I’ve resigned myself to the idea that I’ll probably never love another Bond movie like I did Casino Royale. Other than the movie’s own merits, it had the never-can-be-repeated revelation of Daniel Craig’s gritty, physical Bond who still had the heart that could be broken. Even so, Quantum of Solace was a huge disappointment and while Skyfall took the franchise into the billion dollar club, earned critical raves and had terrific cinematography, for me it was let down by the contrived, weak writing. So at this point my expectations were set low and I just wanted some decent entertainment. And for the first hour or so, the movie really delivered.
Tag: review
Golden Son by Pierce Brown – Book Review
A sequel to Red Rising and a middle book in the planned trilogy, Golden Son is, to borrow the novel’s own speak, a bloodydamn great improvement on its predecessor and does everything a sequel should do. It broadens the scope and stakes, introduces new memorable characters and deepens the old ones, while also being very exciting to read.
New Music 11/2015 – Jack White, Szymon, David Gilmour
Jack White – Lazaretto
Sounds exactly like you’d imagine a Jack White album to sound like at this point, which is no bad thing at all. I’m a huge fan of The White Stripes and his solo output has the same sense of eccentricity and weirdness, which I like a lot. Though his music is arguably less special and idiosyncratic without the simplicity and innocence of Meg White’s drumming, it’s still a fun, genre-blurring mix of blues, funk, folksy strumming and much more, topped off with quirky lyrics.
Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding – Book Review
The 2001 film adaptation with Renee Zellweger is one of my favorite romcoms, so when I spied the original novel on the book shelf at my Mum’s I decided to give it a go. With some reservations, as I’ve read a couple of other books my favourite chick flicks were based on, which turned out to be very disappointing. I ended up gulping down the book in a space of one evening, while waiting for the drying machine to finish its business, it was that readable.
Insomnia by Stephen King – Book Review
Insomnia takes its sweet time to set things up and it tends to ramble on. But whether it’s because I was in a right mindset or simply enjoyed the setting and the characters, I didn’t mind the slow pace and ended up really liking the book.
Snowpiercer – Film Review
This dystopian parable had one of the nuttiest premises I’ve seen in a movie. In the not-so-distant future, the entire planet is frozen solid after the attempt to solve the problem of global warming goes spectacularly wrong. All life is wiped out, and what remains of the human race is gathered on a single train, which is powered by an eternal engine and whose rail network spans the entire globe, so it takes the train one year to complete the full circle.
Crimson Peak – Film Review
I’m glad I watched it, but dear lord this was one silly movie. I overheard one person say that this was the worst film he’s ever seen, and while personally I don’t concur, if you don’t have a soft spot for the overblown gothic melodrama I can see why this movie would not agree with you.
Laura Marling @ Hamer Hall
Saw Laura Marling at the beautiful Hamer Hall yesterday – she performed as part of the Melbourne Festival. Monday night is a weird night for a concert, but then a break in the routine is always nice.
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer – Book Review
I ended up reading this book twice, simply because I didn’t feel like I gave it justice the first time around: I read it in a terribly rushed, haphazard manner and this is simply not a book to read in 15-minute bites. Plus I have a bad habit where sometimes I get impatient about two thirds into the reading, and start scanning and skipping through the final pages in a race to the finish.
yggdrasille.com 