Tea and Cakes

In my small circle of friends, on our birthdays we have the pleasure of inflicting an activity of our choice on to the others, usually ending in a few drinks. (Fibre related activities are forbidden, sadly.)

This year I made my friends sit through an overly long and not particularly good Pirates of the Carribean 3. This was an improvement on last years play, Hysteria, which was awful. Shockingly, laughably (now, looking back) awful.

For Linus’s birthday we went to see Die Hard 4. I hadn’t seen Die Hard 1-3, so I admit to being a little ‘meh’ about the whole event beforehand. A couple of weeks later we settled down to watch Die Hard, and an allegation was recounted that a person who saw and enjoyed Die Hard 4 before watching Die Hard would prefer number 4.

I would like to refute that.

Die Hard 4 was great. Absolutely ridiculous and stupid and over the top but heaps of laugh-out-loud fun and I was really glad I went along.

And that’s the thing.  Die Hard is great too, but not absolutely ridiculous, stupid or over the top. Well, ok, that’s not strictly true, but there’s a lot less disbelief suspension necessary. It just kicks ass as an action film. Alan Rickman is the baddie! It’s hard to get better than that, really. Plus, and I know I’m really showing my age here, you can see what happens in the action sequences. They don’t move so fast that you can’t make out what’s going on and have to shut your eyes because you’re all giddy. And Al! All knows the score. He knows McClane is good. Not like that stupid chief.

Anyway, yes, both fun, but Die Hard much, much better.

Don’t say there’s never discussion of high culture on this blog.