Deuce Bigelow:Male Gigolo

I must confess I expected to be wholly unamused by this tale of man-whoring convinced it would be nothing but a litany of cheap gags cracked at the expense of people who can't get a date. Which it is. However, the film was redeemed by it's "man-pimp" who was refreshingly un-PC at every turn. This isn't a good film but it made me chuckle. If you've grown out of toilet humour then there's nothing here for you. But think how much poorer your life is for lacking appreciation of a well timed fart.

Moon

This is a cracking little film harking back to all the best tradition in sci-fi. Cheap effects and small budgets disguised by big ideas. Yet sci-fi remains a genre mocked and maligned by much of the populace. Why is it so unfasionable to enjoy something just because it's set on the moon?

Geeks of course are the problem. The champions of sci-fi are people nobody wants to listen to. Social outcasts. They each find a little corner of the sci-fi kingdom to call their own then preach the Gospel according to Whedon/Abrams/Whoever. Many preach as fundamentalists (how can you like Tenant after you've seen Baker?) and most take solace in the fact they know someone geekier. This is like a chimpanzee claiming to be human because a gorilla is more ape.

People are scared by fundamentalism. The geeks should not rave about this film, they should just say it is good.

It is good.

The Machinist

So this is a film that seems to be developing a bit of a cult reputation, largely thanks , so far as I can tell, to Christian Bale starving himself. Rumour has it he consumed 1 apple and 1 cup of coffee a day to losr weight. If you believe the Hollywood actors guild there's thousands of actors who'd be happy to work for food so it seems ironic to pay a fortune for a well fed one to starve themself. I blame lazy casting staff who'd rather pick a name off the a-list than do their job. Anyway, the film felt like it was trying hard to be part Memento(post it notes everywhere), part Fight Club (without the fighting), part Phillip K Dick(reality/surreality issues) without really nailing the best part of any of them. I was gripped by our hungry actor but didn't really care about the character. Not terrible, not great.