Cinema Memories (Part 1)

Hello there peeps :-), it's been a while ( in fact too long LOL ) since I last wrote on here. Well I thought I would share my memories of why I love going to the cinema and the cinema's I have been to. It is a fun going back down memory lane and remembering what cinemas I have been to ( a lot hence why it's split in 2 parts ) and what I saw at them. Anyway here we go.

THE CANNON CINEMA CHATHAM

1st Film Seen Here
Pinocchio ( when I was about 5 or 6 in about 1986 )

Last Film Seen Here
The Aristocats ( a year later I think which was about 1987)

Memories
I can't really remember a lot cause I was really young. But I can remember it being really big, with a massive foyer, I think it had 3 screens. I know to get to the screen there was a big hallway. I know when I went to see  one of the films they had the American Football Weetabix advert and the Kia Ora advert oh and of course Pearl and Dean and I think trailers for Police Academy 4 and The Living Daylights on one of the films I saw. I  wish I saw more films here and it was really nice recently to find out the history of that cinema and photos which brought back memories of going there.

THE LONSDALE CINEMA CARLISLE

1st Film Seen Here
Honey I shrunk the Kids (1989)

Last Film Seen Here
The Matrix (1999)

Memories
I have a lot of fantastic memories of going to see films at the Lonsdale in Carlisle. Nearly all the films I saw in my teenage years I saw here. I went to see my 1st 15 movie here when I was 14 ( Judge Dredd ), I saw all the Star Wars Special Editions here in 1997. I also remember seeing Jurassic Park, Independence Day, Con Air, Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves, Beauty and The Beast, All 3 Turtles movies ( the 1st one we went to see on my birthday), Fever Pitch, Snow White, Space Jam and some others which I can't remember off the top of my head.
It was a really nice cinema that was like the tardis. It had a long hall way that led to 2 big screens and 1 small one. Then in the mid 90s they turned the old post office building into 2 extra screens which they called the City Cinema. My memories of that was having to go and see the Power Rangers movie cause my brother wanted to see it and my dad falling asleep watching it LOL.
I remember the local adverts they used to show when I 1st went that included a crudely drawn animation for a local video shop. Sadly the older I got the more they where faded out which is a shame cause they add something to the cinema experience in my mind.
One thing I loved about seeing a film at the Lonsdale was the welcome to the snack bar trailer they showed before the film it was so out of the mid eighties but so brilliant at the same time. In fact most of the trailer things they showed before the film where cheesy but brilliant.
The last thing I can remember about the Lonsdale was when I went to visit my mate for a few days and we went to see the Matrix and it was packed out. The trailers had just finished and the curtain was starting to come over the screen when someone decided to fart so loudly and everyone burst out in laughter.
Sadly the Lonsdale closed in 2007 because it lost business to the Warner Village/ Vue cinema which opened in a redeveloped part of Carlisle in the year 2000. It's such a shame cause it was a really nice independent cinema that had a lot of charm. I like independent cinemas cause they have a lot of charm most multi-plex's don't have.

Anyway I will continue with my cinema memories in the next few days, so stayed tuned......... :-)............

Movies :-) 2010 Best of, worst, and what I am looking forward to 2011.

Hi folks :-).

Hope you guys had a good weekend. I thought that seeing as my 1st big post was about my highs of 2010 that my next one would be about one of my biggest loves ( well apart from Mtn Dew LOL) which is going to the cinema. So I thought I would share with you my favourites films from 2010 and what I am looking forward to 2011 :-).
When I get a chance I will blog about where my love of cinema came from, but for now here is the films that nearly made it into my top 10

2010 Films honorable mention List


Ok these films where good but didn't make it into my top 10

The Expendables
Tron Legacy
Up In The Air
Blind Side
Princess And The Frog
Losers
Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time
Shrek : The Final Chapter
Bad Lieutenant

2010 Films My Top 10


Before I start this list is not in any order cause they are all just as good as each other, apart from my favourite film.

1 The A-Team


I know a lot of critics turned there nose up at this remake of the popular 80's show, but I loved it, in fact I have talked to a lot of my friends as well they agree with me. Being such a big fan of the show ever since I was a kid helped. It's good silly fun, and Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copley and Quinton Jackson are great as the shoulders of fortune ( Copley though steals the show as Murdoch ). I liked the film so much I went to see it 5 times at the cinema. The day it opened in America when I was holiday ( went to see it at the Showcase cinema at the providence mall ) and 4 times when it was out here in the UK.






















2 FOUR LIONS

This is a really funny black comedy, by Chris Morris that really made you think. Most of it was shot about 20 miles from where I live ( it was shot in Sheffield). I enjoyed it when I saw it at the cinema and again when I took it round my mates for Fri film night when it came out on DVD.




3 The Town

A really smart crime thriller. Ben Affleck strikes gold again as a director after the brilliant Gone Baby Gone. A fantastic cast   helps make it one of the best dramas I have seen in ages.


4 How To Train Your Dragon

This is such a brilliantly made cartoon. That's funny, heart warming and exciting and if it wasn't for the next film on my list it would join beauty and the beast and up! as an animated nominated for best picture at the oscars.


5 Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3 was beyond brilliant and meet my expectations and surpassed them. It did something that never happens in all trilogies that is for the 3rd film to be the best of the lot. Pixar have never made a dud film ( I liked Cars, not many people did). Mind you it's hard that any future pixar film will top there last 3 films.


6 The Social Network

I along with most folks pointed and laughed when I heard they where making a movie of the story of Facebook and it was going to star Justin Timberlake. But I think the studio and David Fincher are having the last laugh. This was brilliant from start to finish. The performances are brilliant, the score is outstanding ( done by NIN front man Trent Reznor ) and the cinematography is marvelous. This is the favourite to win best picture at the oscars this year, who would of said that a year ago.


7 Iron Man 2

I have to admit I am a very big comic book fan. But not like some of my friends say I don't really like most comic book movies ( step forward Elektra and Spiderman 3). But I was delighted that Iron Man 2 was as good as the 1st Iron Man. This was the 1st blockbuster film to come out last summer and was one of the best. Funny in places and action packed it sets up well for when the Avengers film comes out in 2012.


8 Kick Ass

This was one heck of a fun film, ultra violent ( how it didn't get an 18 I will never know), and well written. It also had the scene with the biggest wah in 2010 :-).


9 Inception

I had such a great time watching this. Who knew that a mainstream hollywood film could be so intelligent. The story drags you in from the start and every time you watch it you pick up something new ( I watched it again on blu-ray the other day and picked something up new while watching it that I hadn't done the previous 2 times I watched it).


10 Scott Pilgrim Vs The World

My favourite film of 2010. It's funny, action packed and very well made. Some people will never get it. But if you like comic books, video games and are such a film freak like me this is a dream film. Edgar Wright follows up the awesome Hot Fuzz and Shaun Of Dead with this and it's a total joy from start to end.


And My Worst Film of 2010


Cyrus

A comedy that isn't funny in the slightest. Also for a film that is about 100 minutes long it is SO boring. Jonah Hill again proves he isn't very funny. Honorable mention for worst film goes to the killer inside me which was totally disgusting and badly written and Piranha 3D which was just 90 minutes of bad acting, naff 3D effects and barely action what so ever.




2011 Films I Am Really Looking Forward To


Ok here are some of the films I am really looking forward to this year


True Grit

The Coen brothers remake of the 1969 John Wayne classic. The coen brothers have never made a duff film yet and No Country For Old Men is one of my favourite all time films. Can't wait to see it when it comes out February 11th.


The Fighter

I saw the trailer the other night for this when I went to see Season Of The Witch ( which BTW is rubbish and I wouldn't even bother with it). It looks really good and I heard it is one of the best boxing movies ever and Christian Bale is amazing in it.


Fast 5 ( a.k.a The Fast And Furious 5)

I loved these films ever since I went to see the 1st one back in September 2001 with my mate at the UCI cinema in Norwich. I can't wait to see this it looks really action packed plus the rock with a beard.


Sucker Punch

From the same director of 300 and Watchmen. This looks nuts but should be one of the best action flicks this year.


Paul

Nick Frost and Simon Pegg join up for there 1st film together since Hot Fuzz. It's got an all star cast and looks really funny. It comes out in the UK on Valentine's Day which the film studio who are releasing it are dubbing as "bromance day".


Thor

Marvel's latest comic book to make it to the big screen. I saw this trailer for the 1st time on my iPhone sitting at the bottom of the stairs with the lights off after coming back from my mates at 3 in the morning. It does look really good and very action packed. Also really looking forward to Captain America as well.


Cowboys VS Aliens

From the director who brought you Iron Man, this looks like it will be 1 of the best films that will come out this summer. It has such an all-star cast which will really help it.


Pirates Of The Caribbean On Stranger Tides

This looks really fun. The original Pirates of the Caribbean film is one of my all time favourite's. It should be good to see in 3D as well.


Transformers 3 Dark Of The Moon

I am one of only a handful of people who like the original series of Transformers and the 2 movies. Heck I liked Revenge Of The Fallen ( I went to see it 3 times in the cinema ). This should be one big mosh and wah feast and it's in 3D I can't wait :-).


I know there will be films that will come out of no where and make it into my 2011 best of list. I hope you like my take on films for the past year. Until later take care :-).

2010 A Look Back: Number 1 Good Memories :-).

Ok I am going to start my blogging by looking back at 2010. Ok I know we are a week into 2011, but I thought  it would be nice to share some of my personal highlights of 2010. I know I had a tough year, but a lot of good things happened to me last year and I would like to share with you what really made me happy in 2010 :-).

(1) Leading My 1st Service


In September of last year it was 3 years since I started going to Bridge Street church in Pilsley. I didn't know when I went there the 1st time that nearly 3 years later that I would be leading a service there for 1 of my best friends and having the support of my friends in the worship band as well.
A lot of good things have happened since I 1st went there. I have done loads of things that I never thought that I could do and that included leading a service.
I was real nervous about it but I had a lot of support from my family and friends. My dad ( who is a methodist minister ), gave me a lot of great advice and helped me a lot.
When it came to the day of the service I feeling good about things when I woke up and when I printed out the order of service. But when I got to church the nerves came back, so I went into the back put my iPod on and got focused by listening to Jay Z feat Rihanna - Run This Town ( yeah a bit of a weird song to put on at church LOL).
So when it got to the start of the service I was still a lal bit nervous but when it started all the nerves disappeared. The service started well, then all the power went. I could of thrown a hissey fit or started swearing my head or sat in a corner and started crying my eyes out. But I kept cool and even cracked a joke before the power came back on. After that everything ran smoothly and I was surprised and delighted with all the praise I got after the service. It was a joy and gave me so much pride that I lead my 1st serivice in front of my friends and my parents who where so happy to see leading a church service they would never of dreamed of that happening about 4 years ago.
Ever since that service I have lead 2 more ( once for my dad) and I have enjoyed everytime I have done it :-)

(2) My 30th Birthday Bash


I reached a milestone last year. I turned 30 in December ( yep I getting to be an old man LOL). I decided after being at my mates 40th birthday party the previous year that I thought it would be cool to celebrate my 30th bithday by having a big party, and seeing as I have friends all over the place I thought it would be nice to have all of them in one place for the 1st time.
So after my parents agreed to it in April, I started looking around for a place to hold after 2 months I found a nice little place which was the North Wingfield Community Resource Centre. I was so excited when it was booked in July, I was like a kid at Christmas LOL, And when I told everyone about and put it as an event on Facebook I was starting to really look forward to it. Especially when my friend who is a pro sound engineer jumped on board with helping me out by lending me his sound setup for the party and seeing as I have a varied music taste and a mass of music on my computer I was looking forward to being a DJ.
As time went by the more excited I got, and nearer the time I was trying not to talk about it all the time to my mates. Then it came down to the week of the party and the cold weather came in. I was getting really nervous that no one would turn up because of snow. The weather forecast kept changing over the week, from there being snow on the day of the party to cold but clear and visa versa, basically at the end of that week I was a professional meteorologist LOL. My friends from Norfolk dropped out because they had tons of snow over that week. But my friends from Cumbria where still good for coming down because they had no snow and my brother who lives in Reading who was coming up by train came up and had no snow what so ever.
It came up to the night before my party and there was no snow in the forecast for that night and I was round my mates and we where joking that they where going on amount the snow too much in the news. Low and behold when I went to leave there was about 2 inches of snow outside and it was really snowing hard, my heart just dropped. When I was driving back with it really coming down I thought the party was never going to happen.
I barely got any sleep that night, my family where trying to keep me upbeat. Thankfully we got no more snow and my friends from cumbria made it down safely. But the snow wasn't clearing and after some more of my friends dropped out and when we couldn't get up the side roads near the venue I was really glum about the party even happening. It was up to one of my best friends to keep my spirits up by saying that most of my friends will make a lot of effort to be there.

I started to feel more happy when we set my friends disco lights up and then when me and my mate set his sound setup up and playing the tunes through Virtual DJ. After I changed into my party gear ( IronMan t-shirt, baggey Jordan b'ball shorts and a pair of Lebron James Nike b'ball sneakers) my mates from cumbria turned up, then my friends started to turn up in and I was ( for the 1st time that day) starting to enjoy things. Nearly all my friends from church turned up and I was so happy and my friend said it's nice to see you happy now :-). So the rest of the night was a blast, I got to play loads of cool tunes, have a great time with my friends and I got very merry LOL. At the end of the night I had a smile like a chesire cat.I am really happy everyone had a fantastic time and I have got some many great memories to take from that night, that I will keep for the rest of my life :-).









(3) Trips


2010 I ended up going all over the place and took back some fun memories Firstly going to see the Black Eyed Peas at the O2 Arena in London then going to the after party and getting to within inches of all the members of the black eyed peas, Tom Crusie and Chris Rock. Then going to Boston in America, ok the weather was a bit iffy but I had a great time including going to see the Boston Red Sox's at Fenway Park which was a fantastic experience.

I also had a fantastic time at the 1st day Wimbledon again. The weather was fantastic I went to it 2 days after coming back off holiday from Boston. The games where great at Wimbledon. After that we stayed overnight in London and had a great time in London the next day (the weather again was fantastic).
A few weeks later I went down and visited my mates in Norfolk which was great fun and ended up with the drinking of a lot of strawberry and lime Kopparberg.
At the beginning of September I went with my mates for a day in London and then to see The Lion King in the west end later that night. It was such a fantastic day the weather was amazing and we all had such a great laugh.

(4) WideLoad

It was such a great privilege to work for my mates band for there 2 gigs last year. I had so much fun doing my michael buffer impersonation at the start of both gigs. I also had so much fun doing the videos for both gigs as well. Both gigs where hard work but great fun :-).

(5) Back To Cumbria + My Best Friend Getting Married.


1 of my best trips of 2010 was going up to Cumbria for the 1st time in 10 years to spend time with one of my best friends who I have known since we where in Junior School ( which was about over 20 years ago, yep that makes me feel old LOL). We had a great time, had a great trip into the hills then a great night out in Carlisle.
A couple of months later I went up to Glasgow to see my mate get married which was fantastic experience. I feel so happy to see him and is wife ( who is such a fantastic person) so happy together. It was a great wedding and a great weekend seeing as I have never been up to Glasgow before.

I hope you enjoyed my takes of my highs of 2010. Let's hope 2011 is even better :-).

Take care and God Bless :-).

My 1st blog :-)

Hi everybody :-).

OK after years of wanting to blog I thought it was about time to give my views and take on life as it happens. I am an opinionated guy, who is very shy, but after a tough year I am a lot happier now. I like using Facebook and Twitter but I thought this gives me more chance to show how much I like loads of different and weird things. I hope you like what I write ( when I do write ). Take care and speak to you guys soon :-).