailers for the Ice Age movies. Featuring the lovable and unlucky saber-tooth squirrel Scrat, the trailers stand alone as animated shorts that bring to mind the classic Chuck Jones old school of animation. My point here being that the Ice Age 3 trailer is now online, and you should watch it. It's a hoot. Link

toon times

2008-11-17T19:26:00.002Z

If you wanted proof of how animation is becoming more important in Hollywood, then you might look to the number of live-action directors are getting involved. Last week John Boorman, best known for directing Deliverance released information on his first foray into the medium, a new CG adaptation of the Wizard Of Oz. It's occurred to me before that an animated version of that particular book could work, so I'm looking forward to finding out more. It's going to be more faithful to the book than the old musical version and the concept art is just gorgeous, so consider me thoroughly interested.

Meanwhile, Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy 2 director Guillermo Del Toro will be writing and producing a dark stop-motion take on Pinocchio (he'll be too busy with the Hobbit to direct) and Danny Boyle (28 Days Later director) has just co-founded an animation studio named Treat studios. It's certainly an interesting time to be an animation fan.

Panda Power

2008-11-16T18:08:00.002Z

The general noise from critics about Kung-Fu Panda was that it was surprisingly good. Personally I was won over as soon as I heard the title, but then I am basically an overgrown kid. I finally got to see it this week (on beautiful shiny Blu-ray) and I loved it. Unless something unexpected happens, I expect it to battle Wall-E for the best animated film Oscar next year (and most probably lose). Gorgeous as it looks though, my favourite thing about it is the beautifully stylish 2d animated segments that open and close the film. I personally could have watched a whole film like that, but unfortunately that would have been too risky a prospect for the studio. Thank god Pixar have insisted that Disney bring back 2d animations. Maybe if they succeed, it will see other studios following.

Everybody loves a bit of Bondage.

2008-11-05T22:13:00.002Z

The new James Bond flick Quantum Of Solace opened first here in the UK last Friday, so I've seen it before the majority of my readers (who hail mainly from the US of A) will have had a chance to. You've likely seen the trailer and I can confirm that despite some indifference form the critics, this movie kicks substantial amounts of arse. Daniel Craig has now completely made the role his own, easily putting him up with Connery as the best of the Bonds to date. What makes the new rebooted Bonds even more interesting is how they balance the classic elements you expect from Bond while bringing it up to date and making it more relevant. Basically, I recommend QOS without hesitation- it's quite ridiculously exciting and I can't wait to watch it again.

I'm clearly not the only one who thinks so because Quantum broke all box-office records here in the UK, scooping the highest ever opening day on Friday with a massive £4 million (about $8 million US). Bond is obviously a British icon and 007 fever has swept the nation. Just as an interesting comparison it has made almost as much* as High School Musical 3 already despite having been out half the time and HSM being a big hit with the kiddies. It'll be interesting to see how it fares when is opens Stateside in a couple of weeks.

* This is only going on the weekend-so it may have surpassed it by now!

Dead Good.

2008-11-01T22:42:00.002Z

As you may have guessed I am quite a fan of zombie movies, so when a new zombie flick comes out, I'll always at least give it a look. However I'm pretty sure that Dead Set is the first time that the undead have had their own TV series. Mind you, at four half-hour shows and and extended opener it's pretty much a slightly long movie cut into chunks. It's got a killer hook- zombies meet Big Brother, and is written by the hilarious Charlie Brooker, best known for his Screen Burn column in the Guardian Guide. However it's not a spoof, but a full blooded horror, albeit one with a strong satirical edge and excellent writing. It's proper scary and probably the most violent thing I've seen made for TV. The Big Brother angle is smart (the house being an ideal location for a traditional zombie siege) and being made by Channel 4 enabled it to use the actual Big Brother house, and feature cameos from the presenter and some former housemates. As a card-carrying Big Brother hater, the chance to see BB contestants eaten by Zombies was a chance not to be missed. I was even able to forgive the fact the zombies were the modern 'running' kind, so well was it pulled off. There's a cute and spunky female lead too I urge zombie and horror fans to check it out- you should be able to find it on e4's website- or it's coming out soon on DVD

Trailer here:

Hulu phooey

2008-10-04T10:39:00.002+01:00

Online TV is really taking off, so traditional broadcasters have to adapt or face being left behind. Now it finally seems most broadcasters are getting on board. I'd heard a lot of mention of the site Hulu, but didn't know anything about it, so decided to finally see for myself this week. And? There's a real wealth of the latest TV out there, available free and legally at the click of a mouse. And I can't see any of it. You see, Hulu is not available to visitors outside the U.S. Which is a bummer. Still, it's swings and roundabouts- only those of us in the UK have access to the BBC's awesome iplayer which has the advantage over most of it's rivals in that it allows you to download it's programmes as well as stream them online. With a bit of luck though Hulu (or an equivilent service) will be available in my part of the world before too long.

[...and no, I'm not going to link to Hulu! Not til they get their finger out and make it available internationally. So there!]

2008-09-25T19:37:00.002+01:00

Fear(s) of The Dark is an animated anthology based around a horror theme, that has come out of nowhere to suddenly be one of my most eagerly awaited movies of the rest of the year. It's due a UK cinema release in the next couple of weeks, but probably on a very limited release, so it may not come anywhere near me. Fear(s) consists of a number of sequences animated by different directors in different styles, and it looks ace. I like anthologies, and it's really refreshing to see a non-anime animation for adults that isn't a comedy. Thanks to more than a decade of The Simpsons, South Park and other shows, I think that only the really closed-minded still believes that animation is a medium only for children, but the idea that animation can tackle more than the funny? It's an area where the Japanese are streets ahead, but here in the west (or more accurately the English speaking world) this is the next barrier for art of animation to overcome.

You can see the trailer for Fear(s)..... here

We've been expecting you Meester Bond..

2008-09-11T22:42:00.002+01:00

The proper Trailer for the new Bond film Quantum of Solace has been released on the interwebs, and very exciting it is too. Casino Royale was ace, and Daniel Craig more than proved his doubters wrong, probably being the most convincingly hard 007 to date. I was looking forward to it before, but it's such a kick-arse trailer I now can't wait. See what you think here. While you're at it, why not check out this video of what surely has to be adopted the offical theme song for the flick?

In other news, this blog now matches the rest of the site and has had a shiny makeover. Let me know what you think guys and guyesses.

anime central RIP

2008-08-29T22:17:00.002+01:00

Last year I was please to see the UK get it's first dedicated anime channel, Anime Central. It wasn't run in the ideal way (six shows running a new episode each night, repeated 3 times from 9pm) and it was easy to lose track if you missed an episode, but the thought of having a source of free anime I might never have seen otherwise was an enticing one. They showed some awesome shows too- though the best of the lineup were Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell, two series i already own on DVD. However some months ago it became clear the channel was dying a slow and protracted death. New shows failed to appear, and the channel simply repeated Bebop and GITS on loop (apparently the only shows they still have the licence to) every frickin' night for months on end, until this week AC was finally replaced by 'True Entertainment' a channel that mixes music chart shows, horrible sounding 'true story' TV movies and (naturally) yet more repeats of those esme two anime shows. So what killed AC? Mainly it was probably down to a lack of viewers, which is understandable as how many people could've still been watching the same two shows loop seemingly into infinity? Some blame must lie with Anime fans though who bitch about there being no anime on UK TV but then didn't watch it when it was available- either because it showed dubbed or because they already downloaded it (illegally) months or even years ago. Ah, well it was good while it lasted, for a few months anyhow....

Something's different....

2008-08-20T18:23:00.003+01:00

Yes the blog is looking subtly different today. This is not a new look but an in between stage. As I reported on the main site recently I am fiddling around doing some redesigning that will end up with a whole new look, for the whole site. By the way the blog will get a whole facelift so the way it's looking today is no indicator of how it will look when the new MPZ launches!

Spooks club 7

2008-08-12T16:42:00.003+01:00

Spooks is one of the most exciting British TV shows or recent years. Last year's series of the spy drama was one of the year's highlights. So when the BBC announced a gritty hardedged spin-off Rouge Spooks was being developed for digital channel BBC3, my interest was piqued. Somewhere along the line they had a rethink, retitled it Spooks: Code 9, which is the form it finally hit screens in last week. The advert had me worried- it looked like it had been retooled to fit BBC3's 'yoof' demographic into a kind of 'Spooks meet Hollyoaks'. I decided to reserve judgment til I saw the finished result but now I have. How did it turn out? My God, it's horrible. Basically they've used a near future setting to give an excuse for why all the agent in MI5 are now all seeming under the age of 30 ( most of the previous agents were killed in a terrorist attack), which I suppose is a fairly interesting idea. However the show's a mess- the performances are universally awful (hollyoaks level in fact) the script's embarrassing. The attempts to make it young fresh and hip are painful. Thankfully there's only six episodes in the run, so hopefully we can just pretend it never happened, for everybody's sake.

For the sake of our international readers-who may not know what Hollyoaks is- just take comfort in the fact you're better off that way. Seriously, just trust me.

Monkey Magic

2008-07-28T15:10:00.005+01:00

The BBC has started advertising it's coverage of the Beijing Olympics that starts in a few weeks. I know before anyone says something- sport isn't something that gets much of a mention in this blog- (quite rightly!) but I'm only mentioning the ad because of the form it takes. For anyone who hasn't seen it- it's an animation and a smart one at that- and one involving monkeys. Brilliantly it's based on the Chinese Monkey King legend (a.k.a. Journey To The West) that's best known as the inspiration for a couple of Japanese series Dragonball and the 70's cheesefest live action series aired in the UK as Monkey. It also has a visual style reminiscent of Gorillaz/Blur front man Damon Albarn's Monkey Opera. Most of this will go over the head of most of the mainstream audience, but it's cool that they've produced something that will bring a smile to the face of those in the know.

Check out the ad here

EDIT// Um ....yeah it turns out Mr Albarn and his Gorillaz cohort, comic artist and Tank girl creator Jamie Hewlett are actually the creators of this ad- which explains the similarity. I didn't know that when I originally posted but of course it seems kinda obvious with hindsight :-) There's an interview with the guys in UK Tv listings mag Radio Times, complete with four collectible covers designed by the genius Hewitt.

The Master of animation returns..... and no I don't mean me!

2008-07-24T22:45:00.003+01:00

I was surprised to find out the new film by animation Master, Hayao Miyazaki has just been released in Japan. I knew it was coming, but I hadn't realised it would be so soon. Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea is the latest production from the Spirited Away director has unsurprisingly opened an number 1 in the box office charts. Now it has been released it has instantly become my most wanted film and I am impatiently awaiting the release of the English language version of the film. Even though I know next to nothing about it- I haven't seen a clip or more than about two pictures from the movie. But Miyazaki made it- so it will be excellent, of this there can be no doubt!

2008-07-18T23:10:00.003+01:00

If you're UK based (or otherwise have access to UK channel BBC2) then I recommend making time to watch the excellent 3 part documentary Comics Britannia. Taking a look at the often overlooked history of British comics, it's a must for any fan of the art of comics. It was previously aired on BBC4, but it gets a terrestial airing starting this Saturday at 9.30pm on BBC2 (and presumably continuing for the next three weeks). If you miss is then it should be available on the iplayer for the week after each episode airs.

2008-07-17T15:13:00.002+01:00

This week is the E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) confrence in L.A., where all the video games companies traditionally show off all their future releases and make announcements, although recently the event has become much less of a big deal. Nintendo have been facing some criticism from the specialist games media for a conference that leaned heavily towards the casual or mainstream games (including Wii Music and a Wii Sports sequel). Some have felt they neglected their hardcore fans. Criticising them for releasing mainstream games is daft- they have proved have very successful and opened up the gaming market to a much wider audience. And the likes of Wii Sports appeal to practically everyone (if you think "not me sir!" then you've probably never tried it!). There have been a few tidbits of info for the hardcore though- and these should be enough to temper any sense of disappointment. New games for Wii are in development in the Mario and Zelda series, as well as a long awaited third installment in the Pikmin series that started on Gamecube. There may have been nothing to show at the show but Nintendo often don't show games until their near completion- unlike certain competitors who have been know to mock-up footage for such events. The most unexpected announcement though? Grand Theft Auto is coming to the DS. Hands up who saw that one coming?

2008-06-29T15:21:00.002+01:00

The two-part series finale of Doctor Who is always a guaranteed televisual treat, but this year they certainly seem to have outdone themselves. Some people have felt the current run took a while to pick up, but the last five or so shows have been steadily increasing in quality, culminating with episode 11, Turn Left, one of the smartest, best episodes ever (despite hardly featuring The Doctor himself). Last night's* episode 12 though was on a whole another level, ranking as about the best 45 minutes of TV I've seen so far this year. Brilliantly for fans it featured pretty much every contemporary character from the show's recent history (including characters from adult spin-off Torchwood) and showed a scale and ambition unheard of in British TV. Somewhere along the line the effects in Doctor Who have got good, and the effects shown last night rivalled a Hollywood blockbuster (and I never thought I'd say that). I'm still in shock however from the cliffhanger ending (which I won't spoil for anyone who wants to watch it but hasn't yet) which is either the best kept secret in sci-fi or possibly a spectacular cheat. I actually hope it's the latter, but i can't say why without going into spoiler territory. I can't wait for the resolution, but sadly I won't be around to watch it live next Saturday, so I'm going to have to wait even longer, dammit!

*this was the transmission date for UK only. It should be on the Sci-Fi Channel in the USA within the next few weeks I believe.

2008-06-27T13:01:00.003+01:00

George Romero, the director of the classic Dead trilogy (and the not classic but fun Land Of the Dead) has returned with a new zombie film that is arriving on Region 2 DVD (and shiny Blu-ray) this week. As a zombie fan, I had to check it out. Not a sequel to the earlier films (despite the name), this one goes back to the beginning of the Zombie Apocalypse (the sequels to Night Of The Living Dead all take place some time after the event) but shows in through the eyes (well cameras) of some film students- yep it's a zombie flick Cloverfield style (although they were almost certainly in development at the same time, so it's no rip-off). Much as it pains me to say so, unfortunately George Romero's Diary Of the Dead is a dud. Yes dear reader, it fails in almost every respect- the acting is awful, the 'scares' aren't scary, and while it's interesting seeing the Don Of The Dead trying to keep things fresh, the overall effect is like watching your Dad dance at a wedding*. It would be a great shame if this proved to be his last Dead film. Here's hoping he'll make at least one more that will be able to stand up next to the classics. But based on the evidence here, I'm not holding my breath.

*not my dad, your dad

2008-06-14T19:54:00.003+01:00

It's not fashionable to like M. Night Shyamalan. Pretty much from Unbreakable on, it's been the done thing for crtics and audiences alike to call him a one-trick pony, complain about his love of twist-endings and mock him for his apparent arrogance. But while he does seem to be rather full of himself (and he needs to stop writing himself roles into his films) I have to say that I've always rated his films. The Sixth Sense is a classic, Unbreakable is underrated, and despite being flawed I was still impressed by Signs and The Village. I am even one of only about seven people on earth who actually rate Lady In The Water. So I'm pretty eager to see his new flick The Happening which is now in cinemas. It'll probably flop, as most people seem to have made up their mind before seeing it (or even knowing anything about it) but I saw the 'Red Band' (uncut) Trailer today and to be honest it creeped me out. When a trailer makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up ( and only a trailer!) then it promises a pretty spooky film. It's just a shame most people probably won't even give it a second look.

EDIT// Upon watching the film, I TAKE IT ALL BACK! This film is a masterpiece.... OF SUCK! Avoid it like the plague!

2008-06-12T20:47:00.002+01:00

Strangely there's a campaign online to save Joss Whedon's new TV series Dollhouse. Nothing unusual there you might think, except that the show hasn't even aired yet. So the idea the show has fans in the first place might seem a little daft- how do they know if they like it? Basically to explain- Joss Whedon's last few shows- Buffy, Angel and the under appreciated Firefly got axed (as have many decent cult shows) by ratings-obsessed US network bosses, so some of Whedon's fans have assumed the worse and that the same thing will happen to his new show- and that it'll be worth saving- so some bright spark came up with the idea of starting the campaign preemptively- before a single episode has even aired. Now that's what you call a dedicated cult following!

Check out the trailer here (and it does look pretty awesome!)

2008-06-03T17:08:00.003+01:00

Film buffs and collectors the world over are like asking themselves the same question. Now the pesky High Definition Format War is over, is it time to upgrade to Blu-ray? For most people it's probably worth waiting a little longer. For starters, if you don't have an HD compatible TV there's no point, as you wont be able to watch films in HD anyway. If it's time to get a new TV then it's worth getting one with HD compatibility, but if you don't have one already then buying a new set, as well as a Blu-ray player is going to set you back loads of money. Which brings me to the next point- you won't find many BR players below £250, meaning that the most economical way of getting Blu-ray is currently to get a PS3 (as it's a similar price, and also lets you play the latest games). The discs are mightily expensive too, whereas DVD's have really gone down in price. BR players play DVD's too (and up scaled on HDTV's making them look better than ever), so there's no real need to rebuy your collection (unless you're a real film geek who has to have the best of everything). In time, both hardware and discs will go down in price, so the sensible option is really to wait. But then again, they do look awesome. Watching something like Sweeney Todd in HD is fantastic and you really can see the difference. So should you upgrade yet? Common sense would say probably not. But my inner Film Geek and Gadget Freak would say... "Hell yeah!" It's completely unnecessary, but boy is it pretty!

2008-05-31T22:48:00.002+01:00

So I've finally played the most hyped game of the year (possibly ever) the somewhat eagerly anticipated Grand Theft Auto IV. Coming off of lots of declarations that it's 'The best Game Ever', and lots of perfect review scores. it had quite a lot to live up to. And my verdict? Meh.

I know it's controversial, but I was distinctly underwhelmed. Don't get me wrong, it's not terrible. It's technically a marvel what they've achieved (although graphically it's not top of the pile) but it's not such a giant step up from GTA III, more of a evolution. Running amok in Liberty City will always be worth a giggle, but Best Game Ever? Hardly. Perfect scores? There's far too many niggling annoyances and there's a humongous list of classic games I'd rate higher. Think I'll stick to Super Mario Galaxy thanks. But I certainly do have to say- the little TV shows and radio ads you get to watch in the game? Genuinely very funny. So you know, I can be nice about it. But sheesh talk about Hype getting out of hand!

2008-05-22T15:56:00.005+01:00

I've never been keen on the practice of remaking British shows for the US market (it's not like there's a language issue, well not much of one anyway). It might be fine to export formats like Pop Idol (yeah, sorry American Idol is kind of our fault) Who wants to be a millionaire?, or The Weakest Link, but remaking comedies of dramas rather than just showing the originals always seems as insult. Not only to the original show, but in the assumption American audiences can't accept something not homegrown- blatantly not true if you consider how many of the recent hit movie franchises- Harry Potter, Lord Of The Rings, Pirates etc- have largely British casts and a distinctly Anglo flavour. The remake of The Office is the only success so far. Despite that, I'd remained curious about the US version of the wondrous Life On Mars, thinking that it might be enjoyable on it's own terms. Now I've seen the trailer though, and this has gone out the window. It looks quite frankly rubbish. Colm Meany as gene Hunt will never live up to the iconic performance of the original. And the guy playing Sam Tyler just looks bland. In the interest of fairness, I should wait til I've seen a full episode, but can't say I'm looking forward to it now.

2008-05-20T20:06:00.002+01:00

The summer blockbuster season may have kicked off with Iron Man, but for most people the main event is Indy 4 (who said Sex and the City? Get out of my sight!) which is out this week! I'm getting the impression that crictial word isn't exactly great but I'm trying to avoid any reveiws. the thing is that for months I was convinced it was a bad idea, I may have even blogged on it. But then I saw the trailer and the hype started, and I got all excited. I can't help but wonder if I'm heading for a big disappointment. Not sure when I'll be able to see it, either. But know this- if it sucks, George Lucas I'm holding you personally responsible!