The film only came out yesterday and I’m disappointed that there were so few at the cinema. It’s really quite good.

Ok, this is an animated film set during the Clone Wars somewhere between Episode 2 and Episode 3. The animation was excellent – everything looked as if it was carved in wood and hand-painted. The voice talents, many of whom weren’t the original actors, were also very good.

My daughter, who went with me, particularly liked the plot which was clear and non-convoluted.

The music… well, it wasn’t John Williams.

This film is leading onto a TV series which I’ll eagerly await. Certainly if you’re a Star Wars fan, then this film is recommended.

I went to see this as the new Showcase De Lux in Derby. The tickets were the same price as at my “normal” Showcase but the theatre was a lot newer – and it showed. The picture was crisp and the sound a lot better (the bass didn’t distort, for instance, at the end of the Dolby intro). The seats are lovely and padded, there is lots of leg room and the whole theatre is black (walls, ceilings, etc) leading to a darker, and better, image projection.

Recommended? If it wasn’t for the inconvenient and costly parking, then yes. If you can park elsewhere or later in the day (when it’s just £1.50), then yes.

Summary of Star Wars : The Clone Wars

As a child friendly animated Star Wars it’s pretty good. The animation is well done, it’s just a shame about the music and some of the voice talents. The storyline isn’t brilliant, but we hardly expect Pride and Prejudice with Star Wars, do we?

Reviewed by David Artiss on 16th August 2008.

Ok, I don’t know why but I struggle when trying to write film reviews. Software I can do. Films I can’t.

None-the-less, I went to see The Dark Knight a few, erm, nights ago. In a nutshell – very, very good. The story was great, the effects second-to-none. There are lots of unexpected twists (3 bad guys in this movie, any one?) and, although long, it’s appropriate – you certainly don’t get bored!

One thing – I hate the strange voice that Batman has (as Batman, in preference to Bruce Wayne).

BTW, this is my first blog entry written on my wife’s Asus Eee PC. They’re right – the keyboard isn’t designed for lengthy writing!!

Summary of The Dark Knight

Brilliant effects and a complex and involving story. I didn’t think Heath Ledger was as brilliant as many make out and Batman’s voice is irritating. Otherwise, recommended.

Reviewed by David Artiss on 16th August 2008.

One of the few perks of work is getting the occasional chance to see new products and even get free samples – often before they’re in the shop.

So I was keen to try out, a couple of months ago, the new King of Shaves “Azor”.

It’s marketed almost as an antidote to the fluff and nonsense that you normally get with razors. Yet it’s called “Azor”, they refer to “iStyle”, it’s sold in iPod colours, and they talk about “Endurium” coated blades and “Touch Skin Technology”. Personally, it sounds like the kind of nonsense that they all peddle. My personal favourite is the “unique hybrid synergy design which minimises the carbon footprint.” What nonsense.

Oh, and they state that it’s “proudly designed and engineered in the UK. Which I’m sure it is, but they’re lacking something – yea, it’s probably being manufactured elsewhere.

Now, I received a white Azor with a single blade. A couple of months later and it’s still going strong. It’s a bit strange at first, as it’s styled differently to your usual razor, but it remains pin-sharp (I cut myself with it only today!).

The one thing I don’t like is it’s shaving ability on a dry bit of skin – you know, when you’ve shaved off all the gel on a bit of skin but return to it for another go-over. A normal razor will normally be okay, but the Azor has a thick black piece of rubber (which is attached to the handle part of the razor, and is therefore not changeable with the blades) and this catches. It doesn’t cause any discomfort, but simple causes it to drag a bit.

But the top bit of this is the price – £4.99 for your Azor with a single blade and it’s the same price for a 4 pack of replacement blades. Compare that to the Gillette Fusion Stealth – £9.99 with 4 blades again costing the same. Twice the price!

Personally, I’m getting along fine with an old Gillette Sensor Excel – I can bulk buy replacement blades from Amazon (with free P&P over £15) every-so-often and it works out a bargain. None-the-less when my current blades run out I’ll seriously look at the Azor as a possible replacement – it’s a good shave and at a good price. Oh, and I love their Proshave Cooling Shaving Gel.

Update (27/08/2008):

The Azor remains sharp even after a couple of months use and I mentioned, in a follow-up comment, how it’s still so sharp I kept cutting myself on it. Anyway, I got a comment from Will King, found and SEO of King of Shaves. Of course, I was sceptical – like it was REALLY going to be him.

He said there had been a faulty batch of blades, and asked me if I’d return mine. So I emailed him, using the King of Shaves email that he supplied. And you know what? It was him.

He’s now given me a freepost address to send the cartridge (that’s the razor head) back to. In kind return, he says they’ll return 4 new ones.

Personally, I just thought it was sharp and not faulty. I’ll be interested to know if mine was a faulty one or if I’m simply prone so cutting myself – having said that I’ve had to go back to my Gillette for a while to allow my cuts to heal (the Gillette is so blunt in comparison it doesn’t really bother them).

As soon as I know anything, I’ll post back.

But, again, another great story of customer service – at this rate I’ll have positive stories than negatives. But then again, there’s always Tesco…

Update (06/09/2008):

As per his word Will King sent me, free of charge, a pack of 4 blades. And all done via Freepost.

They turned up yesterday and so I’m back to Azor. But, sorry, Will, I cut myself again this morning (grumble, grumble). Not the lip this time though. I’m sure it’s more my technique with the Azor than anything else, so I’ll stick with it and see how it goes.

Meantime… full marks to King of Shaves for getting customer service spot on. Tesco – take note!

Summary of King of Shaves Azor

Silly marketing slogans aside, this is a well designed and quality razor. It’s good to see some decent “new blood” (no pun intended) in the market

Reviewed by David Artiss on 16th August 2008.