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Unnecessary but handsome production doesn't even try to match 2001 in appearance, tone or method. Unfortunate '80s ambience and concerns are draped over Syd Mead designs. David Shire provides a score that sometimes seems to be doing right by the original production (is that a shred of Alex North in the grand (and oh so not at all subtle) finale?) but what are the odds?

Labels: movie note

I saw this in the theater which means I am one of a dozen or so who have seen the non-pan-and-scan presentation. An expensive failure, it is probably under-rated, but not by too much. Beautiful, sulky photography ill-served by indulgent editing and weak screenplay.
I had a poster from this movie in my room. I cannot imagine what my parents thought of that.

Labels: movie note

Successful in making the case that Achilles can be considered a rock star in the Homeric idiom. Brad Pitt's choreography and body sculpting were put to good use. Otherwise, the tedium is interrupted by flatness followed by seriously bad acting. Too many culprits to list, a cursed production. Compare and contrast Kingdom of Heaven, which far from great cinema, was beautifully done and not too, too silly.

Whatever this movie aims to do, it must have done it, because I was very effected by the time I got to the end. There may have been a lot of cheating via manipulation of the tone of the movie, but maybe that is my problem for allowing certain signals to mean something that they don't necessarily need to represent. Anyway, by the end, I bought the whole thing hook, line and sinker. It's a fantasy turned real, which is not only difficult to do, but hard to accept as a viewer. A few pacing problems surrounding the character Dana, but those are technical quibbles.

Labels: movie note

From the files of Cory Doctorow: Hello Darth.

kyle_beatty: whither cranium?!
kyle_beatty: added RAM to iBook as part of more-serious move away from thrice-bedamned Windows
kyle_beatty: Google Notes not earth shattering instance of net application
kyle_beatty: Bionicle starting to annoy just because they take up too much room
kyle_beatty: Still on vacation?
kyle_beatty: If I had a cat its breath would smell of cat food.
kyle_beatty: we set up a trap for call center imps. We built a closet with a one way door and a sign that says 'cat fud' . The call center managers were not amused. I think they were more alarmed at the potential for proving just how special their employees are (which would reflect badly on them) rather than the lack of regard that IT feels for anyone's feelings or the managers' authority, which is nonexistent. My boss has forbidden the frozen turkey giveaway/catapult because of considerable legal liability potential. Counterproposal to use live turkeys denied on the basis of "inhumaneness." He invoked Carlson's Despair and that was the end of that!

One evening after an especially taxing day at work, the boss took the team out to dinner. As we were leaving the restaurant, a deer ran through the parking lot. A human was trying to shoo it away from traffic, but it went where it wanted to go. It was utterly silent.

Standing at an open door to an apartment, a small cup was dropped and it rolled into the flowerbed. When I picked it up, there was a wee brown frog in the cup.

A flock of wrens were roosting one recent evening in a bush beneath my office window. I stuck my head out the window to get a better look and they were not at all disturbed. They continued to gather in the bush, sometimes looking over at me.

I saw a hummingbird in the apple tree the day before yesterday.

Update: A duck and four siblings were walking at full speed along Juanita way. It was adorable.

Who knew that Robert Mitchum had such a nice singing voice. Too bad that every utterance out of his mouth is creepier and more disturbing than the last. Makes deNiro's Cape Fear performance look positively comforting and calming. A must-see movie.

Labels: movie note

New wine in old bottles!

They either disappear or are degraded beyond recognition: The Dog House, Murphy's, Conor Byrne's, the entirety of Pioneer Square, Leilani Lanes, Fremont for the most part, the Ave, Broadway, Cranium, soon the Blue Moon ... some of it is inevitable and some is arguably a good thing but it all saddens me. I know that every generation has precisely the same complaint. And every generation has been correct!

I'll be buying this latest iteration of Bionicle, but my enthusiasm is blunted. They are burdened with an assortment of gimmicks (glow in the dark this, light up that), the very stink of shark-jumping.
The name makes me think 'iniquity' which is a bit of a stretch vocabulary-wise for the typical Bionicleer.

So many Lego sets to admire: Viking ship, Jabba's sail barge, Batman's Bat Cave, Arkham Asylum (!), Bikini Bottom, and the Krabby Patty. Slight complaint: the Squidward mini-fig has only two legs. I mean, come on! On the other hand, they are normal mini-fig legs while Spongebob and Mr. Krabbs have the hipless, mini-mini-fig legs. i.e. child-stature legs.
I will post pictures when time permits.

Hated it. Couldn't finish it. Pat malarkey.

Labels: movie note

From the label: "Do not leave mixture in airtight container ... danger ... bursting ... dispose of mixture within six hours ..." Sounds only a little bit less dire than Gremlins or nitroglycerin.