bloviation extrordinaire
Some quick comments on enjoyable indulgences from the media firehose.
From the “red sleastacks” dept…
This was fun. We went in with low expectations – thrillers are definitely not our film genre of choice – and spent the first few minutes snickering. But we were pulled into the yarn of this creepy fairytale and had a good time with it. It is nicely shot, nicely acted, and has the signature Shyamalan twists that crescendo to the moment where all the pieces fall together, just as they are revealed (a little earlier if you pay attention).
If you have been following the torrents, BSG was really fun at first. Almost the whole first season was available before the show premiered in the US (it had been shown in the UK first). So we were pulling down huge gulps of it, and it was delicious. But it’s been a long time since we’ve had fresh juice. Until now. And it is good to have it back again.
In case you missed out, it’s macho military sci-fi that keeps it kicked into overdrive, without detaching from the cerebral cortex. It’s survival of the human race, hunted prey, where every moment brings decisions of compromise. It’s humanity’s greatest creation, made in our image, turned against us, as they search for the answers we couldn’t give them to the big question of who we really are. Oh, and hard-drinking women who can kick your a$$. If you’re a sci-fi fan you should track this show down, I think you’ll find it worth it.
Ben Kinsgley rocks, yes yes yes yes yes yes yes. I can never pass up a thick-cockney-slurred ganster flick (as in “Heafrow”). Unkle’s soundtrack does a great job of throbbing and rumbling underneath the movie, keeping the cords of tension tight as the main cast awaits Ben’s character’s ominous arrival. But underneath it, this one has a heart of gold, sweet as pie. Fun fun.
Just finished watching the Battlestar Galactica miniseries (read: pilot) and season 1. Good fun! I fell in love with episode 5 and did not like 10, other than that it was solid military-centered space sci-fi. I even broke out Descent yesterday in inspiration! Descent 3 still rocks to this day. If anyone’s got the guts to play, shoot me a hello and I’ll hook ya up for a smackdown. :>
The most visually stunning computer animation display to date. Imagine seeing a gentle snowfall in 3D, and you’ve just started to understand how beautiful this film was. Not just cheesy layers of occasional 3D, but a total, immersive 3D world. Everyone loved it, even Wrenny, who closed her eyes a few times when things got scary. A nicely done story about a kid recapturing his faith (even if it was faith in some guy in a red suit). It was below freezing and windy at the IMAX theater, which added to the ambiance.
From a technical perspective, the only thing that still needed work was modelling the physics of the human body better – all the human characters still had that imperfectly-motion-captured jerkiness. But the richness of the 3D world drawn on the huge IMAX screen was simply stunning.
Great pacing backed up by a nice time-sliced plot. Exhilirating!
“What’s in the bag?”
Cary Grant is the definition of style in this Hitchcock classic. He’s Mr. Average, until he’s ensnared in a complicated plot of espionage. But incompetent lawmen, incessant misfortune – even the outright sinister plotting of his enemies – merely annoy him, highlighting how suave he is under pressure. You just have to see this one to “get it”.
Yeah, it’s a romantic comedy, but it has teeth. Lots of ’em. And lots of kitchy nods to the great 50’s classics like The Seven Year Itch. Sleeper of the summer!
Economics, drugs, sexism, abortion, racism – this guy knows the REAL heart of the issues. He’s un-PC, crude, and brilliantly insightful, all at once. Oh, and FUNNY!!
Vince in classic form. Evil Ben. Rocks. Go see it. End of story. And stick around afterwards for “Fatty did a funny”!
