That's right, he's singing Enter Sandman!
Or not?
Either way, you should take out a moment and head towards original post.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Bane is a Metallica fan!
Yes, that's right, he digs Metallica!
That's right, he's singing Enter Sandman!
Or not?
Either way, you should take out a moment and head towards original post.
That's right, he's singing Enter Sandman!
Or not?
Either way, you should take out a moment and head towards original post.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Gigs this month
The gig scene has been pretty decent the last few days, including one virtual experience.
Them Clones were playing at Hard Rock Cafe last week, with Shaair+Func as the opening act. Bad idea! Shaair+Func were brilliant! Their music was a lot different than what I was expecting really. For one, I didn't expect them to have a backing band. I don't know why, but I always assumed that it would be just the two of them on stage. Anyway, Randolph was pretty good with his guitar, and his funky eyewear was absolute high-fashion! Monica Dogra was hot! She had a great stage presence, sang the pants off everyone, and did I say she was smokin' hot?
So this was why it was an absolute bad idea for Them Clones to play after them. They seemed like some kids at a local gig. No stage presence to speak of, and apart from their single "My Life", the other songs were kinda lacklustre. Lets hope the songs sound better on their album, the corny sounding "Love, Hate, Heroes". Check out the song and video online.
This was followed up a few days later with Iron Maiden's Flight 666! Whatta kickass experience! It was great, revisiting the bombay concert, and watching the global hysteria and the mad chaos at all the venues the band visited. Man, Latin and South America is crazy! People camping out for days on end, guys quitting their jobs to watch the band, and people coming in from neighbouring countries, even! Brilliant! The documentary itself wasn't so hot. I would have enjoyed some more behind-the-scene revelations and snippets, and less concert footage. But what-the-hey, it's a great adrenaline rush watching it anyway!
And lastly, the Channel [V] and BigAdda Concert For Change. This was mixed bag, if anything. With a line-up that included the Launchpad finalists (Cassini's Division, Faridkot and Reverse Polarity), The Raghu Dixit Project, Anoushka M, Bappi "You are my Chicken Curry" Lahiri, and Kailash Kher, I was absolutely not sure just who their target audience for the gig was.
Anyway, it got off to a bad start with me missing The Raghu Dixit Project and Cassini's Division, sob sob. I believe I was, at that time, having a bloody cold coffee at a local restaurant. What can I say, I suck. I walked in just as Reverse Polarity was finishing their gig. Probably a good thing, as I was not a fan of their music. They are a very tight band, and if they stick together for a few more years, are sure to do bloody well.
Next up, Anoushka M. Blah, boring. A very bad billing. Faridkot came on next. They were pretty decent. A very Jal/Atif Aslam kinda sound, they were probably the band that would have had the best pan-India appeal. Kinda monotonous after a while though. That monotony was broken by the fabulous sounds of Bappi Lahiri! I still have a hard time deciding if people actually liked his music for what it was, or just as a novely act. Either way, the crowd went ape-shit insane. Probably the most successful act of the night. Even Kailash Kher, who came on next, couldn't really get the crowd going as much. Infact, he even sounded a bit less energetic than usual.
Sometime before or after the final act, Reverse Polarity were declared Launchpad winners. I was personally hoping for Cassini's to get it. Anyway, for a gig titled "Concert for Change", I dont know know if anyone got any message out of the show or not. I didn't, really. There were some cool Channel V promos on all the time, with Santa and Banta and stuff, plus some occasional messages being show, that I couldn't decide were being serious or spoofs. It was, anyway, a free gig, so that was good.
Them Clones were playing at Hard Rock Cafe last week, with Shaair+Func as the opening act. Bad idea! Shaair+Func were brilliant! Their music was a lot different than what I was expecting really. For one, I didn't expect them to have a backing band. I don't know why, but I always assumed that it would be just the two of them on stage. Anyway, Randolph was pretty good with his guitar, and his funky eyewear was absolute high-fashion! Monica Dogra was hot! She had a great stage presence, sang the pants off everyone, and did I say she was smokin' hot?
So this was why it was an absolute bad idea for Them Clones to play after them. They seemed like some kids at a local gig. No stage presence to speak of, and apart from their single "My Life", the other songs were kinda lacklustre. Lets hope the songs sound better on their album, the corny sounding "Love, Hate, Heroes". Check out the song and video online.
This was followed up a few days later with Iron Maiden's Flight 666! Whatta kickass experience! It was great, revisiting the bombay concert, and watching the global hysteria and the mad chaos at all the venues the band visited. Man, Latin and South America is crazy! People camping out for days on end, guys quitting their jobs to watch the band, and people coming in from neighbouring countries, even! Brilliant! The documentary itself wasn't so hot. I would have enjoyed some more behind-the-scene revelations and snippets, and less concert footage. But what-the-hey, it's a great adrenaline rush watching it anyway!
And lastly, the Channel [V] and BigAdda Concert For Change. This was mixed bag, if anything. With a line-up that included the Launchpad finalists (Cassini's Division, Faridkot and Reverse Polarity), The Raghu Dixit Project, Anoushka M, Bappi "You are my Chicken Curry" Lahiri, and Kailash Kher, I was absolutely not sure just who their target audience for the gig was.
Anyway, it got off to a bad start with me missing The Raghu Dixit Project and Cassini's Division, sob sob. I believe I was, at that time, having a bloody cold coffee at a local restaurant. What can I say, I suck. I walked in just as Reverse Polarity was finishing their gig. Probably a good thing, as I was not a fan of their music. They are a very tight band, and if they stick together for a few more years, are sure to do bloody well.
Next up, Anoushka M. Blah, boring. A very bad billing. Faridkot came on next. They were pretty decent. A very Jal/Atif Aslam kinda sound, they were probably the band that would have had the best pan-India appeal. Kinda monotonous after a while though. That monotony was broken by the fabulous sounds of Bappi Lahiri! I still have a hard time deciding if people actually liked his music for what it was, or just as a novely act. Either way, the crowd went ape-shit insane. Probably the most successful act of the night. Even Kailash Kher, who came on next, couldn't really get the crowd going as much. Infact, he even sounded a bit less energetic than usual.
Sometime before or after the final act, Reverse Polarity were declared Launchpad winners. I was personally hoping for Cassini's to get it. Anyway, for a gig titled "Concert for Change", I dont know know if anyone got any message out of the show or not. I didn't, really. There were some cool Channel V promos on all the time, with Santa and Banta and stuff, plus some occasional messages being show, that I couldn't decide were being serious or spoofs. It was, anyway, a free gig, so that was good.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
The Fire Still Burns...
I recently met a bunch of guys, who, like most of the people in the city, seemed more or less disillusioned with the whole Political Circus that keeps playing out all around, perhaps most easily accessible on your local "news" channel. They've decided to step up and try and make a change in the attitude of people. While this whole excercise was initially geared towards getting people to vote, that space was already cluttered. So they're kinda hoping to just make people more aware of their civic right, and become less apathetic.
As a first step, they've recorded a song and uploaded it on their website, that went live a few days back.
I'm, as of right now, working with them on deigns. Phase one includes a logo design, and a basic, functional website, primary for hosting the song, and getting people to sign-up for their cause. Check it out.
As a first step, they've recorded a song and uploaded it on their website, that went live a few days back.
I'm, as of right now, working with them on deigns. Phase one includes a logo design, and a basic, functional website, primary for hosting the song, and getting people to sign-up for their cause. Check it out.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Movies this month
A quick assessment of some notable movies I saw this month:
The Hunt for Red October: I hadn't seen any Jack Ryan movies before this, and I thought he was more of a hands-on field agent. It was interesting to learn that he was actually a research analyst. The movie had a fairly interesting storyline, but it seemed to drag at places. There wasn't much happening visually on screen really. I'm thinking the book will be a lot more interesting too read. Sean Connery does a pretty good job, but Alec Baldwin is relegated to almost a guest appearance status. Anyway, I'm intrigued enough to someday watch the other Jack Ryan movies.
Being John Malkovich: What a nutter of a movie! Absolutely insane! I must have jumped up astonished and dazed and shouted out HOLY FUCK atleast half a dozen times during this movie! It was fabulous, a real treat to watch. The story: John Cusack is a failed puppeteer, a loser basically (and he plays the role real good) who takes up a job to sustain himself. The job is on the 7 1/2 floor of a building, one of the many bizzare quirks in the movie. He discovers a portal there, behind a filing cabinet, that leads into the mind of the actor John Malkovich. Hah! And they then start seeing everything through the eyes of JM. Bizzare! There's a lotta existential thoughts in there, like what would happen if a man enters a portal that leads into his own mind, and are we all puppets and blah blah, which can safely be ignored if you want to just take this movie for what it presents at face value! This is simply an absolutely trippy movie, with fabulous performances by everyone involved!
Sleepy Hollow: When the movie had just released, I didn't expect the headless horseman to be an actual ghoul. I don't think that's how it is in the original story, but I could be wrong (I haven't read the book, I've just seen the cartoon on tv a looooong time back). I always though the story was more of a character study of Ichabod Crane (kickass name). Tim Burton directs it as a creepy detective movie of sorts, and it's fun. Johnny Depp is once more at home playing yet another quirky charcter - a police constable who's trying to get the police at large to adopt scientific methods to apprehend criminals and solve crimes (he also keeps having wierd dream interludes that I thought added nothing of substance to the narrative and killed the pace of the story really). The ghoul is question, the headless horseman, played delightfully by Christopher Walken, is a real bad-ass. He should get a spin-off of his own, that movie would be a rip-roaring gory fun-filled ride. It would be a great horror-comedy really. Anyway, this was a great movie with trademark Burton visuals and colors. And i really like it.
Dog Soldiers: Rather thrilling, and high on action. It's not really horror, inspite of having werewolves, but it gives you a rush nevertheless. Oh, and it's very visceral, gory. The setting's pretty good. A bunch of Irish (or Brit) soldiers are in Scotland, on what they believe to be a training mission. Turns out they're , up by the Special Forces squad to be bait for werewolves. Whoohoo, let the massacre begin! The characters are all great (i loved hearing them talk), and the creature effects were very realistic. As real as a werewolf can be, anyway. A very engrossing creature feature.
Bubba Ho-Tep: There's a great behind this movie. The Elvis that died was actually an Elvin-impersonator, with whom the real Elvis had swapped placed. The real deal Elvis is now old and wasting away in a retirement community. Among his companions are a guy who believes he's The Lone Ranger and a black dude who believes he's JFK (he's black because the CIA dyed him that color - the greatest cover-up in the world). These whacky bits are fabulous, and good 'ol Bruce Campbell make a fantastic Elvis. The "creature" part of this creature-feature is largely disappointing. It's an egyptiAn soul-sucker, a mummy, who's killing the oldies one by one. It's upto Elvis n JFK to stop him. I suspect the low-budget killed most of the thrills that could have been there. I suspect the original story, by Joe R. Lansdale, will be a helluva lot more chilling (he's a pretty good horror writer, has done some amazing comics for Avatar Press - check out the By Bizarre Hands series, if you're interested).
Starship Troopers - I finally saw the entire movie from start to end. A whole lotta fun. The bugs attacking in humongous numbers as simply insane! On a side note, since the human goal was eradication of the bug world, and not colonisation, I didn't understand why they didn't simply nuke the planet from orbit, or use planet-busters of some sort (I'm sure that if they've advanced enough to develop warp travel and interstellar starships, the weapons development would have kept pace. I doubt bullets will still be used in the far future. After all, the first application of most new tech is in the military).
The Hunt for Red October: I hadn't seen any Jack Ryan movies before this, and I thought he was more of a hands-on field agent. It was interesting to learn that he was actually a research analyst. The movie had a fairly interesting storyline, but it seemed to drag at places. There wasn't much happening visually on screen really. I'm thinking the book will be a lot more interesting too read. Sean Connery does a pretty good job, but Alec Baldwin is relegated to almost a guest appearance status. Anyway, I'm intrigued enough to someday watch the other Jack Ryan movies.
Being John Malkovich: What a nutter of a movie! Absolutely insane! I must have jumped up astonished and dazed and shouted out HOLY FUCK atleast half a dozen times during this movie! It was fabulous, a real treat to watch. The story: John Cusack is a failed puppeteer, a loser basically (and he plays the role real good) who takes up a job to sustain himself. The job is on the 7 1/2 floor of a building, one of the many bizzare quirks in the movie. He discovers a portal there, behind a filing cabinet, that leads into the mind of the actor John Malkovich. Hah! And they then start seeing everything through the eyes of JM. Bizzare! There's a lotta existential thoughts in there, like what would happen if a man enters a portal that leads into his own mind, and are we all puppets and blah blah, which can safely be ignored if you want to just take this movie for what it presents at face value! This is simply an absolutely trippy movie, with fabulous performances by everyone involved!
Sleepy Hollow: When the movie had just released, I didn't expect the headless horseman to be an actual ghoul. I don't think that's how it is in the original story, but I could be wrong (I haven't read the book, I've just seen the cartoon on tv a looooong time back). I always though the story was more of a character study of Ichabod Crane (kickass name). Tim Burton directs it as a creepy detective movie of sorts, and it's fun. Johnny Depp is once more at home playing yet another quirky charcter - a police constable who's trying to get the police at large to adopt scientific methods to apprehend criminals and solve crimes (he also keeps having wierd dream interludes that I thought added nothing of substance to the narrative and killed the pace of the story really). The ghoul is question, the headless horseman, played delightfully by Christopher Walken, is a real bad-ass. He should get a spin-off of his own, that movie would be a rip-roaring gory fun-filled ride. It would be a great horror-comedy really. Anyway, this was a great movie with trademark Burton visuals and colors. And i really like it.
Dog Soldiers: Rather thrilling, and high on action. It's not really horror, inspite of having werewolves, but it gives you a rush nevertheless. Oh, and it's very visceral, gory. The setting's pretty good. A bunch of Irish (or Brit) soldiers are in Scotland, on what they believe to be a training mission. Turns out they're , up by the Special Forces squad to be bait for werewolves. Whoohoo, let the massacre begin! The characters are all great (i loved hearing them talk), and the creature effects were very realistic. As real as a werewolf can be, anyway. A very engrossing creature feature.
Bubba Ho-Tep: There's a great behind this movie. The Elvis that died was actually an Elvin-impersonator, with whom the real Elvis had swapped placed. The real deal Elvis is now old and wasting away in a retirement community. Among his companions are a guy who believes he's The Lone Ranger and a black dude who believes he's JFK (he's black because the CIA dyed him that color - the greatest cover-up in the world). These whacky bits are fabulous, and good 'ol Bruce Campbell make a fantastic Elvis. The "creature" part of this creature-feature is largely disappointing. It's an egyptiAn soul-sucker, a mummy, who's killing the oldies one by one. It's upto Elvis n JFK to stop him. I suspect the low-budget killed most of the thrills that could have been there. I suspect the original story, by Joe R. Lansdale, will be a helluva lot more chilling (he's a pretty good horror writer, has done some amazing comics for Avatar Press - check out the By Bizarre Hands series, if you're interested).
Starship Troopers - I finally saw the entire movie from start to end. A whole lotta fun. The bugs attacking in humongous numbers as simply insane! On a side note, since the human goal was eradication of the bug world, and not colonisation, I didn't understand why they didn't simply nuke the planet from orbit, or use planet-busters of some sort (I'm sure that if they've advanced enough to develop warp travel and interstellar starships, the weapons development would have kept pace. I doubt bullets will still be used in the far future. After all, the first application of most new tech is in the military).
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Coffee on the Net
The new, redesigned Paddy's Coffee website went live some time back. I'd been working on this for quite some time, though most of if was spent of communicating changes and making edits. It's done now, and a very good coffee shop finally has (what i hope will be perceived as) a pretty neat, matching website.
Check it out - http://www.paddyscoffee.com
Check it out - http://www.paddyscoffee.com
Monday, March 16, 2009
SulaFest 2009 - Minus the "fest"
I went to Nashik's Sula Wineyards on saturday, for the SulaFest 2009. A bunch of bands were supposed to play, and the place was to have been choc-a-bloc with activities, but I was there mostly to experience the wineyard and watch Jalebee Cartel perform live. I got to do both, and I enjoyed myself, but the "Sulafest" itself seemed to be missing.
This is what the press release promised:
I think from next year they should just call it the SulaConcert or something.
Anyway, if that seemed waaay too negative, it's not so, because I had a good time. It was a very relaxing trip, and the bands we heard were pretty good.
Sula had a winery-tour+wine-tasting for 150 bucks. I didn't much attention during the tour really. The wine-tasting was fun though. We tasted 6 different types of wine. Two white, one rose, two red, and one new desert wine. The last one was the only one I liked, all the others were crap. Nothing against Sula, I'm just not a wine drinker, 14% alcohol content suxx., heh.
The concert itself was to have happened at a beautiful open-air amphitheatre. The line up included-
Sridhar & Thayil
Shaair and Func
Agnee
Jalebee Cartel
Salsa dancers, YMCA act & Fire Spinners
Shridhar & Thayil were from New York / New Orleans. They did some old school blues, I think, with a lot of spoken-word interludes. Not sure what, but they were fun. Unfortunately, they over-stayed their welcome, and the rain-gods decided to intervene. The raindrops were bloody massive, and the rain started rather abruptly. So we all ran for shelter.
Some of my friends wanted to leave asap, but it's a good thing we didn't. Jalabee Cartel started playing at around 8, inside the Little Italy restaurant. This was the first time I was seeing them, and they were fabulous! Incredible really! It wasn't the complete band, just two of them, so I'm waiting to see how the band as a whole sounds. The vocalist from Agni was jamming with them for a while, doing some wierd sanskrit stuff on the mic. It was horrible, and they quickly yanked the mic away from him, heh.
Anyway, we left the venue shortly before 10, just before JC were wrapping up. We saw some pandus at the venue, and I hope they didn't create any ruckus.
Click here for pics.
This is what the press release promised:
...a day-long concert at the beautiful open-air, Greek-style amphitheater, set in the middle of Sulas own estate vineyards"This was mostly a bunch of croc. Tthere were no activity stalls of any kind, apart from a tarot reader. Some stalls were selling what looked like designer clothes and accessories. I don't even think they made any sales, because within about an hour of the crowd turning up, the rain came pouring down, and they all had to fold up. Even the food was extremely limited in variety, - some kababs, pasta and pizzas. Nothing else.
...a unique opportunity to not only taste wines but also participate in several allied fun activities, attend various artist shows and enjoy gourmet food, and enjoying shopping. The event will also include wine tasting sessions, Live 'Cook in Wine' sessions by renowned Chefs. Wine Accessories and Glassware sale, Wine Games and prizes. as well as the sale of various type of gourmet cheese and olive oil.
Sulafest will be offering some fabulous food offerings such as kebabs, sushi, falafel, pita bread, barbecue items and pizzas from our very own vineyard restaurant Little Italy at Sula.
As if that isn't enough of gasro-heaven, SULAFEST will be hosting the Best Vineyard Shopping Bazaar experience. The festival will see Art and craft stalls, Chocolate Cheese and Cakes Lounges, Spa Therapist, Tarot Card Readers, Relaxing foot masseurs, Jewellery stalls, Tattoo Artist, Nail Artists, Caricature Artist, Hair Braiders, Face Painters and much more.
The event will not be complete without the totally unavoidable chocolate,cake,pastry and cheese lounge at the event.
I think from next year they should just call it the SulaConcert or something.
Anyway, if that seemed waaay too negative, it's not so, because I had a good time. It was a very relaxing trip, and the bands we heard were pretty good.
Sula had a winery-tour+wine-tasting for 150 bucks. I didn't much attention during the tour really. The wine-tasting was fun though. We tasted 6 different types of wine. Two white, one rose, two red, and one new desert wine. The last one was the only one I liked, all the others were crap. Nothing against Sula, I'm just not a wine drinker, 14% alcohol content suxx., heh.
The concert itself was to have happened at a beautiful open-air amphitheatre. The line up included-
Sridhar & Thayil
Shaair and Func
Agnee
Jalebee Cartel
Salsa dancers, YMCA act & Fire Spinners
Shridhar & Thayil were from New York / New Orleans. They did some old school blues, I think, with a lot of spoken-word interludes. Not sure what, but they were fun. Unfortunately, they over-stayed their welcome, and the rain-gods decided to intervene. The raindrops were bloody massive, and the rain started rather abruptly. So we all ran for shelter.
Some of my friends wanted to leave asap, but it's a good thing we didn't. Jalabee Cartel started playing at around 8, inside the Little Italy restaurant. This was the first time I was seeing them, and they were fabulous! Incredible really! It wasn't the complete band, just two of them, so I'm waiting to see how the band as a whole sounds. The vocalist from Agni was jamming with them for a while, doing some wierd sanskrit stuff on the mic. It was horrible, and they quickly yanked the mic away from him, heh.
Anyway, we left the venue shortly before 10, just before JC were wrapping up. We saw some pandus at the venue, and I hope they didn't create any ruckus.
Click here for pics.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Buttons vs Chocolates
I've read in a lot of places, articles/message boards, that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was actually made 5 years ago, under a different title - Forrest Gump. Now, I admit I didn't really see any hard and fast resemblance, but we could actually very broadly take the plots of both the movie to be biographical tales about two people who overcome terrible adversities to finally find their lot in life. On that basis, how do the two moves compare?
For one, they both travel a lot. Gump seems to have the more interesting life though. Button is implied to have been to a lot of places, but we only see postcards. Maybe he had a postal scam on. Gump on the other hand, had a lot more visibly interesting life. He was in the war, he was a sailor (ok, Button was both at once, he was a sailor in a war. He was also born when one ended, so maybe he was, well, born for it), and he was, most importantly, the original Smiley Face.
Love interest, hmm, hmm. Tilda Swildon first, for Button. I wouldn't like to do the freaky with the angel that sold out to the devil (or some such. A Constantine-the-movie reference.) Gump didn't fare too well with his girl, she got AIDS, and then she died. Button's second, (or really the first, if you believe in, what did she call it, "Kizzmet") Cate Blanchett didn't die, she just broke her leg, and her dreams got crushed. She also alternatingly looks like a ravishing beauty and a CGI blow-up doll in this movie. This is depressing. Let's move on.
Let's see, some similar supporting characters. Forrest Gump had Gary Sinese, one fine actor, he, playing a boat-hand at one point, and Benjamin Button had Captain Mike Lock, probably not so good an actor himself, but a heckuva lot more interesting character. And, well, I don't really care much about either movies to actually do a more detailed comparison, but some years down the line, I suppose I would choose Gump over Button, if they were playing simultaneously.
Also, a box of chocolates is more interesting than a box of buttons.
What I did indeed like about Benjamin Button:
The Cinematography. Beautiful, beautiful colors. Especially when they were at sea.
The Daisy Co-incident Incident. What a fantastic little sequence. Absolutely mesmerising and more interesting than the 75 minutes before and after, either way.
The Guy Who Got Struck By Lightning Seven Times. This says is all.
Brad Pitt On His Bike. He is a God.
And finally, The Blind Clockmaker's Tale. Frankly, David Fincher should have scrapped the rest of the film after this segment. He couldn't top it.
For one, they both travel a lot. Gump seems to have the more interesting life though. Button is implied to have been to a lot of places, but we only see postcards. Maybe he had a postal scam on. Gump on the other hand, had a lot more visibly interesting life. He was in the war, he was a sailor (ok, Button was both at once, he was a sailor in a war. He was also born when one ended, so maybe he was, well, born for it), and he was, most importantly, the original Smiley Face.
Love interest, hmm, hmm. Tilda Swildon first, for Button. I wouldn't like to do the freaky with the angel that sold out to the devil (or some such. A Constantine-the-movie reference.) Gump didn't fare too well with his girl, she got AIDS, and then she died. Button's second, (or really the first, if you believe in, what did she call it, "Kizzmet") Cate Blanchett didn't die, she just broke her leg, and her dreams got crushed. She also alternatingly looks like a ravishing beauty and a CGI blow-up doll in this movie. This is depressing. Let's move on.
Let's see, some similar supporting characters. Forrest Gump had Gary Sinese, one fine actor, he, playing a boat-hand at one point, and Benjamin Button had Captain Mike Lock, probably not so good an actor himself, but a heckuva lot more interesting character. And, well, I don't really care much about either movies to actually do a more detailed comparison, but some years down the line, I suppose I would choose Gump over Button, if they were playing simultaneously.
Also, a box of chocolates is more interesting than a box of buttons.
What I did indeed like about Benjamin Button:
The Cinematography. Beautiful, beautiful colors. Especially when they were at sea.
The Daisy Co-incident Incident. What a fantastic little sequence. Absolutely mesmerising and more interesting than the 75 minutes before and after, either way.
The Guy Who Got Struck By Lightning Seven Times. This says is all.
Brad Pitt On His Bike. He is a God.
And finally, The Blind Clockmaker's Tale. Frankly, David Fincher should have scrapped the rest of the film after this segment. He couldn't top it.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
The bigger the badasses, the harder the boot up your @$$
After a lot of research and bloody back-breaking hard work, MTV finally unvieled their list or the top 10 movie badasses of all time. A list that I followed closely as they teased us with one name after another.
Here's the list:
1. Dirty Harry
2. Ellen Ripley
3. John McClane
4. Mad Max
5. Walker (Lee Marvin from Point Blank, not the Texas Ranger)
6. Sarah Connor
7. Pike Bishop
8. Khan
9. Boba Fett
10. John J. Rambo
Were it up to me, I'd have added Leon the Professional, and Mr. Smith (Not "Mrrrr Aaaaannnddndddeerrrsssoooon", but the Shoot 'Em Up guy) in there someplace and taken out Mad Max perhaps. I must confess, with some shame, that I haven't yet seen the movies with Dirty Harry, Walker, Pike Bishop, Khan, and Boba Fett, so I can't really comment on them.
Coming to the point, while that list isn't too bad, not everyone was happy with it. Here's someone I firmly believe should have topped the list:
...except for one slight technicality - he wasn't in a movie.
Red - Proudly shoving a boot up your dumbass.
Here's the list:
1. Dirty Harry
2. Ellen Ripley
3. John McClane
4. Mad Max
5. Walker (Lee Marvin from Point Blank, not the Texas Ranger)
6. Sarah Connor
7. Pike Bishop
8. Khan
9. Boba Fett
10. John J. Rambo
Were it up to me, I'd have added Leon the Professional, and Mr. Smith (Not "Mrrrr Aaaaannnddndddeerrrsssoooon", but the Shoot 'Em Up guy) in there someplace and taken out Mad Max perhaps. I must confess, with some shame, that I haven't yet seen the movies with Dirty Harry, Walker, Pike Bishop, Khan, and Boba Fett, so I can't really comment on them.
Coming to the point, while that list isn't too bad, not everyone was happy with it. Here's someone I firmly believe should have topped the list:
...except for one slight technicality - he wasn't in a movie.
Red - Proudly shoving a boot up your dumbass.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
The Sad State of Bollywood
Part I
I just got home from the theater, where I had gone with mom to see Fashion. With this, I'm pretty sure India has just gotten its first so-called "respectable"/"serious"/"reality" mainstream exploitation director: Madhur Bhandarkar. The man is great at PR, tom-tomming his so-called "research" at every street corner and in every gossip rag. Because a great film-maker, he is not. Madhur Bhandarkar's "research" is just ripping off the headlines. He stole the Carol Gracias wardrobe malfunction, the Geetanjali Nagpal episode, and a bunch of other snippets, and just makes it all so very crass on screen. This is a shoddy, very superficial movie, and the fashion designers and photographers who made cameos in here should be embarrassed to be a part of it.
The movie is ridiculously long and self-indulgent, with no though given to pacing or script. No effort is made to really show a model's struggle. Every designer is gay and speaks with a weird accent that in some cases (Harsh Chhaya) borders on serious speech impediment. Kangana Ranaut is just horrible. This is the first movie I'm seeing her in, and i'm shocked she's getting any movies at all. Her "model-walk" and facial expressions are downright ugly in comparison to the actual models walking around her. Half the time she's doing coke in a dazed fit, and the other half she's using her laughable child-like voice to scream and screech "YOU BUS-TURD" at her abusive lover. Not only is the movie full of stereotypes and cliches, it's rather illogical at times too, with gaffes likes the show-stopper outfit being shown at the very beginning of a show.
Priyanka Chopra looks good, but her character finds success waaay to fast and easily, and then turns super-bitch in a flash. After the numerous fuck-ups she commits both before and after her fall from grace, I'm not sure anyone in the audience would really have felt any pity for her. I must say Mugdha Godse was the best eye-candy on screen. She was hot, and did a pretty good job at her role as well.
All in all: long, boring, superficial, and very, very self-indulgent. This is an outsider looking in, and it shows.
Part II
Of course, this is a fairly common sight in Bollywood, with directors talking bollocks off-screen and screwing up royally on it. Take Goldie Behl and his so-called movie, Drona. What an embarrassment for him, and everyone associated with it.
I was out with some friends last month, watching a play at Prithvi, called Chaos Theory. It's an amazing play, very well written with some fabulous one-lines, hilarious scenes, and some real touching moments. It was a powerhouse of performances by Zafar Karachiwala and Anahita Uberoi, aptly supported by Sohrab Ardeshir and Shaana Levy. The story follows the lives of Zafar n Anahita from their college days at Stephens, Delhi, to teaching jobs at Harvard, right up to their retirement. It's quite obvious they're in love with each other, but never speak out or really act on it. It's a funny play with a lot of quirks, and never slackens in pace, running at and hour twenty-five minutes.
Then after meeting some more friends, we went out on a lark to see Drona. Boy, that was one of the worst decisions in the history of bad decisions. Drona is the polar opposite of Chaos Theory. Such a horrendous, horrible, atrocious, mind-bogglingly bad boring movie. Aaaaack. Abhishek looks a slacker, drunk and puffy with a scowl throughout the movie. Priyanka Chopra is wasted in some atrocious lines and worse costumes. Jaya Bachchan would make a great witch for Hansel and Gretel, and Kay Kay Menon was surely pumped up on the most narcotic cocktail of drugs ever known to man. What a disaster of a movie. Stealing bits n parts from Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, King Arthur's Legend of Excalibur, and a whole lot others that I can't recollect now, the movie really had no coherent script or sense to whatever is happening on screen. Most of the dialogues were obtuse to the point of being incoherent babble. Ridiculous, unimaginative set designs only served to make the whole thing look like some kind of joke. Frankly, if that hack Goldie Behl had actually played the whole thing as some kind of parody, his absolute lack of directorial skills wouldn't have been so blatantly obvious.
My hearts weeps thinking of the colossal amount of money spent and wasted on this. Also, how can I get in on it?
I just got home from the theater, where I had gone with mom to see Fashion. With this, I'm pretty sure India has just gotten its first so-called "respectable"/"serious"/"reality" mainstream exploitation director: Madhur Bhandarkar. The man is great at PR, tom-tomming his so-called "research" at every street corner and in every gossip rag. Because a great film-maker, he is not. Madhur Bhandarkar's "research" is just ripping off the headlines. He stole the Carol Gracias wardrobe malfunction, the Geetanjali Nagpal episode, and a bunch of other snippets, and just makes it all so very crass on screen. This is a shoddy, very superficial movie, and the fashion designers and photographers who made cameos in here should be embarrassed to be a part of it.
The movie is ridiculously long and self-indulgent, with no though given to pacing or script. No effort is made to really show a model's struggle. Every designer is gay and speaks with a weird accent that in some cases (Harsh Chhaya) borders on serious speech impediment. Kangana Ranaut is just horrible. This is the first movie I'm seeing her in, and i'm shocked she's getting any movies at all. Her "model-walk" and facial expressions are downright ugly in comparison to the actual models walking around her. Half the time she's doing coke in a dazed fit, and the other half she's using her laughable child-like voice to scream and screech "YOU BUS-TURD" at her abusive lover. Not only is the movie full of stereotypes and cliches, it's rather illogical at times too, with gaffes likes the show-stopper outfit being shown at the very beginning of a show.
Priyanka Chopra looks good, but her character finds success waaay to fast and easily, and then turns super-bitch in a flash. After the numerous fuck-ups she commits both before and after her fall from grace, I'm not sure anyone in the audience would really have felt any pity for her. I must say Mugdha Godse was the best eye-candy on screen. She was hot, and did a pretty good job at her role as well.
All in all: long, boring, superficial, and very, very self-indulgent. This is an outsider looking in, and it shows.
Part II
Of course, this is a fairly common sight in Bollywood, with directors talking bollocks off-screen and screwing up royally on it. Take Goldie Behl and his so-called movie, Drona. What an embarrassment for him, and everyone associated with it.
I was out with some friends last month, watching a play at Prithvi, called Chaos Theory. It's an amazing play, very well written with some fabulous one-lines, hilarious scenes, and some real touching moments. It was a powerhouse of performances by Zafar Karachiwala and Anahita Uberoi, aptly supported by Sohrab Ardeshir and Shaana Levy. The story follows the lives of Zafar n Anahita from their college days at Stephens, Delhi, to teaching jobs at Harvard, right up to their retirement. It's quite obvious they're in love with each other, but never speak out or really act on it. It's a funny play with a lot of quirks, and never slackens in pace, running at and hour twenty-five minutes.
Then after meeting some more friends, we went out on a lark to see Drona. Boy, that was one of the worst decisions in the history of bad decisions. Drona is the polar opposite of Chaos Theory. Such a horrendous, horrible, atrocious, mind-bogglingly bad boring movie. Aaaaack. Abhishek looks a slacker, drunk and puffy with a scowl throughout the movie. Priyanka Chopra is wasted in some atrocious lines and worse costumes. Jaya Bachchan would make a great witch for Hansel and Gretel, and Kay Kay Menon was surely pumped up on the most narcotic cocktail of drugs ever known to man. What a disaster of a movie. Stealing bits n parts from Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, King Arthur's Legend of Excalibur, and a whole lot others that I can't recollect now, the movie really had no coherent script or sense to whatever is happening on screen. Most of the dialogues were obtuse to the point of being incoherent babble. Ridiculous, unimaginative set designs only served to make the whole thing look like some kind of joke. Frankly, if that hack Goldie Behl had actually played the whole thing as some kind of parody, his absolute lack of directorial skills wouldn't have been so blatantly obvious.
My hearts weeps thinking of the colossal amount of money spent and wasted on this. Also, how can I get in on it?
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Towards a great comic collection...
Comic fans will ove this. The Comics Reporter recently published a fantastic article - The 50 Things That Every Comics Collection Truly Needs
From the list, what I already have:
8. A Little Stack of Archie Comics (I have 3 actually, so that is as little as possible)
10. Several Tintin Albums (A buncha single albums, and some of those 3-in-ones)
15. At Least One Comic Book From When You First Started Reading Comic Books (I would say i seriously started reading and collecting comics when I got a set of 30 South African editions of Batman n Supes, and First Publishing's TMNT 4-isse GNs. Still have them.)
17. Some Osamu Tezuka (This is a cheat, I got a friend's copy of Buddha vol 1)
21. One Run of A Comic Strip That You Yourself Have Clipped (When i was a kid, i used to clip and collect Phantom n Mandrake newspaper strips. I dunno if i still got them.)
22. A Selection of Comics That Interest You That You Can't Explain To Anyone Else (Wierd category, everyone can lay claim to this)
24. As Much Peanuts As You Can Stand (A whole lotta digests, and the first two of Fantagraphics's The Complete Peanuts series)
29. Several copies of MAD (Tons of digests and lotta them Indian editions)
30. A stack of Jack Kirby 1970s Comic Books (I have a Jack Kirby's New Gods trade)
31. More than a few Stan Lee/Jack Kirby 1960s Marvel Comic Books (Two Essential Spiderman trades)
33. Some Calvin and Hobbes (I have pretty much most of the strips, in about 8 books)
38. A Stack of Comics You Can Hand To Anybody's Kid (Would no. 8 fall into this?)
39. At Least A Few Alan Moore Comics (League of Extra-Ordinary Gentlemen, Top Ten)
41. A Few Comics About Comics (I have the third Animal Man trade)
43. Some Frank Miller Comics (DKR, DK2, Year One)
44. Several Lee/Ditko/Romita Amazing Spider-Man Comic Books (Two trades of Essential Spiderman)
48. An Array Of Comics In Various Non-Superhero Genres (My Faith In Frankie, Sandman, Fables, Bone, a trade each of Aliens and Predator etc)
From the list, what I already have:
8. A Little Stack of Archie Comics (I have 3 actually, so that is as little as possible)
10. Several Tintin Albums (A buncha single albums, and some of those 3-in-ones)
15. At Least One Comic Book From When You First Started Reading Comic Books (I would say i seriously started reading and collecting comics when I got a set of 30 South African editions of Batman n Supes, and First Publishing's TMNT 4-isse GNs. Still have them.)
17. Some Osamu Tezuka (This is a cheat, I got a friend's copy of Buddha vol 1)
21. One Run of A Comic Strip That You Yourself Have Clipped (When i was a kid, i used to clip and collect Phantom n Mandrake newspaper strips. I dunno if i still got them.)
22. A Selection of Comics That Interest You That You Can't Explain To Anyone Else (Wierd category, everyone can lay claim to this)
24. As Much Peanuts As You Can Stand (A whole lotta digests, and the first two of Fantagraphics's The Complete Peanuts series)
29. Several copies of MAD (Tons of digests and lotta them Indian editions)
30. A stack of Jack Kirby 1970s Comic Books (I have a Jack Kirby's New Gods trade)
31. More than a few Stan Lee/Jack Kirby 1960s Marvel Comic Books (Two Essential Spiderman trades)
33. Some Calvin and Hobbes (I have pretty much most of the strips, in about 8 books)
38. A Stack of Comics You Can Hand To Anybody's Kid (Would no. 8 fall into this?)
39. At Least A Few Alan Moore Comics (League of Extra-Ordinary Gentlemen, Top Ten)
41. A Few Comics About Comics (I have the third Animal Man trade)
43. Some Frank Miller Comics (DKR, DK2, Year One)
44. Several Lee/Ditko/Romita Amazing Spider-Man Comic Books (Two trades of Essential Spiderman)
48. An Array Of Comics In Various Non-Superhero Genres (My Faith In Frankie, Sandman, Fables, Bone, a trade each of Aliens and Predator etc)
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Speaking of epic...
The mantra for the new era: "Comparing movies to LOTR is out of style. Now everything is the next Dark Knight."
Yes, CinemaBlend.com EiC Josh Tyler hits it right on the head.
Yes, CinemaBlend.com EiC Josh Tyler hits it right on the head.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Monstorous trees, anyone?
While talking about Blizzard's Diablo III, Lead Designer Jay Wilson made this really interesting comment on the state of designers in games:
I don't know anybody who isn't trying to hire background people. Part of it is that there's so much background to create, and part of it is that most people would rather create a big, giant monster than a tree. But boy, what we wouldn't give for some good tree creators! People who love to create trees are worth their weight in gold!
A very intersting observation, and quite true too. Heck, who'd pass up the opportunity to create a race of six-legged blue-skinned aliens or six-headed fire-breathing demons in favour or a deciduous forest or a flower shrubbery? I know I wouldn't...
I don't know anybody who isn't trying to hire background people. Part of it is that there's so much background to create, and part of it is that most people would rather create a big, giant monster than a tree. But boy, what we wouldn't give for some good tree creators! People who love to create trees are worth their weight in gold!
A very intersting observation, and quite true too. Heck, who'd pass up the opportunity to create a race of six-legged blue-skinned aliens or six-headed fire-breathing demons in favour or a deciduous forest or a flower shrubbery? I know I wouldn't...
Friday, August 22, 2008
F.E.A.R. of the dark...
I completed F.E.A.R. yesterday.
Things I liked.
Enemy AI: This was a bunch of smart fuckers. They'd often turn over couches or crates for cover, and fire with just a hand sticking over. Sneaky bastards. Plus they had good aim too.
Atmosphere: Quite creepy. Lotsa silent stretches where you keep expecting something to attack you or a creepy vision to appear. Plus those sighting of little Alma n Fettel walking around and suddenly disappearing were disorienting.
Music and Sound fx: Great sound effects all around. Engaging bg music when it came around, and at a few places some really good music kicked it. Stuff that I wouldn't mind listening to as stand-alone songs.
Weapons: The weapons were 30 different shades of fun. I love the HV Penetrator and the Particle Weapon. Too bad there weren't enough enemies in all to use them on.
No Crate Smashing: Good thing I didn't have to spend all my time breaking open crates to hunt for supplies n hidden items.
No Cheap Attacks or Triggers: In a lotta games, if you pick up a particular item or perform a task, it triggers off an enemy attack. None of that crap here.
Things I didn't like.
No sense of immersion: I didn't have a name, and was constantly referred to as "F.E.A.R. Pointman." Pretty stupid. Even during the pre-level mission displays, none of them read "You need to.." or "Your mission is.." but rather, the alienating "F.E.A.R. Pointman needs to.."
Enemy variety: Seemed like I spent the entire game basically fighting the same enemy, with a few helmet varities. The interesting, challenging enemies like the Power Armor n the Stealh Assasin were in way too much of a short supply.
Not enough action: For a first person shooter, I was doing remarkable less shooting than expected. I spent a lotta time just running around and getting from place to place. So less in fact, I didn't really get much of a chance to adequately use some of the better weapons found later in the game.
Storyline Reveal: I had to read a buncha online post to understand the plot completely. While I like the story, It unfolds in a very convulated manner, and isn't very clear within the game.
Drab, recycled Environments: Everything was gray, and I felt like I was basically spending all my time in a warehouse or office building. Could have used a whole lot more variety.
Sad-ass boss fight: One shot to kill Fettel n eleven shots to kill Alma. A major let-down.
A couple of random observations:
Linear Level Progression: The levels were ridiculously linear. I dunno if I like that or not, beacuse I don't really like dead ends, but even the few places which served as "puzzles" were embarassingly easy to figure out.
All in all, I'm more than a little surprised this game was so highly rated and won so many awards. I suppose that's more of a commentary on the state of the other games out there.
Things I liked.
Enemy AI: This was a bunch of smart fuckers. They'd often turn over couches or crates for cover, and fire with just a hand sticking over. Sneaky bastards. Plus they had good aim too.
Atmosphere: Quite creepy. Lotsa silent stretches where you keep expecting something to attack you or a creepy vision to appear. Plus those sighting of little Alma n Fettel walking around and suddenly disappearing were disorienting.
Music and Sound fx: Great sound effects all around. Engaging bg music when it came around, and at a few places some really good music kicked it. Stuff that I wouldn't mind listening to as stand-alone songs.
Weapons: The weapons were 30 different shades of fun. I love the HV Penetrator and the Particle Weapon. Too bad there weren't enough enemies in all to use them on.
No Crate Smashing: Good thing I didn't have to spend all my time breaking open crates to hunt for supplies n hidden items.
No Cheap Attacks or Triggers: In a lotta games, if you pick up a particular item or perform a task, it triggers off an enemy attack. None of that crap here.
Things I didn't like.
No sense of immersion: I didn't have a name, and was constantly referred to as "F.E.A.R. Pointman." Pretty stupid. Even during the pre-level mission displays, none of them read "You need to.." or "Your mission is.." but rather, the alienating "F.E.A.R. Pointman needs to.."
Enemy variety: Seemed like I spent the entire game basically fighting the same enemy, with a few helmet varities. The interesting, challenging enemies like the Power Armor n the Stealh Assasin were in way too much of a short supply.
Not enough action: For a first person shooter, I was doing remarkable less shooting than expected. I spent a lotta time just running around and getting from place to place. So less in fact, I didn't really get much of a chance to adequately use some of the better weapons found later in the game.
Storyline Reveal: I had to read a buncha online post to understand the plot completely. While I like the story, It unfolds in a very convulated manner, and isn't very clear within the game.
Drab, recycled Environments: Everything was gray, and I felt like I was basically spending all my time in a warehouse or office building. Could have used a whole lot more variety.
Sad-ass boss fight: One shot to kill Fettel n eleven shots to kill Alma. A major let-down.
A couple of random observations:
Linear Level Progression: The levels were ridiculously linear. I dunno if I like that or not, beacuse I don't really like dead ends, but even the few places which served as "puzzles" were embarassingly easy to figure out.
All in all, I'm more than a little surprised this game was so highly rated and won so many awards. I suppose that's more of a commentary on the state of the other games out there.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Words I Learned Today: Manic Pixie Dream Girl
You learn something new everyday. Ofcourse, it's entirely debatable whether that learning lasts for more than a day, but that's an entirely different topic altogether. Today, I learned the phrase "Manic Pixie Dream Girl", who, according to Nathan Rubin, as used in his review of Elizabethtown, is a girl that exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures. Imagine the endless conversation possibilities this opens up:
You: Hello, I learnt a new phrase today.
Girl: Really? How utterly wonderful, what is it?
You: "Manic Pixie Dream Girl"
Girl: What does it mean?
You: A girl who exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures.
Girl: Wow. Will you be the father of my babies?
Like I said, fascinating.
You: Hello, I learnt a new phrase today.
Girl: Really? How utterly wonderful, what is it?
You: "Manic Pixie Dream Girl"
Girl: What does it mean?
You: A girl who exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures.
Girl: Wow. Will you be the father of my babies?
Like I said, fascinating.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
The Plagarism of Greg Land
I was online searching for some reviews of Uncanny X-men #500, which featured art by Greg Land and Terry Dodson. As is the nature of the internet, one link led to another and I soon landed up at this blog post over at JimSmash.
Now, I wasn't ever particularly a big fan of Land's photorealistic art, as it was quite obvious at times he was just tracing or photosahopping images. So I tended to ignore his work. However, looking through the insane nuber of swipes and traces that Land has done (and most of it from magazine images and other copyrighted material), I'm more than a little horrified that he continuously gets work. It's not even like he's highly consistent in his referencing, as seen in this hilarious blog, comparing his Sue Storm renderings.
Marvel had also, way back in October '06, come out with an Original Artwork Policy, which lead to a discussion on the CBR forums, attacking Greg Land's work and his ethics. There were a few morons supporting Land, blind to the overwhelming evidence ponting to the contrary. Geek that I am anyway, I read all 34 pages of it.
Now, I wasn't ever particularly a big fan of Land's photorealistic art, as it was quite obvious at times he was just tracing or photosahopping images. So I tended to ignore his work. However, looking through the insane nuber of swipes and traces that Land has done (and most of it from magazine images and other copyrighted material), I'm more than a little horrified that he continuously gets work. It's not even like he's highly consistent in his referencing, as seen in this hilarious blog, comparing his Sue Storm renderings.
Marvel had also, way back in October '06, come out with an Original Artwork Policy, which lead to a discussion on the CBR forums, attacking Greg Land's work and his ethics. There were a few morons supporting Land, blind to the overwhelming evidence ponting to the contrary. Geek that I am anyway, I read all 34 pages of it.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Let's put a smile on that face...
Yup, i had a tryst with awesomeness today.
You can see me wear my Batman/Joker t-shirt. Coolness!
On the way back, i was attacked.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Readings: Greg Bear's Eon
I finished Greg Bear's Eon a few days back. I can't remember the last time i'd been so disappointed by a book. It had the best hook i'd read in quite a while, the blurb at the back, very enticing. What it turned out to be was a badly written mess with the sci-fi almost getting buried under the political crap.
The book is about this giant 300 km asteroid that appears suddenly in the Solar System. It had seven chambers inside, each connected to the next. The seventh chamber, however, extends forever. The asteroid is longer on the inside than on the outside.
Such an interesting concept, and what Bear does is bury it under some retarded US-Russia cold-war political/war crap. The US/Nato controls the stone, and gives slots to scientists from other countries. Russia gets about seven, and aren't allowed into the 7th chamber (or 6th onwards, i don't really remember). Stung by this restriction, the Russians attempt to do a hostile takeover in space. This absolutely unimaginative, dreary sub-plot takes up nearly half the narration.
Any sense of awe at what's being described is quickly eroded by the clunky prose. The charaters aren't developed at all, so you don't care what happens to them. For instance, when they do actually meet the creators of the asteroid, i couldn't sense any feeling of shock or wonder in their reactions.
So in a sense, this was pretty similar to his other book that i'd read, Blood Music, in that the concept is extremely strong, but he's unable to write "epic" in any manner.
The book is about this giant 300 km asteroid that appears suddenly in the Solar System. It had seven chambers inside, each connected to the next. The seventh chamber, however, extends forever. The asteroid is longer on the inside than on the outside.
Such an interesting concept, and what Bear does is bury it under some retarded US-Russia cold-war political/war crap. The US/Nato controls the stone, and gives slots to scientists from other countries. Russia gets about seven, and aren't allowed into the 7th chamber (or 6th onwards, i don't really remember). Stung by this restriction, the Russians attempt to do a hostile takeover in space. This absolutely unimaginative, dreary sub-plot takes up nearly half the narration.
Any sense of awe at what's being described is quickly eroded by the clunky prose. The charaters aren't developed at all, so you don't care what happens to them. For instance, when they do actually meet the creators of the asteroid, i couldn't sense any feeling of shock or wonder in their reactions.
So in a sense, this was pretty similar to his other book that i'd read, Blood Music, in that the concept is extremely strong, but he's unable to write "epic" in any manner.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Tattoo removal - easy come easy go...
It isn't often that i come across direct mailers that make me stop whatever i'm doing. This mailer from work-creative did exactly that. In the words of creator Chris: To promote sk:n’s world class tattoo removal treatments I devised a simple yet engaging direct mail piece. I utilised a scratch off mechanism (like you would find on a scratch card) to enable the recipient to literally remove the tattoo.
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