tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post1048288783775222417..comments2024-03-18T10:29:46.055+00:00Comments on Ken Armstrong Writing Stuff: Bats, Bots and Kung Fu PandasKen Armstronghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07775956557261111127noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-82477724237423317422008-09-14T17:43:00.000+01:002008-09-14T17:43:00.000+01:00I have seen the movies, but the most changes is fo...I have seen the movies, but the most changes is for bats, seem closer to the real lifeGrainihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00459939698015189003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-60645794117619843822008-09-13T18:45:00.000+01:002008-09-13T18:45:00.000+01:00Hi Ken, she is talented, I can say that, and I can...Hi Ken, she is talented, I can say that, and I can't talk much about Kung Fu Pandas because I haven't watched it yet... but I would just like to express how I feel about the accompanying pictures/drawings/ They're marvelous.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for sharing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-51379116368899972582008-09-11T12:28:00.000+01:002008-09-11T12:28:00.000+01:00Nothing 'proper' about this blog... 'cheek! :)I w...Nothing 'proper' about this blog... 'cheek! :)<BR/><BR/>I was 'helped', 'entertained' and 'chuffed'.<BR/><BR/>Thanks mate!! :)Ken Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07775956557261111127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-55909461451074865882008-09-10T23:46:00.000+01:002008-09-10T23:46:00.000+01:00...this is sooo weird seeing my writing and pictur......this is sooo weird seeing my writing and pictures like this. On a *proper* blog and all. Wow.<BR/>Thanks for all the comments. I hope I was at least mildly entertaining, if not helpful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-51932683571795092082008-09-10T17:29:00.000+01:002008-09-10T17:29:00.000+01:00Jim, I really prefer to see them on DVD now. DVD ...Jim, I really prefer to see them on DVD now. DVD is my dream-come-true because the correct aspect-ratio is maintained (Don't ever get me started on aspect-ratio).<BR/><BR/>Our local cinema screens cannot actually receive the full widescreen image so a few yards of the picture are lost in the curtains on either side. Nobody ever seems to notice except me.<BR/><BR/>So, yeah, DVD (first night) bag of Malteasers and a coke, dim the lights and that'll do me! :)Ken Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07775956557261111127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-85111208090159851892008-09-10T15:30:00.000+01:002008-09-10T15:30:00.000+01:00Yes, Ken, that was exactly the problem I had with ...Yes, Ken, that was exactly the problem I had with Tim Burton's <I>Batman</I>. I had read every scrap of information about for years - and I mean literally <I>years</I> before it was released and there was no way any film could live up to what I hoped it would be like. I don't do that these days.<BR/><BR/>I'll be honest, I'm not sure that this film would suffer nearly as much as you might imagine when making the transition to the small screen (unless you have a very small screen). It some respects it might actually enhance it.Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-8074799269400281792008-09-09T20:19:00.000+01:002008-09-09T20:19:00.000+01:00Nice guest post! I agree with you on Wall-E and T...Nice guest post! I agree with you on Wall-E and The Dark Knight...I've been Resisting Kung Fu Panda, but I guess now I have to see it. I'll wait for cable though...Great reviews!Matthew S. Urdanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15423237354496730048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-45021887662090368112008-09-09T16:46:00.000+01:002008-09-09T16:46:00.000+01:00Thanks Fiendish and Jim.I haven't seen 'The Dark k...Thanks Fiendish and Jim.<BR/><BR/>I haven't seen 'The Dark knight' and it's shaping up to be DVD time before I do get there. I keep trying to force my twelve year old to being me ("I know it's a 15A but you'll be fine..."). I am worried though that I now expect quite a bit from it and that often leads to disappointment.<BR/><BR/>Wall-E for me was an exercise in survival - we fell into the cinema on a highly-humid evening in Orlando and nearly perished when the full force of the air-conditioning kicked in. The movie, for me, was so good in the first half that the second half couldn't match it. Wall-E himself owed some little debt to Number 5 from Short Circuit but we can forgive that.<BR/><BR/>Kung Fu Panda is *so* much better than I expected it to be. I expected another, Madagascar or Shark Tale but this is way above those. And the drawing quality in it - wow!.Ken Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07775956557261111127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-56459750721760315872008-09-09T08:56:00.000+01:002008-09-09T08:56:00.000+01:00I haven't seen the first two films so I'll comment...I haven't seen the first two films so I'll comment on the third. If I was to supply a single word to summarise <I>The Dark Knight</I> then it would be 'unrelenting' and, as you've already commented on the length of the film, 'unrelenting' over that period of time can be a bit wearing. I was cautious with this film <I>not</I> to read too much about it beforehand – a mistake I made with Tim Burton's <I>Batman</I> and which spoiled my viewing pleasure because nothing could live up to what I had going on in my head – and this time it paid off because I was genuinely delighted by their approach but, and for a film of that length, it all somehow felt a little rushed; there were no real oases of calm in this piece, the odd mucky puddle perhaps where you could catch your breath. <BR/><BR/>As for Joker, like the best of comedians, he didn't try and milk his gags. You mentioned "the pencil" and really it's a throwaway, blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment – wham! bang! onto the next order of business. Very unlike Nicholson's – or even Cesar Romero's – take on the character. <BR/><BR/>It is a dark film, yes, but I also found it a cold film (and not simply because the cinema we were in could have been warmer), emotionally cold and I didn't leave the film thrusting my fist in the air: Yes! The Batman won! Because it didn't feel like he did. Oh, he beat the bad guys, did the right thing and ran off into the night but it was a pyrrhic victory and to say any more would constitute a spoiler and I wouldn't want to spoil anyone's enjoyment of the film.<BR/><BR/>My gut feeling is that this may well be a film that will improve with multiple viewings. The soundtrack by the way is excellent. I listened to it several times before I ever saw the film and it definitely benefits from repeated plays. If I was to describe the film in orchestral terms it is definitely more like Shostakovich's brooding Symphony No. 10 than Beethoven's dynamic No. 5.Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6496460488742488789.post-61110446007065870332008-09-08T22:17:00.000+01:002008-09-08T22:17:00.000+01:00A lovely guest spot - and the accompanying art was...A lovely guest spot - and the accompanying art was (dare I say it?) pretty awesome. Awesome as in, I'm in awe. <BR/><BR/>*Awe-struck pause*<BR/><BR/>Anyway, this might have inspired me to go off and write my own Dark Knight review... perhaps...Fiendishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06427088675092430747noreply@blogger.com