Vicious - The Christmas Special...

Last night Stu, Timmy, Stephen and I went to see a recording of Vicious at the ITV The London Studios on London's glitzy South Bank.

It was a bit Ab Fab, a bit Will & Grace and riotously funny.

He's the blurb:-

ITV is delighted to welcome VICIOUS, a brand new studio sitcom for 2013. Respected luminaries of British stage and screen, Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi head a formidable cast, joined by Frances De La Tour as well as some surprise star cameos in this unashamedly wicked new comedy.

Written by Gary Janetti, the Emmy nominated writer/producer behind hit shows Family Guy and Will & Grace, Vicious tells the story of ageing partners, Freddie (Ian McKellen) and Stuart (Derek Jacobi) who have lived together in a Covent Garden flat for nearly 50 years. In their prime, budding actor Freddie met bartender Stuart, but now as the golden years have crept up upon them they do little else besides reading, walking their dog and bickering. Feisty best friend Violet (Frances De La Tour) is always on hand to help calm their quarrels, entertaining the pair with her outlandish love affairs. She’s young at heart with a delicious sense of humour.

Resigned to the familiar comforts of their life together, the arrival of a new neighbour, young, handsome and endearingly green – their world is turned upside down.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey...

First the good stuff. It's great to see The Hobbit (OK, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey) on the big screen. Great to return to Middle Earth. Great to see a childhood favourite brought to life. The scenes with Gollum were great. And some of the big action pieces were marvellous.

(Deep breath). But now the bad stuff. It's too long. Way too long. Baggy. A baggy Baggins film. And after 2h 45mins we have barely started the adventure. And then there's the quality of the film itself. The high frame rate version we saw looked awful. The crystal clear, everything in focus format was annoying and distracting. It actually looked like a DVD extra - shot on hi def video. In a funny way the 3D worked better than it does in regular 24 frame rate films with no blurring but the fact the whole thing looked like a cheap DVD or iPhone video: this was small compensation. The acting was fine - the dwarves were fun as were Gandalf but Bilbo (Martin Freeman - much as a I love him) was basically playing it like Arthur Dent/Tim from The Office - an Englishman out of his comfort zone. Not how I see Bilbo at all.

So overall, a disappointment.

Paralympics Opening Ceremony...

Last night Stu and I went to the Paralympics Opening Ceremony. It was simply amazing. Heartfelt, spectacular and joyful. Professor Stephen Hawking and Ian McKellen added gravitas to the wonderful evening.