Rambley

Some of you may have noticed the lack of a set of Unlimited stats for this month. It's not that I've forgotten to record which films I've seen - it's that I haven't seen any.

April's been an interesting month. I got a new job, worked crazy hours for just over a week, then quit. It was a wonderful atmosphere, the coworkers were brilliant, but when it came right down to it, it wasn't a job I wanted to do. On the other hand, it left me enough confidence to walk away, knowing that I can find a job I'll love. At the moment, I'm still clearing tables once or twice a week, as well as mystery shopping, which is turning out to be awesome.

Anyway, I haven't really had time to visit the cinema, not with uni as well. I've barely had to watch my Lovefilm stuff - I've had a copy of 500 Days of Summer sitting on my desk for well over a week, and I only just got around to watching it. I did finish watching all thirty-seven episodes of Death Note. I don't think the ending was as good as the beginning, really.

I just watched 500 Days of Summer, as I think I mentioned, although it's now several hours after I wrote the first few paragraphs.

Honestly, at the minute, I'm a little bit of afraid of reading or watching anything that will make me really sad. That will make me care about the characters, and then hurt them. I just don't want to feel that way. I don't want to rewatch My Sassy Girl or read anything by Jodi Picoult. I don't want to get too involved with these characters.

I really couldn't tell you what's up with that.

So, in short, I watched 500 Days of Summer while concentrating on my Welsh textbook.

One thing that did strike me is just how much Joseph Gordon-Levitt looks like Heath Ledger now. The first film I saw him in was 10 Things I Hate About You (with Ledger), and he was tiny then. He still had a baby face, and was quite physically small. Now he's filled out a little more - although he's still very lean - and looks like an adult. In fact, he looks like a cross between Ledger and Keanu Reeves.

See? Maybe not around the eyes, but around the jawline and the cheekbones.

Don't agree? How about this?

This?

Honestly, I think the major difference is in the ears. It's not as apparent in still pictures, but sometimes, while he's moving, Gordon-Levitt looks exactly like Ledger.

Ravel out.

Of Cinema Tickets, Downloading and DVDs

I watch a lot of movies. That may or may not be obvious.

Mostly, I watch films at the cinema. I have an Unlimited card, which is actually a pretty good deal. £11.99 a month, and I can see as many movies as I like for free. Considering that, some weeks, I watch three or four, and the prices range from £4 to £7.80 (3D movie, Saturday evening), they're definitely making a loss on this deal.

I really like going to the cinema. It doesn't have the strange feeling of a special event any more, but it's a nice place, and I know my local cinema as intimately as one can who doesn't work there. It's nice. I like the smell of popcorn (although I never buy any), I like the trailers (although I avoid the first ten minutes of adverts as often as possible), and I like the fact that it's on my way home from work, or ten minutes away from here by bus.

That 'on the way home from work' thing isn't as helpful as you might think. I work odd hours, which mean that I cannot see films, on days when I'm working, which start after 11:30am or before 10pm. This limits my options somewhat. Fortunately, sometimes I have three or four days off in a row, which allows me to get my fix of movies (although I am fully capable of watching three in one day).

I don't just watch new films; I also rent films and, more often, TV series. I have an account with LoveFilm if anyone's wondering. Might not be the best deal out there, but I like them, and they tend to be punctual and helpful. Only problem with their site is the fact that it can be a little tricky to move movies from one list to another when you have as many on there as I do (341 at last count). You have to dig right through the list to find it - if you use the search function, it will tell you that it's on your list, but won't allow you to move it to another one. But, to be fair, the list feature in general is excellent.

My collection of DVDs is relatively small, which may be surprising. I have a long list of DVDs that I want to own, but I rarely get around to buying them (Waterstones is right next to HMV, and it always distracts me on the way there). I have a few unusual things that I really love, like the first season of the Twilight Zone and the two animated series' of Discworld, and a few foreign films, which are difficult to find to rent, but I would say that I don't own more than twenty or so DVDs. I rarely download movies either - the last one would be Flower Drum Song, which I can't find to rent or buy anywhere (except as a region 1 disc, which wouldn't play on my PS2). I also download the odd foreign film which has no plans for a European release. Generally speaking, though, I prefer to rent, buy, or watch films at the cinema. I just think they seem more special that way.

I am sorely tempted to break this personal guideline in certain other cases, though. Like for A Muppet Christmas Carol. Although the VHS version, which I owned as a child, has the full movie, all DVD releases have a key scene missing. I refuse to buy a dvd with part of the film missing, but my VCR is long gone, and I have a tradition of watching the movie every Christmas.

Bartelmy