Last weekend, we did another big trip to Whistler. The exact group of people going was up and down until the last minute, but eventually there were 13 of us - so many that we didn't fit in one condo, so Steph rented two next door to each other. A lot of us went up on the Friday evening after work, and a couple more people came down on the Saturday.
It has been a cold Spring, so there was a fair amount of snow on the mountains themselves. Unfortunately, Whistler Mountain had closed already for the season, but Blackcomb Mountain was still open. Saturday was the most beautiful weather - the first real day of Summer this year. People were skiing and snowboarding in T-shirts and such, and quite a few of us got a little bit of sunburn that day. The snow conditions were pretty good too.
I had originally intended to take a hiking trip to Joffre Lakes. However, for a couple of days leading up to the Friday I was feeling a bit weird, like I was coming down with some kind of sickness. In the end, I didn't arrange the trip because of that (and as it turned out I was fine and didn't get sick - oh well). Our rental car got a flat tyre too, as I discovered when I went down to the parking garage on Saturday morning - I was looking forward to having my own transport. I had to swap it for the lame little emergency spare. I was a bit iffy about driving somewhere until I knew that tyre was good, so I thought I'd do some walking in Lost Lake Park because I could get there easily on foot. The cross-country skiing was over and I wasn't able to get a map of the trails, and the idea of walking the trails with no-one else around and with no map didn't appeal to me, so I had to find an alternative. I ended up walking some of the Valley Trail, which is mostly a paved path for walkers and cyclists (although part of my route followed a few of the cross-country trails at Lost Lake where I was still walking on snow.) The weather was great, and I walked about 9km on Saturday altogether - very enjoyable.
Sunday was overcast, and rained later in the day. The snow conditions were worse that day because of the mild temperatures and the rain, but I think most people still enjoyed it. The spare tyre had held up fine overnight, so I had an idea to drive out to the Cheakamus River and walk the trail there (which we did with Steph's parents last Summer), but the tourist information guys told me it would be too wet and muddy and put me off. Instead, I walked some more of the Valley Trail in a different direction, and although the weather was nowhere near as good, I still enjoyed myself and clocked another 9km. Some of our friends went home on the Sunday afternoon and evening, because they couldn't get a day off work on Monday.
Monday was a lousy day anyway - cold and wet. Steph, Tim and Chris proved to be the hardcore of the bunch and did a couple of hours of skiing despite the conditions. I had walked pretty much everywhere I could, so I hung out in Whistler Village with a couple of other friends who didn't want to snowboard that day. We left soon after lunch because of the lousy weather, and made our way home slowly and carefully thanks to our little emergency tyre which was speed-limited to 80kph. It got us home without incident though. I had a somewhat unpleasant discovery when I dropped the rental car back though - apparently a flat tyre is considered as "damage" as far as they are concerned so they will probably charge me - what a rip-off.
It was a great weekend though, and I think everyone had a good time. I was a little limited with my walking options, but the hot-tub, great food, Rock Band, and excellent company more than made up for it. Oh yes, and I recommend the movie "The Fallen Ones" if you get a chance to catch it ;) I think the organizing of it all tired Steph out quite a lot, and she wasn't sure about doing something with so many people in future. Then everybody clubbed together and bought her a bottle of scotch as a thank-you prezzie, so I think she might have changed her mind :)
I have some photos, which I haven't sorted out yet. I'll be posting those up in the next few days.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
8 Film Reviews (count 'em!)
This might be the biggest bunch of reviews I've ever posted at the same time! It took bleedin' ages to write as well. I'll have to keep up a little better in future (or watch fewer films).
Beowulf
This film impressed me more than I expected. It looked fantastic - I think they were some of the best human characters I've ever seen in a CG film. I wasn't expecting their acting performances to be so good though. The nuances captured, especially in the faces, were superb - so much so that after about 15 minutes of watching the film I forgot that I was wasn't watching real actors. Truly impressive. And to cap it all, the story was more interesting and more mature than I thought it would be as well, with far fewer cliches than I had feared. I still think Ray Winstone was a strange choice to voice the lead character, and sometimes he would lapse into a rough "Landan" accent when over-excited. In summary though, this movie was a pleasant surprise and well worth a watch.
In The Valley Of Elah
This film reminded me of Redacted in its choice of subject matter, but don't worry - it's much better! It's a simple movie that tells a straightforward story, but the script and the acting performances in particular raised it to a very high level. It's an emotional film, and there's no feel-good ending so pick a good time to watch it :) Tommy Lee Jones gives another superb, understated performance in this film. Like a fine wine, this guy just seems to get better with age and now I really look forward to movies he is in. The rest of the cast give good performances too, and that combined with the powerful issues that the story raises should mean that this film is likely to stick in your memory. Recommended.
American Gangster
It was mainly the draw of Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe that made me watch this movie - I knew pretty much nothing about it. Well, I guess I'm not giving anything away by saying it's all about organized crime :) Denzel was decent, although I find he tends to play Denzel Washington in every movie, plus or minus a bit of "crazy". In this movie, Denzel played Denzel Washington with a fair bit of crazy. Man On Fire was Denzel playing Denzel with a smaller amount of crazy. You get the idea. Russell Crowe I thought outshone Denzel somewhat, although his "rough diamond" was probably not much of a stretch for him either. His character had an extremely strong sense of right and wrong though which was pretty interesting. The movie was good but somewhat by the numbers. It's nothing you haven't seen before and the leads certainly stay way within their acting comfort zone. Very competent, and reasonably enjoyable.
There Will Be Blood
Daniel Day-Lewis won best actor for this movie and I can see why - his performance is totally intense and gripping to watch. His character dominates this movie so totally that there isn't a lot of room for anyone else (though the preacher is also excellent). At times, things get rather melodramatic and there was more than a slice or two of ham. It felt like someone needed to reign in Day-Lewis's performance one or two notches and then it would have been perfect. I loved the musical score which dominated some of the best scenes and was powerful and brooding, kind of like the main character, and the dark ending was not your typical Hollywood happy-ever-after. I would have preferred just a touch more restraint to the acting, but there is no denying that this is a great film with a great central character, and very much worth a watch.
Hard Candy
We had a little film night round our place one Saturday evening with a few friends. The idea was for it to be a scary movie, but we picked up four very different films for people to choose from - this one and the following three reviewed here. This was the only film that none of us had seen, so it was the one we watched.
So, I'll get it out of the way right now - this is a film about paedophilia. Or rather, the effects of paedophilia on an adult and a child. This film must have started as a stage play as there are only two characters and pretty much only one location. It's an interesting film with an excellent performance by Ellen Page as a 13-year old with revenge on her mind. It does seem a little contrived, and I felt that the dialogue sometimes fell flat and wasn't all it could have been. There are a few genuine chills (and some uncomfortable moments), but neither main character is particularly sympathetic and the end result was rather a mess. Memorable, but not fantastic.
Michael Clayton
George Clooney just keeps making good movies these days, and this one is excellent. He plays a "fixer" who get rich people out of their legal troubles on the hush-hush, until he gets involved in a class-action lawsuit against a huge agrochemical company (which is fictional of course, but basically Monsanto). What follows is a taut thriller with strong, measured performances by a brilliant ensemble cast. Clooney gets a lot of screen time, but by no means dominates, and compared to the histrionics seen in There Will Be Blood this is a lesson in less-is-more. I didn't expect to enjoy this film as much as I did - it's a top-class piece of serious drama and comes highly recommended whether you are a fan of Clooney or not.
Zodiac
This film was long! Good, but long. Good, but not great either. I liked the premise of a serial killer who is never caught, and there are some really good performances in the movie, but for some reason it never quite blew me away, and ended up being somewhat forgettable. The actual murders are pretty brutal too, if you're a little squeamish. Watch it if you like a more cerebral kind of thriller, and you have plenty of patience :)
Land Of The Dead
The make-up and effects rocked. Steph didn't like all the gore, but it is so over-the-top it just made me laugh. Compared to your Saws and Hostels, this movie is like a very black comedy. Also a comedy was the plot, the script, and most of the acting. John Leguizamo hams it up throughout with a permanent leer on his face, and manages to save the film from mediocrity. The male lead however is instantly forgettable, Dennis Hopper seems to be unsure of where he actually is, and Asia Argento is little more than eye-candy for the gentlemen. Not George Romero's finest hour, but entertaining enough with some friends, some drink, and a strong stomach for fake guts.
Beowulf
This film impressed me more than I expected. It looked fantastic - I think they were some of the best human characters I've ever seen in a CG film. I wasn't expecting their acting performances to be so good though. The nuances captured, especially in the faces, were superb - so much so that after about 15 minutes of watching the film I forgot that I was wasn't watching real actors. Truly impressive. And to cap it all, the story was more interesting and more mature than I thought it would be as well, with far fewer cliches than I had feared. I still think Ray Winstone was a strange choice to voice the lead character, and sometimes he would lapse into a rough "Landan" accent when over-excited. In summary though, this movie was a pleasant surprise and well worth a watch.
In The Valley Of Elah
This film reminded me of Redacted in its choice of subject matter, but don't worry - it's much better! It's a simple movie that tells a straightforward story, but the script and the acting performances in particular raised it to a very high level. It's an emotional film, and there's no feel-good ending so pick a good time to watch it :) Tommy Lee Jones gives another superb, understated performance in this film. Like a fine wine, this guy just seems to get better with age and now I really look forward to movies he is in. The rest of the cast give good performances too, and that combined with the powerful issues that the story raises should mean that this film is likely to stick in your memory. Recommended.
American Gangster
It was mainly the draw of Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe that made me watch this movie - I knew pretty much nothing about it. Well, I guess I'm not giving anything away by saying it's all about organized crime :) Denzel was decent, although I find he tends to play Denzel Washington in every movie, plus or minus a bit of "crazy". In this movie, Denzel played Denzel Washington with a fair bit of crazy. Man On Fire was Denzel playing Denzel with a smaller amount of crazy. You get the idea. Russell Crowe I thought outshone Denzel somewhat, although his "rough diamond" was probably not much of a stretch for him either. His character had an extremely strong sense of right and wrong though which was pretty interesting. The movie was good but somewhat by the numbers. It's nothing you haven't seen before and the leads certainly stay way within their acting comfort zone. Very competent, and reasonably enjoyable.
There Will Be Blood
Daniel Day-Lewis won best actor for this movie and I can see why - his performance is totally intense and gripping to watch. His character dominates this movie so totally that there isn't a lot of room for anyone else (though the preacher is also excellent). At times, things get rather melodramatic and there was more than a slice or two of ham. It felt like someone needed to reign in Day-Lewis's performance one or two notches and then it would have been perfect. I loved the musical score which dominated some of the best scenes and was powerful and brooding, kind of like the main character, and the dark ending was not your typical Hollywood happy-ever-after. I would have preferred just a touch more restraint to the acting, but there is no denying that this is a great film with a great central character, and very much worth a watch.
Hard Candy
We had a little film night round our place one Saturday evening with a few friends. The idea was for it to be a scary movie, but we picked up four very different films for people to choose from - this one and the following three reviewed here. This was the only film that none of us had seen, so it was the one we watched.
So, I'll get it out of the way right now - this is a film about paedophilia. Or rather, the effects of paedophilia on an adult and a child. This film must have started as a stage play as there are only two characters and pretty much only one location. It's an interesting film with an excellent performance by Ellen Page as a 13-year old with revenge on her mind. It does seem a little contrived, and I felt that the dialogue sometimes fell flat and wasn't all it could have been. There are a few genuine chills (and some uncomfortable moments), but neither main character is particularly sympathetic and the end result was rather a mess. Memorable, but not fantastic.
Michael Clayton
George Clooney just keeps making good movies these days, and this one is excellent. He plays a "fixer" who get rich people out of their legal troubles on the hush-hush, until he gets involved in a class-action lawsuit against a huge agrochemical company (which is fictional of course, but basically Monsanto). What follows is a taut thriller with strong, measured performances by a brilliant ensemble cast. Clooney gets a lot of screen time, but by no means dominates, and compared to the histrionics seen in There Will Be Blood this is a lesson in less-is-more. I didn't expect to enjoy this film as much as I did - it's a top-class piece of serious drama and comes highly recommended whether you are a fan of Clooney or not.
Zodiac
This film was long! Good, but long. Good, but not great either. I liked the premise of a serial killer who is never caught, and there are some really good performances in the movie, but for some reason it never quite blew me away, and ended up being somewhat forgettable. The actual murders are pretty brutal too, if you're a little squeamish. Watch it if you like a more cerebral kind of thriller, and you have plenty of patience :)
Land Of The Dead
The make-up and effects rocked. Steph didn't like all the gore, but it is so over-the-top it just made me laugh. Compared to your Saws and Hostels, this movie is like a very black comedy. Also a comedy was the plot, the script, and most of the acting. John Leguizamo hams it up throughout with a permanent leer on his face, and manages to save the film from mediocrity. The male lead however is instantly forgettable, Dennis Hopper seems to be unsure of where he actually is, and Asia Argento is little more than eye-candy for the gentlemen. Not George Romero's finest hour, but entertaining enough with some friends, some drink, and a strong stomach for fake guts.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
A busy week
Last weekend was further evidence that climate change is real. It was the end of March, and for both Saturday and Sunday it hailed and snowed in Vancouver. It was very strange to see, and caught the city unprepared. The snow didn't last long though, with rain following and then plenty of sunshine this week.
Big congratulations are in order for my cousin Andrew and his wife Vicky who gave birth to a little baby boy on Tuesday! The delivery was by caesarean (as planned), and both mother and baby are doing well.
On Thursday, we saw Eddie Vedder play at the Centre for Performing Arts. Our seats kind of sucked - they were a long way from the stage, but we enjoyed it anyway. No photos this time I am afraid, due to the distance. I wasn't really a fan of his or of Pearl Jam, but I recently heard his soundtrack to the movie "Into the Wild" (which I highly recommend - both the film and the soundtrack), and liked it a lot. The gig was very "MTV Unplugged" with Eddie on his own on a stool with a bunch of guitars, a ukelele, and a banjo. The simple presentation really let his fantastic voice shine through, and for almost 2 hours he was riveting to listen to. Oh yes, he can play the guitar too :) Superb.
It's been a very busy week for both Steph and myself at work, and I'm glad that the weekend is here. We intend to relax and enjoy it as much as possible. Tonight we are having a few friends round and will probably watch a scary movie of some sort, providing we can find a good one. Hope you have a good weekend too :)
Big congratulations are in order for my cousin Andrew and his wife Vicky who gave birth to a little baby boy on Tuesday! The delivery was by caesarean (as planned), and both mother and baby are doing well.
On Thursday, we saw Eddie Vedder play at the Centre for Performing Arts. Our seats kind of sucked - they were a long way from the stage, but we enjoyed it anyway. No photos this time I am afraid, due to the distance. I wasn't really a fan of his or of Pearl Jam, but I recently heard his soundtrack to the movie "Into the Wild" (which I highly recommend - both the film and the soundtrack), and liked it a lot. The gig was very "MTV Unplugged" with Eddie on his own on a stool with a bunch of guitars, a ukelele, and a banjo. The simple presentation really let his fantastic voice shine through, and for almost 2 hours he was riveting to listen to. Oh yes, he can play the guitar too :) Superb.
It's been a very busy week for both Steph and myself at work, and I'm glad that the weekend is here. We intend to relax and enjoy it as much as possible. Tonight we are having a few friends round and will probably watch a scary movie of some sort, providing we can find a good one. Hope you have a good weekend too :)
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Fantastic Easter Weekend
I hope you enjoyed yours. I worked out that this was the best weekend of the year, because:
- It's the only 4-day weekend of the year
- It was pay-day on Thursday
- Pay-day was also annual bonus day
So not only did we have lots of free time, but money in our pockets to boot. Hooray :)
We didn't go anywhere special, but we got to do plenty of relaxing. Unfortunately, Steph had to work some of the Friday, while I went for a 3-hour walk in Stanley Park. It was lovely to get out in the fresh air and have some peace and quiet. On Saturday we cycled around the park - the first time this year we have ridden our bikes. They are still in one piece, and nothing got stolen from them over the Winter which was lucky as we left our helmets and tyre pump in the storage room - oops! After the bike ride Steph cooked a fantastic veggie lasagne, and I went out and bought a new TV. I can connect it to my computer, so now we can watch our downloaded TV and stuff on a big screen - ace.
On Sunday we went for lunch with some friends at Cardero's in Coal Harbour. Sunday afternoon was cleaning (boo) but I also made a bread and butter pudding for dessert, which was somewhat successful (it tasted pretty good, but was very wet). Monday, we went to see "There Will Be Blood" at the cinema (review coming soon) and then went to Vij's restaurant for some fab Indian food.
I reckon that was a pretty fine way to spend four days :)
Sunday, March 16, 2008
An update on stuff...
It's been a busy few weeks, and I've finally found some time to do a little blogging about it all :)
So where were we? Yes, there was Whistler in February, but you know about that, and now you can see all the pictures (see my previous post). Since then both Steph and I have been very busy at work, but have found the time to get out and about at weekends, especially since the weather has been pretty good for the time of year - more than our usual share of dry and bright.
My friend Iain Brown, who I know from my old days working at Sony in Cambridge, was here in Vancouver for an EA company conference. He stayed with us for a few days and we hung out which was fun. We went to the Planetarium and the Space Exhibition which was cool, although really aimed for kids. They had a simulator ride which was a laugh, and we got to touch real Moon rock (I'll have to dig out that picture). Oh yes, and we went for a nice meal (with Chris and Katie too) at Bistro Pastis which is a great French restaurant. Anyway, I uploaded a few pictures from February to Flickr.
Last weekend I made a crazy whistle-stop visit to England to attend my youngest nephew's christening. It was a tiring few days, but it was great to see my family again and especially my niece and nephews, who are all growing up so fast. The christening itself was really good - great weather on the day and Zachary behaved perfectly. He spent the whole service staring at the Vicar, bless him. The trip back was kind of stressful, as it coincided with a big winter storm in England with very high winds. I didn't think I would make it back on time, and lots of flights were cancelled out of Heathrow but mine got away with no delays. Fantastic. I have a couple of photos from the christening that I uploaded, and I will try to get hold of some more - there were lots of people with cameras.
This week I had a dentist's appointment, and I'm finally going to get a clenching guard to protect my teeth at night. I have a nervous habit of clenching my teeth, mostly in the daytime I think, but the night guard should help. I really need to learn to relax a bit more, but I've always been a stress bunny and it's not getting better with age :) We also saw Yoav play which was awesome - the guy is so talented, and I think (and hope) he is going to be really big in 2008. Check him out. There are a few photos from the gig on Flickr.
Last night was our friend Lauren's 30th birthday, which was good fun. There was much drunken cuddling, as expected. It was a pretty late night, so today we are taking it easy and sorting out some boring stuff like taxes and so on. Looking forward to Easter weekend coming up, which means more days off - yay!
So where were we? Yes, there was Whistler in February, but you know about that, and now you can see all the pictures (see my previous post). Since then both Steph and I have been very busy at work, but have found the time to get out and about at weekends, especially since the weather has been pretty good for the time of year - more than our usual share of dry and bright.
My friend Iain Brown, who I know from my old days working at Sony in Cambridge, was here in Vancouver for an EA company conference. He stayed with us for a few days and we hung out which was fun. We went to the Planetarium and the Space Exhibition which was cool, although really aimed for kids. They had a simulator ride which was a laugh, and we got to touch real Moon rock (I'll have to dig out that picture). Oh yes, and we went for a nice meal (with Chris and Katie too) at Bistro Pastis which is a great French restaurant. Anyway, I uploaded a few pictures from February to Flickr.
Last weekend I made a crazy whistle-stop visit to England to attend my youngest nephew's christening. It was a tiring few days, but it was great to see my family again and especially my niece and nephews, who are all growing up so fast. The christening itself was really good - great weather on the day and Zachary behaved perfectly. He spent the whole service staring at the Vicar, bless him. The trip back was kind of stressful, as it coincided with a big winter storm in England with very high winds. I didn't think I would make it back on time, and lots of flights were cancelled out of Heathrow but mine got away with no delays. Fantastic. I have a couple of photos from the christening that I uploaded, and I will try to get hold of some more - there were lots of people with cameras.
This week I had a dentist's appointment, and I'm finally going to get a clenching guard to protect my teeth at night. I have a nervous habit of clenching my teeth, mostly in the daytime I think, but the night guard should help. I really need to learn to relax a bit more, but I've always been a stress bunny and it's not getting better with age :) We also saw Yoav play which was awesome - the guy is so talented, and I think (and hope) he is going to be really big in 2008. Check him out. There are a few photos from the gig on Flickr.
Last night was our friend Lauren's 30th birthday, which was good fun. There was much drunken cuddling, as expected. It was a pretty late night, so today we are taking it easy and sorting out some boring stuff like taxes and so on. Looking forward to Easter weekend coming up, which means more days off - yay!
Whistler photos
It took a while, but I've assembled photos from various cameras from our Whistler weekend in February, and uploaded them to Flickr.
More updates to the blog coming soon (hopefully).
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Some quick film reviews
Catching up on some movies from the last couple of months.
No Country For Old Men
A crime thriller and chase movie I guess. Lots of weird and interesting characters. It's a Coen Brothers film, and probably one of the best and the most accessible I've seen - not quite as crazy as some others, and with a plot that is easy to follow. The best thing about the film are the characters and how they are portrayed, and there are some great performances. Highly recommended, but it is quite brutal and also quite dark - don't expect the film to cheer you up :)
The Golden Compass
Both Steph and I have read the trilogy of books - His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman - so we were looking forward to the movie. I was kind of disappointed though. Despite an excellent cast and good special effects, something about the film just didn't engage me. I found a lot of the characters unsympathetic, and so did not care too much about what happened to them. I wasn't emotionally involved like I was when reading the book. I've heard the movie didn't do so well, but I hope they continue to make the other books as movies - perhaps they'll do a better job on the next one.
Atonement
Steph read the book a while ago, and loved it, so she practically dragged me to this film. I knew little or nothing about it. Keira Knightley annoyed me as usual - I think she's overrated - but generally the performances were very good, especially Romola Garai. The story told in the film was engaging and exceptionally sad. It was a really good film though.
I Am Legend
I'm a big fan of the book by Richard Matheson, so I was interested to see how the film would be handled. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised. The film makes a number of changes, but they all seem to work to make it more exciting to watch - a movie made straight from the book would have been nowhere near as much fun. The special effects were excellent, and reminded me a lot of I, Robot, which was no surprise when I checked and found it was the same effects company. The movie relies a lot more on scary jumps than I expected, rather than being a straightforward action film. I think that may have spoilt it for Steph a little. Also, there is a completely unnecessary car advert sequence at the beginning of the film that spoils the first ten minutes and makes no sense at all. Just stick with it, wipe the start from your mind, and everything will be fine. I wouldn't recommend the movie to everyone, but if you like sci-fi or horror I think you'd like this.
Cloverfield
I was quite excited about this film ever since I saw the teaser trailer. I liked the fact that I didn't know much about the film before I saw it - I think that added to the fun. Yes, there is far too much shaky-cam - don't sit anywhere near the front of the cinema or you will be sick. The characters are rather self-absorbed and not particularly likeable, but I think that's the point to some extent. What the film does really well is put you in the midst of a crazy disaster movie, where you never know what is going to happen next. It was a real thrill ride, with some scary moments (like the subway bit). I've heard varying opinions about this movie, but I think if you like sci-fi or monster films then you'll probably like this a lot. Oh yeah, and the special effects are fantastic - seamless and completely believable.
No Country For Old Men
A crime thriller and chase movie I guess. Lots of weird and interesting characters. It's a Coen Brothers film, and probably one of the best and the most accessible I've seen - not quite as crazy as some others, and with a plot that is easy to follow. The best thing about the film are the characters and how they are portrayed, and there are some great performances. Highly recommended, but it is quite brutal and also quite dark - don't expect the film to cheer you up :)
The Golden Compass
Both Steph and I have read the trilogy of books - His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman - so we were looking forward to the movie. I was kind of disappointed though. Despite an excellent cast and good special effects, something about the film just didn't engage me. I found a lot of the characters unsympathetic, and so did not care too much about what happened to them. I wasn't emotionally involved like I was when reading the book. I've heard the movie didn't do so well, but I hope they continue to make the other books as movies - perhaps they'll do a better job on the next one.
Atonement
Steph read the book a while ago, and loved it, so she practically dragged me to this film. I knew little or nothing about it. Keira Knightley annoyed me as usual - I think she's overrated - but generally the performances were very good, especially Romola Garai. The story told in the film was engaging and exceptionally sad. It was a really good film though.
I Am Legend
I'm a big fan of the book by Richard Matheson, so I was interested to see how the film would be handled. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised. The film makes a number of changes, but they all seem to work to make it more exciting to watch - a movie made straight from the book would have been nowhere near as much fun. The special effects were excellent, and reminded me a lot of I, Robot, which was no surprise when I checked and found it was the same effects company. The movie relies a lot more on scary jumps than I expected, rather than being a straightforward action film. I think that may have spoilt it for Steph a little. Also, there is a completely unnecessary car advert sequence at the beginning of the film that spoils the first ten minutes and makes no sense at all. Just stick with it, wipe the start from your mind, and everything will be fine. I wouldn't recommend the movie to everyone, but if you like sci-fi or horror I think you'd like this.
Cloverfield
I was quite excited about this film ever since I saw the teaser trailer. I liked the fact that I didn't know much about the film before I saw it - I think that added to the fun. Yes, there is far too much shaky-cam - don't sit anywhere near the front of the cinema or you will be sick. The characters are rather self-absorbed and not particularly likeable, but I think that's the point to some extent. What the film does really well is put you in the midst of a crazy disaster movie, where you never know what is going to happen next. It was a real thrill ride, with some scary moments (like the subway bit). I've heard varying opinions about this movie, but I think if you like sci-fi or monster films then you'll probably like this a lot. Oh yeah, and the special effects are fantastic - seamless and completely believable.
Birthdays, and Whistler
There's been quite a bit happening since my last post. Lots of birthdays this month so far, including my sister and me, Steph's sister and her dad. Phew. A big happy birthday to all of us!
Last weekend we spent a long weekend in Whistler with some friends, which was brilliant. There was no sun unfortunately, but lots of snow. The conditions for skiing and snowboarding were excellent, and all the "thrillseekers" had more than their fix. Steph had a great time. I did lots of snowshoeing - three days in a row in fact. For a change, I wasn't alone either - I had a friend to accompany me on each day which was cool. It was great to get away and forget about everything, and there was so much fresh air and exercise - fantastic. Makes you want to quit your office job for sure. Some of our friends took Rock Band along with them too, and there was much rejoicing.
I didn't do anything big for my birthday, but I did go out that night with some friends for a few drinks. We have this thing where we go out for booze on the same night that the wives / girlfriends have their book club meeting. It's only once a month, but this time happened to fall on my birthday. The rest of this week has been spent trying to catch up on sleep after Whistler. One of our friends from the UK has moved to Vancouver, and arrived this week, so we went out for food together last night which was cool.
That meal will be our last out for a little while. Today, we are starting on a detox for a week. Both Steph and I felt we've been eating too much crap recently and that it isn't doing us much good, so it felt like time. We've prepared pretty well and cooked a bunch of meals already, so it shouldn't be such a chore with food preparation as it has been in the past. The first time we did it, we were sick of chopping raw vegetables by the end. On the second go, we didn't even follow the rules strictly, and ended up quitting early. This time hopefully, we'll do it properly.
Got a busy weekend of boring stuff ahead - housework, paperwork, that kind of thing. The weather forecast says sun for tomorrow though which will be nice - we'll have to find an excuse to get out. If I find any time, I'll try to get some photos together from Whistler and upload them this week.
Last weekend we spent a long weekend in Whistler with some friends, which was brilliant. There was no sun unfortunately, but lots of snow. The conditions for skiing and snowboarding were excellent, and all the "thrillseekers" had more than their fix. Steph had a great time. I did lots of snowshoeing - three days in a row in fact. For a change, I wasn't alone either - I had a friend to accompany me on each day which was cool. It was great to get away and forget about everything, and there was so much fresh air and exercise - fantastic. Makes you want to quit your office job for sure. Some of our friends took Rock Band along with them too, and there was much rejoicing.
I didn't do anything big for my birthday, but I did go out that night with some friends for a few drinks. We have this thing where we go out for booze on the same night that the wives / girlfriends have their book club meeting. It's only once a month, but this time happened to fall on my birthday. The rest of this week has been spent trying to catch up on sleep after Whistler. One of our friends from the UK has moved to Vancouver, and arrived this week, so we went out for food together last night which was cool.
That meal will be our last out for a little while. Today, we are starting on a detox for a week. Both Steph and I felt we've been eating too much crap recently and that it isn't doing us much good, so it felt like time. We've prepared pretty well and cooked a bunch of meals already, so it shouldn't be such a chore with food preparation as it has been in the past. The first time we did it, we were sick of chopping raw vegetables by the end. On the second go, we didn't even follow the rules strictly, and ended up quitting early. This time hopefully, we'll do it properly.
Got a busy weekend of boring stuff ahead - housework, paperwork, that kind of thing. The weather forecast says sun for tomorrow though which will be nice - we'll have to find an excuse to get out. If I find any time, I'll try to get some photos together from Whistler and upload them this week.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Christmas and New Year photos at last
It's taken long enough, but I've finally uploaded the photos we took during our trip back to England at Christmas. We've been super-lazy since we got back, and I've just gotten round to it. Apologies for those of you pictured in the photos - I hope you can remember them :)
It's a cold, sunny, snowy, rainy winter this year. A bit of everything really. The last week was cold and sunny, and we took the opportunity to walk to work most days which was great. Steph finally got to do some skiing too last Thursday night after work. She had a great time, although probably wore herself out. Time for another lazy weekend I think! Right now the snow is falling again.
Hopefully, we are off to see Cloverfield tomorrow at the cinema with some friends. I've got a small backlog of mini movie reviews I ought to post. Maybe sometime in February at this rate...
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Happy New Year!
I'm a bit late with this salutation, but who cares? Steph and I had a wonderful trip back to the UK over Christmas and the New Year. We saw lots of family and friends, ate and drank too much, and generally had a great time. Thankyou to everybody who put us up or just turned up to say hello - much appreciated :) We have lots of photos from our Christmas trip, but I haven't had a chance to sort them out yet. Maybe this coming week.
So what's new? Well, I'm actually returning to the UK in March for my nephew Zachary's christening, but its going to be a whistle-stop and I won't really get a chance to see anybody beyond my immediate family. Also, we had our annual heating breakdown in our apartment block this week, but it was only out for a couple of days this time.
On the bad news front, I heard on Friday that my tenants are leaving my house in Cambridge. I hope that my next bunch are as nice as the last. I also hope that I won't be without my rental income for too long - January isn't the best time of year to be looking.
Last night we went out to Yuk Yuk's comedy club with some friends, and had a really good time. Not much on the horizon for this week so far, but we'll see what it brings.
So what's new? Well, I'm actually returning to the UK in March for my nephew Zachary's christening, but its going to be a whistle-stop and I won't really get a chance to see anybody beyond my immediate family. Also, we had our annual heating breakdown in our apartment block this week, but it was only out for a couple of days this time.
On the bad news front, I heard on Friday that my tenants are leaving my house in Cambridge. I hope that my next bunch are as nice as the last. I also hope that I won't be without my rental income for too long - January isn't the best time of year to be looking.
Last night we went out to Yuk Yuk's comedy club with some friends, and had a really good time. Not much on the horizon for this week so far, but we'll see what it brings.
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