10
For a full explanation, please see the start of the countdown.
Wednesday, 6 August 2008
Theatre
Avenue Q
(at the Golden Theater, New York)
Hilariously funny and consistently entertaining, much more so than any other musical I've ever seen. Can't recommend this highly enough to anyone who enjoys a good laugh.
(at the Golden Theater, New York)
Hilariously funny and consistently entertaining, much more so than any other musical I've ever seen. Can't recommend this highly enough to anyone who enjoys a good laugh.
Articles
'Film addict' Lucas on Clone Wars by Rajesh Mirchandani
(from BBC News)
Preview of the new Star Wars film, out a week Friday in the US and UK. Includes some quotes from George Lucas and a pair of video interviews.
Review of The X-Files: I Want to Believe by Dave Bradley
(from SFX)
Another fairly scathing review of the new X-sequel, though the feedback comments nicely offer different perspectives.
(from BBC News)
Preview of the new Star Wars film, out a week Friday in the US and UK. Includes some quotes from George Lucas and a pair of video interviews.
Review of The X-Files: I Want to Believe by Dave Bradley
(from SFX)
Another fairly scathing review of the new X-sequel, though the feedback comments nicely offer different perspectives.
Articles: Hamlet reviews
It was press night at the RSC production of Hamlet this evening, so naturally the first reviews are beginning to come in already.
They all seem very positive -- starred reviews all seem to give 4 out of 5 -- if insistent that Tennant is a good Hamlet but not the best ever. I'd bet that not all of these critics could agree on who is the best ever though, so I don't think anyone should be worried by such empty, obvious and easy criticism. Elsewhere, Patrick Stewart receives universal (and undoubtedly deserved) praise.
The following are the reviews I've read so far, in alphabetical order by article title. The first is an exception, however, being a review of an earlier preview performance; if you're not looking to read them all, allow me to recommend those of The Guardian and The Telegraph.
David Tennant's Hamlet by John Morrison
Review of a preview performance of Hamlet, which is entirely sold out. Morrison thinks Tennant "isn't bad as Hamlet, but he doesn't (yet) bring out the many different dimensions of the role". There's still plenty time for him to settle into the part, of course, so I'm quite glad I'll be going at the end of September.
David Tennant: thrills abound in Doctor Who Hamlet by Charles Spencer
(from Telegraph.co.uk)
"this is a gripping Hamlet that could become great if Tennant finds the courage to raise the dramatic stakes still further."
Dr Who's David Tennant as Hamlet at the Courtyard, Stratford by Benedict Nightingale
(from Times Online)
"I’ve seen bolder Hamlets and more moving Hamlets, but few who kept me so riveted throughout."
Review: David Tennant in Hamlet by Caroline Briggs
(from BBC News)
Largely positive, though shares the common views on Tennant's performance.
Review of Hamlet by Michael Billington
(from guardian.co.uk)
Tennant "is a fine Hamlet whose virtues, and occasional vices, are inseparable from the production itself... This is a Hamlet of quicksilver intelligence, mimetic vigour and wild humour: one of the funniest I've ever seen... active, athletic, immensely engaging". (Also includes a list of top 10 modern Hamlets -- apparently 1958 counts as modern, and 2000 seems to be the cut-off date.)
They all seem very positive -- starred reviews all seem to give 4 out of 5 -- if insistent that Tennant is a good Hamlet but not the best ever. I'd bet that not all of these critics could agree on who is the best ever though, so I don't think anyone should be worried by such empty, obvious and easy criticism. Elsewhere, Patrick Stewart receives universal (and undoubtedly deserved) praise.
The following are the reviews I've read so far, in alphabetical order by article title. The first is an exception, however, being a review of an earlier preview performance; if you're not looking to read them all, allow me to recommend those of The Guardian and The Telegraph.
David Tennant's Hamlet by John Morrison
Review of a preview performance of Hamlet, which is entirely sold out. Morrison thinks Tennant "isn't bad as Hamlet, but he doesn't (yet) bring out the many different dimensions of the role". There's still plenty time for him to settle into the part, of course, so I'm quite glad I'll be going at the end of September.
David Tennant: thrills abound in Doctor Who Hamlet by Charles Spencer
(from Telegraph.co.uk)
"this is a gripping Hamlet that could become great if Tennant finds the courage to raise the dramatic stakes still further."
Dr Who's David Tennant as Hamlet at the Courtyard, Stratford by Benedict Nightingale
(from Times Online)
"I’ve seen bolder Hamlets and more moving Hamlets, but few who kept me so riveted throughout."
Review: David Tennant in Hamlet by Caroline Briggs
(from BBC News)
Largely positive, though shares the common views on Tennant's performance.
Review of Hamlet by Michael Billington
(from guardian.co.uk)
Tennant "is a fine Hamlet whose virtues, and occasional vices, are inseparable from the production itself... This is a Hamlet of quicksilver intelligence, mimetic vigour and wild humour: one of the funniest I've ever seen... active, athletic, immensely engaging". (Also includes a list of top 10 modern Hamlets -- apparently 1958 counts as modern, and 2000 seems to be the cut-off date.)
Articles: French Crime Wave
Thanks to The French Crime Wave season at New York City's Film Forum, here's a selection of articles I've read on the films included and the season itself. (Unfortunately, I'm only in the States for the first week of the five-week season.)
Gallic Gangsters, They’re Funny That Way by Terrence Rafferty
(from The New York Times)
A thematic overview of Film Forum's series covering a good number of the films.
A Noir Classic Makes It Back From the Blacklist by Michael Sragow
(originally from The New York Times)
Interesting article about Rififi, mixing analysis and behind-the-scenes detail.
Noir, French Style by V.A. Musetto
(from New York Post)
Very brief preview, picking out a couple of the Post's film editor's favourites.
Six Decades of French Noir Come to Film Forum by Elena Oumano
(from The Village Voice)
Another brisk-feeling preview, but with a bit more meat on its bones.
Gallic Gangsters, They’re Funny That Way by Terrence Rafferty
(from The New York Times)
A thematic overview of Film Forum's series covering a good number of the films.
A Noir Classic Makes It Back From the Blacklist by Michael Sragow
(originally from The New York Times)
Interesting article about Rififi, mixing analysis and behind-the-scenes detail.
Noir, French Style by V.A. Musetto
(from New York Post)
Very brief preview, picking out a couple of the Post's film editor's favourites.
Six Decades of French Noir Come to Film Forum by Elena Oumano
(from The Village Voice)
Another brisk-feeling preview, but with a bit more meat on its bones.
Tuesday, 5 August 2008
"those using Microsoft Windows are vulnerable"
from Hi-tech criminals target Twitter (from BBC News):
"Micro blogging site Twitter is the latest target of cyber criminals who are increasingly finding fertile ground on social networks[...]
It comes as Kaspersky also releases details about two worms that target social networking sites MySpace and Facebook. More variants of these worms are also starting to turn up. The worms transformed victims' machines into zombie computers, used by criminals to send spam, launch phishing attacks and harvest data[...]
Only those using Microsoft Windows are vulnerable to infection from these malicious programs."
Go go !
(That's the Apple symbol again, incidentally.)
"Micro blogging site Twitter is the latest target of cyber criminals who are increasingly finding fertile ground on social networks[...]
It comes as Kaspersky also releases details about two worms that target social networking sites MySpace and Facebook. More variants of these worms are also starting to turn up. The worms transformed victims' machines into zombie computers, used by criminals to send spam, launch phishing attacks and harvest data[...]
Only those using Microsoft Windows are vulnerable to infection from these malicious programs."
Go go !
(That's the Apple symbol again, incidentally.)
TV
Damages
1x01 Pilot (aka Get Me a Lawyer) [2nd watch]
1x02 Jesus, Mary and Joe Cocker [2nd watch]
Is Damages as good second time round? Oh yes! It's just a shame the DVD is so poorly designed. Most US shows see fit to put no more than four 42-minute episodes on a disc; Damages has squeezed four 42-minute episodes and a 54-minute one onto its first disc! This is especially stupid considering disc two contains a normal four 42-minute episodes and disc three averages out at four 45-minute ones. There's a notable dent in image quality thanks to this, which is mildly distracting. Still, it's a damn fine programme.
1x01 Pilot (aka Get Me a Lawyer) [2nd watch]
1x02 Jesus, Mary and Joe Cocker [2nd watch]
Is Damages as good second time round? Oh yes! It's just a shame the DVD is so poorly designed. Most US shows see fit to put no more than four 42-minute episodes on a disc; Damages has squeezed four 42-minute episodes and a 54-minute one onto its first disc! This is especially stupid considering disc two contains a normal four 42-minute episodes and disc three averages out at four 45-minute ones. There's a notable dent in image quality thanks to this, which is mildly distracting. Still, it's a damn fine programme.
Articles
Do they really think the earth is flat? by Brendan O'Neill
(from BBC News)
Would you believe, there are still some people who genuinely believe the world is flat? Apparently so! But then, there are still plenty of people who don't believe in evolution, so what do you expect?
Microsoft sees end of Windows era
(from BBC News)
Interesting news piece on Microsoft's plans for what to replace the increasingly-dated Windows format of OSs with. Also includes the fantastically clause-ridden sentence, "I would be surprised if there was definitive evidence that nothing like this was not kicking around" -- ah, the loss of meaning!
Review of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
(from Empire Online)
It just opened at #2 in the US, behind a third week for The Dark Knight, and reviews like this reveal why. Empire don't expect it to be some meaningful artistic film, just a fun blockbuster, and unfortunately it comes up short in that respect. Oh dear.
(from BBC News)
Would you believe, there are still some people who genuinely believe the world is flat? Apparently so! But then, there are still plenty of people who don't believe in evolution, so what do you expect?
Microsoft sees end of Windows era
(from BBC News)
Interesting news piece on Microsoft's plans for what to replace the increasingly-dated Windows format of OSs with. Also includes the fantastically clause-ridden sentence, "I would be surprised if there was definitive evidence that nothing like this was not kicking around" -- ah, the loss of meaning!
Review of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
(from Empire Online)
It just opened at #2 in the US, behind a third week for The Dark Knight, and reviews like this reveal why. Empire don't expect it to be some meaningful artistic film, just a fun blockbuster, and unfortunately it comes up short in that respect. Oh dear.
I've just discovered the Apple symbol in normal fonts: (It's Option+Shift+K -- at least, it is on Macs -- for anyone interested in repeating the process.)
But, the real question is, will it be visible to those without a Mac? Without a normal PC here to test for myself, I have no idea.
Anyone?
But, the real question is, will it be visible to those without a Mac? Without a normal PC here to test for myself, I have no idea.
Anyone?
Monday, 4 August 2008
Articles
The buzz of internet film teasers by Alex Stanger
(from BBC News)
Interesting article about the importance of trailers to movies these days, though let down by being based on a poorly researched falsehood (the footage screened of Terminator Salvation at Comic-Con 2008 was all/mostly all new, not just the teaser trailer).
(from BBC News)
Interesting article about the importance of trailers to movies these days, though let down by being based on a poorly researched falsehood (the footage screened of Terminator Salvation at Comic-Con 2008 was all/mostly all new, not just the teaser trailer).
Philadelphia
A visit to this historic American city, including:
The Big Bus Company
Bus tour of various sites in the city, from Independence Hall (where the Declaration of Independence was signed) to the steps Rocky ran up. Very informative, therefore worthwhile.
Liberty Bell Center
A brief museum housing the Liberty Bell, one of America's symbolic artefacts (or, I suppose, "artifacts").
The Big Bus Company
Bus tour of various sites in the city, from Independence Hall (where the Declaration of Independence was signed) to the steps Rocky ran up. Very informative, therefore worthwhile.
Liberty Bell Center
A brief museum housing the Liberty Bell, one of America's symbolic artefacts (or, I suppose, "artifacts").
Sunday, 3 August 2008
TV
The Armstrong & Miller Show
A selection of random sketches thanks to YouTube, including their brilliant WWII RAF and Flanders & Swan spoof ones. Also, an absolutely exceptional one from an older series that you can see here.
At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper
Review of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Respected reviewers Roger Ebert and original collaborator Gene Siskel review the first animated Batman film spun off from the ever-popular animated series in this piece (available for free online) from around 1995, naming it second only to Burton's Batman in the screen Bat-canon (of course, this was a decade before Batman Begins).
A selection of random sketches thanks to YouTube, including their brilliant WWII RAF and Flanders & Swan spoof ones. Also, an absolutely exceptional one from an older series that you can see here.
At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper
Review of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Respected reviewers Roger Ebert and original collaborator Gene Siskel review the first animated Batman film spun off from the ever-popular animated series in this piece (available for free online) from around 1995, naming it second only to Burton's Batman in the screen Bat-canon (of course, this was a decade before Batman Begins).
Theatre
Walking With Dinosaurs: The Live Experience
(at Madison Square Garden)
Like the TV show on which it was based, this is theoretically an educational look back at the time of the dinosaurs. In reality, the real attraction is the spectacle of seeing life-size dinosaurs moving about in the real world. Spectacular it is, enjoyable with either a childish sense of wonder that there are dinosaurs right there or a more adult appreciation of the technical skill implemented to achieve this. The scale of the show means it won't be going everywhere, but if you're into dinosaurs -- or have a child who is -- it's unmissable given the chance. (Check out the show's official site for clips.)
(at Madison Square Garden)
Like the TV show on which it was based, this is theoretically an educational look back at the time of the dinosaurs. In reality, the real attraction is the spectacle of seeing life-size dinosaurs moving about in the real world. Spectacular it is, enjoyable with either a childish sense of wonder that there are dinosaurs right there or a more adult appreciation of the technical skill implemented to achieve this. The scale of the show means it won't be going everywhere, but if you're into dinosaurs -- or have a child who is -- it's unmissable given the chance. (Check out the show's official site for clips.)
Apple TV
My parents just got an Apple TV for their New York apartment, and within a couple of hours I can say it's a lot of fun. Movie trailers from Apple in HD or videos from YouTube load up blindingly quickly -- especially those HD trailers, whose speed beggars belief -- and, while it's slightly awkward to search using the onscreen letter selection, anything that's on YouTube can be found. It's all such fun.
Apple TV also plays music, synced wirelessly with iTunes on your home PC or Mac. It's also fun to browse your music collection on your TV, flipping through the album covers (if you've bothered to acquire them of course) and playing the music out through whatever speaker system you have there -- great if you've got a surround sound setup! This syncing also allows you to get at any videos that are on your iTunes, so whether you've legally bought it or illegally downloaded it, if it's playable in your iTunes you can now play it on your TV.
It also allows you to purchase movies and TV shows from the iTunes store directly from your TV, either as rentals in SD or sometimes HD (for films), or to keep (for either). That's definitely something we'll try out sometime soon. Apparently the quality of HD movies isn't as good as Blu-ray -- it streams them, rather than spending forever downloading a Blu-ray-sized video file -- but should still be impressive. Some of the TV shows are also very reasonable priced, making them seem like fair rentals (with the full-priced ones I often wonder why not buy the harddrive-crash-proof DVD or Blu-ray instead?) You can also buy music and music videos from your Apple TV.
In all, the Apple TV is a lot of fun if you download (or would download) a lot of TV and movies and would like to properly watch them on your TV, or have a good sound setup and would love to hear all your music through it. There are other solutions, of course, but this one integrates seamlessly and works perfectly. But then, it is made by Apple, so what did you expect?
Apple TV also plays music, synced wirelessly with iTunes on your home PC or Mac. It's also fun to browse your music collection on your TV, flipping through the album covers (if you've bothered to acquire them of course) and playing the music out through whatever speaker system you have there -- great if you've got a surround sound setup! This syncing also allows you to get at any videos that are on your iTunes, so whether you've legally bought it or illegally downloaded it, if it's playable in your iTunes you can now play it on your TV.
It also allows you to purchase movies and TV shows from the iTunes store directly from your TV, either as rentals in SD or sometimes HD (for films), or to keep (for either). That's definitely something we'll try out sometime soon. Apparently the quality of HD movies isn't as good as Blu-ray -- it streams them, rather than spending forever downloading a Blu-ray-sized video file -- but should still be impressive. Some of the TV shows are also very reasonable priced, making them seem like fair rentals (with the full-priced ones I often wonder why not buy the harddrive-crash-proof DVD or Blu-ray instead?) You can also buy music and music videos from your Apple TV.
In all, the Apple TV is a lot of fun if you download (or would download) a lot of TV and movies and would like to properly watch them on your TV, or have a good sound setup and would love to hear all your music through it. There are other solutions, of course, but this one integrates seamlessly and works perfectly. But then, it is made by Apple, so what did you expect?
Saturday, 2 August 2008
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