Well, as I have a reputation for punctuality, I think writing a Best Of list only a month late is gather gratifying. 2014 was an interesting year for me personally, but from a sitting in a dark room watching flickering light perspective, it was rather good.
Read MoreThis post is really based upon the following review by Mark Kermode on the Radio 5 Live show he does with Simon Mayo on a Friday afternoon. Back in 2008 when Quantum of Solace came out, well, they both hated it and have, in the ensuing six years, repeatedly stated how much they dislike it. Here is why I think they are wrong.
Read MoreGiven my usual stance on the French, it may come as a surprise to some to find out I do love France. It is a truly amazing place, almost as beautiful as Canada, just smaller and warmer. The Bone Family holiday this year took us to the South of France, to the Languedoc and a beautiful gite in Raissac d'Aude. We drove down there, well I drove it. Dad had just had an op and I was determined to get him and us down there as best I could. Paris was a nightmare. I've never visited the City of Light and to be fair, there are other places I have higher on my list. Given the traffic and the utter ineptitude of the Parisian driver, it has slipped a tad further down the list.
Read MoreIt is rare that entertainment news makes me happy. Thankfully, last week, the BBC did just that, announcing that they were adapting The Last Kingdom. The Beeb is in an interesting place at the moment, they have huge global hits with the likes of Sherlock and Doctor Who, win Emmy’s for fun with Neil Cross and Idris Elba’s Luther and mange to keep us thrilled by the exploits of three ageing men who make poor jokes and ass about in cars on Top Gear. But in a TV world that is being rewritten using the rules the BBC used to commission by (1985’s Edge of Darkness, 1984’s incredible Threads, 1979’s Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy and comedy like Partridge and The Royal Family to name but a few), Auntie is being left to her knitting.
Read MoreI still remember the first time I heard Down Rodeo by Rage Against The Machine. It was the summer of 1996. I was in a pub I shouldn’t have been in in Croydon and the DJ put on Down Rodeo, which considering Bulls on Parade was the big track off Evil Empire, well, it was a change. I hadn’t bought the album yet, but hearing Tom Morello’s opening riff, the biting vocals, the mood of the song and the anger of Zac’s call to arms in the class war.
Read MoreThe other week Sky Sports popped up saying they were opening applications for the audience for The F1 Show. The F1 Show is a live weekly magazine show on the Sky Sports F1 channel that discusses that week’s developments in F1. Hosted by the pitlane team of Ted Kravitz and Natalie Pinkham, they have a few guests on and generally chat away an entertaining hour. When I say chat, I mean Johnny Herbert is one of the guests, full time it seems, and chat is what he does. Stopping him seems to be the trick…
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