Futtocks
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Posts posted by Futtocks
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I reviewed the Turkish attempt at 'Star Wars' a while back. However, there is also a Turkish 'Star Trek'.
Dear God... yes, I watched it.
What it really is is an "Omer the Tourist" movie that just happens to be set in the Trekkie universe, gleefully smashing all sorts of copyright law. Omer is a very broad and obvious 'comedy' character, lecherous, drunk and greedy.
The Kirk and Spock characters are, shall we say, odd to look at, as they both resemble slightly melted waxworks. Turkey trumps the US of A, though, by giving Spock ears twice the size of the puny Nimoy. He can raise one eyebrow even higher, too, which is pretty much the limit of his thespian chops.
This is by no means the same kind of production as the gabblingly incoherent 'Star Wars' knockoff/homage/GBH. There is a plot here, lifted wholesale (apparently) from an original 'Star Trek' episode. Shapeshifting alien kills people by harvesting the salt from their bodies.
This is pure Turksploitation, right down to the sound of the Enterprise's doors being very obviously the sound of a man going "shhhh-kt". Mind you, apart from the (naturally illegal) use of the original theme tune, there's some groovy, fuzzed-out Turkish freakbeat music going on at times.
Its cack, Jim, but not as we know it.And also the first Star Trek movie by several years. -
The "development" of Sheldon is the problem. Part of his character was his complete bewilderment at the world, now we're meant to buy he's got feelings and stuff. Nope, not having it.
The taming of Howard's utterly amoral libido, now he's married, is also a factor, as is the slackening off of his suppressed homoerotic thing with Raj. At least E4 show loads of the older episodes.
The new series is just not doing it for me so far.
Overall, though, it has cracked me up again and again over the years. I can understand why it'll be hard to replace.
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Listening to Mick Taylor's self-titled first solo album. It's rather good.
According to what I've read, his later recordings were more singlemindedly blues-oriented, but this is fairly eclectic and features some very nice guitar playing.
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John le Mesurier and Hattie Jaques son Robin le Mesurier is the lead guitarist in Johnny Hallyday's band.
John le Mesurier's middle name was Elton.
Elton! I don't think I'll ever look at Dad's Army the same way again.
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Harry Hill's four minute history of television. Exhausting, but very very silly.
He was born too late to work for TISWAS, but he's making up for it...
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Given the price difference I'd say the Sainsbury's is definitely the best value for money - it would be interesting to find out what it actually is
The two names I've seen mentioned in online discussions are Fettercairn or Dalmore. Neither are very mainstream or easy to find under their own names, so it would be a job to confirm.
Sainbury's previous 'Taste the Difference' range had a Islay that I am 90% plus certain was Caol Ila. Sadly, they don't sell it any more.
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BTW, if you're in London, Milroys whisky shop is now independent again, and while it stocks less than it used to in its great days, it has come back to life a bit. They have a bar as well.
Worth a very short stroll from Tottenham Court Road tube station.
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Nine-part a cappella multitracked harmony by Sam Robson. I'm impressed!
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I made this simple recipe today, and it was damn tasty!
The only modification was that I bought a pot of pre-made egg fried rice from the supermarket and added almonds to that. And I didn't use watercress.
Oh, and when it talks about sitting a single prawn on top, that is definitely a misprint. Loads of prawns per serving, mixed with the rice, then one to garnish.
And a little chopped parsley to sprinkle, maybe.
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As per a couple of pages back, Jura 10 is not a mistake I will be making again.
I have occasionally received a bottle of Jura as a present. At that price, I don't sniff at it, but...
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The distilleries are churning out so much guff at the minute that I'm spending serious time looking at reviews before I part with what few pennies I have.
They are killing their own industry and killing the public's trust in what used to be a premium product. Even my corner shop sells Jura now, and they are certainly not an upmarket establishment.
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Sam Cooke - Tribute to the Lady. A 1959 album of songs made famous by Billie Holiday.
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Sainsbury's own label is worth a punt, even at the full price of just £20. At £18 (discounted in my local branch), it is a total no-brainer. It isn't too thin and fiery and it isn't too sweet or bland - it is a really decent single malt that will appeal to all whisky fans.
I am currently on Bowmore, which is a good balanced entry point to Islay - it is smoky, but not the iodine hit of Laphroaig or the old socks pungency of Lagavulin. Plus it was discounted by £10 at my local supermarket.
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Yor: Hunter of the Future (1983)In short - Conan meets Flash Gordon.In long - Yor is played by B-Movie legend Reb Brown ('Space Mutiny', the original 'Captain America'). He's a big ol' blond lump of a man, suited to running awkwardly around in a furry loinloth and, given a guitar, could be mistaken for a member of the very silly metal band Manowar.
Yor's first appearance sees him saving Ka-Laa (former Bond girl Corinne Clery; very fetching in her furry bikini) and her pudgy dad Pak (less appealing) from a papier-mache dinosaur. Yor and Ka-Laa immediately fall for each other, despite her lack of blondeness. You see, Yor is searching for his people; his only clue being the medallion he wears.The trio are assaulted by cavemen, zombies, monsters etc. every couple of minutes. All of them are after Ka-Laa, and I'm not remotely surprised. At one point, Yor saves the day by hang-gliding into a cave hanging from a dead pterosaur. Pretty much every time Yor gets into a fight, a stonkingly poor Eighties rock song kicks in.Here's some sample lyrics:Yor's world, he's the manThere is a man of futureA man of mysteryNo track to lead the wayIn his search for a yesterdayMisty illusions hidingHis famous destinyHe's the saviour of babesAnyhoo, after many unconvincing fights, Yor rescues an acceptably Ayran woman who, more importantly, has a medallion too. She provides some exposition about a mysterious island and makes Ka-Laa jealous, before being killed because she's no longer necessary to the plot and is, anyway, a bit of a drip.They reach the coast and are befriended the villagers there. This is a Very Bad Idea, as every single community that Yor encounters in this film gets destroyed. This village is no exception, but the survivors build the heroes a boat to get to the island. Even after the boat is wrecked, it is worth noting that Ms Clery's hair and makeup stays immaculate.
On the island, the caveman stuff is discarded for sci-fi. Yor is captured by 'androids' and taken to the bad guy's HQ. Ka-Laa and Pak are, inevitably contacted by La Resistance and more exposition follows, as the new direction of the film really needs it.Yor discovers that his father originally led the resistance against the Black Hat, who calls himself 'Overlord'. How? His medallion contains home movie footage of his back story, up to when his parents fled the island.Anyhoo, Overlord wants to breed Yor and Ka-Laa (who has now also been captured) with his androids to create a new super-race to enslave the world. There then follows your standard escape, zap-gun battle, trapeze act, sabotage of evil.com's HQ and escape to bring civilisation to the post-apocyptic mainland.Proper Eighties Euro-Cheese, done in exactly the wrong way.
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Wests Tigers have replaced Marty Taupau by re-signing veteran utility Dene Halatau.
Replaced? I've always had a soft spot for Halatau, because he's a solid hard-working pro, but Taupau is the future and Dene's the present at best. Wests have quite a few problems to sort out. Farah/Ballin, for instance - even if the former's given up the captaincy, he could still be a disruptive influence.
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Caol Ila used to be a good whisky, same with Jura. Commercial pressures have forced them to either go mainstream with cheaper techniques and ingredients or fold. Most of Jura's whiskies these days are unaged with fancy names that came out of a marketing committee. Caol Ila will go the same way in the next few years.
Sad if that happens. I've had some Caol Ila specials in the past that were up with the very best I've ever tasted.
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I don't know if this applies to all branches of Sainsbury, but in my local branch their own label Highland single malt is currently discounted to £18. A very decent dram, too.
No idea which distillery produces it, but who cares? I've seen some online speculation that it might be Dalmore or Fettercairn.
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Gave this a whirl tonight...impressed. Nice rich sweet fruity flavour to it, right up my strasse
The wide availability of Highland Park shouldn't give people the impression that it's ordinary. Really really good stuff.
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Anyhoo, I went back to the tube station via Milroys, the whisky specialist and now find myself in possession of a bottle of Four Roses single barrel bourbon. Cask Strength, too, so it'll last a bit longer. I'm pretty new to bourbon, so I just collared a Milroys employee, gave him a ballpark price and asked him to recommend something interesting. And he did!
By the way, Four Roses is a very nice Bourbon, in my very limited experience. I'd had Buffalo Trace which was pleasant but not memorable. Too smooth.
Four Roses has a bit more character to it, possibly due to having a higher rye content. Anyway, I'd be happy to have it again.
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Redbreast isn't too bad and some of bushmiĺs premium efforts are well worth it but I generally prefer 'e'less whiskies.
The new Zealand double wood is a fabulous new world effort though a little expensive. but if you fancy the celtic connection Amorik from Brittany is wonderful. ... good value too.
Another Celtic connection is the increasingly widely available Penderyn, a very good whisky from Wales. I've seen it on sale in Asda and Waitrose, as well as specialist shops.
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Alien from L.A. (1988)
An Eighties take on Journey to the Centre of the Earth with a touch of Alice in Wonderland, and supermodel Kathy Ireland's big-screen debut. Kathy plays a frumpy nerd Wanda Saknussemm, by the time-honoured method of sporting large glasses and having bad hair. That might be bearable, but she tops off her portrayal with a voice that sounds like Joe Pasquale on helium. At the beginning of the film, she has just been dumped by her surfer dude boyfriend for being boring.
Then she receives a letter from Africa, telling her that her missing archaeologist father has fallen down a 'bottomless hole' he discovered in his basement. Wanda, naturally, falls down the same hole, which turns out not to be bottomless (surprise!) and is actually a portal to the buried city of Atlantis. And a hole which you fall down for a long time without even turning an ankle upon landing.
Atlantis is populated by unwanted extras from 'Mad Max III', Duran Duran's 'Wild Boys' video and similar. Being the Eighties, this means lots of big hair, make-up accentuated cheekbones and rotten acting.
She is initially aided by a miner with an occasionally Australian accent, but keeps getting kidnapped and dragged off by various Atlanteans, as surface-dwellers (known as 'Aliens') officially don't exist despite their being an official bountry on their heads.
At an early point, a steam vent gives her hair a glamorous blow-wave, and her huge glasses are broken, apparently with no effect on her eyesight. Sadly, her voice doesn't change much. Or her acting chops, running the gamut from dull surprise to "eek, help!" and back again.
She is later helped by a hunky type called Charmin, who has a very regard for himself, but finally captured by the masters of Atlantis, who argue whether to kill her or not. The Aussie-ish bloke enters the government's HQ with little security in evidence and rescues her and her father, who had also been taken prisoner. They escape to the surface.
In the next scene, she wakes and actually does the "oh, Auntie, was it all a dream?" thing, before finding out that it wasn't. Cut to final scene on the beach, where her surfer dude ex-boyfriend double-takes at the sight of her in bikini and sarong, realising that he just dumped a supermodel.
Then, inexplicably, Charmin turns up on a Harley and asks her out. She grins weirdly at him for several uncomfortable seconds too long as the screen fades to black.
Fin.
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An awesome supporting cast though.
Agreed, even if the results didn't reflect the quality of the cast.
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'Hawk the Slayer' had the two lead actors playing brothers - Jack Palance (b.1919) and John Terry* (b.1950). And it looks exactly as convincing as it reads.*Not that one!
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It's been a heavy day and I'm tired. ....
Clynelish..... got decent black pud n'all.... sorted
Clynelish is a great whisky, just not as well known as some of the big names.
What Are You Listening To - The Reckoning
in Any Other Business / Any Other Sports
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There was always more to Minnie Riperton than 'Loving you'.