Archive for November, 2005

Review: Domino

Tuesday, November 29th, 2005

Sometimes, with non-descriptive titles (like the last one, Proof), you just go see it and wait for the surprise. This time, the surprise never came (unlike in Proof). Very loosely based on the life of Domino Harvey, we get to see her as a bounty hunter, while another story unfolds in the background. Inconsistently told, on screen it’s all Tony Scott on speed. Super-high-speed cutting with his favorite hand-cranked high-low speed shots are all over the place (while it was still manageable on Man on Fire, it’s getting a bit irritating here). To be honest, even if the story was consistently told, I think it would still have been boring. The screen writer thinks a few lines are enough the describe Domino’s character (which is not), and that makes her pretty one dimensional. Luckily, Kiera gets a few microseconds of full top nudity (totally unnecessary, but probably there so the male fans will buy the DVD for pausing action), otherwise I’d demand my money back (which is impossible, since I technically didn’t pay).5½.

US Box Office

Monday, November 28th, 2005

Magic power at works at the top of the box office, as the mediocre Goblet of Fire chapter of Harry Potter takes in another $54.9 million (total at $201.1 million).
Second was Walk the Line, the Johnny Cash biopic cashes in another $19.7 million (total at $54.7 million). Third was new family comedy Yours, Mine & Ours. Starring Dennis Quaid, it’s good for $17.5 million. Chicken Little still shrinking, this week with$12.4 million (total at $118.2 million).
Rounding out the top 5 is Broadway adaptation Rent, woth $10.7 million.

Unlimited

Monday, November 28th, 2005

Oh, by the way, who needs downloading when you can go to the movies all you want ? The Pathe Unlimited incentive (17.50 will buy you a whole month of unlimited access) sounds like a success to begin with. And to support it, I got myself one of those. For the mathematicians among you, break even point is 4 times or more a month. (edit 29-11-2005: Ai, I’m not quite the mathematician myself, break even is actually already at 3 or even 2 times (3 x 6 or 2 x 8.75 depending on how you buy your tickets))

Review: Proof

Monday, November 28th, 2005

One of the last movies coming from the Weinstein brothers under the Miramax banner, who over the years mixed big budget movies with low budget dramas. This is of course one of the last category, with less than a handful of characters playing out a story. Good narrative style combined with a solid drama script delivers a psychic punch. The acting is up to par (all the way to the suggested Oscar noms. Say hello to ms. Paltrow), even though the startup seemed to cut the dialogue into a high speed speech contest (which later on wasn’t so apparent any more, luckily).7½.

Down

Monday, November 28th, 2005

Hardware failures… it’s so inherent to technology, so my trusty old server had to have at least a few of those. Yesterday was the hard drive’s turn (actually, it began a few weeks earlier, but I found ways around it). Anyways, new hard drive, put in some more memory while I was at it. And if I’m correct, everything is back to the way it was.
Coz, you know, you have those people advising other people to backup once in a while, and when push comes to shove, those people themselves didn’t backup their stuff. As you can see, I’m not one of those people. Lucky you, all this bullshit of mine is still online.

How Messy is my Desk Today ?

Saturday, November 26th, 2005

Rate 1 (FR#^&% MESS !) to 5 (how very tidy !). Only rate the latest picture, otherwise I can’t keep track of the average.

Total: 1300 out of 423 votes > Average is: 3.073

desk pic
Just got this Powerball Green Light with Digital Counter. Worked my ass off for a 9822 record, accidentally deleted that. And now I’m to tired to get passed 9100. Worse still, can I still Counter-Strike with tired (but RSI-free !) arms ?

Fairy tales

Friday, November 25th, 2005

A new ad campaign has started to raise more awareness concerning being an organ donor. I myself don’t care too much about those wrong assumptions, as I filled in the registration without any thoughts, ticking the box at the highest level. My motto is after all, use what ever you can use, and heat up the oven ! (Actually, that’s a little bit crude, as being the highest level donor means you might end up living another lifetime in the corridors of a university hospital. I myself carved up some decade old corpses during my Med year.)
But as a good deed, AND mostly because those pictures combining the facts are quite humorous, take a look at this website.

Review: CSI 601 – 608

Thursday, November 24th, 2005

With all the new series reviewed, it’s time to get back to the regulars. And why not begin with the Nielsen ratings king, and well deservedly so. Still at the top every week, with some 10 point ratings and a 25 share, there’s no question about it.
Since last season’s finale (probably everyone’s favorite to this date), Tarantino’s legacy lives on. His fabulous setup, with some dark personal drama, carries over to this season, with some nice storylines branching off naturally (mostly forgotten during the previous season, not living up to its full potential).
And when you think with all the goodies going on, that it’s about to wind it down a bit, you’ll get served another movie-quality-like two-parter, nicely scheduled during the sweeps. Best season yet ? Probably (though last season’s finale will always linger in the back of your head, making you think season 5 could be the best).

Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Thursday, November 24th, 2005

A new year, a new adventure. Question always remains, what kind of adventure ? Well, this year seems a little bit dull. While the story starts off with an avalanche of things happening, nothing _really_ happens. The chaotic pace keeps on going till the end, making you feel quite a bit empty when you walk out of the theatre.
So, how come ? Well, for one, while they’re trying a lot to cram of everything in the 157 minutes, every scene seems to cut off at the last moment, and it never gets picked up again. Very choppy storytelling to say the least. Then with a whole bunch of new characters showing up (nothing to write home about) the recurring characters only get non-meaningful appearances. This leaves the few key scenes worth naming clocking in at a mere 10 minutes. The chase scenes and empty dialogues don’t add to the story, nor is there time for real character development. Acting isn’t really memorable, save for Ralph Fiennes’ performance.
With humor on a low simmer, this doesn’t make it a kiddy movie anymore (the 12+ rating is probably to save the kids an expensive sleep at the theatre). Neither is it a high school ensemble, or an adult drama. With no real mystery going on (or just the very predictable kind), all you get is the standard adventure tale, making it less interesting than the other chapters.
It seems the only magic at work here is how it is possible that this chapter, regarded by many as the best book of the series, became the least meaty one of this movie series.7+.

Hot Chick Alert

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2005

Not a lot of new blood on the silver screen, but on the tiny screen, I found one again. With only a few guest spots (Smallville, Boston Legal, and even an unaired episode (Jake 2.0)) under her belt, she’s definitely going to make it. Who is it ? Tamara Feldman.
Proving on recent episodes of Boston Legal, not only is her looks (with a face (and body) that seems like it’s sculpted according to the mathematical equations described in God’s Handbook of building a Hot Chick) a constant visual diversion, she’s got some acting skills to show too. Though, hopefully she won’t be typecasted as the next generic screaming chick as her two upcoming movies (Something’s Wrong in Kansas and Hatchet) are of the horror genre. In any case, don’t tell me I didn’t warn ya.
Here are some pics: Picture 1 | Picture 2 | Picture 3

US Box Office

Sunday, November 20th, 2005

Magic rules at the box office, as the boy, pardon me, dude wizard already, conjures its biggest opener in the series with $101.4 million. Almost $10 million ahead of the Azkaban chapter, makes this a fourth place of the biggest openers yet (Spidey, SWIII and Shrek 2 make the top 3).
A very distant second, is Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash in Walk the Line, singing some $22.4 million into the cash register.
Chicken Little drops two places, with this week’s $14.8 the cume stands at $99.2. Derailed and Zathura are neck and neck, rounding off the top 5 with resp. $6.53 million and $5.1 million.

Review: Flightplan

Friday, November 18th, 2005

From the very start, though feeling a bit detached, has the intense acting of Jodie Foster plastered all over it, and that already makes up half of the movie. What follows is a thriller focusing on the psychological side of it, while never digging too deep. While the movie evolves naturally and not overly complicated, it’s all set on a pretty big plane, quite the opposite of the cropped up feeling that Red-Eye had. It also had less story turns, as it focuses on the lingering psycho feeling. All in all, two thumbs up, albeit short ones.7½.

US Box Office

Sunday, November 13th, 2005

Chicken Little proves to be the biggest one in town, yet again, as he spends a second week at the top spot, with $32 million (only 20% drop, and just in time to chicken out next week to make room for the boy wizard).
New entry Zathura (somewhat a sequel to Jumanji) can’t keep up, opening second with $14 million. Derailed is just what it says it is, slowly choo-choo-ing in at number 3 with $12.8 million. Right behind at 4 is Get Rich or Die Tryin’ starring 50 Cents, with $12.5 million. Rounding out the top 5 is Jarhead, with $12.3 (with a 50% drop).

Review: Pringles ‘Island’ Paprika

Saturday, November 12th, 2005

Hey, a new flavor ? Nopz. Not at all. The ‘Island’, just as it is printed on the can, is between quotes. So, t2he only probable cause I can think of the name, without actually changing the flavor is that is a code printed can to promote King Kong (code can be entered on the Pringles website. And no, I didn’t win anything). Just so you know.

TV Schedule

Friday, November 11th, 2005

Two months after the US network TV premiere, I finally got a solid schedule hammered out. I thought it was time to let you know, as I scratched my head when I saw some 50 files (some 15 GB of data) sitting in the Still To Watch folder (excluding the few movies still to go). So, if you’re also on a tight schedule, you’d better follow suit.

MUST-SEE:
CSI (season 4)
Alias (season 5)
Smallville (season 5)
Prison Break (season 1)
Lost (season 2)
South Park (second half of season 9)
Threshold (season 1)
King of the Hill (season 10)
My Name is Earl (season 1)
Commander in Chief (season 1)
Everybody Hates Chris (season 1)
Boston Legal (season 2)

The pretty good:
Everwood (season 3)
Kitchen Confidential (season 1)
Criminal Minds (season 1)
Grey’s Anatomy (season 2)
E-Ring (season 1)
Punk’d (season 6)

Was good, now on repeat-the-same-thing-one-more-time-and-I’m-going-to-axe-you-bench:
NCIS (season 3)
Joey (season2)
Numb3rs (season 2)
Ghost Whisperer (season 1)
Close to Home (season 1)

Late Nighters:
The Colbert Report (very regularly)
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Late Night Show with Conan O’Brien, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (less regularly)
Late Show With David Letterman (almost never)

Canceled/Never had a chance:
Freddie, Out of Practice, The War at Home, Invasion, Surface, Just Legal, Head Cases, Killer Instinct, Supernatural, Reunion, Bones.

Weeew, you can see how tough life was 5 years ago (slow internet, no TV eps to download). Now, I pretty much have to dream of snow (the analog noise kind) when I sleep at night.