Movies, security, repairs

[caddyman]

Last night, in lieu of the weekly game, we watched Peter Jackson’s King Kong on DVD. Three hours plus interruptions, say 3 hours 30 minutes in all, including phone calls, coffee breaks and the like.

Excellent special effects as you would imagine from WETA, but it really is a classic example of a director who has just had a huge hit being given carte blanche to do as he pleases. Did everyone forget that this is the man behind such abysmal fare as Basket Case? colonel_maxim had the right of it, I think, when he observed that Jackson needed a good editor. Virtually every scene is about 20% too long and a couple of them shouldn’t be there at all. When the gang fell into the ravine with the giant insects we both shouted “referee!” at the telly. I mean, come on.

With 20% lopped off it may become a good film; I can’t see it ever being a great film. I would have hated to see it at the cinema.

Sometime later this week, the police will be sending someone around to look at our flat door and to talk security to us. Apparently although Whetstone is generally a low crime area, there has been a spate of break ins and attempted break ins along the High Road in recent weeks. I am hoping that armed with that intelligence and perhaps even something in writing it will spur the landlord into providing us with a stronger door, perhaps one with a separate steel gate a little in front of the door itself. A new security door would do, though.

Does anyone out there in LJ land have any useful experience of pressurising landlords into keeping up their end of the tenancy agreement? I don’t want to threaten him with lawyers or anything like that if we can possibly get away with it, but I would like us to get what we’re entitled to from him, especially as it isn’t the cheapest place in the world to live. Practical advice welcomed; I have had a look at a couple of websites, but they seem to be a little hazy on the subject and don’t go beyond suggesting that it may be possible top pressurise landlords into making repairs.

Comments

[failing-angel.livejournal.com]

With 20% lopped off it may become a good film
I did see it in the cinema, and I agree - the length worked against it - the seating grew uncomfortable (a sure fire sign that the film was engaging me) and I did find myself mentally clock-watching.

Unfortunately it was the archetypal remake, so aside from the inclusion of 'Cooky' and the uber-sfx, there was little to make it stand out from the original.

[caffeine-fairy.livejournal.com]

I've found the trick is just to ring them every half an hour and sound desperate. Eventually they get bored and do what they're supposed to.

[agentinfinity.livejournal.com]

Maybe try and find some cheap quotes for what you want, then hassle him with them.

I dunno, I was an abysmal failure as a tenant so I probably have nothing worthwhile to suggest. Good luck.

[november-girl.livejournal.com]

Seconded. Except for the cheap bit.

[bluesman.livejournal.com]

The insects in the ravine was my favourite part!

Citizens Advice Bureau. Cheap for you and as unsettling as a solicitor's letter for the landlord.

[wulfboy.livejournal.com]

I hear there's a version of the movie where things happen after they leave Skull Island. But I do not really believe that to be the case. There might be, oh I dunno, ice skating if that were true.

Charlie Brooker (I like Charlie Brooker) says some things about King Kong here -> http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,,1680381,00.html

[caddyman.livejournal.com]

That is amongst the best reviews I have ever read.

[magpye.livejournal.com]

Finally! Someone watched the same movie I did! So many people have tried to explain that I must have been watching some other movie, cos they saw King Kong and liked it. I was beginning to wonder if perhaps I had been too harsh on the movie on my first watch... But hurray... I am saved. I don't have to watch it again! It is the pointlessly overblown, overlong, overhyped pile of Gorrila do I had seen the first time!

[november-girl.livejournal.com]

There was a landlord that squeezypaws and I had terrible trouble with until we worked out that the way to deal with him was to moan to his wife. Things then got done.