Fun was had by all

Hello to my lovely people, and to my smelly people (Big Sis, I'm talkin' 'bout you, you know it). I seem to have become more of an occasional poster recently as the initial fever of having a blog has died down. I think that's the way it needs to be, otherwise everything that I end up doing will be shaped into an anecdotal filter, much like watching everything through a camera lens.

I enjoyed Hills Have Eyes, although wouldn't necessarily recommend it. There are good scares and good effects and I was impressed with the main actor, Aaron Stanford, who has taken a bit of a leap from the teenage roles he has become known for (Pyro in X-Men 2 and the lead in Tadpole) to a family man. I do have reservations about it, though, which mainly come from the 70s throwback aspects of it; elements of misogyny and concepts of masculinity which felt a bit dated. However, my reservations and MuleBoy's less contemplative enjoyment of the film led to an interesting discussion in the car on the way back.

I don't remember kicking much arse at the paintball: I'm still not entirely sure whether I hit anyone; I fell over a lot; and got hit many, many times by unexploded paintballs, which is why I still have an impressive array of multi-coloured bruises. Many of these are around my leg and knee area so I look like I've been attacked by particularly vicious garden gnomes. I'd definitely do it again, though, gnomes and all.

I watched Raiders of the Lost Ark last night for the first time in ages. It led me to wonder whether I have ever actually seen the beginning sequence before in my life as I didn't remember any of it, just those bits that are famous from spoofs and clip shows. I'm also still surprised by the bit where we see inside the ark as, when I was little, my Dad used to cover our eyes when Indy tells Marian not to look. This was probably done to be funny rather than to protect us as I remember him chuckling throughout. I think I was about 19 (and living away from home) when I saw it for the first time, so it's still shiny and new.