Tag: valkyrie

Double Bill: Valkyrie and Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

thegirlinthecafe 1 Comment

Bill Nighy - Col. Olbricht in Valkyrie

Valkyrie

The first time I saw Valkyrie was last Saturday, together with someone who appreciates the acting (amongst others) skills of Mr. Nighy as much as I do. The 11.00am screening in Devon seemed to have been exclusively reserved for us, we had a private screening!

Valkyrie is one of the best films I have seen in quite a while. It keeps you on the edge of your seat from the beginning until the very last second. It has a dream cast: Bill Nighy, Kenneth Brannagh, Tom Wilkinson, Tom Hollander, Terrence Stamp. There is a whole regiment of tremendous British talent here.
And there is Tom Cruise, and he is delivering a great performance as Gen. von Stauffenberg, the man who tried to assassinate Hitler. Bill’s Col. Olbricht hesitates at the crucial moment in the plot, and this has severe consequences. Valkyrie really makes you wonder what would have happened if they had succeeded. It’s one of those films that have you glued to your seat after it has ended. It made a big impact on me.

If you like a gripping thriller – Valkyrie is a must see. (My current Valkyrie counter: 3).

Bill Nighy - Viktor in Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

And then there was Underworld, which is something completely different. If you like Vampire movies, this might be something for you. If you thought Davy Jones was a baddie, wait until you see Viktor in this one. Here is one truly evil villain, the master of all Vampires, not someone to mess with. Bill plays king of the Vampires very well. Michael Sheen is delivering a solid acting performance too but the story is a bit weak. I do love the colours in the Underworld movies, the cold blue surroundings match very well with the red colour of blood. Cheers Viktor. See it if you like to watch top class actors hissing at each other, or just because Bill looks so bloody cool in a battle skirt.

And while we are at it: I have also spotted the trailer of The Boat That Rocked in the cinema for the first time. The 1st of April is approaching fast. It’s a good Bill year this year.

Have you seen any of the above films?

Mr. Groovy on Leicester Square

thegirlinthecafe 8 Comments

Bill on Leicester Square, Valkyrie premiere - floppy hair is cool

I really wasn’t going to go. I don’t like big crowds like that, and I have been so busy all week I just wanted to go home and relax with a cup of Yorkshire tea, right. Right? And that other part of me thought, yeah, and tomorrow you will think – why didn’t I go? Even a glimpse of a tiny bit of his lanky left leg really would have been worth going, right. Right. Yep. So I went. And I was very late, and there was this huge crowd. And I saw Tom Cruise (who again was very nice to his fans). And I did indeed saw Bill’s back very very far ahead of me. And he wasn’t coming our direction.

Right then, that was that, going home now. Come on, we’re going. Maybe we could just try to get a tiny little bit closer? No we don’t. But my other half walked to the complete opposite side of the square, walked through a pub whose other exit happened to be located exactly behind the cameras filming interviews with the actors of Valkyrie (how lucky was that). And who was standing there, about 12.42 meters in front of me giving an interview? Indeed.
Groovylicious »

How life has subtly changed

thegirlinthecafe 4 Comments

2 weeks ago OLE meant :
Object Linking and Embedding
That’s a boring programmers term, forget about it it’s boring.

From today on it means:

Overhead Line Equipment : Overhead lines or overhead wires are used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains at a distance from the energy supply point.

That’s a boring railway term, but it’s just to illustrate that the railway can compete with the IT world when it comes to the number of abbrevations. In that aspect, not much has changed. In other aspects things certainly have. A lot. Which is good.

More notes:

Imagine Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Kenneth Branagh, Stephen Fry and Eddie Izzard in the same film, together with Patrick Wilson, Carice van Houten (she’s Dutch!) and Tom Cruise.
Doesn’t that sound (apart from the Cruiser) too good to be true? It is not : Valkyrie is set to be released somewhere in 2008.

And talking about films, apart from Not here to be loved, here is another French film you absolutely have to see: Tell No One. It’s a fantastic thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat from the first second, and it’s also a story about love. Ah, love – a dreadful bond … (for hose having seen Pirates).
The fact that François Cluzet is utterly charming, handsome and French and has something that reminds me of lot of Ken Stott makes it an even greater pleasure to watch. Catch it if you can.