Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Frank - #58/365
Via Flickr:
From was our waiter/bartender at B44, a superb Spanish restaurant on Belden Place in San Francisco.
From was our waiter/bartender at B44, a superb Spanish restaurant on Belden Place in San Francisco.
Frank
Via Flickr:
From was our waiter/bartender at B44, a superb Spanish restaurant on Belden Place in San Francisco.
From was our waiter/bartender at B44, a superb Spanish restaurant on Belden Place in San Francisco.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Movie Reviews Special Oscar Edittion
I'm pleased to say I've managed to see a lot of the nominated movies and performances this year which will make watching the Academy Awards tonight much more enjoyable. Would love to hear your personal reviews and comments.
Best to worst in my book:
Django Unchained 9/10
QT masterpiece, full of everything you'd expect - mesmerizing dialog, deep, complex characters, bloodpath action, quirky score, superb cinematography, dashes of humour and a great morale and historical debate. Cast were spot on - although I suspect QT had CW in mind from day one of writing - definitely the stand out performance. Leo is scacry good as the head of Candyland.
Silver Linings Playbook 9/10
Sometimes it takes a crazy person to show how crazy regular people can be. De Niro - yes, I saw his character and not the Hollywood superstar. I could say the same for all the lead actors. Lawrence was mesmerizing and Cooper rock solid. Much more than I expected - strong plot, very emotional but balanced well with the humour.
It's always a dilemma for me with "based on a true story" movies - how much of the movie is accurate ? I thought the movie was fascinating and believed almost all of it's plot. Frightening, important, re-assuring - many thoughts come to mind. Placing news events of the last decade into place in the dramatic adaption was well worth the price of admission - making sense of why, when, how these important things (may) happen. Superb, realistic portrayals by the main cast - helps to have leads that are not superstars. Wow...the storytelling seemed effortless and I became a third party to in the inner workings of the CIA and an appreciation of the efforts it must take to find the likes of UBL.
Les Miserables 8.5/10
Argo 7.5/10
Unbelievable plot that I suspect was a little over dramatisized. Even knowing the outcome didn't take away from the incredible tension. Agree that the academy have snubbed Afleck's directing. Solid soundtrack was a surprise along with the humorous hollywood connection. A solid 7, but not an 8 in my book.
There has been some controversy here in Canada (especially after the premier at TIFF) about the downplay of the Canadian efforts to get the 6 Americans out of Iran. In the movie, there is only a brief mention of other ideas for the rescue and no mention of Canadian plans and/or ideas. Canada (likely as well as the US) had spent 3 months working on plans to get the 6 Americans to safety but apparently none were deemed viable. In he movie they say the movie crew idea was the best worst idea.
In a recent interview, Jimmy Carter confirms that the majority of the work was actually done by Canadians
Lincoln 7/10
Dizzy wordplay; nodded off a few times. Interesting man Abe. I liked the Stevens twist. Need to read the synopsis on imdb to fill in my embarrassingly big gaps in understanding US politics and history. Not high on my lists. But the great performances and important history telling are probably worth the nominations.
And my awards go to...
Django Unchained - production and movie, script
Silver Linings Playbook - acting, directing, script
Zero Dark Thirty - drama and historical wow factor
Les Miserables - sets, costumes music, acting, adaptationArgo - directing, adaptationLife of Pi - fx, adaptation
Lincoln - acting; directing
Best to worst in my book:
QT masterpiece, full of everything you'd expect - mesmerizing dialog, deep, complex characters, bloodpath action, quirky score, superb cinematography, dashes of humour and a great morale and historical debate. Cast were spot on - although I suspect QT had CW in mind from day one of writing - definitely the stand out performance. Leo is scacry good as the head of Candyland.
Sometimes it takes a crazy person to show how crazy regular people can be. De Niro - yes, I saw his character and not the Hollywood superstar. I could say the same for all the lead actors. Lawrence was mesmerizing and Cooper rock solid. Much more than I expected - strong plot, very emotional but balanced well with the humour.
Zero Dark Thiry 9/10
Unfortunately I've never read the book. I've seen the stage show and I've always loved the music. But this movie really does a tremendous job of telling a great story. I had forgotten parts or misunderstood plot elements until I saw the movie.
All the main actors were superb - but I think Samantha Barks deserves a little more attention. Sacha and Helena do not disappoint and brought a little humour to the drama.
The production was fantastic, everything from the costumes to the sets and there were many scenes that could stand up on their own for their photographic quality and artistry.
My only gripe was the length - just as with the stage show, the second act drags on a little for me.
If you're a fan of the story or the stage show it's a must see. I'll take it a little further and say if you enjoy a great story and love musicals, then it's a pretty good bet. Poetry for the layman. Music for the romantic. Story for the believer.
Unbelievable plot that I suspect was a little over dramatisized. Even knowing the outcome didn't take away from the incredible tension. Agree that the academy have snubbed Afleck's directing. Solid soundtrack was a surprise along with the humorous hollywood connection. A solid 7, but not an 8 in my book.
There has been some controversy here in Canada (especially after the premier at TIFF) about the downplay of the Canadian efforts to get the 6 Americans out of Iran. In the movie, there is only a brief mention of other ideas for the rescue and no mention of Canadian plans and/or ideas. Canada (likely as well as the US) had spent 3 months working on plans to get the 6 Americans to safety but apparently none were deemed viable. In he movie they say the movie crew idea was the best worst idea.
In a recent interview, Jimmy Carter confirms that the majority of the work was actually done by Canadians
Life of Pi 7/10
Beautiful adaptation of the wonderful book. Magical and superb SFX. But overall I was a little disappointed. I think the Oscar nomination may have been for technical merits rather than memorable moviemaking. Definitely enjoyable and entertaining, but I left with a bit of an empty feeling.
Dizzy wordplay; nodded off a few times. Interesting man Abe. I liked the Stevens twist. Need to read the synopsis on imdb to fill in my embarrassingly big gaps in understanding US politics and history. Not high on my lists. But the great performances and important history telling are probably worth the nominations.
And my awards go to...
Django Unchained - production and movie, script
Silver Linings Playbook - acting, directing, script
Zero Dark Thirty - drama and historical wow factor
Les Miserables - sets, costumes music, acting, adaptationArgo - directing, adaptationLife of Pi - fx, adaptation
Lincoln - acting; directing
Movie Reviews - January 2013
Men in Black III (2012)
Lotsa fun if you're not too squeamish. New time travel element creates some new plot opportunities. But the gags, gadgets and gruesome aliens make it - especially Tenant's Boris - brilliant. But what made it special was enjoying it all with my son.
The Words (2012)
I liked it in a kind of sitting and watching a play kind of way. Well acted with an interesting diverse cast, beautiful story at its heart, but its the other plot elements that creates some nice mystique. Not for everyone, but I found it entertaining.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Nikon D5000 test: brother-in-law - #54/365
Via Flickr:
A quick test of the high ISO quality of my brother-in-law's D5000. No flash, ISO3200, VR kit lens, minimal LR4 edits. Impressed.
A quick test of the high ISO quality of my brother-in-law's D5000. No flash, ISO3200, VR kit lens, minimal LR4 edits. Impressed.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Monday, February 18, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Friday, February 15, 2013
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Monday, February 11, 2013
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Saturday, February 09, 2013
Friday, February 08, 2013
Thursday, February 07, 2013
The story of the Paddington ring - #38/365
Via Flickr:
Unusual story of the day was meeting Alex from Bosnia. He crossed the street a few steps ahead of me and picked up a gold ring off the sidewalk. I asked if he was local so he could perhaps find the owner - poster or somesuch. We shared a few words about the find and he insisted I take it. But then he comes back and asks for some money - how cheeky. Gave him a quid and got rid of him. I then retraced my steps and placed the ring on a metal railing - pay it forward ? Perhaps someone else will have some interesting encounter; luck or recover it.
Unusual story of the day was meeting Alex from Bosnia. He crossed the street a few steps ahead of me and picked up a gold ring off the sidewalk. I asked if he was local so he could perhaps find the owner - poster or somesuch. We shared a few words about the find and he insisted I take it. But then he comes back and asks for some money - how cheeky. Gave him a quid and got rid of him. I then retraced my steps and placed the ring on a metal railing - pay it forward ? Perhaps someone else will have some interesting encounter; luck or recover it.
The story of the Paddington ring - #38/365
Via Flickr:
Unusual story of the day was meeting Alex from Bosnia. He crossed the street a few steps ahead of me and picked up a gold ring off the sidewalk. I asked if he was local so he could perhaps find the owner - poster or somesuch. We shared a few words about the find and he insisted I take it. But then he comes back and asks for some money - how cheeky. Gave him a quid and got rid of him. I then retraced my steps and placed the ring on a metal railing - pay it forward ? Perhaps someone else will have some interesting encounter; luck or recover it.
Unusual story of the day was meeting Alex from Bosnia. He crossed the street a few steps ahead of me and picked up a gold ring off the sidewalk. I asked if he was local so he could perhaps find the owner - poster or somesuch. We shared a few words about the find and he insisted I take it. But then he comes back and asks for some money - how cheeky. Gave him a quid and got rid of him. I then retraced my steps and placed the ring on a metal railing - pay it forward ? Perhaps someone else will have some interesting encounter; luck or recover it.
Wednesday, February 06, 2013
Tuesday, February 05, 2013
Monday, February 04, 2013
Sunday, February 03, 2013
Saturday, February 02, 2013
Friday, February 01, 2013
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