OMG - how far behind???
Aug. 24th, 2012 09:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alobearThere was a resolution not so long ago that I would ensure all future reviews were at least 100 words long and had something interesting to say about whatever I was reviewing.
Epic. Fail.
Step Up 3D:
Fairly forgettable. However, I was quite pleased that they took the particularly dorky character from the second film and made him the protagonist of the third one. Shame the story was a bit lame. Plus, because it was meant to be viewed in 3D, the camera angles on the dancing scenes were rather weird and not very effective.
The Wizard of London by Mercedes Lackey:
Which one was this one again? I have to admit the Elemental Masters series of books is starting to blur. I'm getting through them very quickly as they're not long, and even the audio versions don't last very long when I'm listening to a couple of hours a day. Oh yes, this was the Snow Queen adaptation, with the addition of avian familiars for the protagonists and those protagonists being two pre-teen girls rather than one marriageable young woman. Quite fun, but clearly not overly memorable.
The City and the City by China Mieville:
This, on the other hand, was genius from start to finish. It took me a little while to really get into it, because the concept was so mind boggling and the introduction of it so piecemeal that I was quite a way through before I could get my head round it enough to figure out what was going on. Awesomely clever, though, delightfully pretentious, and very satisfying in its execution and conclusion.
The Bourne Legacy:
Ah, Jeremy Renner. I rewatched the whole of the original Bourne trilogy recently, purely because Jeremy Renner is in the new one and I wanted to have a clue what was going on when I went to see it. I wasn't overly fussed about the originals, but the new one I rather enjoyed - and not just because Mr Renner has a nice arse. I liked the fact that it was a really slow build - letting you find your feet again in the story, figure out how this film fits in with the others and get to know the additional layers. Then, of course, there was lots of running, chasing, shooting and blowing shit up - but it was all done pretty well (the motorcycle chase was maybe a tad overlong) - and Mr Renner really does have a very nice arse.
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest:
Another audiobook - this one selected because it was partially read by Wil Wheaton. It was kind of steampunky with added zombies - but in actual fact was at heart a very small story about the relationship between a mother and her son, which was very well drawn and believable in amongst the flesh-eating, airship mayhem.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne:
I'm really steaming through the audiobooks at the moment - though in fairness, this one was very, very short. And actually rather uneventful! Man goes on sea expedition, gets captured by weird guy with a submarine, spends many months voyaging about, is then rescued. It had its moments (not one, but a whole bunch of giant octopuses) but not much in the way of purpose.
Lars and the Real Girl:
Ah, Ryan Gosling. I seem to be having a period of finding attractice actors to stalk at the moment (in terms of seeking out their back catalogues or going to see things purely because they are in them). This was a delightful little film about a man who buys a sex doll on the internet and suffers under the delusion that she is a real person. His whole town goes along with it at the instruction of his doctor, and the events that ensure are by turns hilarious and heartbreaking. Small, quiet, heartfelt - a little gem of a movie.
You Me Bum Bum Train:
I'm apparently not supposed to tell people about what this actually involved - though I have described it in detail to quite a few people this week (oops!) and it gets better in the telling every time. It's one of those things that I'm not sure I wholly enjoyed at the time, but is getting more and more awesome in my memory as time goes on. Definitely an experience!
Able2UK gig:
We went because Frank Turner was included in the line up and he was good value for money, as ever. I didn't actually experience most of the rest of the gig - I spent a lot of it sitting outside in the Roundhouse's open air faux beach bar, which was very pleasant.
Reserved for the Cat by Mercedes Lackey:
Yet another Elemental Masters audiobook - this one was lots of fun, not least because of the cat of the title, who was a very entertaining, sarcastic presence throughout. I liked the way the story revolved around a theatre, and the cast of characters were very likeable. It supposed to be an adaptation of Puss In Boots - which demonstrates that I have no idea what the original story of that is, because I didn't recognise it at all.
Epic. Fail.
Step Up 3D:
Fairly forgettable. However, I was quite pleased that they took the particularly dorky character from the second film and made him the protagonist of the third one. Shame the story was a bit lame. Plus, because it was meant to be viewed in 3D, the camera angles on the dancing scenes were rather weird and not very effective.
The Wizard of London by Mercedes Lackey:
Which one was this one again? I have to admit the Elemental Masters series of books is starting to blur. I'm getting through them very quickly as they're not long, and even the audio versions don't last very long when I'm listening to a couple of hours a day. Oh yes, this was the Snow Queen adaptation, with the addition of avian familiars for the protagonists and those protagonists being two pre-teen girls rather than one marriageable young woman. Quite fun, but clearly not overly memorable.
The City and the City by China Mieville:
This, on the other hand, was genius from start to finish. It took me a little while to really get into it, because the concept was so mind boggling and the introduction of it so piecemeal that I was quite a way through before I could get my head round it enough to figure out what was going on. Awesomely clever, though, delightfully pretentious, and very satisfying in its execution and conclusion.
The Bourne Legacy:
Ah, Jeremy Renner. I rewatched the whole of the original Bourne trilogy recently, purely because Jeremy Renner is in the new one and I wanted to have a clue what was going on when I went to see it. I wasn't overly fussed about the originals, but the new one I rather enjoyed - and not just because Mr Renner has a nice arse. I liked the fact that it was a really slow build - letting you find your feet again in the story, figure out how this film fits in with the others and get to know the additional layers. Then, of course, there was lots of running, chasing, shooting and blowing shit up - but it was all done pretty well (the motorcycle chase was maybe a tad overlong) - and Mr Renner really does have a very nice arse.
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest:
Another audiobook - this one selected because it was partially read by Wil Wheaton. It was kind of steampunky with added zombies - but in actual fact was at heart a very small story about the relationship between a mother and her son, which was very well drawn and believable in amongst the flesh-eating, airship mayhem.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne:
I'm really steaming through the audiobooks at the moment - though in fairness, this one was very, very short. And actually rather uneventful! Man goes on sea expedition, gets captured by weird guy with a submarine, spends many months voyaging about, is then rescued. It had its moments (not one, but a whole bunch of giant octopuses) but not much in the way of purpose.
Lars and the Real Girl:
Ah, Ryan Gosling. I seem to be having a period of finding attractice actors to stalk at the moment (in terms of seeking out their back catalogues or going to see things purely because they are in them). This was a delightful little film about a man who buys a sex doll on the internet and suffers under the delusion that she is a real person. His whole town goes along with it at the instruction of his doctor, and the events that ensure are by turns hilarious and heartbreaking. Small, quiet, heartfelt - a little gem of a movie.
You Me Bum Bum Train:
I'm apparently not supposed to tell people about what this actually involved - though I have described it in detail to quite a few people this week (oops!) and it gets better in the telling every time. It's one of those things that I'm not sure I wholly enjoyed at the time, but is getting more and more awesome in my memory as time goes on. Definitely an experience!
Able2UK gig:
We went because Frank Turner was included in the line up and he was good value for money, as ever. I didn't actually experience most of the rest of the gig - I spent a lot of it sitting outside in the Roundhouse's open air faux beach bar, which was very pleasant.
Reserved for the Cat by Mercedes Lackey:
Yet another Elemental Masters audiobook - this one was lots of fun, not least because of the cat of the title, who was a very entertaining, sarcastic presence throughout. I liked the way the story revolved around a theatre, and the cast of characters were very likeable. It supposed to be an adaptation of Puss In Boots - which demonstrates that I have no idea what the original story of that is, because I didn't recognise it at all.
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no subject
Date: 2012-08-25 10:13 pm (UTC)I haven't updated at all in over a month, and I have so many things I should have written up, it's ridiculous. Short version sometime tomorrow/Monday, I hope...
Did your job thing work out as expected?
no subject
Date: 2012-08-26 07:04 am (UTC)However, during the course of the whole consultation thing, I have met an entirely new department full of cool people who want to give me a job doing stuff I'm actually interested in, with a proper contract - but they can't do that until October.
So, I'm biding my time and hoping to do a sideways shift to the parent company (with actual benefits - yay!) in a month.
no subject
Date: 2012-08-26 10:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-08-27 11:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-08-27 11:48 am (UTC)I loved the first two New Crobuzon books so much and I rather failed on getting through Iron Council. I rather feel like I should finish that before I try any of his others. The City and the City does sound rather tempting though :)
Just to be perfectly clear, Jeremy Renner has a nice arse. Is that what you're trying to say? :p