forceysworld

End of an era

2009-07-24T19:37:00.001-07:00

After a few years, it's time to stop blogging. But don't worry, you can still hear about my antics at the following destinations

TWITTER
twitter.com/forcey33

FACEBOOK
facebook.com/forcey33

MY IMDB.COM MOVIE REVIEWS
imdb.com/user/ur7472847/comments?order=alpha

Ghost Town

2009-07-19T04:17:00.000-07:00

Generally if Ricky Gervais is in something I'll give it a go, even if it looks like a really average ro-co. Here's my review.

"Ghost Town" as based around Bertram Pincus (Gervais) a dentist who briefly dies during a standard procedure and consequently can now see dead people, whom are strangely just wandering around with the living. The hilarity lies in the fact he's seemingly the only living human who can, meaning a stack of dead people start bothering him asking him to bring closure on some issues that resulted from their death. The main pest to Bertram is Frank (Greg Kinnear, in his finest work since "Stuck On You"), who wants Bertram to get his wife (played by Tea Leoni) to break up with her new love interest. The plan ends up being to get her to fall for Bertram, which seems crazy because Bertram is a real jerk who has no charm at all. Will their crazy plan work? See it to find out.

A strange movie, in that there's some ok jokes but neither the characters or the story contain one ounce of warmth, unusual for a romantic comedy. The cast is strange and the chemistry was non-existent between Gervais and Leoni, although it's his first go at something like this so I guess we should cut him some slack, unless you consider he's not really a proper actor. Some ok jokes but a bit of a let down and a strange choice as a vehicle for Gervais to try to launch into a movie career.

He's Just Not That Into You

2009-07-11T04:16:00.001-07:00

Took one for the team last night and hired one wifey was really keen to see. Here's my review.

"He's Just Not That Into you" is something a bit different based upon the hugely popular book. It's basically supposed to be like a little guide for girls to work out if the guy they are with is really keen on them or not.

The movie follows a bunch of different people in very different relationships and opens them up to see what real love is. The main character is Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin, who is relatively new and has only appeared in one movie to poke fun at- "Mona Lisa Smile"), a girl who is clueless when it comes to guys and comes across as way to desperate. She seeks guidance from a few of her friends (played by Jennifer Aniston and Jennifer Connelly), whose relationships we also delve into. Eventually she meets a much better source of counsel, bar owner Alex (played by the Mac guy), who tells her all the signals guys give off and helps her understand men better. There's a bunch of other stories featuring Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore, Scarlett Johansson and others who feature in storylines about a girl who just meets guys online, a guy who cheats on his wife, a man who won't commit and more. Rather than spell it out, the movie throws up a bunch of situations and leaves us to decide what love is.

Pretty ho-hum, helped by the quality of the cast (except Drew Barrymore, who's storyline was pathetic). Something a bit different with a few ok gags but overall a bit boring for me without any clear message.

The Motorhome Holiday

2009-07-10T14:37:00.000-07:00

SATURDAY
-Picked up the motorhome early morning, got the walk through of how it all works, then drove solo over to Adelaide to pick it up.
-This was my first experience driving something this size and being manual didn't help but overall it went pretty well.
-I went one stretch of six hours without talking to another live human being (talked to some people on the mobile I mean, not corpses). Felt weird.
-Saturday is a great driving day, especially in footy season.
-Highlight of the day: seeing the family on arrival, then realising the footy was about to start.

SUNDAY
-Started the day slow, then in the early arvo headed off
-Decided to spend night 1 in Waikerie, famous for being the birthplace of Mark Ricciuto. Strangely a lot of people in the town look like Roo and it seems like it's stuck in about 1986.
-Had a lovely meal at the local pub, with some delicious options at the salad bar.
-Highlight of the day: while attempting a 3pt turn on a hill in a cul-de-sac, a local hoon sped into the street, then gave me the finger for getting in his way.

MONDAY
-Took the boys for a ride on the ferry, then headed deep into the Riverland.
-First stop was Monash Playground, a legendary playground from my childhood. Sadly these days all the cool rides are gone (the big wheel, huge slide, flying fox) due to safety reasons and all that's left are a few lame ones, besides the huge swinging rope, which had a line waiting for it. In place of the dangerous rides, they put in an unfenced lake. Genius. The boys found it and Elijah fell in face first. I had to jump in and save him, which was annoying on several levels, most notably because we both only had 1 set of shoes.
-Stopped in the Renmark shopping centre (which also prompted some angry drivers to show some road rage towards me/the motorhome) to buy shoes and food.
-Drove onto Mildura and settled on a caravan park that wasn't as good as advertised (sadly only noticed this once inside). The lady there was lovely though and surprised me with her love of caravans, telling me they go on caravan holidays when not running the park.
-The caravan park was pretty run down, most noticably the "rec room" which had 1 good game, one of those dual driver games that was sadly "out of order". I think it had been "OOO" since 1992.
-Highlight of the day: adding another accident to the family history of Monash Playground incidents

TUESDAY
-Spent the morning and early arvo in town. Found a "Banjo's" which excited me, as well as a "Dimmey's". Headed to an adventure park for some games, then back to "Fasta Pasta" for their great lunch deal.
-Relaxed in the arvo, then played a stack of table tennis with wifey while the kids flaked out watching telly and pretend playing video games.
-Highlight of the day: thinking that we may soon have a Banjo's in Melbourne.

WEDNESDAY
-Took it slow in the morning, then headed for a stopover on the way to Bendigo. Sadly the towns of Sea Lake, Wycheproof and Charlton didn't have great caravan park arrangements, so pushed onto Bendigo.
-Highlight of the day: a talking cockatoo we met in the Wycheproof playground. Entertained the kids big time.

THURSDAY
-Headed into the mall and gave Tara some kid free time. I entertained the boys with food, toilet trips and the "Thomas" trainset they had total access to in Myer.
-Grabbed a quick bite, then headed back to the caravan park for R&R and then the playground
-At night headed to Pizza Hut. Good times. Discovered later that night Elijah and Pepsi Max are a bad mix.
-Highlight of the day: injuring my knee while on the slide. Feared the worst but luckily came good after half an hour. I know what Riggs from Lethal Weapon would say to me.

FRIDAY
-Packed up and cleaned up and headed for home. Dropped off the motorhome, grabbed an Eastland lunch then headed home.
-Highlight of the day: driving an automatic again.

A great holiday, nice to get away and see some new places, probably would not go the motorhome route again though with kids.

The Godfather

2009-06-24T01:20:00.000-07:00

Rewatched this for the first time in about 12 years. The last time I saw it I don't think I was ready to appreciate it's brilliance, as it was a tad slow for me back then. Glad I did.

There's no real point reviewing it, basically most people know what's it's about and know it's universally regarded as one of the best movies of all-time. Here's some reasons why.

-Brando as Don Corleone. Brilliant
-Pacino as Michael. Brilliant.
-The directing of Coppola. Brilliant. Beautifully shot movie with some landmark scenes, most notably Sonny's death and the restaurant scene.
-Excellent story

The movie holds up very well, albeit it's a bit slow at times. Here's 3 scenes that could have been improved.

-Michael moving his father in the hospital. Should have been some guys inside who Michael had to fight off.
-When Sonny beats up Carlo. Really poorly done.
-The restaurant scene. Didn't use the suspense enough, could have drawn out some more.

A brilliant movie, must-see for major movie factors.

For Your Consideration

2009-06-22T04:16:00.000-07:00

Stumbled across this is the comedy section at "Video Busters" the other week, a section i thought I'd exhausted.

"For Your Consideration" is the latest offering from Christopher Guest and co, this time the movie is about a seemingly ordinary movie that out of nowhere gets some Hollywood buzz and greatly excites the crew of newcomers and veterans. That's pretty much the story, but it's not done in their normal mocumentary style, it's more of a movie. The cast is the same, featuring Guest, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Harry Shearer, Jennifer Coolidge, Fred Willard etc. There's also a cameo from Ricky Gervais, albeit it for just a few scenes.

Pretty average, and very few laughs. The style didn't work and the characters had little to work with. The last few from these writers has dropped off quite a bit, with "Best in Show" being the last real decent one, largely thanks to Fred Willard. Give it a miss.

Fame

2009-06-22T04:09:00.000-07:00

"Fame" is the latest Ricky Gervais stand up offering, joining the stable that includes "Animal" and "Politics".

In "Fame" Ricky talks at first about being famous, then gets onto his pet topics of homosexual men, God and Adolf Hitler. It's pretty much more of the same and amazingly I've gotta say it was full of yawns. A couple of ok jokes, but most of it was rubbish and stuff we've sort of heard before. He really mailed this one in. I then tried out the special features, but again more of the same old stuff ie annoying Robin. He's pretty much a one trick pony and his act is getting a bit worn out. he's been doing it for 8 years now and needs to come up with something fresh to avoid becoming Eddie Murphy.

Disappointing.

Revolutionary Road

2009-06-07T14:56:00.000-07:00

"Revolutionary Road" reunites "Titanic" stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in a story about a couple who become unhappy with where their life is and decide to set off for Paris. Leo plays Frank, a business man who is becoming increasingly bored with his life and has realised he's not where he wants to be. Winslet plays April, a stay-at-home mum who still yearns to become a great actress (her character, not Kate Winslet) but realises that part of her life has probably passed her by. One night April confronts Frank that they should up and move to Paris, a place Frank loves and that may enable him to chase his true dreams. At first Frank comes up with all the negatives, but soon realises "why not!". They start making plans but things get railroaded when April gets pregnant and Frank gets offered a way better job with a lot more money. Will they still chase their dreams, or will their responsibilities keep them home?

Something different, as the movie leaves it to you for the most part to decide whether life is about chasing our dreams, fulfilling our responsibilities...or a bit of both. Well acted and a good story, but it got a bit too silly for my liking in the last 30mins. Worth a look.

Valkyrie

2009-06-05T14:14:00.000-07:00

For the first time in recent memory, I was overwhelmed with choices when I popped into "Video Busters" last night. There was plenty for me, but also a decent range left that wifey might be interested in too. Being a long weekend, I got a stack of videos and for the overnighters grabbed this and "Revoltionary Road".

"Valkyrie" is based upon a remarkable true story of a group of brave men who attempted to assasinate Hitler and seize power of Germany during WW2. That has to rank as one of the gutsiest things to attempt ever. Heading this group is decorated war hero Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (played by Tom Cruise, in his finest work since "Top Gun"),perhaps the most important Colonel ever behind Colonel Sanders. The plan is reasonably complicated, but if they can pull it off, they will see Hitler and a bunch of his key men killed and a coup occur where the SS will be shutdown and the country can be placed in safe hands and will consequently surrender to the Allies. It won't be easy though. The plan relies on being able to get key army people to be willing to commit treason and to get Hitler to unwittingly sign a document that will essentially enable the coup to occur should he be killed. Tricky. Will The Colonel pull it off? See it to find out.

Reasonably well done, except for the fact everyone spoke English and without a hint of a German accent. That made it seem a bit weird. Cruise was ok at The Colonel, but there would have been about 50 better actors they could have used eg Russell Crowe, Tom Hanks or Sean William Scott. Amazing story and well worth seeing.

Tiger

2009-05-30T23:09:00.000-07:00

For the first time ever, I took part this morning in the "Tiger" experience. I'd had fears about going with them due to bad stories and their reputation for being very "tight" on a lot of their criteria. Was it all a media beat-up? I was soon to find out.

I got to the airport nice and early, just in case they decided to close the gate a bit early, and walked straight up to one of their counters. They had 3 counters, running,

"Hobart"
"Melbourne"
"All Flights"

I decided to line up in the "Melbourne" queue (because I was going to Melbourne). After a few people checked in, confusion broke out as we all were apparently in the wrong lines, plus they weren't taking Hobart passengers in the "All Flights" queue. We rearranged ourselves and got in the right queues. I got served pretty well, but was a tad surprised that they weighed hand luggage. Each to their own though.

I went and got some food and a paper and headed to the gate with plenty of time to spare. I sat for a while and then heard them call out a "final call" for all passengers going to Melbourne. Bewildered, I joined the small line, only to discover this was for an earlier Melbourne flight. I sat back down again and time started to get close to our departure time. A voiceover then came advising we'd be boarding in 45min, which turned into an hour. I wandered around, looked through the bookstore, then headed back to the gate.

Once onbaord, I sat down, got comfy and pulled out my magazine. I then heard some loud talking going on, which sounded like a couple of blokes mucking around. Turns out 2 guys were feuding because an older man born in a different country had reclined his chair, which squashed the younger guy, who said he "had long legs", to which the older guy replied "that's not my problem". The older guy then went on a rant, to which the young guy replied "we'll sort this out in Melbourne". Cool, a fight on the tarmac! The flight attendant attended to the matter and just asked the younger guy to swap seats with his partner. All was soon sorted and we were on our way.

We made up some time in the air, but landed an hour and a bit late. Annoying. Also annoying is the long walk from the tarmac to the terminal, but I guess you can't have your cake and eat it too. By the way, the young guy with the apparent long legs was the same height as me. Lame.

In summary, delays happen on all airlines, but not a great first experience with the new kid on the aviation block. Will try and avoid them in the future.

Tv Update

2009-05-27T14:35:00.001-07:00

A lot of people have been asking me what I'm watching on tv these days lately, so here's an update.

TALKIN 'BOUT YOUR GENERATION
Generally if you pop Shaun Micallef's head on the tv, I'll watch it. This show isn't bad. It pits 3 regulars from the Baby Boomer generation (Amanda Keller), Charlie Pickering (Gen X) and some annoying guy from Gen Y (?), with a guest celebrity each week from the same generation to answer some really easy questions based around standouts from each decade (ie fads, tv shows, music etc). The questions are a little too easy and the guests get a little too much time to rabbit on, but it's decent. Probably a bit like an hour long version of "Spicks and Specks" at about 1/3 of the pace. Micallef is the highlight of the show with his quirky faces, one-liners and intersting intros. Pretty good, but not gripping ie good show to watch while doing odd jobs. Here's a sample

SPICKS AND SPECKS
One of the best Aussie shows, which generally now gets really good guests. There's a good mix of easy and tricky questions, with a stack of interesting facts (which I love). Not "must see", but if I don't watch, 8 times out of 10 I'll record. Here's a clip

LIFE ON MARS
Gave up on this a while back when they started jerking around the timeslot. Overall maybe a little too slw, but maybe I'll get it out on dvd one day.

24
Due to the dumb timeslot and my laziness at bothering to record it, I decided a while back I'll wait til it's out on dvd. When it is I'll probably take a few days off and get right into it- if it's good. Early reports are the start was awesome but it waned near the last few hours (as it normally does).

THANK GOD YOU'RE HERE
Think I'm a bit over the show, just too many guests that suck. Needs to stick with male comedians as a general rule I think. My favourites have been Bob Franklin, Tony Martin and Merrick Watts thus far. Here's a clip from Bob's recent show

CHASER
Last night's show was a bit of a let down. The guys just keep pushing the boundaries and pretty much all the jokes tried to contain an element of racism, sexism or similar. Getting away from some of their clever, wittier stuff and just going for the off joke. Bummer.

ONE HD
Watching a fair bit of this, mainly the NBA but also a few other bits and pieces, especially One Week At A Time, which is solid. The best addition to tv since "Webster".

24: The Game

2009-05-27T05:55:00.000-07:00

On the Easter weekend I started playing a game I'd barely touched since I got it 2 years ago- "24". My lovely wife surprised me with a PS2 for my birthday in 2006 and got me this game plus some other one that wasn't as good (I think I sold it on ebay). I played it a couple of times but thought it was pretty crappy, mainly because I couldn't work out some of the key features and am not great at these games generally. With a fresh attitude and time on my hands, I pulled it out on Good Friday and once I'd completed the first 2 levels I was hooked.

From what I followed, there is a home grown terrorist (Madsen) who is going to wreak havoc on LA by generating earthquakes. You generally play Jack, but also a little Chase (who is undercover in Madsen's crew), a little Tony and even some Kim and Michelle. The best part of the game is the variety of scenarions: from driving cars, to just shooting people, to helicopters, to interrogating people, cracking codes...plenty of variety. Some are not as fun, but you appreciate a break from just blowing people's brains out. There are probbaly about 5 or 6 really hard levels where I decided to get some "assistance" (read cheating by getting infinite health and/or ammo). Most of the levels I struggled on were acknowledged as being hard by the walkthrough notes, so that made me feel better.

It took me just over 6 weeks and maybe really around 24hrs to complete. I used a combo of holidays, late nights and time home alone to work on it and enjoyed it immensely. I used cheats for the last 1hr6mins, where the amount of men coming at you was mental.

Overall a really good game. I'm not a gamer at all, but I liked it, probably mostly because I love the show and it wasn't ridiculously hard. If you're still not sold, check out this awesome trailer.

Lebron

2009-05-23T20:18:00.000-07:00

Had the opportunity Saturday to sit down and watch some NBA- Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Cavs and the Magic. The Cavs were heavily favoured to win this series easily but lost Game 1 at home, putting them quickly on the backfoot. Game 2 started well for the Cavs and by halftime they had a good lead, thanks to LBJ and my fantasy basketball favourite, Delonte West. In the 2nd half thought the Magic came out smoking and kept it close until the 4th, when they hit the lead in the dying minutes and had a 2pt lead with 1 second left. Then Lebron, the freak, did this

Just amazing. You'd be pretty gutted if you were the Magic. Should be another awesome series and must go to 7.

Seven Pounds

2009-05-23T20:05:00.000-07:00

Got this out Friday night for our weekly dvd night. I'd heard mixed reviews and was unsure if Tara would like, but knew she'd like it more than "the Wrestler", so gave it a go. Here,s my review.

"Seven Pounds" is a the story of Ben Thomas (Will Smith, in his best work since "Hitch"), an IRS agent who seems to be on a mission he help radically alter the lives of a bunch of strangers. Gradually his story unravels that brought him to this point- in a nutshell he killed seven people in a car accident and seems to be trying to make up for it. His wife also died in the accident which really set him off.

Ben stays reasonably detached from the people, until he meets Emily (Roasario Dawson, in her best work since "Josie and the Pussycats"), a lovely lady who needs a heat transplant bad. Ben starts getting very close to her, so close in fact he expresses his love physically with her. Ben must decide if he'll let her know his secret and if he'll go through with his plan. Will Ben go through with his plan or will he give it all up for Emily, who may die anyway if no donor comes forward? See it to find out.

***************SPOILER ALERT********************

I'd heard mixed reports and some about the unusual ending, although I gotta say it played out pretty much as expected. Something different, but nothing to write home about. Another semi arty-farty movie by Will Smith that doesn't cut the mustard.

The Jordan Rules

2009-05-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

Have been slowly re-reading this classic over the last few months, mainly in spurts of 1 or 2 pages as I spend time in the quietest room in the house.

"The Jordan Rules" follows the Bulls for a year, luckily it turned out to be the year of their first title in the dominant Michael Jordan era. It follows the team on the road and give great insight to the inner sanctum and the experiences of all the team, from the superstars like Jordan and Pippen, down to the crappy ones like Stacey King and Dennis Hopson. It shows Jordan's strengths and weaknesses ie he can be a massive jerk, the strategies of Phil Jackson to motivate his team, especially MJ, the workings of GM Jerry Krause......all a basketball junkie would be interested in knowing. An especially good re-read 18 years after the book was written, considering Jordan's early exit from the game, where the young guys ended up and what became of the team. One of the best basketball books I've ever read, and I've read about 7 of them, so..........

Death At A Funeral

2009-05-16T20:27:00.000-07:00

"Death At A Funeral" is the story of a bunch of family and friends coming together for a funeral. The funeral gets off to a rocky start due to some feuding between brothers, the accidental drugging of one of the guests and a midget with an agenda. Yep. Soon all of these wacky circumstances become entwined when the midget threatens to expose the secret life of the deceased unless he gets some money. Before you know it someone gets knocked out, the drugged guest strips down and threatens to jump off a roof.....hilarity ensues.

A quirky Britsih comedy which takes a while to get going but the last 20mins are right up there with the best dark comedy around. A solid cast and great storyline make this one of the better "laugh out loud" movies I've seen in the last few years. Well worth a look.

Armageddon

2009-05-11T14:53:00.000-07:00

Stumbled across "Armageddon" the other night on Foxtel, and with little to do and my brain reasonably empty, decided to rewatch it. When I first saw this at the cinema back in 1998, I remember thinking it was one of the dumbest films ever plus I was completely fed up with the "natural disaster" genre that was drowning society. Would time change my perception?

"Armageddon" deals with the question "what would happen if a meteor bigger than earth hit earth?". For some reason the US discovered this threat and decided they alone could come up with the answer. Their solution was to send a bunch of misfits who drill for oil into a spaceship to land on the meteor, drill a huge hole in it, then send a nuclear bomb inside it and blow it up from the inside. Genius.

NASA enlists the "world's best driller", luckily also American Harry Stamper (Bruce Willis) to come and help select the best drill and a plan to get the bomb into the meteor. Harry thinks it will be easier to use his crew who he's used to working with, rather than professional astronauts and scientists. Reluctantly NASA agrees and starts training the crew for the most important job ever in the world. During and after the tests it's clear the team isn't up to it, but they go anyways. Will this cast of misfits save the world? Take a wild guess.

Worth watching for the pure comedy factor, if you can overcome the normal US arrogance and ridiculous storyline. A solid cast, given little to work with, covers a multitude of flaws, most noticeably the crappy Aerosmith theme song. Gets bonus points for Pete Stormare who plays the Russian astronaut.

The Majestic

2009-05-11T14:28:00.001-07:00

Running out of "overnight" options, I decided to look for some weekly's I never got round to seeing. Man is that hard work. Settled on 2 movies for the kids, and 2 for me and wifey. The first we got around to seeing was "The Majestic".

"The Majestic" is set in the US in the 1950's where the Government is extremely fearful of the threat of communism spreading on it's shores. The Feds are on a witch-hunt, looking for any possible people who may be spreading the communism message and even those showing interest in it. Upcoming Hollywood writer Peter Appleton (Carrey, in his finest work since "Dumb and Dumber") is one such suspect, and when his career looks shot due to a pending enquiry, Peter one night drives out of town to deal with his frustrations. Due to a strange sequence of events, Peter falls into a river, bumps his head and gets amnesia. He is awoken by a local the next day, who takes him into town for some breakfast and time to work out what happened. Peter can't remember what happened in the accident, let alone the last 30+ years of his life, so stays and tries to work it out. Very quickly though an old man notices him and is sure Peter is his son Luke, who was believed to have died in WW2. He looks the same and seems to have several similar characteristics, so everyone goes along with it, even though Peter (who doesn't know who he is don't forget) isn't so sure. Before long Peter has embraced who everyone thinks he is and starts to relax into his surroundings. Is Peter really Luke? Is Luke really Peter? Does Peter really exist? Does Peter just look like Luke? Is Peter dreaming? See it to find out!

I really enjoyed it because it kept me guessing, was set it a nice little town and it had a nice little story. Carrey does a nice job and is backed up by a solid cast, especially the dad, and more "hey it's that guy" guys than you could poke a stick at.

Death To Smoochy

2009-05-02T21:30:00.000-07:00

"Deatb To Smoochy" is the story of the meteoric rise to fame of loveable kid's character "Smoochy" (played By Shedlon Mopes, who is really Edward Norton). "Smoochy" gets his break when "Rainbow Randolph" (Robin Williams) is busted taking bribes for kids to appear on his show. Overnight Randolph becomes a disgrace and the network ,headed by Nora (Catherine Keener), sets out to find the next tv star. "Smoochy" becomes an overnight hit, and consequently everyone now wants a piece of him. Randolph wants to kill him, slimy agent Burke Bennett (Danny Devito) wants to get in on the action, powerful people want to get on his show, charities want money.....things needless to say get out of control. Sheldon, a man of integrity and values has to work out if he'll go along for the ride or, as Marcia Hines would suggest, stay true to himself. Will he sell out? See it to find out.

Different, not that great in my view, but at least it was interesting. A pretty strong cast, which was good as the film probably needed it.

Hot Fuzz

2009-04-27T02:00:00.000-07:00

With little available on the "New Releases" front at Video Busters, wifey and I went the weekly route. One of the choices was "Hot Fuzz".

"Hot Fuzz" stars Simon Pegg (in his best work since "MI3") as an over the top cop whose extreme dedication to the job has seen him wear out his welcome in London. His superiors decide to send him to a quiet little town that should settle him down and allow him to take it easy. Upon his arrival, he discovers it's even sleepier than he imagined. He takes to arresting underage drinkers and minor offenders to pass the time until he's advised the local cops like to take a more carefree approach. Soon though some out-of-nowhere murders start taking place and Angel (Pegg) has a mystery to solve that he's been waiting for. The action gets intense and Angel is in for the biggest battle of his life.

Quite different but really enjoyable. The film does get a bit weird, but you kind of see it coming, although it does get pretty zany near the end. Some interesting directing, quirky jokes and full-on-yet-humourous violent scenes make it unlike anything I'd seen before. Pegg is great as Angel and there's a strong supporting cast, most notably Nick Frost as Danny.

Well worth a watch.

The Promotion

2009-04-24T17:40:00.000-07:00

Saw a poster up in a shop a while ago and thought this looked ok. Slightly concerned I'd never heard of it and pretty sure it was "straight to dvd", but with the premise and these guys, surely it was a "can't miss".... or was it?

"The Promotion" stars Seann William Scott (in his most challenging role since "Dude, where's my car") and John C Reilly (in his best work since "Never Been Kissed") as two rival assistant managers at a grocery store. The two are hoping to land a manager's job at the new store across town and start undermining each other to make themselves the best candidate. This is where it gets weird. I was hoping for non-stop pranks and capers, yet the film didn't go there and just placed Reilly's character, Richard, in a few akward moments where he was made to look stupid. You'd expect some non-stop shenanigans and then it turns out neither gets the job, but the film plays out quite like how it would in real life. Neither actor is given much of a leash and is played reasonably straight.

The film was ok (wifey actually really liked it), but I guess didn't turn out how I expected. I felt like a night of silly jokes but the film didn't deliver, although I kind of respect what the writer/director (Steve Conrad, who wrote "The Pursuit of Happyness") tried to do. The film tried to be a slightly more realistic of how one of the situations might play out and din't try too much to go for wacky, unrealistic pranks or to go the other way and pull to hard on the heart strings. Just ok, dragged a fair bit at times and didn't deliver what it could have.

The Crows

2009-04-24T17:24:00.000-07:00

2009 marks my first year in a few years I haven't had Foxtel and hence the ability to watch all the Crows games. Here's how I've gone so far.

Rd 1- Crows v Collingwood
Had the ability to go to this one but thought we'd get flogged, so stayed home. Listened to bits on radio and sounds like we played well and had some nice promise shown by the young guys (Petrenko in particular).

Rd 2- Crows v Saints
Dean came over and watched the 7 coverage. We couldn't get into any flow and the Saints were very impressive (there's a phrase I don't think I've ever said before). Not much too like.

Rd 3- Crows v Dockers
Headed down to the local pub with the father-in-law to watch this destined to be classic. We were the only ones watching it. Frustrating at times, but plenty of promise. The best patch of young guys we've had since the mid-to-late 90's (Petrenko, Dangerfield, Walker, Vince). Added bonus was the $4.95 dinner I enjoyed.

Rd 4- Crows v Geelong
Watched at home on my Pat Malone. Geelong just killed us at the start of the term and we clawed our way back too late. Again some promise from the young guns, but Geelong way too polished. Robert Shirley again proved his lack of skill.

We play the Demons this week and considering the weather and late start, will probbaly go to the local again to support the boys and bend the old elbow.

36'ers

2009-04-24T15:42:00.001-07:00

*I have no idea who this guy is

There's sad news unfolding that my beloved Adelaide 36'ers may not be allowed entry into the "new" NBL unless they can get a guaranteed $1million in the event they hit hardship. That seems mental and if one of the league's premier teams can't provide that backing then the whole league should just shut shop. It would suck to see the team go, but the league has become a bit of a joke and unless this new league brings major changes, maybe it's for the best. If last season was the end of the 36'ers, here's some of my favourite 36'ers memories

*Watching Game 2 of the 36'ers v Tigers in 1994 when Davis was out and we were considered goners on a tiny portable tv at Broken Gum

*Seeing Acie Earl's first game in Adelaide with the Kings. He was a beast, just a tad lazy though.

*Sapwell's 3 to take down the Hawk's in 1999. Gary and I were there

*Being there for the 2nd Championship win

*Being there for Game 1 of the year we beat the Pigs in Farley's first year. Farley had his way with Scotty McGregor several times.

*Going to my first game in years this year to see Julius Hodge, only to discover when inside he was holding out and would not play for them again.

*Being there for KB and Darnell's first game.

*Mocking Phil Smyth's substitutuon patterns

*Watching the many rookies who got garbage time only and were never seen again eg Blake Truslove

Spirit of Tasmania

2009-04-24T15:26:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday night I got aboard the "Spirit of Tasmania". For those not aware, it's a large ship that travels from Devonport to Melbourne. It allows you to bring your car and due to the time it takes (11hrs), you can even get a cabin.

I got to the loading area near 5:30pm and surprisingly found a queue already formed. Considering I didn't have much else to do, I decided to join the queue. I sat in the car for just an hour or so, passing the time by listening to some podcasts and filling out a Tourism survey that was annoyingly long. Once aboard the boat I put my stuff down in the cabin, had a wander, then sat down for dinner. It was a "no seconds buffet" and the menu was interesting. I settled on a piece of fish, some pasta and a roast dinner.

After dinner I headed back to my room, realised there wasn't much to do there (2 bunk beds, toilet and a shower in an area half the size of my bedroom), so headed back upstairs. There was a theaterette showing "Marley and Me", which didn't interest me at all, so I listened to some podcasts out on deck, then headed inside to watch "Spicks and Specks" with 2 other people. The rest of the ship (maybe 100 people in 2 different areas) was watching "Australia's Got Talent". What a shock. While watching, a lady in a towel come running out demanding a medic, then another man in a shirt and towel came looking for her, also asking for a medic. I don't know what they got up to in that tiny bathroom. With that episode behind us, I pulled up a comfy chair and did some reading and snacking, then back to my dog's box for more reading and podcasts.

Was awoken at 6:05am by the PA system to be ready for a 6:50 disembarkment. I got my stuff together and headed for one of the lifts. I waited there for about 50mins so that was good. My deck was the last called to go to our cars and we were held up by some clown they couldn't locate who's car was blocking the first lot getting out. Once I got to my car it was another 30min wait until we got to leave.

Overall more entertaining and not as uncomfortable as I imagined and an insight into what it must have been like on the "Titanic".

24: The Game

2009-04-11T21:38:00.001-07:00

Besides reflection, Easter is a time to do the stuff you normally don't get the time to do, especially when you're bored. So on Friday I pulled out "24: The Game", a gift Tara brought me for my birthday two and a half years ago that I'd only played a few times due to difficulty playing, time and lack of enthusiasm for the game. To my excitement, the game is actually really cool and after the first two levels there is plenty of variety to the game- location and task wise. It took me a while to work out basic things, like using cover and not just walking into open rooms, and now it's much more fun to play. As soon as I get better at not shooting hostages I should have the game down pat. I'm stuck on a level where I walk into a room with 4 guys with machine guns and one of them has a hostage I need to question. So far my hostage keeps getting shot by me in the head, so I've got some work to do. It's been an unexpected fun surprise this Easter and I look forward to completing it and then possibly looking into other popular games with the kids these days.

Forcey's Easter Message

2009-04-09T14:59:00.000-07:00

Another year, another Easter.

To many, Easter is their second favourite holiday of the year, because you get a super-long weekend, and get to eat loads of chocolate guilt free. It's a chance to go away, or do home renovations, or kick back at home and relax. For some, it's tough, especially Good Friday, with there being no footy to watch, with shops being closed and the newspapers being only a few pages long. Even some fast food joints like KFC are closed.

Mnay want to see Easter overhauled. A seemingly growing proportion of the community are annoyed that they have this stuff enforced on them when they're not even Christian. Rising amounts of people from other faiths even find the Easter period offensive, and we hear more and more stories each year of places like schools and nursing homes being asked to remove any symbols that refer to the Christian themes of Easter or Christmas eg http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25313469-661,00.html

I come from a biased position because I've been a Christian for most of my life, but to me we as a community will allow this breaking down of our traditions at our own peril. The old phrase "if you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything" seems extremely apt in this situation, especially in today's world. In today's Australia I think we have the incorrect notion that all that is great about this country is summed up by us sending a bunch of underprepared men to the first world war. I am not at all underappreciative for the work done by our soldiers back then and ever since, but believe we've forgotten the greatness of this country is largely due to the foundations laid over 200 years ago. From the early days of being founded, to settlement, Australia was covered in prayer and many of the founding Christian fathers dedicated this land to God. Our constitution is based upon Biblical teachings and principles and is largely responsible for our democracy. Many also don't realise Australia came within a whisker of being founded by explorers from other religions that would not have allowed us to enjoy the freedom we have today.

Good Friday means a variety of things to a vareity of people. Some observe the day as a "special day". Some are respectful of the Easter message by eating fish on Fridays. To some, it's annoying. To Christians, it is along with Christmas Day a day we take time to remember afresh the love of God demonstrated by sending his son Jesus to the world to die for our sins so we could be reconciled to him. To any who enjoy the Easter weekend without embracing the message, I'd encourage you to consider two things this year

1/ What would the country look like without the strong Christian heritage we have? Think about our schooling system, our charity and welfare assistance organinsations and our hospitals whose roots are in the Gospel message. Without this message, these organisations wouldn't have been inspired and our country would likely be crippled.

2/ Did Jesus walk the earth? Was he who he said he was? Did he die on a cross and then rise again after 3 days? Historically there's no doubt he existed, the questions is was he a fraud or really God in person sent to give us new life. The story can be read in the Bible from Matthew 26, or you can read online at biblegateway.com

I'd encourage you to consider this sometime over the long weekend and work out what Easter really means for you. Have a great Easter.

The Queen

2009-04-09T14:22:00.000-07:00

"The Queen" is a story about the Queen. More specifically, it focuses around how she and Buckingham Palace handled the aftermath of the death of Princess Diana.

The film begins with the introduction of the new Prime Minister Tony Blair (well played by Michael Sheen) to Her Majesty (brilliantly played by Helen Mirren, in her finest work since "Teaching Mrs Tingle"). In a surprise to me, this occured just before Princess Di was killed, bringing the two figureheads into close relationship very quickly. The two have differing opinions on how to handle the aftermath of the tragedy and Blair soon finds himself needing to be very forceful to avoid the Royal Family becoming a target of scorn. Blair manages to convince the Queen, reluctantly, to make an appearance and a speech in order to save their reputation.

The film cleverly intertwines real-life footage of the events, most notably where the actors are "CGI'd" into original footage. The insight into the Royal Family is fascinating, and more so to the Queen (eg she drives a little jeep around the property). The cast is great, most notably the forementioned plus James Cromwell as Prince Philip and Helen McCrory as Cherie Blair. I wasn't expecting much of the film, but really enjoyed the way it was done plus the walk down memory lane. It brought up lots of surprises eg that Diana was only 36 when she died and that the Queen knew how to drive a jeep and use a mobile phone.

Well worth seeing.

Shooting Dogs

2009-04-08T14:30:00.000-07:00

Another wifey pick, another African movie. If I had a dollar for............

"Shooting Dogs" is not a movie about people that go around shooting dogs but the genocide that occured in Rwanda in 1994. The film is set around a small Catholic school that becomes a shelter for many seeking refuge. Based at the school are a British teacher (Hugh Dancy, in his most powerful role since "Basic Instinct 2"), a priest (John Hurt, in his finest work since "Mr Forbrush And The Penguins"), some European tourists, the Rwandans and a small team of UN soldiers. The reason for the war is the desire of the Hutus to rid the land of Tutsis. The situation across the land becomes horrific with thousands being killed daily. The group at the school has their hope taken away bit by bit, beginning with the news the UN will not attack oncoming soldiers unless in their own self defense and the evacuation of any Westerner who might be of some help to their cause. Will they escape? See it to find out.

I didn't go in with much expectation but this was a really powerful film. John Hurt as the priest was excellent and the glue for the film. The story was strong but besides Hurt the cast was pretty weak, especially Darcy with his annoying little head shakes and all. A remarkable story of a people that were tragically deserted by the larger world. In all 800,000 were killed in just 100 days. Well worth seeing and one of the people films on an African story you'll see.

Knocked Up

2009-04-02T02:07:00.000-07:00

This week we started another "Quickflix" trial, and Tara loaded up our want list. The first dvd to arrive was "Knocked Up". Here's my IMDB.com review.

"Knocked Up" starts Seth Rogen (in his best work since a guest appearance in "Dawson's Creek") and Katherine Heigl (in her finest role since she played Sarah in "Under Siege 2) as Ben and Alsion, two people who hook up in a night club and have a one night stand. Ben is a loser stoner, Sarah an up and coming entertainment reporter. The next morning Sarah realises what a loser Ben is and quickly tries to end it quickly....until she discovers she's pregnant. Sarah then decides to track Ben down and get him to be a part of this unexpected surprise. She soon learns although he's a complete loser who spends his time hitting the pipe and watching movies with ladies with no clothes on, he's sweet too. Sarah has to work out though if she wants to shack up with him and become a family or to have the child and try to continue on her career path and hopefully meet someone fancier.

It's pretty rude and crude, with lots of sweet "ohhhhhh" moments to balance it out.... sorta. Some potential jokes were left hanging, while others where done to death. Ben's housemates provided plenty of laughs and really stole most of the great scenes. Jason Segel as Jason was probably my favourite character in the movie. Pretty funny overall, but plenty of akward, uncomfortable moments.

Children Of The Silk Road

2009-03-30T00:05:00.000-07:00

Last year wifey won some tickets to see this at the cinema. We never got round to it, but on the weekend it was wifey's choice of movie (being her birthday and all) and she picked this.

"Children Of The Silk Road" is based upon the remarkable true story of journalist George Hogg (played by the annoying Jonathan Rhys Meyers, in his finest work since "Bend It Like Beckham), a Brit who during the 30's found himself in China looking for untold stories and ended up being the saviour to a heap of young orphan boys.

Hogg bravely chose to go to China in the 30's to try to tell the world about the atrocities being commited by the Japanese soldiers on innocent civilians. He gets caught by the Japanese early on into his trip and is about to be murdered when he saved by a small band of Chinese fighters, headed by Chen (Chow Yun-Fat, in his finest work since "Ban wo chuang tian ya"). Chen helps him on his way, where he eventually comes across an orphanage in an abandoned grand building. Here he meets up again with US nurse Lee (played by Radha Mitchell, in her best work since some guest appearances on Aussie sitcom favourite "All Together Now"). She challenges George to stay and help these abandoned boys rather than just run back home like a little nancy boy. George stays and ends up dramatically changing the boys lives. Word soon reaches him though that the Japanese will be coming, so he must take them on a seemingly crazy 700mile journey through the rough Chinese winter to refuge.
Will they survive and reach freedom? See it to find out.

Not bad and certainly inspiring in pieces. Meyers pulled it off reasonably well considering how unappealing he is to men in general, if not for a few scenes that were uncomfortably akward. One of the better movies set in China I've seen, perhaps even better than "Rush Hour".

Bushfires

2009-03-22T00:50:00.000-07:00

Went for a family drive saturday up to Healesville. Had a look around, grabbed lunch, then decided to trek on a bit further. After about 30mins we came into Narbethong, where I'd never been before. This small town was badly hit by the fires. Here's some pics we took. Was thinking about going onto Marysville but the roads were still closed. Amazing to see first hand just how much damage they did.

How to lose friends and alienate people

2009-03-21T13:50:00.001-07:00

Friday night settled on this for "Friday DVD night". here's my IMDB.com review.

"How to win friends and alienate people" is the story of Sidney Young (Pegg), the brains behind "Post-Modern Review", a British celebrity rag that pokes fun at celebrities. One day to his amazement he gets offered a role at "Sharps" magazine in NY, one of the most respected magazines in the industry. He figures he's there to shake things up, but he's wrong and is given some very boring "work your way up from the bottom" work to do.

From early on Sidney alienates most around him by being obnoxious, a little too rough around the edges and unwilling to "play the game". He struggles to find any allies until he gradually wins over Alison (Dunst, in her finest work since "Jumangi"), a co-worker in his department. Sidney soon learns though to get anywhere he'll have to sell-out to get their respect and fulfill his dream of having sex with rising actress Sophie (Megan Fox, who I know nothing of except learning she has an older sister from her IMDB.com profile).

Not bad overall, with Pegg surprisingly good as Sidney. At first you instantly hate him, but eventually he wins you over. A solid cast also featuring Jeff Bridges (who I'd assumed was dead) and Scully from the X-Files, who seems to be making a comeback. Some pretty clever scenes and some freaky ones.

Eagle Eye

2009-03-16T02:46:00.000-07:00

Sat night wifey was up for a movie, so headed off to "Video Busters" to get something we'd both enjoy, especially her. Sadly I went at 3pm, just a terrible time for getting a video as not much has been returned from the previous night. After 3 laps of the store I settled on "Eagle Eye". This broke my rule of when i'm struggling to find something, always selecting a movie I've heard is crap but has famous stars in it over a movie I know nothing of with nobody's in it (although I'd heard LeBeouf is popular these days).

"Eagle Eye" is a "thriller" about two people (LeBeouf as Jerry and Michelle Monaghan as Rachel) who both receive weird phone calls requesting them to do crazy, dangerous things (think a modern day "Die Hard With A Vengeance"). After several attempts to escape these requests, it soon becomes clear this is serious- really serious. We are left for ages not knowing who or why is putting them up to this but around half way through we learn the shocking truth. Is it terrorists? Is it the Government? Is it aliens?

Surprisingly not bad. An interesting idea that's been done before, despite some ridiculous elements ie the kids trumpet. Ok for what it is, just a bit annoying at times.

RockNRolla

2009-03-16T02:31:00.000-07:00

With wifey out Friday night, it was the perfect chance for me to see a film she'd hate. After a decent walk around the store, i stumbled across "RockNRolla". My buddy Gary had said it was solid, and I'd liked "Snatch" and "Lock, Stock...", so figured this was a can't miss. Or was it?

The film, like the others mentioned, is about a bunch of bandits who are all trying to pull something off and their stories gradually become intertwined. It revolves around Lenny (Tom Wilkinson, in his best role since "Rush Hour"), a shark who due to his connections decide what infrastructure projects go ahead. When a Russian offers $7million to get a stadium built quickly, Lenny finally meets his match. Throw in a precious painting, lots of cash, some junkies and small-time crooks and you have a recipe for disasters.

A great cast, most prominently led by Mark Strong as Archie (my favourite B grade actor of the 2000's) and Toby Kebbell as Johnny. Both these guys should have had more prominent roles and meatier dialogue. Sadly, the movie was relatively ho-hum with no great memorable scenes, except maybe the one where Handsome Bob asks a special request of OneTwo before his prison sentence. Akward but clever. A decent try but certainly two rungs below Ritchie's two great works.

An actual funny work email

2009-03-05T01:59:00.001-08:00

A first year primary girl handed in the drawing below for a homework assignment.

After it was marked and the child brought it home, she returned to school the next day with the following note:

Dear Ms. Davis,
I want to be very clear on my child's illustration. It is NOT of me on a dance pole on a stage in a strip bar. I work at Bunnings and had commented to my daughter how much money we made in the recent cold weather. This photo is of me selling a shovel.
Mrs. Harrington

Ronin

2009-02-28T22:05:00.000-08:00

Last night wifey and I rewatched this old video that I've had wrapped in it's original packaging since 1999.

"Ronin" is the story of some free agent crooks who are called in to help co-ordinate the theft of a briefcase. They group contains a mix of guys from other countries with different specialties. The team is headed by Robert DeNiro as Sam and Jean Reno as Vincent. A well planned job soon becomes unstuck when one of the crew is revealed as a fake and another a betrayer. Soon the job gets massively complicated and those left must decide if it's worth going ahead.

I remember really enjoying it at the cinema, but rewatching 10 years later, it's not so good. Since this films like "The Italian Job" and the "Bourne" trilogy have come out which are done much better with better effects and dialogue. Put it this way- without DeNiro it would have been a train wreck. The similarities particularly with "The Italian Job" are creepy. I laughed quite a few times at the extras who were shot or ran for their lives during the car chases and shootouts, as well as DeNiro's face while driving. Still watchable, but it doesn't hold up when compared to similar movies of the last 5-7 years. It can though probably lay claim to being the inspiration for such films (except "The Italian Job", which was a remake, or the "Bourne" trilogy, which was based upon a book written, like, years ago).

Burn After Reading

2009-02-28T21:54:00.002-08:00

Friday night made the big mistake of hiring "Burn After Reading". For some reason I thought it would be more enjoyable than the other awful Coen brothers movies i'd seen (The Ladykillers, O Brother Where Art Though etc) with it's great cast and wacky storyline. Bad move. As always, the old "stick with what you know" motto I've lived my life by would have served me well if I stayed disciplined.

The film is about some dimwitted fitness instructors (played by McDormand and Pitt) who stumble across a seemingly top secret disc with government files. Linda (McDormand) sees a great opportunity for blackmail and therefore the chance to fund her required plastic surgery while Chad (Pitt) just sees the chance to score some free money. Soon they become embroiled in a serious situation and it's no longer a chance for easy money. Will they pull it off? See it to find out.

**Spoiler alert**. The story was going ok but had several irrelevant storylines that weakly ended up intertwining with the main story (Malkovich, Clooney etc). The ending was a massive letdown to say the least. Besides Brad Pitt's performance there wasn't much to salvage. I know some people will say "you just don't get the genius of the Coen brothers", but personally i think they are knobheads.

What a week

2009-02-27T23:00:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was dedicated to moving house. It was a killer. A big shout out to all who helped (Al, Andrew, Matty, Dean, Cam and Carl). Thanks also to Mini-Movers, especially for managing to load the paino while me and the boys loaded everything else. So the entire weekend was dedicated to setting up the new house and cleaning up the old one.

MONDAY
More cleaning of the old house, including a late night one (more on that soon). Had a going away dinner for one of my work colleagues at night in Carlton which was good. It was a set menu and i came up well with calamari for entree, chicken for main and mudcake for dessert. There were allegations i got offered steak while on the phone and one of the guys swapped their chicken for it but nothing was proven. On the way home decided i should do a bit more cleaning at the old house. Sadly didn't read the instructions on one of the cleaning bottles that stated i had to wait 30mins before working on the area I'd sprayed. That's annoying at 11 at night.

TUESDAY
Tough day. Went to work expecting to here about some changes, we had this but also lost 2 great workmates who got retrenched. Was a very depressing day, only brightened by the morning tea provided which I think they hoped would make us go "it sucks so-and-so got fired, but these donuts are delicious!" Went from here to a final inspection of our old place, which went pretty well.

WEDNESDAY
Normal day pretty much, at night went to AIHE meeting (gathering of heads of engineering at the major motels, plus a few oddball people like me). Good chance to see a spectacular view of the city (from the 35st floor of the Sofitel), have some free nibbles and drinks and mingle with people in the industry. Not as fun was the 50min presentation on power saving ideas for motels.

THURSDAY
Another standard day pretty much. At night had home group at our place for the first time, with Dean & Ali running it. Was a top night.

FRIDAY
Worked, then came home for some take away (awful fish and chips from around the corner) and a movie ( the awful "Burn After Reading", from a bit further away). Moving house means a new video store. Long term we'll probably go for Video Ezy, but for the short-term signed up at an old favourite- "Video Busters", about 10mins away.

SATURDAY
Awesome day, containing many of my favourite things. Had pancakes and coffee for breakfast, then sat for ages reading the paper. After this went for a walk with the family by the creek, then came home and had a delicious sandwich. In the arvo watched a heap of basketball, most notably the Suns v Raptors. Shaq scored 45 and was simply awesome. After this had a sleep, then did a little work around the place. At night had some of Tara's delightful carbonara outside and now will settle in for a movie and chocolate. Way better way to spend a saturday than what I did with the last one.

Good news

2009-02-27T12:56:00.001-08:00

For those of you who used to watch Jerry Springer and thought "that Steve guy is being wasted", here's some good news. Here's a clip.

24: Redemption

2009-02-14T17:23:00.000-08:00

"24:Redemption" is a movie version of the much loved tv series. It picks up the story with Jack in Africa, hiding from the Government who wants to bring him in and charge him with his use of torture on suspects. While in Africa Jacks hooks up (not in that way) with an old colleague (played by Robert Carlyle from that movie about the guys who become strippers) who is running a shelter to help young men and protect them from rebels who want to recruit them for their armies.

As normally happens, trouble finds Jack and soon the lives of his friend and the boys are under threat. Once again, Jack can't turn his back on baddies and helping vitims, so he gets involved. Will he be redeemed? Will he risk all to save the innocent? See it to find out.

Not bad, but any "24" missing Chloe, Tony and Edgar is going to be up against it. Don't think the format really worked for the show, as it obviously all happened a bit quick. Keifer really seemed to mail it in too. It's a bridge to the next series, which will see Jack on trial. I caught the preview on the special features and it looks ok, will probably give it a go.

The Explorer

2009-02-10T13:07:00.000-08:00

Recently my mum handed over a stack of my old childrens books that we thought would be nice to now read to my kids.

I came across one which i remember liking, mostly due to the novelty cover. It's called "The Explorer" and is about a boy who pretends to be an explorer and gets into all sorts of adventures. It's not so light-hearted though and seems to set out to bring down kids who let their imagination get the better of them. Take this extract for example....

After a few days in bed, the doctor advised him: "Listen to me well, Peter. We should let imagination be a friend but reality our guide. Because when fantasy prevails over reason, it can be the beginning of mental sickmess...."

Yep, that book just got tossed in the bin. Don't want to have to explain mental health issues to a 3yr old.

Things to do in Melbourne when you're hot

2009-02-07T17:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning marked the day of our Garage Sale. Shame it was on the hottest day ever in Melbourne. Wifey sat outside for most of it while me and the boys cooled down inside (no I didn't make her, she said something about being happy outside in the peace and quiet). We had a fair amount of people come through but only made $25, better than nothing though and we got rid of some of the larger stuff which was good.

After the garage sale we headed to Ringwood Aquatic Centre. Was good up until a huge windstorm came and my left eye filled with dust. After an hour it wasn't annoying me so that was good. Michael and I then hung in the big pool watching people do bombs off the 10m board. There's not much in life more enjoyable than sitting in a pool watching blokes over 100kg doing bombs.

Don't try this at home

2009-02-06T16:09:00.000-08:00

It's better than shooting t-shirts into the crowd, or kiddies dribbling around an obstacle course, but this coulda been ugly. Not for the queasy.

http://deadspin.com/5145244/on+court-drowning-nearly-the-most-exciting-highlight-of-okc-thunder-season

Life On Mars

2009-02-06T15:44:00.001-08:00

For the first time in maybe a few years, I'm trying a new tv show- the US version of the UK hit "Life on Mars". What got me in? Harvey Keitel, a storyline involving time travel and mysteries.

It's about a cop who gets in a car accident and gets sent back to 1973. After the first episode we're not really sure why (or how it's possible) but he believes there's a reason. His boss is a hard nose old school type (Keitel, in his dream role) who does things that would get him suspended in 2008. Sam (Jason O'Mara) has to adapt to being bereft of technology and dealing in things the old fashioned way. The first episode gave enough to make me want to become a regular, which will join "24" as my "must-see" shows for 2009.

Sixers V Dragons

2009-02-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

A few weeks back, I was going through some receipts and noticed on the back of one receipt a "Shop-A-Docket" for a free family pass to the upcoming 36ers v Dragons. Pretty decent offer. Normally it's for a free coffee or a cheaper tax return but 4 free basketball tickets is way better. So we loaded the family and headed off to "Hisense", where I hadn't been since a Boomers v Dream Team game in 2001 with Gary, to see my beloved team take on the Dragons.

South started well and keep playing that way for 48mins while the 36ers played a suckier, wussier style for the whole match. We straight out stunk. Adelaide has long struggled against Goorj's physical teams and this was one of the worst, nay the worst, I'd seen. There was no chemistry (not surprising seeing we had a new starting line-up again) and we were forced into poor shots. The only bright spot was was Winitana in the 4th, who only played 21 minutes including the whole 4th and in this style of game should have played nearer 40. We were outrebounded, outhustled, outsmarted.....awful. Let me give a run down on each player.

GRIZZARD
Looks promising, but found no groove.
Stats: 10 pts, 7 boards, 0 assists

MAHER
Restricted to just standing on the 3pt line. Looked old.
Stats: 9 pts, 1 board, 0 dimes

BRUCE
Tried hard but kept persisting trying to draw contact bringing the ball upcourt when they were never going to call it, which killed him. Tried to force too much. Looked scrappy. Must be annoyed with his continual role changes.
Stats: 4pts, 2 boards, 4 assists, 4 turnovers in 18min

WINITANA
Should have played more minutes, suited to this game. Looked good in the 4th
Stats: 14pts, 1 board, 3 dimes

HILL
Tried, but largely unsuccessful
Stats: 4,2,2

SCHENSCHER
Got butchered by their interior D, but played way too soft (weird). Frustrating.
Stats: 8 and 8 with 2 blocks (and maybe 5 against)

COOPER
No meaningful minutes, brought in at at the wrong times
Stats: 4 and 3

HOLMES
Battled hard, probably our best with Winnie. Produced my only "well done" of the night.
Stats: 10 and 11

DAVIDSON
Started (goodness knows why), battled, but a terrible match-up against the Dragons. Got caught on Burston a few times on some unsuccessul pick and rolls with expected results.
Stats: 6,2,3

BALLINGER
Like when we played them in the trial game, was the focus of their efforts. They played him hard/dirty and killed his flow.
Stats: 8,6,1

Add to that their 11 blocks to our 4 and 12 steals to 2 and you can see it was a frustrating night for me and my approx 20 fellow Sixers fans. Oh yeh, I also had wifey and my two kids with me don't forget. The boys were about 8/10 in the first half but went troppo in the 2nd half, meaning I found it hard to get into the game, which may have actually been a good thing. Isaac nsisted he loved the game though, but most of that may be related to the frosty fruit and the South mascot.

The Weekend

2009-02-02T01:14:00.000-08:00

FRIDAY
The afternoon at work was pretty cruisy. We played some sort of team-bonding "Australian Open" table tennis tournament. I played against Anil, who is quite a player. For some reason i got into a groove and won in 3 sets.

At night came home and had a relaxing night and again slept on our mattress in the dining room with the kids (because that's where the A/C is, not because we're weirdos)

SATURDAY
Got up early and did some gardening, then wifey made pancakes. Tara then went off to a lingerie party (cool) while i took the kids to a play cafe thing with Dean. It soon was stinky hot and not very fun. laid low in the arvo, doing a few odd jobs, playing on the computer and eating. At night we watched some of "The Office", then had an early night.

SUNDAY
Church in the morning, then came home and kicked back. In the afternoon cleaned out the shed, which was very scary at times due to the bugs and spiders who frequent there. AT night watched some of the best side-by-sport ever. On 9 we had the Aussies taking on our fierce rivals New Zealand, on 7 Rafer v Fed X. Was awesome. Cricket went down to the last ball and the Mens Tennis Final was amazing. The best tennis I've evr seen, and I used to take part in lots of Hunter Tennis Family Days, so that's saying something.

MONDAY
Back to work and the finals of the Table Tennis Tournament. I won my quarter final against Chris, but lost to my namesake Paul in the semi-final. Too much power and a deadly serve. Enjoyed it so much I think I'll get a table for the family/me.

Dr Miracle

2009-01-30T14:28:00.001-08:00

Roger Explosion

2009-01-30T14:25:00.000-08:00

Gran Torino

2009-01-28T00:07:00.000-08:00

Headed to Eastland last night with Dean and Cam to see "Gran Torino".

It's about, get this, 78 year old ex-Korean War veteran Walt (played by Clint Eastwood, who is the only person who could possibly have played this, but still had some ridiculous moments) who comes to the aid of his neighbours and takes on several gangs.

The film starts with a Hmong boy named Thao being initiated by his cousin's gang (against his will) by stealing Walt's prized "Gran Torino". Thao fails and is sent by his family to do chores for Walt. In the midst of this the gang returns to shake Thao up and Walt confronts them with a rifle. Walt continues his frenzy by taking on a few other hooligans. Soon Walt, initially extremely prejudiced against foreigners, warms to this lovely family next door and their family, especially with Thao and his sister Sue. Things begin to escalate though and Walt is forced to kick it up a notch. Will the old man defeat a gang of 5 extremely buff Asians? See it to find out.

A good movie with a kind of nice message. Lots of snicker-worthy jokes, generally based around his racist thoughts and old school ways. The scenes in the barber shop and the Hmong's home are especially good. Like I said, a tad of a stretch at times, but what movie doesn't have some slightly unlikely instances these days.

A must for blokes and certain women will like too. FYI, it's #82 on the IMDB Top 250, just ahead of The Prestige and The Elephant Man.

Australian Open

2009-01-26T00:10:00.000-08:00

Went to the Australian Open with mum today to check out some hot tennis. I got mum a membership for the tournament which got her 2 ground passes, a hat and a few fringe benefits. The ground passes aren't as good in the 2nd week though as the singles are done and you get mostly legends and mens and womens doubles on the outside courts .Luckily some family were there and they offered to share their passes into Rod Laver with us, meaning we took turns watching the good matches. Here's my thoughts and diary of the day.

-Started the day by watching some legends doubles. It was Henri LeConte (the funny French guy) and Scud against Mats Wilander and Joakim Nystrom. The LeConte/Philippoussis pairing seemed a little odd (with one being deadly serious and the other preferring to get laughs than hit winners) but they played well and won in a thriller (sorta). LeConte was the best on the court, with deft touch still anywhere around the net. Scud was, well, Scud. Some nice ground strokes but some poor ones too.

-After this went into Rod Laver to watch Serena Williams play Victoria Azarenka (pictured)who I'd never heard of. Sat next to a distant cousin who I met for the first time in this match and we had a good chat and paid out the players, so that was good. Azarenka played the 1st set really well and had Serena stuffed. In the 2nd the match evened up, then Azarenka called the physio out, then took a medical time out. She returned but it become obvious she was struggling. She started to look a bit unsteady on her feet, started grimacing, then started coughing loudly. Shockingly, especially on Australia Day, she quit. The diggers must have been turning over in their grave. Appaling. But seriously, I thought she was going to vomit and then pass out, so fair enough.

-Went from here to another legends match, this time the Woody's against Guy Forget and Fitzy. The Woody's were too good and got home in a close one. For this game we got 2nd row seats, which was good.

-With not much left on with name players, we headed to the "Members Lounge", a perk of mum's membership. Mum flashed the pass around like Wayne and Garth in this scene from "Wayne's World"

Sadly the members lounge wasn't how I pictured. I figured we could go have a martini with Roger Federer or something, but it was just a section of the Lexus Centre with a cafe and bar and a big screen. The big screen seemed to be hooked up with an indoor antenna and the picture was crap. We watched the first set of Nadal/Gonzalez,then went home.

A good day out, especially in Rod Laver. One of the better sporting events as a whole we put on in Australia.

Dokic

2009-01-25T13:28:00.000-08:00

Yet again Aussie sporting hopes hang on the shoulders of a girl who moved here from another country as a teenager.

I've watched all of Jelena's matches at the Open and she's playing pretty damn well. She's knocked off three top 30 girls in her last 3 games and looks good enough to go all the way. Hopefully that ankle roll she did last night, which would have put Gav out of action for a few weeks, is only mild and she's fully ok for her next game. It's weird seeing an Aussie female tennis player who seems to have a really solid game, plays well under pressure and responds to the crowd. Just get rid off those awful Chris Dittmar interviews after her matches.

Slumdog Millionaire

2009-01-24T17:47:00.000-08:00

Took wifey last night to "La Premiere" (the Hoyts version of Gold Class) to see "Slumdog Millionaire". It's pretty similar to "Gold Class" except you get complimentary soft drink and popcorn, which is a pretty sweet deal, but you don't get a reclining chair (which sucks) and you sit with others along a balcony which is overseeing where the poor people sit. One of the highlights of the night was watching the poor people work out how they got upto our seats. I wanted to shout something insulting to them, but I'm pretty humble.

The movie was excellent. It's about a boy named Jamal who gets to the last question of India's version of "Who wants to be a millionaire". The movie starts with him being interrogated the day before he gets to the last question as the host of the show is suspicious he's cheating, especially because of the fact he's a "slumdog". We then retrace Jamal watching the video of the show with the police and him telling stories about how he knew the answers.

It's a brilliant idea for a movie (based upon the book "Q&A") and played out well as the story was so good. The cast is really solid, especially when it follows Jamal, his brother Salim and friend Latika as little children. The cast is really good, the cinematography excellent and the story is a masterpiece. Don't just take my word for it though- it won the Golden Globe for best picture and is No. 34 on the IMDB.com Top 250, 3 spots ahead of "Wall-E". If you're still not convinced, watched this trailer....

2 amusing side notes.

1/ About half way through mum rang me (she was babysitting) asking how to get the sound back on as Isaac had fiddled with the tv set-up. Isaac then turned the power off 3 more times, meaning it took me 10mins to explaint o mum how to put the tv on, the stereo on, foxtel on and the dvr set-up.

2/ During the week, Andy Maher was on SEN saying how brilliant it was and even the more remarkable was that it was a true story. One caller phoned in and told him it wasn't and that he thought it was based on a book but Andy countered that the book must have been based on a true story. Then another guy phoned in and reviewed the book as he'd recently read it, then Andy started to back down from his stance and seemed rather crestfallen.

"Extras" Christmas Special

2009-01-24T17:41:00.000-08:00

Finally got around to watching this online the other day and must say I was a bit disappointed with it. It went on a downhill slide for about 75mins, then Andy comes to his senses and makes some changes. The message seemed a bit mixed and it was just a bit too depressing at times, especially the Maggie storyline. The monologue in the Big Brother house was pretty excellent, but I also enjoyed moments like this.

Fights

2009-01-23T22:03:00.000-08:00

Man, this doesn't pass for a fight. If they were hitting each other over the head or back with the chairs wrestling-style that's fine, but this?

Reason I love my wife 187

2009-01-22T00:12:00.000-08:00

One thing wifey is passionate about is entering competitions. Over the last year she's one some decent things for the kids, but not as much for me, which is annoying. Yesterday though she hit the jackpot when she won a free week hire of this little puppy (pictured above). It's sleeps up to six and comes with all expenses paid (except the petrol). They clean it, give us a little pack....it's gold. I'm very excited thinking about where we may go and being able to stay in comfort (it's even got a shower and bathroom). If you've got some destination ideas, let me know.

Instructions for American Serviceman in Australia 1942

2009-01-22T00:07:00.000-08:00

For my birthday last year, my mate Tompy got me this little gem. It's a booklet that was given to US soldiers helping with the war effort in Australia during WW2. It's full of info about the country at the time and lots of what they perceive as our cultural quirks ie we say "bloody hell" a lot. An easy read so you get to say "I read a book in a day", which is always good (although i read it in bits over several months ie back-up reading material when eat-in restaurants I frequent were out of papers).

Tropic Thunder

2009-01-19T00:32:00.000-08:00

This was one that I kinda wanted to see at the movies, but was more than happy to wait for it on dvd. Good move.

"Tropic Thunder" is a movie about a bunch of prima donna actors (in the movie, not in real life....I think) played by Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jnr who are on the set what is supposed to be the biggest war movie ever. Within days the movie is a month behind schedule and the trio's antics are bugging everyone, from the director through to the executive producer (played by Tom Cruise, in a disguise so good Tara didn't even pick him). To teach them a lesson, they are placed in the middle of the jungle to fend for themselves, under the threat of the Vietcong and animal attacks (one of the best scenes of the movie). They still think they're filming until things become a little odd. Will the guys work out what's going on and get outta dodge? See it to find out.

Not bad, but not enough jokes and plenty of poor ones. Ben Stiller and Rob Downey get most of the laughs, with little left for Jack Black. Tom Cruise was just a tad over the top for me, but got nominated for awards, so go figure. Here's a trailer.

Last Goodbye- Vanilla Sky

2009-01-17T20:25:00.000-08:00

Possibly my favourite music/movie scene of all-time

The Office

2009-01-17T19:16:00.000-08:00

Wifey and I started watching Season 2 of the U.S version of "The Office" this week. Haven't seen Season 1, but from what I know, a few of the episodes are carbon copies of the UK version, and the one or two I saw were awful. Season 2 features about 90% new ideas and most of the characters are quite different to the British version, although Jim and Pam are pretty much along the same lines with Jim being a little wackier.

So far it's beeen pretty good, and to enjoy it you need to dismiss the UK version as it's now a fairly different show. Michael (Steve Carrell) is solid, but Dwight probably gets most of the laughs. The best two episodes we've seen so far would probably be "The Fire" and "The Injury". Obviously due to the length of the series the supporting cast get more screen time, but most of them stink, except Toby who cracks me up (more specifically, his face cracks me up).

Here's my favourite scene so far, from "The Injury" episode where Michael burns his foot on a George Foreman grill.

Wall-E

2009-01-17T19:00:00.000-08:00

Grabbed this for the family the other night, here's my IMDB.com review.

"Wall-E" is a movie about a kooky little robot. Due to problems on earth related to waste, all the humans are evacuated and put onto ships to escape until life on earth is safe (I actually missed the first five minutes as I was making popcorn but this is what I was told). Wall-E's job is to compile and clean up all the waste and ends up becoming the last thing left on earth (besides a cockroach).

One day a weird robot is dropped onto Earth and seems very hostile towards Wall-E. We soon learn this robot called EVE is on a mission to find life forms. After 700 years of these robots being sent to earth without success, EVE eventually finds a plant situated in Wall-E's little container. She grabs it and is collected to return to the mother ship. The leader on the ship is stunned at EVE's success as this means a return to earth is possible- but not all seem to want to go home. Will the crew onboard, who have all got fat and lazy return to earth or will they live as they have been happily?

Totally not what i expected from the movie. Not really a kids movie I would have thought as the message is too complex and it's excruciatingly slow at times. Strangely it ranked at No. #37 on IMDB's Top 250 movies of all time (just in front of "Taxi Driver" !). I read the most rated review and came across this, which troubled me.....

WALL-E is such a lovable character. I've never felt so much emotion for one character. He will definitely go down in history as iconic as Darth Vader, or Indiana Jones. I was so close to crying at pivotal parts in the film, and although I didn't fully break out and cry, I have never felt so much emotion in my heart with any other film as I did with this one.

Ah, that person needs to get out to better movies. The animation is great, but the film was hard work for the viewer.

The Proposition

2009-01-10T22:27:00.001-08:00

"The Proposition" is a story about a brother who must decide if he is willing to give a brother's life to save another. It is set in Australia in the late 1800's.

Charlie (Guy Pearce, in his finest work since "Neighbours) and his younger brother Mikey (Richard Wilson, formerly from "McLeod's Daughters) are caught during a siege. Mikey is thrown into prison and Charlie is given an ultimatum- find and deliver his older and much more sought after brother Arthur (Danny Huston, in his finest work since he played Bartender 2 in "Leaving Las Vegas") or Mikey will be hung.

Charlie sets off to find his older brother but unbeknown to him some people in the police force think the offer made to Charlie is foolish and set out to make changes. Eventually Charlie tracks down his brother and lets him know why he's there. The brothers must decide what to do with their brother's life hanging in the balance.

A little slow for me and the story wasn't gripping or anything new. A different setting I guess but just way too boring for me. Give it a miss.

Sammy's

2009-01-10T21:41:00.001-08:00

On Thurs night Tara and I headed to the lovely "Saamy's" on the Marina at Glenelg. We hadn't been for about 7 years and were purely going as i'd won a $50 voucher on the 5AA quiz.

Tara got the Garlic Prawns and i got the "Aussie Favourite" which was a combo of 2 pieces of King George whiting, calamari, prawns (obviously I gave these to Tara), chips and sald. It was delicious and much better than what they serve up at my local fish and chip shop. The freshness was the highlight. A lovely meal and my 2nd favourite dining experience of my trip to the homeland.

36ers v Hawks

2009-01-07T03:08:00.000-08:00

So I went with Gary tonight to see my beloved 36ers take on the Hawks. Here's my highlights and thoughts on the game.

-As soon as we sat down I noticed J Hodge didn't seem to be on the court. A quick number count confirmed my fears. Looks like Mal must have forgot to go to the bank again. Slightly annoyed.
-Schenscher is frustrating. He's so soft and resorts to mostly shooting jump hooks or baby hooks.....but he's just too big for 90% of the league. We wouldn't have won without him tonight.
-Adam Ballinger rules. Does everything well and compliments Schenscher's softness.
-Not much has changed entertainment wise, especially the music ie "Thunderstruck". A new lowlight was the "birthdays" segment, where they read out people's birthdays. Fascinating.
-Brad Hill is a lot better these days. Had a great cameo in the 4th.
-Speaking of cameos, Maher went crazy in the 3rd, scoring 13 in 8 minutes, including 3 straight triples. Is pretty much just an outside shooter now, but he does that well.
-0 blocks for the team. Poor. Schenscher should get at least 3 by accident himself every game.
-J Ho's shot looked awful. He finished with 2-9. As a team we shot 44%. I thought it was a lot better than this. Our starters outside Holmes all shot 50% or better, but the rest dragged it back badly. Amazingly the Hawks took 25 less shots but shot at 53%. Not sure why they took so few shots.

A good game to watch though and a thoroughly enjoyable night out. Ran into Ash aftewards which was good, except he kept begging me to trade him Brandon Roy.

Jasmin

2009-01-06T18:29:00.000-08:00

Last night headed into the city for a farewell dinner for James and Lex, who head of next week for a year in Holland and the UK. James suggested "Jasmin", an Indian restaurant in the heart of Adelaide. Tara was excited as Indian is her favourite cuisine. I looked online for some reviews and was somewhat excited after reading the following.....

Hon Mike Rann: ‘I love Indian food. If I had to choose a place for my last supper on this earth, it would be The Jasmin on Hindmarsh Square where I’ve been going for a quarter of a century.’

Hon Mike Rann
Premier of South Australia
SA Life
March 2005

BEST INDIAN RESTAURANT IN AUSTRALIA
‘It was the best Indian meal I have eaten in Australia.’ ‘…I cannot recommend The Jasmin too highly.’ ‘…the food was irresistible.’

Sol Simeon
Sunday Mail

So from this I gathered it was going to be pretty nice. It was as good as suggested.

We got the banquet, which gave us two serves of entrees (8 items to try each) and two serves of main course (6 dishes). All was awesome, except for maybe the mushroom, but I hate all mushroom dishes so that doesn't really count. Besides this we also had standard and cheese naan, the later can only be described as "awesome".

Besides the food, the service was brilliant, the environment beautiful and the manager was very friendly. Probably the best dine experience I've had.

After this we headed to Brunelli's for some gelati and coffees, said our goodbyes and then headed home. A great night indeed.

Meet Dave

2009-01-06T18:18:00.000-08:00

Picked this for the family to view the other night, here's my IMDB.com review

"Meet Dave" is yet another movie where Eddie Murphy plays multiple characters, though this time it's just 2.

Dave (Murphy) is a ship from out of space in the form of a human body sent to retrieve a special particle that was hurled to earth. Yep. Dave is controlled internally by a bunch of tiny aliens who look human, led by "The Commander" (also Murphy). Dave ends up befriending a mother and son who he thinks can help him get what he's after. This proves a challenge though as he has to learn how to interact with humans while seeming like one of them. With this premise, obviously laughs abound.

It's a dumb story, but there's some decent laughs for the family. Enjoy it for what it is and you'll be ok.

There Will Be Blood

2009-01-05T22:08:00.000-08:00

Rewatched this last night on dvd. Here's my review I did after seeing it at the cinema in March 2008.

"There Will Be Blood" is an epic, based upon the 1927 book "Oil!". I didn't know much about it going in, except that it had Daniel Day Lewis playing an oil tycoon. For me, that was enough of a sell. If Darren picked a movie to go and see called "There Will Be Blood", I probably would have declined, but to his credit I picked it and he agreed, knowing full well it wasn't going to be up to his normal gory standards.

I'd been wanting to see this for a while and knew an Adelaide visit presented a good opportunity. I checked out session times and it was only still being shown in 2 cinemas, very infrequently. I pre-booked some tickets online for the first time, meaning I'd get to experience what they show in the movie ads where you stroll straight up to get your tickets,lights shining on you and all the suckers who are waiting in line go "man, we should have booked online. We're such losers". Sadly it wasn't like this at all. The funny thing was when I booked they encouraged you to collect your "pre-booked, allocated seating" ticket 30mins prior to the movie, which seems ridiculous. Luckily I ignored there I advice as when we got there there were only a handful of people in any lines, plus the cinema only had 2 other people in it.

Anyway back to the movie. It starts with Daniel Plainview (Day Lewis) down a hole digging about. Then we skip forward a few years and he discovers the first of many oil wells. All of this (about 20mins in screen time) is done with no dialogue. Weird. Luckily I still followed what was happening. Soon Plainview has a small portfolio of oil wells and is doing very nicely. He starts to build a little empire, working with his adopted son HW, whom he became guardian for after his father died in a digging accident. One day while trying to gain some more land he gets an offer from a young guy about a likely potential boom area where he has seen oil seeping through the land. the kid asks for some money to advise where it is and Plainview agrees. He goes to check it out and discovers an absolute gold mine (in an oil sense). Plainview buys the land from the ignorant family, part of the deal being the establishment of a church on the lands so the son can start his own ministry. The rig is soon underway and the community is greatly enriched. From the moment the rig starts digging however, trouble upon trouble comes Plainview's way. Plainview starts to get a more sever mean streak, majorly affecting his relationships with the church, business associates and his family.

I wont go on much more from here as it will ruin many of the subplots. Now to the review.

First of all, your "Fast and the Furious" types will probably hate it. It's set in the early 1900's and the story is slow at times. The story is rather intriguing and leaves a fair bit of food for thought. It's not what i expected, I had in my mind much more boardroom dealings and a fiercer pace, but the story just rolled on. The cast was outstanding, most notably Day Lewis as Plainview in one of the truly great performances of cinema, Paul Dano as Eli Sunday and Kevin O'Connor as Henry. A good story, perhaps a modern day "Dances With Wolves", just a lot better. I didn't want to review it straight after as I was still a little bewildered, and three days later still am unsure how I felt about it. Certainly worth seeing though, probably not a great chick flick though.

*As far as the violence, it's pretty moderate. For example, about half way through Gary whispered to me "there's been no blood yet", to which I replied "yeh, but I'm pretty sure there will be blood".

We Are Marshall

2009-01-05T17:42:00.000-08:00

"We Are Marshall" is a true story about the tragic plane crash containing almost the entire school's football team back in 1970 and the aftermath that followed (as aftermaths do).

In 1970, the Marshall Football Team chartered a plane back home after a game and the plane crashed into trees not far from their destination. The small community is rocked and everyone is impacted in a great way. After the initial grieving, the school must decide if it will field a team the next year. At first the feeling is to bypass the new season as nearly all the squad has gone, but a few of the remaining players push to do all they can to field a team. They hire coach Jack Lengyel (McConaughey, in a strong, charming performance) to assemble a team and soon find many supporters who will help them get on their feet, notably the NCAA who change a rule for them and their rival school, who assists with some resources. The story focuses on Jack, returning coach Red (Matthew Fox from that stupid "Lost" show) and a few of the players who missed the trip due to injury or suspension. It soon becomes clear though they face a huge challenge to be competitive and not embarrass the school. Will they prove to be a Cinderella story or will they suck?

A solid movie and a little different to what you may expect from the genre. Fox, McConaughey and David Strathairn are all solid but we don't get to know too much about the players, and the actors who play them seem a little out of their comfort zone. A great story and worth seeing.

Twisted

2009-01-05T17:21:00.000-08:00

For the first time in recent memory I sat down and watched a tv movie. I'd heard of this a while back, and while I didn't expect much, how could I miss with a stellar cast including Sam Jackson and Andy Garcia. Ashley Judd was also in it. Here's my IMDB.com review.

Jessica Shepard (Judd, in her most dominant role since "Double Jeopardy") is a tough cop who has just been promoted to detective. Not long after this she gets called into investigate some murders with an apparent link- Jessica has recently expressed her love physically with each man. She is soon an obvious suspect, however none of her fellow cops believe she could have done it. These workmates include Chief John Mills (Jackson, in his most powerful role since "Snakes On A Plane"), her partner Mike (Garcia) and creepy Jimmy (Mark Pellegrino). When a few weird things happen, she's not sure who she can trust. Was it really Jessica all along, or someone we never would have suspected?

Just awful. A terrible, slow story which throws plenty of curveballs to try to throw us off the scent. Not gripping at any stage at all due to the ridiculous amounts of clues it tries to drop that are obvious diversions. Add to that a terrible ending and you've just wasted 2 hours of your life. Avoid at all costs.

Tv

2008-12-30T15:51:00.000-08:00

Watched a bit of telly last night, highlighted by a show I'd never seen called "Hustle" and my old favourite, "Prison Break".

"Hustle" is a show about a group of cons who go out and hustle people who have done something dodgy. Last night they honed in on a newspaper who had written a false story about a good friend of one of the group. Consequently they falsified a story about the Queen Mother, saying she had died during the war and been replaced by another woman so as not to alarm the general public. They went to great lengths to make the story tight and ended up convincing the paper's chief that it was true, only to have him betray them. Luckily they had a plan B and managed to get him sacked and damage he paper's reputation. Not awesome, but one of the better shows I've seen in a while.

"Prison Break" was action packed. It ended with Michael in an operating theatre at "The Company" headquarters, Linc trying to bargain for Michael's life, T-Bag being held up by a fake Bible salesman and Mahone being arrested by his old friend Agent Lang. Exciting stuff. Looking at IMDB, we're only 1 episode behind the US after tonight's episode, which is pretty good, even it means I've had to watch it Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve (still yet to work out how I get to watch it tonight).

The Bank Job

2008-12-30T15:28:00.000-08:00

"The Bank Job" is based upon a true story of a 70's bank heist that was built around recovering some photos of a royal family member in a compromising position from a safety deposit box.

Martine (Saffron Burrows) learns of a bank which has some issues with it's alarm system and consequently has them disarmed while the problem is being resolved. She tells an old scheming friend of hers, Terry (Jason Statham), about this golden opportunity and before long he has gathered a team who can get into the bank and make a raid. Little does he know that he's being set-up purely so Martine can get the invaluable photos and consequently be released from a drugs charge from the Government. The Government is being blackmailed because of the photos and wants to get them back so they can destroy them. A simple job soon becomes extremely complicated and dangerous. Will Terry get busted? Will the royal family be shamed? Will Martine walk free? See it to find out.

A well put together movie, with plenty of twists and turns. I'd picked it out for a dvd night with the in-laws and was a little worried about the content of the first 15mins but it soon improved and everyone thought it was a winner. One of the better done-to-death bank robbery movies you'll see.

Mahervellous

2008-12-29T14:50:00.000-08:00

Got my belated birthday present from mum the other day- a copy of "Mahervellous. It's the story of Brett Maher (obviously) and follows his life from birth to the current day. Thankfully there's not much about ages 0-14 but mostly on his days at the AIS to the current day. The most interesting stuff was probably the inside info on the Don Monsoon and Mike Dunlap days and learning about what happened with Chris Blakemore, Leon Trimmingham, Rob Rose, Tim Brenton etc. Also covers his Olympic and International experiences, as well as the tragic death of his son Hudson.

A great read for any 36ers fans, of which there are probably about 10,000 who may consider reading his story.

American Hoax

2008-12-28T15:31:00.000-08:00

A big part of holidays for me involves reading, and today I knocked off a book I've been reading in fits and starts all year- "American Hoax".

The book revolves around 5 characters created by writer Charles Firth who, mainly through the use of the internet, he will try to advance in the American political landscape. The characters are named after Aussie icons, including Dr Andy O'Keefe and Edward McGwire. Each is given an agenda and given the task of getting as much of their work published as possible in respected domains.

The book is pretty interesting at the start, but gradually begins to tire a little as many of the characters don't advance that far and really tread water. There is some great humour in the book though, most notably through the use of footnotes. It's different and shows what can be done through an online medium these days. Some of the funnier moments involve pretentious poems by the Khorin-al Ghrant character (a deaf, mute Muslim woman) and the use of Wikipedia and Google to create Bertrand. Best line of the book was this, which cracked me up.

"Today, Dr O'Keefe is planning to run for President, though failing that, is thinking of hosting a new television game show where people have to guess a number and then wait for half an hour to find out whether they were correct".

Worth reading if you're a Firth/Chaser fan or in what can be done with a website and email address.

The Day The Earth Stood Still- Gold Class Style

2008-12-28T14:10:00.000-08:00

Headed to Marion last night to take in the "Gold Class" experience with the Osborne's. The movie choices were limited, and we ended up settling for "The Day The Earth Stood Still."

The movie is a modern day version of the 50's classic, this time with an environmental theme. Klaatu (Reeves, in the perfect role for him- a dull alien) comes to earth with a team to kill humans so that the earth can be saved. His people believe they've given us enough time to see the damage we're doing but refuse to change, so they'll save the earth for us. I thought this was harsh as we've only learned the damages caused from using aerosols and the balloons that come out from power points for 20 or so and are making changes, like green power and catching buses instead of using cars and stuff like that. Scientist Helen Benson (Connelly, in another dull role) and her stepson Jacob (Will Smith's annoying kid) befriend Klaatu and try to change his mind about the killing humans bit. Will they succeed? See it to find out.

Not as bad as I thought, but certainly won't be seeing it again. Probably drew me in a bit with cameos from Curtis from "24" and T-Bag from "Prison Break".

Let's now focus on the best part- the Gold Class. We sat down and organised for our meals to come in 30min into the movie. After 5mins a lady came to us with a salad- which we hadn't ordered. About 20mins later Tara's nachos came, shortly followed by a pizza, also not what we'd ordered. A few minutes later my chicken tenders and wedges arrived and they ruled- great quality at a fair price. Shortly after another pizza arrived, also not for us, then my drink which was needed due to the spicy wedges. Besides the food, the chairs also ruled, lying down while watching a movie on the big screen is great. I've decided for major movie events this should be the way to go. Not cheap though. A worthwhile experience.

Casino Royale

2008-12-27T14:34:00.000-08:00

Saw this after seeing "Quantum of Solace", which was a dumb idea but didn't really have a choice. Here's my review.

"Casino Royale" brings us a new Bond, Daniel Craig, who is a 180 from all the previous ones. He's cold and calculated and not very funny, but the ladies still love him.

This movie sees him try to halt a fund raising attempt for a terrorist organisation that involves playing "Texas Hold 'Em" (my dream). Of course Bond is good at most things and cards is certainly on the list. Along the way there's lots of chases, fights and explosions, many better than anything we've seen in any movies, let alone the Bond franchise. There's many memorable scenes including an attempt to blow up a plane, a chase on a construction site, a drink spiking and a memorable scene.....well it involves Bond's nuts and a special whip, but it's not sexual.

Don't wanna give to much away but it's a great film, heaps of action and no-one would walk away unimpressed. Make sure you see it before seeing "Quantum of Solace" to save some confusion.

Australia

2008-12-27T14:30:00.000-08:00

With less than a week to go before our free movie tickets expired, we
had to see a movie quick. Wifey was keen to see "Australia", so off we
headed to the Parade to check it out. Here's my thoughts.

"Australia" is a movie about Australia and the Australians that live
there. It is set in Australia in the midst of WW2 (probably my
favourite war). The movie focuses on the story of Lady Ashley (Nicole
Kidman, in her best role since "Days of Thunder"), a British lady who
has come to Australia to see what's going on with her husband's land.
She arrives to discover her husband is dead. This devastates her but
also annoyingly means she's now gotta move over 1000 cattle. She
enlists the help of "The Drover" (Hugh Jackman, in perhaps his best
work since he played the voice of "Roddy" in "Flushed Away") to help
with this mammoth task. This begins a huge task of moving the cattle
and then having to take on and run the station. Lady Ashley soon forms
some strong relationships, most notably with The Drover and little
Nullah and when she discovers mysterious circumstances surrounding her
ex-husband's death, against all odds, Lady Ashley takes on the land and
the powerful Carney family who threaten her cattle business existence.
If that's not hard enough then the Japanese invade Darwin and threaten
the lives of all those she loves. Will Lady Ashley again overcome the
odds? See it to find out.

An OK movie, but loses points for it's ridiculous length and the amount
of CGI in a movie that's supposed to showcase the beauty of this big
brown land. The movie begins with a stunning sunset, but after this
there isn't much breathtaking scenery, which is stupid seeing as the
movie is also a little bit of a tourism showcase. The only tourists
this movie would likely capture are cattle rustlers or people who like
dirt. Kidman was OK, Jackman not totally believable as a drover (this
is the same guy who played Peter Allan on stage) but the real star was
David Wenham who was awesome and should have got more screen time.

Christmas

2008-12-25T22:02:00.000-08:00

Started Christmas with Christmas Eve at the in-laws. Had all the staples- fried camembert and roast. Present time went well, with the boys fully into it. I cleaned up, getting dvd's of "Extras" and "The Office", shirts, CK jeans, fancy aftershave and more. I even got myself a few presents- a "Best of Bowie" cd and the new "Girltalk" cd. Bands these days. The cd is black with no writing on it and there's no writing on the sleeves, so I don't know what the songs are called, although they all kinda blend into each other so it doesn't matter I guess.

For Christmas Day met up with mum's family at a park in Hackney. Quite pleasant, albeit a bit weird as we did a "BYO". We decided to get some food on the way, but not much seemed to be open. I dropped off the family and went looking for food. After 2hrs I came back with McDonalds. First Christmas I've ever had Macca's for lunch. It brought back memories of when I had Chinese for lunch with Gary in 1999.

At night had dad over for another roast and some dessert. I was damn full by the end of the day.

The Blues Brothers

2008-12-24T14:53:00.000-08:00

In my recent weekly dvd hire, got out a few oldies including this "classic".

"The Blues Brothers" is a movie about two brothers, Jake (Belushi) and Elwood (Akroyd), who besides having the unlikely surname of Blues, are part of a killer band. The movie picks up with Jake being released from prison after a 3yr stint and being reunited with Elwood. On the trip home they drop in to see their old Catholic nun who looked after them at the orphanage. She tells them of the pending closure of the home unless they can come up with 5 large. The brothers take this as if they have been given a mission by God to reform the band, do some gigs and come up with $5000. Over the next hour they seek out the old band members, some keener than other to reform. During the hunt we are treated to some great cameos from some other the legends of soul, including Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker and most notable Ray Charles with his brilliant performance of "Shake A Tailfeather". They then manage to book a big theatre for a huge show they hope will raise the money. Will it work? See it to find out.

More a movie of some great scenes and cameos, but pretty patchy in spots. Belushi and Akroyd were pretty unaccomplished actors going into this and the movie heavily relies on gimmicks eg car chases than their acting prowess. Decent and holds up ok for a nearly 30yr movie.

Prison Break

2008-12-23T12:34:00.000-08:00

Stupid Channel 7. So I remember last night that "Prison Break" might be on. I checked the guide and I was right.

It was a good episode, but ended stupidly again as Michael, the man who covers all bases, neglected to check the papers that Self handed to him. Yep, the papers were blank, meaning they're screwed. There's another episode on tonight too, which is a bit weird seeing as most channels cancel their big shows in November and don't show them again until Feb. I guess I'm one of the few people left watching it. Oh well. Surprisingly there's another episode on tonight- on Christmas Eve. So while most of the family is in one room watching Marina Pryor and Anthony Callea sing carols, I'll be watching T-Bag get up to no good.

Wall Street

2008-12-22T03:35:00.000-08:00

Had been meaning to see this for a while (ie 21 years) and with 3 weeks of nothing to do on my hands, what better an opportunity.

"Wall Street" is a movie about Wall Street. It focuses though on the fledgling relationship of a promising stockbroker called Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen, in a role that showed the skills that would lead to such smash hits as "Young Guns" and "Major League") and one of the most powerful businessmen in New York, Gordon Gecko (Michael Douglas). Bud has been trying to get a meeting with Gordon for a while, and eventually gets 5min with him to show his skills. When Gordon shows his lack of interest, Bud divulges some info on a company whom his father works for that is essentially insider trading. Gordon loves insider trading, so tells Bud if he wants his business he needs to keep the inside info coming on other companies too. Bud decides to essentially sell his soul and do this so that he can get all Gordon offers. When a deal goes bad, Bud must decide if he'll keep towing the line or make a stand. Will Bud sell out? See it to find out.

Ok, but not as good as I thought. I thought the Gecko character was going to be way bigger and that Bud was slimier, but it didn't pan out this way. The supporting cast was average outside of Martin Sheen as Bud's dad, especially Darryl Hannah (the mermaid in "Splash"). Ok, but no classic.

My trip to Adelaide

2008-12-22T03:25:00.000-08:00

On Thursday headed off for the bright lights of Adelaide. I worked and stayed in Ballarat for the day. The day went reasonably well and the night was full of adventures including watching "The Prestige", treating myself to a burger at "Hog's Breath" and watching plenty of cricket.

On Friday I visited customers from Ararat to Nhill, then drove through. There was plenty of entertainment along the way, featuring the call of the cricket, "Internationalist" and "Ok Computer" and then the 5AA sports show. Listening to the show, I noticed there weren't many callers and decided it might be worth a crack at the quiz. I got through to my surprise and won a $50 voucher to Sammy's. Sweet.

When I arrived I ate, caught up with the family's adventures and then hit the hay.

Saturday featured a visit to the beach, a 3rd birthday party and poker with some dear old friends. I didn't win at poker but had a good time. I did win though on NBA Live, beating Darren for the first time in this version. Many thanks to Kyle Korver. I then took on Corey and killed him too, this time courtesy of a dominant Brandon Roy.

Sunday featured church, lunch at my sister's, tea at Macca's with the Osborne's and then watching the kids while Tara went to "Christmas In The Square". Later on Bruce and I watched "Wall Street" (see next blog).

Today I went into the office to work, then came home and chilled out.

The next few days should be crazy busy but should be fun.

The Prestige

2008-12-22T03:16:00.000-08:00

In my motel room the other night I caught this on the movie channel. Here's my thoughts.

"The Prestige" is kind of like "The Illusionist", only a bit different. It is built upon the story of two rising magicians- Alfred (Bale) and Robert (Jackman) who soon become bitter rivals after Alfred seemingly kills his girlfriend on purpose (that would do it for me). They become engrossed in a a game of "can you top this" with no rules, causing a lot of tragedy and pain along the way. Near the end of the movie it seems Robert, who has generally been the follower and not the leader, finally pulls of a stunt that blows Alfred's mind. Has Robert finally outdone his foe? See it to find out.

A gripping story, with plenty of action and a lot for the audience to try to work out. The main stars are excellent, brilliantly supported by Michael Caine, and not so much by Scarlett Johansson. One of the better movies of the millenium.

Quantum Of Solace

2008-12-13T13:19:00.000-08:00

Sat night Dean and I headed to Forest Hill to go see the latest Bond flick- "Quantum of Solace". It would be the first Bond flick I'd seen since "The World Is Not Enough" , the one with Denise Richards as Christmas the nuclear scientist, which should tell you how credible that was. That put me off seeing Bond flicks for a while, but seeing as i'd been invited plus we now had D Craig as the the main man, I thought I had nothing to lose.

"Quantum of Solace" is about Bond being on a mission to hunt down a guy who killed a good friend of his (I think). In the middle of that he gets caught up in a plot to overthrow the Bolivian government (man they must have used up a lot of countries) and a rort revolving around natural resources. Luckily most of the film though focuses on vehicle chases and explosions. Some of it pretty jerky, making it hard to properly follow and also allowing them to get away with some of the most ridiculous stunts ever. The film climaxes with Bond and his ally Camille both given the chance to exact revenge.

Good action stunts, and I much prefer this moody, troubled Bond than the suave one. Add the great locations and you have an enjoyable movie. Worth seeing.

Die Fälscher

2008-12-13T13:08:00.000-08:00

"Die Fälscher" (or "The Counterfeiters" for those of you who can't speak German) is the amazing true story of a group of Jews in a WW2 concentration camp who are forced to make counterfeit money to help fund the Nazi war effort.

The group is headed by Sally (Karl Markovics, in probably his best role since the heady days of Kreuzfeuer and Qualtingers Wien), a master counterfeiter who was imprisoned when busted just before the war started and then sent to a concentration camp. He gets transfered from Auschwitz to Sachsenhausen, where he is given access to technology he never got the chance to work with and is asked to counterfeit the dollar and the pound. He's loving it at the start but as his consience gets rattled by a fellow worker who challenges him that their work is funding and therefore assisting the Nazi efforts. Sally must decide if he'll just do as he's told, or do something about it.

Probably didn't end the way I expected but that's probably because (a) it's not a Hollywood movie and (b) it's a true story. Certainl an amazing story and one well worth seeing.

Steve Nash the comedian

2008-12-06T12:45:00.000-08:00

Get Smart

2008-12-02T00:43:00.000-08:00

On the weekend we got out "Get Smart", something I wasn't very excited about but thought it would be passable. I was pretty much right.

The movie commences with Max (Steve Carell) as an analyst, keen to get out and do the dirty work. When Agent 23 (The Rock, Dwayne Johnson) gets assigned office work, Max gets his big break. The headquarters of Control get attacked by Kaos and Max and 99 (Anne Hathaway) head a team to attack them and try to stop their latest quest for world domination. There's some action, weak jokes and a thin plot- and that's about it. Carell mails it in like never before, but he wasn't given much to work with. A hastily put together script is the movie's biggest issue, which is a shame considering the esteem the show is held in worldwide. They could have made it much zanier and fun or made it more "what made the man" (think "Batman Begins"). Another shameful attempt at a quick few $$$ built upon the popularity of a legendary show.

Copocabana

2008-11-28T13:09:00.000-08:00

So last night we had our Christmas Party for work. This year it was not a cruise, not a theatre restaurant, but some South American food and dancing at "Copocabana".

Numbers were a few down due to some staff having to go to hospital this week and our boss jetting in late from Sydney, but we more than made up for them. We started with a glamorous salad bar, which featured chips (my dream) and lots of beetroot. Soon after we got back to our table a man came with a huge sword full of spicy sausages. He came next to you and said "sausage" and you then said if you wanted said sausage or not. He then repeated this during the night with other meats, just exchanging the word "sausage" for the relevant meat ie "lamb" or "chicken". A nice concept.

Getting drinks was challenging. We placed an order soon after we got there and a lady came about 15mins later asking also if we'd like drinks. We explained that an order had already been taken, plus she'd taken a fiddy. The lady asked what the waitresses name was. Nick joked that he didn't like to ask waitresses their name in case they thought he was hitting on them, but he was pretty sure that the lady worked here. This baffled the lady and she left. Then another waitress came and asked for drinks. Eventually the first one returned with our drinks and even change (which was lucky seeing as soft drinks were $4 and Corono's $8).

As the night wore on, I mean got started, there was dancing, then a band and then apparently a stage show (we left before this). In all my years of partying I've discovered when you go to these things and decide not to dance, all you end up doing is watching drunk people dance, which loses it's wackyness after 15min or so, plus you're left just yelling conversations to people 50cm away from you. Not as fun.

Good food and good people though, although I don't think we'll beat the river cruise for some time. Also loses points for not playing Manilow's signature song.

2 Nights In Paris

2008-11-23T01:25:00.000-08:00

"2 nights in Paris" is a movie that showcases Julie Delpy's pride in herself. She wrote the movie and also acts in it, directs it and produces it. All of that is a feat in itself you'd think but she also shows off her ability to speak four languages and casts her character as the sexiest and most sought after woman in France, which under the circumstances seems,well, a bit of a stretch.

The movie is a story about American Jack (Goldberg) and French American Marion (Delpy), a couple who decide to go to France to rekindle their relationship. Things soon get a bit akward though when Jack begins to notice many men checking out his lady and soon uncovers many of them seem to have expressed their love physically with her. He finds this a bit weird considering her apathy and lack of libido and does some research to see what the story is.Is she really the town bicycle or has there been a big mix-up? See it to find out.

Jack was an ok character, but it just seemed to unrealistic that he'd be hooked up with the unappealing Marion. Some good moments, but generally it was annoying.

The carpet cleaning man

2008-11-21T15:17:00.000-08:00

So we had this guy come to clean our carpets this week from "Cheap As Chips" (Note for SA readers, it's not the same company as your beloved bargain store chain). Over the phone we were quoted $73 for the service, providing our rooms sizes didn't exceed the specified measurements. When the guy got here he said the floors were really dirty. I told him that i realised this, hence why we didn't just vacuum them and decided to call a company that specialises in cleaning carpets (actually I may have just thought this and not verbalized it). Anyway i argued they were the same dirty as they normally are and that we'd been charged around $70 the last 4 times we'd had them done, including by his company. He said "There's no way I'm doing that for $73. I've been doing this for 7 years". Long story short, we told him to leave it, got another company in who quoted less and everyone was happy, except "Cheap As Chips", and more specifically Michael, the carpet technician.

I love when people talk about their experience in an industry that doesn't seem to need a whole lot of expertise. I've talked before about the guy talking about the fish and chip shop owners who had "been in the game for 20 years". Man, they must have learnt a hell of a lot about dropping frozen food into huge vats of boiling oil. Other industries that many years of experience probably wouldn't account for a lot may include.............

-Shelf stacking
-Lawn mowing
-Gutter cleaning
-Postal delivery
-Bed salesman

Although i heard a story the other day about a 60yr old man who stacks bricks for a living. He gets paid $50 per 1000 bricks laid. He worked on his technique and now stacks 10000 bricks a day, meaning he's getting $2500 a week. Hard work but good pay, so maybe all of the above is rubbish.

Indiana Jones & The Crystal Skull

2008-11-18T02:24:00.000-08:00

Tara's turn for a dvd and this is what she chose.

I hadn't seen an Indiana Jones movie since the "Temple of Doom" (the one with the cute little oriental kid and where the guy gets his heart pulled out of his chest). I missed the Sean Connery one, which some tell me was the best.

This one features again Harrison Ford as Indy and this time he goes looking for an old friend who's looking for a crystal skull. A young friend (played by Shia LeBeouf) of Indy's old chum approaches him and tells of his quest and Indy decides to help him find him. Before you know it he's up to his old tricks (running from freaky animals and weird jungle people). Will Indy find his friend and solve an ancient mystery? See it to find out.

The movie started well, but the shenanigans in the jungle just annoyed me (except the flesh eating ants, they ruled). Wifey loved it for the adventure, so old fans of this franchise should be happy with it. You could do worse for a 4th installment in a movie series, so it gets points for that alone.

My week

2008-11-16T03:19:00.000-08:00

From Mon to Fri this week I was in Sydney for a work conference. The highlights included..........

-Not having to share a room this time with work colleagues
-Eating at "Lone Star"
-Dinner at Darling Harbour
-Learning stuff
-Rekindling my love of watermelon

Got home pretty darn late Thurs night due to Virgin's seemingly new policy of always having delays. On Fri it was catch up on work, then home for a casual evening and of course, a dvd. Tara picked and went for the new Indiana Jones movie (review to come soon).

On Saturday I let wifey have a sleep-in and looked after the kids, then took the boys down to "Yo-Yo's Playhouse" with Dean and his girls. Fun had by all. In the arvo hit the garden hard, kept an eye on my fantasy basketball team who brought it big-time and shot me up to 2nd place, then went for a family walk.

Sunday was church, then home for more gardening and pottering before going for a bbq dinner for James's 30th. Came home and bathed the boys, watched Idol and Rove, then hit the hay.

I just realised how boring that weekend sounded, but it was thoroughly enjoyable. This week I will commit to more exciting blogging adventures and maybe even one of two opinion pieces.

Saturday

2008-11-01T12:53:00.000-07:00

Started the day bright and early with 9 holes with Dean @ Ringwood. The rain just held off and we played some inspired golf. The first time I've played and not got angry in ages, which was nice. After this we came home and joined our families for breakfast.

In the arvo I spent a lot of time with my 2nd family, my fantasy basketball team. They played ok, but need to lift their game a little, especially the big guys. Not happy coming last in rebounds and blocks with that frontcourt. Also did some gardening and playing with the kids. Just before we were about to get ready for our big date we notcied Elijah's face had gone red and his face and eyes had blown up, so Tara had to pop off with him to the doctor. Seems he found a stray pancake from earlier in the day, and he has alergies, so.....All good though.

At night Tara and I headed to the movies (see below), then went for a late dinner at a Thai place around the corner. Really good food, just felt slightly rushed. I think they mentioned the kicthen would be closing soon about 17 times.

A lovely day.

Body Of Lies

2008-11-01T12:28:00.001-07:00

On Sat night we used up our last babysitting voucher with the Telfer's and headed out for a movie and dinner date. Sadly most movies seem to start at 6:30 or 9pm on Saturday, which is ridiculous. I mean if you see a 9pm movie, you're not getting home up to and including midnight, which is just silly. Anyway, I digress.

"Body Of Lies" is a story about the work of the CIA in the Middle East, built around ground operative Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) and Washinton based chief Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe). Early in the film after an attack, Roger gets posted in Jordan to work with their local team, headed by Hani (played brilliantly by Mark Strong), to track down a fledgling terrorist group believed to be based there. As they don't use modern things like mobile phones (like my friend Darren. Hey wait a minute............) or the internet (like my friend Sam), they are very hard to track. Roger comes up with a great idea of creating a pretend terrorist group that will pose a threat to the dominance of the Jordan based one and hopefully flush them out.

A fantastic movie, set in a great surrounding, led by a brilliant cast, full of action and suspense. Truly one of the great films of this century. Gives a reasonably balanced insight into some of the going ons in these countries. Well worth seeing, even Tara really liked it,so........

You Don't Mess With The Zohan

2008-10-31T21:39:00.000-07:00

Another Fri night, another dvd. Once again went for something light and against my better knowledge, went for an Adam Sandler pic. Words alone can not express the stinkiness.

"You Don't Mess With The Zohan" is a fictional story about Israeli assasin Zohan (Sandler) who longs to quit his demanding job and move to the US to become a hairdresser. To do so he fakes his death and boards a plane with a couple of dogs. Once he lands in the US he searches for his dream job, starting at the top salon but after being laughed off the premises, eventually settles for a dumpy small salon. When a hair stylist quits, Zohan gets his chance. He soon becomes renowned for giving great old lady haircuts, which include certain "favours". Things aren't all smooth though as Zohan must deal with racial issues, falling for a Palestinian and being recognised by some countymen.

Just an awful, awful movie. Besides the awful storyline and having more penil jokes than even Mike Myers would dream of, it semi-attempted to touch on the Middle Eastern situation. What was a truly terrible attempt at exposing this longtime conflict was described by Blockbuster's magazine as "a message that's handled remarkably deftly". Mmmm. One of the worst movies I've seen in recent memory. Some good cameos,including Chris Rock (with possibly the funniest line in the movie) and with Mariah Carey doing an ok job but Dave Matthews not so good, perhaps even worse than Fergie in "Posiedon".

My weekend

2008-10-27T00:48:00.000-07:00

SATURDAY
Woke up feeling pretty flat, which was annoying. Had pancakes at home, then pottered for a bit. Took Isaac to "Jungle Music" in the afternoon, then came home and chilled for a bit. In the arvo headed to Cattani Gardens for Lisa's Birthday BBQ. That lifted my spirits. Supervised Isaac for a fair while, then got to chat to some of the gang. Got into a conversation with a guy called "Matt", who commented early that he used to ref me. Turns out he was a ref from the church basketball days and I remembered him once I worked out what he'd look like as a 15 year old. He was actually a really good ref and I let him know it as we reflected on the old days. He doesn't ref anymore, which is probably not a surprise considering as a dentist you don't need the $10/hour pay. Didn't eat much as felt a bit weird. This came to fruition later at night when i woke up several times choking and almost about to vomit. Good times.

SUNDAY
Got to church early for tech desk, then headed out for "Engage" which was painting a lovely ladies house. I'm not bad at painting, except for the hard bits. In the afternoon we went for a drive and a snack, then home for dinner. Watched "Australian Idol", which was ok, although i was crestfallen to discover Sophie had been eliminated. At night sat outside in the top weather and chatted with wifey, then went to bed.

What Happens In Vegas

2008-10-27T00:39:00.000-07:00

Fri night wifey gave me the order to "get something funny" at Blockbuster. Now our ideas of "funny" differ, but I thought she might like this. It was hard to choose between something like this, which i didn't think would be funny but had famous people in it, or something that went "straight to dvd" with no famous people. I think the former will always win in my books.

"What Happens In Vegas" is about two people (Diaz and Kutcher) who have hit hard times and decide to blow off some steam in Vegas. They meet up, get wildly drunk and get married while out of it. In the morning they decide to go their own separate ways...until Jack (Kutcher) win $3 million on a slot machine with Joy's (Diaz) money. They take the matter to court and the wacky judge tells them they have to stay married for 6mths, see a counsellor and see what happens. Both then set out to do all they can to show they tried to make the marriage work but the other wasn't forthcoming, causing some hilarious premises eg trying to get each other to cheat on them. Who will win or will they form a beatiful relationship? See it to find out.

Some good scenes and cheap laughs, but it's no "Flying High". Kutcher got most of my laughs...actaully all of them. Not too bad for a rom com, seen plenty worse.

The Measure Of A Man

2008-10-23T01:21:00.000-07:00

I've got a lot of favourite actors- Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Denzel Washington....but none of them are even my favourite actors. My favourite actor is Sidney Poitier (ok...that might be stretch as I don't think I've ever seen one of movies). Tara saw him on Oprah talking about this book and his striving to be a man of integrity and honour, recognised the similarities with me and decided to get me the book for Father's Day.

It's a good book and goes into his early days in the Bahamas to his move to New York, his early days as an actor right through to his twilight years. He talks a lot about the lessons learned and his motivations along his rise to one of Hollwood's favourite leading men. Challenging and thought provoking at times and well worth a read. Even though I don't think I've seen any of his movies, it gives a great insight into how he battled to get regular work in the early years and then the challenges and decisions he faced along the way as he was able to pick and choose.

Radelaide

2008-10-21T16:16:00.000-07:00

Did another quick trip to Adelaide over the weekend, here's what we got up to.

FRIDAY
Left after work for Horsham. Delays included..........
-2 projectile vomits
-Getting dinner
-2 terrifying 20-something drivers. One who was really into her music and alternated between 80 and 120 for a large stretch, as well as some swerving. The other one was reaching for something and swerved over to the other side of the road. Yep, this drive is getting dangerous.

Got into Horsham about 9:30pm and the boys were very excited about the motel. Got to sleep around 10:30

SATURDAY
Left around 7am, grabbed some McD's for brekky and headed off. The boys were good, thanks largely to discovering you can put on cd's for Isaac and whack the fader on so it all goes to the rear speakers, meaning they were happy and Tara and I could chat. In Keith found a cool playground with one of those old carriage rides that goes on a metal track. Much entertainment for all.

Got into Adelaide just before 12. Had some lunch, then I headed off for the Fantasy Draft. Just me, Gary, Ash, Jimmy and Dimi, who I met for the first time. Good draft, if not very complicated with all the phone calls, MSN issues etc. I was pretty happy with my team, not overjoyed but content. It was damn hot in Darren's house, thanks largely to Jim's inability to operate the A/C. Played some NBA Live too which was good.

At night went back to the in-laws for some photo viewing of their trip to Europe, then went to bed.

SUNDAY
Was planning on going to church, but instead went for breakfast @ Evida's. After this went to Arndale to grab some pressies for the day, then went to Tompy's. Had a lovely lunch, watched some "Wiggles", then went to Mum's.

Caught up with the family, ate cakes and then fed the ducks.

At night had dinner with Tara's folks, looked at more slides, then hit the sack.

MONDAY
Hung around the house in the morning, mostly eating, chatting and reading. Finished my Sidney Poitter book which was good. In the arvo dropped over to dad's, then made the trip back. Pretty cruisey drive, then crashed in Kaniva for the night (the same place I wrote about here ). Tara loved it, except for the very low pressure shower, spiders and bedding. The boys loved it though and were extremely hyped and chased each other around for ages, probably the best they've ever played together which was nice.

A good trip...and we get to do it all again in 2mths time.

PRISON BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-10-16T13:23:00.001-07:00

So I get the paper yesterday and notice in the tv guide that "Prison Break" was on at 10:30. Hmm, great promotion Channel 7. Didn't hear a thing and wasn't expecting it as the last season ended not so long ago and i didn't think we'd see this until next year. So I jumped online and discovered this was ep 2, so had to go and read during the ads what happened in ep 1 because I was completely lost. T-Bag was wandering the desert, Sucre and Mahone were hanging with Michael and Linc and Sarah was alive (yep, I guessed it). Looked for a while but only came across an extremely in-depth analysis of ep 1, which took me several ad breaks to get through. It was a tad too comprehensive, but had some great lines in there eg

They meet in an alley. Whistler shows Michael the card and says in order to read it they need to break into a "secure structure." Michael deduces that they need his mad skillz. Whistler says his bird book had info that would have aided the break-in, but they can do without it. Michael's all, "You can do without it. Just shut up and tell me about my non-beheaded girlfriend."

Anyway it's same ol', same ol' for this show, except for the nice additions of some cannibalism (yes, T-Bag was involved) and Michael Rappaport. This guy was going to be anything after his amazing performance as Remy in "Higher Learning" (the one that said "unlearn" at the end of it. Mmmm. Powerful). Sadly he made some bad choices after this ie generally starring as Eddie Murphy's sidekick in a semi-serious drama won't get you an academy award, or cred. I don't know if I can handle more of the same crazy twists and turns, especially at 10:30 on a Thursday. We'll see. Last night, for example, thye had to break into a crazily secured house to get some code and they managed to do it, but when they got it to the computer guy (who was terrible as the "oh no, I don't believe this" hacker) he discovered it was just part of a code and they needed 5 more! Yeh.

Saturday

2008-10-11T17:53:00.000-07:00

Started the day bright and early with 9 holes of golf with Duiker and Wei, a chinese guy who asked to join us. Good weather, good company. Sadly, my golf stunk. Pretty much 2 shots that travelled less then 30cm each hole. That hurts. The highlight was when we were commenting on how ridiculously high the new nets were protecting stray balls from the Eastlink, then Andrew proceeded to hit one onto the road.

Came home and then took the family to "McCafe". Isaac wasn't heaps into it, so it was a short stay. Went for a bit of a drive and noticed many houses for sale. If this many houses keep going for sale around is, it might be a bit like "The Stand" around here (Darren, you're probably the only person who reads this who'll get that reference).

In the arvo (after yet another nanna nap) headed to the Malone's for baby Ruby's birthday/dedication. Good afternoon, good people, good conversation. Had a fascinating chat about the future of commercial tv. The lowlight was when I mentioned the product placement in Wayne's World...and no-one knew what I was talking about. Here's the clip for anyone who hasn't seen it.

After that came home and pottered, ate, then went for a walk. Listened to the Simmons podcast while walking on "Fantasy basketball". Strangely, it was mostly about football and baseball, with the last 10mins on the new ESPN fantasy league which 8 lucky people from the public can join. Annoying. For the record, Matthew Berry is not enthralling. After the walk watched some "Chaser", then went to bed.

Birthday times

2008-10-05T04:34:00.000-07:00

Celebrated the big 3-2 today, a way better age than 31. After some research, discovered some fellow 32yr olds.

Jaleel White (Urkell)
Emma Bunton (Baby Spice)
Candace Cameron (DJ)
Tim Duncan (Robot looking basketballer)
Soleil Moon Frye (Punky Brewster)
Kevin Garnett (skinny basketballer)
Jeremy Miller (Ben from "Growing Pains")
Fred Savage (Hollywood superstar)
Reese Witherspoon (fine actress from "Legally Blonde")

Pretty impressive bunch.

Started the day with breakfast and paper in bed. Late morning headed to Eastland to get me some presents- a personal grooming kit and a dvd about guys travelling in a tinnie along the Murray. Maybe beter presents for a 52 yr old but, hey, it's my birthday.

Had a nap in the arvo, then went outside and did some gardening with Isaac. At night the lovely Alexa and James minded the boys while wifey and I went out for some Chinese. Pretty good food. Top birthday.

FOOTNOTE
I'm not one of the only famous people born on Oct 5, and being honest they've all had more successful lives than me, except maybe the last one.

Grant Hill (my favourite hoopster)
Kate Winslet (popular modern actress)
Guy Pearce (Mike in "Neighbours")
Bernie Mac (late comedian)
Bob Geldof (fed a few million Africans)
Ray Kroc (founder of McDonalds. Bless that man)
Nikki Hilton (her parents are rich)