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Time for a reboot

Posted by Alex on 10 Jun, 2011 in Lifenotes, Relationships | 2 comments

Sometimes, the path reaches a dead end, and you have to turn back…

You know when your computer’s been running for a long time and everything starts to get really sluggish? You can still do all your usual tasks but everything is a real effort, it becomes hard work to do even the simplest of things. It’s like running through treacle.

In these situations, there reaches a point where you have to reboot. You’ll have to spend a fair bit of time getting everything loaded back up and working just the way you like it, but hopefully after that you will be able to return to normal operations, and be effective and productive again as you go about your business.

Well sometimes, that can happen in a marriage too.

Review of Hanna (2011) – spoiler-free

Posted by Alex on 15 Apr, 2011 in Articles | 0 comments

 

Normally when I like a movie, the first thing I do when I get home from the cinema is to jump online and see what other people have said, gauge opinions, validate theories, and dig deeper into the director, writer, actors etc. But this film made such an impact I’m going to be bold and review it purely on my own impressions. It was, quite simply, outstanding. It was the best film I’ve seen all year, even better than Inception and Source Code, the only two other mainstream releases that have really wowed me this year. (I’m not counting Tron Legacy; that one certainly wowed me, but on reflection I realized it was all style and no substance).

 

The good news is that Hanna has style and substance in bucketloads. The plot is intricate enough and the characters deep enough to keep you glued to your seat, and you never quite know what will happen next – but unlike most Hollywood fare, there are no quick fixes or predictable moments.. at every turn it always takes the road less travelled.

 

The style is fantastic, but down-to-earth. Real life locations are given a fresh twist with unusual but believable lighting effects, and what would be ordinary scenes of conversation or exposition feel fresh and engaging thanks to original camera angles and beautiful composition. The locations are deliciously original too. You can tell that every scene has been carefully designed for cinematic impact, but yet the film always feels natural, flowing and not at all forced.

Fascinating video montage of Montreal in the 60’s

Posted by Alex on 2 Mar, 2011 in My Stream | 0 comments

The Sequel Map – Which Sequels Were Better or Worse Than the Original? — BoxOfficeQuant

Posted by Alex on 24 Feb, 2011 in My Stream | 0 comments

 

via boxofficequant.com

My friend Shane sent me a link to this, it quite compellingly demonstrates that sequels make money but are rarely better than the originals.

What a shame that next year will see more sequels made than ever before.

Two months later: Still addicted

Posted by Alex on 18 Feb, 2011 in Lifenotes | 0 comments