February 2009
Movies
The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972) - I heard about this film during the Film Festival, where I saw a documentary about the “Ozploitation” films of the 1970s and 80s—a series of films that basically jump-started the Australian film industry. This was one of the first. I’m sure it’s described as a “sexy romp of a film” about a “real Aussie”...
Movies
Coraline (2009) - In 3D! Woot! Yeah, it was actually pretty cool…a “kid’s” movie, but not all happy happy joy joy warm and fuzzy. Dark, creepy. Good music. Beautiful animation, incredibly creative. Based on a Neil Gaiman story, and—and let me make this perfectly clear—HAVING NOTHING TO DO WITH TIM BURTON. Four stars.
I Stand Alone - By French director Gaspar...
Cracked.com - Twenty Moments That Would Have... →
Cracked.com has some of the funniest lists evah. This one’s particularly good for us cinephiles. (I love the subtle rickroll in #8!).
Letter to a Representative
An e-mail I sent yesterday to Colorado State Rep. Jerry Frangas. It continually bothers me that legislators will do anything to avoid raising the tax gas, from raising the cost of car registration (which affects you even if you don’t use the roads at all!) to something as ridiculous as the recently-discussed plan to “add GPS/recorder units to all cars and readers to all gas pumps, then...
Creativity
So in a post on BoingBoing, a metalworker was talking about using a metal press: “I formed the strip on a hydraulic press (read: car jack in a steel frame)”. It never occured to me to be able to use something as simple as a car jack when I’ve needed a hydraulic press! Okay, the one time I really wanted a press was when thinking about making dome poles—the metal poles (thick...
Uke
I know that ukeleles are quite the fad now, but I think I want one. Not that I have time to learn to play one, mind. But they’re small, portable, supposedly easy to play, and cheap! Found them online for like $30, at which I was surprised. However, after some quick internet research, I think I might go for the Kala KA-15S, which got good reviews and is still under $50 or so.
Movies
The Cocoanuts (1929) - Marx Brothers’ first film, but you can see the pattern that all other Marx Brothers’ films follow (song and dance numbers separated by little verbal and physical comedy skits by the Brothers; a thin plot usually involving the Brothers getting a guy and a girl together against opposition). [Netflix]
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Man, do I love this...
Awesome mashup of Joe Cocker’s “Summer...
Movies, Spielberg Popcorn Edition
War of the Worlds (2005) Yeah, a total popcorn flick, but I did like how it didn’t focus on “how to fight the evil alien would-be overlords” and more on just one normal guy (when in the movies, “normal” = Tom Cruise) trying to run from an incomprehensible event and still keep his kids with him and safe (though there was still one bit of Hollywood heroics…I guess...
New Camera
Got my new camera in the mail yesterday! A point-and-shoot, but a really nice one, a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5. It’s got a huge Leica lens, 10x optical zoom, and way more features than I can reasonably expect to use. The only drawbacks are 1. it uses a rechargable battery (I prefer ones that use AAs or AAAs, because you can carry extras with you and you’re not stuck if you’re...
Movies over the weekend...
Carlito’s Way (1993) Good acting in an otherwise unremarkable gangster film. Three stars. [Netflix]
Take the Lead (2006) Teacher-inspires-forlorn-students cliche film, notable only for the good dancing. Two stars [Netflix]
Ushpizin (2005) Good Israeli film. Four stars. [Netflix]
The Goonies (1985) I’ve never seen this movie before. I can see why it was so popular, tho’...
Vacation!
Rocky and I got tix on Friday for our March vacation—two weeks in Guatemala and Chiapas, Mexico! Woot! First, the tix were $405 each—and the last time we checked (back in October), they were $770! And we’re reading through the guidebook and it’s got a ton of things to do and see in the places we’ll be: horseback riding, mountain biking through the cloud forest,...
Movies
The Secret of Roan Inish - Four stars for being a good family film that I’ve never seen before. [Netflix]
The Big Lebowski - Got this used DVD a couple weeks ago at Twist and Shout, and watched it with Rocky last night ‘cause she’d never seen it, and it’s been a long time for me. I forgot what a great film this is. Love it. Five stars.
