Permutation City Blog

This is a magnificent film, one of the best by Gilliam's best, and one of my favourites. It deals with the fantastic life and tales of Baron Munchausen and the siege of an unnamed European city. In a rational world the Baron is not happy and not welcome. We have great performances and wonderfully rich sets. Fact and fiction blend together until nobody knows what is going on. I love the Baron's servants, with their incredible abilities, and the Baron, with his impossible ones.

I was both disappointed and pleased by this book. As a sequel you'd expect to see some familiar characters and places. Well, they are there but you have to wait a while. On the other hand it has a lovely Arabian Nights' Entertainments feel to it.

I've not been a podcast listener before but with a friend's recommendation I thought I'd give it a go. Some of the stories have been great, Penguin springs to mind. I also enjoy the presenter's chats before and after the story. This might get me reading short stories again and listening to other podcasts. Give it a go.

Horror films don't normally appeal but this sci-fi themed thriller did. After a crash landing on baked barren desert planet a spaceship crew's problems quickly escalate after darkness finally falls. There are inevitably fatalities but the film doesn't focus on gore. A surprising success.

Having never read the comic I wasn't sure what to expect of Sin City. Shot in black & white with occasional colour this gave it a certain style. From what I hear it is a very faithful adaptation of the comic. What I came out of the cinema thinking about was all the violence. Not only is there a lot of violence, many films have this, but there is a lot of pleasure in violence by both the bad guys and the "good" guys. This film made me feel uncomfortable and I wouldn't choose to see it again.

This is an enjoyable short piece which typifies Tim Burton's style. Vincent, the actor, has a perfect voice to accompany Vincent, the character, who has a dark obsession with the tales of Edgar Allan Poe.

This film had an excellent trailer. It told you so little I just had to see the film. Unfortunately the main feature has a fine beginning and middle but falls down at the end. It all happens too quickly and he doesn't seem to finish what he started. Oh, the plot twist didn't excite me either. On the other hand the idea of the main character is good so you may want to give it a go.

It seems that Shyamalan must have his plot twists. Sometimes these are dramatic and unexpected, other times not. For me that's not the point. He gets an impressive performance from his actors and that's what counts. For me his films are more about the moments of tension which he produces with such aplomb.

Stewart is a kindly but strange individual whose best friend is an invisible six-foot rabbit named Harvey. Some in the town accept him as he is but his sister cannot stand the madness. An enormous change of pace from normal movie fare.

A story of the brothers Grimm who scam their way from village to village before being caught up in a real fairy tale. Although this film has a touch of Gilliam it felt more like an imitation than the real thing. Aside from comparisons with his other work this film has some nice effects and a suitable dark feel.