tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277366172012-01-20T23:15:52.958ZAntimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.comBlogger4001100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-436288122601138432012-01-20T23:15:00.000Z2012-01-20T23:15:52.963Z

And its name is IMAX. OK so IMAX has been around for a while now but it has only recently started to be regularly adopted by mainstream Hollywood with films like The Dark Knight having entire segments shot specifically for the IMAX format. The most recent big budget spectacle to embrace the format is Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Many of the reviews for this film have mentioned the

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-75130744649655717032012-01-20T22:38:00.000Z2012-01-20T22:38:25.222Z

Image from IMP Awards Winter's Bone (2010) The critically acclaimed Winter's Bone, directed by Debra Granik and starring Jennifer Lawrence, is an atmospheric film set in a small community situated in the rural wilderness of the Ozark mountains. It is based on a novel (that I haven't read) that tells the story of a teenage girl named Ree (Lawrence) who looks after her impoverished family of two

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-7569478820413551942012-01-08T00:18:00.000Z2012-01-08T00:18:28.224Z

***My extremely timely thoughts on this! (This post was saved as a draft ages ago) I had heard that there was a Comic Con in London a while ago but never got round to looking in to it. It was apparently not high profile enough to be newsworthy, even within geek circles. A few weeks ago though I chanced upon an advert for it in Empire magazine mere days before it was scheduled to start. Needless

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-90913428906716331022011-08-21T09:31:00.000+01:002011-08-21T09:31:35.512+01:00

Image from IMP Awards Troy (2004) Since this is a fairly mainstream and well known film I'm going to make this quick. Director Wolfgang Peterson released a very compromised version of this film theatrically back in 2004. Based on Homer's 'The Iliad', it told the story of the Trojan War, of the armies of King Agamemnon with the heroic Achilles as his trump card battling against the Trojan

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-2544040581363608392011-08-10T22:01:00.000+01:002011-08-10T22:01:51.517+01:00

I've been buying a game or two on Ebay lately for my shiny new PS3 (OK it's a few months old now, but whatever). I hadn't used Ebay in almost a decade and returning to it I was struck by how little it has changed. In many ways it looks and feels like a relic of the last century. More surprising though was the behaviour of some of Ebay's userbase, who seem like relics of the stone age. Let me

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-10304323376170152312011-08-07T23:06:00.000+01:002011-08-07T23:06:07.216+01:00

Image from IMP Awards The Tree of Life (2011) I think Terence Malick's The Tree of Life is mostly a brilliant film. It's also a hard one to explain. It's less a story and more a set of thematically and chronologically interconnected events and scenes. There is a narrative framework that bookends the film featuring Sean Penn as the adult version of the protagonist who on the anniversary of his

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-382451757623445912011-08-01T23:10:00.000+01:002011-08-01T23:10:29.301+01:00

Image from Imp Awards Senna (2010) In a word, wow! I haven't been caught up in a documentary in a long time, but this one had me hooked from the start. Senna tells the story of the late Brazilian Formula 1 legend Ayrton Senna. It is composed entirely of archival footage from the late 70s through to the mid 90s sourced from TV shows, documentaries, home videos, and race footage. Eschewing a

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-67702842534470218072011-07-28T23:27:00.000+01:002011-07-28T23:27:33.168+01:00

Image from IMP Awards Hanna (2011) Director Joe Wright, better known for his period dramas like Atonement and Pride and Prejudice, decided to direct an action film. The end result is original and unconventional while still adhering to all the trappings and formula that goes with the genre. The story revolves around a young girl, the eponymous Hanna (Saoirse Ronan), who at the start of the

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-53234401382892292212011-07-24T18:28:00.000+01:002011-07-24T18:28:55.479+01:00

I hardly ever talk about music on this blog, primarily because it's not something I take an active interest in or feel like talking about in any serious way, as I do with films. I know what I like and I know what I don't like, and I guess I could articulate why I do or don't like something. I'd also like to think I know what constitutes crappy music and great music, to some extent, but I

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-2463202567875860472011-07-19T22:31:00.000+01:002011-07-19T22:31:05.755+01:00

Richard Feynman was one of the most famous physicists of the twentieth century - a bona fide genius and, if this book is anything to go by, a fun guy! Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! is in essence a transcript of taped anecdotal conversations he had with his friend Ralph Leighton. It covers Feynman's life from childhood and college through the Manhattan Project, his winning of the Nobel Prize

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-46146018446770813362011-07-17T22:08:00.000+01:002011-07-17T22:08:43.917+01:00

I didn't actually finish reading The Fountainhead. After enduring one third of this appalling book I simply gave up. This is not because of my thoughts on Rand's self centred philosophy (I wouldn't have bothered starting it if that were the case, plus there are aspects of this philosophy that I subscribe to), but rather to do with the fact that it is poorly written, overlong to the point that

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-81813453554504056212011-07-17T20:30:00.001+01:002011-07-17T20:35:14.920+01:00

Image from Imp Awards Splice (2009) Looks like the IMDB collective isn't overly fond of this one! Splice is a sci-fi horror film about a couple of genetic engineers (Adrien Brody and Sarah Polly) who, as they tend to do in movies, take things a bit too far and secretly create a creature (played by Delphine Chanéac) that's part human and part... other things. It starts growing up rapidly and

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-89410625794573680352011-07-05T22:01:00.000+01:002011-07-05T22:01:48.331+01:00

(Image from Imp Awards) Source Code Continuing the sci-fi theme, Source Code is another film that managed to surprisingly exceed expectations. The trailer did little to inspire confidence despite the film being from Duncan Jones, the director of the superb 'Moon'; and, despite what it's title appears to promise, it has nothing to do with computer programming. The plot reads like something

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-44911930101183321922011-07-03T23:54:00.002+01:002011-07-04T00:01:15.136+01:00

(Image from IMP Awards) The Adjustment Bureau Romance and sci-fi are not genres that sit well together very often, so chalk this one up as one of those rare exceptions. Based on a Phillip K Dick short story, it tells the story of a an impulsive politician, David Norris (Matt Damon), who on the eve of losing a Senatorial election meets a woman, Elise (Emily Blunt), in the men's (!) while

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-64690027153674665752011-06-25T16:27:00.001+01:002011-06-25T16:30:24.201+01:00

... These are some of the trappings many associate with arguably the most prestigious and hallowed of tennis tournaments, the Wimbledon Championships, which are currently underway at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. As a fan of the sport of tennis for many a year, I've always wanted to make my way to Centre Court at SW19 and soak in the atmosphere while watching some of the world's finest duke

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-44492387321690206432011-03-11T08:41:00.000Z2011-03-11T08:41:03.453Z

Let's try this again. Blog reborn complete with cheesy sequel name and tacky template.

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-54175007327058751582009-08-17T23:41:00.003+01:002009-08-17T23:59:49.231+01:00

(Image from IMP Awards)Inglourious Basterds (2009)Woah! This is the first Tarantino film that I've actually been blown away by, and is easily my favourite of his films (knocking Jackie Brown off the top spot). The film is, without giving anything away, a new take on World War II; and by that I mean an alternate history, one that is outrageously funny and enthralling from start to finish, with

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-38141642535379060042009-01-21T01:00:00.002Z2009-01-21T01:23:26.076Z

Continued from here, here, and here."Ammi, I have something to tell you. You're not going to like this." he almost whispered.He nodded at the sheep with an air of familiarity and, after taking a deep breath, stated loudly and with affected confidence, "That sheep is staring at me because...  we have a history."Taken aback, she too stared at him; his eyes were now transfixed by the pure white and

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-27365587500017120592008-12-02T16:45:00.000Z2008-12-02T16:45:52.639Z

This will be my last post for the year, as the capricious complexities of the real world demand my immediate attention now and for the immediate future. I write this post to preempt any feelings of guilt my 'blog neglect' may have otherwise engendered. I hope to be back in January.A quick digression to prevent this post from being more than a mere note. Having recently watched 'Eight Below', a

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(Image from IMP Awards)Black Book (2006)The gorgeous Carice van Houten is easily one of the main draws of 'Black Book', and not just because of her looks but because her stellar performance is the highlight of an otherwise unexceptional film. Van Houten plays Rachel Stein, a Jewish woman in the Netherlands during World War II who, after the brutal murder of her family, joins the Dutch resistance

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-54333070784532622392008-11-29T18:10:00.000Z2008-11-29T18:12:01.212Z

(Image from IMP Awards)No End in Sight (2007)'No End in Sight' is a devastating indictment of the misguided Iraq war, a documentary that presents, soberly, the facts and testimony from people intimately involved with the war and subsequent occupation. Much of the content shouldn't be a major revelation for anyone who has been paying attention over the last few years, but there is an undeniable

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-51659552272657261262008-11-27T17:00:00.000Z2008-11-27T17:03:28.294Z

(Image from IMP Awards)Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)A true story about three mixed race Aboriginal girls who were taken from their homes and who subsequently escaped their settlement and headed home - a 1500 mile journey along one of Australia's so called 'rabbit proof' fences. The film is credited with igniting debate on the issue of the 'stolen generations', mixed race children who were forcibly '

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-87252264099531263712008-11-25T17:37:00.001Z2008-11-25T17:53:11.140Z

(Image from IMP Awards)Death Proof (2007)'Death Proof' is Quentin Tarantino's half of the 'Grindhouse' double bill, with the other half being Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror. Tonally it comes across as more 'serious' than 'Planet Terror', and features a lot of the witty, verbose dialogue and character exchanges that Tarantino is famous for. The story is about a stunt man, Stuntman Mike (Kurt

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-52197763132070921762008-11-24T16:54:00.001Z2008-11-24T16:56:55.733Z

(Image from IMP Awards)The Proposition (2005)Apart from the fact that it was a western set in Australia, I knew very little about this film, and was thus pleasantly surprised by it - it's not often I go into a film cold these days. The story, set in late 18th century Australia, starts off with criminal Charlie Burns (Guy Pearce) and brother Mike (Richard Wilson) being captured by Captain Stanley

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-12146593260870971302008-11-19T17:56:00.001Z2008-11-19T18:00:55.953Z

(Image from Wikipedia)Veronica Mars - Season 3 (2006-2007)I've given a fair account of the first and second seasons of this detective drama series, and since much of what was said in those reviews still applies, this review is going to be quick. Time moves on, and Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) and her pals are all out of school and (a tad conveniently) still together in Neptune, attending the

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-80210292949843141932008-11-17T16:31:00.004Z2008-11-19T18:00:49.815Z

(Image from Wikipedia)30 Rock - Season 2 (2007-2008)I think I somehow imagined that I'd have time to review this show properly for its second season, but since it did the unthinkable and got renewed for a third, I'll delay writing anything substantial about it till its eventual cancellation, when I will probably rant and rave and bitch and moan about great shows getting canceled.'30 Rock' is the

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-3428551131292490842008-11-13T16:03:00.002Z2008-11-13T16:06:45.634Z

(Image from Wikipedia)Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)This film is probably more famous for what it's about than for being a classic of cinema. And that's probably because it ain't all that great a film. The story in a nutshell - Matt and Christina Drayton (Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn) are a well off liberal married couple whose daughter Joey (Katherine Houghton) surprises them by

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-38495930145855416492008-11-12T08:07:00.002Z2008-11-12T08:10:18.070Z

(Image from IMP Awards)3:10 to Yuma (2007)Russel Crowe plays charismatic criminal legend Ben Wade and Christian Bale the poor, grim rancher Dan Evans who helps escort the captured Wade to the 3:10 train to Yuma in this western action film. As the story begins, we find Evans desperate to keep his farm from being taken away - this desperation leads to him volunteering, for a tidy sum of money, to

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-43403849434169085322008-11-10T17:09:00.004Z2008-11-10T17:16:31.982Z

Ever since reading this chap's spot-on review of Aliens, I had the movie stuck in my head - it was demanding to be watched! And so, watch it I did, and I was once again struck by how involving the film was despite the fact that it held no surprises for me. One of the best sci-fi action films ever made, and one everyone should watch (after watching part 1, that is). No full review here, because I

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(Image from IMP Awards)In the Shadow of the Moon (2007)I was able to look out the window to see this incredible sight of the whole circle of the Earth. Oceans were crystal blue, the land was brown, and the clouds and the snow were pure white. And that jewel of Earth was just hung up in the blackness of space. 'In the Shadow of the Moon' is an excellent documentary on the Apollo Moon Landings, one

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-34135815786402908052008-10-30T16:38:00.002Z2008-10-30T16:42:08.722Z

(Image from IMP Awards)Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (2008)I remembered enjoying the first 'Hellboy', which is based on a relatively obscure comic, quite a bit back when it first came out, so it came as a bit of a surprise when, upon rewatching it in preparation for the sequel, I discovered that while it was still a good (but not great) film, it doesn't have much appeal on repeat viewings. And

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-33460325444815126092008-10-23T16:53:00.000+01:002008-10-23T16:55:11.818+01:00

(Image from IMP Awards)Shoot 'Em Up (2007)I'm a fan of Clive Owen, an actor who I think has an interesting and varied filmography; he tends to bring a cocky presence to all of his films (except, perhaps, Children of Men), and in 'Shoot 'Em Up' he really gets to crank that persona up to 11! Owen plays 'Smith', a man who at the start of the film reluctantly gets caught up in a shoot out, one in

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-67239034453670811502008-10-22T17:31:00.000+01:002008-10-22T17:34:51.903+01:00

I've been hunting for a new mobile phone - having lost my old one - and have discovered, to my chagrin, that finding something that hits that sweet spot between price and functionality isn't as easy as I'd hoped. I'm not one of those people who is happy with a basic mobile that just does calls - I actually use some of the nifty little utilities like calendars and to do notes (a decent screen

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-30046543168204964442008-10-20T17:20:00.002+01:002008-10-20T17:25:46.959+01:00

(Image from IMP Awards)The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)Since I reviewed the first two, I feel compelled to finish my trilogy of reviews by writing this one up. It's going to be brief, however.The first two Mummy films weren't exactly masterpieces of cinema, but they got a lot right - they were simple, straightforward stories with charming characters, humour, a sense of adventure, and

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-32572692290304842772008-10-14T16:50:00.001+01:002008-10-14T16:56:29.201+01:00

I lost my mobile phone a while ago; fortunately it was several years old and a little battered, so I wasn't especially aggrieved by the loss [I was of course furious with myself and vowed to never wear the offending trousers, which don't have pockets nearly deep enough, again]. This may sound odd, but the thing that concerned me most was the data on the phone. The thought of some stranger going

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-17459624539140401372008-10-12T15:42:00.001+01:002008-10-12T15:48:27.708+01:00

(Image from IMP Awards)The Dark Knight (2008)After smashing virtually every significant box office record known to man or bat, 'The Dark Knight' wasted little time in establishing itself as the biggest film of the year. Director Christopher Nolan's follow up to his excellent 'Batman Begins' is a phenomenon not just in terms of raking in the moola but also in terms of critical cred, with the

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-37501452769809585152008-10-09T18:22:00.000+01:002008-10-09T18:23:51.472+01:00

(Image from IMP Awards)The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)Paul Greengrass returned to direct the second sequel in the Bourne series, the follow up to his excellent 'Supremacy', and he picks up virtually exactly where the last one left off... well, sorta, since the epilogue from the last film takes place in the middle of this one (not as confusing as it sounds). Anyway, if the first film was about Bourne

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-83184282297783401352008-09-29T17:20:00.000+01:002008-09-29T17:22:26.021+01:00

This has been bugging me of late. I've seen it mentioned on several message boards and blogs that Sarah Palin is hot, often jokingly implying that this alone would get her votes despite the fact that she is woefully unqualified in virtually all other respects.Erm, what? Has the hotness bar really fallen so low, or is there some kind of weird conspiracy to cement at least one 'positive' attribute

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-5328462355566732752008-09-24T18:50:00.000+01:002008-09-24T18:52:22.935+01:00

I find it rather disturbing to frequently witness grown men undoing their belts and pulling down their pants when doing their business at a urinal. Seriously, it's just disturbing. And yes, I'm fairly certain it's not because their equipment is that unwieldy. I think some people didn't get the memo about the usefulness of zippers.

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-39176865143854789592008-09-20T09:30:00.000+01:002008-09-20T09:32:35.588+01:00

(Image from Wikipedia)I finally got around to seeing the much talked about Wimbledon final between five time defending champion Roger Federer and third time (consecutive!) finalist Rafael Nadal. It has been hailed as one of the, if not the, greatest tennis matches ever played. I can't claim to have seen more than a mere handful of the great matches from tennis history so I'm not really qualified

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-57977594267092200632008-09-16T18:14:00.000+01:002008-09-16T18:16:51.258+01:00

(Image from IMP Awards)Planet Terror (2007)'Planet Terror' is director Robert Rodriguez's half of the 'Grindhouse' double bill, with the other half, 'Death Proof', being directed by Quentin Tarantino.'Grindhouse' is meant to be a homage to the type of films shown as grindhouse features. From Wikipedia:The film's name originates from the American term for theaters that played "all the exploitation

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-28149796594056657382008-09-09T20:00:00.000+01:002008-09-09T20:02:32.398+01:00

(Image from IMP Awards)28 Days Later (2002)Danny Boyle and Alex Garland's once unconventional take on the zombie genre was at the time of release fresh and invigorating - speedy zombies! Watching it again years later, however, it's clear that this one is not just a one trick pony - it's a little bit special and will endure for years to come.Following a brief and rather shaky prologue the film

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-26466984287975316532008-09-07T17:05:00.000+01:002008-09-07T17:07:22.496+01:00

It's been almost a month since my last post! Frak! Sticking with the temporal theme of that opening sentence, I'm going to spend the rest of this post discussing my watch, which came into my possession just recently. I'm talking about the watch not because it's some ridiculously expensive timepiece that deserves a blog post dedicated to the fact that it adorns my wrist - it's a Casio with dual

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-72057080780664462008-08-09T04:45:00.001+01:002008-08-09T04:46:33.187+01:00

Genius...

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-12990844227749973562008-08-06T13:44:00.001+01:002008-08-06T13:48:16.773+01:00

I have around 60 different accounts with passwords to manage. That includes all of my various website login details - online banking, mail, message boards, social networking sites, etc... - and my computer account credentials. And this count doesn't include my dozen or so work accounts, only my personal ones. So all in all, I have to manage around 75 different credentials - that's 75 usernames

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-71549572136485005122008-07-31T16:11:00.000+01:002008-07-31T16:13:34.883+01:00

(Image from IMP Awards)Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)The latest, probably last, and mostly unnecessary installment in the Indiana Jones franchise arrived this summer and made more of a whimper than a bang. I'm not going to waste time summarizing the plot on this occasion. Oh hell, scratch that - here goes. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) and a young whippersnapper named

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-49941232361285842302008-07-30T18:37:00.000+01:002008-07-30T18:39:30.218+01:00

(Image from IMP Awards)The Golden Compass (2007)Last year's adaptation of the first part of Phillip Pullman's much lauded (but somewhat overrated) blasphemous fantasy trilogy was met with indifference by audiences and apparently pretty much sunk New Line Cinema as an independent studio. The marketing didn't really sell the story too well, focusing as it did on the films visual aspects. And that's

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-21692951094584149952008-07-26T17:27:00.000+01:002008-07-26T17:28:58.646+01:00

(Image from IMP Awards)Crank (2006)'Crank' is an improbably entertaining movie. It's as high concept as it gets - professional assassin Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) is injected with a poison by gangster Verona (Jose Pablo Cantillo) that will kill him slowly; it is also debilitating unless he keeps his adrenaline level high. The story that ensues is basically a race to find a cure and take revenge

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(Image from IMP Awards)Into the Wild (2007)I expected to find 'Into the Wild' to be a good film, but I was surprised at just how good Sean Penn's latest directorial effort is. His other films that I've seen - 'The Pledge' and 'The Indian Runner' - were pretty good but just shy of being truly great. This film, however, is at another level and is absolutely terrific.Adapted from the non-fiction

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(Image from IMP Awards)Deliver Us From Evil (2006)'Deliver Us From Evil' is a documentary that tells the story of child abuser priest Oliver O'Grady, and how the Catholic Church attempted to cover up his activities by moving him from parish to parish during the 1970s and 80s. It does this by presenting three different perspectives. One perspective presents the stories of several of O'Grady's many

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-4944884989484003442008-07-10T18:58:00.000+01:002008-07-10T19:00:15.893+01:00

(Image from Amazon)Curb Your Enthusiasm - Season 2 (2001)I thought the first season of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' was terrific, but this second season manages to be - quite improbably - even funnier. I can't really think of anything significant to add to what I've already said about the show. The writing is brilliant, with tightly plotted, layered stories that seem to pay off every setup in

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-16327976762785539352008-07-08T18:35:00.000+01:002008-07-08T18:37:29.984+01:00

(Image from Amazon)Jekyll (2007)I've fallen behind on these reviews, so this is going to be brief.I've praised writer Stephen Moffat before several times on this blog, and was thrilled to hear that he was working with Spielberg and Jackson on Tintin. So it's quite disappointing to find that his mini-series 'Jekyll', based on the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story, is not upto the standard I was

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-48633057054230298772008-07-07T18:37:00.000+01:002008-07-07T18:39:19.224+01:00

(Image from Amazon)Medium - Season 2 (2005-2006)I wrote a fairly comprehensive review of Medium's first season, and really so little changes in the second that there's nothing new to say. It's business as usual. Which is actually something of a problem when the first season was already threatening to be formulaic; now, it unquestionably is. All of the pluses are still there, and it's certainly

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-3124642954182331172008-06-22T18:59:00.003+01:002008-06-22T19:03:03.090+01:00

(Image from Wikipedia)The X-Files - Fight the Future (1998)I'm the key figure in an ongoing government charade, the plot to conceal the truth about the existence of extraterrestrials. It's a global conspiracy, actually, with key players in the highest levels of power, that reaches down into the lives of every man, woman, and child on this planet, so, of course, no one believes me. I'm an

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The latest version of the best web browser around, Mozilla's Firefox, is out now. Get version 3 here. There's also this attempt to break the record for most number of downloads in a day, I believe it's still going on right now (based on when the thing became available on their site). I've been using Firefox for around four years, and I honestly can't imagine browsing the Web without it (sorry

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-16543216858601189862008-06-17T19:09:00.001+01:002008-06-17T19:12:36.320+01:00

Interesting BBC article about the use of mobile phones to track people's movements for research purposes. I feel kind of ambivalent about this - on the one hand it's terrific that they can build up data sets on human movement for research purposes that can be used in planning for disease outbreaks, traffic flow analysis, and optimizing pathfinding. On the other, it's kind of frightening how your

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(Image from IMP Awards)Beowulf (2007)The most ancient of English language tales is tweaked and brought to life quite spectacularly by director Robert Zemeckis and screenwriters Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary in this performance capture based computer animated 3-D adventure film. The classic tale tells of the heroic Geat warrior Beowulf (Ray Winstone), who arrives in Denmark to rid King Hrothgar's (

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-27129243582143014922008-06-10T19:20:00.001+01:002008-06-10T19:46:22.857+01:00

(Image from Amazon)Superman: Doomsday (2007)Superman died in the early nineties, killed while fighting the alien monster Doomsday, who was probably as much a metaphor for the growing indifference towards comic books as he was an unstoppable threat to DC's superheroes. Anyway, it was a big event back then, and naturally death could only keep Supes down for a brief period before he came back to

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-57501061541431727122008-06-10T05:24:00.000+01:002008-06-10T05:26:45.111+01:00

This is just too awesome to not post. Classic photos recreated with Lego.

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-35911694076987594902008-06-09T19:41:00.000+01:002008-06-09T19:42:55.744+01:00

(Image from IMDB)Class of 1999 (1990)This is almost a weird spiritual cousin to Battle Royale, which it predates by a decade. The story: in the near future of 1999, society is facing a crisis as schools throughout the US suffer at the hands of youth gangs and violence, with entire regions of cities being cut off and abandoned as lawless zones. The solution to this educational crisis is, of course

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-7455022716883994292008-06-06T18:25:00.000+01:002008-06-06T18:25:52.098+01:00

(Image from IMP Awards)The Mist (Director's Black and White Edition) (2007)The best Stephen King adapter around, Frank Darabont (he of 'The Shawshank Redemption' and 'The Green Mile' fame), brought yet another of King's tales to the big screen last year. Though 'The Mist' came and went with little fanfare, Darabont delivered with aplomb for the third successive time by turning King's writing into

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(Image from Wikipedia)Red Heat (1988)Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Russian Police Captain Ivan Danko in this late eighties action comedy. The story has Danko tracking a Russian drug dealer, Viktor Rostavili (Ed O'Ross), to Chicago and reluctantly teaming up with Detective Sgt. Art Ridzik (Jim Belushi). Both men are mavericks who cause considerable amounts of trouble with their aggressive 'result

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(Image from Play)Entourage - Season 2 (2005)Colour me surprised. I wasn't exactly enthused by season one of this show about an up and coming superstar actor and his entourage; I thought it was very well made, but somehow it just didn't connect with me. The second season, however, is a different story. I'm at a loss as to why - perhaps the show's style, subject matter and characters have grown on

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-43807319535247999212008-05-26T17:34:00.000+01:002008-05-26T17:35:50.416+01:00

(Image from IMP Awards)Hitman (2007)I took away two things from 'Hitman'. One is that Timothy Olyphant is pretty cool even in relatively mediocre fare (though perhaps not so much in Die Hard 4.0). The other is that Olga Kurylenko is smokin hot and her gratuitous nudity in this will undoubtedly give Hitman's DVD sales / rentals a boost once people see the next Bond movie, in which she plays the

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(Image from IMP Awards)Zoolander (2001)The trailer for 'Zoolander' had me in stitches around 8 years ago, so it's a little strange that I'm only getting around to watching it now. This outlandish comedy co-written and directed by Ben Stiller stars Stiller as the world's most successful male model, the vacuous and vapid Derek Zoolander. In the universe of the film male models are the biggest

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-72934144056591818762008-05-25T06:13:00.000+01:002008-05-25T06:13:26.629+01:00

The producer and director for the upcoming Hobbit movie and its sequel, geniuses Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro, held a Q&A chat session about the films, and the transcript is now online. It's still very early days yet - they haven't even started writing the script - but so far I like everything I'm hearing. Most of the creative team are back, and with del Toro taking the Captain's chair

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(Image from IMP Awards)Iron Man (2008)The superhero genre has become a part of the menu of cinema, with at least a couple of funny pages based movies having come out every year since X-Men scored a slam dunk back in 2000 (speaking of which, I really need to revisit those X-Men films). I have to confess to having felt just a little bit blase about the endless stream of superhero comic book

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(Image from IMP Awards)I Am Legend (2007)As an adaptation of Richard Matheson's classic novel 'I Am Legend' is woeful. As a sci fi film in it's own right, it's fairly decent. As an indicator that Will Smith is the biggest movie star in the world (TM), it's pretty definitive.Robert Neville (Smith) is seemingly the last man on earth, the survivor of a deadly man made plague that has wiped out most

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-24245997197808927572008-05-21T18:29:00.001+01:002008-05-21T18:43:28.571+01:00

(Image from IMP Awards)Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008)The 'Terminator' franchise ploughs ahead, seemingly as unstoppable as its titular robotic killers themselves. With a proposed trilogy of new movies on the horizon, one could argue that it's stronger than ever, and the renewal of this series for a second season suggests it has the cachet to endure on the small screen as well.'

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(Image from Wikipedia)Planet Earth (2006)I'm not going to say much about 'Planet Earth' other than to state the obvious - the BBC produced nature documentary is fantastic. Spanning every conceivable environment on the planet, it serves as an awe inspiring snapshot of the wonders of the natural world. David Attenborough's dulcet tones guide viewers through 11 episodes, each of which covers a

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Alright, so not all of these are all that recent, but they caught my eye only recently. I'm ignoring the new trailers for those obscure art house films coming out, namely 'The Dark Knight' and 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull', as I suspect there isn't much interest in them. The links below are to the direct 'mov' file download, but the trailers can probably be found in lower

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No, not by the Borg, but by Microsoft! In news that's been expected for some time now, it's been announced that the XO laptop will be made available with Windows XP as well, with even project founder Nicolas Negroponte admitting that in the future they may well end up being XP only. For the time being, though, the plan is for the machines to dual boot to either Windows XP or the customized Linux

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(Image from IMP Awards)The Dirty Dozen (1967)'The Dirty Dozen' is a slightly comical action movie set during WWII about a team of misfit soldiers (the eponymous dozen), each of whom has been convicted of murder, who are given one last chance to redeem themselves and earn their freedom. That chance involves receiving rigorous training under the stern supervision of one Major Reisman (Lee Marvin),

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As Jar Jar Binks might put it. In a situation that felt like the beginning of something Kafkaesque, I was accosted by a saleswoman at the supermarket trying to push samples of some bloody biscuit. I hate these promotional people, so much so that when I see them standing in an aisle I'll reflexively pull away and return to that aisle later, when the coast is clear. This is partly because they can

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(Image from Wikipedia)A Fall of Moondust (1961) by Arthur C. ClarkeArthur C. Clarke, one of the grand masters of science fiction, passed away recently but he left behind a legacy that comprises a significant number of works. I've read a fair number of them but it's been a while, so I intend to revisit his most significant efforts sometime soon. 'A Fall of Moondust' is actually one that I'd never

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(Image from IMP Awards)Bloody Sunday (2002)Amazing film - Paul Greengrass really burst onto the scene with 'Bloody Sunday', and he's gone on to make a splash with the last two Bourne films (I reviewed part 2 here) and United 93. Unsurprisingly, this film is as brilliant as I was expecting.Made in Greengrass' now trademark faux documentary fashion, it takes place during the course of a single day

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(Image from IMP Awards)The Magdalene Sisters (2002)'The Magdalene Sisters' is a fictionalized story based on true events that tells of the harrowing experiences of three young women in Ireland during the 1960s when they are sent to a Magdalene Asylum, a Catholic institute run by nuns for 'fallen' women to repent in the manner of Mary Magdalene. Margaret (Anne-Marie Duff) is raped at a wedding, so

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"It kind of boggles our minds, actually," Cuse says. "We never imagined that people would get wrapped up in the intricacies of it to the degree that they have. We really just set out to make a show that we thought was kind of cool and entertaining." Popular Mechanics has an interesting article (though a tad superficial) about the scientific inspiration behind 'Lost', one of the best shows on TV

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(Image from Wikipedia)Battle Royale (2000)In the near future, Japan faces a social crisis with mass unemployment and uncontrollable student hooliganism. The solution? The Battle Royale act, which basically makes an example of unruly school children by throwing a class onto an island for three days, with each student armed with a weapon of some sort and a basic survival kit. The rules are simple -

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(Image from IMP Awards)Ben Hur (1959)'Ben Hur'. Biblical epic. Won 11 Oscars. The very name evokes a mental image of the grand, old fashioned Hollywood epic. The film tells the story of Judah Ben Hur (Charlton Heston), a Jewish prince during the time of Jesus (whose birth story is depicted in an over-earnest prologue) who is betrayed by his Roman best friend Messala (Stephen Boyd) and winds up on

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-42537080348876554322008-05-02T00:31:00.001+01:002008-05-02T06:40:59.042+01:00

(Image from IMP Awards)The Last of the Mohicans (1992)Michael Mann seems like a strange director to be associated with this film - his filmography veers strongly towards contemporary dramas and thrillers that have a very modern aesthetic. The man is, however, flexible enough to step outside that zone, as 'The Last of the Mohicans' ably demonstrates.Set during the 18th Century 'French and Indian

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"My father was right. It didn't matter how much I lied on my resume. My real resume was in my cells. Why should anybody invest all that money to train me when there were a thousand other applicants with a far cleaner profile? Of course, it's illegal to discriminate, 'genoism' it's called. But no one takes the law seriously. If you refuse to disclose, they can always take a sample from a door

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(Image from Wikipedia)Deadwood - Season 2 (2005)I'm quite surprised to find myself pleased with my review of the first series of 'Deadwood', and there isn't really much to add to my assessment of the show with regard to this second series, which maintains the same high standards throughout its twelve episodes. In summation, the primary storylines revolve around the possible annexation of Deadwood

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-79875427492291663542008-04-27T23:02:00.000+01:002008-04-27T17:32:23.980+01:00

(Image from IMP Awards)Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)In a word, disappointing. In another, mediocre. Following in the footsteps of James Cameron's classic 1984 thriller and 1991 action spectacular comes Jonathan Mostow's rather pedestrian third entry in the franchise (and I dread to see what 'McG' will do with the upcoming films). Even though 'Judgement Day' was itself something of a

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Holy shit. There's a dog rental service. I'm not sure why I'm surprised to be honest, but somehow the fact that this is really real is just... too much! Yes folks, you can rent dogs for walking and absolve yourself of all the real fun and responsiblity of having a canine companion in the first place! What possible satisfaction can one get out of this? Isn't this like dog prostitution or something

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Coupling - Seasons 3 & 4 (2002-2004)Alright, so this isn't the more cogent review I was talking about when I reviewed the first two seasons, and frankly it's because I just don't have the time! The final two seasons of this sex/relationship based comedy series is weaker than the first two overall because of the departure of the Jeff Murdoch character in the final season (he goes to Lesbos

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Animal Farm (1945) - by George OrwellI first read Orwell's brilliant novella in school, and it's one of those resonant stories that stayed with me over the years, particularly because I began to recognise the elements of the real world that had been incorporated into it. Ostensibly it tells the story of a group of animals on a farm who become fed up of being subservient to their human masters and

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(Image from IMP Awards)Zodiac (2007)Man, I'm way behind on these.David Fincher's 'Zodiac', his first film since the fairly good but not great 'Panic Room', is a terrific procedural crime drama. He's best known for 'Fight Club' (a film I need to see again), but this is much closer to his serial killer film 'Seven'. It's based on the true story of the Zodiac Killer who terrorized San Francisco

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-16087999955898718552008-04-21T23:07:00.001+01:002008-04-21T17:37:00.969+01:00

(Image from IMP Awards)Ran (1985)Akira Kurosawa was brilliant, one of the great directors - of that there is little doubt. The only film of his that I've seen that wasn't great (admittedly, I haven't seen nearly enough of them) was 'The Hidden Fortress' , but even that had plenty of redeeming attributes. 'Ran', which translates to something along the lines of chaos, was his last epic film.

Antimatterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537899917101495453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27736617.post-70111679728147800192008-04-20T00:48:00.000+01:002008-04-19T19:17:33.566+01:00

A scotoma is "an area or island of loss or impairment of visual acuity surrounded by a field of normal or relatively well-preserved vision". In other words, a blind spot. And yours truly developed one a few weeks ago. My vision looked something like this:Though, not as bad as in that picture. I had a light grey spot, not a black one. Thankfully, it's all but gone now thanks to the medication I

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(Image from IMP Awards)A Passage to India (1984)Based on E. M. Forster's classic novel about English colonialism in India, this adaptation was acclaimed director David Lean's last film. I'm not a big fan of his epics - Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge on the River Kwai - and haven't seen his earlier works, but this one was quite enjoyable, doubtless in part because I enjoyed the book.The plot follows

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(Image from IMDB)The Hidden Blade (2004)Yoji Yamada's follow up to The Twilight Samurai is similar in many many ways, but still offers enough that is new, and perhaps more importantly, enough in the way of quality, to make it worth watching. As with its spiritual predecessor, 'The Hidden Blade' is a Samurai drama that takes place in 19th century Japan. It tells the story of a low ranking 'working

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(Image from Cinema Blend)Payback: Straight Up - The Director's Cut (1999)This is one of those interesting situations where a director who lost control of his film gets to come back and do it his way. I haven't seen the original, Mel Gibson overseen cut of Payback, but Brian Helgeland's Director's Cut (which uses around half of the theatrical footage and features a new score, new colour timing, a

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(Image from HBO)Extras - Christmas Special (2007)Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant are a terrific comedy duo, and as with 'The Office' they wrap up their terrific series 'Extras' with a 90 minute special. I enjoyed the first two seasons that chronicled Andy Millman's (Gervais) transition from lowly extra to star of a critically reviled but massively popular TV series, 'When the Whistle Blows', a

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(Image from IMP Awards)La Môme (2007)This biopic of French singing icon Édith Piaf is mostly notable for one thing, and that's the performance of Marion Cotillard as the titular character. Her performance is incredible, and it rises above everything else in the film. The make up (including the old age stuff) is excellent and doesn't distract, and Cotillard simply becomes a character brought to

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(Image from Amazon)Moonlighting - Season 3 (1986-87)I've left this write up way too long, and it'll probably be even shorter than my blog post on Season 2 ('Explanations can't do it justice'? What a cop-out!).The winning formula continued to work wonders during the third season of the definitive comedy mystery drama; if it ain't broke, why fix it? The show did however introduce a new element in

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The IT Crowd - Season 2 (2007)I'm not sure if I was on something (accidentally, of course) when I reviewed the first season of 'The IT Crowd', or if the first season was just plain better. But I found myself cringing and staring at the floor quite often during this second season. The first episode was actually quite fun, but I just didn't enjoy the rest of it. This show always had a cheap feel to

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(Image from Wikipedia)Visions of Light (1992)Cinematography is one of those interesting aspects of cinema that doesn't get a lot of attention (it's probably up there with editing) despite being significant to the art of filmmaking. I'll readily confess that my knowledge of cinematography is at the level of pretentious dilettante; I think I know good cinematography even if I can't fully explain

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(Image from IMP Awards)Knocked Up (2007)Judd Apatow and crew follow up the fairly funny '40 Year Old Virgin' (a film whose unrated extended version really drags) with this irreverent, profane, heartwarming tale of a chubby loser-ish guy named Ben (Seth Rogen) who has a drunken one night stand with a hot blonde named Alison (Katherine Heigl) and gets her pregnant. When she decides to keep the baby

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(Image from IMP Awards)The Departed (2006)I think I've mentioned on this blog how I admire the films of Martin Scorsese but don't really consider myself a fan of any of them - not Taxi Driver, not Raging Bull, and not Goodfellas - but that has now changed. 'The Departed' is, unsurprisingly, an excellent film, but it's also one that I loved from start to finish.The film is a crime thriller that

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