MaccaMaccaLand

SEEN: Thor

2012-01-03T00:36:00.000-08:00

The trailer looked good for this, but then I saw it had Kenneth Branagh involved who I sort of can't stand. He needs to keep his teeth off the scenery that man. Plus the lead actor looked like a bit of a big lug. This was, however, a pleasant surprise of an origin story. It helped to have my expectations at a subterranean level though. Good effort all round. Recommendation: thumbs up.

SEEN: Cowboys and Aliens... on DVD

2012-01-03T00:31:00.000-08:00

It's not really a Western and not really a sci-fi movie, and in fact it wasn't really much of anything. I've spent up to a couple of hours in more painful ways but not even the might of James Bond and Han Solo did much for me here. It may help to be drunk. I will stick to Firefly for this sort of thing. Recommendation: thumbs down.

Please return my country in the self-addressed envelope I provided.

2011-11-06T01:10:00.000-07:00

Just recently I was given a copy of Fahrenheit 451, the comic book adaption. It's a got a great little introduction by Ray Bradbury. I might post a quote or two, if I get around to it. The book itself is something I have always meant to read, but have never got around to. The story in this comic book version comes through crystal clear, is as relevant as ever, and was very powerful. This is what comic books can, and should do, if they've given a chance.

2010s = 1990s minus Nirvana

2011-10-29T01:05:00.000-07:00

I've been rediscovering my comics collection, no not Morecambe and Wise DVDs, but instead my comicbooks. I used to have a couple of thousand of the little b@stard$ until one day in a moment of clarity, when they fell on me, I realised that I didn't really read most them anymore and more importantly didn't care about them. So it was goodbye and goodnight to most everything I had. It was cleansing, cathartic even.

But recently, I've been revisiting the past. What's left is not unsurprisingly a collection that was very much a picture of where I was at that time, there's a lot of Peter Bagge's Hate, Grant Morrison's Invisibles, Too Much Coffee Man, some Elric, Milk and Cheese, and of course lots of Alan Moore. The great shame of it is that English language comic books not only priced themselves out of most people's reach, but they couldn't tell all the stories they possibly could have to all the potential audiences they might have had. Oh well, nowdays it's the public library collections for me. Stay relevant kids.

*Sigh*

SEEN: Red

2011-06-29T01:40:00.000-07:00

I am going to take the few moments I have to quickly blog something... Because movies are sort out of the question at the moment I have been trying to see the odd DVD. I came across RED at the local. It has a bit of all-star cast with Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovitch, Helen Mirren, and my old school acquaintance Karl Urban. It was a surprisingly good action comedy, not two words that generally fit well together, about a retired agent (Bruce Willis) who has to go on the lam when the 'Agency' decide to rub him out. My highlight was John Malkovitch, who was chewing on and through the scenery in a good way.

RECOMMENDATION: thumbs up.

True Grit

2011-02-27T00:35:00.001-08:00

I've personally had a couple of strike-outs with recent Coen movies. Dreadful eh? This remake of the John Wayne movie is entertaining for its strong female lead and Jeff Bridges funny and human take on "Rooster" Cogburn. See it. That's all I have to say.

BTW - stopping hating Matt Damon people, Ben Affleck I can understand, but leave Matt alone. Okay? Thanks.

SEEN: King's Speech

2011-02-27T00:26:00.000-08:00

I managed to get over my republicanism and watch this. It goes a bit like this, really important rich guy has trouble talking and he really needs to speak. He gets this fair dinkum Aussie to help out, his rough colonial ways go down a treat for the toff. It works out nicely and they become best mates. Hooray! Movie ends.

Less facetiously, I was suprised by how much I enjoyed this movie, although I think the Oscar (for what that's worth) should go to Geoffrey Rush. Thumbs up.

Read - The Corner

2011-01-18T23:48:00.000-08:00

I've finally put "The Corner" by David Simon and Ed Burns to bed. They are writers and collaborators who brought the Wire to the television. The Corner was one of their original journalistic projects. Anyway, I was going to post a review, but I felt I couldn't do it justice. Then I thought I might post a quote or two, but that may stop others from discovering it for themselves. Just. Read. It.

Petone

2011-01-09T23:49:00.000-08:00

I wandered out to Petone over the holiday period, it was looking pretty spick and span down the main drag. Lots for both the hipsters and the locals to see, do, and buy. Much more jolly than when I was a lad. One odd and slightly sour note was the people filling water bottles from the aquifer. No wonder we have trouble managing natural resources of any kind. Do you really need all that water people?

SEEN - A Serious Man

2011-01-09T23:37:00.000-08:00

... A Serious Man was seriously average. This was a movie I wanted to like, it was made by the Coens after all. It had mostly a good reception out there in critic land and won various awards. The film itself is centred on Larry, a Jewish physics professor, whose life starts to unravel after his wife decides she wants to divorce him for another man. We then meet a string of unlikeable characters who are generally unpleasant and irredeemable as Larry spins out. Overall, I found it self indulgent and sort of dull. Recommendation: thumbs in the middle.

Eastern Walkway

2011-01-04T13:00:00.000-08:00

I wandered along the Eastern walkway over the holidays. I don't think I had ever done it, at least not in full. If you haven't tried it, then I suggest you give it a go one fine day. There are some great views and points of interest including the Ataturk memorial and the signalers' station. There were some pests wandering around too, namely rabbits. Probably not the best move introducing those eh?

While I may have said this elsewhere...

2010-12-27T00:04:00.000-08:00

... it bears repeating. Happy boxing day! Which incidentally is known as St Stephen's day to some. May test cricket enrich all your lives. :-)

SEEN: Exit through the gift shop

2010-12-26T23:54:00.000-08:00

This movie was as intelligent and funny as the Expendables was idiotic and boring. Originally, when it came to spending dinero at the film festival, I had to give this one a miss. There was other things to see y'know? Luckily I chose it as the other half of my two for twelve kiwi pesos at the local. Supposedly it is about Thiery AKA Mr Brainwash, a Frenchman in LA who becomes fixated on street art and eventually Banksie. While ostensibly a documentary, it seems more likely it's one gigantic p1$$take. If so, it's one of the best ever.

Big thumbs-up.

SEEN: The Expendables

2010-12-26T20:03:00.000-08:00

I was hoping for big dumb fun. Unfortunately, I only got the dumb. There was scope for amusement, you know, like Commando, or a number of eighties action movies I could name. Large portions of it were shot in the dark, at least that's how it displayed on the TV. Action movies aren't so good if YOU CAN'T SEE THE #$%@ING ACTION!? In sum, sheer sh1te.

Recommendation: Avoid.

Seen: Skyline

2010-12-05T00:28:00.000-08:00

Dire. Truly dire.

I.

Really.

Mean it.

The only saving grace of this movie was the relatively downbeat ending and maybe the token hispanic guy. Aliens invade earth, they are unstoppable. In fact, not even a foreign operating system can bring them down. 100 long, long minutes then ensue and then you finally breathe sweet freedom.

RECOMMENDATION: avoid.

Waiheke

2010-11-15T00:04:00.001-08:00

Due to a combination of circumstances we ended up on Waiheke for a long weekend. It was freaking fantastic, warm, still, and extra mellow. I was able to wander around in bare feet and eat outside, not something I have done in a while. There was walking and I generally chilled. I also checked out the Waiheke Island Brewery, but that's for another post.

Someone give me a million bucks so I can live there. Thanks.

[The picture to your left is of the sea kayaking shed just near the Waiheke ferry terminal.]

Ravishing Red Radish(es)

2010-11-14T23:53:00.000-08:00

Wow, and you thought the last post was pretty funky... Get a load of these babies. My radishes are seen from a couple of views, firstly the aerial helicopter fly-over. Think a Tour of Duty sort of shot for those of you who are old enough to remember that TV series. The other view is more a sort of a composition of the radishes in repose. The little rascals. Like broadbeans they are a vegetable it's hard to go wrong with, at least that is what I have found to date. Touch wood.

Vegetables I have known

2010-11-14T23:44:00.000-08:00

Hi. Me again. I thought I would begin posting again with a short vegetable series. It has been a tough year for vegetables, above you see some of my broadbean crop. Saucy little devils aren't they? Broadbeans are pretty hardy, from my very limited experience. But Wellington's weather, particularly up at McMurdo station, has been extraordinarily unforgiving ripping plants and stakes out of the ground. Still here is the first part of the crop, in all their finery.

SEEN: Capitalism - A Love Story

2010-09-15T01:10:00.000-07:00

This a Michael Moore film, and what he does he does relatively well. I call it left wing agit-prop, although that may be a fairly meaningless set of adjectives. He skewers the banking crisis, the collapse of the productive sectors of the American economy and subsequent impoverishment of working people. He lays it at the feet of Reagan and the subsequent governments, although you could quibble about that. It's all done in greater depth elsewhere, such as Joseph Stiglitz's book on the GFC, but not in quite as an entertaining fashion. With the good, there is the bad, especially some of the doorstopping of people who are basically working stiffs. The ones he is trying to defend, at least that's what I thought. Either way, thumbs-up.

SEEN: Kickass

2010-09-15T01:03:00.000-07:00

As I've said elsewhere, I wanted to like this more than I did. I had heard such good things about this flick as well. Basically, in a world without superheroes, one nerdish teenage boy decides to try and become one. It's spoiled by product placement, I'm looking at you "social network brand", average writing, and a small pre-teen dealing out extreme violence. My tolerance has dropped and empathy risen, so that bit was not cool.

Thumbs in the middle, maybe drifting downwards.

Less cool...

2010-07-28T02:37:00.000-07:00

On a less happy note I found out that you can't recycle/reuse asthma inhalers, or at least the kind I am having to use. This seems a bit poked since it's heavy plastic with, I presume, a few metal parts as well. I guess there is no money or facilities for reuse, but still I don't feel especially cool chucking it in the landfill. Welcome to capitalism folks.

Transition Towns.

2010-07-28T02:29:00.000-07:00

I went along to a Transitions Town event tonight all about power, as in the energy kind (although as I was reminded there was a difference between those two concepts). There was some obvious stuff about monitoring your usage, insulation, double glazing etc. The more thought provoking things were around living "off the grid", basic solutions for power shortages, should they be in our collective futures. For example, building a little windmill. We're not talking survivalism or holing up with guns, but more basic solutions for practical people. I think, not sure, this was the link.

Gratuitous advertisement for "A"

2010-07-04T00:04:00.000-07:00

Now for a little word about "A", also know as alcohol. I took a relative to Regional Wines and Spirits, it's the place to go for the connoisseur. They, the relative, thoroughly approved of our visit. The service was good, the staff knowledgeable, and the choice great. I went back later to get some Glen Farclas and they were most useful.

Nice.

My LJ...

2010-07-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

... I am wondering is there any point in keeping it going any longer? If I can be bothered to post beyond two sentences, and that's rare at the moment, then it will be here. MMLand has history you know? Also, I probably have enough social media already.

Shark. Jumped.

SEEN - Zombieland

2010-07-03T23:43:00.000-07:00

Finally saw Zombieland on dvd. My immediate thoughts were "Sean of the Dead, only not so good". This proved to be how it rolled for me. Woody Harrelson did a good turn and it was fun but not memorable. Thumbs in the middle.

This is why we're screwed...

2010-06-02T02:37:00.000-07:00

... so, I have a set of headphones of brand X. They work well and last. Hooray! Unfortunately, the foam pads wear. They wear so much that they fall apart.

Aha, think I, I will go to the specialty which sell brand X headphones and just buy some more foam pads. "Foam pads" they say, "we don't sell those". They are, I should note, quite helpful.

"You could go to the supplier, but that would be expensive and a waste of time" they state.

"Oh" I comment.

"Instead, you need to go big-barn retailer and buy $cheapo headphones and use the foampads from those for your expensive ones".

So, I need to consume another whole good with all the costs implicit in that decision, to get one part of it to fix the working consumer good that I already have?????

This is why we're doomed.

Thanks.

Mac

Not to much see here...

2010-06-02T02:32:00.000-07:00

As per elsewhere, I've started re-watching the Wire. There is still lots of material to get out of that show second time around, particularly as I am watching it with a closer eye. A lot of planning must have gone into the writing and the character story arcs. Nice.

SEEN: The Corporation

2010-04-28T02:33:00.000-07:00

I missed this when it was out at the film festival a few years back. It's a solid piece charting the history, development, and pathology of the corporation. I think you can pick how it goes. Occasionally it veers into bad agit-prop, but I can live with that. To be honest though, the extras might be just as good as the documentary itself. Overall - thumbs-up.

Garden Watch

2010-04-27T02:09:00.000-07:00

I thought I would add a small broadbeans update, they've started to show through at last. Hardy little beasts eh? The mint has survived its replanting and I have a few other bits and pieces planted up and ready to roll. Nice.

The Dynamite Kid - still the best

2010-04-06T01:27:00.000-07:00

Seen on DVD...

2010-04-05T01:27:00.000-07:00

Recent DVD watches:

Kung-Fu Panda - this was not quite as heart warming as I expected, I guess I wasn't ready for another message about believing in yourself despite all evidence to the contrary, still amusing though. Plus it had pandas, and who doesn't love pandas?
Michael Clayton - George Clooney plays a New York lawyer who's a fixer, solving difficult problems on behalf of the company like having a client run someone over. George gets embroiled when a chief litigator, and friend, goes off the deep end and endangers a relationship with a major (evillll) multinational client. It's refreshingly dark, and George acts well, although the ending jarred a little.

Garden Watch

2010-04-05T01:19:00.000-07:00

I've harvested the last of the very meager tomato crop, about eight all told, they were like teeeennny tiny little bubbas as well. So I guess no prizes at the A and P show. An assessment of the effort versus return ratio may lead me to reconsidering replanting next year. Elsewhere, I replanted my mint in a new pot, it was getting quite root-bound. Hopefully I got to it in time, otherwise I might have to get Doctor House into engage in resuscitation. Finally, today I planted the broadbeans, it's old seed but I am hoping it will live.

SEEN: Girl with the Dragon Tattoo...

2010-04-05T01:07:00.000-07:00

It's really good, really, really good. A journalist who has just has lost a major libel case gets embroiled in a 40 year old murder mystery. Despite occasionally wandering on some well trodden ground it's tense and interesting. My only problem was that due to having to sit too close to the screen I missed the occasional subtlety when I was staring down at the sub-titles. Well done.

SEEN AND HEARD Simon Schama...

2010-03-12T00:27:00.000-08:00

He was fantastic tonight at the Arts Festival. He was interesting, inspiring, and very, very, funny. Give me him over Dawkins or Gaiman any day of the week, year, or century.

Some edits...

2010-03-12T00:24:00.000-08:00

Note to self: Billy, Morgue, and Pearce's details are updated.

AC EFFING DC

2010-02-04T00:33:00.000-08:00

One of the last great rawk acts, or last great rock dinosaurs, depending on your taste, rolled into town a weekend or so ago. There was only one thing to do, and that was to go along and see them live, and that is what I did.

I first became a convert to ACDC around the time of the Razor's Edge album, which led me to discover some of their other older and better music. Though I do still have a soft spot for the Razor's Edge. Anyway, something about them greatly appealed to me, and still does. Not just the music, or that they are decidedly unpopular with snobby muthafluffers, it's the attitude that goes with them.

For the record, ACDC are held together musically by the Young brothers and particularly Angus Young. This still proved to be the case last Saturday night where he played his @rse off and them some. There was a 20 minute extended solo from him and he was energetic all night. The rest of the band were still tight and they belted out the hits such as Thunderstruck, Dirty Deeds, Whole Lotta Rosie, and TNT amongst others. This was interspersed with some average stuff from Black Ice, some of which was passable. They finished with an encore of Highway to Hell and For Those About To Rock. I had been waiting to hear Highway and was absolutely stoked when they played the first few bars. It was one of the best concerts I've been too and if you didn't go you missed a treat.

THUMBS-UP!

While I am on a David Simon roll...

2010-01-11T22:53:00.000-08:00

... an interview with David from some magazine called Vice. I am not sure about the rest of the content of the website, nor I am about to look. Best read at home.

Maybe, just maybe...

2010-01-11T20:51:00.000-08:00

I really hope Treme makes it to a full series and onto Television, life has been a little empty without a David Simon inspired, or written, drama to watch. A teaser trailer for is available from HBO. I'm hoping, I'm really hoping.

Garden watch...

2010-01-10T23:22:00.000-08:00

... post Christchurch, Lyttelton and its Timeball (I may come back to that later) the garden was looking pretty shagged. The remains of the silverbeet were floppy, the garlic looked sick, and the tomatoes seemed not long for this world. Although, I always seem to talk of woe with the vegetables, this time it seemed justified. The application of some water at the appropriate moments seems to have assisted somewhat, but the poor dears are fighting for their little lives. Damn inconsistent Wellington weather! I have put in some more radishes and spring onions since there is now a little space. Fingers crossed.

Hi 2010...!

2010-01-10T23:19:00.000-08:00

According to the sidebar I've been blogging on matters of no consequence whatsoever since 02. Wow, time flies. Anyway, dear 2010, I hope that you are going to be good, or at the very least, not completely f@#k%^g awful. So be good to us all eh? Thanks for that.

WWE Catch-up

2009-12-26T23:25:00.000-08:00

I've been catching up on DVD watching, as part of that I got a Vengeance 4-pack ('03 through '06) way back that I've been working through. One thing that struck me, again, besides the dodgy storylines, was what a trooper Kane has been for the company. Dodgy love storyline? Yup, check, I'll do that. Inevitable heel turn on Kane by as part of the storyline. Yup, check I'll do that. Interrupt a wedding day? Yup, check, I'll do that.

Company man through and through. Nice one.

SEEN Avatar 3D

2009-12-26T23:12:00.000-08:00

Well, yes. I thought I had to see this to know what the hype was about. Visually, it's superb and very pretty, and the 3D work is astounding. Plotwise, not so good. District 9 delivered its commentary with a bit more subtlety and a lot more humour, this soldier goes native thing with War on Terror overtones just doesn't quite hit the mark. In some places the dialogue verges on the painful. I am of course dreadfully hard to please.

Lets call it thumbs up for the spectacle, thumbs down for the plot.

Ai, ai, ai...

2009-12-18T23:40:00.000-08:00

I wandered through town today on the way back home from some errands.

There were people.

Everywhere.

Buying.

Lots.

The conspicuous consumption seemed a sharp and unpleasant contrast to the debacle in Copenhagen. It's bad when my expectations are lived down too.

*Sigh*

An Adaggio Christmas

2009-12-18T23:33:00.000-08:00

As mentioned elsewhere, I saw An Adaggio Christmas at Downstage. Damn good. Basically, it's a combination of circus performance, skits, and music. The acrobatics were great, particularly the use of a couple of fireman's poles that came into play throughout the show. It made me want to runaway to join the circus. If only I could do somersaults, or forward rolls for that matter, then I would be on the next dancing elephant out of here to the big top...

Garden watch...

2009-12-18T19:40:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I posted a vege-garden update. It's proceeded in fits and starts this year due to the $hite weather. The garlic continues to hang in there and has helped the cabbage to grow, whether the cabbages will actually turn into something more than leaves remains to be seen. The silverbeet is however plugging along, it's sort of the tight-forward of the patch. Doing the hard yards and holding the rest of the carry-on together. I have hopes that the cos-lettuces might also make it, they went in a bit late though, but I hope, you know? Finally, I put some heritage tomatoes in pots, they look a bit sad. I will be surprised if we get edible fruit.

Um, yeah, that's it.

Strange things...

2009-11-27T14:15:00.000-08:00

... Blackwater has its own proshop?! I am not going to link to it, you can find it for yourselves if you really want. It's just too strange and wrong in oh so many ways.

I have become such a lazy poster....

2009-11-27T14:05:00.001-08:00

Seen: Generation Kill

As per the previous post I bought Generation Kill. It would be fair to say it started slowly... and seemed to switch between GO MARINES HEYAHH and commentaries on poorly fought wars and the difficulties of incompetent bureaucracies with stultifying hierarchies. These were peppered with the occasional Tarantinoesque bits of dialogue. That said, it was still a reasonable watch and better than anything that you would see on free to air. It's just that with the previous high benchmark that David Simon and Ed Burns set themselves, this was a little disappointing.

Verdict: thumbs in the middle tending upwards.

Generation Kill

2009-10-16T01:39:00.000-07:00

I bought Generation Kill today at my local chainstore. This is by, I think, David Simon, formerly of the Wire. I was a bit gutted after the Wire finished because really anything else after that is a bit of a disappointment. So something new by mr Simon is something to look forward too. Hopefully I am not going to be disappointed.

Halloween Howl 4

2009-10-16T01:33:00.000-07:00

... is coming. Read all about it here folks!

I encourage you all to get out and support New Zealand pro-wrestling. The details currently are Friday October 30th, Wellington High School, Wellytown. Tickets can be purchased on the door or, I think, from the Powerhouse Gym.

The best there was... the best there is... the best there ever will be.

2009-10-16T01:16:00.000-07:00

A while back Bret Hart and Vincent K MacMahon set aside their differences long enough to put together a dvd retrospective of his career. I have been working my way through this, so far I have seen the documentary and four to five of his matches.

Two things in particular struck me. The first thing was that, at least for the purposes of the dvd, time seems to have mellowed Bret Hart with regard to Montreal. That is positive. That much bitterness can't be good for your health. The second thing was how sweet tag-team wrestling was in the 80s with the Rockers, the Bulldogs, the Road Warriors, and Demolition wandering through the squared circle. Great times and I think wrestling is the poorer for the lack of really good tag-teams. I lied, there's a third thing, it's a crime that so many of those who wrestled then and were comparatively young men have passed away. Sad.

Thumbs-up.

Batman...

2009-09-17T01:19:00.000-07:00

As public servants often do, today I was thinking about historical Batman movie serials. In that vein I found an amusing picture of the 1940s Batman engaging in derring do and forwarded on to some chums. I also thought I need to see some of this goodness for myself. Luckily, it seems my local video store, Aro Video, seems to have a copy of one particular season. Then I thought about YouTube and found this bit of goodness...

SEEN: District 9

2009-09-10T02:25:00.000-07:00

Well, this movie is as good as people say it is. What an unexpected bonus. Setting aside the obvious analogies in the plot that have been spoken about elsewhere, I was impressed by how subtly they moved the audience's view of the characters. The way life and meaning was given to the aliens was particularly impressive. Thank goodness they didn't make a Halo movie instead. I will go as far to say this is one of my best watches of the year.

RECOMMENDATION: Big thumbs-up with a cheesy grin.

Wipe on - wipe off

2009-09-10T01:58:00.000-07:00

I went away to Auckland the other weekend. It was good. I managed to get up to Mount Eden and One Tree Hill in one day, bit of a mammoth walk, but worth it. The views were great. My highlight, as I have mentioned elsewhere was the Auckland War Memorial museum. It was just way, way, way better than Te Papa. I am generally not moved by war memorials, but there was some affecting about the museum's one.

Um, yeah.

BSG S4PT2

2009-08-23T01:32:00.000-07:00

Take a bunch of stuff, throw it against a wall, and hope like #### it sticks. That sort of describes the first two episodes of season 4 part 2 of Battlestar Galactica. You don't need all those plotlines kiddies, what you will need is a convincing ending. The next two episodes I watched benefited from a more coherent and connected story, but this is still a way from the heights of three seasons. Still, I have this come far and I will see this out to its bitter end.

CURRENT RECOMMENDATION: thumbs in the middle, tending down.

Sunshine cleaning

2009-08-23T01:28:00.000-07:00

Amy Adams, the quirky one (why doesn't her name stay in my head...?), and Alan Arkin do a good turn in this comedy about two sisters who clean up crime scenes. It's in the vain, stylistically, of Little Miss Sunshine. Funny, touching, and clever. I now why to try trestling, see the movie to understand.

RECOMMENDATION: Thumbs-up

A new scam of a different kind...

2009-08-23T01:14:00.000-07:00

#1#

"Oh look", I say to myself. Extraordinarily cheap free-range eggs from [NEW BRAND NAME] at [VERY EXPENSIVE SUPERMARKET], wow I want some of that proteiny goodness baby. That's nearly a $1.00 cheaper than my usual brand. Wow, I can be both green/animal loving and a smart shopper all at the same time. So, I get home and the next day I cook up the eggs and they are, indeed, mighty tasty. BUT... the carton seems smaller. Is it because I bought organic, hormone and drug free eggs? NO, it's not. It's because there are only 10 ####k!ng eggs in the carton. I bought a 10, not a dozen, but a 10. As they say. when you assume, you make an ass out of you and me.

HEARD: Metallica - All Nightmare LOng

2009-08-05T02:33:00.000-07:00

Perusing Real Groovy's single bins I found this, surprising, gem. It is a Metallica single off Death Magnetic. Basically it's thrash but in a "good return to form way" as opposed to a "bloated I've run out of ideas" scenario. Yes, this gladdened my heart. RECOMMENDATION: Buy!

Film Festival - Flame and Citron

2009-07-26T00:37:00.000-07:00

... or is it Citron and Flame. I forget. On a whim I went to this on Friday night. It had been something that had come close to a "watch" when I had originally browsed the booklet. It proved to be an inspired choice. It was a complex tale of the resistance in WW2 in which no one is right, everyone seems to be playing a game, and your friends were the ones you had to watch out for the most. Mads Mikkelson (spelling??) was great.

RECOMMENDATION: thumbs-up!

SEEN RockNRolla (or that Guy Ritchie movie)

2009-07-08T13:35:00.000-07:00

It's a rehash of every other Guy Ritchie movie, only not as good, or as fun. Multiple plotlines that I didn't care about and some average acting made it a bit of a waste time. It was interesting to see Idris Elba in a different role without his Baltimore accent. A victory of style over substance.

The more I think about this one, the harsher I am inclined to be, thumbs DOWN.

Wire Season 5 "Do more with less"

2009-07-02T01:42:00.000-07:00

I am now well into the final season, I had heard that this series wasn't good as the rest but I am inclined to differ. It is wee bit strained in places, but that is because there is just so much going on there. Without giving too much away, there is a focus on the newspaper, in line with the writer's previous career. It is very good and is of course a microcosm of what is happening everywhere in media. I expect I will write a fuller review once I've seen it all and it has had a chance to settle.

I have garlic to plant...

2009-07-02T01:33:00.000-07:00

This weekend I will manage it, as this blog is my witness. It's already to rock in and start growing and also protect future broccoli. Last year was disastrous for those green lovelies. In general I just need a bit more light in the mornings to feel compelled to something.

SEEN: Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - the movie...

2009-07-02T01:29:00.000-07:00

Absolutely excruciatingly awful, except for two, maybe even three, scenes. There is nothing to redeem this movie. Even Mos def disappoints. Avoid like the [topical reference] swine flu [/topical reference].

RECOMMENDATION: thumbs wayyyyyyyy down.

Wow, so many tumbleweeds

2009-07-02T01:27:00.000-07:00

I.

Just.

Can't.

Be bothered.

As per the LJ, winter, this winter in particular, is a bearch. At least the fire is going.

The Departed

2009-04-26T14:29:00.000-07:00

Speaking of bringing of Asia to Hollywood, we have the Departed. The Departed is a complicated of betrayal and double-cross set in Boston based on another set of movies, Internal Affairs. The leads are Leonardon Dicaprio (the Irish cop posing as a gangster) and Matt Damon (the Irish gangster posing as a cop). Both are surprisingly convincing in their roles. I know that some people prefer the original, but the Departed stands in its own right as a compelling bit of cinema. Go and watch!

RECOMMENDATION: thumbs-up.

WATCHED: The Replacement Killers

2009-04-26T14:23:00.000-07:00

Recently I got a Chow Yun Fat 3-pack. This was one movie I hadn't seen before and forms one of his first forays into Hollywood. Sadly, it was appalling, not Triple XXX bad (few movies are...), but pretty dreadful. I should have just rewatched some Hong Kong work instead. Chow is bad misused and not helped by attempting to graft Hong Kong sensibilities onto American dreck. Avoid.

RECOMMENDATION: thumbs down!

READ: Daywatch by that Russian guy whose name escapes me

2009-04-02T01:41:00.000-07:00

The back cover compares Daywatch to JK Rowlings which for me is sort of like comparing Tolkien to Eddings. I am hard to please though... So... this is a Russian modern fantasy book, I can't think of much to say except it's really good and I now I want to see the movie they made of it. It can only be better than Underworld.

RECOMMENDATION: thumbs-up!

Music playing as I write this: the Band - the Weight

Vegetables go wild in Kowhai Park

2009-03-30T01:33:00.000-07:00

In vegetable related news some of my tomatoes are now edible and I/we have a back up plan of green tomato chutney for those who don't sun ripen. Since we all know that Wellington's summer is so warm there is no chance of that happening eh? :-) The secret was to get them in earlier and they seemed to have made it through. The next step is some late sown spinach where the broadbeans were hanging out. Go crop rotation!

Cheese rolls...

2009-03-09T02:21:00.000-07:00

I was told of a south island delicacy today, and I use the term delicacy loosely, called cheese rolls. Apparently this is big south of the Mason-Dixon line in Otago and Southland. Ingredients include white bread, cheese, onion and if you are really wild, pineapple or sweetcorn. You mix it all together and grill in the oven. Now I was born in Invercargill and spent time in Christchurch and I have never heard of this before. Then I start asking Southeners about this and apparently they are part of the cultural landscape. What gives? How can such a food fiesta stay hidden?

READ: Orcs by Stan Nicholls

2009-03-09T02:07:00.000-07:00

Orcs is a muscular, violent, and fun read about, unsurprisingly, Orcs. It is told from their point of view as they have to deal with the evil despoiling humans, amongst others. At the heart of the book is the story of a renegade group of soldiers who go awol while searching for a relic for their Queen. Though that sounds like an rpg session summary, this book has a lot going for it with some strong characters and driving plot. Despite the well mined and potentially cliched material it is a nice light read.

RECOMMENDATION: thumbs-up!

Heard: Adam Page's album...

2009-03-02T14:06:00.000-08:00

... over on my LJ where I keep my cr@p, I talk about a Fringe Festival gig featuring Adam Page, the musical improvisor. I am happy pleased to report that the Cd that I impulse bought is equally as fun as the gig was. Nice one Adam!

RECOMMENDATION: thumbs-up!

SEEN: Gran Torino

2009-03-02T14:01:00.000-08:00

Can a movie about a racist Korean war veteran discovering tolerance in a mid-west American multicultural suburb be good? Why yes it can. Particularly with Clint Eastwood in the starring role. This movie is touching, clever, and mostly importantly very funny (otherwise it would have been heavy weather indeed). I heard somewhere that this is his to be his last role, if so, it is a fine way to go out.

RECOMMENDATION: thumbs up!

Why haven't I...

2009-01-31T21:01:00.000-08:00

... looked up this music video prior to now.

Phwooarrrrrr, big poodle hair and leather pants, hold me down baby!

Read - two by John Scalzi

2009-01-31T19:30:00.000-08:00

I've just read two books ("The Ghost Brigades" and "The Last Colony") by sci-fi author John Scalzi, they would sort of fall into the category, military sci-fi. The reviews on the dust jacket compare him to Heinlein, I think of him as more like Jim Butcher. A solid and workman like writer who produces fun and enjoyable, but not brilliant, books.

RECOMMENDATION: thumbs-up

P.S. He also has a blog, more here.

SEEN (and completed): BSG4 pt 1

2009-01-31T19:09:00.000-08:00

I have now completed the series, the first half of the abbreviated season went pretty much nowhere quickly. Things picked up with several big bang revelations. There is a point in the last episode where you think that maybe they should have stopped there. Then again, maybe there are 12 episodes of convincing plotline to go. We shall see.

RECOMMENDATION: thumbs in the middle.

Hello new year!

2009-01-05T15:48:00.000-08:00

Holidays mean being able to listen to Matinee Idle on Radio NZ whenever you damn well please.

Life is made of these small things.

Dear 2008

2008-12-31T12:35:00.000-08:00

I am not sure I will miss you greatly, but I have a feeling you may be on a par with 2009. 2009, don't disappoint me.

Yrs,

Macka

(RE) SEEN Sleeping Dogs

2008-12-27T19:21:00.000-08:00

Ahh, I have found out why I haven't had proper titles... I am a dumb@r$e. There is no need to respond to that chums... Anyway, I rewatched, after a number of years, Sleeping Dogs with Sam Neill. It's still quite good and prescient of what was to come in 1981 (sort of) with the Springbok tour. There is a very good 'making of feature' with luminaries of New Zealand film talking about how they cut their teeth on this one. Good stuff.

RECOMMENDATION: Thumbs-up

PURCHASED AND SEEN (A BIT) - Season 4 BSG1

2008-12-26T20:46:00.000-08:00

I decided to buy the first part of the final series, I am enough of a fan to do so. I had to fight the hordes at JB Hi-Fi though. It was an ugly, ugly, ugly scene man in that shop. Too little space and too many people. In a reversal I have started with the DVD extras and the mini-sodes with a young Bill Adama. Good fun, especially the old cylon suit design. Ah, the days when cylons were cylons.

RECOMMENDATION - Thumbs up - so far.

READ (nearly) Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson

2008-12-26T20:40:00.000-08:00

This is another reprint ($12.99) from the penguin orange range. This book is a frothy look at the English language, its history and development. Overall, fun but a bit light weight, which I guess is to be expected. I had my doubts about some of his facts and sadly they were not referenced so I couldn't check them. Meh.

RECOMMENDATION: thumbs in the middle.

SEEN - The Wire Season 4

2008-12-26T20:27:00.001-08:00

I have just finished season 4 of the Wire. Still good, still complex, and still interesting. Season 4's theme was education and inner city schools, which doesn't sound all that sexy, but actually was very moving and enlightening. There was some good character development all round. My only quibble would be that with the DVDs too date there has been a lack of extras, this season had the usual commentaries plus a couple of half hour documentaries. The documentaries were okay, but felt a little tacked on.

RECOMMENDATION: thumbs up!!!!!

2008-11-30T00:33:00.000-08:00

Ka-ching

Is it sad to want to beat last year's post count? Especially when you are behind? I guess I don't even need to ask that question... :-)

2008-11-30T00:25:00.000-08:00

HEARD: Small Change by Tom Waits

In short, fantastic, on both quality and price ($14.99 I think). Especially as I have been meaning to replace my old dubbed tape for years. When I first listened to TW he wasn't hot amongst the hip crowd, at least hot enough to warrant the usual extortionate prices charged for CDs so this was truly a steal. This is 70s Tom before his voice had completed its journey to wear it is today. Lots of good songs, no dull moments. Macka is a happy boy.

RECOMMENDATION: Thumbs up

2008-11-29T21:58:00.000-08:00

SEEN: Quantum of Solace

Guns, punch-ups, death, beautiful women of an indeterminate late 20 something age, and of course... an Aston Martin (I think), it can only be Bond, James Bond. This movie is based on a short-story, which I haven't read, and leads on from Casino Royale. James doesn't say much in this one, he mainly kills people and looks tortured, getting over the dead missus. Curse those super-villains eh? I was told I was a cynical Gen-Xer who didn't get this, um, yeah, I think I did actually. I have read most of the original books and seen nearly all the movies. This is not rocket science folks, it is wish fulfilment, fun wish fulfilment, but no more than that. Overall the movie was a solid, if thin and reedy, outing, saved by Daniel Craig's chiselled physique and winsome looks.

RECOMMENDATION: Thumbs in the middle.

2008-11-21T01:03:00.000-08:00

READ - Empire by Niall Fergusson

This is a revisionist revisionist history put out under the cheapo orange range ($13.00 afair). Basic thesis: the British Empire while not being the nicest collection of chaps in the world were far from the worst, and the economic, cultural, and political institutions they left behind have proved to be quite good in many respects. It's fairly convincing and well-written. Worth a look.

RECOMMENDATION - thumbs-up

2008-11-21T00:46:00.000-08:00

SEEN - Little Miss Sunshine

When I saw the trailer at the cinema I thought this looked like complete rubbish. Then, when people said to me “this is quite good”, I was still doubtful. Now I have finally got to seeing it on DVD and I have to say I was impressed. A funny, touching, and occasionally surprising comedy about a family road-trip to a beauty pageant. Alan Arkin's performance in particular stood out. Highly recommended.

VERDICT - thumbs-up

2008-11-21T00:36:00.000-08:00

SEEN - Reservoir Dogs (again)

I haven't watched this in years, I worried that I would 'be over it'. So it proved to be, whatever made it cool, or hip, for me has evaporated. Perhaps Tarantino broke ground in the movie scene but I just couldn't get excited about it. The extras were more interesting.

Verdict: thumbs in the middle.

2008-10-31T13:42:00.000-07:00

SEEN: The Wire Season 3

Aw man, just as good, if not better than the last series. How good? I rewatched episiodes with the audio commentary going. Mostly, I find audio commentaries totally *&^#ing superfluous, but here they added an extra dimension to the episodes.

This season's theme was reform, reform of individuals, attempted reform of institutions and political entities, and the failure of war on drugs. This theme is set within the ongoing ideas of the show, such as the role of institutions in our lives, be they a gang, the police, or city hall and the compromises we make with ourselves to get by and stay a little sane. My favourite part of the story arc was the story about Cutty, an ex-gangster coming out of a long term in prison trying to make some sort of future for himself and facing the stark grind of being an ex-con.

Superb. I am not sure that I will ever see better television.

2008-10-31T13:21:00.000-07:00

Listening: Platinum Rock

I am reliving my 20s with Platinum Rock a 2 cd collection brought to us by THE ROCK. It has some classic tracks from Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots (Interstate Love Song of course...), and Alice in Chains. As you would expect there is some pure $h1t3 like Collective Soul. I got all nostalgic, or is it depressed, listening to Everclear and "Santa Monica". Different times, different places.

Um, yeah.

2008-10-31T13:15:00.001-07:00

Elections

I bored with ours, and now I am more interested in the American one. Can we cut to the chase please? Further, I don't understand the political blogosphere, it's just so... extreme. Can't we learn to love each other :-)??

Yrs, Apolitical of Greenwich

2008-10-31T12:45:00.000-07:00

SEEN: Pineapple Express

Another movie from the people who brought us Superbad, Knocked-up and (I think) 40 year old virgin. Basically, a stoner goes on the run with his dealer after witnessing a murder. There are some genuinely hilarious moments, but also there is some very heavy duty violence. It's a strange mix. I enjoyed it, but it gets points off for the bodycount.

Recommendation: thumbs in the middle tending upwards

2008-09-09T20:21:00.000-07:00

While we are on Doctor Who...

... I just saw a couple of episodes on TV over the past two weeks, the Shadow's storyline. It was... not bad. I have been pretty cold on the Doctor Who revival. What I have seen of the new series has just been a bit too panto for my liking. Perhaps I have grown old, crusty, and demanding but it has not done much for me. These two episodes might make me reconsider my opinion.

2008-09-09T20:17:00.000-07:00

Wow.

My first blue of screen of death on XP, ever. Apparently something went into "an infinite loop". Very Doctor Who. Perhaps I will have to get a new gerbil for my machine or something.

2008-09-07T17:53:00.000-07:00

More reasons why NatRad is kewl...

... the interview/playing favourites session with 'Mad' Mike Banks on Saturday's with Kim Hill. I just gained a whole new interest in dance music...

2008-09-07T17:38:00.000-07:00

SEEN - Wire Series 2

I own and have now seen series 2 of the Wire. The good news is that the shark remains unjumped. I also understand why some fans may not love it as much as the first. The story has a different pace and a slightly different focus. This is still however some of the strongest drama I have ever seen. Wow, hyperbole, from me.

RECOMMENDATION - watch immediately!

2008-09-07T17:09:00.000-07:00

HEARD - Best of the Pogues

I put on some, sort of, new music in as much as I hadn't listened to them before. That is excepting the Fairy Tale of New York which I loathe. I have gained a whole new appreciation of Shane McGowan. My highlights of the highlights were, perhaps predictably, the Irish Rover and Dirty Old Town.

Deedidledee... :-)

2008-09-07T17:01:00.000-07:00

READ How Proust Can Change Your Life - Alain De Botton

In need of some philosophical insights? And you don't want to read In Search of Lost Time? This book could be for you, or not. Alain takes extracts from Proust and uses them to discuss his ideas life, love, reading and other subjects. It's fun and readable, but pretty frothy.

2008-08-23T22:11:00.000-07:00

SEEN Aliens versus Predator (you know, the one in the ice city)

Now we have done sublime, lets do ridiculous. There are two mindsets with which you can approach this movie. First, as a normal moviegoer. Under the first mindset this movie is irredeemably bad in all ways, shapes, and forms. The second mindset involves approaching it as a roleplaying scenario. This means you will enjoy the movie a lot more and you can yell things like "CRITICAL FAILURE LOSER" at the screen now and again. I found this assisted my enjoyment immensely.

For those interested in plot, there's this city under the ice at the pole which attracts the interest of the 'corporation'. They put a team together and go down to explore it and hopefully claim the gold pieces/archaeological goodstuff, unfortunately it turns out that they are bait for you know who. They then get picked off one by one etc and much mayhem ensues... Lots of bad acting quickly follows. And that it is it. Very bad.

RECOMMENDATION - watch under the influence, of something.

2008-08-23T21:43:00.000-07:00

SEEN - Batman/that Dark Knight Guy

It's everyone favorite Vigilante, the man who dresses in black with a cape. No. Not Johnny Cash, instead Batman. Is it as good as they say? Yes. Is Heath Ledger superb as the Joker, ... absolutely. A very believable performance with what could have been reduced to a series of tics, mannerisms, and cliches. Man, that guy could act. I am sad to be using the past tense. Also notable is the rather crunchy batmobile. There is a plot too, but you can see the movie for that.

RECOMMENDATION - See now.

2008-08-14T02:55:00.000-07:00

SEEN - Be Kind Rewind

I have a place in my heart for Jack Black, the same one that Jim Carrey is in. It's not a good place. It's definitely not a happy place either. Lets just say there is much wailing and gnashing of teeth in that unhappy bad place. BUT... like Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Jack has risen to the occasion in Be Kind Rewind. Set in a video store, where all the videos have been wiped ,Jack and friends remake the videos in their own special way aka Sweding/Sweded. Funny, touching, and most importantly real. Verdict: thumbs-up

2008-08-14T02:49:00.000-07:00

SEEN - Fighter [Film Fest 08]

Take Rocky, and cross it with Bend Like Beckham, then add some islam and gender issues and you have Fighter. I would have enjoyed this more without the overly reverent approach to Kung-fu. Enough with the mysticism already, lets focus on the 'hero's journey' more instead. Verdict: thumbs in the middle tending upwards for the female lead's performance.