Last weekend we went to the movie theatre to see Mel Gibson's Apocalypto. It was actually quite good in spite of (or perhaps because of) all the gore. Definitely one to see in the theatre. The predictable story alone would not be enough to keep your attention on the small screen. You need the immersive experience that only a movie theatre can provide.
Anyway, there are quite a few films coming out this year that we are looking forward to.
The Fountain - It's getting a lot of mixed reviews and was even booed by critics at the Venice Film Festival, but that only makes me want to see it even more. The long-running production was shrouded in secrecy for various reasons. We'll soon get the chance to see what that was about.
Black Book - Paul Verhoeven hasn't put out a film in a while, which is enough reason to go see it, even though it's a movie about the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.
Transformers - Only because I used to play with Transformers as a kid and I watched the animated series. Just curious how they'll do as live action, though I don't have high hopes for it.
Blades of Glory - Will Ferrell and Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) star in a movie set in the world of professional figure skating. Should be frickin' hilarious!
Sunshine - From Danny Boyle, the director of Trainspotting and 28 Days Later, this one's about a mission to re-ignite the sun because it is about to die (destroying all life on Earth, of course). Great concept and definitely one to see in the theatre.
Grind House - Robert Rodgriguez and Quentin Tarantino teaming up to do another stylistic, push-the-envelope venture. Will at least be interesting from a filmmaking point of view.
Fast Food Nation - Really curious how they have turned this expose-of-the-fast-food-industry book into a feature film.
Ocean's 13 - Really liked the first one, ambivalent about the second one, keeping fingers crossed for the third one.
Live Free or Die Hard - The Die Hard franchise is a classic. Though Bruce is getting on in the years, it'll be entertaining to see the return of John McClane.
The Bourne Ultimatum - Again, really loved the first one, a bit disappointed with the second one, but love the Jason Bourne character (and Matt Damon brings him to life brilliantly). I'm reading the book right now even though that will surely set up a bit of disappointment, as it did with the first two because they diverge quite a bit from what happens in the books. Reading the synopsis of this adaptation, seems like that will be the case again.
I Am Legend - A great concept: the last man on Earth, after a virus turns everyone else into vampires, tries to survive while finding a cure. Just read the book over Christmas (timeless, despite being published in 1956).
The Golden Age - Only because a large portion of it was shot in Winchester Cathedral.
The Golden Compass - The first installment of the adaptation of Philip Pullman's fantastically enthralling trilogy "His Dark Materials". High hopes for this one.
Hot Fuzz - Another one from the guys who made Shaun of the Dead (one of our favorite Brit comedies... a spoof on zombie films). This one is about a London police officer who's commander transfers him to a small, crimeless village because he is so good at his job that he was making all the other officers look bad. It turns into a satire of British police and over-the-top American cops'n'robbers movies. We saw the preview last weekend and it looks hilarious!
For Your Consideration - The (allegedly) final installment from Christopher Guest and his usual team (Spinal Tap, Waiting For Guffman, Best In Show, and A Mighty Wind). We're big fans of these "mock-umentary" films - Waiting For Guffman is my personal favorite. This one tackles the subject of The Oscars.
300 - This flic has been getting hype since early last year, mainly because of its very stylistic look achieved mostly with CGI. We recently saw a preview for it and it looks like it's going to be a wild ride. Definitely one to catch in a movie theatre!
Shooter - Another one we saw the trailer for recently. Sort of a cross between The Fugitive and a JFK dramatization told from Lee Harvey Oswald's perspective. Looks like a good, tense action movie.
Sunday, January 28
Wednesday, January 24
Winchester is #1
Go to this link:
Best & Worst
Notice that Winchester is listed as #1. Click on the link to watch the video. Feeling proud to have lived there!
Best & Worst
Notice that Winchester is listed as #1. Click on the link to watch the video. Feeling proud to have lived there!
Saturday, January 20
Upcoming in 2007
Even before we found out that we had to move, we have had a few things on the books for this year, particularly during the first quarter.
* Moving to Canford Cliffs sometime between February 7th and March 7th.
* K is going to an Investigative Research seminar at the BBC in London on February 27th and March 15th where she'll learn espionage-like research skills.
* Flying to Boston in April to go to the PCA/ACA National Conference. We will both be presenting a paper on Friday. Bournemouth University is fully funding K's trip and AIB is paying for my airfare. The conference is three days. After that, we're flying out to Oregon to visit K's family and perhaps downsize our storage room. Coming back to the UK towards the end of April.
* Taking a weekend trip to a non-Western country for our anniversary on June 10th. We're considering Malta.
* I'm planning on volunteering at CAMRA's Great British Beer Festival in London during the second week of August. It's 4-5 days, but they put you in accomodation for the duration.
* My mother is meant to be coming for a visit at some point in February, March, or April, but the dates are not set yet.
* Moving to Canford Cliffs sometime between February 7th and March 7th.
* K is going to an Investigative Research seminar at the BBC in London on February 27th and March 15th where she'll learn espionage-like research skills.
* Flying to Boston in April to go to the PCA/ACA National Conference. We will both be presenting a paper on Friday. Bournemouth University is fully funding K's trip and AIB is paying for my airfare. The conference is three days. After that, we're flying out to Oregon to visit K's family and perhaps downsize our storage room. Coming back to the UK towards the end of April.
* Taking a weekend trip to a non-Western country for our anniversary on June 10th. We're considering Malta.
* I'm planning on volunteering at CAMRA's Great British Beer Festival in London during the second week of August. It's 4-5 days, but they put you in accomodation for the duration.
* My mother is meant to be coming for a visit at some point in February, March, or April, but the dates are not set yet.
Thursday, January 18
Canford Cliffs apartment
Today I viewed the apartment that K found last week. She was a bit nervous about what I would think, but I'm happy to say that I liked it. It's got some character and it's not a place where old people would go to die. There's a gas stove, garage, and gas radiator heat. Also a nice garden around back. Seems to be a cozy little place. Being a natural realist/pessimist, I'm still a bit paranoid about the rent being so cheap, especially for that area. The estate agent told me it should probably go for about £100 more, but it is cheap because the guy who owns it is friends with the manager of the estate agency and he decided he just wanted to offer it at a reasonable price so that it stays rented and is taken care of. Fair enough.
Anyway, we've paid the deposit and agency fees. Now we're just waiting for them to do the credit check and what not. Hopefully, we'll hear from them soon.
Anyway, we've paid the deposit and agency fees. Now we're just waiting for them to do the credit check and what not. Hopefully, we'll hear from them soon.
Sunday, January 14
New place
It's been a stressful week (mostly for K) sifting through apartment listings, making appointments, and viewing properties. K viewed 10 apartments of quality varying from "total crap" to "really nice". I only viewed two and I haven't even seen the one we decided to go for.
We went through 3 periods of thinking we had found a suitable place and it wasn't until the 3rd time that we settled on one. The first was a brand new, purpose-built top-floor flat for £695 pcm. While it was really nice, it was just way too small. The second possible winner was a sizable two-bedroom in an older building for £700. K was fairly happy with it, but when I saw it, I was less than enthused. It had the same type of ridiculous boiler that we had in Winchester, everything was electric (water, stove, heating), the heating consisted of "storage heaters" (radiators with thermal bricks inside that get heated over night using the off-peak electricity and then release their energy during the course of the day), and the vibe of the building, as I sensed it, was one of a place where old people wait to die. I know that sounds terrible, but that's how I felt.
K found the third one this past Friday. It's in Canford Cliffs (which we've been told is very posh), about 5 minutes from the ocean and is actually cheaper than the one we're in now (£695). She initially thought the flat would be "total crap", judging by the pebble-dash, turquoise-painted exterior. However, she was pleasantly surprised by it and has me completely convinced. We paid the agency fees yesterday morning (a stinging £306 that we won't get back). While we were sitting with the estate agent, someone called requesting a viewing of the flat. She informed them that it had just gone off the market. Phew! We're booked in for another viewing this Thursday so I can see it and we can decide if we need to get rid of any furniture. Not sure when we'll move in. It's technically available on March 1st, but that's because the couple living there had to give two months notice because they're breaking their lease (they're splitting up... a lot of that going around!). However, we might be able to work out a sooner date than that.
It's a relief to have found a place to move into. Now K can get back to work on her PhD.
We went through 3 periods of thinking we had found a suitable place and it wasn't until the 3rd time that we settled on one. The first was a brand new, purpose-built top-floor flat for £695 pcm. While it was really nice, it was just way too small. The second possible winner was a sizable two-bedroom in an older building for £700. K was fairly happy with it, but when I saw it, I was less than enthused. It had the same type of ridiculous boiler that we had in Winchester, everything was electric (water, stove, heating), the heating consisted of "storage heaters" (radiators with thermal bricks inside that get heated over night using the off-peak electricity and then release their energy during the course of the day), and the vibe of the building, as I sensed it, was one of a place where old people wait to die. I know that sounds terrible, but that's how I felt.
K found the third one this past Friday. It's in Canford Cliffs (which we've been told is very posh), about 5 minutes from the ocean and is actually cheaper than the one we're in now (£695). She initially thought the flat would be "total crap", judging by the pebble-dash, turquoise-painted exterior. However, she was pleasantly surprised by it and has me completely convinced. We paid the agency fees yesterday morning (a stinging £306 that we won't get back). While we were sitting with the estate agent, someone called requesting a viewing of the flat. She informed them that it had just gone off the market. Phew! We're booked in for another viewing this Thursday so I can see it and we can decide if we need to get rid of any furniture. Not sure when we'll move in. It's technically available on March 1st, but that's because the couple living there had to give two months notice because they're breaking their lease (they're splitting up... a lot of that going around!). However, we might be able to work out a sooner date than that.
It's a relief to have found a place to move into. Now K can get back to work on her PhD.
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