"Making a Killing..."

So, having a tidy up whilst munching on a ham and cheese sarnie and waiting for Crysis to install is my idea of a Friday night in. True writer. Or lazy student bum. With a job.

I have of late been trying to get into graphic novels and comic books in an attempt to broaden my horizons somewhat, and I must admit to varying degrees of success in this department. Taking the four examples of this medium that I have read:

Marvel: 1602
Nemesis (The first one)
The Killing Joke
Watchmen

Now the first three (especially Marvel and the Killing Joke) are wonderful. Nemesis is a brand new ( by the looks of it) story, and I must admit it's quite fun. But Watchmen is on the verge of putting me off again. It's long and dreary, and I must be honest, so far I prefer the film version. It's condensed, it's quick and its well portrayed. All harks back to that argument of convenience.

Anyway, next up on the list. Burke and Hare.

Now this is an important review for me personally. My first completed film screenplay contains characters in similar situations to the lead characters in this film, so it was important that I see it and get an idea of the competition, so to speak.

So, Burke and Hare are two down on their luck Irishmen in Edinburgh looking to make a decent wage and willing to do just about anything for that. They happen upon a somewhat lucrative local business selling corpses to scientists and scholars, and become undertakers to make a living out of it. Sounds great, right?

Yes, absolutely right! This film was amazing! From start to finish a total riot. Full of quality acting, excellent directing and by the sounds of it all taken from a really well written script.



...hands up who believed that?

This film was - and I shall say this as eloquently as I can - utter shit.

I know that I have a somewhat biased perspective on this film, considering how close it is to my own material, but for the love of god, really? Was Simon Pegg on such a high from being told "your half-arsed attempt at Scottish in Star Trek was amazing!" that he had to go and try Irish in this one?! Was there no-one else in Hollywood or on the British acting scene that would take the role of love interest apart from Isla sodding Fisher, who is nice to look at but for the love of god should never open her mouth unless its for oral or barbecue commentary!? And with all due respect, the less said about Christopher Lee in this film the better. That man must have signed on to do this film without his reading glasses.

Now don't get me wrong, the idea for this is really good and the potential is there for some real laughs and really meaningful dialogue. But it just isn't there. I honestly can't think of a single thing I don't hate about this movie. From Bill Bailey as an executioner who is totally unnecessary, to Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis putting in performances that make The Killing of a Chinese Bookie look Oscar-worthy, and finally to the supposedly awesome supporting cast. Tom Wilkinson. Tim Curry. Jessica Stevenson. RONNIE FUCKING CORBETT!?!?!??! Oh fuck off. It was all over the top 'brit-com', that just wasn't funny. Nothing about this film made me enjoy it. Nothing about it tried.

I just really hate this movie. I find it offensive. This is why I handed it to Kerry and told her to never let me gaze upon it again. In a way I sort of feel guilty for burdening her DVD shelf with its malaise. But I'll get over it. Until Avatar.

So, next up, Kinky Boots.