Why is a that a drawback? It'll be well-made, watchable, fun, heart-warming and, so I gather, made by someone who genuinely loved the pirates and has gone to great lengths to recreate the look and feel of the ships.

the boat wouldn't have rocked, it would have bloody capsized.

and all the snow I've always liked Richard Curtis' films so I imagine it going to ok. Apart from round here the story of pirate radio won't be that familar to most people (there's been a lot us born since 1967!) so the storys are worth telling again.

As for the music british films are hard enough to get made without trying to sell the set list from the perfume garden as the spin off soundtrack to a bunch dubious backers!

Fabulous cast of probably the usual suspects (including the great Bill Nighy) and knowing sentimentality, espousing thus the mawkishness often that would cloyingly attract to such a mood. And the music will be great too.
If you didn't like "Love actually", a film both utterly corny and utterly warming, you have no heart. So his films have little basis in the real world, what feelgood film does? Its fantasy. Its entertainment.
I can't wait.

I want it to be good, but the richard Curtis factor is a bit off-putting. Apparantly Johnnie Walker's been a consultant to the film though. which reminds me - has anyone else been listening to his prog on R2 'Pirate Johnnie Walker' ? The music played is great - you won't hear many obscure 60s tracks but if you just want a couple of hours of all that's good about '60s music, mainly the really upbeat stuff as well, its hard to beat. the only downside is the fact that its trying a bit too hard to give the impression of being set on a pirate ship and the asides and interviews etc get a bit wearing.

Two of the most trite, mawkish and improbably well-regarded films it's ever been my displeasure to glower through - Love, Actually and Billy Elliot - have been mentioned so far in this thread, so the omens aren't good.

However the cast (Hoffman, Nighy, Ifans, Frost, O'Dowd), soundtrack and most importantly the trailer suggest that this might actually be pretty good.

... I always insist I hate Richard Curtis, but if I flick across channels and one of his films is on, I always seem to end up watching it to the end. No matter what my critical faculties tell me to do.

This even applies to Love Actually. Although I maintain Emma Thompson and Laura Linney are really good in that.

you can actually 'see' the writing?

Boxes are ticked, buttons pushed and audience target groups courted. They may be well put together, but I seem to always end up simply admiring the stitching.

If Nick is as good as he was in Shaun & Fuzz, then it'll be worth a visit if nothing else.

Also there is one stone cold classic moment in Love Actually, when Martin Freeman is asking a girl out on a date whilst filming a really awkward sex scene that is absolutely genius.

makes highly popular films in a popular format (easy plot, strong cast, funny bits) and should be applauded for the fact that he makes them at all. They may not be to everyone's taste and probably don't stand up to too close a scrutiny (mawkish at times, yup; a bit thin at times, yup) but the simple fact is that he is commercial gold-dust and we should treasure him for the success he generates with the films he makes. They are quintessentially British in a market-place dominated by Hollywood. Yes his films are, at heart, pieces of fluff but so what? I equate his films to Cary Grant - you know not what you're gonna get before you see it but it's so impeccably done you don't mind the limitations 'cos it works so well at the level it is pitched.

Check out the trailer, a good way to waste half an hour without spending any money!
http://www.theboatthatrocked.co.uk

I loathed Love Actually so much it makes me drool spittle at the thought. It was a multiple pile-up of bad scripts, lazy performances and stupid ideas ("loveable stalker" Andrew Lincoln, anyone?) in which only Emma Thompson walked away unscathed.

So why am I actually curious to see The Boat That Rocked, even though I know it could well induce similar emotions? God damn you, Curtis.

Shame about the title.

and at least Hugh Grant isn't in it.

In a guilty way, I liked Love Actually, even with the cardboard cut-out acting of Martine and Colin.

Nighy was as ace as ever but his part was just a carbon copy of his Still Crazy act.

Am I allowed to spoil by giving my review?

... I was on Give Us A Break - and I won both my heat and the final. I was about 16 or 17 at the time. Got a tape of it somewhere but it's excruciating to listen to.

The red ball questions were a bit of a con, mind. They asked me for five of my favourite artists in advance and then asked me questions about them. They went through the questions beforehand to make sure I knew the answers, to keep the game going, I guess. I was on my own for the colours, though...

My prize was a Sanyo radio cassette player that took months, and several chase-up phone calls, to arrive. It now serves in my garage.

I had expected a bit of off-air chat with the Hairy Cornflake as the records played but no, what you heard on the radio was all I got.

In fact he stitched me up rather. He said something about me now being able to listen to Wonderful Radio 1 on their new FM frequency. I pointed out that where we were, it was still MW all the way. To punish me (and the listeners) for my insolence, DLT went quiet and left me to fill 30 seconds of dead air with my teenage witterings.

DLT also modified the format one autumn when sitting in for Steve Wright... hey presto, Conkers on the Radio. I won that as well.

Yes, I bestrode the world of late 80s DLT-fronted novelty-themed Radio 1 quiz shows like a colossus, and no mistake...

"Girl In The Cafe"..I will not only cross the street to avoid it, but also leave town.
Every time I snap my fingers.....