Bill Bryson's just a funny guy with a knack for writing a good story. This particular book is autobiographical of sorts...I say "of sorts," since it's primarily about his childhood, and therefore a bit incomplete I suppose.
What can I say about this book...
For starters, it really does have everything. Drama (lime-green capri pants), crime (ID forgery), explosions (what're friends for), heists (free beer), and gratuitous nudity (strippers). What more could you possibly ask for packed into one book. I laughed (from the hijinks), I cried (from the laughter), it was a roller coaster of a good time (and it contains an actual roller coaster).
Bill had a childhood not unlike many other children of that time, but his masterful writing skills and keen perspective on things make for one heck of an enjoyable story of youth roaming free, as it should, but quite often as it no longer does. And that end of it is actually quite sad indeed.
Monday, 25 August 2008
Saturday, 23 August 2008
Shakespeare
Bill Bryson's Shakespeare: The World as a Stage, is quite an interesting read, but not for the reasons you might expect (well, at least not for the reasons I expected). As with most things Bryson writes, it's got a wonderful pace, it's often humorous and entertaining, and quite informative to boot!
Growing up hearing about, reading, and studying Shakespeare's works, I made what I assume to be a fairly normal assumption. That assumption being that as widespread and popular as his works are, as well as the sheer volume, that he was likely a well known guy and they probably knew everything about him from the doctor's first slap at birth through to the grave crew's filling of the hole at death. This could not be further from the truth. This is, in fact, a man about whom very little at all is known. How little you ask? Well, for starters, there is hardly consensus about the correct spelling of his name to this very day. That alone speaks volumes.
It's also not known if he traveled internationally at all or in what order his plays were written (and with his sonnets, to whom they were addressed and for what purpose). They can only place Shakespeare in particular times and places for only a handful of days out of his entire life.
This particular biography discusses all of this and much much more. If you possess a passing fancy of any sort for the works of Shakespeare, you stand a good chance at enjoying this book. It's a real eye opener, even as it doesn't tell you much about the person of whom it's written!
Growing up hearing about, reading, and studying Shakespeare's works, I made what I assume to be a fairly normal assumption. That assumption being that as widespread and popular as his works are, as well as the sheer volume, that he was likely a well known guy and they probably knew everything about him from the doctor's first slap at birth through to the grave crew's filling of the hole at death. This could not be further from the truth. This is, in fact, a man about whom very little at all is known. How little you ask? Well, for starters, there is hardly consensus about the correct spelling of his name to this very day. That alone speaks volumes.
It's also not known if he traveled internationally at all or in what order his plays were written (and with his sonnets, to whom they were addressed and for what purpose). They can only place Shakespeare in particular times and places for only a handful of days out of his entire life.
This particular biography discusses all of this and much much more. If you possess a passing fancy of any sort for the works of Shakespeare, you stand a good chance at enjoying this book. It's a real eye opener, even as it doesn't tell you much about the person of whom it's written!
Thursday, 21 August 2008
Revisiting Star Wars
I feel the need to post a bit of a disclaimer about this review. You see, while I was in fact born before the original trilogy came to cinemas, I didn't get around to seeing them (for no particular reason) until I was well into college. Thus I wasn't "captured by the magic" as some might have been while watching those movies as kids. This background no doubt colors my opinions, so I thought I'd throw that out there first thing.
As part of family game and/or movie night at our house (weekly event), we've been watching the Star Wars movies in sequence, starting with Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, through to the end. We have yet to watch Return of the Jedi, but that's next up and I'll add a subsequent addition to this review.
Star Wars purists don't tend to think too highly of the newer episodes, and this time through, I tried to keep an open mind...rate them on their own merits...see how they REALLY compared. Let's start at the beginning shall we?
The Phantom Menace
I'm not willing to dismiss the series out-of-hand just because of Jar-Jar. That said, wow is he annoying if you're an adult. My kids...the age I myself would've been when the first ones were coming out...thought he was funny. Is he really any worse than Ewoks? I found the movie annoying for other reasons though...primarily the acting. For this, I hold the director at fault. The actors are generally good in their own right, but the director MUST get the requisite performance from them. In this case, Lucas did not, and the movie suffers. The dialog is hokey and poorly presented (and sadly I think this is what Lucas was going for at the time). Oh...also, midi-chlorians...WTF? This one's at the bottom of my list for the series as a whole.
Attack of the Clones
Less Jar-Jar was nice. Same cheezy dialog and stale performances. Marginally better than the first one.
Revenge of the Sith
The best of the first 3 in my opinion. I'll take this time to note one other big problem I had with the first 3, and that is the casting of Samuel L. Jackson. I love the guy...he does his thing well...but, he just does NOT belong in Star Wars. Perhaps if they had worked in a scene where he was giving Padme a foot massage (cause he IS the foot f*kin' master), and was then sliced in half and thrown off a balcony by Annakin, that might've been cool. He's just not jedi material, and his miscasting distracted from the movies.
A New Hope
Luke Skywalker is a whiner. He is, for me anyway, the biggest detractor to this film. In the grand scheme of things, I think this was intentional...young whining teenager type grows to be a warrior, etc. This film DOES introduce the one thing the first three just didn't have. Han Solo. This was just a character Harrison Ford was built to play, and it really does make the movie. He has the facial expressions and personality to make the second 3 movies engaging and fun, something that was often lacking in the first 3.
The Empire Strikes Back
This one's often cited as "the best one ever" and "the only one Lucas didn't direct" yada yada. This could very well be the case, as this one does seem to take a more serious edge whereas the 6th tends to get into the more cartoonish Ewoks (the shorter and harrier Jar-Jars of the future). This one is a pretty solid movie, and one of my favorites in the series.
The Return of the Jedi
September 8th update: Finally re-watched this, and yeah. It was still pretty good. I don't find the ewoks nearly as offensive as Jar-Jar, and I read or heard something to the effect that they were originally intended to be more wookies, but due to budgetary or time constraints they went with ewoks instead. This alone only added to my enjoyment, as now I found the ewoks amusing...not for what they were, but for what they weren't. Now, I would imagine Chewy would love to pick them up and de-limb them for fun. At any rate, the good guys still won, Luke stopped lusting after his sister, and everybody was happy...except for the bad guys who mostly died.
One overarching issue I have with the series as a whole is this. For reasons dealing with technology, and CGI effects, Lucas made 4-6 first, then, when the technology had advanced sufficiently, he made 1-3. Fine. They're his movies, he could've just made the odds first if he'd wanted. I'm fine with that. Where I take issue is, he set a standard in 4-6 of the type of "technology" available to the characters in those movies, then, in 1-3, instead of giving THOSE characters clunkier "older" versions of this stuff (they're earlier in time remember), they have weaponry and ships that take on a much more polished and refined appearance. It's a big continuity problem if ya ask me!
As part of family game and/or movie night at our house (weekly event), we've been watching the Star Wars movies in sequence, starting with Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, through to the end. We have yet to watch Return of the Jedi, but that's next up and I'll add a subsequent addition to this review.
Star Wars purists don't tend to think too highly of the newer episodes, and this time through, I tried to keep an open mind...rate them on their own merits...see how they REALLY compared. Let's start at the beginning shall we?
The Phantom Menace
I'm not willing to dismiss the series out-of-hand just because of Jar-Jar. That said, wow is he annoying if you're an adult. My kids...the age I myself would've been when the first ones were coming out...thought he was funny. Is he really any worse than Ewoks? I found the movie annoying for other reasons though...primarily the acting. For this, I hold the director at fault. The actors are generally good in their own right, but the director MUST get the requisite performance from them. In this case, Lucas did not, and the movie suffers. The dialog is hokey and poorly presented (and sadly I think this is what Lucas was going for at the time). Oh...also, midi-chlorians...WTF? This one's at the bottom of my list for the series as a whole.
Attack of the Clones
Less Jar-Jar was nice. Same cheezy dialog and stale performances. Marginally better than the first one.
Revenge of the Sith
The best of the first 3 in my opinion. I'll take this time to note one other big problem I had with the first 3, and that is the casting of Samuel L. Jackson. I love the guy...he does his thing well...but, he just does NOT belong in Star Wars. Perhaps if they had worked in a scene where he was giving Padme a foot massage (cause he IS the foot f*kin' master), and was then sliced in half and thrown off a balcony by Annakin, that might've been cool. He's just not jedi material, and his miscasting distracted from the movies.
A New Hope
Luke Skywalker is a whiner. He is, for me anyway, the biggest detractor to this film. In the grand scheme of things, I think this was intentional...young whining teenager type grows to be a warrior, etc. This film DOES introduce the one thing the first three just didn't have. Han Solo. This was just a character Harrison Ford was built to play, and it really does make the movie. He has the facial expressions and personality to make the second 3 movies engaging and fun, something that was often lacking in the first 3.
The Empire Strikes Back
This one's often cited as "the best one ever" and "the only one Lucas didn't direct" yada yada. This could very well be the case, as this one does seem to take a more serious edge whereas the 6th tends to get into the more cartoonish Ewoks (the shorter and harrier Jar-Jars of the future). This one is a pretty solid movie, and one of my favorites in the series.
The Return of the Jedi
September 8th update: Finally re-watched this, and yeah. It was still pretty good. I don't find the ewoks nearly as offensive as Jar-Jar, and I read or heard something to the effect that they were originally intended to be more wookies, but due to budgetary or time constraints they went with ewoks instead. This alone only added to my enjoyment, as now I found the ewoks amusing...not for what they were, but for what they weren't. Now, I would imagine Chewy would love to pick them up and de-limb them for fun. At any rate, the good guys still won, Luke stopped lusting after his sister, and everybody was happy...except for the bad guys who mostly died.
One overarching issue I have with the series as a whole is this. For reasons dealing with technology, and CGI effects, Lucas made 4-6 first, then, when the technology had advanced sufficiently, he made 1-3. Fine. They're his movies, he could've just made the odds first if he'd wanted. I'm fine with that. Where I take issue is, he set a standard in 4-6 of the type of "technology" available to the characters in those movies, then, in 1-3, instead of giving THOSE characters clunkier "older" versions of this stuff (they're earlier in time remember), they have weaponry and ships that take on a much more polished and refined appearance. It's a big continuity problem if ya ask me!
Olympics Online
As part of our personal mission living in New Zealand, we've opted not to hook up to cable or satellite television at home because, frankly, the scraps we get on the free-to-air networks are more than enough to cause brain atrophy.
When we first learned that a) the Olympics were coming, and b) they were coming to the free channel that we don't get, we were a bit bummed, but never fear, this is the internet age!
So, how did the internet experience stack up for watching such an event...
In short, it stinks. The technology is available, but we managed to see sporadic bits and pieces at best. The local sites (NZ) were slow. (sorry, I meant: sloooooooooow)
Not a problem! There's google, youtube, and countless other sites right? Well, yes and know. There were a lot of incomplete or just generally crappy bits published here and there.
As we reside outside the U.S., sites such as NBC are off limits to our browser's prying eyes (for streaming video), and we more or less missed the bulk of the action, catching up by reading online news articles or catching brief bits on the late night news.
It'd be splendid if the next hosts managed to put up some massive servers to serve up the various events in 2012!
When we first learned that a) the Olympics were coming, and b) they were coming to the free channel that we don't get, we were a bit bummed, but never fear, this is the internet age!
So, how did the internet experience stack up for watching such an event...
In short, it stinks. The technology is available, but we managed to see sporadic bits and pieces at best. The local sites (NZ) were slow. (sorry, I meant: sloooooooooow)
Not a problem! There's google, youtube, and countless other sites right? Well, yes and know. There were a lot of incomplete or just generally crappy bits published here and there.
As we reside outside the U.S., sites such as NBC are off limits to our browser's prying eyes (for streaming video), and we more or less missed the bulk of the action, catching up by reading online news articles or catching brief bits on the late night news.
It'd be splendid if the next hosts managed to put up some massive servers to serve up the various events in 2012!
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Where to start...
Wow..."Dr. Horrible" was one of the best and funniest things I've seen in awhile. It's something on the order of an hour or so in length (broken into 3 parts and classified as a TV series), and was apparently what happens when there's a writers strike in Hollywood! (in short, brilliance breaks out!)
At the helm is Joss Whedon ("Angel", "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", Serenity), and has wonderful casting in the way of Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, and Felicia Day.
Did I mention it's a musical??? (and a bit surprisingly, they sing quite well!)
It's funny, quirky, and often clever. Give it a watch if you have the time.
Wow..."Dr. Horrible" was one of the best and funniest things I've seen in awhile. It's something on the order of an hour or so in length (broken into 3 parts and classified as a TV series), and was apparently what happens when there's a writers strike in Hollywood! (in short, brilliance breaks out!)
At the helm is Joss Whedon ("Angel", "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", Serenity), and has wonderful casting in the way of Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, and Felicia Day.
Did I mention it's a musical??? (and a bit surprisingly, they sing quite well!)
It's funny, quirky, and often clever. Give it a watch if you have the time.
Friday, 8 August 2008
The week in film: Back in Action!
In the tradition of good sequels, I give you this follow-up post complete with different movies, reviewed during a different time, yet in a vaguely familiar fashion! Exciting isn't it.
This week's lineup included the following flicks: Minority Report, The Prestige, Whale Rider, The Iron Giant, and Zoom: Academy for Superheroes.
Now that we have the titles, I give you the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The good.
Minority Report was a really fun sci-fi flick set in 2054, where an experiment in precognitive crime fighting is taking place. People are quite literally found and arrested before they get the chance to kill. A delightful plot line is woven into this scenario that takes some great twists and turns, making for a really good time at the movies. I'd recommend checking it out. Steven Spielberg does, as usual, an excellent job on this.
The Prestige is another magician flick that came out in eerie proximity to The Illusionist. It's truly amazing how often this sort of thing happens in Hollywood...two studios releasing oddly similar movies in a rather similar time frame. What a crazy original idea factory that place is! (Madagascar and The Wild anyone???) I digress... The Illusionist with Edward Norton was a really good story, and really well done. I'd recommend that one for sure. The Prestige was even better! A really well written and acted story, lots of suspense, and great twists. Give this one a rent for sure. As for the two mentioned animated flicks, go with Madagascar, forget about The Wild.
Whale Rider entered my mind as "that smallish foreign film that had great critical acclaim and I should think about watching sometime." That's pretty much where it stayed, occasionally surfacing in the back of my mind, but disappearing just as quickly. Then I moved to NZ, and at that point, it seemed more like a required viewing type of thing. I checked out and read the book (good stuff, give that a read if you can), and now I've seen the movie. The movie takes creative license with the book, but still, wonderful movie. It's a beautiful story, well acted, emotional, and powerful. I have to say, in my opinion, it helped me get more out of the story due to exposure I've had to Maori culture since moving here. I don't think this is a requirement for watching, but it didn't hurt either. Anyway, it's a really lovely film and I would strongly recommend this one.
On the animated front, we have The Iron Giant. This is one of the most tragic stories ever. No, not the movie, but the complete bungling of the promotion of the movie. This is a flick that most people likely ignore or maybe haven't even heard of, and it is FANTASTIC! Go, run, rent this now! Adults, kids, it doesn't matter...this is a wonderful story expertly brought to the screen by Brad Bird (The Incredibles, another must-see). It packs a few wonderful and powerful messages and is just a real treat.
Rounding up this bunch with a flick that very ably holds the fort for both "the bad" and "the ugly," we have Zoom: Academy for Superheroes. In some fairness, this did hold the attention of two young children. That said, they promptly forgot about it in a way I only wish I could. The acting was cheezy and the story, such that it was, was sort of coherent but spliced together in a really clunky, disjointed way. Revisiting the earlier commentary on originality, a similar-themed flick that came out was Sky High, and while that's not perfect either, it was all around more enjoyable than this turkey.
That concludes this week's roundup.
This week's lineup included the following flicks: Minority Report, The Prestige, Whale Rider, The Iron Giant, and Zoom: Academy for Superheroes.
Now that we have the titles, I give you the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The good.
Minority Report was a really fun sci-fi flick set in 2054, where an experiment in precognitive crime fighting is taking place. People are quite literally found and arrested before they get the chance to kill. A delightful plot line is woven into this scenario that takes some great twists and turns, making for a really good time at the movies. I'd recommend checking it out. Steven Spielberg does, as usual, an excellent job on this.
The Prestige is another magician flick that came out in eerie proximity to The Illusionist. It's truly amazing how often this sort of thing happens in Hollywood...two studios releasing oddly similar movies in a rather similar time frame. What a crazy original idea factory that place is! (Madagascar and The Wild anyone???) I digress... The Illusionist with Edward Norton was a really good story, and really well done. I'd recommend that one for sure. The Prestige was even better! A really well written and acted story, lots of suspense, and great twists. Give this one a rent for sure. As for the two mentioned animated flicks, go with Madagascar, forget about The Wild.
Whale Rider entered my mind as "that smallish foreign film that had great critical acclaim and I should think about watching sometime." That's pretty much where it stayed, occasionally surfacing in the back of my mind, but disappearing just as quickly. Then I moved to NZ, and at that point, it seemed more like a required viewing type of thing. I checked out and read the book (good stuff, give that a read if you can), and now I've seen the movie. The movie takes creative license with the book, but still, wonderful movie. It's a beautiful story, well acted, emotional, and powerful. I have to say, in my opinion, it helped me get more out of the story due to exposure I've had to Maori culture since moving here. I don't think this is a requirement for watching, but it didn't hurt either. Anyway, it's a really lovely film and I would strongly recommend this one.
On the animated front, we have The Iron Giant. This is one of the most tragic stories ever. No, not the movie, but the complete bungling of the promotion of the movie. This is a flick that most people likely ignore or maybe haven't even heard of, and it is FANTASTIC! Go, run, rent this now! Adults, kids, it doesn't matter...this is a wonderful story expertly brought to the screen by Brad Bird (The Incredibles, another must-see). It packs a few wonderful and powerful messages and is just a real treat.
Rounding up this bunch with a flick that very ably holds the fort for both "the bad" and "the ugly," we have Zoom: Academy for Superheroes. In some fairness, this did hold the attention of two young children. That said, they promptly forgot about it in a way I only wish I could. The acting was cheezy and the story, such that it was, was sort of coherent but spliced together in a really clunky, disjointed way. Revisiting the earlier commentary on originality, a similar-themed flick that came out was Sky High, and while that's not perfect either, it was all around more enjoyable than this turkey.
That concludes this week's roundup.
Saturday, 2 August 2008
The week in film
Due to a lovely rental deal at the local Blockbuster, we brought home 5 movies for the week for the rock-bottom price of $10. Yay us. I'll give my $0.02NZD worth to the following: A History of Violence, Apocalypto, Batman Begins, Treasure Planet, and last (and certainly least) Barbie Fantasia - Mermadia.
A History of Violence
This was simultaneously what I expected, yet not what I expected. The storyline was good. The actors involved are all fine actors. And certainly popular opinion and critical acclaim are all there. I couldn't help but find the whole thing a bit disjointed. The actors didn't really seem to compliment each other, and the overall flow...well...it didn't actually flow in my opinion. It jerked along in fits and starts that were enough to kinda keep reminding me that I was watching a movie, instead of just letting me be absorbed. I'm sure there are many reasons why I'm wrong about this, or how this was intentional and that's what gives it some sort of edgy feel or something, but there you have it. If I'd rented it with lower expectations, I would've probably enjoyed it more. As it was, I expected something great, and had to settle for ok.
Apocalypto
I've seen rumblings about the historical inaccuracies and such of this flick. Well...duh! Whaddya expect?!?! The people who made the film weren't there, nor is this particular plot and characters documented in the ancient ruins...it was fabricated. Yes, there was the pain taken to use a language nobody understands, but this does not a documentary make. So, I watched, and I enjoyed. It was violent. It was brutal. It was an action movie about a guy doing what he must in order to save those he loves (and about one hell of a tough woman as well). I enjoyed it, enjoyed the character development, enjoyed the suspense, the action, all of it. I'm sure there are probably problems with it, but I was too busy hanging on to the edge of my seat to notice them! I'd recommend giving this a watch! (if you can stomach the gore that is)
Batman Begins
Yes, it really took me this long (Dark Knight is already in cinemas) to see the first installment. Before seeing it, I wasn't sure why I'd waited so long, and after seeing it, I feel like a fool for waiting! This was brilliant! A very well done and acted movie. I much preferred this to the more cartoony feel of the Tim Burton version, and now can't wait to see the next installment. The action, the story, the pacing...all just excellent. Can't recommend this enough.
Treasure Planet
This one was ok. I do generally enjoy kids' movies, Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, etc., and this was ok, but nothing spectacular, and not particularly memorable. The kids liked it, and did take in a repeat performance, but didn't have any interest really in making this a permanent part of the collection. Might be worth a rental...better yet, if you know anyone who bought it, borrow their copy.
Barbie Fantasia - Mermadia
I only watched the bits and pieces I had to in order to get from my computer through the living room to the kitchen and/or bathroom and back. This really holds no interest for adults and is really for fairly young children. My daughter of course loved it. If you have young daughters, they stand a good chance at liking this thing...as an adult, should you be forced to sit through it with your child, it's a good opportunity to catch a little shut-eye. That said, this movie did have something that floored me. The closing credits. For the quality and thought that went into this thing, there are LOADS of people involved in bringing this thing to light!
There you have it...the weekly movie roundup.
A History of Violence
This was simultaneously what I expected, yet not what I expected. The storyline was good. The actors involved are all fine actors. And certainly popular opinion and critical acclaim are all there. I couldn't help but find the whole thing a bit disjointed. The actors didn't really seem to compliment each other, and the overall flow...well...it didn't actually flow in my opinion. It jerked along in fits and starts that were enough to kinda keep reminding me that I was watching a movie, instead of just letting me be absorbed. I'm sure there are many reasons why I'm wrong about this, or how this was intentional and that's what gives it some sort of edgy feel or something, but there you have it. If I'd rented it with lower expectations, I would've probably enjoyed it more. As it was, I expected something great, and had to settle for ok.
Apocalypto
I've seen rumblings about the historical inaccuracies and such of this flick. Well...duh! Whaddya expect?!?! The people who made the film weren't there, nor is this particular plot and characters documented in the ancient ruins...it was fabricated. Yes, there was the pain taken to use a language nobody understands, but this does not a documentary make. So, I watched, and I enjoyed. It was violent. It was brutal. It was an action movie about a guy doing what he must in order to save those he loves (and about one hell of a tough woman as well). I enjoyed it, enjoyed the character development, enjoyed the suspense, the action, all of it. I'm sure there are probably problems with it, but I was too busy hanging on to the edge of my seat to notice them! I'd recommend giving this a watch! (if you can stomach the gore that is)
Batman Begins
Yes, it really took me this long (Dark Knight is already in cinemas) to see the first installment. Before seeing it, I wasn't sure why I'd waited so long, and after seeing it, I feel like a fool for waiting! This was brilliant! A very well done and acted movie. I much preferred this to the more cartoony feel of the Tim Burton version, and now can't wait to see the next installment. The action, the story, the pacing...all just excellent. Can't recommend this enough.
Treasure Planet
This one was ok. I do generally enjoy kids' movies, Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, etc., and this was ok, but nothing spectacular, and not particularly memorable. The kids liked it, and did take in a repeat performance, but didn't have any interest really in making this a permanent part of the collection. Might be worth a rental...better yet, if you know anyone who bought it, borrow their copy.
Barbie Fantasia - Mermadia
I only watched the bits and pieces I had to in order to get from my computer through the living room to the kitchen and/or bathroom and back. This really holds no interest for adults and is really for fairly young children. My daughter of course loved it. If you have young daughters, they stand a good chance at liking this thing...as an adult, should you be forced to sit through it with your child, it's a good opportunity to catch a little shut-eye. That said, this movie did have something that floored me. The closing credits. For the quality and thought that went into this thing, there are LOADS of people involved in bringing this thing to light!
There you have it...the weekly movie roundup.
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