Never Watch Babylon AD

So finally, the weekend blog post. Dunno, today just seemed to get away from me and there was no time left for it till now (I'm home watching the bunnies run about).

Friday night was pretty cool. Went to see Tropic Thunder with J9-double0blonde and Squeak.

Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. lead an ensemble cast in Tropic Thunder - an action comedy about a group of self-absorbed actors who set out to make the most expensive war film ever. After ballooning costs force the studio to cancel the movie, the frustrated director refuses to stop shooting, leading his cast into the jungles of Southeast Asia, where they encounter the real bad guys.

Loved it, absolutely loved it. The characters are absolutely hysterical and they did a couple of brilliant things: Firstly, before the movie in the ordinary preview/advert slot they included previews of the characters (actors playing actors!) upcoming movies. Brilliant! Secondly (and if there's only one reason you see this movie), Tom Cruise has an absolutely brilliant part. Now me, I always thought that guy just took himself way to seriously and certainly couldn't laugh at himself or at his expense. If you think the same way I do, go and watch this movie! Let me warn you, it takes a few sentences out of his mouth to place him but once you do, you'll enjoy it all the more :) Brilliant! And who knew Robert Downey Jnr (a personal fave) could do so many accents?!

Saturday was a hugely admin day. Did some shopping, got my car approved for it's new insurance, bought Varen's dad's 50th birthday gift (a variety of 12 bottles of wine for his new wine-rack) and took the girls to the vet. Well, for about 2 weeks now I've been starting to wonder if in fact we do own two girl bunnies ... Bell has been displaying some distinctly male traits, like jumping and spraying her pee. And Henna does eat a lot ... but what if she's not pudgy because of her eating habits? These were not things I could quietly let slide until I ended up with some new additions so it was off to the vet to get them sexed (it's not that hard and I'd tried myself except this is not something I want to be wrong about ... best to get the experts in!). Thankfully we are definitely the proud parents of two GIRL bunnies :) Yay ... no renaming required!

Then after a nice lazy afternoon, we thought we'd see another movie (there hasn't been much good showing ... and it doens't seem to have improved!). Varen was desperate to see Babylon AD, so I caved since it had Vin Diesel in it ...

A mercenary is hired to deliver a “package” – an innocent young woman raised in a monastery – from the ravages of a post-apocalyptic landscape of Eastern Europe to a destination in the teeming megalopolis of New York City. But this is hardly a typical job for the hardened gun-for-hire. As he, the young woman, and her fearsome guardian make the 10 000 km trek, a religious sect that has taken a special interest in the woman (who may hold the secret to mankind’s salvation) threatens them.

Okay, I'll tell you upfront that even the trailer looked rubbish, but there was nothing else showing and he was really keen to see it (Boy does he owe me big for this one!). Do not even bother to rent it on DVD, that is how crap it is. Hell, if your friend gives it to you for free just toss it in the bin and save yourself the trouble. It is boooooring. Can you believe that we both pretty much missed the end of the movie (and definitely the punchline because I'm still not sure what the point was!) because we needed the loo and just weren't interested in sticking it out. There's not even any Vin-type action ... he does a bit of a remake of XXX2's snow-mobile chase and that's about the end of it. Well, I'm ignoring the weirdo Majesty of the religious sect, her Mother, and her half-man half-machine Father - see, that is just how little sense the movie makes! Oh and he eats a rabbit :P

Then to try and make things better, after we grabbed some Mochacho's for dinner (can't even remember the last time we had that!), Varen suggested we rent a movie (to cleanse our movie-watching palate). And he didn't even let me pick a super girly flick as payback (I will get him one day with a marathon ... mwahahahahha), he chose Shooter. (I'll admit by this point I cared little)

Bob Lee Swagger, one of the world's great marksmen and the son of a Congressional Medal of Honoree, is a loner living in the Rockies. He's left the military, having been hung out to dry in a secret Ethiopian mission a few years before, when he's recruited by a lisping colonel to help find a way that the President of the US might be assassinated in one of three cities in the next two weeks. He does his work, but the shot is fired notwithstanding and Bob Lee is quickly the fall guy: wounded and hunted by thousands, he goes to ground and, aided by two unlikely allies, searches for the truth and for those who double-crossed him.

So, Varen was particularly lucky that although this film was by no means brilliant, it certainly seemed so up against Babylon AD. Was mostly pretty predictable but otherwise okay.

Sunday was not a lazy day. We were up and cleaning the bunny hutch and off swimming. And then headed to Varen's folks for a Sunday lunch. We ended it with an early bedtime followed by a lengthy read under the duvet. A brilliant Sunday :)