Pirates, a Monster House, Spider-Man and the Hoff. It's been a busy week!

Oh Boy! My feet have hardly touched the ground this week, I swear it's been crazy! Screenings and loads of great stories, so let's get stuck in...

Okay, first off, let's talk about Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. I know this film is going to be huge, but at two and half hours it is way too long. I really could have done with being about 30 to 45 minutes shorter. The whole thing feels like it's filling a rather big gap between the first and third films and leaves you with one of those annoying cliffhanger-style "To Be Continued" endings. Having said that, there fight scenes are impressive, the effects are very impressive and the funny bits are really funny (mostly). Depp does the camp/drunk/cad pirate captain thing very well but Bloom and Knightley kind of let the side down in comparison. Disappointing but not with redeeming features.

Okay, next I want to talk about Monster House. In a word, awesome. Perfectly cast, superbly written, excellently staged and it looks fantastic. It's got something for adults as well as kids and deserves to be the sleeper hit of the summer. A frighteningly good movie. You have to see it!

Next, I got this story on one of my favourite film sites the other day. I spoke to Jeffrey Katzenberg the other day when he was in London and we talked about the possibility of him doing an Over the Hedge sequel. This is what he told me.

And perhaps the event of the week for me has to be the release of the Spider-Man 3 trailer. As you may or not know I am a huge Spider-Man fan so have been waiting for this to hit the net pretty much ever since the film was announced. It looks like it's going to be a real doozy and I swear, if I could, I'd start queueing for my ticket right now. If you haven't seen it click here and enjoy!

In other news, my David Hasselhoff exclusive will be hittting the net in the next 12 hours so keep googling for that one. I'll post links when I can. Also, my tickets for the preview of Superman Returns arrived this morning so I am really looking forward to that. for those of you who live in Chicago, I'll be on Steve & Johnnie's show on WGN Radio Monday morning around 9.10AM GMT to talk about what I thought. They're watching it in the US this weekend so we can compare notes.

Okay, I'm spent and I have to go get dinner on, so have a great day/evening/long weekend and I'll be back with updates real soon.

South Park and the Mormon Musical - Oh my God! They ran my story!

I have to say I'm pretty psyched at the moment because I story I got - an exclusive story I might add - has been burning it's way across the internet over the past few days. It's the one about Trey Parker and Matt Stone working with Avenue Q's Jeff Marx to create a musical about Mormons.

I got the story the other night while I was talking with Jeff after watching Q with my other half and some friends. We were just in the bar talking and he told me about it. I knew it was a great story and so when I got into work the next day I wrote it up and sent it out. BOOM! It's all over the place... ABC in Salt Lake City, Utah have even done a video story about it! as Cartman would say, 'Sweeeeet!' Here's a picture of me with one of the 'cast' - Rod!

Anyway, in other news, I got to talk with Bruce Wilis this week at the UK Premiere of Over the Hedge. So polite and so enigmatic. I have to admit that I was extremely nervous about talking with him as his presence is very strong so he puts you at ease but you know that he's in control. An awesome man! Also, this story of mine has also been popping up all over the internet too - Bruce Willis lived with a family of racoons to train for the role of RJ. Clearly he's just joking but it gave me a great lead story for Friday. Also, If you haven't already seen the film, make time and go! It's really excellent.

I almost forgot, the Vince Vaughan and Jennifer Aniston interview went well. It'll be popping up online soon. I post a link when it goes live. Also, The Break Up is not as bad as I expected it to be. I actually quite enjoyed it although at points it did make me feel a bit uncomfortable and make me want to escape from the screening room... a bit like when a real couple are having a row andf you have to stand by all embarassed and watch. So I guess they did their jobs because it's realistic at least. Also, Jennifer, if you're reading this... nice ass!

I have loads of cool movies to see this week - I'll be watching Monster House and Superman Returns. Very excited about both of those. I've also got the offer of seeing a new shocker called Adrift, so I'll see if I can squeeze that in.

Got to dash, loads of stuff to do, but I'l be back real soon.

It's been a month already?

A month. One whole month. That's how long it's been since I updated this blog. I should be - and am - ashamed of myself. But this entry is worth waiting for... Let's go back in time a few weeks...


X-Men: The Last Stand - So you've read my review and it turns out I was right! It has been one of the biggest films of the season... of the year in fact. I managed to grab some time with Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry (who I swear gets more attractive everytime I see her!).

Dave Matthews - So after the gig - that I went to with my friend Mike O'Dell (son of Spike) and when we got the show (which was awesome by the way) it turned out we also had passes for the after show party! So, when the gig was over we scooted upstairs to the balcony area at the Hammersmith Apollo here in London and hung out with the great and the good of the industry. A sweet way to end a truly fantastic night.

Over The Hedge - I've been to a preview screening of this movie (last night in fact) and it was the most fun I've had at the movies all month! Yes, it's more of a kids film than one aimed at adults but it is so funny! Steve Carell is hilarious as Hammy, a true marvel. Plus, with a soundtrack peppered with Ben Folds songs, what's not to love? It's out in the US and Canada and comes out in Europe at the end of the month. It's well worth watching.

Angels And Airwaves - Got to hang out with the band today and do an interview. Having been a Blink 182 fan for about a decade (yes, since the early days) it was get to catch up with Tom DeLonge and the boys was something that I've wanted to do ever since I found out that he was forming a new band... and whata band it is. If you haven't heard their debut album, We Don't Need To Whisper (buy it or download it... legally!). They gave me some seriously funny stories which I will be putting out there over the next few days so keep your eye on the 'net!

Okay, so what have I got coming up:

Avenue Q - I'm going to see Avenue Q in the near future and I cannot wait. I've had the soundtrack for about a year and love it so my outstanding girlfriend will be taking me. It's just opened in London and previewing at the moment so we've got a sweet deal that includes a meet and greet with the stars of the show. Yes, I love musical theatre and Yes, I have a girlfriend. I know....

Jennifer Aniston & Vince Vaughn - So The Break Up turned out not to be total crap like rumours had suggested (and may nasty people had hoped!) and became a bit of a box office smash! Well, I get to see it myself on Thursday and then get to talk with Jennifer and Vince afterwards. The last time I saw her was when she promoting Along Came Polly. It's weird when you're talking to a star and can't work out whether the star thinks the movie that they're promotiong isn't exactly Oscar winning stuff too... Still, she's always a very pleasant and profession woman so I'm willing to give her my
support. Plus, she's been through enough already, she could do with being cut some slack... Anyway, I'm interested to see The Break Up because I like her, I like Vince, I love Chicago so there's got to be plenty of things good with the movie..

Here's a tit bit for you - While I was in the hotel today (no, I'm not going to tell you which one... you stalker!) catching up with Angels And Airwaves I walked past Jon Bon Jovi coming back from a workout in the gym AND then rode in the lift with two members of The Eagles. Also, I found out this week that Keisha White - a UK soul singer- is good friends with Halle Berry. they met while filming Catwoman and have been friends ever since. Welcome to London!

And if takes me a month to up date this blog again... kick me ass by email!