tamaranth | Brief Culture: Semi Precious Weapons, The Tourist.

1. On Wednesday,

ladymoonray lured me to Islington to see Semi Precious Weapons at the O2 Academy. They were fun, and I bounced a bit and did a lot of people-watching. (Including Surprise!Lady Gaga, who is apparently a friend of the band). Was very pleased to see someone wearing a Ramones t-shirt since Ramones / Hanoi Rocks was very much the flavour du jour ... It was slightly odd to be queuing with loads of old beer-bellied blokes, but they turned out to be seeing From The Jam in the main Academy.

2. On Thursday,

beckyc and

bugshaw and self ventured 'round the corner to Cineworld to see The Tourist, because an evening spent watching Johnny Depp is never wasted. Angelina Jolie's face still seems caricatured to me. Depp was glorious -- a subtle performance, though

beckyc and I occasionally caught glimpses of his inner pirate (Eeee!) Paul Bettany was excellent as profoundly frustrated Inspector Acheson: Timothy Dalton rocked as Chief Inspector Jones. The plot -- which felt rather like one of those light-hearted Sixties crime movies -- went silly at the end (actually, not just at the end). Fun.