There is no Buffy without Joss Whedon

In May last year, it was announced that Kaz and Fran Rubel Kazui, who own the rights to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, had accepted an option from Warner Bros Pictures to make a new feature film about the heroine – Joss Whedon, creator of the acclaimed TV series, wanted nothing to do with a reboot, both because he’s too busy shooting other things, and because as far as he was concerned he was done with Buffy.

18months later, we fans of the show had hoped that Joss’ disinterest in the project had meant that it had simply slipped off the radar entirely, to be one of those films which just never got made.

Yesterday that hope was shattered; as Warner Brothers officially announced that a Buffy reboot was not only on the way but that the writing of a script was well underway. The woman chosen for the task: complete unknown, former actress Whit Anderson, in her first attempt at a screenplay. Well, doesn’t that just fill you with confidence?!

Even the idea of rebooting Buffy, without it’s great creator, or any of the Scoobie Gang we all loved, it not only doesn’t feel right, honestly it feels outraging!

Ever since 2003, I’ve waited patiently for the day that the Buffyverse would once again come calling.

This was not the call I wanted. It’s not the call that anyone wanted.

Whit Anderson could do a great job, and write a brilliant movie, maybe. But it’s never going to be MY Buffy. And that’s what I’ve spent 7 years longing for.

Joss created a world so complex, so interesting, and Sarah Michelle Gellar et al worked so hard inhabiting every inch of it. James Marsters will always be Spike. Alyson Hannigan will always be Willow.

Noone else will ever be able to fill those roles in the same way.

So I’ll put it simply: without the original Buffy crew involved, and Joss at its head, there is simply no way I’ll be going to see this.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One - A spoilerific exploration

This post will include just about every spoiler imaginable for Part One of the Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows film, so if you haven’t read the book, or don’t want to know how certain things were covered on screen, then go and read my spoiler-free review of the film at: http://platform-online.net/2010/11/review-harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows-part-one/ instead.

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I’m going to look at the film scene by scene, see how it works in comparison to the book, and give any general thoughts on the piece as it goes along. So without further ado, here we are

The Opening Sequence: Making a bold move, they opted not to open at Malfoy Manor as the book does (although that scene does come up very quickly). Instead they open with a montage of the trio, each at their own house. We see the Dursleys leave (unfortunately losing Dudley’s touching goodbye, but ah well), we see Hermione erase her parents memories, and we see Ron, stood in front of the Burrow, realising that soon he will leave it, possibly forever.

This sequence is great, and it really makes us realise that all three of them, not just Harry, are making a huge sacrifice when it comes to going off hunting horcruxes. It’s a bleak beginning, but honestly: it sets the tone for what is certainly the darkest HP film to date.

Malfoy Manor: Now we are back with the scene which should have opened the film, and it’s practically verbatim from the book, minus the bit about the peacocks. Snape swoops in through the huge gates of Malfoy Manor, and arrives at the table, Charity Burbage hung above it, with Death Eaters all around. I’m pretty sure the script is taken straight from the page here, and it’s great to see Lucius tremble in fear as he realises that the Dark Lord no longer needs him.

Seven Potters and the arrival at the Burrow: This is one of the most action packed sequences in this half of the book, and as you’d expect, they’ve taken it even further on screen. The transformation sequence is just as fun – and funny – as we’d want it to be, and once the gang are in the air, the broomstick battle is incredible to behold. Not purely restricted to the skies, Harry and Hagrid race on the motorbike along the M25, with Death Eaters in hot pursuit, flipping cars, caravans and all sorts before the bike manages to get airborne again.

Hedwig’s death is understated, but touching nonetheless, and the arrival at the Burrow is superb. The slightly mad glint in Remus’ eye as he grabs Harry to check if he is an impostor, and the “I’m holy” joke from George both make the cut, in a scene which is as close to the book as anything Kloves has written to date.

So far so good then!!

The Wedding: Following the long awaited arrival of Bill Weasley to the series during the Seven Potter sequence, we’re straight into his and Fleur’s wedding. It’s a lavish and beautiful affair, and there are a couple of great lines for Luna, which will no doubt get a laugh.

Of course the important part here is the moment the Patronus appears, and the moment it does all hell breaks loose. People are apparating in and out all over the place, and the tent catches fire as the Death Eaters descend. Harry’s instincts are to grab his wand and fight, but thankfully Remus grabs him, thrusts him at Hermione and Ron, and the trio disapparate, leaving carnage behind them.

Shaftesbury Avenue and the Café: In the book, the trio end up on Tottenham Court Road, and it always seemed an odd choice to me to be honest. It’s a central road in London sure, but I can’t see why it would be the first to come to mind. The filmmakers clearly had the same idea, and have opted to swap TCR for Piccadilly Circus, with the trio apparating in front of a bus in the middle of the packed square. I was lucky enough to see them film these sequences, so to see them on the big screen particularly excited me.

The fight in the café is well shot, and for the first time we see Ron’s dark side come out, as he wants to kill the two fallen Death Eaters, saying: “What if it was one of them who killed Mad Eye, would you want them to live then?” Up until now in the series Ron has really been the comic relief character, and while he has some comedy moments in this one he also grows SO much as a character, and the credit for portraying that so well really does lie with Rupert Grint

Kreacher’s Tale: Having made their way to Grimmauld Place, and found the name Regulus Arcturus Black on a bedroom door, the gang quickly searches out Kreacher regarding the missing locket.

This is the one part of the film I really didn’t like, as I would have loved to have seen the whole of Kreacher’s Tale included, as it is the redemption of the character, and our chance to find out why he is the screwed up way he is. Instead we just jump straight to the fact that: Yes, there was another locket and that Mundungus stole it. End of. I know why it was done that way, (because it would have cost FAR too much to rebuild that Cave for a 2minute scene when there was another way of doing it), but it still bugged me a little bit.

Ministry: Probably the funniest sequence in the film, the trio take the Polyjuice potion and turn into the 3 ministry representatives. I spoke to David O Hara (who plays the body of Runcorn, Harry’s unsuspecting body double), and he was talking about how difficult it was for the adult counterparts to learn the mannerisms of the way Dan, Rupert and Emma carry themselves, and to sync the audio of the young actors voices to the adult’s lip sync, but honestly: it works superbly on screen.

The Hogwarts Express: A little added scene that’s not in the books, (just to remind us that the rest of the young actors still exist), sees a Death Eater stop the Hogwarts Express on the tracks, and march through it, looking for Harry. We get to see the beginnings of Neville’s growth into the young rebel, and although he only gets one line, it’s enough for me to know that Matt Lewis will do just fine when his big turn comes around next time

Camping: This was where DH Part One was going to be won or lost really. The camping sections in the book are so long, and with not an awful lot happening that these scenes could easily have devolved into boredom. Thankfully they’ve been shot in such a way that one minute we’re looking at a beautiful landscape (and every place they stop really is BEAUTIFUL), and the next we’re met with a great radio montage of Ron listening to the radio, day after day, waiting for news. It’s not perfect, but with the small amount of material they had to build upon, they’ve made a sequence which at least works on screen, which is something anyway.

Ron/Harry fight: Another shining scene for Ron’s character comes as he finally locks horns with Harry over the lack of anything resembling a plan. Jealous of Harry’s close friendship with Hermione (and completely missing the fact that she’s madly in love with him, because lets face it: he’s a dumb teenage boy), he storms out of the tent, leaving a silence behind him which says as much as the entire argument does. Rupert proves once again that he is one of the best actors in the series in this scene, and it really is a shame that the scripts up to now haven’t given him the opportunity to flex his skills this much.

The graveyard: Now alone, Harry and Hermione head for Godric’s Hollow, and head first for the graveyard where James and Lily are buried. Dan’s face when he looks down at the grave is enough to break anyone’s heart.

Bathilda’s House: Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione notices a CREEPY looking old lady stood watching them by the grave, beckoning them to follow her. This of course is Bathilda Bagshot, and man oh man did they get this scene right. It’s TERRIFYING as you see Nagini appear from within the body, and chase Harry through the house. This is one of the best scenes in the film, but also one in which I actually take issue with the 12A rating. This scene is GENUINELY scary, and I can only assume this was right on the boundary of pushing it too far and into a higher certificate. And the scares are not over yet.

Silver Doe and the destruction of the Locket: Back at the campsite, Harry sees an ethereal light through the trees and follows it, as it turns into a magnificent Doe Patronus. Racing down the hill behind it, it soon takes him to a frozen lake, with the sword of Gryffindor at the bottom. As he dives in though, the locket almost comes alive, and starts to strangle him, leaving him to drown.

As Ron makes his return, saving Harry’s life, we witness very simply the best scene Rupert has ever filmed for the franchise to date.

He takes up the sword, and Harry opens the locket, causing a huge explosion of a dark phantom like force, showing him his worst fears, one by one, first spiders, and then a Harry and Hermione who love each other. Rupert’s resolve as he finally takes control back, smashing the sword against the horcrux and ending it is wonderful, and his reunion with Hermione moments later is simply beautiful.

Xeno and The Tale of the Three Brothers: Rhys Ifans’ portrayal of Xenophilius Lovegood was always going to be an important one, as he would get to explain once and for all the symbol of the Deathly Hallows. He is an incredible actor, and brings out the on-edge feeling of the man who has lost his daughter very well.

The scene at his house is really dominated by the Tale of the Three Brothers though. An AMAZING animated sequence, with Emma reading the tale in voice-over over the top, the story is brought to life on screen in a way I hadn’t expected, and the sequence really stands out in my mind as one of the best in the film.

Malfoy Manor Again: Captured by Snatcher’s as they flee Xeno’s place, the trio find themselves at Malfoy Manor. Helena Bonham Carter’s Bellatrix eclipses everyone else on screen here, her complete insanity outshining everything. As she tortures Hermione, it feels truly real, both from Emma’s portrayal and her own.

Then of course everyone’s favourite House Elf returns, as Dobby appears to rescue the trio. As he singlehandedly thwarts Bella, Narcissa and Lucius, he gives his empassioned “Dobby has no master. Dobby is a free elf.” speech, and I honestly felt like standing up and applauding/cheering right there in the middle of the screening (I didn’t but I wanted to)

Dobby: Unfortunately, just seconds later elation became tears. I sobbed when Dobby died in the book, and I’ll admit I shed a tear here too. Dan’s reaction as he holds the lifeless elf in his arms pushed me right over the edge, as you can see the anguish and heartbreak in his own eyes, as Dobby tells him that “[He] is glad to have been with [his] best friend Harry Potter” as he died. Fading to black as Harry finishes digging the grave, it looks like we’re done. But no: there is one final scene leading into the split between the movies.

The Split: Voldemort has spent the entire film (in a sequences of glimpses through Harry’s scar-vision which perfectly replicate the equivalent sequences for the book) searching for the Elder Wand, and as the film ends, we see the White Tomb open, and Riddle taking the Wand, firing a beam of light into the air and laughing maniacally. This was the perfect end for part one. The balance of power has shifted. Harry and the others have lost one of their best friends, their resolve is trembling, and Voldemort is suddenly at his most powerful. THAT is how you get an audience back for the conclusion.

And what a conclusion it promises to be. With rumours of a LONGER second half, and pretty much only Gringotts and the Battle to go, the vast majority of the second movie will take place during the battle, which is as it should be. Is it July yet?!?

Review: Jackass 3D

About 10 years ago, a group of guys, led by Johnny Knoxville, united in the name of pulling pranks and doing dumbass stunts on camera, for the amusement of...well everyone else. In that vein, Jackass was born, spawning a successful MTV show, as well as 2 movies.

Of course, all these years later, and with the addition of an entire extra dimension, the boys (ok: men, Knoxville is 39 now, he's not a boy anymore) are back.

I'm going to be very honest: I went into this movie expecting to hate it. I literally just sat there as the trailers ran thinking "Come on, this was funny 10 years ago, but these guys just need to grow the fuck up..."

Oh how wrong I was. Not only have the Jackasses still got it, but they're better than ever.

Nothing – and I mean nothing – is off limits this time around, and the pure shock value of some of the stunts is crazy. I literally don’t want to mention any of the stunts in detail, because honestly: half the brilliance of this is just the surprise of the lengths they are willing to go to for the ultimate slapstick comedy.

Thankfully, this is also in no way a trailer movie. Most of the stunts which you’ll have seen in the trailer – most notably The High Five - are gotten out of the way relatively early on, and from there on out it’s entirely new content, pushing the barriers of acceptability to their very boundaries.

While it’s fair to say there is a definite warning on this one that it’s not for the faint of heart – or the squeamish – otherwise anybody with even a remote funny bone will laugh at this. Even I, who started out intent on hating it, have to admit: I’ve never laughed so hard, and so consistently at any film in the cinema EVER.

Review: Chuck Vs The First Fight

This post contains spoilers for the latest episode of Chuck to air stateside (Chuck Vs The First Fight), so look away now if you haven't seen it.

Every once in a while a TV show airs and I feel the need to blog about it once I've watched it. This weeks episode of Chuck definitely was one of those occasions. It was so damn good!!

Opening where last week's shock cliffhanger left off, Chuck visits mummy dearest while she's imprisoned inside Castle. She tells him that she really is undercover, and that there is only one man who can clear her name- her MI6 handler (a bumbling would-be spy superbly portrayed by Timothy Dalton)

As Chuck races against time to prove his mothers innocence - while battling with Volkoff's henchmen (who're also looking for Chuck's Mum). All of this is taking place while Chuck is also fighting (in a much more metaphorical sense) with Sarah, over the fundamental disagreement over Sarah's arresting Frost to begin with.

This episode saw everything which is great about Chuck combine into one.

It had some of the best comedic moments the show has displayed in a long time (from Sarah's annoyance in Chuck having spoken to literally everyone else but her, to Morgan's escalating fight with Casey), as well as some superb action and fighting sequences.

One of the best sequences takes place when Elly and her mother finally sit down to talk. It's such a beautiful moment, and so perfectly balanced - it's clear that neither knows exactly how to react, and yet that they both love eachother more than they can possibly express.

Everything comes to a head though in the final few minutes. As the great reveal takes place, and Dalton shows his true colours as Volkoff himself, a real shiver goes up the back of your spine. I had sort of called it, but that didn't take anything away from it actually happening - indeed it just made me more elated, as it means we'll have to see Dalton at least once more in the show.

All in all, this was just an utterly and completely brilliant episode.

It'll be really interesting to see how the whole thing plays out now that Elly has the intersect - how quickly she will realise to give it to Chuck, and how Chuck will react to his mother's betrayal (she may have saved his life, but she's still clearly working with Volkoff after all, and that's going to be a tough pill to swallow)

Next week cannot come soon enough, but for now I just need to see this one all over again - because it might just be the best episode that this show has ever thrown forward.

The Social Network

If anything will define the last decade, the explosion of social networking media would be very close to the top of the list. The biggest hitter of them all of course - Harvard undergrad Mark Zuckerberg’s behemoth: Facebook

Set primarily inside two court deposition rooms, “The Social Network” tells in flashback the sequence of events surrounding the inception and foundation of Facebook, as told through the eyes of Zuckerberg himself (in a performance unlike any other which Jesse Eisenberg has ever delivered); Eduardo Saverin (his business partner portrayed by Andrew Garfield); and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (two other Harvard students, who sued Zuckerberg for allegedly stealing the idea for Facebook)

Aaron Sorkin’s script is superb, not coming down on any side of the legal wrangling, but instead – having chosen to set the film during the disputes – using the 3 different versions of events to present different scenes to the viewer, and allow them to try and piece together an opinion of their own regarding who’s right and who’s wrong.

There are some great laughs too, clearly poking fun at the mania of the modern system, which has become so dependent on Facebook. When Saverin’s girlfriend berates him about his relationship status remaining as “Single” rather than “in a relationship”, it feels like every single member of the audience knows that this is far more than the triviality which it should be – in this day and age this is a serious issue.

At the centre of it all of course is the Zuckerberg character itself. An insanely bright, witty and yet incredible dark individual, Mark Zuckerberg is a certifiable genius, but at the same time a certifiable jackass to boot. He is not a likeable man, and indeed his (very quickly to become ex) girlfriend at the start of the movie sums him up saying: “You’ll grow old thinking that everyone hates you because you’re a nerd. It’s not that at all Mark, it’s just that you’re an arrogant asshole.” (or words to that effect). How ironic that someone who has such complete trouble with social interaction should ultimately be the one to create the greatest social tool mankind has ever seen.

This is very different to the role you’d traditionally expect to find Jesse Eisenberg in. In the past he’s been described as taking the roles which Michael Cera would pass off, but here he more than out shines that particular shadow, bringing nuance to the genius on screen.

Justin Timberlake also stars, in the role of Sean Parker, founder of Napster, and in many ways the man Mark Zuckerberg wishes he could be. Parker is savvy, cool, and you get the feeling he can (and does) get any girl he wants, whenever he wants her. He almost presents the cautionary tale though, in that you feel like he’s a loose cannon ready to go off at any moment – something which clearly worries the Andrew Garfield character, who is very much the ethical barometer of the film, far more able to read into people than Mark is.

Ulitmately of course there is only one way I can really sum up my opinions on what may as well have been titled “Facebook: The Movie” – James Gordon Likes This.

Review: Mockingjay [spoilers]

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR MOCKINGJAY BEGIN PRETTY MUCH IMMEDIATELY AFTER THIS MESSAGE, SO DON'T READ ON IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW.

Mockingjay was a book nothing like I had anticipated. It was much darker, and the war was so much more fully realised than I had expected – showing the true evil that is human nature.

Indeed there are moments in the book where you find yourself hoping Peeta’s prophecy that perhaps the complete annihilation of humanity would be better than allowing any of these people to survive comes true.

As we finally get our first glimpse of the long awaited District 13, in Part One, what we find is not a rag-tag group of rebellious survivors who had made their way to 13 out of defiance – what I had expected - but instead a fully intact District 13, who had betrayed the other districts and done a deal with the Capitol to guarantee their survival.

This put me on a very uneven footing going into the novel, and I really couldn’t get into the book in its 1^st third. It didn’t feel like a Hunger Games novel, and lacked the immediacy of its predecessors – far too much time spent strategising and not enough actually doing anything. This of course is the reality of war, and credit to Collins for showing this side of things, but for me, it slowed the book down far too much. After the explosive end to Catching Fire, I wanted to get straight into the action and I couldn’t.

That being said, as the story powered on into Parts 2 and 3, as Katniss became the Mockingjay, and led the battle on the Capitol, the book finally felt like it should.

From the attack on the hospital, to Peeta’s rescue – and indeed his hijacking – the book suddenly had the action element to it, and while the planning and strategy was still going on it suddenly became relegated to the background as we had to watch Katniss struggle with losing Peeta, and acclimatising to life in 13.

The book was at its very best though as the final surge on the Capitol began. The design of the Capitol being like a giant arena gave the story what it had lacked up until this point – the feeling of danger that the Games always inspired up until now.

As Boggs and Finnick and the rest are slowly picked off one by one, you really feel that with so little of the book left, suddenly anyone is open game, and it is even possible she could kill Peeta or Gale as the group make their way towards the Mansion.

And then Prim dies. And there, finally is the ultimate tragedy. The story comes full circle. Katniss entered the arena to save Prim, and by entering the arena inadvertently caused the war which would kill her.

From here on out the story concluded perfectly, both Coin and Snow being killed – if Coin had survived to be president I’d have been angry – Katniss finding herself finally with Peeta (just about the one thing about the book I did predict).

After a very rocky beginning, Mockingjay lived up to its hype in the second and third acts, and concluded a simply amazing trilogy as well as it possibly could do.

BEDA - Aug 30 - Reading Festival 2010

First allow me to apologise for my utter and abject failure to blog since Wednesday. The reason is simply that I have not been within range of a laptop since then. I was at the Reading music festival all weekend for my birthday, and while I expected to be able to blog from my phone, it turns out you can only read posts from Blogger on mobile devices, not post them so that somewhat scuppered the plan!!

I will however make up with it now with a full recap of my weekend.

Thursday

Not a lot to be said to be honest, got to the campsite at Reading on Thursday afternoon, went and got some food and just generally chilled out for the evening. Very much what I have referred to before as the “pre-awesome” day.

Friday

At around 11am, the gates to the main arena opened, and the 1000’s in attendance rushed in.

My brother and I headed first to the Alternative stage, where we were lucky enough to catch some brilliant comedy from the likes of Emo Phillips and Stephen K. Amos before the crowd swelled to fill the tent as YouTube sensations “The Midnight Beast” broke out their own brand of hip hop (including “We are the TMB Party! Who in da house? We in da house! We in da house of parliament)

Next we rushed over to catch the end of Two Door Cinema Club’s set, and then chill out sat watching The Big Pink

We then headed over to the Main stage to be serenaded by scottish rockers Biffy Clyro and Wales’ offering to the festival Lost Prophets. Both were awesome, indeed Biffy remain one of my favourite bands of the moment, and while their new album is perhaps not the strongest material they’ve got, their old stuff doesn’t fail to please.

American rock legends Queens of the Stone Age followed and – hardly surprising having seen them several times before – they kicked some serious ass, and had complete control over the huge crowd gathered to watch their hour long set.

And then the problems began.

9:30PM: headline act Guns N Roses are supposed to be taking to the stage.

9:45: No sign of them

10:00: No sign of them, the crowd is booing by this point

10:15: More and more boos crescendo throughout the crowd, as plenty of people walk off to other stages, convinced they’re simply not going to turn up at all

Finally at gone 10:30, well over an hour late, the band take to the stage, and understandably the completely pissed off crowd boos the hell out of them. There is no apology from Axl, indeed no interaction at all with the crowd for the duration of the set, which basically consisted of them playing a song, then a 5minute guitar solo while Axl went off to change his costume, followed by another song, followed by another costume change. Given how bloody late they were to begin with one would have assumed the idiot would have just kept in what he was wearing and motored through but oh no, he decided he would do things his way, and, yes you guessed it: even more boos, chants of “Fuck You Axl”, and “We Want Slash” coming from all around the field.

The official curfew for the event, as set by noise pollution laws, is 11:30, and the organisers had made clear they were going to stand firm on this. As you can imagine, this particular set was not going to be completable in the single hour they had (entirely because Axl was being a prick). They play ed until 11:45, which they shouldn’t have anyway, at which point the band left, meaning to return for an encore, but the organisers cut the amps, so that when they returned they were effectively unable to complete their set.

The whole thing was a bit of a shambles, but to be fair not one bit of it can be blamed on the organisers: they were sticking to the rules, and they had been lenient as it was. The band were the ones fucking about, not anyone else.

Saturday

Once again with our eyes set firmly on the Alternative stage to start our day, me and my brother were excited to see Kevin Bridges, one of our favourite comedians. Unfortunately when we got their we were informed that Bridges was currently delayed at Edinburgh airport, and would be here as soon as possible, and would be on later in the day if he made it in time.

In the mean time they moved the remainder of the schedule up, which brought an American comedian by the name of Neil Hamburger to the stage. Oh my god. I have never heard such a tirade of just blatant homophobia, racism, and other sick jokes (some aimed towards Michael Jackson, who lets face it, in a crowd made up of music fans, is just off limits). In his 25minutes there simply was not a funny joke. The entire crowd booed him, and before long we were pelting him with bottles and whatever else littered the floor of the tent. Chants rang out of “You’re shit and you know you are, you’re shit and you know you are!” until finally he left the stage.

The host, Andrew O’Neill immediately managing a bigger cheer than Hamburger’s entire set as he walked forward and asked: “You may not have liked that, but did you at least enjoy hating it?” (which yes, I think its fair to say we did).

We stuck around to watch Jason Byrne (who was hilariously funny) and Milton Jones – who was actually funnier than he’s ever managed to be on Mock the Week, which is saying something, before moving on to catch a few songs from Hadouken on the second stage and The Maccabees.

Rapper Dizzie Rascal is decidedly out of place so far up the bill, (or on it at all), but the crowd knows all the words anyway, so we sing along at the top of our voices nonetheless.

As the day went on though there was only one way it was moving, and that was towards the band second on the bill on the main stage. The Libertines. A band who’s set was more anticipated than any other at any festival I’ve ever been to.

For those of you who may not know the long and drawn out history of The Libertines, they are a four piece punk outfit from London, who despite a meteoric rise to fame in the early 2000’s, could not handle the pressure and effectively imploded. Best friends Pete Doherty and Carl Barat, the Paul and John of the band if you will, simply descended into a bitter feud, and the band came to an abrupt finish with Doherty’s arrest and imprisonment.

Pete has been in and out of prison and drug rehabilitation ever since, while Carl has tried to restructure and move on.

Over the last few years both Barat and Doherty have formed their own bands (Dirty Pretty Things, and Babyshambles respectively), but deep down in the hearts of Libertines fans we have always hoped they may one day reconcile. The gigs have been rumoured since almost the day they first split, but finally, after 6 long years, in March of this year it was announced that the reunion was on. Reading 2010 would be the reforming (as it stands for one night only) of The Libertines.

So here we are, August 28^th 2010. 8:30pm. The moment music fans the world over have been waiting for. And there they are. Pete, Carl, John and Gary. They play all the old favourites, including the seemingly prophetic “Can’t Stand Me Now” (a song which was on their first album, but basically spoke about two best friends who ended up hating eachother)

Embracing one another like brothers, Pete and Carl look like they’ve never been away. It’s one of those moments which will live in the minds of those who witnessed it forever.

If this was the end, it was a happy one, but I honestly hope this isn’t the end of the Libertines story. Maybe we can finally put the past behind us and let the future shine.

Oh and…headliners Arcade Fire kicked ass. Nuff said.

Sunday

A) Sunday was my birthday, so wooot. Thanks to all of you for the birthday wishes on Facebook/twitter/email/text whatever. All were greatly appreciated!!

B) Ok back to the bands. Sunday started out with my surprise of the festival, a band I’d never heard of, but who I completely and utterly love now (experiences like this are why I love festivals, because you can discover as much as you can enjoy old stuff). Anyway, the band is called Motion City Soundtrack, and the lead singer is a total nerd, and their songs include references to things like falling asleep late at night watching Veronica Mars reruns, and generally the sort of thing I do. I could literally be best friends with the frontman.

We hung around to watch The King Blues, who I only really knew one song from (inevitably the last they played), and have to admit I was sort of disappointed with the rest of their set. Perfectly Ok, but I love the one song I do know (Save the Girl, Save the World), and I guess I wanted to love the rest as much.

Then it REALLY started pouring with rain, so we ducked back into our go-to tent, the Alt-Stage, where Russell Kane (who less than 24hours before hand had won the a comedy award at the Edinburgh Fringe) was performing, and I think it’s fair to say, from what I saw he definitely deserved the award. He was seriously funny.

We sat and ate lunch beside the tent where Metronomy were playing, who were enjoyable enough, before going to see Weezer, who literally exceeded every possible expectation. With perfect renditions of Teenage Dirtbag from Wheatus and mixing the lyrics to Poker Face into one of their own songs, this set was a definite highlight of the festival.

Next up it was the turn of Paramore. Now this is a band I have said some very mean things about before – including calling lead singer Hayley Williams the antichrist. I just don’t like them at all. That being said: on this night, with 10’s of 1000’s of people singing along, Only Exception and Brick by Boring Brick do sound spectacular. Otherwise ‘twas a pretty boring set, but better than I was expecting

Finally it came down to the final band of the festival, as the crowd swelled around the main stage to see Blink 182 play their only UK show this year. Blink are a band to whom I owe most of my childhood. They’ve always been one of my favourite acts, and I had always regretted not seeing them live while I had the chance first time round, so ever since the reunion was announced I’ve been waiting patiently for a UK tour – so the moment this UK date finally came up I was right on it!

“All the Small Things”, “I Miss You”, “First Date”, the hits just keep on coming, and despite the fact front man Tom Delounge is clearly stoned off his face, the gig goes to plan anyway. It’s a real special way to finish a great weekend.

Monday

And we’re back. Today I’m frankly too tired to do anything much at all but lay around now that I’m home.

I leave you all with this video of The Libertines tearing up the Main Stage with "What Became of the Likely Lads"