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This movie does have appeal, but not if you value coherent and structured storytelling over visual impact. The plot jumps all over the place – admitting or ignoring various story points without explanation. The animation is impressive, though; and the bleak, post-apocalyptic world is nothing if not starkly detailed. I think my biggest issue with this film is the lost potential. There was a lot of space that could have been used to flesh out the characters’ motivations or give the film a clear take-home message, and give you a reason to remember it and recommend it to family and friends.
There’s very little to say about ‘Jackass: The Lost Tapes’ aside from that if you enjoyed the original show and subsequent movies, you’ll probably enjoy this; and if not, it’s certainly not going to change your mind. I was surprised to see how much of this footage was recycled, and how much of the rest of it may well have been. There aren’t any new ideas, and it seems somewhat self-referential when Wee Man (dressed in a nappy and refusing to be pushed down stairs in a pram) looks at the cameraman and says, “Why are we even doing this?”
It’s a tough gig to call yourself a “Lounge Bar Restaurant” and pull it off. The closest I’ve come across to successfully managing the combo is World. Then there are others that end up as too much of a bar, and while The Apartment tries to manage it with separated dining and bar areas, there’s no segue and the result is less than comfortable. The menu is succinct, missing many lunchtime standards, and the food is reasonable, but nothing to write home about, so I think it’d be much better suited to a quiet cocktail after work on a Friday.
It might not be art, but some of the visualisations that Wordle creates certainly are interesting to look at. Wordle works by creating a word cloud based off a text input. The more often a word appears, the larger it is in the cloud. The image on the left is a section of the one for the 100 Word Reviews archive, but you can see others I’ve created from Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ and the King James version of the Bible. Wordle’s not going to change your life, but it’ll give you something to look at and think about for a while.
‘Capitalism’ is a true example of a movie in two parts. For the first hour, Moore jumps between topics never holding a theme longer than it takes to watch a family cry. Here we learn about the seedy side of pay disputes, life insurance, and re-mortgaging your house. The second hour of the movie, however, tells a great story of the cause, effect, and implications of the financial crisis and the US bailout. Like any Moore film, there are times that you need to look behind the stunts for the facts; but when you do, they’re relatively informed and interesting.
This was my first half marathon, and only my second competitive run, so I don’t have much to compare it to. I really enjoyed the run itself, and was great culmination to my training. It did seem, though, that corners had been cut with the race organisation. On the run, the distance markers were few, far between, and placed as to be very difficult to see; and distance-wise, the fact that the 5K and 10K courses were out by about 10% is realty inexcusable for an event of that size. It’s not cheap, so let’s hope it’s right next year.
There are quite a few of the style of Korean BBQ places around Melbourne, so it’s hard not to compare them. And while this place does score highly for their understated, yet charming décor (from the flags, to the posters, to the indoor plants, to the Korean movies playing on the big screen over the dining room), it’s let down by the food. We went with the safe option of the beef bibimbap, which seems underflavoured (only brought up to scratch with a lot of chilli sauce) and had very little beef and vegetables compared to the amount of rice.
I know they thought they were improving The Black Pearl with the new couches, redecoration, and changed menu; but unfortunately, they got rid of the spirit of the place with the patched leather armchairs. The new fit-out would look more at home on Chapel St than Brunswick St, and the overly pretentious menu spends more of its time trying to make you look stupid than provide you with beverage information. When you do find a drink you enjoy, they are good; but you’d really expect that for $18. It really is such a shame; this place used to be great.
I’d never used a heart rate monitor until recently, so I thought I’d use the first of a series of running-related reviews to discuss the Polar FS1 monitor. The cheapest of the Polar range, the FS1 has one key attribute; it’s simple. All you get is a stopwatch and heart rate (though, unfortunately, you can’t see both concurrently). It’s comfortable (even though the watch is a bit bigger than I’d like), and because it isn’t ‘coded’, it often gets interference from nearby devices or music players. But if you just want to know your hear rate – it does the job.
Not being American makes this a hard movie to appreciate. While you can enjoy clips of Owen Wilson running in slow motion through the Bosnian countryside, you have to ignore the plot based around the Navy’s horror at a single Marine killed in enemy territory, and their plans to shoot an entire battalion of Serbian soldiers in retribution. I’d expect this from Wilson – only a couple of years into a big screen career you take the roles you can get. But I’m disappointed in Hackman. With ‘The French Connection’ and ‘Unforgiven’ under his belt, there was no need for this.
