I continued my Disney exploration with this cute and quirky 2002 movie about a little Hawaiian girl who unknowingly adopts an alien creature from outer space. One of our heroes is a strange, angry, destructive force, another is shaped like a cross between a koala and an insect.
Author: yggdrasille
The Hunchback of Notre Dame – Film Review
I decided to catch up on Disney’s traditionally animated films I never saw, so I watched this 1996 odd duck which, along with Pocahontas, heralded the end of the early 90s Disney Renaissance and the beginning of the diminishing returns.
What We Do in the Shadows – Film Review
I’m not fussed to watch the latest Thor extravaganza, but its release at least reminded me to track down director Taika Waititi’s earlier film, a mockumentary about house-sharing vampires in Wellington, which he made with Flight of the Conchords’ Jemaine Clement.
New Music 11/2017 – Pixx, Agnes Obel
A poptastic debut and a perfect soundtrack to a wintry night.
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri – Book Review
In between book club reading, I’ve revisited one of my favourite short story collections, destined to be one of those books I take off the shelf again and again.
Mt Macedon Gardens
I’m usually on the ball when it comes to sorting through photos, but for some reason I left these pics from our trip to the beautiful Mt Macedon gardens this past autumn sit on my camera for months. Then again, it’s kinda cool to look at them later on the other side of winter and get a mini-blast from the past.
My dear and entirely selfish wish is for my local council to chop down the evergreen trees in my area, and replace them with the European ones instead, so I can get spectacular autumn foliage at my door.
Cast Away – Film Review
I must have been in a mood for one-man survival stories, because after renting I Am Legend the other week next up was this Tom Hanks drama I somehow avoided watching all these years. Except that this time there are no killer mutants and instead of a dog, Tom Hanks’ character talks to a washed-up volleyball.
I Am Legend – Film Review
The DVD I rented offered me a choice of the theatrical cut, and the alternative version with the original ending that was scrapped after it was unfavourably received at the test screenings. While I really enjoyed the movie this story of two radically different endings is probably its most interesting aspect. The DVD menu made me feel like a character in a fairytale: shall I take the road on the left, or the road on the right? With the magic of the remote, I watched both endings, and once again marvelled at Hollywood’s willingness to ruin a perfectly fine film.
Spoilers for the endings ahead.
Quote of the Day
“In my life I have found two things of priceless worth – learning and loving. Nothing else – not fame, not power, not achievement for its own sake – can possible have the same lasting value. For when your life is over, if you can say ‘I have learned’ and ‘I have loved,’ you will also be able to say ‘I have been happy.”
– Arthur C. Clarke
