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Netflicking
Aug. 8th, 2005 06:52 pmWe watched some Netflix rentals this week, for the first time in quite a while. We ended up watching The Pianist and Girl with a Pearl Earring.
** Some spoilery bits **
( Snip )
** Some spoilery bits **
( Snip )
Ebert on Hazzard
Aug. 6th, 2005 06:31 pmScott and Knoxville play Bo Duke and Luke Duke; the absence of a Puke Duke is a sadly missed opportunity.
*smirk*
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050804/REVIEWS/50725002
*smirk*
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050804/REVIEWS/50725002
Smells Good
Jul. 10th, 2005 01:29 amSo, over the months I've been replacing various household chemicals and personal products with earth/body friendlier versions as the other versions have run out, and as such a few reviews/recommendations.
( Snip )
( Snip )
Well, I guess that War of the Worlds really isn't all it's hyped up to be.
Roger Ebert only gives it 2 stars, which is the same his rating for Rebound, some cruddy looking basketball/redemption movie with Martin Lawrence.
The review itself is fairly painful.
Anyway, I guess we can find something else to do this holiday weekend then :P
Roger Ebert only gives it 2 stars, which is the same his rating for Rebound, some cruddy looking basketball/redemption movie with Martin Lawrence.
The review itself is fairly painful.
Anyway, I guess we can find something else to do this holiday weekend then :P
While I was at Whole Foods just before the weekend, I grabbed some Hip Whip, because I needed Cool Whip, and they don't have Cool Whip at WF (and I'm a slacker and didn't want to get actual cream to whip myself, nor did I want to go to a different supermarket after the trip to WF).
Hip Whip is an all natural, whole foods alternative to Cool Whip (which I guess isn't made of whole ingredients and has the chemical preservative stuff). It's also non-dairy, and from a quick look at the ingredients list vegan to boot.
So we tried some of that on our strawberries last night, and to be frank, I think it's disgusting. It actually tasted a bit like rancid cream, which is no small feat when you consider that there's no dairy in it at all. Yech!
Avoid.
Hip Whip is an all natural, whole foods alternative to Cool Whip (which I guess isn't made of whole ingredients and has the chemical preservative stuff). It's also non-dairy, and from a quick look at the ingredients list vegan to boot.
So we tried some of that on our strawberries last night, and to be frank, I think it's disgusting. It actually tasted a bit like rancid cream, which is no small feat when you consider that there's no dairy in it at all. Yech!
Avoid.
So a generally quiet weekend, which is par for the course I guess. We did get through all 3 of our current Netflix movies, which were enjoyable.
The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
( Snip )
House Of Flying Daggers
( Snip )
The Importance Of Being Earnest
( Snip )
And one from last week's viewing:
Lemony Snicket
( Snip )
The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
( Snip )
House Of Flying Daggers
( Snip )
The Importance Of Being Earnest
( Snip )
And one from last week's viewing:
Lemony Snicket
( Snip )
Kung Fu Hustle
Apr. 27th, 2005 06:24 pmThis past weekend we went to see Kung Fu Hustle
We went with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
darkvervain whom I'd invited over on Saturday as he was home alone and bored, and our weekend plans consisted of nothing more than "clean and organise the apartment", rivetting stuff. We still got some cleaning and organising in before he arrived around 6.30pm or so, so that was pretty cool too.
He brought samosas with him, the lovely chap :)
So after our usual rituals of tea and chat, and after I picked up some grocery items and he andprez tinkered with their laptops, we went to a local Indian restaurant where we had some yummy dosas. It's nice to have an Indian place nearby that cooks with oil as well as ghee, so that our vegan friends can actually eat there too. Unlike the other place we took them too once where it was suspected that they cooked with ghee.
Around midnight we headed over to the multiplex for Kung Fu Hustle. We were the only one in the theater, which I don't think has ever happened before, especially not with a movie that opened the day before. We'd seen ads for this on tv, and they were basically so out there that we had declared that we really had to go see this movie.
We were certainly not disappointed... I think this ranks as one of the whackier movies I've seen in a long long time.
It starts off in a city somewhere in China that's dominated by gangs, most of the city being now under the control of the Axe Gang. There's only one area where citizens live in relative peace, a slum called Pig Sty Alley, and they live in relative peace because it's too poor for the gangs to bother with. That is until two petty criminals try and shakedown the residents Pig Sty Alley by pretending to be from the Axe Gang, and failing miserably. Their attempts do however draw the attention of the Axe Gang to Pig Sty Alley, and now the residents have to stand up against the gang.
Of course this happens with a lot of Kung Fu, for this movie is aptly named of course. The Kung Fu generally doesn't always have much basis in reality, neither do many of the abilities of various characters and Alley residents. Roger Ebert wasn't kidding when he said it was Jackie Chan and Buster Keaton meeting Quentin Tarantino and Bugs Bunny. Seriously some parts do look like they were inspired directly by WB cartoons and slapstick comedy, as well as martial arts movies.
All in all, highly entertaining, hilariously funny, and well worth your ticket money.
And the next morning,darkvervain cooked his famous pancakes for breakfast. Yummy :)
We went with
darkvervain whom I'd invited over on Saturday as he was home alone and bored, and our weekend plans consisted of nothing more than "clean and organise the apartment", rivetting stuff. We still got some cleaning and organising in before he arrived around 6.30pm or so, so that was pretty cool too.He brought samosas with him, the lovely chap :)
So after our usual rituals of tea and chat, and after I picked up some grocery items and he and
prez tinkered with their laptops, we went to a local Indian restaurant where we had some yummy dosas. It's nice to have an Indian place nearby that cooks with oil as well as ghee, so that our vegan friends can actually eat there too. Unlike the other place we took them too once where it was suspected that they cooked with ghee.Around midnight we headed over to the multiplex for Kung Fu Hustle. We were the only one in the theater, which I don't think has ever happened before, especially not with a movie that opened the day before. We'd seen ads for this on tv, and they were basically so out there that we had declared that we really had to go see this movie.
We were certainly not disappointed... I think this ranks as one of the whackier movies I've seen in a long long time.
It starts off in a city somewhere in China that's dominated by gangs, most of the city being now under the control of the Axe Gang. There's only one area where citizens live in relative peace, a slum called Pig Sty Alley, and they live in relative peace because it's too poor for the gangs to bother with. That is until two petty criminals try and shakedown the residents Pig Sty Alley by pretending to be from the Axe Gang, and failing miserably. Their attempts do however draw the attention of the Axe Gang to Pig Sty Alley, and now the residents have to stand up against the gang.
Of course this happens with a lot of Kung Fu, for this movie is aptly named of course. The Kung Fu generally doesn't always have much basis in reality, neither do many of the abilities of various characters and Alley residents. Roger Ebert wasn't kidding when he said it was Jackie Chan and Buster Keaton meeting Quentin Tarantino and Bugs Bunny. Seriously some parts do look like they were inspired directly by WB cartoons and slapstick comedy, as well as martial arts movies.
All in all, highly entertaining, hilariously funny, and well worth your ticket money.
And the next morning,
darkvervain cooked his famous pancakes for breakfast. Yummy :)Wednesday evening we did something else rather than our usually scheduled karate class, though it was an event we went to with someone that we know from karate.
Last week Anne, one of the other ex-pat Aussies at the dojo, had mentioned that there was an Aussie short film festival/evening, which sounded very interesting. And as a result we decided to go... it's not often that you get to go see any short films anywhere, as they're not in a habit of showing them on tv or in cinemas.
There were 8 films on the schedule, which was going to run about an hour and a half in total. Each of the films had won a prize, and one was an Oscar nominee this year.
Lucky
Second prize Winner Tropfest 2005. A four-and-a-half minute short that definitely managed to be action-packed and have a little twist ending to boot. Funny too.
And One Step Back
Best Film Winner St. Kilda 2004. A poignant vignette of two sisters and their mother.
We Have Decided Not To Die
Best Australian Short Film at Flickerfest 2005, Audience Prize at Clermont-Ferrand 2005. I have to say that this didn't do much for me. We'd already been told that there is no narration as such, which there wasn't, nor a real point. A kind of state-of-mind piece. I guess it was just too artsy for me :P
Birthday Boy
Oscar nominee Best Animated Short Film 2005, BAFTA Best Short Film 2005. A poignant story of a little boy playing war in South Korea in 1951 while his father is at the front. Lovely animation and a good story.
Everything Goes
Best Short Film Lexus IF Awards 2004. Based on the short story "Why Don't You Dance" by Raymond Carver. This starred Hugo Weaving, so bonus points just for that, I love Hugo Weaving. Hugo Weaving plays a middle-aged man whose wife has just left him, and he decides that he's going to get rid of all his furniture. A young bargain hunting couple gets a little more than they bargained for though.
This piece was hilariously funny in places, sometimes if only for the setting due to the fact that Hugo's character had basically set up house outside, as all the furniture was out on the front lawn, but with all the electrical appliances plugged in. There's a certain charm about sitting on your couch on the lawn with your drinks cooling in the fridge next to you.
Australian Summer
First Prize Tropfest 2005. Two bums experience an Aussie Summer. Very funny indeed, even though it has a bittersweet aftertaste. This starred Bruce Spence, who seems to pop up in most Aussie movies (Mad Max springs to mind for starters).
Happy Endings
Best Production VCA School of Film & Television 2004. This piece revolves around Floyd, a dorky loser who is so disillusioned by the stupidity around him, that he asks Spider to make the pain go away. Meanwhile she turns his entire opinion of the world upside down. Also a very funny piece, and it also didn't pack any punches.
Bomb
Best Comedy Tropfest 2005. Absolutely hilarious, though along the way you could see the punchline building up. Very cleverly done though. And very short and sweet at a mere 3.5 minutes.
It was definitely worth a visit, and I enjoyed almost all of them. It's interesting that even most of the funny pieces had their share of bittersweetness added to them, walking the knife's edge between comedy and tragedy, without getting too sentimental when it did lean towards the latter. Apparantly an annual event, so we might have to check it out next year, if schedules and baby permit us to do so.
Last week Anne, one of the other ex-pat Aussies at the dojo, had mentioned that there was an Aussie short film festival/evening, which sounded very interesting. And as a result we decided to go... it's not often that you get to go see any short films anywhere, as they're not in a habit of showing them on tv or in cinemas.
There were 8 films on the schedule, which was going to run about an hour and a half in total. Each of the films had won a prize, and one was an Oscar nominee this year.
Lucky
Second prize Winner Tropfest 2005. A four-and-a-half minute short that definitely managed to be action-packed and have a little twist ending to boot. Funny too.
And One Step Back
Best Film Winner St. Kilda 2004. A poignant vignette of two sisters and their mother.
We Have Decided Not To Die
Best Australian Short Film at Flickerfest 2005, Audience Prize at Clermont-Ferrand 2005. I have to say that this didn't do much for me. We'd already been told that there is no narration as such, which there wasn't, nor a real point. A kind of state-of-mind piece. I guess it was just too artsy for me :P
Birthday Boy
Oscar nominee Best Animated Short Film 2005, BAFTA Best Short Film 2005. A poignant story of a little boy playing war in South Korea in 1951 while his father is at the front. Lovely animation and a good story.
Everything Goes
Best Short Film Lexus IF Awards 2004. Based on the short story "Why Don't You Dance" by Raymond Carver. This starred Hugo Weaving, so bonus points just for that, I love Hugo Weaving. Hugo Weaving plays a middle-aged man whose wife has just left him, and he decides that he's going to get rid of all his furniture. A young bargain hunting couple gets a little more than they bargained for though.
This piece was hilariously funny in places, sometimes if only for the setting due to the fact that Hugo's character had basically set up house outside, as all the furniture was out on the front lawn, but with all the electrical appliances plugged in. There's a certain charm about sitting on your couch on the lawn with your drinks cooling in the fridge next to you.
Australian Summer
First Prize Tropfest 2005. Two bums experience an Aussie Summer. Very funny indeed, even though it has a bittersweet aftertaste. This starred Bruce Spence, who seems to pop up in most Aussie movies (Mad Max springs to mind for starters).
Happy Endings
Best Production VCA School of Film & Television 2004. This piece revolves around Floyd, a dorky loser who is so disillusioned by the stupidity around him, that he asks Spider to make the pain go away. Meanwhile she turns his entire opinion of the world upside down. Also a very funny piece, and it also didn't pack any punches.
Bomb
Best Comedy Tropfest 2005. Absolutely hilarious, though along the way you could see the punchline building up. Very cleverly done though. And very short and sweet at a mere 3.5 minutes.
It was definitely worth a visit, and I enjoyed almost all of them. It's interesting that even most of the funny pieces had their share of bittersweetness added to them, walking the knife's edge between comedy and tragedy, without getting too sentimental when it did lean towards the latter. Apparantly an annual event, so we might have to check it out next year, if schedules and baby permit us to do so.
