Friday Blogging Matt

"sad but true..."

The Machinist, Steamboy, Chasing God

This year's Sci-Fi-London looks like the best ever - see below for my top 3 picks...


THE MACHINIST How do you wake up from a nightmare if you're not asleep?In this unnerving saga, Trevor Reznick (Bale) works away in a machine shop, performing a drudge-like function but a dangerous one. The machinery is steely and scary, and Trevor is losing his grip, physically and emotionally. Freaking out his co-workers with his wisened frame, he's out-of-whack in his conversation too. When he causes a harrowing accident - a co-worker loses his arm - Trevor is completely ostracized and threatened. He realizes he's losing it, and his condition keeps getting worse. He hasn't slept in a year. Trevor's only solace comes from a prostitute named Stevie (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and a waitress named Marie (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón). Marie works at a coffee shop at the airport, where Trevor goes every night for a piece of apple pie and a cup of coffee, always leaving an extremely large tip. Haggard, bug-eyed and prone to hallucinations, Trevor can't tell up from down, reality from delusion.



STEAM BOY Best known for his seminal animé movie AKIRA, Katsuhiro Otomo brings us one of the most lavish and costly animated films ever. This sci-fi epic is set in Victorian London, took 10 year to finish and has more than 400 CG shots.A retro science-fiction epic set, "Steamboy" features an inventor prodigy named Ra Stim who receives a mysterious metal ball containing a new form of energy capable of powering an entire nation. This young boy must use it to fight evil, redeem his family, and save London from destruction. The lush Victorian interiors and the elegance of the era's mechanical design allows Otomo to create dazzling visual backgrounds and machines for this film. With more than 180,000 drawing cuts, "Steamboy" is one of the most elaborate animated features ever!


CHASING GOD Narrated by comedian Dawn French (The Vicar of Dibley), this thought provoking film addresses a subject matter rarely tackled: why do humans believe in a Higher Power? By interviewing scientists, atheists and religious leaders from diverse faiths, this documentary explores the motivations of humankind to believe in something bigger and more powerful than itself, today and throughout the ages. By travelling the globe and asking poignant questions of its subjects, Chasing God is able to look at the relevancy of God in today's world. Today, some see the very existence of humanity being threatened. War is being mooted as a solution to peace and protection, and many people feel powerless to influence outcomes. This has prompted many new prayer and meditation websites and groups to appear - maybe in a desperate attempt for divine intervention. It has always been true that when human beings are afraid or in pain we reach out for a power greater than our own. Beliefs about God have divided humanity. This documentary seeks to highlight a paradoxical unifying principle beyond the divisive interpretations of God. While science cannot prove or disprove the existence of God, ultimately it is either a universal truth or a mass delusion. In the absence of any veritable proof, what we are then left with, is people's personal experience. This documentary spotlights the most controversial yet elusive figure in recorded history. No one else has been the subject of such hotly contested debate, disagreement, and wars...

LINK TO OFFICIAL SITE

Pi, Matt Adcock's 3rd Favourite Film

12.18pm: restate my assumptions:

1. Chaos Theory can be generally defined as a description of the behaviour of forever-changing complex systems. Discovered by a meteorologist in 1960, chaos theory contends that complex and unpredictable results will occur in systems that are sensitive to small changes in their initial conditions. A common example of this, known as the "Butterfly Effect," states that the flapping of a butterfly's wings in China could cause tiny atmospheric changes which over a period of time could effect weather patterns in New York.
Although chaotic systems appear to be random, they are not. Beneath the random behavior patterns emerge, suggesting, if not always revealing, order. Recognizing that the stock market is a non-linear, dynamic, chaotic system Pi's Max Cohen applies the principles of Chaos Theory in order to determine the pattern behind apparent random nature of market prices.
2. Apart from the stock market, Chaos Theory can be used to model other highly complex systems, including everything from population growth to epidemics to arrhythmic heart palpitations. When applying chaos theory, it is revealed that even something as seemingly random as a dripping tap has an order behind it.
Welcome to the world of Pi.
3. In Manhattan, behind many locks, lives Max Cohen, a renegade mathematician . Since staring at the sun at age six, he's had terrible headaches; and can't abide human contact, he is obsessed with finding numeric patterns in everything - even the stock market - but his theories bring him to the attention of Wall Street traders and a kabal that wants to rediscover long-lost mathematical mysteries in the Torah. Max goes on the run as his hallucinations and headaches worsen. IS THERE A SOLUTION?
Pi is an awesome film - edgy, paranoid and disturbing but always brilliant, it really has to be seen and experienced...

"think I've broken this slinky"

12.19pm: Footnote:
In case you're wondering: Kabbalah is an ancient aspect of Jewish mysticism dating back to the time of Moses.
Consisting largely of speculations on the nature of divinity, creation and the soul, Kabbalah is said to have originated from the oral law which Moses received from God. The principle root of Kabbalistic tradition is a belief in the divinity of the Torah (the first five books of the bible), and that by studying it one can unlock the secrets of creation.
The film not only deals with Kabbalah, but also with Gammantria, or the use of mathematics to unlock the secrets of the Torah. Ancient Hebrews used the alphabet as their numerical as well as there lettering system, therefor, each letter was assigned a numerical value. For example the Hebrew "A," aleph, is equal to one, while "B," bet, is equal to two and so on. Taking this into consideration, we can then convert the entire Torah into a large string of numbers. When these numbers are analyzed, patterns emerge…

12.20pm:Personal note: "The Torah is just a long string of numbers. Some say that it's a code sent to us from God."

- Lenny Meyer (in the film Pi)

Book Review: Wormwood G. P. Taylor

"Freaky, unpleasant... but a top tale"

Wormwood

G.P. Taylor

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

I always try to read at least one book a month – and this year I’ve kicked off with a book entitled ‘Wormwood’ which details the events around the coming of a world-killing comet called ‘Wormwood’. Prophecy and magic mix in this 18th Century, London based tale as characters struggle to contend with some seriously weird and wonderful events. Ghosts rub shoulders with angels, witchcraft runs rampant and brutal killers return from the dead – absinth is used to entrap innocents, seedy old men chase teenage virgins and demons stir up all sorts of trouble. As you can probably tell, it’s written by a Christian author: G.P Taylor who also wrote Shadowmancer. Taylor is a vicar who turned author in his late 30’s and is now a millionaire thanks to the film rights being sold to his books… Which is exactly the route I plan to follow in the coming years so stay tuned (apart from the vicar bit)…
Did you know ‘wormwood’ – the bitter drug is rumoured to have grown in the trail of the serpent in the Garden of Eden? Or that it is also the name of the comet foretold in the book of Revelation (chapter 8 verses 10-11)…

Anyway, Wormwood is a cracking read and I take my hat of to Mr Taylor in what he has accomplished. Now, I must finish DARKMATTERS!!

Darkmatt Rating: öööö (tasty)

Click here to read a: Darkmatters Extract

Duck and cover...

Ah, KILLZONE... makes blowing enemy forces away such an addictive pleasure,
here's hoping that they are hard at work in some secret game making bunker on a Playstation Portable (PSP)version!!

Link to other: PSP stuff on this Blog

Every kind of sin and rebellion

Arguing with God... and winning?

Man, still keeping my 'read the bible every day' NYR and although it's not the book that most people might go for, I'm reading 'Numbers'... Today's bit has Moses actively arguing with God and even using emotional blackmail in order to get Him to change his mind - fascinating stuff:

11 And the LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people reject me? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them? 12 I will disown them and destroy them with a plague. Then I will make you into a nation far greater and mightier than they are!" 13 "But what will the Egyptians think when they hear about it?" Moses pleaded with the LORD. "They know full well the power you displayed in rescuing these people from Egypt. 14 They will tell this to the inhabitants of this land, who are well aware that you are with this people. They know, LORD, that you have appeared in full view of your people in the pillar of cloud that hovers over them. They know that you go before them in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if you slaughter all these people, the nations that have heard of your fame will say, 16 'The LORD was not able to bring them into the land he swore to give them, so he killed them in the wilderness.' 17 "Please, Lord, prove that your power is as great as you have claimed it to be. For you said, 18 'The LORD is slow to anger and rich in unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. Even so he does not leave sin unpunished, but he punishes the children for the sins of their parents to the third and fourth generations.' 19 Please pardon the sins of this people because of your magnificent, unfailing love, just as you have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt."

Numbers 14: 11-19

Aeon Flux Looking GOOD

"You want me to shoot you with one gun or two?"

Aeon Flux...
Based upon the cult animated spy TV show, created by Peter Chung, which you may have missed when it ran on MTV in the early 1990s - this has the potential to be one of the coolest sci fi / kick ass films on the horizon!!

Story is set in the 25th century; a rampaging virus has forced the remnants of humanity into the seclusion of a final city surrounded by a disease-proof bubble. But folks aren't happy and the acrobatic assassin, Aeon Flux (Charlize Theron), is ordered to take out the government's leader (and when I say 'take out' - I don't mean for a date...)

Film Review: The Aviator

"Chocs away... I'm flying high, like a rocket in the sky etc"

The Aviator (12A)
Dir. Martin Scorsese

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

Some men dream the future. He built it.
This is The Aviator - cinema on a spectacular yet intimate scale, confident in tone and lovingly made, it will blow your socks off when it flies and is totally captivating in parts – yes it’s a Martin Scorsese film.
Leonardo DiCaprio has never been better than as eccentric industrialist Howard Hughes, the legendary filmmaker and ‘aviator’ in this visually amazing biopic. Covering Hughes’ life and loves from the late 1920s to the mid 1940s, these were mad times when his flamboyant lifestyle included dating top actresses Katharine Hepburn (an excellent Cate Blanchett), Jean Harlow (embodied by pop sensation Gwen Stefani) and Ava Gardner (the always red hot Kate Beckinsale).
Not content with rewriting new playboy standards, we also get to witness Hughes making his epic WW2 film ‘Hell’s Angels’, personally setting a new airspeed record and taking on then all conquering Pan Am, as well as designing and building the largest plane on the planet. It’s giddying stuff – especially the flight scenes which dazzle, the enthusiasm and passion are very evident as Scorsese crams masses in to the film, which is almost 3 hours long.
The acting and set pieces are incredible, Cate Blanchett must be up for a best supporting actress Oscar – she really steals the show in her role as Hepburn utterly nailing her mannerisms, poise and accent. There are good supporting roles from Alec Baldwin and Alan Alda who form the axis of evil that try to bring Hughes down but actually inspire him to step up to the fight.
The Aviator does hit some turbulence though, like Scorsese’s last film ‘Gangs of New York’, it might be a perfectly realised recreation of the time, but its mind often wanders and the film sometimes trips itself up by letting scenes drag on too long. It is not always easy to watch, especially when it deals with Hughes’ decent into madness (although it ends before the period when he became a recluse for his last 20 years), but it does engage enough human emotion to save the day.
It is for my money a must see film – ambitiously biting off more than may be wise, some have claimed it is 'all gloss and no substance', but it attacks the screen in the same way Hughes led his life – full of gusto and not prepared to compromise.
Go see it.

Darkmatt Rating: öööö (good)

Read other film reviews by Matt Adcock: click here

Darkmatters - Another Fragment of Fiction by Matt Adcock

Darkmatters
By Matt Adcock

Previous entry: Fear Of Death

FILM SCENE - IS THAT A VERY LARGE GUN IN YOUR POCKET?
The film titles are coming up – “VERY BAD MEN WITH SERIOUSLY BIG GUNS” - starring Hoick McFokuup (an up and coming actor of possible Irish decent)…
The opening scene is a winner; some rather obvious, but seriously tooled up heavies dressed in aesthetic armour under long black coats approach Hoick, who is distracted – openly gaping at the incredibly curvy bum of the woman in dangerously tight hot-pants making her way up the train station platform. Hoick or ‘Gort’ as his character name appears to be from the label on his one piece of gun-case-shaped hand luggage looks up and makes the heavies straight away. “It was something in their eyes” he will tell the woman later after having made vigorously passionate love to her, “and the nasty looking, sword shaped bulges in their coats…”
It happens fast, to the thundering beats of a new rock sensation - the first two heavies unsheathe and slash out with their sabres - one arcing high to split Gort’s head, the other sweeping low in order to run him though should he try to duck out from under the high blade. It all happens so incredibly fast that the filmmaker thoughtfully slips the scene into slow ‘bullet time’ motion. The Director obviously wants us to relish every second of this attack.
As the blades slice towards him from behind, Gort pulls two chunky hand guns from his belt - at the same time twisting into a graceful yet cool looking sideways roll which neatly avoids both the blade strikes.
Before the two assailants can even register that they have missed, Gort is pumping burning hollow point lead into their respective faces, blowing their heads completely off. You can almost read their collective final thoughts of anger and disappointment written in the heavy splatter of brains and blood they leave on the platform wall.
Back to real time, the woman (with the nice bum) is screaming and trying to crawl away from the violent deaths behind her as the main force of heavies begin to rake the platform with huge automatic guns. Without pausing, Gort pulls one of the headless initial assailants over him who begins to look disturbingly animated as he absorbs hundreds of rounds from the hard rain of bullets. The frantic amount of firepower being directed at Gort is more than some small country’s armies ever get to own. His return fire however is equally hard, and a lot more accurate, hitting at least three of the heavies with his first volley - the heavies die in showers of crimson special effects.
As the dying assailants drop to the ground Gort finds time to grab the hand of the crawling woman and pull her behind the shelter of a cleaner’s trolley- his initial body shield having been decimated. Gort leans around the trolley and puts down another selection of baddies who are firing indiscriminately at everything in his general direction. They die squealing most un-heroically.
Sensing the moment is right; the hero breaks for the exit with the woman in tow, managing to dodge all but one of the deluge of bullets that are Swiss cheesing the station. Gort takes out the legs of the front row of gunmen as he runs and reloads his weapons, as he is hit he grimaces manfully. The glancing wound actually looks good as it draws blood from his heavily muscled shoulder. Enraged by having to watch their target walk virtually unscathed through their best efforts the heavies rush forward only to see Gort’s wounded arm reappear from the exit and roll a high yield incendiary device towards them. The explosion is truly magnificent and levels the entire station, cremating the entire enemy team (and all of the innocent bystanders). The silhouette of Gort kissing the woman against the backdrop of the blast is enough to bring tears to the most ardent sceptic’s eyes.
“You’re really cool,” breathes the nameless but hot love interest, Gort just ushers her into his Ferrari BH Turbo Cruiser and roars away into the gathering dusk while the area becomes an emergency services car-park.

Luke, I AM YOUR FATHER

Vader...
The ultimate fatherly role model, and the reason that
my firstborn son is named 'Luke'.
I have to admit that Star Wars Episode III is pinging hard on
my 'films to get excited about radar...
I used to have a Vader mask as a boy (about aged 8) and it was my second
skin for many days, now at least I get to quote Star Wars dialogue to my son.
"If you only knew the power of the dark side of the force"...

Jonathan Ross Quotes Matt Adcock on BBC

In my review of The Incredibles I describe it as
"a megaton thrill endorphin explosion"
and that was the sentence that BBC ONE's Film 'Cwitic'
Jonathan Ross chose to quote in his television review of films 2004...
God bless you Jonathan and thanks for the "glad you enjoyed in Matt" quip!



I'm not even sure how he got hold of my review (except maybe from this Blog)
so "Hi" Jonathan / any BBC research assistants reading!!

Lore... Sublime freakiness

In ancient times, when folklore, myths, and legends dominated the Earth, a group of like-minded Magi gathered together from all corners of the globe. They formed a loose affiliation known as the Shepherds and hatched a plot to use the Earth itself to dampen and eventually eradicate these forces.
By individually maintaining and controlling the ley lines from which the mythical creatures drew their power, the Shepherds successfully reduced these mythical forces to footnotes in fantasy novels.

But now the myths are coming back to a modern world that has no place for them.

And something has to give...

Ashley Wood's LORE is the evolution / fusion of pure storytelling and graphic novel format - dark, disturbing, but brilliant...

That's Gross - Top 10 Film Grosses 2004

The cool guys over at BoxOfficeMojo have listed the top 10 worldwide grosses for the films of 2004.
And they look like this...

1 Shrek 2 $912.0
2 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban $789.8
3 Spider-Man 2 $784.0
4 The Passion of the Christ $611.3
5 The Day After Tomorrow $542.5
6 The Incredibles $539.1
7 Troy $497.4
8 I, Robot $347.2
9 Shark Tale $317.9
10 Van Helsing $300.2

All $'s are in millions

See the full year's listing at: www.boxofficemojo.com

Sony's PSP A Thing of Rare Beauty...

PSP approx ?? days and counting in UK...
unless you import one from Play-Asia (image above):

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-70-ftq.html

Games, Movies and MP3's - yes please...

Read Gamepower's in depth review of the hardware here:

http://www.gamepower.com.au/?aid=2281

Pre-order your PSP at Amazon.co.uk:

http://www.amazon.co.uk

Matt's other posts about PSP: PSP 4 ME!!

PSP Games Matt's top 5 so far

Lovin and lickin the PSP

Tiger Woods PSP

The reason we have thumbs

Spurs Robbed By United - The Truth Revealed?

I don't normally post about football but as a Spurs fan, this is a special case...

FA explains United goal ruling

An FA spokesman after the game absolved the linesman of any responsibility for the apparently mistaken decision not to award a goal to Spurs after a shot from the halfway line crossed the goal line by at least a meter.

"The shot came in from an unusual distance and as such caught the linesman out of position forcing him to race back towards the goal as the play developed", explained the spokesman, "As he ran, the United scarf he was wearing under his shirt came loose and fluttered up into his face obscuring his view and preventing him from making the call. It was just one of those things."

In response to further questions from the Press the spokesman explained "If they don't already have a United tattoo most officials on game day try to wear a scarf or a replica shirt under their regulation kit to show their support for the worlds greatest club. The linesman in this case had chosen to wear a United scarf, a common choice that is in keeping with FA guidelines. The root cause of the problem lies not with the linesman but with the players and management of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club who broke one the most important unwritten rules of the English FA: They placed a shot on target at Old Trafford. Martin Jol is new to this country and perhaps he s not yet familiar with some of our finer traditions. Fortunately if he doesn't yet understand that for the greater good of the game visiting teams, by tradition, are not expected to try to score at Old Trafford then our officials are in a position to help Mr Jol make that cultural adjustment."

Film Review: House of Flying Daggers

"Hey, you're one seriously sexy pixie..."

House of Flying Daggers (15)
Dir. Yimou Zhang

Reviewed By Matt Adcock

Prepare to be completely blown away by this beautiful romantic epic, which perfectly marries heavy-duty combat scenes with heart breaking story twists...
The literal English translation of the Chinese title is "Ambushed From Ten Directions" and you'll feel that your senses have been just that!!

Director Yimou Zhang, who also made the impressive but less involving Hero delivers a much more personal tale with House of Flying Daggers. These are characters that you can't help caring about - great performances by Takeshi Kaneshiro and Andy 'Infernal Affairs' Lau are both eclipsed by the lovely Ziyi Zhang (currently filming Memoirs of a Geisha). She is absolutely deadly too with her flying fists of fury – and when she gets out her daggers, you know you’re in trouble!

Set in 859AD, the Tang Dynasty, one of the most enlightened empires in Chinese history at its height, is finally in decline. The Emperor is incompetent and the government is corrupt, meaning that they barely control the land. To make matters worse, an underground alliance of warriors called the “House of Flying Daggers” is growing ever stronger and causing all sorts of mischief. We get to witness a cunning plan to track down the leader of the House of Flying Daggers that involves love, betrayal and serious amounts of swordplay – tasty…

Did I mention that the visuals on offer here are truly majestic, with stunning use of colours and excellent landscapes really adding to the spectacle? If you for some strange reason decide not to watch House of Flying Daggers – you’re denying yourself an immense pleasure…

Darkmatt Rating: ööööö (excellent)

Shock Work Related Entry - Blogs To Take Over Marketing?

What is “blogGeist”?

The spirit of the blog...

Looks like the PR / Marketing world is waking up to the power of the Blog...
Asking questions like:
Are there some useful general principle that you can take from the idea of weblogs?
Something you can use on non-blog websites?
Something that you can apply to everything, a kind of 'spirit of the weblog' (blogGeist?) that you can use to make your communications more effective?

They go on to say that:
* the personal touch
* nowness
* contextual aboutness
are just a few of the things that give blogginess its power to make seemingly insignificant content from supposedly insignificant people far more persuasive than the most expensively produced marketing material you’ll ever create.

Hhhmmmm...

Original article copyright © 2001-2003 Support InsightSupport Insight.

Revenge of the Sith: General Grievous

Jedi Killer - His name is General Grievous.

That's Grievous, as in:

1. Causing grief, pain, or anguish: a grievous loss.

2. Serious or dire; grave: a grievous crime.

3. Kicker of mucho Jedi butt.

Nice...

Film Review: Without a Paddle

Without a Paddle (12A)
Dir. Steven Brill

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

2005 is here and Without a Paddle kicks off another year of film viewing with a sorry tale of three friends who go upriver in a canoe looking for a lost cash bounty. The ‘legend’ goes that a skyjacker named DB Cooper baled out of a plane somewhere ‘in deep country’ over the American northwest with $200,000 strapped to his back, and was never heard of again. So childhood pals Dan (Seth Green), Jerry (Matthew Lillard), and Tom (Dax Shepard), who are now in their 30’s, take up the challenge of searching for the lost money when the fourth member of their old group - Billy (Anthony Starr), dies.

You can see the comedy potential here, cross films like Deliverance and Dude, Where's My Car?, and you get… Utter unbelievable rubbish that fails to raise more than a couple of smiles and makes a strong contender already for ‘worst film of the year’…
The action is limp, the jokes are really not very funny and just about everything that happens is completely predictable (as it’s all been done many times before).
What’s also depressing is that this is the first to qualify for the New Zealand Government's "Large Budget Grants Scheme" where the film-makers receive up to 12.5% of their production budget back. If they watch this film they’ll probably scrap the scheme straight away!

I did like Seth Green’s C-3PO impersonation when things go wrong and I couldn’t help smiling at the sheer audacity of using the well worn joke when they meet a grizzly bear - Dan says: “What are you doing?” Jerry replies: “Taking off my shoes… Because I run faster with no shoes.” Dan says: “You can’t out-run that bear!” and of course Jerry replies: “I don’t have to out-run the bear, I just have to out-run you!” Well ho ho ho…
Throw in an almost menacing sheriff, a couple of earth loving hippie babes and the obligatory angry rednecks and top it off with an ill advised cameo by Burt Reynolds, maybe trying to recapture some of the coolness from his role in Deliverance more than 30 years ago…

Just don’t bother – there are much better films out there including House of Flying Daggers, which really is a breathtakingly awesome oriental masterpiece. Also looking good this year are: The Aviator, Sin City, King Kong and of course Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith… 2005 looks like being another cracking year for film fans!!

Darkmatt Rating: ö (rubbish)

Tsunami death toll - no words adequate

We live in strange and disturbing times...

I'm still struggling to comprehend just how it can be that 140,000 people can lose their lives in one terrible act of nature, as the confirmed death toll from the Indian Ocean earthquake is still rising more than a week after the disaster...
It's overly glib to even try and offer any meaningful comment on it...
For the survivors and the aid workers - we can only give our funds and our prayers...

Inadequate in so many ways but my bible reading had this blessing in it which I what I would wish for those who have suffered:
'May the LORD bless you and protect you. May the LORD give you his peace.'
Numbers 6 vs 24-26