Vertigo

broderic on January 22, 2006

The second DVD that I had enqueued in my Netflix queue was Vertigo. I had previously seen it in fragments. The beginning here. The middle part I can’t recall when or when. The ending, the classic ending, there. My concept of it as a whole was somewhat disjointed. While many people see it as Hitchcock’s masterpiece, by only seeing it piecemeal, I was unable to make that call.

Tonight that was rectified.

It is his best. I have to rave about it. Previously, I had Rear Window as my favorite. Grace Kelly being the most prominent of reasons why it was my favorite.

Where Vertigo lacks the hottie blonde (I’m sorry Kim Novak). It more than makes up for it by the absolute performance of Jimmy Stewart as a man obsessed. When he to her to get some clothes, I knew that this character was unhinged. The man can want a woman with such obsessiveness that it was ridiculous. Then he changed her hair. And at that point it had me.

Damn. Grace Kelly is coming in second place.

And next on my Netflix queue is North by Northwest. Please, Eva Marie Saint, don’t knock out Grace Kelly.

Daring Fireball says it all

broderic on January 22, 2006

Once again John Gruber has done his latest roundup of the doings at MacWorld Expo 2006. He always says things that make sense. I particular like how he notes that iWork had no major improvements. Great. I just bought it. For the 3D graphs.

!Student Discounts

broderic on January 21, 2006

Stopped by the brick and mortar Apple Store at the local mall to get Tiger and the latest version of iWork. Since I am a grad student I decided to use my student discount. I was denied. It seems that Apple has a new policy to not offer student discounts at their brick and mortar store.

That’s plain stupid of them.

You are already in the store. Why make it harder for your customer to get the deal? It’s good that they already offer a student discount, but to go through the website to be able to receive it is a hassle.

Anyway, I got my software at their website. Now I have to wait until some time next week to get it. Apple. Fix this.

Netflix

broderic on January 16, 2006

Just joined Netflix. The last two weeks I had bought about ten DVDs. There’s no way I can buy all the movies that I want to watch, so Netflix it is.

Capote

broderic on January 15, 2006

Capote was a movie that demonstrated to us that there are still actors in this world. Truman Capote was played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and his sidekick, Harper Lee byCatherine Keener. That is a powerful 1-2 punch of acting if you ever saw one. While it was an actors movie neither of the two disappeard completely into their roles. I think the fey voice that Hoffman used for Capote distracted me.

4 of 5 stars.

Tony Dungy Is Not A Big Game Coach

broderic on January 15, 2006

Tony Dungy and his Colts lost to the hated Pittsburgh Steelers 21-18 today. Another year and another loss in the playoffs for a coach that many in the league like and who has had an emotional year. Yet this loss is a just another in the long string of big games that he has lost. And that’s his problem.

First, I like the man and the coach. He turned the Tampa Bay organization around into winners when he had coached there. For that I am eternally grateful. He built a perennial winner in Tampa with one mean defence. And he still lost the big games. Was it a coincidence that the Bucs won the Super Bowl the year after they had let Dungy go? I think not.

Let’s face it. Every big game he has coached in, he gets out coached and his players are not ready. His best chance was the 1999 NFC championship game with the Bucs almost taking out the eventual Super Bowl champs, St. Louis Rams. In it, just one play to make and Tony Dungy would’ve gone on to be a big game coach. It was not made, and he has never come as close as that. For the rest of his tenure in Tampa, he brought the Bucs to playoffs where they were summarily dismantled twice by the Eagles.

Now this season with the Colts could’ve been unique. He should’ve went for an undefeated season. Yet, he slacked off in the end. The loss of his son could’ve also motivated him to win one now. I don’t think he has the heart to crush his opponents.

Anyway the hated Steelers advance to the AFC championship game. They’ll face the sucky Broncos who can’t play defence worth squat, and they’ll make it to the Super Bowl.

I am going to have to live with the stupid Steelers fans for another year yelling that their time is number 1. Tony Dungy is going to have to look at another loss in the big game. The Colts’s management have got to look at if this guy can win the big one. I think not.

Value of check is 0.000009 of a cent

broderic on January 13, 2006

I have been buying a lot of DVDs lately. One of the latest is Jumanji. I got the version with the Jumanji game built into the box cover. After watching the movie, I think I’ll pass on playing it.

It’s the version labeled as the deluxe edition on the box. What’s so special about this one? Commentary by Robin Williams? Deleted scenes with David Alan Grier? A topless Bebe Neuwirth?

No. Nyet. You wish.

Instead, inside you’ll find a coupon for one ticket worth $7.50 to Zathura.

Yes, Zathura.

I would like to have considered this as money back from watching that movie in the theatres, except we all know how much coupons really cost. My best bet is to try to redeem it then sneak into a better movie. Anyone know where it’s playing?

Mac Book Pro

broderic on January 12, 2006

The new MacIntel hardware was shown off yesterday and surprises of surprises, a new laptop that is not a updated iBook was revealed. Sadly, it was saddled with the lamest of lame names: MacBook Pro. That makes such a sexy piece of equipment sound like a dorky financial application.

I cried when I saw it though. It makes it all the more harder to get the dual PPC G5 desktop I so crave. Hmm. Can I have more Macs in my house than need?