I usually love the transfer period as its exciting about the new players that you hope might come to play for your team but I have mixed feelings so far. Today Robbie Keane left for Liverpool which was devastating but at a healthy £20.3m pretty amazing really, he is class though. We have bought some exciting new talent in Luka Modric £16.5m, Heurelho Gomes £10m and Giovani dos Santos £8.6m (see below). But we have a few spots that need replacing, personally I would be delighted with David Bentley from Blackburn Rovers, David Villa from valencia and/or Andrei Arshavin of Zenit St Petersburg.So far we have sold/loaned out or lost:Robbie Keane - Liverpool £20.3mPaul Robinson - Blackburn Rovers £3.5mPascal Chimbonda - Sunderland £?Teemo Tainio - Sunderland £?
Anthony Gardner - Hull on loanAnd in the next day or so Steed Malbranque and Younes Kaboul could be on the way to Sunderland - lets just hope we keep Dimitar Berbatov and the rest before the season starts!
My flights have been booked and I am coming home from Monday 28th (around 10pm) until Tuesday 5th August can't wait to see everyone!
My brother Jason and his girlfriend Kelly are having a baby girl in November and that means I will be an Uncle again, how exciting is that!! Hopefully I will get to them both when i fly home next week.
Thats right I am heading back to England in the next week for Benny and Sarahs wedding (see pic below) and to see as many of you as I can in a week, that impossible yet wonderful game!I will be staying at my Mum's as usual in Marlow and will roughly be there from July 28/29th - August 4/5th. Please email me at myboyswickedsmart@hotmail.com if you would like either of my numbers or more info. I look forward to catching up soon! :)
Oh my days I have been so excited about this film for so long. I loved Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins and through my Bro's enthusiasm enjoyed reading Batman comics/graphic novels for some time and we all know The Joker is Batman's arch nemesis. The fact that Heath Ledger didn't live to see his disturbing portrayal on the big screen only heightened the interest in what many have been saying is the movie/blockbuster of the summer.So rather than waiting to see the film at a normal time, a bunch of crazy friends and i went to see the midnight showing on the Thursday night.It was dark and brooding but chaotic, unsettling and messy too. The Joker was psychotically brillant and the huge cast did a great job (other than Maggie Gyllenhaal how can you replace Katie Holmes, i mean please :) but even though the story was given room to breathe and we saw Batman as a mortal i.e. vulnerable it still felt like too much for one film.I would like to watch it again soon so I can get a better feel for this 'Empire Strikes Back' version of Batman. I know some of you might be reading this and be saying this is what Batman is really all about and I would agree but somehow I was confused beyond what I should have been.There is no doubt in my mind that Nolan has done a terrific job and has taken Batman to new heights and that in time i will recognise this for the masterpiece that it is. But right now i have some questions and need them answering . . . guess what i'll be doing this weekend! :) (5/5)[Redux] ReviewI have now seen The Dark Knight again and I enjoyed it even more as i could see characters develop and take in the incredible detail without losing the big picture so to speak. On a second viewing I felt less confused and actually relaxed and let the chaos unfold without all the questions i had before about the who's and why's. In short this was far more satisfying the second time, yes there is still alot going on but "its all part of the plan!"I mentioned before that Batman is more real more vulnerable in this feature but i actually think he has also become more 'super' in his plight to rid Gotham City of its evil crooks. Its very interesting that we get behind this guy if you think about it, especially how he becomes judge, jury and excecutioner basically controlling the world and bringing his own justice like a God. Do we all secretly or not so secretly wish we were able to do the same - i know i would love to drive that car and beat up all the baddies. But doesn't that fly in the face of the Gospel? Batman is definitely no Christ figure. However one of the themes of the film really stands out that Jesus does represent, that of self sacrifice that is seen; on the boats, by Harvey and Rachel, by Gordon and his family and by Batman at the end.I didn't really even mention before how cool this film is. The Joker has all the best lines and mannerisms especially in meeting all the mob bosses and crashing Harvey Dent's fundraiser. All the action scenes were fantastic too including a draw dropping chase scene that will surprise and make you yelp with delight like a 7 year old - the Batpod er hello. . . amazing!! So in conclusion I would have to say this is the nearest Batman to the graphic Novels I have read i.e. dark and full of great stories and character arcs that you would not expect. Therefore this is the best Batman film to date and has made me hope for even better next time!
For some reason I waited almost a month before going to see this, mainly due to not being sure if it would live up to the hype of past feature length Pixar movies. Boy was I wrong to wait or to not trust those animation genuises - this was a delight one of those rare times you just smile from ear to ear and feel good inside.What a gift to make something that you connect with and care about. I mean I watch alot of movies and so much of the time I feel detached and couldn't care less about the characters and they are usually played by actors. But this is animation and yet I want this little robot to find love/a friend, to not get hurt or be left behind, i want him to survive . . . and so on. Thats amazing and thats what makes Pixar so unique and talented in my opinion.There are some interesting Christian undertones that may come from Andrew Stanton who is a Christian and wrote this as well as Finding Nemo. There are also some political and social insights some more obvious than others that will make some people think and who knows maybe change.This is a wonderful film, crammed full of incredible detail and little touches that make this heads and shoulders above most other films out there. Go see this movie and get caught up in Wall-E's world you won't forget it. (5/5)
Okay so I am not a fan of the first Hellboy film but the sequel was directed by the same guy who did Pans Lanbrynth which was quite simply a work of art with a underlying Gospel theme. So after seeing the trailer on TV for like the 50th time I had to see HB 2. But I was left wanting so much more, yeah it looked amazing and it had a pretty good story but it never really got up to full speed leaving me unsatisfied like i had just driven a beautiful ferrari but could only use the first 2 gears. Memorable characters but disappointing action and ending left me wishing I had waited for this on DVD. (3/5)
What an incredible week we had at Camp Bonnie Doone at the end of June. In the end we took 70 students and 14 leaders to the wonderful rustic piece of heaven which we made home for a week. Not even power cuts which meant no light, electricity or AC and no water so no showers, water to drink and no toilet use on the first night deterred us!!We played: kickball, ultimate frisbee, soccer, basketball, kayaked and rode bikes. We also did art and crafts, had the H2O and Wacky Olympics, a talent show, hunted the leaders, swam in the pool, played board games, EMPIRES and Apples to Apples and much more. But best of all we learned about Jesus' parables in the Bible, we worshipped God every day, had quiet times, prayed daily and grew as a community.Highlights include seeing students crying and praying over each other as they stood together with fellow students who had lost a parent and have other troubles. Also hearing that students laid prostrate in awe of Gods love for them in worship and hearing one of my boys tell me through tears pouring down his face "that I just can't believe Jesus died for me, I'm a mess up I do what i want all the time yet He chose to die for, thats amazing that he loves me that much". How can you beat that! Praise God for leading Will and I through the week, it definitely wasn't us :) Please be praying for our students to remember what they learned and experienced that week and that ultimately they choose to follow Jesus Christ for the rest of their lives, thank you.
Another Box office smash for Will Smith over the July 4th weekend but was Hancock the film any good? Well at times it was especially the first half where we saw Will Smith at his comedic best as Hancock the superhero with a drinking problem, wise cracking and baddie bashing aplenty. This only worked against itself as the film quickly dipped into left field wondering "is this a serious piece of cinema? Er NO it can't be just a few minutes ago we saw a drunk Will Smith through a kid into space!!" But if its meant to be a fun action flick why has the whole movie changed and the story gotten completely ridiculous and well crap??? At only a miserly 1hr and 25 mins Hancock felt rushed, poorly written and ultimately a film that had two very different threads that never got ironed out before filming so became a huge gigantic mess which made no sense.Will Smith is the only redeeming feature in this easily forgotten film, Charize Theron however stunningly gorgeous is misled and comes across poorly, Jason Bateman plays himself but has his moments. Will Smith continues to be better than the films he stars, someone please give him something of quality that he can trully revel in. (2.5/5)
I usually love the transfer period as its exciting about the new players that you hope might come to play for your team but I have mixed feelings so far. Today Robbie Keane left for Liverpool which was devastating but at a healthy £20.3m pretty amazing really, he is class though. 
