Revenge of the Sith... immediate reaction

"Bring me the film reviewer known as Darkmatt, he's just stolen the plans to our new film: Revenge of the Sith

- so I want him alive!!"

Have just got back from the press screening and what can I say?

Revenge of the Sith is

THE DEFINITIVE STAR WARS EXPERIENCE...

If you've ever held even the tiniest amount of appreciation for Star Wars (old or new) - Episode III will blow your socks off, put a smile on your face and bring balance to the force i.e. IT FREAKIN ROCKS!!

More considered review to follow...

"Sir, we've apprehended the suspect film reviewer

and will bring him in for questioning but he doesn't look too worried

- keeps mumbling something about having just seen the most awesome film in the universe!!"

Am watching Revenge of the Sith

Thanks for stopping by, whilst you're reading this - I'm probably already in London watching Revenge of the Sith at a Press Screening!!!!!

Check back for review(s) here on Monday... you know what they say:

"The Dark Side of the Force is the pathway to many abilities

some consider to be,

unnatural."

Was Jesus a Jedi?

"watch me use the dark side of the force to shine my helmet"

TWO DAYS... The clock is ticking down to the London press screening of Revenge of the Sith and I'm almost too excited for words...

Everything is prepared - cool Vader shaped tickets have arrived, travel details planned, close pal who appreciates films (and who's a bit of Star Wars non believer invited to share the moment)... Cue lots of opportunity for me to repeatedly say to him "I FIND YOUR LACK OF FAITH DISTURBING!!"

Anyway, whilst surfing the early US reviews I came across some vaguely interesting stuff on a Christian website - here's a couple of extracts:

"Shortly before the release of Phantom Menace, there was a survey of 16,000 15-34 year olds in which they were asked to identify their hero. The results were:

Luke Skywalker
Jesus Christ
Michael Jordan
Martin Luther King, Jr."

and this:

"The Force of Star Wars should not be confused with the God of the Bible. Nor should it be confused with faith as it is taught in the Bible. The Force is impersonal, but the God of the Bible is personal / The Force has both a good side and a dark side, but the God of the Bible "…is light, and in Him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5)."

If you like that sort of stuff you can read more of it here: http://www.faithstreams.com/sites/star-wars.htm

And if you were wondering about the title of this post - No, Jesus wasn't a Jedi (He didn't tap into some universal force, he was and some would say still is The Force)... Still, can't help thinking that if He'd had a light sabre it might have made the Passion of the Christ a bit more exciting!?

Look out for my Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith review on this blog early next week (you can choose between SPOILT ROTTEN or UNSPOILT BY PROGRESS versions)...

Link to other Star Wars Darkmatters posts inc. Darth Vader's Blog!!

Darkmatters Fiction: Another Chase

Darkmatters

by Matt Adcock

“Oh my God she’s coming!” shouts the BHP Turbo’s AI in its ’voice-over’ dramatic deep throat style.

For a second nobody blinks, nobody moves and then all freakin hell breaks lose.

“Let’s go” says Cleric who is in the BHP, it accelerates backwards from the seedy car park, in seconds the front is a mass of flaming impacts form the serious amount of ordinance being unloaded in its direction. Int stumbles from the doorway and manages to put down a couple of the thugs with clean head shots, then she is running towards the road, trying to stay low as some of the gunmen turn their focus to her. Cleric break skids the BHP around on the road, pulls up and opens the passenger door for Int, “Get in” he commands whilst firing off some heavy frag grenades towards the dodgy bar from which more hired goons are emerging every second. The building’s front mushrooms out into the street - a white hot furnace as the highly explosive gas used in the air con coolant system escapes and mingles with the high explosive grenade charges.

“You sure know how to show a girl a good time,” Int breathes as she climbs in, “Let’s get the fuck out of here…”
“Already on it,” says Cleric as the front side shield of the BHP goes down. Cleric kicks the accelerator and the BHP screams away still in a hail of gunfire.
“You OK?” Cleric asks.
“Not bad considering,” Int smiles.
“Don’t get happy people, I have several vehicles coming after us by the look of it,” chips in the BHP.
“Can we outrun them?” asks Int.
“No, they’re pretty wired, I estimate that they will catch us in about 3 minutes.”
The BHP tears through the last of the suburbs and into the dirty countryside.
Cleric swings into the bushes at the side of the road and kills the lights, it gets very dark, very quickly as soon as you leave L2 and while Int’s eyes are adjusting to the gloom Cleric is already at the boot pulling out a couple of sentry AI miniturrets which he sets on either side of the road. Then he fires a couple of time delay mines into the road – he can see the lights of the approaching pursuers. He check the ammo in his assault handgun as Int joins him.
“We’ll take them here then?” she asks as she reloads her double-barrelled semi AI automatic…“We haven’t got a choice,” Cleric replies and drops to a crouch, pulling Int down with him as he detonates the mines right under the first couple of cars which rocket into the air tracing burning arcs of flaming death.

Other extracts from Darkmatters the novel by Matt Adcock:

Cleric Gets Mugged

Film Gunfight

Fear of Death

Cleric Shows Up

Test Subject #30022

Cleric Artwork

Film Review: Igby Goes Down

"your going down pal"

Igby Goes Down
Dir. Burr Steers

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

No – not some kind of BJ documentary about someone named Igby but rather a kind of modern Catcher in the Rye style tale in a New York environment. This is a fun film – as long as you like your films tragic and full of dark humour. Igby (played by Kieran Culkin) is a young man with a truly awful family. Nazi-ish golden boy older brother (Ryan Phillippe), mental father (Bill Pullman) who set his sons an example by losing the plot and getting locked away in an asylum, scary socialite mum (Susan Sarandon) does things like sit on the maid’s head when she’s stressed… Yes this is wacky film on every level. Jeff Goldblum is on top form as D.H. – Igby’s godfather who’s banging foxy young nymph Rachel played by Amanda Peet. The other babe here is Sookie (Claire Danes) – and whilst Igby gets to bed both of them in the course of the film, this is anything but a romance.

The dialogue is just great though – many of the lines will stick with you for some time, like when Igby’s older brother tells him “I think if Gandhi had to spend a prolonged amount of time with you, he'd end up beating the shit out of you, too.”

And in turn - Igby’s made up story about his brother. “He was ten-speeding a gazillion miles per hour through Central Park. You know, racing with all the other young Turks. When, all of a sudden he caught a glimpse of himself in the handlebar mirror and became so... aroused by it that he burst his Speedo shorts and got caught in the gears and threw him right on his face. Splatter.”

Igby has a line for everyone – from his answer to: “Why aren't you in school now?”… he replies: “ Sheer ingenuity!”, through his assorted attempts to hit on the women – “Uh yeah, I guess eleven is a bit young, but you sound older on the phone” etc…

It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but I was sold out on this kind of ‘long dark tea time of the teenage soul’

Darkmatt Rating: öööö (laughter in the dark)

Film Review: Jersey Girl

"a Kevin Smith film for all the family?"

Jersey Girl
Dir. Kevin Smith

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

Forget about who you thought you were, and just accept who you are - this is the underlying moral of Jersey Girl, the first Kevin Smith film that I've been able to watch snuggled up with my wife (we have very differing tastes in films- I'm all Die Hard and True Romance, she's Slipper and the Rose and Bridget Jones).

As a fan of cLeRKs, Mallrats, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back etc, I wasn't sure how Jersey Girl would play but it manages to retred the well trodden path of romantic comedy / single parenting / life choices without feeling cliched or too twee. And because of the strongly written, heartfelt issues it delivers an amusing enough couple of hours entertainment.

"I'm kinda crushin' on you right now"

Darkmatt Rating: ööö (fun - especially if you're a parent)

What is also cool about Kevin Smith is he now has a blog - where he posts things like his early review of Revenge of the Sith etc - with interesting background like:

"First off, never… never… see a movie as geeky-cool and momentous as “Revenge of the Sith” with a room full of marketing stiffs. While I “WOOOOOOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”ed throughout the screening at stuff only the most moribund wouldn’t be able to muster the enthusiasm to scream over, I stood alone. The only tepid interactive acknowledgment this sad little group could muster was a perfunctory smattering of near-golf claps for the Fox logo at the head of the film - and even that felt forced (pun intended). But fuck ‘em - their disturbing lack of faith couldn’t ruin this movie for me."

Link to Kevin Smith's Blog http://newsaskew.com/blog/

Reviews of other films and stuff you might want to read indexed here

Film Review: xXx 2

"Oh Cube, that's a big one..."


XXX2: The Next Level (12a) or if you live in the US... XXX2 State of the Union
Dir. Lee Tamahori

Reviewed by Matt Adcock


When the world needs saving from megalomaniacs, warmongers or dastardly political enemies, there’s only one super spy who can save the day – unfortunately James Bond isn’t available at the moment… So, here’s an American alternative, special agent XXX, low on sophistication, high on stupidity and packing a serious number of weapons. They say “Stupid is, as stupid does” and this film is a prime example…XXX2 is the chubbier, less likeable and even more retarded follow up to 2002’s all action XXX ‘extreme movie sensation’.

It appears that when bald, bad-ass, Vin Diesel turned up to reprise his role as the ‘anti Bond’, director Lee Tamahori told him to” XXX off” so they could get podgy rapper turned actor Ice Cube in as the new bigger (as in fatter), badder (as in “at acting”) XXX. Quite why anyone thought this would be a good idea is hard to fathom, you might not like Diesel but at least he looked mean and tough enough to be a super agent. Cube looks like a confused and constipated Care Bear with an unconvincing snarl on his chubby chops throughout. I’ve seen my mum look meaner – in fact I think my dear old mum would have been a much better choice to be the new XXX even though she retired a few years ago.

Anyway, big dumb XXX2 is given the job of saving the US President from an internal coup being planned by Willem Dafoe (as Gen. George Octavius Deckert - think Green Goblin without the funky costume). Along the way we get to witness Cube eating a lots of junk food, spouting lots of junk dialogue and blow a lot of stuff up. When the highlight of a film is a tank battle which takes place on board an aircraft carrier you know that any visages of subtlety have long ago been reported AWOL.

Samuel L Jackson is on hand to try and add some much need credibility but even he is forced to give up and look on in bemusement, along with the audience, as the XXX franchise straps on masses of self-destructive material and takes a running jump off the cliff of watchability.
Of course there will be those out there who enjoy XXX2, but then I’m told there are people out there who play banjos, torture animals and marry their sisters – and it’s very possible that these two groups seriously overlap…


"meet my wife and my sister... here she is!"

Darkmatt Rating: ö (get's worse the more you think about it)

Reviews of other films and stuff you might want to read indexed here

Darth Vader's Dark Lord Blog and other Star Wars thoughts

"I find your lack of pants disturbing"

May the 08th be with you...

“Sometimes it just feels good to get a little warm sun on my helmet.”

Have to share this with you - Vader himself has a blog and it makes very cool reading... As Star Wars anticipation of Revenge of the Sith grows by the hour in the Adcock household, I have received notification of and an invite to the UK media screening on the 08 May... excellent - look out for my review here shortly after that date!!

Here are today's links for your consideration:

Click here to read Darth Vader's Blog!!

Click here to buy quality lightsabres!!

Click here to see the New Vader Costume: Luke I Am Your Father

Douglas Adams – an interesting Atheist

"Adams shows off an alternative Hitchhiking gesture"

Whilst being a signed up born again believer myself – I do find that some of the most thought provoking and interesting ponderings about faith, God and religion are actually written by Atheists… And indeed while some of my best friends have no faith or are convinced that there is no God, they are often open to talk about spiritual issues, whilst others who claim to Christians run screaming from the very thought of engaging and listening to conflicting points of view. I think it is immeasurably healthier to look at issues from many angles (and anyway - if your faith is so insecure that conversing or reading thoughts from someone who sees things differently to you makes you that nervous – perhaps you haven’t got such a “real” faith anyway???)

So whilst researching for my Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy review for the Baptist Times I looked into Douglas Adams’ background and found some fascinating quotes in an interview with David Silverman which ran in the American Atheist Journal. Adams studied postgraduate theology at Ridley Hall and later became a teacher of theology but it seems that did little help him 'find God'...

See what you think:

“If you describe yourself as “Atheist,” some people will say, “Don’t you mean ‘Agnostic’?” I have to reply that I really do mean Atheist. I really do not believe that there is a god - in fact I am convinced that there is not a god (a subtle difference). I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one.”

It’s funny how many people are genuinely surprised to hear a view expressed so strongly. In England we seem to have drifted from vague wishy-washy Anglicanism to vague wishy-washy Agnosticism - both of which I think betoken a desire not to have to think about things too much. People will then often say “But surely it’s better to remain an Agnostic just in case?” This, to me, suggests such a level of silliness and muddle that I usually edge out of the conversation rather than get sucked into it. (If it turns out that I’ve been wrong all along, and there is in fact a god, and if it further turned out that this kind of legalistic, cross-your-fingers-behind-your-back, Clintonian hair-splitting impressed him, then I think I would chose not to worship him anyway.) "

and he also says:

"I am fascinated by religion. (That’s a completely different thing from believing in it!) It has had such an incalculably huge effect on human affairs. What is it? What does it represent? Why have we invented it? How does it keep going? What will become of it? I love to keep poking and prodding at it. I’ve thought about it so much over the years that that fascination is bound to spill over into my writing.”

Read the whole interview here:
Douglas Adams Meets David Silverman

Other links you might want to try:

Matt Adcock Meets and Interviews the Hitchhiker's Cast

Read Matt's Film Review of The Hitchhiker's Guide

Bill Nighy and Zooey Deschanel photos from Hitchhiker's premier

Other film reviews by Matt Adcock

Kate Beckinsale: top of my 'would like to interview list'

"Kate Beckinsale as the foxiest vampire ever... Selene from Underworld"

Am in a mild state of shock and disappointment - Kate Beckinsale only made # 85 in the FHM's 100 sexiest women in the world 2005. That's only one place higher than Dido!! (No I don't think Dido is attractive - sorry...).

Other females I would have thought might have done better include the wonderfully tasty Jennifer Garner # 31 and surely there's some mistake - Nicole Kidman at lowly # 96 !!??

Perhaps I should have voted...

Note to pal Si who is a huge Kidman fan - click her name to see lots of great photos of her!!


"does my bum look big in this? No Kate, it's perfect..."

Serenity Trailer - blows me away...

"Serenity: Firefly is back!!!"

Just saw the Serenity trailer and it's excellent (yes I know that trailers can sometimes be better than the film itself e.g. National Security which has a great trailer - a really funny and cool couple of minutes to a wicked soundtrack, whereas the film was mildly entertaining at best, but I digress). This has lit up all my Firefly love buttons (even though I'm currently addicted to / working my way through Farscape Season 1 on my train journeys via my PSP).

Anyway - here's a cool bit of dialogue from the Serenity script:

"You've done remarkable things.

But you're fighting a war you've already lost."

Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: "Well, I'm known for that."

Click this to see the new Serenity Trailer!!

Matt Adcock Meets Bill Nighy, Martin Freedman, Sam Rockwell and Zooey Deschanel

"2005 - a space oddity"

Matt Adcock Meets Bill Nighy, Martin Freedman,

Sam Rockwell and Zooey Deschanel

and Garth Jennings


Over two decades in the making, the big screen adaptation of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy hits the UK this week and it carries a huge weight of expectation from fans of Douglas Adams’ book trilogy (in five parts), a TV series and the original BBC Radio show.

This quirky British sci fi is probably the closest we’ll ever get to "Monty Python in space" and it stars Martin Freeman as the archetypal Everyman, Arthur Dent. Dent has to face the prospect of having his house bulldozed, discovers that his best friend is an alien and then finds out that the whole of planet Earth is about to be demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass.

So how did Martin feel about taking on this iconic role?
Freeman: "Well, I went back to the books and decided I needed to put my stamp on the role. We had a great screenplay, so basically after I got the part I just had to get the hell out of the way and let the story come through! I heard that Bruce Willis was up for this part but that’s fair enough because I’m going to do Die Hard now…"

Trillian (Zooey Deschanel) is Arthur Dent’s love interest in the film – is Hitchhiker’s actually a kind of sci fi romance?
Deschanel: "Yeah it is the ultimate romance, a really nice romance that ties a lot of the elements together. It was so much fun to make too. I am honoured to be a part of it - back at school it was the book that the cool kids read."

Talking of cool, British actors don’t come much cooler than Bill Nighy (Love Actually, Shaun of the Dead and next year Pirates of the Caribbean 2) who plays Slartibartfast a planet builder. If he could redesign earth, what would he change?
Nighy: "I’d lose the English Channel – it’s not good for our manners or our language skills to be stuck out here. Also I’d maybe lower the temperature a touch, make it a little bit cooler in the Middle East, it might not work but it’s worth a try."

Hitchhiker’s has a wonderful mix of special effects, some cutting edge CGI work but also older style effects work – I asked the director Garth Jennings if this was a budget issue or a style choice?
Jennings: "I didn’t want to compete with the big CGI heavy movies coming out this year. We tried to be inventive in our use of special effects - this is like old Star Wars as opposed to new Star Wars. And even if we’d had double the budget I like to think we’d have approached it in the same way."

One of the key effects is giving Zaphod Beeblebrox (Sam Rockwell) two heads and three arms. How did he find acting that part?
Rockwell: "It was pretty wild. Well apart from having 10lbs of Matthew McConaughey (2nd head) on my head, which was an interesting dilemma for an actor. I mixed some Bill Clinton and George W Bush into the character. I’ve always loved the British sense of humour too, I mean I was raised on Monty Python."

There is obviously much talent and energy that has gone into making The Hitchhiker’s Guide and it certainly sounds like they enjoyed its creation – all that remains now is to see if it does enough business to get the next book green lit for production then we can take our seats at The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe…

Read Matt's Film Review of The Hitchhiker's Guide

Bill Nighy and Zooey Deschanel photos from Hitchhiker's premier

Film Review: Robots

"nuts as far as the eye can see"

Robots (U)
Dir. Chris Wedge

Reviewed by Matt Adcock


Finally got to catch this one with my boys (who absolutely loved it) and it’s a fun waste of time which works on a pleasing level for adults as well as the requisite slapstick fun for the younger viewer. Fart gags, battle scene, throw-away comedy lines by the likes of Robin Williams – all present and correct.

Great moments include line like Rodney’s dad – looking at his new baby robot:
“He's got your moms eyes and my dads nose. I knew we were smart to save those parts.”

Or when Bigweld - whilst being repaired by Rodney, a la Hal in 2001: A Space Odyssey sings: “Daaaisy... Daaaaissy... Giive mee yoour aaaanswer truuuue.”

And in this current climate of Star Wars Episode III anticipation – my kids lapped up the bit where one of the robots puts in a Darth Vader voice box and states that: “The force is strong in this one…”


"you know the fun part is 'making' the baby!"


You don’t need to know what it’s about – just go and see it – this is one film that delivers nicely across the board.


Darkmatt Rating: ööö (riveting stuff)

Reviews of other films and stuff you might want to read indexed here

Film Review: The Amityville Horror

"lights are on but nobody's home..."

The Amityville Horror
Dir. Andrew Douglas

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

"Based on the true story" but only just...

My mind reeling from images of grisly murder, committed right here in the house I now live in – I look again at the demonically distorted faces of my family and know what I have to do… *

The Amityville Horror – is your average ‘all you can eat’ buffet of freak out / fast cut ‘jumps’ and plodding plot that over explains everything except why it takes so long for those living in the infamous house to see that step dad George (played by Nightstalker Ryan Reynolds) has gone on a one way trip to psychoville and isn’t coming back without his Shining axe…

High production values and tasty women including Melissa George (the mum) and Rachel Nichols (the babysitter) stop this from being a complete car wreck of a movie but there is very little here to commend.

In fact, despite a couple of really good ‘everyone in the audience jumps and yelps’ moments, I found the original film had a much more intense and disturbing atmosphere. And as for the priest who tries and fails to battle the house of evil – his part is so fleeting that he might as well have not bothered (he could have phoned in his only memorable line about the teddy bear - you know being from the grave etc, oh don't worry about it...).

Still, apparently there are lots of people out there who are interested enough in homicide inducing houses – this opened at number one in the box office in the US last week and number 2 in the UK. People, come on, there are much better films on offer out there…

"Hi honey - I've got my large chopper out for you"

* What I have to do of course is find a copy of “Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus” which was also made by Andrew Douglas and not only has a much better title – it actually sounds like a fascinating exploration of the US American South which offers up music, truck stops and Pentecostal fanaticism… Now that’s potentially really scary stuff!!

Darkmatt Rating: öö (catch them and kill them, or don’t bother)

Of course the whole Amityville haunting is all bollocks according to this site

Horro fans might like this - Matt Adcock Meets Chucky

Reviews of better films and other stuff you might want to read indexed here

Star Wars fever burns - Lego?

"you can't win Darth... if you strike me down

I will just reassemble myself... now where did I put my head?"

Less than a month now to Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and anticipation is mounting in our household. Books and new action figures have been bought, DVD's are playing back classic scenes and young boys are running around waving lightsabres shouting "use the force"...

I'm seriously considering going to see all 6 movies back to back on the 16 May and am going to have to see this new episode several times on the big screen...

And now we are hooked playing Lego Star Wars on the trusty PS2 - it is almost too much fun!! Two player, infinite lives toybox of pretty much everything from Episodes 1-3. You can be Darth Maul for goodness sakes. If ever there was a 'must buy' game for Star Wards fans - this is the chosen one (and the force is strong with it)...

Anyway - if you venture down to Leicester Square on the 16 May then (as well as a million sci fi nerds) you might also run into a patrol of Stormtroopers...

Like these:

"stormtroopers - designed in 1977 and still look cool"

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Zooey Deschanel and Bill Nighy at the Hitchhiker's Guide Premier...

I spoke to these lovely actors shortly before they got their glad rags on (not that they were naked or anything) along with Martin Freeman and Sam Rockwell... I've just got to write up my notes now so check back over the weekend if you want to read what they had to say...

Sneak preview quote from Bill (about the one high profile negative reviewer so far):
"Apparently he has a substance abuse problem and of course he doesn't get out much, he's a lonely guy, what can I say?"

And from Zooey: "Hitchhiker's is the ultimate romance"

Read my review here: Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy

Batman Begins

"I'm batman"

This is just looking excellent and I'm getting a good feeling about it,,,

Earlier Poster

PSP Games - Matt's top 5 so far...

"eat 'untold' fiery death you mutant rats..."

Now that the PSP is out in the US - there is a nice regular stream of games coming over and because I have no self control I have to try quite a few of them out.

So here are my top 5 to date:

5. Ridge Racer (gorgeous graphics, fun 'drift' style driving - very classy)

4. Lumines (puzzle game that is seriously addictive)

3. Untold Legends (simple but lovely RPG - brings out your inner geek and gives him a big +12powerhug)

2. WipeOut Pure (virtual perfection in the palm of your hands - insanely playable)

1. TIE -
Metal Gear Acid and
Tiger Woods PGA (death dealing strategy and golfing wonderfulness - can't choose between them)

"Matt prepares to take out another unsuspecting, tooled up terrorist, on his train back to Hitchin from Kings Cross"

Link to post about Tiger Woods PSP

Film Review:The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy

"so long and thanks for all the fish"

The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy (PG)
Dir. Garth Jennings

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

“Attention, people of Earth. I regret to inform you that in order to make way for the new hyperspace express route, your planet has been scheduled for demolition. Have a nice day.”

Don’t Panic! – you still have about 12 minutes left… more than enough time to down a couple pints, say goodbye to friends (at least one of whom might turn out to be an alien) and then stick out your intergalactic ‘thumb’ and hitch a ride on a passing spaceship just before the earth is disintegrated!!
Of course from then you’ll need luck, bravery and preferably a copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy if you’re going to survive. The ‘Guide’ in this first big screen outing for the late great Douglas Adams’ classic comedy sci fi, is a sort of super PDA – imagine the lovechild of a Sony PSP and IBM’s Deep Blue supercomputer – voiced by Steven Fry. It details just about everything you might want to know about in the universe and is slightly cheaper than the Encyclopaedia Galactica.

Arthur Dent (the perfectly cast ‘everyman’ Martin Freeman or ‘Tim from The Office’ as he’s best known) is the unlikely hero who gets to travel the galaxy in his pyjamas, face down hideous aliens (and their unspeakably bad poetry) and try to win the heart of Trillion (Zooey Deschanel an unemployed Earth astrophysicist / certified sci fi geek’s pin up after this). The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy or H2G2 as it’s sometimes called blazes a trail for British sci fi – showing that Dr Who is not alone in this pretty empty area of the entertainment universe. It might not have the budget, the special effects or the action of certain other sci fi films coming out this year, cough *Star Wars* cough, but by-Jove, H2G2 is going to whip the others when it comes to being the funniest!!

That’s right – poster quote time:

“Hitchhiker’s is going beat the living crap

out of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

and War of the Worlds combined”

- if assessed on which film is the funniest…

Fans of the books, radio and TV series’ may be divided as to how they feel about the new Marvin the paranoid android (still paranoid, still has brain the size of a planet – but now a head almost a big to match). Or Zaphod Beeblebrox (a spot on, hyper annoying turn from Sam Rockwell), as the ex-hippie, thrill seeking, double headed President of the Galaxy who’s many claims to fame include inventing the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster – a drink that feels like having you brains smashed out by a gold brick wrapped in lemons – and being voted the Worst Dressed Sentient Being in the Known Universe for a record seventh time!
Other highlights include a nicely sinister John Malkovich as new character Humma Kavula and the wonderful Bill Nighy as Slartibartfast – planetary construction engineer par excellence…

Hitchhiker's is a marvellous film, Jennings has done a great job of fusing the off the wall elements and I think that Adams would have been proud of what has been achieved with his creation. Yes it has a slow pace and some of it is highly indulgent - but it's almost impossible not to get caught up in the infectious madness that shimmies across the screen. You might not find action but you will find the answer to life, the universe and everything – which is a fair trade I think!! The online site for H2G2 (http://hitchhikers.movies.go.com/ ) is a thing of beauty too, where you can even ask the ultimate computer - Deep Thought - a question although you may not be surprised by the answer… So, all things considered, I’d advise you to bring meaning to your existence by going to see The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy at your earliest convenience – just make sure you know where your towel is!

Of course alternatively, you could just lie down on the floor with a paper bag on your head and wait out your last 12mins of existence instead - but it won’t help…

Darkmatt Rating: öö42öö (essential viewing)

Matt Adcock Meets and Interviews the Hitchhiker's Cast

Other film reviews by Matt Adcock

Matt Adcock meets Chucky!?

"here's chucky"

No I didn't 'meet' Chucky but I did get this fun Q&A from the cool Momentum Pictures PR guys -
who sent me this, which may be funnier than the film!

Matt Adcock meets Chucky...

Q: So, Chucky, after a hard day's slashing, how do you unwind?

C: I like video games – ‘Grand Theft Auto’ -- anything with a body count. It's very relaxing. But I'm a responsible parent: I don't let my kid play. He might break 'em.

Q: In 'Seed of Chucky' you and Tiffany are reunited on the set of a film chronicling your bloody past. If there was a real movie about your life, who would you want to be Chucky? And who would you have play Tiffany?

C: Let's see...Tom Cruise is too short...Keanu Reeves is too wooden to play a doll...I'd have to go with Prince Charles. He has the right combination of harmless exterior hiding an evil core. And Camilla Parker Bowles, of course, was born to be my bride.

Q: Redman, a leading figure in hip-hop and the UK's Hannah Spearitt from the pop super group S Club 7, co-starred with you in 'Seed of Chucky'. After being around so much musical talent, can we expect an album from you in the near future?

C: You call them "talented?" Those hacks? I had to waste 'em just to shut 'em up!

Q: You're a fairly small guy who's gone a long way in Hollywood. I imagine Verne Troyer (aka Mini-Me), the Olsen twins and Frankie Muniz owe a lot to you. How does it feel to be an icon for the, ahem, little person?

C: It's like I always say -- It ain't the size that counts, it's what you do with it.

Q: In 'Seed of Chucky' you're responsible for the death of Britney Spears. If you had the chance, what other celebrity would you 'take care of?'

C: Well, Simon Cowell's at the top of my hit list right now. I'd like to wipe that smirk off his smug face. And Sean Penn. What a whiner he's turned into! (Sigh.) So many a**holes, so little time.

Q: Scottish actor Billy Boyd worked with you on 'Seed of Chucky.' After the incredible success of Lord of the Rings how did he behave on set?

C: Let me tell you, that little hobbit's a total prima donna. I wanted to cut him down to size, but there'd be nothing left. And that accent! Is he, Scottish? I couldn't understand a goddamn word he said!

Q: What's your favourite horror movie?

C: "Bridget Jones." That fat chick scares the s**t out of me.

Q: Now that you are a family man, have you considered making a romantic comedy?

C: No way. I ain't going soft. In fact, I'm up to replace Brosnan in the "James Bond" franchise. And I'm working with a voice coach to get the accent right. I think my chances are pretty good...but if anything should happen to Clive Owen or Daniel Craig in the next few months, don't blame me.

SEED OF CHUCKY is rated 15
and is released across the UK on Friday 13 May 2005