Latest News

23 / 01 / 2012
Fantasy Rally: Teams are now open for editing again. Ogier and Mikkelsen are entered into Sweden in S2000 cars, but they're not eligible for the SWRC championship. You can choose them as WRC drivers for Sweden if you want.

22 / 01 / 2012
Fantasy Rally: Results from the Monte are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. The second rally is in Sweden and starts on 9th Feb. Teams will be frozen at midnight GMT on the night of Thursday 9th Feb.

18 / 01 / 2012
Fantasy Rally: Rally teams are now frozen for the Monte. You can still pick a team and it will start scoring from Sweden on 9th Feb.

11 / 01 / 2012
Fantasy Rally: The 2012 Fantasy Rally season is now open for entries! Read the rules or dive straight in and pick a team. You can change your team as often as you like so you may as well create one now in case you forget later. Cutoff for the first race in Monte Carlo is midnight GMT on the night of TUESDAY 17th January.

27 / 11 / 2011
Fantasy F1: The results from the final F1 race at Brazil are in and the championship has been decided! Check the results or see how your team did. First race of 2012 is Australia on 18th March. Entries for the new season will open a week or two before that date.

14 / 11 / 2011
Fantasy Rally: Shock rally drama! Martin Semerad was excluded from the PWRC, so our results change too, which gives us a new champion! Check the results or see how your team did.

13 / 11 / 2011
Fantasy Rally: The results from Rally GB are in and the season is over! Check the results or see how your team did. The 2012 season will be open for entries in early 2012 in time for Monte Carlo on 17th January.

13 / 11 / 2011
Fantasy F1: The results from F1 race 18 at Abu Dhabi are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Only one race to go - the final race is Brazil in two weeks on 27th November.

30 / 10 / 2011
Fantasy F1: The results from F1 race 17 at India are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Only two races to go - next race is Abu Dhabi in two weeks on 13th November.

24 / 10 / 2011
Fantasy Rally: The results from Rally Spain are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. The next and FINAL rally of the year is Wales Rally GB on 10th November. Entries close on the night of WEDNESDAY 9th November (a day earlier than usual).

16 / 10 / 2011
Fantasy F1: The results from F1 race 16 at South Korea are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is India in two weeks on 30th October.

09 / 10 / 2011
Fantasy F1: The results from F1 race 15 at Suzuka are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is South Korea next weekend on 16th October.

02 / 10 / 2011
Fantasy Rally: The results from Rally France are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next rally is Spain on 20th October.

25 / 09 / 2011
Fantasy F1: The results from F1 race 14 at Singapore are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Suzuka in two weeks on 9th October.

11 / 09 / 2011
Fantasy Rally: The results from Rally Australia are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next rally is France on 29th September.

11 / 09 / 2011
Fantasy F1: The results from F1 race 13 at Monza are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Singapore in two weeks on 25th September.

28 / 08 / 2011
Fantasy F1: The results from F1 race 12 at Spa are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Monza in two weeks on 11th September.

21 / 08 / 2011
Fantasy Rally: The results from Rally Germany are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next rally is Australia on 8th September.

01 / 08 / 2011
Fantasy Rally: The results from Rally Finland are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next rally is Germany on 18th August.

31 / 07 / 2011
Fantasy F1: The results from F1 race 11 at Hungary are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Spa in a month on 28th August.

24 / 07 / 2011
Fantasy F1: The results from F1 race 10 at the Nurburgring are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Hungary next weekend on 31st July.

10 / 07 / 2011
Fantasy F1: The results from F1 race 9 at Silverstone are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Nurburgring in 2 weeks on 24th July.

26 / 06 / 2011
Fantasy F1: The results from F1 race 8 in Valencia are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Silverstone in 2 weeks on 10th July.

19 / 06 / 2011
Fantasy Rally: The results from Rally Acropolis are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next rally is Finland on 28th July.

12 / 06 / 2011
Fantasy F1: The results from F1 race 7 in Canada are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Valencia in 2 weeks on 26th June.

30 / 05 / 2011
Fantasy Rally: The results from Rally Argentina are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next rally is Greece on 16th June.

29 / 05 / 2011
Fantasy F1: The results from F1 race 6 in Monaco are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Canada in 2 weeks on 12th June.

22 / 05 / 2011
Fantasy F1: The results from F1 race 5 in Barcelona are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Monaco next weekend on 29th May.

08 / 05 / 2011
Fantasy Rally: The results from Rally Sardinia are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next rally is Argentina on 26th May.

08 / 05 / 2011
Fantasy F1: The results from the fourth F1 race of 2011 in Turkey are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Barcelona on 22nd May.

17 / 04 / 2011
Fantasy F1: The results from the thrilling third F1 race of 2011 in China are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Turkey on 8th May.

16 / 04 / 2011
Fantasy Rally: The results from the rather shortened Rally Jordan are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next rally is Sardinia on 5th May.

10 / 04 / 2011
Fantasy F1: The results from Malaysia have been updated to reflect the penalties applied to Hamilton and Alonso. Of course, being a Ferrari, Alonso's didn't actually make any difference.

10 / 04 / 2011
Fantasy F1: The results from the second F1 race of 2011 in Malaysia are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is China on 17th April.

28 / 03 / 2011
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 Jordan on 14th April.

27 / 03 / 2011
Fantasy F1: The results from Australia have been updated to reflect the disqualification of the Saubers.

27 / 03 / 2011
Fantasy F1: The results from the first F1 race in Melbourne are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Malaysia on 10th April.

14 / 03 / 2011
Fantasy F1: The 2011 Fantasy F1 season is finally open for entries! Pick your team now as the first race is on 27th March!

07 / 03 / 2011
Fantasy Rally: The results from Rally Mexico are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next rally is Portugal on 24th March.

14 / 02 / 2011
Fantasy Rally: The results from Rally Sweden are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next rally is Mexico on 3rd March.

06 / 02 / 2011
Fantasy Rally: At last! The 2011 Fantasy Rally season is open for entries! Pick your team now as the first rally starts on Thursday!

14 / 11 / 2010
Fantasy Rally: The results from the final round, Wales Rally GB, are in! Check the results or see how your team did in the final standings.

14 / 11 / 2010
Fantasy F1: The results from the final race at Abu Dhabi are in! Check the results or see how your team did. Please come back and play again next year!

07 / 11 / 2010
Fantasy F1: The results from the eighteenth and penultimate race at Brazil are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. The final race is Abu Dhabi next week on 14th November.

03 / 10 / 2010
Fantasy Rally: The results from Rally Spain are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next and final rally is Wales Rally GB on 12th November.

24 / 10 / 2010
Fantasy F1: The results from the seventeenth race at South Korea are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Brazil in two weeks on 7th November.

10 / 10 / 2010
Fantasy F1: The results from the sixteenth race at Suzuka are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Korea in two weeks on 24th October.

03 / 10 / 2010
Fantasy Rally: The results from Rally France are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next rally is Spain on 22nd October.

26 / 09 / 2010
Fantasy F1: The results from the fifteenth race in Singapore are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Suzuka in two weeks on 10th October.

14 / 09 / 2010
Fantasy Rally: The results from Rally Japan are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next rally is France on 1st October.

12 / 09 / 2010
Fantasy F1: The results from the fourteenth race in Monza are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Singapore in two weeks on 26th September.

30 / 08 / 2010
Fantasy F1: The scores from Spa have been updated to reflect Alguersuari's 3-place penalty.

29 / 08 / 2010
Fantasy F1: The results from the thirteenth race in Belgium are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Monza in two weeks on 12th September.

22 / 08 / 2010
Fantasy Rally: The results from Rally Germany are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next rally is Japan on 10th September.

01 / 08 / 2010
Fantasy F1: The results from the twelfth race in Hungary are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next race is Spa in four weeks on 29th August.

01 / 08 / 2010
Fantasy Rally: The results from Rally Finland are in! Check the results, see how your team did or enter a new team. Next rally is Germany on 20th August.

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.

Man on Fire (2004)

Cast: Denzel Washington, Christopher Walken, Mickey Rourke, Radha Mitchell, Dakota Fanning.

Directed by Tony Scott (Ridley Scott's brother). Adapted from the book by A.J. Quinnell, which has already been made into a film once before in 1987, with Scott Glenn, Joe Pesci and Jonathan Pryce.

Story: An alcoholic ex-marine is employed as a bodyguard to a wealthy family to protect against the kidnapping of their little girl.

Running Time: 2hrs 26 minutes.

Certificate 18.

Denzel Washington turns 50 this Christmas. In all his career I can only remember one film - Virtuosity - that I didn't like. Before going to see Man on Fire I had glanced at other reviews only to find that this was likely to be Number Two - in more ways than one. As usual I'm going to tread carefully around the plot to avoid giving anything away - and to this end I recommend you avoid other reviews such as the BBC's, as in my opinion they reveal enough to spoil the surprises. All you need to know is that Denzel Washington is an ex-marine with a penchant for Jack Daniel's who is hired as a bodyguard for a young girl by their wealthy parents who are concerned about the escalating kidnap rate in Mexico City, where they live. Christopher Walken is Denzel's buddy and Mickey Rourke is a lawyer acquaintance. Things get messy later on, but I'm not going to tell you how, although you won't need to have read the book to figure it out.

Had I read the screenplay for Man on Fire rather than watched it, I may have come to the same conclusion as many others have, as on paper it must look very drab and by-the-numbers, but from the very first frames it's clear that Man on Fire is not the run-of-the-mill Death Wish clone that it is being hailed as. Smart camera techniques are used to great effect throughout the whole movie, adding to the atmosphere and creating a claustrophobic and impersonal feel to Mexico City. Subtitles appear not only to translate the intermittent Spanish dialogue, but also during English-speaking moments, to highlight important words that maybe would have been missed otherwise. This sounds very intrusive when describing it, but it worked fantastically well and nestled snugly within the look and feel of the film. Tony Scott shows that he is a vastly talented director and adds another fine title to his CV that already includes quality work such as The Hunger, Top Gun, True Romance, Crimson Tide and Spy Game.

Others have commented that Denzel Washington is not stretched in the title role and perhaps they're right, but when I try to imagine another equivalent actor in the part, the tone of the whole movie changes completely in my head. I think he just makes it look effortless. The scenes between Denzel and the young girl, played very impressively by 10-year old Dakota Fanning, are utterly convincing and create an unshakable foundation for the latter developments to build on. This is critical, as the plot itself is fairly predictable, except for the clever way of dealing with the ending, so the proceedings rely on the viewer being gripped by the performances.

Intelligently then, the director spends a great deal of time developing the cinematic world before anything much happens. Once there, the tone changes markedly, but we follow it because we have been immersed in the characters' world - much like From Dusk Till Dawn. From here on, the violence begins, but it all sits comfortably within the framework already created and never seems inappropriate. The morality is a completely different story, and I can't go into that without spoiling the story, however the fact that I find the ethics of the story reprehensible yet I was still gripped, shows what a good job the film-makers must have done. If the acting and direction hadn't been top-notch, I would probably have been ripping Man on Fire apart for these reasons (much as I did to King Arthur) and even thinking about it now I feel I should dock it a mark simply for the message, however I'm not going to, simply because I came out of the cinema thinking that it was vying for a slot in my top three movies of the year.

Definitely not one for everyone then, Man on Fire is nevertheless a thought-provoking, beautifully-acted, cleverly crafted piece of storytelling. The 18 certificate is certainly appropriate - in fact I can't see many people under 30 buying into it like I did, and anyone looking for a violence fix will have been bored to sleep long before any blood appears. Treat it as a character study instead, and it blossoms.

I enjoyed this film: 5/5

I think the average moviegoer will enjoy it: 3/5

Testosterone Satisfaction Rating: 4/5 A very strong sense of bitterness and revenge, including some gritty violent interrogation scenes.

To enjoy this film you should be: patient and tolerant of appropriate violence.

To pre-order Man on Fire for its release on 14th February 2005, use the link below:

Man On Fire [DVD]

To buy the book of Man on Fire, use this link: Man on Fire [book]

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