Pompeii

broderic on March 1, 2014

I went into Pompeii hoping that Paul WS Anderson would produce a good bad movie like his The Three Musketeers. Unfortunately, it was a terrible, terrible movie. From Kit Harrington, the leading man trying to be Orlando Bloom channeling Erica Bana, to Emily Browning, the romantic interest not filling the Mila Jovovich role, this movie missed on all cylinders. It was derivative of Titanic and Gladiator, and it didn’t try to hide that fact.

Pompeii plot is about the last days of the city under threat of Mount Vesuvius. Browning plays the daughter of the chief merchant of the city. She has just returned from Rome sickened by the political machinations. She’s come home to find that her Senator suitor, Kiefer Sutherland and a weird accent, holds the fate of her father’s ambitions in his hands. Harrington is a slave and gladiator, brought to Pompeii for the big festival. He was a member of a Celtic tribe slaughterd by Sutherland. He’s come for his revenge. He’s joined in his quest by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje playing the Djimon Hounsou from Gladiator. His arch is exactly the same. He’s Harrington’s nemesis first, then friend afterwards. This all happens under the threat of the volcano.

The acting was bad. The story and plot movements were bad. Keifer Sutherland was bad. I wish I had something good to say, but don’t watch this ever.

1 of 5 stars.

Acknowledgements

broderic on February 17, 2014

It’s been a whirlwind two weeks, but I am home from two weeks in Southeast Asia mainly the Philippines, AKA the Motherland, and Singapore. Fun times with family and friends. Lots of moving about. Never staying in the same house twice except for the wonderful @margeemateo‘s aunt’s. I would like to take the time to thank all who made the past two weeks memorable.

Thanks to Tita Ninfa in Cubao, the lechon capital.
Thanks to Bohol for making me realize how beautiful the Philippine Islands are. The island is like Hawaii, verdent.
Thanks to Rose and Tony Ong for the home base in Metro Manila. Several days we spent there and it was a home away from home.
Thanks to Uncle Paul for the stomach pains. The beer was fine. The girls were pretty. The awkwardness of it all made me want to crawl in a hole and die.
Thanks to Manang Leila for another house to sleep in.
Thanks to Manong Manueal for a peek at some of the exquisite wealth in the PI.
Thanks to Tita Lulu for another look at the ‘haves’ in the PI.
Thanks to Noel and Lorraine for the tour of Manila and the great Japanese bath off of Roxas Boulevard.

An extra special shout-out/thanks to Margaux for driving me around town. She’s the greatest without whom the Philippines would not have been as special. I miss her companionship, and can’t wait for it again.

On Hiatus

broderic on February 9, 2014


On Hiatus
Originally uploaded by browsermetrics.
Post has been quite light around here. Sorry about that. I’ve gone on a vacation. I’ll be back hoping to bring some awesome pictures from the trip. See you soon.

30 Years And Computing

broderic on January 25, 2014

Apple is celebrating 30 years of the Macintosh. It’s a neat site, because you participate by entering which was your first Mac and what did you do with it.

My first Mac was the PowerBook 140, the beginning of my fascination with their laptops. I’m planning to get their latest MacBook Pro with Retina Display, but I’m waiting for the right time. It seems like I’m always waiting for the right time with Apple.

After the PowerBook 140 came the PowerBook 190 five years later. Then came the TiBook another seven years during which I wanted but never could buy a desktop Mac. My first one was a Mac Mini… I’ll keep waiting and waiting for a better desktop…

Here’s to another 30 more years of the Mac and to Apple.

Chili Powder

broderic on January 25, 2014

3 Ancho Chiles
3 Cascabel Chiles
3 Arbol Chiles

Stemmed and seeded

2 Tblesp Whole Cumin

Roast in a pan

2 Tblsp Garlic Powder
2 Tblsp Paprika
1 Tblsp dried oregano

Blend with chiles cumin in a blender

Just as Alton Brown said…

Snow January 2014

broderic on January 25, 2014

It’s cold, and there is snow on the ground. I’m also drinking a milkshake, and the thermostat is set at 63 F (that’s a blog post for another time). I’m cold. It’s cold this year. There’s another Polar Vortex on the way. Throw on some blankets and huddle down.

Link of the Day [1.24.14]

broderic on January 24, 2014

Awesome inside story on everyone’s favorite 90s bromedy, Swingers. I know that it received most if its notoriety on video, but I can’t help and say that I saw it on its limited theatrical run through Baltimore. I know you’ve heard me talk about catching it in the theatre, but it was an awesomely, hilarious time…

I read a review in Entertainment Weekly about Swingers. I kept waiting for it to show up in a movie theatre around town. Finally, it was playing at the Rotunda. I was a shiftless slacker doing nothing but school and waiting tables, so I was able to catch a mid-week matinee.

There was not many people watching it. It was me, three or four business men, another couple, and a college coed. Now the Rotunda was a small movie palace about twenty rows of ten or so seats. I sat a third of the way in, and laughed all the way through. I keep looking around, but I was the only one who got it. And that’s why I thought it was the greatest film.

I tried to get others to watch, but the movie was gone. Only when it made a splash on home video did people finally realize how awesome a film it is. It is the 90s for me.

Good times. Good film. Next, I’ll tell you about catching Office Space on opening night in a packed theatre filled with silence…

http://grantland.com/features/an-oral-history-swingers/

August: Osage County

broderic on January 21, 2014

August: Osage County is not a movie I would go see, but my mom wanted to catch it. It’s a film adapted from a stage play. It too got an Oscar nod for its actresses namely, Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts. I’m not one to judge acting, but I thought that Streep was overboard. I think she got the nod, because she’s Meryl Streep. There’s got to have been more subtle acting to have gotten the nod. I think it would be better.

Anyway, the film is about Streep as matriarch of a family looking to escape from each other. She’s got cancer. Her husband gets her help then goes and drowns. The family, all daughters, gets together to bury him. The gloves come off. They bicker — mother-daughter, sister-sister.

It’s a story about family history. You leave, you love, you come back. You know it all hurts. Especially, if your mother is as demanding as Streep was. Or as big a drug addict.

It’s an interesting film for a Saturday afternoon. It’s not something I want to catch again. It was adequate.

3 of 5 stars.

Her

broderic on January 21, 2014

It’s been more than a week since I saw Her in the movie theatre. No, no, not her, but “Her” the movie starring Joaquin Phoenix as Theodore Twombly, a guy who has fallen in love with his digital personal organizer. The film is written and directed by Spike Jonze. This was science fiction and a love story and has received Oscar nominations, best original screenplay and best picture being the most of the important ones. I’m still trying to process it.

As I left the theatre, I thought about Sophia Coppola’s Lost In Translation. Is this Jonze’s riposte to his ex-wife? Maybe. It plays like it, and if you’ve see the both of them back to back, it would seem to be. But to think of this film destracts from the the film itself. You’ve got to divorce the two to see what Jonze was trying to accomplish. That pun is intended.

I think the central conceit of the movie is that the heart is mysterious and you love whomever or whatever you love. Fact: it was no big deal for Twombly to fall in love with an OS. There were others who have, and Amy Adam’s created an intimate relationship with one also. In the future, you’ll find love in many other places. No one cares if you fall in love with an OS. It happens.

Now was Twombly looking for a relationship he could control or as his ex-wife said a perfect simulation of a wife? Can’t be judgmental here. We do get their history from his perspective. It seems he was faithful and caring; cold and distant and judging not so much. He was supportive; It felt like they fell out of love. Was her success too much for him? Maybe, but they don’t get too deep into it.

They love. Then they don’t love. It is a mystery of the heart.

What was most bothersome about the movie is how it ends. Spoilers if you don’t want to know. It ends with a “Thanks for the fishes” moment, which was perplexing. It’s the least talked about aspect of the film, but the most interesting. I was thinking about how it would end. I was expecting a “The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress” style disconnecting. It happened, but then the complicated return and subsequent leave made the film rushed. I felt like sitting alongside Twombly to piece it all together. Yeah, I’m still thinking about it.

4 of 5 stars.