Movies & Stuff

Movies. We have watched movies. Which was nice.

Thursday night, we finally got round to seeing From Hell. The original Alan Moore/Eddie Campbell graphic novel was one of the few recent comics I’d fancied reading, but I never got round to that either. I don’t know how faithful the movie is. But there are worse ways to kill a couple of hours.

Johnny Depp’s cod Michael Caine accent was perhaps questionable, but who cares? The Deppster is Godlike. *sigh* Acting-wise, I guess the invincible Robbie Coltrane stole the show. I love Robbie.

Actually, the story itself—Jack the Ripper being the royal physician and the whole royal scandal thing—is old and worn (although probably close to the truth). There’s a rather dumb/improbable romantic subplot added, and Depp’s character gets psychic visions. Quite silly, but stylish and entertaining.

(Related Link Time: Patricia Cornwell’s theory about the Ripper being painter Walter Sickert, which has attracted a fair bit of attention, is given a clear perspective here.)

Last night, we saw Murder in the First. This is an old-ish movie (1994), based on true events that uncovered the hidden brutality of Alcatraz. Christian Slater and Kevin Bacon star. I hadn’t seen this before (or even heard of it), but it’s really good. Well worth checking out if, like me, you’d previously overlooked it.

Ah, Der War… Der War… DER WAR! The coalition reaches Baghdad. Saddam kisses babies. Pregnant suicide bombers. The drama of it all. My only hope at this point is that they get this wretched debacle over and done with as soon as possible, and preferably before it gets really messy. The thought of Mssrs. Bush & Blair coming out of this smelling of roses turns my stomach, but I have a nasty feeling it’s still possible.

Please prove me wrong, Mr. & Mrs. Majority Public Opinion…

We’re still looking for places to move to. We had a place in mind, but it’s just been sold. We’ve inclined towards a flat for purely financial reasons, but they’re seriously thin on the ground right now.

I’m in a moderately good mood at the moment. Not a blissful one. Last weekend was horrible—we were literally, completely skint and I even had to scrape some coppers together for toilet tissue! Not an experience I wish to repeat, quite honestly. Still, I feel okay now. I think life will be relatively stress-free if we find a suitable place soon.