Latest News

25 / 07 / 2010
Fantasy F1: The results from the eleventh race in Germany are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Hungary next weekend on 1st August.

11 / 07 / 2010
Fantasy Rally: The results from Rally Bulgaria are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next rally is Finland on THURSDAY 29th July (a day earlier than usual!).

11 / 07 / 2010
Fantasy F1: The results from the tenth race in Silverstone are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Hockenheim on 25th July.

27 / 06 / 2010
Fantasy F1: The results from the ninth race in Valencia are in, including the penalties for the naughty boys driving too fast. Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Silverstone on 11th July.

13 / 06 / 2010
Fantasy F1: The results from the eighth race in Canada are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Valencia on 27th June.

30 / 05 / 2010
Fantasy Rally: The results from Rally Portugal are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next rally is Bulgaria on 9th July.

30 / 05 / 2010
Fantasy F1: The results from the exciting seventh race in Turkey are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Canada on 13th June.

16 / 05 / 2010
Fantasy F1: The Monaco scores have been updated to reflect Michael Schumacher's ridiculous penalty for daring to overtake a Ferrari. Check the updated results, see how your team did or enter a new team.

16 / 05 / 2010
Fantasy F1: The results from the sixth race in Monaco are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Turkey on 30th May.

10 / 05 / 2010
Fantasy F1: The results from the fifth race in Barcelona are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Monaco on 16th May.

10 / 05 / 2010
Fantasy Rally: The results from Rally New Zealand are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next rally is Portugal on 28th May.

19 / 04 / 2010
Fantasy Rally: The results from Rally Turkey are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next rally is New Zealand on 7th May.

18 / 04 / 2010
Fantasy F1: The results from the fourth race in China are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Barcelona on 9th May.

06 / 04 / 2010
Fantasy Rally: The JWRC driver lineup has been released, so you can make your selection before teams are frozen for Turkey on the night of 15th April. If you don't pick anyone, you'll get Aaron Burkart by default.

05 / 04 / 2010
Fantasy F1: The results from the third race in Malaysia are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is China on 18th April.

03 / 04 / 2010
Fantasy Rally: The results from Rally Jordan are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Turkey on 14th April.

29 / 03 / 2010
Fantasy F1: The results from the second race in Melbourne are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Malaysia THIS WEEKEND on 4th April.

14 / 03 / 2010
Fantasy F1: The results from the first race in Bahrain are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Australia on 28th March.

09 / 03 / 2010
Fantasy F1! Yes, there's a brand new Fantasy Formula One game! Check the rules or enter your team by Friday night to qualify for the first race in Bahrain!

08 / 03 / 2010
Fantasy Rally: The results from Rally Mexico are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Jordan on 1st April.

17 / 02 / 2010
Fantasy Rally: The points awarded for a win have changed in the real WRC, so we've reflected the changes in our scoring too. Check the rules to see the details. Next rally is Mexico on 5th March, teams will be frozen at midnight on the night of Thursday 4th March.

16 / 02 / 2010
Fantasy Rally: The results from Rally Sweden are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team.

31 / 01 / 2010
Fantasy Rally: The new rally season is upon us - 2010 Fantasy Rally is now open! Check the rules or pick a team ready for the start on 12th Feb.

25 / 10 / 2009
Fantasy Rally: All previous years' Fantasy Rally results are online - Check the 2009 season.

02 / 08 / 2009
Reviews: Sorry, there won't be any more movie reviews for the foreseeable future. Events have overtaken me. Catch up on reviews you may have missed.

18 / 08 / 2005
Sudoku! Have a go at the online Sudoku game.

The Kite Runner

Cast: Khalid Abdalla, Shaun Toub, Homayoun Ershadi, Zekeria Ebrahimi, Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada, other people I can't spell. Directed by Marc Forster, adapted from the book by Khaled Hosseini. Story: Afghan kid grows up amidst conflict. Largely subtitled. Running Time: 2hrs 2 minutes. UK Certificate 12A.

Chances are you'll have heard of The Kite Runner, but as nowhere seems to be actually showing it, you may have missed the opportunity to catch it yourself. It's definitely worth a bash.

Amir and Hassan are two littl'uns in sandy Afghanistan who forge a strong friendship tethered by their shared love of kite flying. Little Hassan has the spooky knack of knowing where a kite is going to land before it does, hence his titular moniker. Stuff happens, the Taliban take over Kabul and our two mites are separated - but that's only the beginning. People who've read the book are divided in their opinions, as is often the case, but allegedly the author wholeheartedly approves (it says so on the internet so it must be true) and it's easy to see why. From the very opening, the characters drag you in and rarely give away what's around the next corner. One particular surprise (Assef's revenge, for those who've seen it) was as shocking as it was unexpected, and makes me question the appropriateness of the 12A certificate. Nothing is explicitly shown, thankfully, but we're left with no doubt what actually happened.

The Kite Runner is subtitled - but you know what, I can't even remember how much. I could believe every word was subtitled, or I could believe only a quarter of it was - that's how much I was drawn into the story. Director Marc Forster certainly knows how to craft a human tale - his previous successes include Stranger than Fiction, Monster's Ball and the immensely powerful Finding Neverland - and it's a surprise to see no mention of it in the Oscar nominations list, aside from one measly mention in the Musical Score category. Everything ties together beautifully, the established actors (all fresh to me) mix well with the untrained masses and the cinematography ably conveys the dusty environment, so I really should be raving about it. Many people will do exactly that, I expect, but for me it feels a little short of emotional involvement. Yes, I wanted to know how it ended. Yes, it's very well made and deserved a much wider distribution. No, I wouldn't put it in my top 100 movies. Possibly not even my top 500. It's like Leona Lewis - I know she's good, I recognise her talent, but I still can't get excited about her music.

The Kite Runner is, without a doubt, an excellent adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's novel. Top marks to all the pieces, but as a whole it misses out on the zest that made Finding Neverland so moving. I'm being picky though - this is the left-field entry that should have stolen Juno's Oscar nomination.

I enjoyed this film: 4/5

I think the average moviegoer will enjoy it: 5/5

Testosterone Satisfaction Rating: 0/5 - one scene makes for uncomfortable viewing.

To enjoy this film you should: like serious stories.