Kimputer's Weblog

I’ve come to respect Ang Lee quite a bit over the years, delivering spectacular action movies that stand out be their character’s depth and ensuing drama. I kind of expected this one to be the same. Call me befuddled, but I actually thought this movie was a bit boring.
There is a certain simmering love/power story going on, but we never really get to know the characters. The simmering itself takes too long too, with sparse dialogue not clearing up a lot. Hence, there’s no emotional resonance to speak of. On top of that, it was hard to get a feel for the situation, not knowing how this China in WWII period played out.
Leaves the other attraction point (the much lauded hot and explicit sex scenes), but I have to say that even for the most hormone driven male viewers (much like myself), while interesting, it’s definitely not worth seeing this long stretched movie for (I wouldn’t even call it a spy thriller, as many reviewers and critics do).5+.

A much-hyped mysterious disaster movie coming from producer JJ Abrams. Instating less experienced fellow producer from their TV show Felicity, Matt Reeves, as director seems like a risky move, but luckily, it all works out.
From a story point of view, but also from the viewer’s point of view, this disaster movie sets itself apart from any other. From a technical standpoint, this movie seems very simple, but looks can be deceiving. There quite a few superbly executed inventive shots, and how they inserted high grade special effects into this handheld camera moving style of shooting is a head scratcher (and that for a measly $25 million budget).
Acting is also up to par (though not much depth is given to any character, ‘cept for a love story in the background), while suspense is the main driving force. All in all, two thumbs up, though it has to be said, while superb, it’s still a disaster movie in its core (so it can’t escape the predictable main story line).7½.

With the writer’s on strike, most TV shows are cutting their seasons in half. But luckily, some networks planned ahead with some mid-season replacements. Here’s a quick round:

Journeyman 101 – 113:
The first series (on NBC) to finish its run, it’s another attempt to do something with time traveling. We’ve seen it all before, with only last year’s Day Break on its heels. This one dials the serialisation back a bit, and it’s quite episodic in nature. It also means, sometimes is predictable. But for now, it seems like the average show that will do just fine as a time-filler. No tears if there’s no follow-up.

October Road 201 – 207:
One of the few drama that will run through March, also a short season. Like the first season, there’s some tension here and there, but also still the childish bits interfere with the real drama. It’s still nice to have it on the meagre scripted shows schedule though.

Extras S2 Christmas Special:
Signaling the end after two seasons (exactly like the Office went out), this special is again an extra long episode, but feeling more like a movie. Carefully written, it’s as excellent as before, it’s continuously hilarious yet dramatic. It’s sad to know there will be no more, but then again, the next Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant project will be something fresh and new to look forward to.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles 101 – 103:
Fox churns out another high paced action drama, seemingly spending a good portion of the budget to get some great production value (like other Fox shows, Prison Break and 24). So, back are the good make-up effects and straight-faced mission-based Terminators, relentlessly hunting down the Connors. Not back is only Sarah Connor we knew, with the memorable Linda Hamilton replaced by the relatively unknown Lena Headey (lacking all the intensity we’ve seen in Linda Hamilton’s character). For now, in this slimmed down TV schedule, it holds up. But there doesn’t seem to be enough dynamics going around to keep it interesting for a whole season. For now.

The Colbert Report:
Returning to the airwaves, without writers, he seems to hold up quite well, looking at a blank teleprompter. Show seems to be a bit scripted (even though Stephen Colbert’s WGA membership means he cannot write his own jokes), but it’s still as funny as ever. For your daily dose of laughs, this is the place to be.

Dark drama/thriller starring Richard Gere and Claire Danes as public safety agents involving registrants of sex crimes. Obviously this movie has its violent and graphic moments, so it isn’t for everyone. But there’s enough psychological profiling to be done (mostly trying to get into Richard Gere’s head and that of the perpetrator), and in the end, while the subject matter is a bit gross, the story is well-rounded and balanced.7+.

When the name Ben Affleck comes up, people only tend to think of him as an actor, forgetting his whirlwind entry (as a writer) into Hollywood with the moving Good Will Hunting. Now besides writing, he’s adding the director’s seat to his resume (previously only directing one forgotten short movie), and again, he makes another impression.
With an all-star cast (inviting his little brother Casey to headline) he makes not only a surprisingly suspenseful thriller, but also an introspective journey filled with moral dilemmas. While there are some scenes where the overacting is touch-and-go, overall the drama comes across very well, and there are even a few smiles to be had during the first half.8-.

Aan:
Centrale Verwerking Openbaar Ministerie
Unit Mulder
Postbus 50000
3500 MJ Utrecht

Rotterdam, 16-01-2008

Betreft: bezwaarschrift met beschikkingsnummer xxxxxxxxxx

Geachte heer, mevrouw,

Onlangs mocht ik kennis nemen van een door U opgelegde sanctie naar aanleiding van een vermeende overtreding te Rotterdam. In de bijlage A vind U een kopie van de beschikking.

Bij deze teken ik hier beroep aan, hetgeen verduidelijkt zal worden in het volgend betoog.

Mijn twijfel over de gemeten snelheid (63 km/h op een plaats waar 50 km/h mag) is zeer groot. Dus om maar gelijk met de deur in huis te vallen, heb ik ten eerste recht op een kopie het ijkrapport (meest recent, maar voorgaande de datum van dit incident).

Daarnaast heb ik natuurlijk recht op de foto waarop ik geindentificeerd zou zijn.

Mijn twijfel is namelijk onderbouwd door het feit dat ik op PRECIES dezelfde plek meerdere keren ben geflitst. Een ezel stoot zich niet twee keer aan dezelfde steen zou je kunnen zeggen, maar het toch nu al de derde keer.
U begrijpt dat mijn verbazing groot is, en daarom heb ik de gevraagde documenten nodig voor mijn analyse. Ik ben namelijk van mening dat ik een van de meest defensieve autobestuurder ben in Rotterdam en omstreken, en tevens heb ik langdurig de verkeerssituatie kunnen bestuderen (met dank aan Google Earth vraag ik u Bijlage B erbij te pakken).
Zoals u ziet is mijn route duidelijk. Bij de eerste pijl, moet een scherpe bocht genomen worden en moet er nog langzaam vaart gemaakt worden. Mijn eerste en tweede bekeuringen kwamen kort na elkaar aan, en sindsdien had ik het vermoeden dat er agenten schuil hielden bij Punt 1, de Texaco tankstation. Sindsdien houd ik me keurig aan de snelheid (naast het feit dat ik niet eens 60km/h kan rijden in zo’n korte afstand). Vanaf Punt 1, begint ook de afscherming van vangrail aan beide kanten van de weg. Fietsers en voetgangers kunnen deze plek al lang niet meer bereiken. Bij Punt 2 zijn we al een hele eind hoger, en dit is een brug (circa 10 meter hoog). Behalve de naar boven geklommen stoere zelfdoder, zal hier nog steeds geen gevaar op de loer liggen. We beginnen nu bergafwaarts te rijden wat misschien voor een iets hogere snelheid kan zorgen, maar tevens rijden we nu richting de snelweg. Bij Punt 3 staat weliswaar een stoplicht, maar deze is makkelijk in te schatten door goed onbelemmerd zicht. Bij Punt 4, enkele meters na de stoplicht staat er al een 70 km/h bord. Begrijpelijk, het is immers de aanloop naar de snelweg. Nog steeds is de route afgescherm door vangrails.

U ziet mijn dilemma, zelfs als er hier snelheidsovertredingen plaatsvinden, moet ik mijn burgerplicht nakomen en u respectvol doch aandringend verzoeken het politie-apparaat beter in te zetten bij plekken waar het meer noodzakelijk is (ik noem bijv. smalle en drukke wegen, waar veel te hard wordt gereden en veelvuldig gevaarlijke maneuvres plaatsvinden).
Op dit moment wordt er zelfs gevochten om een plekje op deze Vaanweg, gezien mijn eerdere bekeuringen binnen de 2 weken door verschillende teams waren geconstateerd (namelijk Pol. R’dam Verkeershandhavingen en Pol. R’dam-Rijnmond EXO UE1). Dit is dus puur om het gemak en het geld dat binnenstroomt, niet om Rotterdam veiliger te maken. Daarom eis ik bij deze ook de notulen van de hierna plaatsgevonden taakbesprekingen tussen de diverse korpsen inzake verkeersveiligheid en meer logische controlepunten.

Ten slotte, erg grappig dat quantum mechanica hier ook ter sprake komt (een geobserveerde element wordt door de observatie zelf veranderd). Gelijkwaardig daaraan, wordt een volledig veilige situatie juist door de politie onveilig gemaakt. Zoals ik eerder opmaakte was er geen gevaar te zien op de weg, maar juist door de aanwezigheid van een eventueel epileptisch aangelegd agent, kan hij zich uit zijn passagiersstoel wringen en met spastisch bewegingen over de vangrail struikelen. Vandaar dat ik de genomen foto ook nodig heb, zodat ik via triangulatie kan uitzoeken waar ik in de voorheen veilig geopperde dichte bebossing moet opletten voor schuildhoudend gevaar.
Via die onderzoek, kan ik trouwens ook nog veel geld winnen. Met collega’s en vrienden ben ik de weddenschap aangegaan dat de politiekorps vast flauw genoeg is om binnen een afstand van 50 meter te gaan staan van de eerder genoemde 70 km/h bord.

In afwachting van Uw antwoord,

KaNam

Bijlage A: Kopie beschikking.
Bijlage B: Satellietweergave met verduidelijkingen van desbetreffende plaats van vermeend delict.

A seemingly overly dramatic movie (based on a book), but somehow, it didn’t turn out to be a tear-jerker. The story, a childhood friendship mixed with some foreign familial customs and some war-torn country themes, still plays out in an earnest heartfelt way though. Acting is quite alright too, along with a good drama-enhancing score and location-rich screenplay. Director Marc Foster seems to build his movies on dialogue-ridden character exploration while having an excellent handle on child actors (see Finding Neverland), and that’s a good sign for his next project (Bond 22).7+.

A low flying under the radar soul searcher with some romantic comedy tendencies. While Scarlett Johanssen tries to discover herself, so goes on nanny duty and stumbles upon some of life’s minor bumps. The writing isn’t really surprising, but in the end, the Hollywood effect is reasonable, resulting in an expected feel-good just-surface-scratching script.7.

Technically, it’s a sequel. Factually, this is still an Indiana Jones rip-off, as stated before in my review of the first chapter. Since this kind of movie is so easily forgotten, it feels like a fresh start. We get to reacquaint ourselves with the characters (since they didn’t leave any impression from last time) while the high-paced chase around the world starts pretty early on. A few puzzles and ancient translations are clues for the next step and drives the thin story forward.
Basically, it’s the same easily forgotten material from the first movie, with only the mother character surprisingly amusing (if only to see her out of her Queen character).
If you’re not into typical Hollywood-fare, this one is easy to skip. Hold a bucket of pop-corn, enjoy the cheap laughs, and it’s pretty do-able.7-.

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

Total: 1353 out of 442 votes > Average is: 3.061

Every time you think the saw has cut its way through and through (main characters dying and stuff), a year later another chapter turns around. Strangely, every time they’re able to continue the story where they left off, but also providing more backstory on this whole Jigsaw puzzle. Of course, the gruelling torture devices are also upping the ante every time, meaning every further chapter, not only the faint of heart, but also the ones with a stronger stomach, must approach with caution.
While the original was one of a kind in suspenseful storytelling, the following sequels were more Hollywood-like products. This fourth movie is also like that, good fun, quick paced story telling and endless gore, but can’t match the original.7.

This should actually a dual album review, since I tried both her debut album (after winning Idols 4 about 2 years ago) and her follow-up album after noticing she was riding an awards wave about 3 stories tall (songs from her debut album are still nominated for the 2008 Grammies). Even though I don’t like the all-out country/western songs (what she gets nominated most for), the debut album was instantly grabbing, with soulful pop with only the slightest touch of the southern influences.
Her second album is definitly not as powerful in that sense. It’s geared more towards the country scene, hence I like less songs. Still there are a handful of uptempo swingers and her voice (and appearance) is still nothing but stunning.
In a time where you start longing for new Faith Hill or Leann Rimes material, this is a storm flushing away those desires. She definitely stands on her own (even though I didn’t notice it at first), and if you stick around for the end credits of Enchanted (the movie), there nothing but to smile to yourself for recognising her unique voice in a new song. First album is a firm 8½, this second album I’d give a 7½.

Have a great 2008 y’all. May I bore you to death during my 5th year of blogging ! You can fight the impending doom by focusing on these upcoming summer tentpole movies though (in no particular order):

10.000 BC (Roland Emmerich)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (obviously)
Speed Racer (Wachowski Bro’s)
Iron Man (Marvel superhero)
The Dark Knight (Nolan brothers kicking ass, probably)
The Incredible Hulk (don’t like the idea they dumped Ang Lee, but it’s an all-new all-star cast)
Hancock (Will Smith)