Liza Minnelli is many things. A great singer and entertainer. A survivor and a link to the golden age of Hollywood. I had the pleasure of seeing her perform on Tuesday 27th May, in the last of her three London performances.The show was in two distinct parts. The first half being a selection of showstoppers such as "Cabaret"and "Maybe This Time". The second half being a tribute to her godmother, the late Kay Thompson who was vocal arranger and vocal coach at MGM Studios working with stars such as her Mother, Judy Garland. Liza, supported by a quartet of singers, performed highlights from Thompson's act with the Williams Brothers, including such numbers as "I Love a Violin", "Clap O’ Your Hands", and "Hello Hello".

This was a very traditional and personal show, with songs and reflections on her career and Godmother. It was schmaltzy and at times gushing, but her audience and die hard fans lapped it up. This was old school entertainment, which regardless of it's packaging, ultimately centred on a single persons ability to sing and entertain. And she did. This was a rare opportunity to see what being a true star is about. Despite the years and the hard road that Liza Minnelli has trod, she is still one of the most engaging and skilled vocalists alive. She has real star quality. Furthermore she is the real thing. A survivor from an era that will soon be lost in time all together. Yes, up and coming artists can cover this material, but they will not have lived through those times.

I've seen many artists perform live over the years, but this is the first time that I have seen someone who has the title and in my opinion, the status of "Star". A superb 100 minutes of classic song and dance, from a great performer.

XoD.

F. Paul Wilson has always been vitriolic regarding the 1983 film version of his novel. "Visually intriguing, but otherwise utterly incomprehensible." is one of his more sedate quotes. Michael Mann's adaptation of the 1981 bestseller is a curiosity in itself, which I will not discuss at great length here. Suffice to say that I may write an extended piece on it's troubled history and many versions, in the future. In 2006 F. Paul Wilson scripted a graphic novel version of his book, with artwork drawn by Matthew Dow Smith, of "Hellboy" fame. In the foreword F. Paul Wilson states "I consider this visual presentation of "The Keep" my version of the movie, what could have been...what should have been."

In April of 1941, a message sent to German High Command from an Army Captain stationed in a remote castle keep in the Dinu Pass high in the Transylvanian Alps. "Something is murdering my men." A Nazi SS extermination squad is dipatched as it is assumed that this is the work of partisans. A Jewish History Professor, Theodore Cuza and his daughter Magda, an expert on the keep, are forced by SS Sturmbannfuhrer Eric Kaempffer to provide background information and help with the investigation.The professor is useful first in translating a mysterious message that has been written in blood on a wall in a ancient dialect of Old Romanian. It is not long before he encounters the malevolent force that is loose in the keep. Cuza fails to grasp that the being is not a mere vampire but actually something much worse. It is at this time that a stranger appears in the village as if summoned by the events in the keep.

"The Keep" works exceptionally well as a graphic novel and the minimalist artwork ideally suits the plotline and charactors. This is a novel that would have suffered if the art work had over embellished the storyline. In it's existing form the reader is given enough visual data but still has scope to use their imagination. This adaptation retains all the important aspects and themes of the source novel. If there is a weakness, it is that the ending is a little low key. Contemporary readers may be expecting something a little more spectacular. However, this minor flaw can be overlooked as the story as a whole is engaging and an interesting perspective on a traditional genre. In this age of poor film adaptations, it would be nice to see authors doing this more often and presenting their work in such a fashion.

XoD.

William Hope Hodgson (November 15, 1877 – April 1918) was an English author who wrote baroque and arcane horror, fantasy and science fiction. His style and insight drew heavily on his colourful experiences. The son of a Priest he ran away to sea at an early age and travelled widely. He was a keen amateur photographer and achieved some renown as a bodybuilder and escapology. He died in World War I at the age of 40. Although moderately successful during his lifetime, it was not until after his death that his work, especially the short stories received the acclaim that they deserved. This is mainly due to the complete publication of all the short stories about Thomas carnacki, an investigator of the supernatural.

Hodgson's work is in a similar vein to H.P. Lovecraft. Like such authors as M.R. James, Ambrose Bierce, he hints at the horrific and implies that there are forces at work that are ancient and powerful and of a magnitude beyond human comprehension. Like Dennis Wheatly, Hodgson writes with such conviction you get the impression that he may have experienced the occult directly. Writing at the turn of the 19th century, Hodgson mixes modern science and technology along with the occult and the esoteric, a style utilised later by Nigel Kneale.

The Carnacki stories are a variation of the tradition of fictional detectives such as Sherlock Holmes. Carnacki lives in a bachelor flat in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea; the stories are told from a first-person perspective by Dodgson, one of Carnacki's four friends, very much in the style of John Watson. However, the Holmes stories never made use of the supernatural except as a red herring. These is the pivotal theme of the Carnacki stories. The character of Carnacki was loosely inspired in part by Dr. Hesselius, scientist with a supernatural perspective, who appeared in short stories by the Irish fantasy writer Sheridan Le Fanu.

The stories follow an establish framework: Carnacki intermittently sends invitations to four friends, asking them to come to dinner and hear his latest exploit. One of these, Dodgson, is the actual narrator of the story. Carnacki avoids discussion of the case until after dinner, then lights his pipe, settles into his favourite chair, and recounts the tale to his audience. Each of Carnacki's tales takes the form of an investigation into an unusual haunting, which Carnacki has been engaged to not only investigate, but end. He employs a variety of scientific methods in his investigations, as well as resorting to more traditional folk-lore. He employs technologies such as photography and his own scientific device, the electric pentacle. He is not dogmatic, and always uses evidence to establish conclusions, so that in some stories he determines the haunting is real, while in others it is staged or faked by a third party. This variety and the exposure of an occasional hoax makes the stories suspenseful.After the tale is complete, Carnacki usually answers a few questions from his guests, then turns them out onto the embankment, to return to their respective homes.

What makes the Carnacki stories work so well is the credible and disquietening world of the supernatural he touches upon. He frequently refers to a fictional ancient text known as the Sigsand Manuscript, which is a source of information about protecting oneself from external forces and influences. Carnacki refers to Aeiirii and Saiitii manifestations, the latter being more dangerous and capable of overcoming Carnacki's protective devices. There are several rites and ceremonies, including the Saaamaaa Ritual, with its mysterious eight signs and "unknown last line". These are invoked in times of abject crisis, when not only the physical life, but the very soul is in danger. Then the forces that govern the fabric of space and time will intervene to restore balance. These references to esoteric fictional occult works, are very much like H. P. Lovecraft's Necronomicon.

If you like stories about the supernatural and traditional detective material, the Carnacki will provide you with an interesting crossover. They provide an insight into the social and scientific attitudes of the Edwardian period. They also serve as a nice introduction to the works of William Hope Hodgson. His later novels are now considered to be milestones within the genre. Due to the lapse in copyright, the Carnacki stories are now in the public domain. I have collected them here in a single PDF file, that is suitably constructed for printing. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

XoD.

"Hidden & Dangerous 2" was one of the first PC games that I got into in a big way. Released in 2003 this was an excellent WWII based "tactical shooter" developed by Illusion Softworks and published by Gathering of Developers and Take-Two Interactive, which had great online play features. The player took on the role of a four man British Special Air Service (SAS) team during World War II, conducting a wide variety of operations behind enemy lines. Set in a variety of locations, such as Burma, North Africa and Norway. The final mission was set in Czechoslovakia during the last days of the war ending in a squirmish with the Soviet Red Army over German secret documents. An additional expansion pack with extra mission, "Sabre Squadron" was released a year later. This featured co-operative online game play.

The game faired well in the UK, but didn't do so well in the US, despite receiving well above-average reviews, partly because of the release of similar games, such as "Call of Duty", and because of the many bugs that remained in the game in spite of successive, and often large, patches; a problem shared with the first game. However, the game became popular in Europe, selling millions of copies. As with "Mafia", which was also developed by Illusion Softworks, the game had realistic gameplay and immersive environments. Weapon and vehicle physics were credible and fairly accurate, more so than most games of similar genre.

I've never been a hardcore game player, but this one really took my fancy. I joined a clan, the "Devil's Bridge Veterans" (where are they now?) and even hosted several online games on two servers I had access to. The hours I spent late into the night at the expense of other things! Still, it was fun at the time. I was doing some "house keeping" on one of my many external hard drives recently, when I found this video capture, taken from a online game. I thought I'd share it. Taken on 23.10.2004 late at night when most sane people had abandoned the game and gone to bed. I decide to use the empty environment to perform a few stunts. I used a piece of software call "Fraps" to capture the game footage.

So here for your amusement is Xusia Kineval's famous tank jump.

Enjoy!

XoD.

I always cringe when I hear the phrase re-imagining. It's yet another contrived expression created by American marketing bodies to justify the pillaging of a nations cinematic back catalogue. Few of these products seem to work. So when I learnt that Robert Wise's classic "The Andromeda Strain" was to be remade, I had great reservations. However, the involvement of Tony and Ridley Scott peaked my interest. Last Saturday "The Andromeda Strain" premiered on Sky Movies in the UK, shown in two 85 minute parts.

This new version stays fairly true to Michael Crichton novel, with a Satellite returning to earth bringing with it a mystery virus of possible extraterrestrial origin. The small town of Piedmont soon falls victim to the contagion, leaving only two survivors, an alcoholic and a baby. The "Wild Fire" team of scientists are brought in by the government to tackle the outbreak and find a potential cure. There work is hampered by the viruses ability to mutate to find new ways of spreading.

The writers then add new elements to make the storyline reflect contemporary culture. The question of the virus' origin is intriguing and of course there are elements within the government who are not to be trusted. There is also a journalist seeking to expose the ongoing conspiracies. The US president also plays a larger part in the proceedings, so that there are several plot threads running in parallel to the scientists in peril within their secure bunker.

The cast is robust, featuring Benjamin Bratt (Law & Order, Love in a time of Cholera), Rick Schroder (24, NYPD Blue), Eric McCormack (Will & Grace), Daniel Dae Kim (Lost) and Andre Braugher (City of Angels). Performances are good given the inevitable formula of the vehicle. Production values are high with good set design and use of locations. The action is quite hard for a TV mini series, though some of these scenes do seem a little out of place. Perhaps the producers feared making a narrative driven drama and felt obliged to overstate certain plot aspects to keep the interest of viewers who are easily bored. Admittedly by the end, there is a decline into stereo type and several events that were obviously telegraphed occur.

Inevitably, those who have seen the 1970 original may well see this new version as intellectually diluted. Personally, I think it comes back to my old and favourite argument about historical context. The 70's was a time were the cinematic audience was more sophisticated and willing to think for themselves. The new version simply reflect the style and ethics that drive modern TV and cinema. All things considered, it is still engaging and professionally made mini series. Given the system that made it, this actually exceeds expectations. Best watched in seperate parts with a gap of a few days inbetween rather than in one single setting.

XoD.

Warning.

I have included some screen captures from this film which depict scenes of a violent nature. Please be aware of this before reading and scrolling down the page. XoD.

Neil Marshall's third film is fast paced action movie, which pays homage to the "Post Apocalypse" genre and much more. It is a text book film of three acts and is nothing more than the sum of its parts. The dialogue is minimalist, the acting adequate and the action fast and violent. Be warned, this film has earned it's "18" certificate for it's UK release.

The story is as follows. A deadly plague, known as the “Reaper Virus,” has broken out, killing hundreds of thousands in its wake. In desperation, the British Government evacuates as many survivors as it can out of the infected area, and then builds a wall, preventing the remainder from escaping. Thirty years later, with the wall still up and the victims all but forgotten, the virus breaks out again. The Government decides to send a crack team of operatives, led by Major Eden Sinclair, into the hot zone to investigate the possibility of a cure.

Now the directors last two films, "Dog Soldiers" and "The Descent" were very well received by both the public and critics. The latter was very well written and directed and stood out next to the usual contrived commercial studio fodder. "Doomsday" is a more straight forward affair and does not have the same level of tension and sophistication. It is a frenetic action film that deliberately pays tribute to such pictures as "Escape From New York", "The Medieval Dead" and "Mad Max". However it unfolds at such a fast pace and in such a lurid fashion, it achieves its goal.

The first act showing the outbreak of the reaper virus, the isolation of Scotland and then the subsequent raid into the forbidden territory, is by far the most engaging. Acts two and three are a series of action sequences in two different environment. They serve to expedite and close some plot lines and whittle down the cast. The production values are good and the film is littered with visual jokes and references. Performances are exactly as they need to be for this sort of film. Bob Hoskins gives it plenty of "South London", Malcolm McDowell is suitably sinister, Craig Conway is cheerfully psychotic and Rhona Mitra proves that women can happily taken on the role of action hero.

"Doomsday" is very entertaining on a "what you see is what you get" basis. It may particularly appeal to people of the directors age group. Those who can remember the "Post Apocalypse" DTV releases that saturated the market in the 80's. The soundtrack by Tyler Bates reflects this with use of synthesisers and songs by "Adam And The Ants" and "Frankie Goes To Hollywood". The car chases and pyrotechnics are good for the films budgetary limitations. Be warned, as I said earlier, this film is violent. Bodies are crushed, limbs hacked off and there's even cannibalism.

My only criticism relating to the film is the modern, rapid fire editing, that seems to be so fashionable these days. This actually dilutes some of the action sequences, rather than enhance them, which is a shame as some of the combat scenes have been well choreographed. But apart from that, I consider "Doomsday" to be a solid and affectionate tribute to days gone by. You get a professionally crafted action vehicle, with the wit and sophistication that comes from the British industry. Enjoy.

XoD.

I stumbled across this new Sitcom on E4 two weeks ago. It's about four teenagers growing up in suburbia; relationships, sibling rivalry, getting drunk easily, fancying the girl next door, questioning your friend's sexuality and accidently offending the handicapped.

Posh boy Will is forced to change schools after his parents get divorced. Coming from a private school and a different background, Will now has to attend a comprehensive school and make a new set of friends. He soon becomes pals with Simon, Lee and Neil, none of whom are that cool or credible.

It would be interesting to know who E4 thinks the target audience is. If it's teenagers, who take themselves very seriously, would they not find this offensive? There is definitely something for older viewers here. I think it deals with aspects of life and rites of passage we can all relate to.

The dialogue and plot lines are somewhat clichéd and contrived, yet despite this, the main characters are all very likable. Also the writers of "The Inbetweeners" have managed to capture what middle-class teenage life really is like, or at least many of our teenage years were like. If the demographic or ethnic mix of the four leads was different, then this may have been a drama rather than comedy.

Unlike the unrealistic lifestyle depicted in "Skins", for most people school actually revolves around getting by, not getting bullied, not getting served in the pub, crashing and burning with girls, making bogus sexual claims, all of which "The Inbetweeners" experience. Be warned, due to the subject matter, the dialogue is profane and the often offensive. After three episodes there have already been jokes involving paedophilia, the disabled, vomiting, substance abuse and homophobia. Recommended

XoD.

After 4 years I have finally decided to break the habit and have stopped watching "Lost". I am a patient and accommodating viewer and it is not usual for me to and make such a decision. But I have finally decided that this series which was once the "jewel in the crown" of genre TV franchises, is now nothing more than a contrived, self indulgent, tiresome "circle jerk" and a classic example of the "Emperors new clothes".

My main issue with "Lost" is it's failure to expedite any of the major plot threads. Admittedly new layers are regularly added, but I never feel that there is any satisfactory closure or advancement. Don't get me wrong, I like continuity and substance, but "Lost" has gone from being complex and arcane, to self absorbed, frustrating and even pompous. It is now even self plagiarising itself.

I simply do no longer have enough interest to invest another few years of my time into this series. A line has been crossed and I simply think that whatever resolution is eventually revealed, it will impossibly to live up to viewers expectations. I also have uncomfortable memories of "The Prisoner" and "The X-Files". Two series that both had lacklustre endings. I will not set myself up to be cheated.

So I have deleted the series link on Sky + and walked away from my televisual dependency. I feel like Gandalf casting aside his Grey cloak or as if I've just been disconnected from the "Matrix". Cheerio "Lost", it's always been a one side relationship, so you can stick it up your smug backside. I'm sure as time goes by, more people will care less and drop you like the waste of time you are.

XoD.

"Have I Got News For You" is one of those rare shows that has evolved from cult satire show, to mainstream acceptance, then to celebrity guest star showcase, to finally British institution. It is more often than not, funny and still mercilessly attacks the sacred cows of politics and culture. Friday night's episode, being the third in series thirty five, was a resounding reminder of why this show is so popular.

I had recorded the program on Friday night via a series link on Sky Plus and was not aware who the guest presenter was going to be. On Saturday afternoon, I settled down to watch HIGNFY with a close friend, and was intrigued to find that it was being presented by none other than Brian Blessed. The first thing that went through my mind was that there'd be a contrived joke that would allow him to quote his most famous line from Flash Gordon, "Gordon's alive!".

Well within seconds of the show starting, such a gag came to pass. I watch the remaining thirty minutes with the morbid fascination of someone watching a traffic accident. Mr. Blessed was in every way as you'd expect him to be. Bombastic, Shakespearean, loud and thoroughly amusing. The sheer exuberance of the man is exhausting. Not bad for a 71 year old.

It certainly would not do to have him host the show regularly, but on this occasion it was just right. I cannot remember laughing that much for a long time and it did me the power of good. Go and catch this particular episode on BBC I-Player while you can, as it is destined to go down in pop culture history.

XoD.