A sign of the times...

I used to watch a lot of television as a kid, but it wasn't until I lived purely off TV, movies and the internet around the time that I was at university that I truly immersed myself in the wonders on show.

During this time we watched pretty much everything that we could, and it was prior to the explosion of the shit that clogs up our screens these days...reality TV, but let's for the moment live in Utopia and pretend that type of shit still doesn't exist.

During these days, we'd get a group of guys together, head down the local video store and hire 10 movies, then proceed to lock ourselves in a room and drink copious amounts of booze watching some of the most bizarre movie combinations - and indeed movies - in history.

To this day, I can still remember some of the absolute beauties that we watched in those days, two of which spring directly to mind...

1. Mutronics,
2. Robot Jox.

I doubt there's more than a handful of people that have seen both of these movies, and yes, there's a reason why.

I also recall - with both fondness and embarrasment - that we watched Rocky I - Rocky V in rapid succession, only pausing to change the tape or to take a piss. Many will argue that Rocky V never happened, but I can assure you there were five movies watched on this bizarre night.

Why am I reminiscing about some weird and wonderful times spent in front of the box? Simple really, I watched the second film in a row starring Leonardo Di Caprio and managed to finish my viewing without a) vomiting, b) wanting to punch him in the face and c) offering my soul to the devil to take me away from the viewing pain.

To say that I've never appreciated Leonardo's work would be akin to saying that Hitler never appreciated the Jewish people, and although I never thought to commit genocide - or indeed to use such an inappropriate analogy - it's fair to say that I usually avoided any movie with 'Leo' in it. I mean, have you even seen 'Titanic'? I'm not sure which was more disasterous, the original ship or the movie.

When I heard that 'The Departed' was coming out, I was actually checking the movie listings daily to see when it started at my local cinema - even though Di Caprio had landed a leading role. And you know what? I was impressed! However, after the film had finished, I rationalised that I was impressed because he hadn't totally sucked, and because everyone else in the movie was so bloody good, that it was easy to overlook his shitty acting. I mean really, even Mark Wahlberg was entertaining!!!! Yes, read that last sentence again, and no, I haven't actually sold my soul to the devil.

So I recently see a trailer for 'Blood Diamond' and it shows Di Caprio as a bit of an action guy, and although I giggle to myself, picturing him standing at the bow of a computer generated boat, I'm willing to check it out, because being a cinema member, these are the types of risks we take. I was also interested in the actual backdrop of the movie along with the main plot and a few sub-plots.

Now this isn't the first movie that I've seen in 2007 (I've seen Smoking Aces, Miss Potter and something else that I've already forgotten), but I've got to tell you that 'Blood Diamond' is something that I rate. Really enjoyed every aspect of the film.

So there it is in a nutshell, I'm now able to enjoy a film with Leo in it, but perhaps this is just yet another reason for me to go and add to a post from many months ago listing a number of reasons that could indicate that I am gay.

And no, because I've got a rainbow coloured bumper sticker that says, 'I love having balls in front of my face' does not make me gay! Referring to Di Caprio as 'Leo' however, well that might just be the straw that broke the Camel's back....... I'll let you decide.

Check the movie out though, it's well worth it.