Just back from Cinema Days, that thrice-yearly excuse for regional journalists to get together and watch some upcoming films ahead of release. As usual, there's an air of jet-lag after it as the weekend usually involves sitting in a darkened room/cinema, watching around fifteen films over four days, having a few drinks in the bar afterwards and being well fed by the catering staff in the marquee. Yes, I appreciate that doesn't sound like hard work, but it IS a genuine strain on the eyes and the body clock. I avoided the usual obligatory too much alcohol and I've been particularly mindful of the eye strain this time as the last thing I needed to feel was a headache (and I didn't want the last thing I felt to be a headache).

I saw the Clint Eastwood film GRAN TORINO, which I can't recommend enough and some decent fare such as GOOD (which Jason Isaacs turned up to promote), BOLT (a CGI family movie, doggie-style) and LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (a very atmospheric suburban vampire movie set in Sweden). Others such as FRANKLYN (a movie that wants to be a Gilliam/Gaiman type but isn't a patch on them), CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC (Yes, as dreadful as it sounds), TWO LOVERS and VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA (doomed love-stories with a ton of unsypathetic characters between them) were more of a pain. But the press conferences were okay (Mr Isaacs, some of the guys from Disney, Franklyn director etc) and it was good to see some familiar faces at the event.

This week I'll be sorting the flights to and from the States in April/May (where I'll be eMCeeing the Highlander WorldWide event and catch up with the LA talent - Hi to Kerry and Gillian!) and then I'll sort out the internal flights to get me back to Iowa during my trip. My current plan is to have a week in LA for Highlander, interviews, socialising etc and then around a fortnight in the US heartland to relax over my birthday. Proper little frequent-flyer I'm turning out to be!

Okay, back to helping my parentals rest up their computer system, searches for chocolate, various deadlines and a long article about the way technology is affecting action entertainment. Maybe with jokes. Well, let's hope so.