Whitstable at dusk
New office in the morning.
The home of POKE. Isn’t that swell.
The Fountain
I guess I am approaching this with slightly rose tinted specs, as Requiem for a Dream and Pi are two of my favourite films. Although a slight departure, The Fountain, whichever way you take it, is another epic piece of work. It’s inventive, surprising and entirely sideways of all else that’s out there. But it’s by no means perfect.
Aronofsky unfolds three stories, each set some 500 years apart, with immense style and visual expertise. Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz are convincing (although I couldn’t help thinking - look, there’s Wolverine. As with all Aronofsky’s work, the film is very serious and has a great sense of purpose, that’s both appealing and not. Unlike his previous his films, The Fountain runs away with little or no concern for those watching. I kept having to remind myself of what was happening – which meant it was really difficult to get lost.
I guess a lot of people will consider this movie absolute rubbish, while others will certainly cherish it. I am somewhere in between, The Fountain is certainly not the best film I have ever seen - but in my opinion Darren Aronofsky is still a genius.
Superman Returns
Purely eye candy (although the CGI Superman is a bit ropey), the highlight being the spectacular rescue of a crashing space shuttle/plane combo. That’s it really. The other 150 or so minutes see director Brian Singer dawdle along when surely ’super’ speed is of the essence. Other than the CGI and script tweeks, there’s very little to distinguish this version from the original. Aside form the fact I liked the original, and it was, original.
Tired, banal, bum.
I BROKE MY BLOG
SOMETHING ISN”T WORKING - I’VE LOST ALL THE IMAGES AND SIDEBAR OPTIONS.
I WILL FIX THE BLOG EARLY NEXT WEEK.
They are what they do
wearewhatwedo.org the people behind Change The Word 9 to 5 and Change the World for a Fiver. Both highly inspirational guides to simple stuff you can do to change the world and make yourself feel good. Go check them out…
Mario Bros Theme for Firefox
If you’re running FIRFOX 2.0 and you were a fan of the NES - this is brilliant.
Benidorm
Something i have been working on for the last few weeks - am particually proud of the Currency Converter and the language options. Johnny Foreigner was illustrated by Cookie and the ‘awesome’ site design was Nico.
Game On - Science Museum
“Explore the history, technology and culture of computer games in this new special exhibition. From the PDP-1 of the 1960s to the latest consoles, Game On examines the technologies that have revolutionised the gaming world. See the ten most influential consoles of all time, learn about the design process behind games such as Tomb Raider, investigate the relationship between films and gaming and play over 120 games including classics Space Invaders and Super Mario Brothers!”
Not that different from the Barbican version a few years ago. Also, if you’re as much of a nerd as i am, you’ll probably have played everything on your emulator recently. It’s still well worth it - just to see all those machines in one room, kinda like an arcade for your whole life (wow). Personal highlight was the 1981 table top Caveman (above), but just because I used to have one. It was well busy on Saturday, so it’s probably best to go during the week and the icecream from the van outside is awesome.
Call of Duty 3 360
Call of Duty 3 plays pretty much as 2 did, but with a few extras. There’s no revolution and it’s not original - to be honest we’re talking ‘if it ain’t broke’ territory. If you like shooters, you’ll find this an extremely well executed and solid game. It’s an intense experience, with seemingly endless enemy waves, but has sufficient check points not to become overly frustrating. The missions suffer a bit in the middle, but I think that’s just because the front and end battles and locations are so good. It looks brilliant (without HD) and has some truely immersive sound. It took me a while, but once I was hooked I just couldn’t help myself. Bleedy eyes from start to finish.
New PS3 delay?
A slip by Sir Howard Stringer suggests that we won’t be seeing PS3 until April. Sony, of course, are strongly denying the rumours (when will they they realise that denying something won’t make it go away?). I don’t think anyone will be that surprised - it’s almost Feb and we’ve not heard a thing from the mighty Sony media machine…
Read More
Important infomation about drinking.
This is a real eye opener.
Alcohol is a type of drug. It affects the nerves that pass messages around the body by slowing them down. And the more you drink the greater the effect. The reason people often get more lively when they’ve had a drink is that alcohol affects parts of the brain responsible for self-control.
Your reactions also slow down, and you may become uncoordinated or unsteady on your feet. Your speech may get slurred and you may start seeing double. If you’ve had a lot to drink you may also experience strong emotional responses - for instance you may become aggressive or tearful. And because your judgement is impaired, you may do things that you might not normally do - from dancing on tables to going home with strangers. They may seem a good idea at the time, but can be extremely dangerous.
Getting drunk can have serious consequences. It impairs your judgement and can increase risky behaviour, which could result in:
Injuries and accidents.
Unsafe sex, sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies.
Fights, arguments and relationship problems.
Getting into trouble with the police.
From the Drink Responsibly Website
Gaming is good for you.
Researchers surveyed 1,000 video game players and found something interesting: sitting in front of a screen may actually be good for them. “It’s our contention that the psychological ‘pull’ of games is largely due to their capacity to engender feelings of autonomy, competence and relatedness,” [a researcher said]. He believes that video games not only motivate further play but “also can be experienced as enhancing psychological wellness, at least short-term.” Here’s more: The researchers found that the games can provide opportunities for achievement, freedom and even a connection to other players. Those benefits trumped a shallow sense of fun, which doesn’t keep gamers as interested. Players reported feeling the best when the games produced positive experiences and challenges that connected to what they knew in the real world.
They are however - “fairly” addictive…
Supermundane
Click the picture to go see their site…
Bond and Babble
I’d heard very mixed reviews Casino Royale and to be fair, it deserved them. The first hour was great; it was slick, well performed and generally really enjoyable. I liked Daniel Craig and the slightly darker tone adopted by Martin Campbell - all was well. But then, suddenly, “weirdness”. About two thirds in, the story careered of the road - as did the direction and the characterisation. It was as if Campbell had been fired and they got Michael Winner to finish it. The result was a very abrupt and disappointing conclusion.
Babel, or should I say Babble, is beautifully shot and all the performances are very strong (no-one really stealing the limelight), which is sadly where my enjoyment of this movie ended. The film is a series of seemingly unrelated viginettes strung together by a contrived (and, when it comes to Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, a very familiar) plot device. There doesn’t appear to be a deeper theme or overriding idea connecting all these little stories together - aside from the fact it’s called Babel, and that left me a little numb. I also believe it to be true that an editor is a director’s best friend – it appears Inarritu fell out with his.
Overall it’s is fairly depressing, too long, dull and what story there is falls flat when the ‘connections’ are revealed. It’s a bit like watching a Hollywood re-make of casualty.