CATS ARE EVIL

Funniest thing I've read so far today: why living with a cat is essentially the same as living with a psychotic room-mate.

I have a solution to this one. It is called Two Closed Doors Between My Bed and Cat-Beds. Like the hygiene rule about the number of doors 'tween kitchen and toilet, except this is mental health.

Sam is sitting next to me looking as though butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. No sign of the furry demon visiting wrath upon a champagne cork ten minutes ago.

film: Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor)

Saw this yesterday. Whoosh! Highly recommended.

Firstly, ignore anyone who says it's "a Russian take on The Matrix." Manifest bo Nonsense.

Secondly, it's all gritty and urban and unlovely. Especially the interiors, mostly apartments in Moscow. There are little details, like five tins of the same thing stacked neatly on an otherwise empty shelf, that make it real: that give a sense of the set-designer recreating a scene so familiar that it doesn't require lingering shots.

Thirdly, it doesn't (apart from the final conflict) use that many special effects. (Filmed and produced in Russia, though -- disappointingly -- post-production was done in LA. Still, they resisted the gloss.)

Fourthly, it's a film where the vampires reflect (and can only be seen in) mirrors. (But before you stop reading, it's not -- not just -- a vampire film.)

Fifthly, the characters are not Hollywood-cool or pretty: no perfect teeth, no immaculate makeup, just fraying edges and getting on with the job.

Sixthly, there are some medieval battle-scenes featuring the Russian equivalent of the Sealed Knot: clash and clatter and gore. But this isn't a film that dwells on violence or suffering.

Seventhly, the twist at the end is not one I'd expect in an American film, and it was handled with the same honesty that typifies the rest of the film: neither hammered home nor reacted to as a tragedy.

Lastly, we went for an excellent meal, with cocktails, afterwards: but it may not have been a good idea to order a Bloody Mary, having seen the real thing in the film.

Oh, and [FAO ladymoonray] it's first in a trilogy, and the trailer for Day Watch (63MB) is slowly seeping onto my hard drive ...