WIP Update...and a lot of other Guff

 Anyone who is a member of my Facebook group (HERE) will probably know that I recently ran a competition which meant I had to concentrate on stitching Mother's Love. Not much of a chore, I have to admit. As I've said previously, I'm really enjoying stitching on 28 count fabric.

But, it's really great to have finished the first page and be onto the second. Yesterday, I did the top section of page 2.

I really like to get a feel for the size as quickly as possible; so I worked my way across the page. Now I know the width and it seems a lot more achievable now!

For anyone who doesn't know, this is what it will look like when done..and I'm working from left to right at the top.

In other cross-stitch related news, I am pleased to say I've signed another artist to my company.

His name is Christopher Symes and I love his space-scapes as I like to think of them.

So far, two have been released; but there are more to come.

The first release was Big Brother, so named because Chris felt the little planet was being protected by the big planet.

The other art Chris supplied was unnamed; but I really liked the idea of assigning 'Big' to these designs. Space is infinitely big, and it just seemed right to continue the theme with his other pieces.

So, I promptly came up with some names and submitted them...and Chris approved! Yay!

So, the second release was Something Big. So named because, to me, it felt as though the planet was watching the unknown object hurtling towards it from space.

More in the 'Big' series coming soon!

Well, that's it for cross-stitch related news. Well, almost....a teaser if you will....there are three more new artists waiting in the wings....if only they would take the leap and fly!

So, moving on...

Nigel has done another Downton Abbey piece of fan art.

This is his rendition of Branson...and it's now on the wall with the others.

The rest of this article is really a mop-up of things I've just forgotten to speak about!

We recently went for a day trip to Nottingham and I bought this:

 I'm a self-confessed film-buff so when I saw this miniature from one of my favourite films I just had to buy it.

It's a little tray full of real sand, a miniature Taylor on horseback, and a replica Statue of Liberty...that when activated recites Charlton Heston's final words from the film:

"You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!"

It goes without saying that I was in movie-geek heaven putting this together and recreating an iconic movie scene. Love it!

Lastly, something spooky!

 The other morning Nigel awoke and got a little freaked out by the massive face in our bedroom:

 

A testament to one of the MANY reasons why a walking machine should not be used a clothes stand! (His clothes I might add! I put mine away!)

Well, that's it for now. I hope everyone enjoys whatever they're doing.

All the best

HAPPY STITCHING!

Cloud Atlas Review

Have you ever watched a film and thought to yourself What the hell was that all about? If that feeling annoyed you then don't watch Cloud Atlas because, I assure you, there's a very large possibility that you will be saying that a LOT.   This is a film I've wanted to see ever since seeing the trailer. However, many years (and thousands of viewings) have taught me that trailers are not to be trusted. They lie. They even make bouquets of roses out of piles of poop.   Nonetheless, I vowed that if I could see Cloud Atlas I would take the opportunity. Well, at the moment Amazon have one of their 3 for £17 deals going and this was in it. So £5.66 a disc. Ok, for that I'm willing to give it a try.   Given I've got some chest pain at the moment (feeling much better by the way) I haven't been able to cross stitch, so yesterday was spent watching film. I started with The Great Escape (my all-time favourite war film), which I followed with The Diary of Anne Frank (the black & white Millie Perkins version).After that much war I decided that something ultra-modern was required so I popped Cloud Atlas into my blu-ray player.   In the first five minutes I was thinking I'd made a mistake. However, never one to give up on a film easily I put aside my first judgemental feelings.   I am so glad I did. This is not the first time that my patience (born from experience and a love of film) has paid off. There have been many, many times when a film has turned out to be better than it's first few minutes and this is a great example.
6 interwoven stories. Most actors playing 6 different roles. An amazing ensemble cast that are at the top of their game, giving some brilliant performances and one of the most challenging storylines I've yet to witness. Not only does the film jump around in time from the distant past to the very distant future, but it also shifts tonally and in theme.   One minute you can be watching a comedy, then a Sci-Fi, then a touching romance. At all times, though, the film is utterly mesmerising.   I found myself desperately wanting to know what happened to Sixsmith and Frobisher; what the hell was up the mountain that Halle Berry's Meronym desperately wanted to see. But, most touching of all: the fate of Somni 451.   Performances are sublime and the film is impeccably directed; with stunning visuals and acting. However, it's not perfect. There are moments when you feel they move away from one story too quickly or linger too long on another. Also, the devolved language of the distant future, while very good at creating atmosphere, is almost impossible to understand. I had to turn the subtitles on to know what they were talking about - but, I did find that for the final hour I actually understood what they were saying (my internal translator must have kicked in! :-) )   If you want to watch something a bit different. Something challenging but ultimate worth the effort, then I highly recommend giving this brave, unique film a chance! Just don't try to stitch through it! You'll never know what's going on!   The blu-ray sound and picture are reference quality. If you ever want to show a friend what blu-ray can look like then this is the film to show them (this and something old like Gone With the Wind or Ben-Hur) I didn't watch all the extras as it was a bit late, but the two short featurettes I watched were both interesting and informative. I did like the fact that you could watch them on a Play All function or individually.

Dogfight - The Musical and The Film

 

Normally, with a film to musical adaptation, it's the film I discover first and then I buy the musical because I loved the film and thought it would make a great musical (Kinky Boots, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Les Miserables, The Addams Family to name a few).

But Dogfight is something of a rarity. I discovered the musical first.

I was browsing through Amazon's forthcoming releases and came across this. I liked the cover so I had a look.

This is the story...

Corporal Eddie Birdlace is about to ship out to Vietnam. But, before they go, he and his buddies want one last night of fun.

They decide to throw a 'Dogfight'.

A Dogfight is a bet. Each guy bets $50 dollars that they can find the ugliest date and bring her to a nightclub. The rest of the guys will vote and whoever's date is voted the ugliest wins the pot.

So, the guys go to hunt for their girls.

Eddie finds Rose.

Rose is a shy waitress with aspirations to write songs. She innocent and idealistic and never thought someone like Eddie would ever be interested in her.

If you want to find out what happens you'll have to watch the film or buy the musical!

 All I can say is that I thought it was a beautiful and touching story. The musical is stunning and the two leads are breathtaking. Everything about it is perfect. There are some incredibly powerful ballads but also a lot of very catchy chorus numbers.

It stayed in my CD player for about 4 weeks solid and I still listen to it at least once a week (as I type actually).

It was while reading the booklet that I discovered it was based on a 1991 films starring River Phoenix and Lily Taylor.

WHAT!!!??? A River Phoenix film I haven't seen? That can't be right!

I loved River Phoenix. I thought he was one of the best actors of his generation and it was such a tragedy when he died.

But, for some reason, the film of Dogfight had just passed me buy.

So...I went on a DVD hunt.

What did I discover? That it had never been released in the UK and that US (Region 1) copies were quite hard to find.

Lucky for me, about a week later, a UK charity was selling a copy on Amazon. I managed to get it for £12! It also turned out to be Region Free! Yay!

Phoenix and Taylor both turn in brilliant performances. But, I never expected anything less.

It was also really great to have some visuals to go with the story from the musical.

My only criticism of the film is that I felt the ending had slightly less of an emotional punch. It's a quite a gentle film. The pace is steady and a little slow at times. But, if you like character driven stories then this is definitely worth a watch. If you can track a copy down!

But, I still loved it and would definitely replace it to blu-ray if it ever became available (that means I think it's excellent! LOL!)

The World's End - Blu-ray Review

I don't get to go to the cinema very often and, if I'm honest, I begrudge the cost of the entry. Thankfully over the years I've become a pretty good judge of what I like - so I'm able to blind-buy every film I watch.

So, although my reviews may be a little late it's still new to me.

When I'm doing my cross stitch I like to watch TV. My preference is to watch things I've seen before, because I spend most of the time looking down at my stitching. Yesterday I did 12 hours of stitching and watched 12 episodes of X-Men: The Animated Series and 1 episode from Season 5 of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

After that amount of stitching I just wanted to watch something. I'd bought The World's End a couple of weeks ago in CeX (CeX is a trade-in store to anyone from outside the UK).

I'm not a huge fan of British humour (so lynch me!) but there is something about the combination of Edgar Wright (Director/Screenwriter), Simon Pegg and Nick Frost that just hits a sweet spot in my funny bone.
Sean of the Dead is one of my all-time favourite films and I thought Paul was brilliant; but the mixed reviews for The World's End really gave me pause. So I waited for the price to drop.

And so, with the wait over, I sat down to watch this last night. After a worrying first few minutes, during which I was thinking I'm going to hate this! the film (and it's actors) seemed to find the rhythm and style.

Five mates go on a monumental pub crawl - a crawl they failed to complete in their teens. The plan for four of them is to reminisce but the fifth (Simon Peg) has deeper motives.
The five guys are every type of misfit you've ever met in your life - and as such are identifiable and easy to sympathise with. But, this is definitely Simon Pegg's film. His fearless portrayal of Gary King is faultless and mesmerising; one moment having you laughing and the next crying.
As the pub crawl progresses the guys start to realise there is something seriously wrong in their old hometown - and it's there that the film sideswipes you with a curve ball. A brilliant, utterly ridiculous, curveball that just elevates the film into excellence.

I'm not going to ruin that surprise - just in the hope that you don't know.

I loved this film. I shouldn't have to be honest. Upon reflection it's really NOT my style of humour, but I found myself laughing many times.

The extras on the blu-ray are pretty good too. I watched the Outtakes (which go on a bit) and the Making Of (which was very interesting). Apparently there is 90 minutes of extras exclusive to the blu-ray.
The picture and audio were stunning throughout.

Oh, by the way, don't expect my reviews to be full of technical jargon about depth, bitrates or other such stuff. It's boring to read and most people have now idea what it's all about so I can't be bothered to write about it! Also, there are loads of sites out there dedicated to delivering professional, in depth, reviews. My reviews are just my thoughts and for a bit of fun.

....And so it begins....

Ok. Here goes.

Totally new to blogging. Thought I'd give it a go. Why? Because, sometimes I think I might actually have something to say that people will find interesting.

I called my blog 'The Eclectic Bloke's Blog' because I've got a lot of interests and there was no way I could define my blog with one word and still make it sound interesting. Besides, I've always loved the word eclectic.

So, what do you need (or want) to know about me?

I'm male and in my forties - or my mid-life crisis some would say; and I have a lot of interests.

What you won't see on my blog is the any of the following (so if these interest you leave now!): football or pretty much any other sport (except some tennis). Details of pubs, clubs or restaurants (I might be lying about that last one occasionally).

What you WILL find is my thoughts on:
Books - I read a lot and all the time so I may post my thoughts and feelings on what I'm reading.
Films/TV - I collect DVD and Blu-ray so I may post reviews on what I watch.
Places I've Been - I like to post about new places I go. Not in boring detail though!
Cross Stitch - Counted CS is one of my main hobbies; and, according to some, something of a rarity among men. Although, if facebook is anything to go by, that is changing. I will probably be posting pictures of my current progress and photos of my finished projects.
Writing - I'm a budding writer (aren't we all at one point or another) so I may post short stories or poems. All will be copyrighted so hands off!

So, now you know what my blog is all about. Hopefully you'll find something you like! Happy reading!