Grand Owen Awards 2012 Nominees announced!

Cast your minds back to last year. You undoubtedly weren't reading this blog, but if you were, you'd be about to come across an article in which I decided that Rise of the Planet of the Apes was my favourite film of 2011, an award I pretty quickly decided was more deserving of The Artist. All the same, this year, I'm going for a full-blown ceremony. A proper, Oscar-style affair, in which, instead of an Academy worth of snotty old critics, you get me. I'm none of those thing, but only because I have a remarkably sound immune system. I'm about to nominate a foreign language film and a documentary for Best Picture, so don't get too up on me being some mainstream-teen-attention-seeking-so-and-so.

I've only been able to go on what I've seen, and so as I've only seen 5 foreign language films this year, (And one being the 7 Days in Havana, which was, to put it mildly, boredom Cubed. [There's a gag there. It's a Cuban film. Fine, don't laugh, it's alright.]) I've gone with just 4 nominees. No Rust and Bone, no Untouchable, but plenty of Mads Mikkelsen. If a film hasn't been released in the UK yet, (Zero Dark Thirty, I'm looking at you) I obviously can't count it, but it shall, instead, be open for nomination in 2013.

I introduced two *ALL-NEW* categories as well. 'Most Enjoyable' allows me to nominate some of the experiences that made me smile the most, even if they're not a technical marvel. My favourite film of the year is The Muppets, thanks to the lighthearted performance, sharp script and upbeat soundtrack. That's not a spoiler. It is, however, not nominated for Best Picture. I felt there had to be a distinction between 'Best' and 'Favourite, something I've tried to explore before. No films have been nominated for both categories, although I was on the verge of putting both Paranorman and Moonrise Kingdom down for both. I think I'm going to say it's banned, but I may not stick to that come next year.

The other new category is Best Cameo Performance. In order to qualify, a character must be playing a character, (I.E. not themselves) but appear for less than, roughly, 5 minutes of the film. I'm not sure how much Chuck Norris was in The Expendables 2, but seeing him was so much fun I had to include him anyway. And I'm going to spoil this one a bit too, but it is a straight fight between him and Zac Effron's laugh-out-loud appearance in the loveliest film of the year, Liberal Arts.

I've also got three awards for the worst of the year, which are somewhat dominated by bone-crunchingly dull bum-log Battleship. That said, Top Cat was pretty dire as well, and has the addition problem of me being a fan. Could be a tightly fought category, that one.

In terms of pre-empting the inevitable write-ups from other website, Skyfall (The best Bond film.) leads the way with 6 nominations. Danish period masterclass A Royal Affair, Gyllenhaal-fueled cop thriller End of Watch and Christopher Nolan film The Dark Knight Rises pick up 4 apiece. Battleship gets 4 nominations in 3 'worst of' categories. Pretty impressive, if I do say so myself.

The winners shall be announced in the first week of January. It's going to be very exciting. The nominations, including a few surprises (Just look at the best actor category. I'm shocked at myself.), are below...

ALL THE FILMS EVER

This is how I am doing reviews from now on because I cannot be bothered with doing proper ones and like to pretend I'm too busy but I'm not really. Instead, I'll just edit this post and add every single film I see in 2012 on, along with a score out of 10 and 5 words to accompany it. Simple. Because you don't actually care about my opinion, but I want it written down somewhere I won't lose.

I shall update this every single time I visit the cinema this year, which shall be quite often seeing as I've signed up for one of those Unlimited Cards that let you see as many films as you can stomach. I added links to films with article on EverBirdd, the site what I do words for and that, if I've written a more in-depth review. Just click on the films' title.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows: 5/10- Not a patch on Cumberbatch
The Artist: 8/10- Joyous, imaginative, very clever: recommended.
The Woman in Black: 6/10- Puts you on edge. BANG!
Hugo: 6/10- Beautiful and charming, if slow.
The Muppets: 9/10- I cried tears of joy.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel:  6/10- Thankfully not 'Old Peoples' Hangover'
John Carter: 4/10-  Not silly or good enough.
Bel Ami: 4/10- It's R-Patz playing a knob.
This Means War: 4/10- Generic generic generic generic GENERIC.
We Bought A Zoo: 7/10- Absolutely lovely: Cheesey but charming.
21 Jump Street: 7/10-  Not Monty Python, but funny.
The Hunger Games: 8/10-  Gleefully grim kiddy murdering- Superb.
The Pirates! In an adventure with Scientists: 8/10- Perfect showcase of Aardman's wit.
Battleship: 1/10-  Boring. Stupid. Hateful. Crass. AVOID.
The Cabin in the Woods: 7/10- Smart, sharp yet somehow disappointing.
Marvel's Avengers Assemble: 8/10- Surprisingly cohesive, funny and good.
American Pie: Reunion: 5/10- Not for me, but alright.
The Lucky One: 5/10- OMG ZAC UR SO HOT!!!!111
Men In Black 3: 6/10- Fun if unoriginal alien bashing.
Snow White and the Huntsman: 5/10- Kristen Stewart's a miserable one.
Dark Shadows: 5/10- Forgettable, but good Scooby-Doo joke.
Moonrise Kingdom: 8/10- Most charming film of 2012.
Top Cat: The Movie: 2/10- Not provided with any dignity.
Prometheus: 5/10- Could be scarier, but goodish.
The Dictator: 6/10-  Loses it in the middle.
The Angel's Share: 7/10- Movie equivalent of '500 Miles'.
Rock of Ages: 4/10- Rubbish, too long... Good fun.
A Royal Affair: 8/10- Denmark does The Kings' Speech.
Fast Girls: 7/10-  A simple story, brilliantly executed.
Jaws: 6/10- Aged well. My first time.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter: 6/10- Surprisingly fun. It's rubbish though.
Red Lights: 6/10- It's quite good, it is.
Cosmopolis: ??/10- I honestly have no idea.
Lay The Favourite: 3/10- All 3 for Bruce Willis.
Ice Age 4: Continental  Drift: 5/10- Contains some surprisingly smart jokes.
Storage 24: 6/10- Quality horror on a budget.
The Amazing Spider-Man: 7/10- The title says it all.
7 Days in Havana: 3/10- Feels like 7 days too.
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World: 7/10- ...I feel more than fine.
Batman double screening: Batman Begins: 8/10- Better than I remembered it.
Batman double screening: The Dark Knight: 9/10- Best superhero film ever made.
The Dark Knight Rises: 8/10-  Lives up to the hype.
Dr Seuss' The Lorax: 5/10- It is what it is.
Ted: 8/10- Properly, laugh out loud funny.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days: 5/10- Cringefest 2012, presented in CITV-o-vision
Brave: 6/10- Merely 'Good'. Are Pixar fading?
The Bourne Legacy: 6/10- Hawkeye's really good in it.
Offender: 3/10- There's nothing good about it.
The Expendables 2: 6/10- Chuck Norris-shaped explosive fun.
The Three Stooges: 7/10- Witless and wonderful. Watch it.
The Wedding Video: 5/10- Rufus Hounds' actually really good.
The Watch: 5/10- Moss is brilliant. Otherwise: Mmmhhhmmmeeeehh.
Step Up 4: Miami Heat: 5/10- So bad but so fun.
Shadow Dancer: 5/10- No, sorry, you lost me.
The Imposter: 8/10- Cinematic, compelling, puzzling... Absolutely brilliant.
A Few Best Men: 4/10- Telegraphed & unfunny gags in union
Total Recall: 5/10- Needs more ambiguity, less CGI.
The Possession: 4/10- Is not: Scary. Is: Funny
Yuma: 6/10- Surprisingly good Polish communist romp
Keith Lemon: The Film: 4/10- 3 hits, 346 misses. Passable.
Anna Karenina:  5/10- Too long. Not enough Knightley.
Premium Rush: 5/10-  Has its moments. And JGL.
The Sweeney: 5/10- Corr guv, yer nicked. Meh.
Paranorman: 8/10- Charming, melancholic, funny, beautifully animated
House at the End of the Street: 5/10- I'm over creepy little girls.
Now is Good: 5/10- I'm over dying little girls.
Looper: 8/10-  Best sci-fi film in years.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower: 6/10- Good cast, good soundtrack... Good.
Taken 2: 5/10- A film reliant on stupidity.
Liberal Arts: 7/10- Liking IS reason for watching.
Ruby Sparks: 7/10- Love quirky romcoms. Like this.
Hotel Transelvania: 6/10- Surprisingly funny. Especially for Sandler.
Frankenweenie: 6/10- Very moving, if otherwise lacking.
Sinister: 6/10- As the title suggests: Sinister.
Madagscar 3: Europe's Most Wanted: 6/10- It's funny. Really. Series first.
Paranormal Activity 4: 2/10- ParaSNOREmal Activity BORE more like.
The Campaign: 4/10- A huge missed satirical opportunity.
Skyfall: 8/10- The best Bond film. Amazing.
Fun Size: 4/10- Victoria Justice's impressive. Film's not.
Argo: 7/10- A masterclass in movie pacing.
The Sapphires: 6/10- Chris O'Dowd: Greatest Living Human.
Here Comes The Boom: 4/10- Where goes what boom?
Beasts of the Southern Wild: 8/10- Wonderful. No more words needed.
Silver Linings Playbook: 6/10- She's good, that Jennifer Lawrence
End of Watch: 8/10- Intense with Gyllenhall on-form.
The Master: 6/10- Too long. No narrative. Engrossing.
The Hunt: 8/10- Mikkelson: A king amongst actors.
Sightseers: 7/10- Future cult classic. Brilliantly dark.
7 Psychopaths: 7/10- Fitting score. Impressively sharp script.
So Undercover: 3/10- 21 Jump Street, minus wit.
Amour: 7/10- What d'y'mean it's not real?
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: 5/10- It's long. Very, very long.
Life of Pi: 7/10- A well-crafted, beautiful film.
Pitch Perfect: 8/10- So much fun. Very funny.

REPEAT VIEWINGS
If I've seen a film for a second (Or third) times, it goes down under here. The rating is out of 5, from 'Well, I didn't really want to see it for a second time...' to 'Already booking my third trip'. It's entirely on how the film holds up, seeing it again within a month, rather than the quality of the piece. If there's another rating after the initial one, that means I've seen it three or four or how many ever times.

The Muppets- 5/5
The Pirates! In an adventure with Scientists- 4/5, 3/5, 3/5, 4/5
Marvel's Avengers Assemble- 5/5
Ice Age 4: Continental Drift- 2/5
The Dark Knight Rises- 5/5, 4/5, 4/5, 4/5, 4/5, 3/5
Ted- 3/5, 2/5
The Lorax- 3/5
Looper- 3/5
The Perks of Being a Wallflower: 5/5
Skyfall: 3/5
Seven Psychopaths: 4/5

HOW I SCORE
I count 5/10 as average, as opposed to the 7/10 that seems to increasingly be becoming commonplace. It's all my opinion and everything, and I reserve the right to change the score slightly if I change my mind about a film, although I do try not to play about too much. Instead of starting at the top and working down, as many seem to do, I like to start at 5 and see if a film can go up or down from there. 10/10 means flawless, and I've never seen such a film. 9/10 makes it a high-point within the genre, a real stand-out. An 8/10 film is a must-see: something that excels my expectations for that film. 6/10 means it's a good, enjoyable, solid example of the genre, whereas 4/10 means the opposite. The difference between a 2/10 and a 1/10 film is that a 2 means I'd kill to avoid seeing it again. 1/10 means I'd kill to have never seen it again. I won't be giving any 0s, unless the film doesn't exist. Far as the colours go, the numbers get darker or 'hotter', if you will, as the film gets better, all the way from a 1/10 to a 10/10. I won't be giving 0s, unless the film actually doesn't exist. Make sense? Thought so. Excellent.

What is the best film I have seen this year?

And so my first year as a 'Big film man' (As my wonderfully articulate younger brother so acutely puts it) comes rolling towards its satisfying climax. At the moment, I'm only a particularly good run. My best of the year, in fact. My last seven films have been my last seven good films. It feels like the world is trying to compensate for the two-and-a-half hours I spent watching Battleship. The interesting thing, however, is not the run itself -perhaps simply having less time means I've hand-picked the good films rather than just watching everything, stinkers 'n' all- but the films in this run.

The Lions Squad - 14th November

Every month, I'm picking a different Lions squad, blah blah, link to the first one, link to the second one, blah blah. Here's my most recent one, after the first week of the November tests-

1. Gethin Jenkins
2. Rory Best
3. Adam Jones
4. Richie Gray
5. Alun Wyn Jones
6. Danny Lydiate
7. Justin Tipuric
8. Sean O'Brien

9. Mike Blair
10. Jonathan Sexton
11. Tim Visser
12. Jonathan Davies
13. Brian O'Driscoll
14. Alex Cuthbert
15. Leigh Halfpenny

16. Ross Ford
17. Paul James
18. Dan Cole
19. Ian Evans
20. Stephen Ferris
21. Mike Phillips
22. Dan Biggar
23. Jamie Roberts

24. Cian Healey
25. Mike Ross
26. Richard Hibbard
27. Paul O'Connel
28. Toby Faletau
29. Ryan Jones
30. Jamie Heaslip
31. Sam Warburton
32. Ben Youngs
33. Jonny Wilkinson
34. Manu Tuilagi
35. Tommy Bowe
36. Rob Kearney
37. Stuart Hogg
38. Ben Foden

US Presidential Election Movie Pitches

PROPOSAL #1: The Caucus and the Hare
Childrens' animation
Starring Jim Carrey, Harry Hill
Directed by whoever directed the Ice Age sequels

A loveable animation full of family-centric fun, from the people who brought you Ice Age and Robots. Once every four years, the animal kingdom come together to watch as the greatest representatives of two great opposing tribes, the Republicans and the Democrats, stand against each other to see who gets to rule the animal kingdom. The kingdom is currently ruled by Obama (Carrey), a kindly and well-humoured dolphin. However, when lively young upstart Romney (Hill) is chosen to oppose him, the campaign race soon descends into chaos. Romney is a notorious cheater and loves to bend the rules, and, soon enough, what was once an election literally turns into a mad dash to the White House! Crazy fun for kids and grown-ups alike.

PROPOSAL #2: Class Campaign
Tween highschool comedy-drama
Starring Anna Kendrick, Selena Gomez, Josh Hutchinson
Directed by Mark Waters

A laugh-riot with it's heart in the right place, Mean Girls director Mark Waters returns to highschool with this hilarious teen comedy! The role of class president is, in Lazy Name High, the highest honour there is. This is where the wheat is separated from the chaff. The capable from the incompedant. The popular kids from the nerds. And no girl is more popular than the ultra-rich Michelle 'Mitt' Romney (Gomez). Having brushed aside token smart kid (Played by an unknown who'll never be heard of again), she assumes that not just the role but, finally, the heart of the totez gorge Soccer-playing dreamboat Chad (Hutchinson) will be hers. However, plucky young upstart Barack Obama, or Becky for short, (Kendrick) has other plans, and sets about to use her wits and her courage to bring about a new age of classroom rule! Side-splitting comedy from at least one person involved in the making of Juno.

The Number Game

The Problem With Film Ratings

"A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers". The wit and wisdom of Mr Plato there. While, in the context I'm about to plonk the quote into, it's most certainly true, I think it's worth defending numbers. I always have been, always am and always shall be a hater of maths. I just can't get my head around it. However, statistics, I like. Percentages, scores out of 10, population sizes, that kind of thing. Essentially, it's a fact, boiled down into three characters. It's just the essentials. While you need to assess the necessary knowledge first, you should be thankful for the number that gives you a clearer, purer understanding of the facts.

The context I was referring to was review scores. If you hadn't figured that out, please re-read the first paragraph with this in mind, then move on to the next one where I actually start talking sense.

The Wales Autumn Squad will be...

This is a prediction. Let's see how I've done in a few hours time.

Gethin Jenkins
Ryan Bevinton
Paul James
Adam Jones
Samson Lee
Rhys Gill
Alun Wyn Jones
Ian Evans
Bradley Davies
Luke Charteris
Ryan Jones
Sam Warburton
Justin Tipuric
Toby Faletau
Josh Navidi
Rob McCusker

Mike Phillips
Lloyd Williams
Tavis Knoyle
Dan Biggar
Rhys Priestland
James Hook
George North
Alex Cuthbert
Tom Prydie
Jamie Roberts
Jonathan Davies
Scott Williams
Ashley Beck
Leigh Halfpenny
Liam Williams

Talking points- No captain named, Prydie recalled, new call-ups for uncapped player Navidi & Lee, no place for Byrne, Henson. 31 man squad. That's what it'll be.

The Lions Squad - 13th October

Over a month has passed since I last tried to pick a Lions squad. As such, here's my team. Seeing as it's Heineken Cup weekend (Quins are playing Biarritz as I write this) it means that we've had the first lot of test-intensity games, so there should be some sort of idea of how players'll cope and all that. Oh, and I'm not going to look at my previous squad whilst I pick the 38 this time around, but it may be worth comparing afterwards.

1. Gethin Jenkins
2. Ross Ford
3. Adam Jones
4. Richie Gray
5. Alun Wyn Jones
6. Stephen Ferris
7. Sam Warburton
8. Sean O'Brien

9. Tavis Knoyle
10. Jonathan Sexton
11. George North
12. Jonathan Davies
13. Brian O'Driscoll
14. Tim Visser
15. Leigh Halfpenny

16. Rory Best
17. Cian Healey
18. Ryan Jones
19. Justin Tipuric
20. Ben Youngs
21. Dan Biggar
22. Tommy Bowe

23. Dan Cole
24. Mike Ross
25. Richard Hibbard
26. Alastair Kellock
27. Ian Evans
28. Toby Faletau
29. Ben Morgan
30. David Denton
31. Tom Croft
32. Mike Phillips
33. Jonny Wilkinson
34. Alex Cuthbert
35. Jamie Roberts
36. Stuart Hogg
37. Rob Kearney
38. Ben Foden

My favourite player XV

I was thinking about this earlier. So now I'll do it and publish it. All this blog seems to be is listed XVs and film-based rambles, but it's my blog, and I'll do as I like.

15. Lucas Gonzales Ammorisino
14. Hanno Dirksen
13. Jonathan Davies
12. Ashley Beck
11. George North
10. Tommy Bowe, because he's my favourite player and there are no 10s I particuarly like, (Sorry Biggar, sorry Priestland) so instead want an extra winger. So there.
9. Will Genia

1. Duncan Jones
2. Ken Owens
3. Adam Jones
4. Richie Gray
5. Alun Wyn Jones
6. Ryan Jones
7. Justin Tipuric
8. Sergio Parrisse

-Bench-
16. Richard Hibbard
17. Ronnie Roncero
18. Ian Evans
19. Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe
20. Morgan Parra
21. Aaron Cruden
22. Juan Jose Imhoff

+ Tomaso Benvenutti

Well there you go. Some players what I like. That's not all of them, but some of them. One day I'll probably just do a Top 50 players or something. That'd be fun. But not fun right now.

I Want To See These Things, volume 2

In June, I did a post on here about what films I was looking forward to seeing. I've now seen three of those six films, and only two of them let me down slightly, so that bodes well. So, yeah, here's some films that I'm now looking forward to for the rest of this year. Note that Wreck-It Ralph (Which I'm really, really up for) has had to be cut because it's not out in Blighty until Feburary next year, despite getting a November release in the United States, which just isn't fair.

LOOPER
September 28th
This film was clearly made for me. It's a big budget, clever science-fiction story with a mind-bending plot and probably my two favourite actors in the whole of America. While Bruce Willis is hardly an Oscar-winner in the making, I can't help but find him an engaging and endearing screen presence, and as for Joseph Gordon-Levitt? Well, I've already spent enough time gushing praise upon him this morning for me to be up for doing it again. So, yeah: Looper. I can't wait. It's going to be great.

RUBY SPARKS
October 2nd [Actually it's out October 12th. Whoops.]
It's an odd little quirky romcom thing. I love those. Especially ones where I believe that the lead character could easily be me. This one has a bloke who's a good but a bit hopeless writer in the lead role, who begins writing about a character called Ruby Sparks who, somehow, comes to life. I saw the trailer screened before The Watch and instantly lost all interest in a film I'd had an eye on for months. I just know I'm going to love this film. I'm so excited.

THE MASTER
November 9th
La la la, la la la... I know nothing about this. I heard it was looking good, and decided I wouldn't even read a synopsis. I saw it getting universal acclaim. I decided I wouldn't look at anything other than this poster. I may watch the first nine seconds of the trailer so I can walk out if needs be to keep the film secret. It's going to be brilliant, and I'm going to enter it fresh. La la la, la la la la...

SKYFALL
October 26th
It's a Bond film. I don't really have a choice but to be looking forward to this. Nor does anybody else. Nor do I need a reason, nor to justify it. I'm going to continue writing this sentence, but it's a bit redundant, really. This'll be the last one now, just so that the paragraphs look a bit more balanced on the page.

THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER
October 3rd
The day after Ruby Sparks. THE DAY AFTER. [Or maybe not -Edit] Another touching film with a heart and soul. This one has a one-up on poor old Ruby in the shape of the cast, however, as, frankly, I think it's a fantastic set of young actors. Percy Jackson himself takes the lead role, with Hermione Grainger next up, alongside Kevin, who we probably need to talk about. (Also Neku in my imaginary TWEWY movie, for which I thought I'd published my pitch on here) So yeah, I like the look of it. I'm going to see it. I'll probably like it.

THE SAPPHIRES
2nd November
I don't actually care about the film at all. The story sounds a bit standard-issue and the trailer isn't particularly inspiring. But it's got Chris O'Dowd in it. And Chris O'Dowd could make anything and I'd watch it. That said, I forgot to Sky+ Moonboy yesterday. That was daft of me. I should go looking to see if there's a repeat on soon. Can't afford to miss too much Chris O'Dowd.

END OF WATCH
November 23rd
No, sorry Jake Gyllenhaal, no matter how hard you try, I can't stop seeing you as Donnie Darko. Shave your head, be a cop, run around shooting stuff, whatever. You're a troubled teenager who sees a creepy bunny rabbit. But this film is suppose to really rather good, based on the critical reception, and also has Anna Kendrick in it. I think she's brilliant. As such, I'm also kinda looking forward to seeing her have a bit of a sing song in Pitch Perfect, but didn't want to put it on this list. Probably because I'm a man.

THE PAPERBOY
November 17th in France, hopefully soon after in the UK
The last sentence of that previous paragraph shall make for a rather odd juxtaposition with my next: I'm a Zac Effron fan. I think he's a good actor, plain and simple. So this is him, alongside Matthew McConaughley and John Cusack, doing quite a gritty picture. It's received mixed reviews, but I'm interested. Admittedly, I'm not actually excited about it in the tradition sense of the word. At all. I'd just like to see it. And I wanted to make a list of 10.

HOUSE AT THE END OF THE STREET
Friday
I've heard this has an interesting twist at the end. Hence, I'm up for it. To say this time last year I'd point-0blank refuse to see a scary film, I'm beginning to develop a taste for horror that, while not sadistic, has certainly helped me feel as though the statement at the end of the End of Watch thing was actually true. This's also got Jennifer Lawrence in it, and she's quite good at that acting thing, and was in The Hunger Games, and was quite good in that. So yeah. It's out Friday. I'll be watching it. I may like it. It may be rubbish. We'll see.

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
December 14th
I feel obliged to stick this on my list, despite not really being that bothered about it, to be honest. My main interest in the film is that it's setting up the sequel, which has Benedict Cumberbatch as the voice of a dragon. And I love Benedict Cumberbatch. I bet it'll be far too long and full of needless nonsense, but still better than the other two, which will only be saved by the voice of Benedict. But it'd a big film, so it has to be on my list. It's the law.



There's then plenty of other things I'd like to see but don't want to write a paragraph on, things like Lincoln and Wreck-It Ralph that have slipped into 2013 over here and also Pitch Perfect, but I've already said enough about that. Though I do think Anna Kendrick is superb, and that is also probably a good point to end on. Good night!

My Lions Squad- 4th September

Gatland is currently doing a press conference and he's just been named as the Lions coach. Obviously this is a chance for me to do what is now going to be a regular thing, considering how often I think about it- It's my Lions 39-man squad, starting with the test 39 and working out. I'll compare and contrast with the squad I pick now, at the start of the season, with the one I select after the Six Nations, Autumn Internationals, and then ultimately just before the squad is named. It'll be exciting. Let me begin...

1. Gethin Jenkins
2. Ross Ford
3. Adam Jones
4. Richie Gray
5. Ian Evans
6. Danny Lydiate
7. Sam Warburton
8. Sean O'Brian

9. Ben Youngs
10. Jonathan Sexton
11. George North
12. Jonathan Davies
13. Brian O'Driscoll
14. Ben Foden
15. Leigh Halfpenny

16. Rory Best
17. Paul James
18. Alastair Kellock
19. Justin Tipuric
20. Mike Phillips
21. Toby Flood
22. Jamie Roberts

23. Ken Owens
24. Cian Healey
25. Mike Ross
26. Dan Cole
27. Alun Wyn Jones
28. Paul O'Connell
29. Tom Croft
30. Ben Morgan
31. Toby Faletau
32. Stephen Ferris
33. Mike Blair
34. Rhys Priestland
35. Stuart Hogg
36. Rob Kearney
37. Alex Cuthbert
38. Manu Tuilagi
39. Tim Visser

Likes of Alex Corbiserio, Donnacha Ryan, Ryan Jones, Jamie Heasliip, Connor Murray, Dan Biggar, Chris Ashton and Ashley Beck on stand-by. Oooh it's difficult to select.

EDIT: AAAGGH! I forgot all about Denton & Rennie! I'd consider both of them playing in the tests! This is next to impossible. The backrow is riddiculous.

Films by most memorable line

After the 'jump', there shall be a list of the films I've seen up to this point this year along with the one quote that's stuck with me the most. I haven't looked any of these up, so some may not be absolutely correct, whilst others may not actually have some. I don't know. I haven't done it yet. It's probably just the first phrase from that film that comes to mind. Many may have been engraved thanks to the trailers.

Oh, and I don't intend to update this, but may do a second 'Volume' in, say, December or something when I'll probably've seen a shedload more films. Anyway-

Here are the options for a TWEWY sequel

On April 18th 2008, a Nintendo DS game called The World Ends With You was released in the UK to some level of critical acclaim. Within one month, it found its way into my handhelds' cartridge slot and within six months I'd clocked up over 100 hours on the thing. Since then, I've gone beyond 200 hours and reached the rare distinction of 100% completion, especially impressive considering the sprawling nature of the game. It was the intelligent plot, original battle system, stand-out soundtrack and wonderfully well-written script that took this beyond being any other action-RPG and straight to the top of my 'Favourite Games of All Time' list.

So when Square-Enix this morning put out a website that was so obviously, blatantly teasing a follow-up to TWEWY, I actually made an excited squeaky noise then struggled to pay any close attention to the website as my eyes were filling up with happy tears. Since then, I've spent half a day analysing what little there is on said website, which other people had already done before me. So, instead, I decided perhaps it would be better to fantasise. Here are my ideas for what a sequel to TWEWY could be like, and what I'd like if they took that approach. Let me begin-

Ospreys in the 2012/13 season

It's been just over two months since Dan Biggar knocked over that kick and I'm still on cloud nine. Quite how the Ospreys managed to come through and win that particular match is beyond even my comprehension, and I've watched the full 80 minutes a good 5 times through. Shanes' two tries may be an obvious highlight, but I think it's just as worth noting the immense defensive effort from the likes of Ryan and Alun Wyn Jones, plus the way Justin Tipuric disrupted Leinster at the breakdown. That Ospreys side in the last few weeks of the season were a culmination of exactly what a fully-functioning rugby team needs to be, similar to any All Blacks side you'd care to mention. The pack dominated the set piece, the back row tackled like machines, the 10 kicked his goals and the wingers finished marvelously.

Things I've Watched at the Olympics

I watched most of/all of these things. I'll get bored of the concept quickly an not update it.

Opening Ceromony
Badminton- Mixed Doubles- Japan v Poland
Basketball- Womens- China v Czech Republic
Handball- Womens- Russia v Angola
Judo- Mens- Japanese bloke v Ashley MacKenzie(Great Britain)
Swimming- Mens 400m Medley- Third Heat
Swimming- Mens 400m Medley- Fourth Heat
Swimming- Mens 400m Medley- Fifth Heat
Table Tennis- Mens Prelimary Round- Wang (USA) v Song Nam (PRK)
Fencing- Womens Prelimary Round- Sheppard v Troiano (Both GB)
Badminton- Mixed Doubles Prelimary- Great Britain v Russia
Shooting- Womens 10m Air Rifle- Final
Basketball- Womens Pool Match- Canada v Russia
Handball- Womens Pool Match- Spain v Korea
Gymnastics- Artistic qualifiers
Table Tennis- Womens Prelimery- An Aussie v a Czech
Cycling- Road cycling race (Admittedly for about 10% of the race)
Football- Womens- Sweeden v Japan
Swimming- Something with women
Swimming- Something else with women
Swimming- 400m Mens Final
Swimming- 400m Womens Medley Final
Swimming- Some other stuff, I'm not really paying that much attention to the event titles.

It's World XV Time!

Well, that's it. The rugby season is over. Everything seems slightly pointless now, as we wait two months or so as nothing really happens but boring pre-season friendlies, obscure signings and rumours suddenly become interesting. There must be a better way to entertain the rugger-centric part of my brain in the meantime. Oh, I could always address the classic 'World XV' question. Yes, I'll do that. In my opinion, here's the best player from each position in the world. That's all.

15. Israel Dagg
Close but no hypothetical cigar: Leigh Halfpenny, Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino

The stand-out player in the All Blacks' World Cup triumpth in my opinion, and has backed it up since by simply being a brilliantly rounded fullback. While Halfpenny has been incredibly solid since his move to the back and Amorosino remains one of my favourite players in the world, Dagg combines the Welshman's defensive qualities and kicking with the pure flair of the Argentine. Makes up for his ultra-slappable face.

14. George North
Close but no hypothetical cigar: Tommy Bowe, Vincent Clerc
I was sat in the north stand of the Millennium Stadium as, during this years Six Nations, Italy made a loose kick that went straight into the hands of George North. North turned round and looked to counter attack. The collective sense of excitement and anticipation was something I hadn't felt since Shane Williams was at his pinnacle in 2008. In the 11 shirt, Wales once more had a winger who could turn a game. He characterises both the typical Welsh number 14, a spark with great feet who could start and finish tries, as well as fitting the current blueprints for a 21st century winger- A Lomu-style lump who finishes like it's nobodies business. The best teenager to ever play the game. End of.

13. Brian O'Driscoll
Close but no hypothetical cigar: Conrad Smith, Jonathan Davies
I'll admit it: The great mans' powers are fading. I'd argue the case for him being greatest outside centre of all time, but in the recent test series against New Zealand you could almost see this shirt swinging in Conrad Smith's favour. I was looking for a picture of Smith to put here. Then I remembered the Heineken Cup final and how instrumental O'Driscoll was in breaking Ulsters' spirits. Perhaps he's become more likely to have quiet games, but when O'Driscoll's on top of his game, he's still the arguably the best player in the world and as such deserves this shirt.

12. Seilala Mapusua
Close but no hypothetical cigar: Sonny Bill Williams, Jamie Roberts
Somewhat of a controversial choice here, but I think Mapusua is an absolutely remarkable player. While Sonny Bill Williams is close to having built an all-round game and Roberts provides even more crash-bang-wallop than the Samoan, I doubt we'll ever see a more creative player in the frame of the former London Irish man. He offloads like Williams, crashes it up like Roberts, picks lines like Fofana, tackles like any Samoan and has alarmingly deft hands and an eye for an intercept. Most men his size purely use that. Mapusua reads the game and plays using the whole range of skills. And, as such, in my eyes, he's the best 12 in the world.

11. Digby Ioane
Close but no hypothetical cigar: Bryan Habana, Alesana Tuilagi
Defensive plan for beating Australia: Close down Genia quickly. Put pressure on Cooper (Provided he's playing, natch). And don't, don't, under any circumstances, let Ioane get the ball. Very few players break the line with the ease Ioane does, and even fewer know how to finish those chances like him. Solidly built, extremely quick and deceptively elusive, he's a spark, he's a poacher, he's generally world class. Such an exciting player that even in opposition, you can't help but hope that he does end up with the ball...

10. Dan Carter
Close but no hypothetical cigar: Francois Trinh-Duc, Aaron Cruden
Who else? For all of two seconds I thought about selecting Frances' Trinh-Duc or Argentinas' Juan Martin Hernandez for the sake of being controversial, because both are incredibly classy players and amongst my favourites, but Dan is, indeed, the man. He pulls the strings, the puppet that is the All Blacks operates beautifully. Fellow Kiwi Cruden has lately looked incredibly lively and so sneaks onto the 'Bubbling under' list, but nobody can grab a game by the scruff of the neck and drag it through the victory machine like Daniel William Carter.

9. Will Genia
Close but no hypothetical cigar: Francois Hoogard, Mike Blair
Yeah, Genia's brilliant. he's got it all. The first test against Wales in Queensland was a masterclass in scrum half play. I don't really have to say any more. Hoogard has really, really impressed me this summer, having been good in both the World Cup and last Tri-Nations while Blair is a massively underrated player, but a far better rugby brain and not to mention service than the massively overrated Mike Phillips.

1. Gethin Jenkins
Close but no hypothetical cigar: Tony Woodcock, Tendai 'Beast' Mtwareria
A strong scrummager, but where Geth gets his edge over the other quality looseheads is his ability in defence. Not just in terms of the sheer number of tackles he makes (He made more tackles than any of Wales' backs, all of whom played more games than him, in the Six Nations) and then his ability to turn the ball over at the breakdown. He's also a handy carrier, and, as his wonder try against Namibia showed, more than capable of providing sometimes extra that no other prop can.

2. Bismarck Du Plessis
Close but no hypothetical cigar: Kevin Mealamu, Rory Best
Having waited patiently behind John Smit, probably aware that he was undoubtedly better than his national captain, Du Plessis has really grasped his chance when it was given to him.Playing more like a number 8 in the loose yet a terrific scrummager and thrower in the tight, he now really deserves the praise heaped upon him for the past few seasons.

3. Adam Jones
Close but no hypothetical cigar: Ronnie Roncero, Martin Castrogiovanni
A good team is, 9 times out of 10, (Australia are the obvious exception, natch) built upon a good scrum. And, as such, a huge part of the teams success is based around its tighthead prop, the anchor of the scrum, the cornerstone of the pack, the man on whose shoulders (Literally) dominating or being dominated rests. And nobody is better at dominating opposition scrums than Adam Jones. Shane Williams' tries and Dan Biggars kick aside, the key reason the Ospreys won the Pro12 final, he's won enough kickable penalties at scrum time this season to make the government sit up and wonder whether they could be used as an alternative energy supply, such is the surplus. Utterly, utterly world class.

4. Richie Gray
Close but no hypothetical cigar: Ian Evans, Paul O'Connell
Richie Gray is incredible. About 900 feet tall and 8000 stone heavy, and that doesn't include the weight of hair dye. A stand-out player not just for his physical appearance, but for his style of play as well. He crashes through the line like nothing on this Earth, one of the most effective carrying second rows in the world as well as a very solid tackler and a brilliant line-out operator. Not just the best player in Scotland by a country mile (Or one stride for big Richie) but one of the top chuckers of a rugby ball in the world.

5. James Horwill
Close but no hypothetical cigar: Sam Whitelock, Alistair Kellock
You don't normally assosiate Australia with world-class tight-five forwards, but the Ozzie captain bucks that trend. One of the world's top line-out jumpers, Horwill is also a fine carrier of the ball and handy at the breakdown. Narrowly beats out Whitelock, despite the Kiwi's great form as of late, while I'm still very impressed by Scotland's Kellock, who, in my opinion, never should have lost their captaincy. But, yeah, Howill. He's great.

6. Thierry Dusautoir
Close but no hypothetical cigar: Danny Lydiate, Jerome Kaino
Look at the picture to the left. Study it closely. Cherish it. Because there won't be many like it. This is one of the incredibly rare moments in a game of rugby in which Dusatoir is not making a tackle or clearing out a ruck or generally getting through the level of work that normally an entire back row would be proud of on his own. Famed for his 38 tackles against the All Blacks in 2007, his man of the match, try scoring performance in last years World Cup final was fittingly the best I've seen a flanker play since that infamous quarter-final five years ago.Deservedly IRB World Player of the Year because, well, he is the best player in the world. There's no more to it.

7. David Pocock
Close but no hypothetical cigar: Richie McCaw, Sam Warburton
An absolutely outstanding player. Nabs turnovers like it's nobodies business, and not even the attention of Lydiate & Warburton could keep him quiet during the recent test series against Wales. He's also useful with the ball in hand and runs good support angles. Basically, he's everything you'd want a 7 to be. Warburton's dropped off this summer while McCaw isn't quite the player he once was, but is still a remarkable athlete. Honorable mentions for Ross Rennie of Scotland, who had a fantastic Six Nations and then went on to become the only player I've seen neutralise Pocock and Justin Tipuric, the young Ospreys openside who could and probably should have usurped Warburton by now and certainly has a big future ahead of him.

8. Sergio Parisse
Close but no hypothetical cigar: Juan Martin Ferandez Lobbe, Kieran Reed
The reason Italy are a respectable team. He abolutely carries the side on his hefty shoulders, relishing the captaincy and always leading from the front. Superb in every aspect of the game, he's head and shoulders above all other 8s in world rugby, combining the raw power of Lobbe or Morgan with the tackling of Faletau, skills of Reed and even emulating the great Zinzan Brooke with his ability to drop a goal and kick the ball with the best of fly halves. I can't think of a better player with whom to finish this post...

How Cosmopolis broke my mind

As anyone who ever looks at this will be acutely aware, I see a lot of films. If I'm correct, (I haven't counted lately) I've seen 32 different films this year. That's quite a few. My previous record in a year was about 13. We're only half way through, and the blockbuster summer's still to come. Every film is different and each one has prompted a different reaction from me. However, they tend to fit along the great washing line of emotion. If the end closest to the house on this metaphorical drying mechanism is 'It's good' and the furthest away if 'It's bad', you've got the likes of The Muppets, The Artist and Moonrise Kingdom plonked within view of the window, while Battleship and Top Cat are as far away as possible. Everything, even Dark Shadows which is only noteworthy because it was so un-noteworth, prompting no reaction from me whatsoever, slots calmly on that line to dangle for the rest of eternity, thanks to my particularly strong film-pegs. I know what I think. It's a system that works.

Or at least I thought I did until I saw Cosmopolis last night.

I can confirm that Cosmopolis is, most certainly, a film. There's a BBFC plaque at the start and a titles card, and actors, and some credits and I was certainly watching something. In fact, it was the same experience as watching any film. Light was being projected onto the screen. Only it was nothing like it. On the great washing line of logical film reviews, Cosmopolis is lying on the floor. I really, honestly have no idea what I thought of it. Not as in 'I have two contrasting opinions'. As in I litteraly had none. And that wasn't because it didn't prompt a reaction, Dark Shadows style. I found elements of it interesting- The ending, the way it leaves the long pauses in, the actual character of Eric Packer himself.  Robert Pattinson is actually very good in the lead role, just as I began to really tire of him (A combination of him being dire in Bel Ami and sitting through all the Twilight films back-to-back on depressing morning). His misery-centric act was a perfect fit for the buisness man who's gone beyond the point of dispair. There's a great scene involving the man from the control room in The Truman Show. And the way it cuts about is interesting.

But at the same time, all those things are flaws. Pattinson may be well-cast, but that's because both him and his character are miserable and annoying. The ending, without spoiling it, is quite abrupt and is as such also quite frustrating. The long pauses lead to a seemingly dull and broken film, although I was surprised by how not-bored I felt. The film seemed to demand your concentration, yet didn't reward it in any way. It's full of individual conversations that scarcely make sense in a 5-minute context, but make even less as part of a film.

My brain seems to fail to function whenever I think about the film. Was it a metaphor for life? For the economy? For happiness? If so, it's the exact opposite of my stupid washing line. My image is simple, clear and explained. Director David Cronenberg's is far too clever for its own good. Yes, it'd be good, but the purpose of a metaphor is to describe something, to help you say what you mean, not to baffle everybody involved. I doubt he knew what film he was making. A lot of it reeks of 'Because I can'. Why leave long pauses? Because he's an A-list director. Why cast an A-list actor? Because he made eXistanZ. Why make it so baffling? Because he bloody well can, that's why. I've managed to cram all the emotion Cosmopolis got out of me into under 800 words, and for a feeling-spewing machine such as myself, that's not good. There's absolutely no level of emotional engagement involved. I'm slowly beginning to work out the film, sort of, almost, but my brain has been strained an unbelievable amount in writing this. For all I know, Cosmopolis could be the best film of the year, it could be the worst. But it's certainly the most confusing experience anybody is ever likely to have at the cinema.

I Want To See These Things.

All the films ever? Yeah, the titles a lie. Firstly, it's only films I've seen in 2012, and secondly it's only covering the past and the present. The word 'Ever' is suppose to cover the future as well. This post is here to address that very issue. The rest of 2012 is filled with lots of exciting-looking films that I intend to see, as well as plenty of dross that I'll probably end up watch as well. This is a look at what I'm genuinely looking forward to in the remained of this year. In no particular order.

The Dark Knight Rises
OK, when I said 'No particular order', I lied. The Dark Knight Rises is, as it is with just about every other person on the planet, the film I'm most looking forward to. While, again, I'm not alone in thinking this, I'd perhaps rather had seen a different choice of villains, Christopher Nolan has not put a foot wrong in his entire movie-making career to date and, as such, I have faith in him to deliver an excellent film. The only problem? As the follow-up to what is undoubtedly the greatest superhero movie of all-time and one of the best films ever, end of, there's absolutely no way this can meet the high expectations placed upon it. Isn't there, Nolan...?

Looper
I like Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I don't mind Bruce Willis. But, more than that, I love ideas-led films. If a director has an interesting thought for a plotline, I want to see it, and Looper looks to be one of the boldest, most original films since Inception graced us with its also-starring-Gordon-Levitt-ness. The superb trailer explains a bizarre concept that I'm simply excited to see in full. And, even if there is no more to the film than the ideas in the trailer, I'm glad people are still getting their quirkier ideas made in today's film-by-committee era.



Wreck-It Ralph
Scott Pilgrim aside, the world is desperate short on game-literate movies. While there are plenty of attempts to convey video games in the cinematic landscape, the majority seem to be written by people with no obvious understanding of games, Edgar Wright's effort the proud exception. Not content with being a film about games, Wreck-It Ralph looks to set to become only second film to understand video games. The use of the likes of Bowser, Blinky, Eggman and Zangreif as well as an excellent Q*Bert gag that they put in the trailer, I'm holding out hope that this'll be more than your standard animated nonsense, and essentially be a gaming's equivelent of Toy Story.

Skyfall
It's the new 007 film. I don't really need to say more, do I?











Brave
If you forced me to select my top 10 films of all-time, it wouldn't be that outside a bet that a good 9 of the 10 would be Pixar films. As a result, it's utterly impossible to not look forward to the new picture from the wittiest company in the digital animation business. (I've had to craftily work my way round being able to include Aardman) This one's also set in Scotland, and I also like Scotland. Here's hoping they say that any trolls or monsters of any kind come from Glasgow, because it'd be funny.


The Amazing Spider-Man
While I did like Spider-Man 2, Sam Raimi's trilogy of Spidey films was really rather off- Toby MacGuire was too miserable, the tone was too downbeat and the colours too drained. With him now off doing Bond and that, (500) Days of Summer (Which I really liked) director Marc Webb, who I can presume only got it because of his name, steps in to make a far more fun-looking Spider-Man film. Andrew Garfield looks a massive improvement from misery McGuire, wisecracking and leaping around with rather nice hair. I'm really looking forward to this one coming out in a months time.


While there are other things I'm looking forward to watching, (Whisper it, but I'm all set to book my tickets to see Ice Age 4) there was nothing else I fancied writing a paragraph on (Well, that really showed with the Bond one, didn't it?) and as such I'm ending it there because this is my text document, and I'll end it when I want to, thank you very

The 2015 Masterplan

In 2007, the public in New Zealand were calling for Graham Henrys head. Undoubtedly the best team in the world had been knocked out in the Quarter-Finals by, of all teams, they French. A team known for their ability to capitulate at any moment had just gone and performed the impossible. While the victory can be put down to possibly the greatest individual performance in World Cup history from French skipper Thierry Dusautoir, (He made more tackles than the entire All Black XV put together, his figure of 38 still standing as the world record for a professional match) it was also blamed on the injury to Daniel Carter and Henry's lack of a Plan B. Instead of sacking him on the spot, the All Blacks management gave him a chance to find another way to cap what would undoubtedly be another four years as the world's best side.

Come 2011, on home soil, the All Blacks then did the impossible themselves and didn't choke. They held out and won the cup, Henry finding his holy grail before retiring. This isn't a million miles off the situation Wales find themselves in at this moment. Perhaps we're not the best team in the world (yet), but there were points in the match against Fiji, who had been a huge struggle for old Cymru in the past, in which Warren Gatland's men looked pretty unstoppable. Despite the pouring rain and pounding islanders, Wales continued to rack up try after try, playing arguably the most exciting, attacking rugby in the tournament. Even when tournament black horses Ireland came a-knocking, with huge odds in their favour and the presence of some of the best performers of the year in their starting line-up, Wales blew them aside emphatically. Unfortunately, some things happened in the following France match that I'd rather not talk about, and Wales found themselves out of the tournament.

However- We have seen the strength of Gatland's Plan A already, and we've also seen Kiwi-esque foresight from the WRU to keep Warren on as our head coach until the 2015 championship. The Union aren't the only ones with foresight, though, as the man himself has proven himself in the past 12 months to be possibly the world's best at spotting young talent. The likes of Rhys Priestland, Alex Cuthbert, Jonathan Davies, Scott Williams, George North, Justin Tipuric and Toby Faletau have all been transformed from decent club players & prospects to international, if not world, class performers.

However, we can't stop there. At the moment, we have more strength in depth than we have ever had. This is evident in the squad listing bellow, but every year, the Wales u20s team continues to churn out plenty of decent players who could, with a little bit of Gatland coaching, be easily turned into the kind of name that could have us troubling the top Southern Hemisphere sides. The fact he called Harry Robinson, with very little club experience, into the squad for the pre-Six Nations training camps shows that he intends to do this. We're already building a very healthy squad, but we can't be content with that. The All Blacks had to leave four or five genuine, big name players out of their squad on the strength of it alone. We want these issues.

But more important than matching the All Blacks is to beat them. At the moment, the 'Big Three' dominate world rugby. Whilst Wales are dominating the European scene, (Well, at international level, anyway) this, again, can't be enough and we must begin by winning at least two of the three games against Australia in the summer. Even one victory and two narrow losses should be considered a failure. Hoping and praying to win, as has been our approach for so long, is no longer how we should go about things. We must expect to win, and I'd say we're not far off having this approach nailed down. And these are the 50-odd players I believe could not only follow this through, but go on and potentially be a part of our set-up that goes forth and wins the World Cup in 2015...

WALES' DEPTH
Many of these are more aiming towards 2015 than realistic options for the here and now. And, of course, half the 2011 squad I wouldn't've heard of in '08, so we can hope for a few George Norths (Who was only 15!) along the road, too.

Loosehead Prop- Gethin Jenkins, Ryan Bevington, Paul James, Rhys Gill, Rhodri Jones
Hooker- Ken Owens, Matthew Rees, Richard Hibbard, Huw Bennett, Emyr Phillips, T Rhys Thomas, Gerwyn Price, Kirby Myhill, Sam Parry
Tighthead Prop- Adam Jones, Craig Mitchell, Aaron Jarvis, Scott Andrews, Joe Rees, Craig Cross
Second Row- Alun Wyn Jones, Ian Evans, Luke Charteris, Bradley Davies, Macaulay Cook, Cory Hill, Lou Reed, Dom Day, Daimen Welch, James Down
Blindside Flanker- Danny Lydiate, Ryan Jones, Aaron Shingler, James King, Lewis Evans, Michael Patterson, Rob McCusker, Jevon Groves
Openside Flanker- Sam Warburton, Justin Tipuric, Josh Turnbull, Josh Navidi, Darren Waters, Sam Lewis, Daniel Thomas
No. 8- Toby Faletau, Andy Powell, Andries Pretorious, Kieran Murphy, Luke Hamilton, Morgan Allen, Danny Baker

Scrum Half- Mike Phillips, Lloyd Williams, Rhys Webb, Tom Habberfield, Dwyane Peel, Tavis Knoyle, Gareth Davies, Aled Davies, Martin Roberts, Jon Evans, Lewis Jones
Fly Half- Rhys Priestland, James Hook, Dan Biggar, Jason Tovey, Lewis Robling, Steffan Jones, Matthew Morgan, Jordan Williams
Wingers- George North, Alex Cuthbert, Harry Robinson, Hanno Dirksen, Will Harries, Aled Brew, Eli Walker, Luke Morgan
Centre- Ashley Beck, Jamie Roberts, Jonathan Davies, Scott Williams, Gavin Henson, Adam Hughes, Owen Williams, Ashley Smith, Adam Warren, Nic Reynolds, Andrew Bishop, Jack Dixon, Cory Allen
Fullback- Leigh Halfpenny, Morgan Stoddart, Liam Williams, Lee Byrne, Tom Prydie, Halam Amos, Tom Prydie, Dan Fish

The best bit is, I know I'm missing people who are in with a very good shout of playing for Wales in 2013, never mind '15. This is what's most exciting about Welsh rugby at the moment. Not the good hands, quick feet or style of play, it's the ability we have to bring these players through and, here's hoping, we can make enough of 'em good enough to win that trophy in three years time...

An Education On Entertainment: The Shocking True Life Story

That title? It's also going to be the name of my third feature film.

Not too long ago, I made the decision to give up on this blog malarkey. Instead of actually writing lots of words to describe boring events and rather tame descriptions of films that I’d seen with lots of words, I’d simply add five of the blighters an a number onto one post, as I wanted a way to keep count now that I’m seeing more films, but without it actually involving much strain on me, although I do feel some pressure to try and add some wit to the vast ocean of pith on show.

It’s worth noting that the numbers don’t lie. Sometimes, I change my mind on a film a while after I’ve seen it. But while I dropped Woman in Black to a 5 from a 6, and I stand by that decisions, I have since made the judgment that I don’t want to rate films against others. This is a very rough scale of measurement- I’m trying to express both how I feel about what I’ve seen as a film and as a two-hour experience. While I might have given both Hugo and We Bought A Zoo 7/10, I’d say that I enjoyed WBAZ more, but the cinematic flair and know-how Scorsese showed was worth nothing less than that very mark. While those numbers aren’t telling big fat porkies, perhaps they’re not saying the whole truth.

But that’s the thing I’ve learnt about film over the past few months. Whereas before I liked to think I had a well-grounded view of the cinematic world, it’s only going to see two or three films a week that’s made me realise that –actually- I know nothing at all.  Previously, I’d exclusively see big releases and selected other films that nabbed my (Or, in most cases, a more hot-blooded friend) attention. However, I was always pining for films ‘About things’ and for my local multiplex to show some stuff that wasn’t focus grouped to death (This Means War, I’m still looking at you). While the list might not show this, perhaps only Pirates, Avengers and Hunger Games (And then probably one or two other pieces of tosh that just happen to be showing while I’m there) would have got my post-Unlimited Card buying dosh. The likes of 21 Jump Street (Which I feel I probably underrated in hinds sight) and the aforementioned We Bought a Zoo have really opened my eyes to the delights of the middle-of-the-line films that I’d previously unknowingly avoided. They have neither multi-million budgets nor interesting arthouse concepts, but more than delivered in the light entertainment stakes.

The question I wanted to ask myself here, really, before I got lost in a bit of a ramble, was just what this has taught me. A hackneyed, obvious question, yes, but then that’s fitting considering some of the clichéd tripe I’ve seen (This Means War, my beady eyes are yet to move). But, really, the one thing that’s come across more than anything else is that film is mad, film is bizzare and film is far harder to pin-down than anything else I’m aware of. With video games you’re given tens of hours in which to form an opinion, and often the choice to navigate your way around the dull bits, as well as the choice to drop it at any point. A book also lasts a fair while and, due to the incohesive nature of picking up and putting down, transitions suddenly seem unimportant. TV is a shortened form, designed for rewatching and continuation. Films are individual entities that finish in a few hours, during which time they need to establish, develop and finish with characters, scenarios and locations. They’re a medium that’s had time to mature, like books, but unlike their wordy friends, we have a more pre-conceived idea about what we do or do not like in a film. But whereas I knew exactly how I felt about Super Mario Galaxy when the credits rolled, and that ‘Genius’ label hadn’t slipped at all, having seen The Cabin in the Woods a good 10 hours ago now, I’m actually not sure how I felt about it, and am unsure as to whether or not I’ll ever be able to provide a conclusive answer. The first hour had me thinking it had film of the year potential, but one line of the script later and I’m right off it. As we only have 90-odd minutes to go on, every second is suddenly vital and every line of dialogue deserves pouring over, and more often than not, these things take time and I know that I’m… Not going to end this on an irrelevant Smith reference. Instead, I’ll simply keep soldiering on, watching these things and putting pithy and hopefully witty 5-word responses and stick with my numerical system that doesn’t quite work.

Wait, I thought you said you weren’t ending on an irrelevant Smiths reference?

I’m not. Didn’t you read that last sentence?

Bigmouth strikes again…

Telegraphed.