Friday, July 3, 2009

pink lemonade and muddy pawprints

It's life Jim....but those damn puppies just don't know it!


Oh grown. I woke up early, ie a proper time, 830, to let the dogs out of their cage. It rained over night, it was overcast and wet. Hence the dogs wouldn't hop out the door while i stood in the gravel yard waiting for them. So i went in and fed them. The minute my back was turned one of them peed in the corner. So mop out clean, clean, clean. Then within an hour the floor was covered in manic muddy paw prints. LARGE MOPPING!

And now there's stains again and the floor needs a good hovering. It just won't end, and i couldn't be arsed doing it just yet.

I also saw a lot of property porn this morning. Yes it is porn. No one should watch that much housing in one morning unless they're a post man or a burglar. Seriously, in a more serious way than grey's anatomy, who really can afford to be a property developer? Or to have the "house doctor" come around. At least 3 house show's within as many hours, and not the good kind, ie NOT House M.D. This is just cruel scheduling. There's a credit crunch for feck sake! Who wants to see a developer miss out on a profit by a month and have to settle for inflated renting then sell a nice little gable end terrace house. NOT ME! After all i live within my own mess as it is, literally and figuratively. So why is it that all these shows are still going on? DO the brits really love their home's this much? Or are they really so greedy that they have to dream of buying home's so they can do them up and sell them to others? What a waste.

PS Bargain Hunt is on now. And another bitch fest from that yank on House Doctor. If only she was a real doctor, she'd prescribe pastel colours and smarmy backhanded compliments. Fucking yanks.



CINEPHILLIA:

Just over a week ago i went to see Terminator Salvation. Now i was going to give a more comprehensive and canon-aware review of the movie and it's place in the Terminator saga. But then i got distracted and lazy and so i will just say a shorter mediocre few comments on it.

It's entertaining. It's thick and fast and down right stupid. The new Machine's are menacing and fun, but they pass to quickly and just aren't the same. There's not as many lasers as the flash-forwards of the previous movies, a real pitty. But we do have a lot of new toys. We also have a non-sensicle very quick and predictable plot. It's a leave your brain at the ticket box sort of movie. A MASSIVE shame compared to the techno-warning of the classic original. Not only that but T2: Judgement Day was almost a horror movie that attempted to deal with "temporal mechanic's" at the same time of pushing CGI technology to the limit. A ground breaking classic that still kicks ass. T3: Rise of the Machines, now it's a mixed bag. It's fun, it make's less sense than it's classic predecessor's but it ends with a bang. The TX wasn't as cold as the T-1000 or Arnies original but she did pack a fair few massive punches. The T-1's and mini-Hunter Killer as her minions was fun. AND THAT FIRETRUCK CHASE! Just wow, destruction un-rivaled. And the end was a great morale dilemma. Judgement day would always happen. Such a great finale.

T4 however is such a slap in the face. It's to fast, full of to many shiny new toys that are wasted. And the lo-tech but not so apocalyptic future is just annoying. A-10 tank buster airplane's just don't make sense in the post apocalyptic future, i can forgive the submarine but an Osprey as well? Please spare me. I was disappointed. There was a good few nods at the past movies, a good "arnie" cameo and a lot of familiar quotable lines. But no NEW line's you'd quote again. Bale was flat and in-affective. And the "main character" he wasn't very believable. His accent fluctuated wildly and he just wasn't very likable as the Death-row inmate trying to make people love him and his massive mutant cyborg heart.

Result: 3 stars. XXX




War movie classic's:

Now while doing my dvd wander thing with DS last Thursday i brought up this question:

What is the best war movie, set and made in the 20th century?

His first answer was Cold Mountain, as a joke, so i added the other clause's.

I then gave him the answer. Glory. Stanley Kubrick's master piece and understated classic. I first saw it in "flim club" in school and have loved it ever since. World War 1's atrocities and horror played out by the execution of innocent soldiers for "desertion" following a failed and flawed attack on a pointless target. Amazingly moving and it's not the execution that make's you cry and weep like a baby no. That is a manly tear moment. It's the last scene however that would destroy even the hardiest of men. A German Milkmaid is forced to sing songs for rowdy french soldiers. Soon they all sush as they realise she's got a great pair of pipes. Her stressed, tearful singing with a terrified luck carries a moving tune that slowly pulls the soldiers in. Close ups show every soldier slowly remember home, remember their sweethearts and weep for their losses. It's a greatly moving scene that will leave you scrambling for hankies. Brilliant.


But the true great that i forgot....


The best war movie based on pure fictional entertainment and gun hoe action:

WHERE EAGLE'S DARE

Just imagine the theme tune now, dun dun dun, de de de, dun dun dun....

Or Quote it: "Broadsword calling Danny boy, come in Danny Boy"

Then remember that this crazy movie involves, espoinage, wholesome and willing Bavarian double-agent beauties, Nazi's, a kick ass mountain castle, a Richard Burton tour de force in british swagger and elocution and Clint eastwood mowing down nazi's with infinite ammo. You can't ask for more from a war-actioner. It's one of the greatest loads of shite ever made, and in a good way!

It's a father and son movie, it's a lads movie, it's even a filmbuff and thespian movie! To combine great conspiracies and acting with a pointless action vehicle with such grace and style.

If you haven't seen this movie then you should hang your head in shame. You won't regret it, it's just to darn fun!





Abandonia:

So i forged on and eventually played Civili(z)ation IV again. And i have to say i'm sort of disappointed this time. My computer isn't exactly up to the task of handling it, but it's just slow/fast. I've already reached the 18th century and i don't even have an army capable of waging war. It requires so much more micro-management that it consumes all of your time and you get fuck all done. Now i love a lot of it's new system's. The civic's and religion feature's are amazing, but their potential isn't realised. Not only that but the speed at which the years pass. It's a problem with a lot of civili(z)ation game's, but it all pass's far to quickly. It's better when you spend several hour's with the same level of technology and build an army in each era worthy of a long struggle and/or brief wars. I would like it if the game's reflected periods of history and you could actually raise armies fitting for those times. Unfortunately it can not be.


Civili(z)ation 2: Test of Time:

I mentioned it before, and i tried to get back to the game's i had played before. No such luck.

The first save game got put in the wrong folder, the ordinary civ 2 folder. Thus when i moved it back to the right place it wouldn't open it.

I then started a new game, and it went well. A few days later i attempted to open it again, oh oo, big glitch. Instead of loading with the dark palate landscape and animated units, it loaded the OLD units on a mixed and fractured background. The glitch was grotesque and unexplained. I saved it properly. It was a save game for this game. But for some unknown reason it loaded the graphics in a crazy way and now i couldn't play it because of how ugly it was.

So i started a newer game late last night. I hope that when i get back to it later today it will actually work. But the hassle of those failed save games is annoying.



Lounge Athlete:

Federer is just about to play Tommy Haas so i will keep this brief.

Murry Mania may be short lived as he face's Andy Roddick in the semi-final today. It will be a marathon match and one to look forward to.

It's Federer who get's the relative cake walk and VERY certain match. Haas may be good but i sincerely doubt he has the where-with-all to get the good points and beat the style grace and shear talent of Federer.

Andy Vs Andy will be the real good match of today. And i can not wait for it!



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