Inadvertant movie mode

Speaking to my wife and MTL yesterday, they both concluded that yesterday's blog was one of the more interesting ones; apparently my blogs are better when I don't have a set plan to follow. However, even for my topical blogs, I start with a random rant so I guess the response varies from topic to topic. Some are appreciated more than others.

Surgery this morning has yet again been uneventful. I used to feel certain kudos attached to being a doctor, but as time goes by it is being stripped away. People always associate doctors with making difficult decisions, working under pressure and saving lives. When I was working in hospital I experienced a bit of that, sometimes what I did actually made a difference to a patient’s quality of life. I helped improve severe infections or treat and prevent heart attacks. Nowadays the most difficult decision seems to be what to type about in my blog. Being a GP has taken away all the kudos.

I don't know why I'm complaining so much. After all, I could have stayed in hospital and felt more important but instead I choose to go down this path. Throughout medical school I was adamant that I wouldn't become a GP. Remember, I didn't want to be a dentist because I couldn't stand the thought of looking down people's mouths for the rest of my life, similarly I didn't want to be a GP because the idea of treating cold after cold, sore throat after sore throat was not appealing.

I've already highlighted in a previous blog the reasons for going into general practice, but I still can't help feeling a sense of failure in becoming a GP. It wasn't what I envisaged when I was at medical school. I enjoy the hours and the family/social life that the job affords me, but the more often than not after most of my surgeries I'm left feeling fed-up. Hopefully when I qualify as a GP I'll be able to branch out and develop some special interests, something that will let me feel as if I'm making a difference. One possibility would be to have day shifts in A&E, really get my hands dirty with some acute medicine, but until then, I guess I have to make do.

Sorry to keep going on about it, it just seems to be the overwhelming feeling I experience on a daily basis. It's not helped by the fact that I have such a long gap between surgery's with nothing but this blog to do. Being stuck in the middle of nowhere, 40miles from home means my options are severely limited. There is a cinema nearby, but I can't quite bring myself to go alone, something I've only done once and it was a sad experience. However I am tempted by the chance to watch Casino Royale this afternoon - alone or not alone, at least it'll be something to do!

Speaking of films, I saw The Prestige last night. An extremely intriguing film. Very well shot and all the actors performed well. The twist in the end was quite simple, but masterfully presented. It's been awhile since I saw a good film, infact a while since I saw any film in the cinema at all. A far cry from my uni days, when I averaged over 40 films a year, reaching my nadir in 2001 when I managed 53 films in one year, more than one a week! This year I think I've only managed 12 films; it's what a married and working life does to you!

Continuing with the movie theme for now, there are quite a few films in the pipeline which sound interesting. On top of the new James Bond, there's also a blast from the past in the form of Rocky Balboa. Rocky I-III were brilliant films, and along with the first Rambo, they have been Stallone's only decent films. However, Rocky IV and V were simply awful and killed the franchise. Although the thought of Rocky VI seems purely a money-making exercise, I'll be interested to see it nonetheless.

May 2007 is going to be a huge month for Hollywood. It sees the release of three sequels whose predecessors have absolutely minted the box office. First is the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, I really have trouble understanding why POTC has been so successful. I did enjoy the films, but I don't see why they have been such a huge success at the box office. What has been so special about them? Also released will be Spiderman 3, the first Spiderman broke all records for the highest opening weekend ever and Spiderman 2 wasn't far behind, the films themselves were really good, and I'm really looking forward to the 3rd installment. Lastly, also released in May is Shrek the Third. The Shrek series has proved immensely popular, the second film taking in over $900 million at the box office. It's my wife's favourite film and the third installment should hopefully be very funny. So all in all, May looks like a good month for everyone, there's something in all the three films for everyone to enjoy.

No movie discussion would be complete without mention of Bollywood, something which the major film magazines in the UK, namely Empire and Total Film, seem to repeatedly ignore. Only the BBC movie website has a section dedicated for Bollywood. That's extremely poor when you consider that many Bollywood films routinely make it into the top ten at the UK box office.

One star stands out from Bollywood, no surprises to know that he is Shah Rukh Khan. Unlike Hollywood, the success of Bollywood movies usually centres on the cast, not necessarily the story. Pretty much every single Shah Rukh Khan starrer since 1998 (when Bollywood started taking off in the UK) has made it into the top ten. You can argue that the films have been successful because of other stars as well, films such as Veer Zaara, which made it as high as no. 4 at the box office in November 2004, and Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam, (possibly one of the worst Bollywood films ever, although released in 2002, some of the scenes were shot in 1996) - upto no.7 at the box office - have succeeded because of the multi star cast. However, even Swades (a film purely based on Shah Rukh Khan) made it into top ten UK box office in December 2004, which just goes to show the power of the man.

It therefore comes as a surprise that his latest film, Don, has failed to enter the top ten. It only made it to number 11. Even Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna made it into the top ten, despite being a 192min bore. So has the light finally dimmed for Shah Rukh Khan? Have people become savvy and decided to watch films for their stories rather than their actors? I haven't seen Don, so I can't comment on how good it is, but I reckon it'll take more than one film before we can cast doubt on the power of Shah Rukh Khan.

At the end of the day, why would he care? He's made his millions so why would he care if his films flop? Infact, why would any successful actor care? Hollywood actors make millions upon millions of dollars for each film. Bruce Willis made $30million for The Sixth Sense, Tom Cruise $40million for M:I 2 and Tom Hanks over $50million for Forrest Gump. Whooping amounts of cash, so any subsequent box office failure would probably not even register on their radar!

How did this turn into a movie blog? A random rant if there ever was one if you ask me! I only wanted to mention the film I saw last night and look where it led me. Well, hopefully some of the thousands of readers of this site are movie fans and will find today's blog interesting! Then again, who am I kidding?

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?