The year of infinite sadness that is. It’s my HSC year. Oh God, help me.
Anyways, I’m getting used to not having a keyboard and mouse around (technically, a way of forcing me into doing homework and study) and going on the computer with an egg-timer next to me!
I have fifteen minutes to go!
Anyways, things to come in the next few weeks, IN POINT FORM!
Some decent Film Reviews
Photo blogging/reviewing of my trip to Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory
As above, yet on the awesome concert that was THE NATIONAL!
More on my little endeavours through life.
Overall, a more active blog, to keep me sane.
Also, the MASSIVE love for my Big Day Out post is both flattering and gratuitously accepted. Never had such a jump in views in my life! Thank you my visitors!
So last night, after much reluctancy, I finally watched the latest Harry Potter film. They’re really starting to get to me, to be honest. It’s essentially the same formula, in the same sets and costumes, with a different script and a SFX upgrade. I finally know what Nick Cave means by “things your respect yet just find boring and tedious” (as was his description of the ARIAs). On top of that, what the hell are Daniel Radcliff and the others learning from this? Seriously, showbusiness is a faux reality as it is. The least a person needs is to grow up in one entire alternate dimension whilst indulging in showbusiness’ little pleasures at the same time.
That said, the movie wasn’t half-bad, which is surprising. For once they respected the audience and didn’t try (too often) to throw fan service scenes at us. I mean, Ron stuffing up in Quiddich and Harry beating up Draco would’ve been fun to watch, but it isn’t really what the plot is about. They move things along effectively without making us lose focus and without scenes that feel overtly tedious. And the actors, for the first time since Prisoner of Azkaban, didn’t feel like they were an amateur performers group; these kids show some emotion, even at the most subtle moments.
The plot is hard to judge without criticising the book directly (although I can say it is heavily abridged, for the better) and, as I mentioned before, technically and artistically it’s the same-old same-old. Maybe it was my low expectations, but the film has it’s moments and tells its own story whilst still retaining Rowling’s brilliance. If you’re still willing to give the series a go, it’s not too late to re-enrol at Hogwarts.
So these past few days have been an equal mixture of lazy and exhilarating. Recently, I’ve gone from a double-headline concert with friends to just sitting at home listening to Silverchair’s Diorama on loop. It’s an interesting feeling, yet also a relaxing one. It’s not often (and it definitely won’t be often in the next year) that people get time to just relax and contemplate the world whilst randomly surfing the Internet. Talking about Silverchair, my hair has recently gone from madman-afro to brunette-Daniel Johns. It gets weird when you look at your own shadow and don’t think it’s you. Yet, overall, the new hair is much better to get around.
Another advantage of all the extra time is the time to watch movies. As was last night, with The Last King Of Scotland. The whole Forest-Whitaker-is-exactly-like-Idi-Adim thing is pretty accurate, so I won’t repeat what every other critic, award ceremony and movie viewer already knows. Yet for me, the film was practically held up by Whittaker. Everything else fell flat. James McAvoy, who’s the Scottish doctor and the technical lead in terms of screen-time, was an emotionless stool; by the end of the film, I cared more for his wide variety of cool seventies suits than him. And whilst I understand they were aiming for the thriller angle, the entire thing felt like a Bond film in the end, with Dr. No or Ernst Starvo Blofield being replaced with one of the most evil men in history. That said, you really can’t go past Whitaker, and there are some genuine moments of tension, usually carried by Forest’s ability to replicate Amin’s paranoid-yet-charming attitude.
Anyways, tonight I watch Zodiac. Right now, I suggest you watch the following spoof of the video clip to one of my favourite songs right now: Interpol’s The Heinrich Maneuver. Great fun, it most definitely is.
So today was the day everyone (i.e. Half-The-Grade) had to hand in their Prefect forms. Some saying less-is-more, others taking the chance to acknowledge every little facet of school involvement they have. I’m not fazed. If I get in, I get in. More Power to the People. If I don’t, then I sincerely hope that the right people get in. The prefect body can actually do something for the greater good of the school, yet no-one ever notices (hence the history of it just being the group that runs fundraisers and controls the canteen line). And trust me, there are people in the SHS Year of 2008 that can actully utilise those powers for good.
Today was a better day than expected. Still quite sour over some issues. Some assessments didn’t go completelt to plan, yet the idea of just getting past this year and going into Year 12 with a fresh start and a much more free learning system is very promising, albeit that it will be the HSC year and stress is practically unavoidable. Either way, the quicker this year is behind me, the better.
The Explosion
I saw it late last night on Ten News and I must say, that in terms of easy publicity, the marketing team for The Dark Knight knows every trick in the book. They’ve already hooked all the fanboys (such as your’s truely!) with their internetviralmarketing campaigns, now they’ve brought this out for the action-hungry macho-masses. Here, they did the simple thing of buying a delapidated building and calling the press. The rest is history.
(The video has no sound, by the way. I suggest making your own explosive sounds, using inspiration from this guy. Enjoy!)
I mean, they’ve been planning this film for five years, then let it lay on Warner Bros shelves completed for two years and only NOW we’re finally going to see it!
……Okay, if you don’t already know, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is the new movie by Andrew Dominik, whose only film to date is now-iconic Australian character-study/bogan-action-drama, Chopper. Forgetting the fact that it has Brad Pitt and and the brother of Ben Affleck in the leads (or that this wait has just about killed me), this trailer really sells it. Each scene appears so beautiful, so exquisitely crafted, that even the more action-related scenes can’t defer from the sense of majestic unease throughout.
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I'm a 17 Year Old Sydneysider who sees, hears and experiences many quirky things. These little things are The Spaces Between, and are documented here. Full description in my Profile.
