Monday, 11 February 2013
'Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb'
There is an intrinsic problem with getting up at five o'clock in the morning to get to your workplace four and half hours later, half of which time has been spent on an uncomfortable service bus munching sandwiches and desperately trying to stay awake. The problem is that you're completely useless for the rest of the day! At the moment, as my flat arrangements dawdle on and become ever more redundant, I am splitting time between workplace and staying with a friend and staying at home with my parents. This results in a slightly schizophrenic outlook on life and is not to be recommended. I now half believe I'm both a postdoc and unemployed and will live in three places simultaneously. I'm also possibly one of or both of Dastardly and Muttley. It's hard to say.
Breaking through the block of being tired is quite hard, but it's not impossible. It helps if you start telling yourself jokes and thinking how everyone would look in their Disney animated versions. That last part is also quite useful for breaking out of presentation jitters. Of course, they need to be cute Disney versions or it all goes to naught and you'll end up being intimidated by a room full of Horned Kings and Minister Frodos. I sincerely hope you have noone in your theatre who is the equivalent to one of those nasty pieces of work, and you're surrounded by Goofies and Donald Ducks. I would say I'm digressing, but actually there is no clear theme to today's writing. This whole post is a digression and I do not care.
Working in mathematics requries a massive amount of motivation or curiousity. In my case it's motivation as curiousity died millennia ago. I'm actually quite interested in geophysics and oceanography but some fancy sideways steps and a reputation as someone who gets things done are going to be needed before that kicks in. Oh, and trees are interesting too! Oh, I love trees. For once I'm going to send out a charity plug, and it's for TreeAid. TreeAid is important as they actually provide resources that will allow people to eventually fend for themselves instead of relying on relentless handouts in the future.
That was, again, a digression, and I think one that brings us back to the title of the piece: "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb". That's a quote from the legendary Adam West as Batman in the 1966 theatrical movie, and I have indeed spent this whole post trying to get rid of the bomb of wanting to write something but without any real idea what to write. The ending to 'Night Trials' is starting to ferment but is not yet ready to emerge, and some random words will spike something tomorrow but for now it's quite the meandering ribbon of words searching for the ocean. The random words posts are fun to write, as you try to stumble across a combination which strike off each other synergistically in some way, but not good for today. Today is a tell it from the deranged core day.
Random notes: Linux is not easy to install. People seem to have a phobia of buying blank discs. Never show a Clomp an open flame and a dirty olive. The whole world looks the same at five o'clock in the morning. Chicken is ubiquitous, like Facebook, but also appealing, not at all like said Facebook. Go Google+, straight into oblivion!
O.
PS There's a new Film Bin commentary up and it's for the wholly overlooked Japanese anime of 'Jack and the Beanstalk' from 1974. Check it out at your own peril, either at the link below or the feed on this page.
http://filmbin.podbean.com/2013/02/11/film-bin-commentaries-jack-and-the-beanstalk/
PPS I added a Twitter feed to this blog a while ago. Please interact if you like and want to. This is the last gadget to be added, after the Film Bin feed below.
Saturday, 9 February 2013
Story: 'Night Trials', VIII
It's been a while... so far aliens have taken over town and Sheriff Bob is trapped outside, far too far from any other place to easily go for help.
--
Night Trials: Part VIII
(Parts VII , IX)
Nightfall came and went, and even then Bob waited for another hour. He watched the alien sentries assemble on the town boundary and freeze into place and activity in the town settle down to nothing. Finally he was satisfied, scurried down into the diggings and scuttled along a tunnel until he reached the abandoned shaft entrance. He had known for a long time that Slim Edwin had used this shaft to get contraband in and out of his back room to the saloon and had kept the information to himself. Slim Edwin had uses as an unknowing honey trap for other criminals.
As he had seen days before, there was a trapdoor at the top of the shaft and a ladder leading up the side. Climbing silently he reached the top and boldly opened the trap. It was dark in the chamber beyond so he lit a long slow match and was shocked.
Slim Edwin, or the remains of Slim Edwin, was slumped in a chair and the whole was encased in a transparent crystal. He was dead, bullets in the head usually do that, and his gun was in there with him. Bob steeled himself, pulled himself out of the hole and headed for a lantern. Having secured a functional light, he headed for the door into the saloon proper and was stunned for a second time.
The saloon proper was playing home to about thirty people, sleeping in cots and mats all over the chamber. He saw his old Deputy Sawyer behind the bar and stepped around people to reach him. Nudging Sawyer awake, he held a hand over his mouth in order to stop his calling out, and stared him into calmness. He removed his hand.
"Sheriff!" Sawyer was clearly nonplussed. "We thought you were dead, or long gone..."
Bob merely shook his head. "Horses?"
"Gone." Sawyer shuddered. "Eaten."
"Blast. I need a witness and horses to get away for help."
Sawyer chuckled bitterly. "You don't know what day it is, do you, Sheriff?"
"Why? Speak up or shut up. I don't have time."
"The stage is coming in tomorrow."
Bob cocked his head.
To be continued...
--
Night Trials: Part VIII
(Parts VII , IX)
Nightfall came and went, and even then Bob waited for another hour. He watched the alien sentries assemble on the town boundary and freeze into place and activity in the town settle down to nothing. Finally he was satisfied, scurried down into the diggings and scuttled along a tunnel until he reached the abandoned shaft entrance. He had known for a long time that Slim Edwin had used this shaft to get contraband in and out of his back room to the saloon and had kept the information to himself. Slim Edwin had uses as an unknowing honey trap for other criminals.
As he had seen days before, there was a trapdoor at the top of the shaft and a ladder leading up the side. Climbing silently he reached the top and boldly opened the trap. It was dark in the chamber beyond so he lit a long slow match and was shocked.
Slim Edwin, or the remains of Slim Edwin, was slumped in a chair and the whole was encased in a transparent crystal. He was dead, bullets in the head usually do that, and his gun was in there with him. Bob steeled himself, pulled himself out of the hole and headed for a lantern. Having secured a functional light, he headed for the door into the saloon proper and was stunned for a second time.
The saloon proper was playing home to about thirty people, sleeping in cots and mats all over the chamber. He saw his old Deputy Sawyer behind the bar and stepped around people to reach him. Nudging Sawyer awake, he held a hand over his mouth in order to stop his calling out, and stared him into calmness. He removed his hand.
"Sheriff!" Sawyer was clearly nonplussed. "We thought you were dead, or long gone..."
Bob merely shook his head. "Horses?"
"Gone." Sawyer shuddered. "Eaten."
"Blast. I need a witness and horses to get away for help."
Sawyer chuckled bitterly. "You don't know what day it is, do you, Sheriff?"
"Why? Speak up or shut up. I don't have time."
"The stage is coming in tomorrow."
Bob cocked his head.
To be continued...
Thursday, 7 February 2013
Television: 'Press Gang' (1989-1993)
Okay, I might be ten or twenty years late this time but it is worth it because we're talking about 'Press Gang'. This incredible show ran for five series but I only really like first two, which are quite different to the later sets. 'Press Gang' could easily be dismissed as a kids show based on a frivolous and unrealistic conceit but it functions on many different levels. At it's core it's a romantic comedy of lovely almost lost, but on an episode-by-episode basis we have mystery, capers, farce, tragedy and real life issues presented small. It's all such a bizarre mix but it works.
So, what was 'Press Gang' about in those first two sets of episodes? Well, it was a landmark ITV series about a junior newspaper staffed by gifted and problematic children from local schools. It starred Julia Sawalha (who was adorable beyond belief) and Dexter Fletcher as hard-nosed editor Linda Day and wayward American reporter Spike Thomson. Dexter Fletcher of course isn't American but he does a pretty good job and pulls off his witty dialogue really well, sparking like a wild thing with his real life amour of the time. The other stand out cast member was Paul Reynolds as Colin Mathews, the advertising man and chief scammer. He's notable for incredible timing and being the heart behind one of the most notable 'issue' stories in the whole run.
'Issue stories', the poison pills of television series, were mostly handled with aplomb by 'Press Gang' and its chief writing brain Steven Moffat, long before his successes in 'Coupling', 'Doctor Who' and his utterly awesome two episodes of 'Sherlock'. Those two 'Sherlock' episodes are about twenty times as good as the other four. Subjects tackled include the problems of being paraplegic, death due to drug abuse, suicide and sexual abuse. It's a mark of genius that an all out comedy one week can be followed by an issue episode the following week and it not be incongruous. Kids shows had not done that before. Adults can watch this show now (once the first two or three episodes break it in) and still find it interesting.
I won't go on too much longer. There are things to be treasured in 'Press Gang', and things to be tolerated as endearing. There are a lot of tropes in side characters, but it really doesn't matter as Spike and Linda are throwing barbs of with at each other in vain attempts to forestall what is bound to happen. We all know that Spike will eventually slay that dragon and win the girl, against the backdrop of that incredibly silly news room. We know that at the end of the second series the final scene should have been the preliminary toward their getting together and not the split that actually occurred in the interregnum. They should have been together, blast it!
O.
(Revisited here...http://mightyclomp.blogspot.com/2016/11/television-press-gang-1989-1993.html)
So, what was 'Press Gang' about in those first two sets of episodes? Well, it was a landmark ITV series about a junior newspaper staffed by gifted and problematic children from local schools. It starred Julia Sawalha (who was adorable beyond belief) and Dexter Fletcher as hard-nosed editor Linda Day and wayward American reporter Spike Thomson. Dexter Fletcher of course isn't American but he does a pretty good job and pulls off his witty dialogue really well, sparking like a wild thing with his real life amour of the time. The other stand out cast member was Paul Reynolds as Colin Mathews, the advertising man and chief scammer. He's notable for incredible timing and being the heart behind one of the most notable 'issue' stories in the whole run.
'Issue stories', the poison pills of television series, were mostly handled with aplomb by 'Press Gang' and its chief writing brain Steven Moffat, long before his successes in 'Coupling', 'Doctor Who' and his utterly awesome two episodes of 'Sherlock'. Those two 'Sherlock' episodes are about twenty times as good as the other four. Subjects tackled include the problems of being paraplegic, death due to drug abuse, suicide and sexual abuse. It's a mark of genius that an all out comedy one week can be followed by an issue episode the following week and it not be incongruous. Kids shows had not done that before. Adults can watch this show now (once the first two or three episodes break it in) and still find it interesting.
I won't go on too much longer. There are things to be treasured in 'Press Gang', and things to be tolerated as endearing. There are a lot of tropes in side characters, but it really doesn't matter as Spike and Linda are throwing barbs of with at each other in vain attempts to forestall what is bound to happen. We all know that Spike will eventually slay that dragon and win the girl, against the backdrop of that incredibly silly news room. We know that at the end of the second series the final scene should have been the preliminary toward their getting together and not the split that actually occurred in the interregnum. They should have been together, blast it!
O.
(Revisited here...http://mightyclomp.blogspot.com/2016/11/television-press-gang-1989-1993.html)
Tuesday, 5 February 2013
Clouds and Rain
A couple of days ago we recorded a Film Bin discussion for the movie
'Outland' and it set me to thinking about what film criticism or
reviewing actually is. Then after a few moments it dawned on me that it
would make an incredibly dull blog
post and so instead I looked out the window and saw weather. I am
currently on the coast and we gets lots of weather, varying and shifting
on an hour-by-hour basis and it is thrilling if you think about it.
Here in Britain we have a bit of a reputation for talking about the
weather, but it's understandable because it's always changing, nowhere
more so than on the coast, and that is fascinating.
Fascinating is a good word, isn't it?
Some time ago I must have talked about how everything is fascinating once you think about it enough. Think about the weather for a moment, if you will, and then be awed.
<One hour passes>
A little while ago it was sunny. Now it's it pouring down with rain. Probably somewhere up above two huge masses of air have met and rubbed up against each other. One is of a different pressure to the other, and in the mixing we have made weather. The mixing may be nowhere near here but unsettled weather is going to happen here anyway and it is good. And it's because of the air. Now, we all think of air as light but it's not. It's actually quite heavy in the bulk volume we're considering and its little bouncing molecules press down on us all day every day. Air is awesome.
We can't blame air for all of the weather as there is also heat. Different levels of heat in different parts of the air mass cause the pressures partially. Heat comes from two sources. Firstly the sun, an immense fusion reaction at centre of our solar system that's sending out light photons which then partially convert to heat on contact with matter. On top of that, we're living on a giant rocky ball in space, which at its core is full of incredibly hot molten iron and lava. And that core is spinning! Spinning! That's a lot of heat, and it affects the local weather systems in myriads of ways. Now, that is awesome.
Weather formation doesn't end there, oh no, because heat affects the environment, the environment affects the air, and the air and contained clouds affects the amount of sun that reaches us in a vicious cycle. It's an enormous chaotic system which can not be predicted except in the shortest of time scales.
<looks out of window at points at rain>
Sometimes the air masses clash so much they make electrical charges that lightning leaps up to the clouds above in a titanic event to complete a circuit and ground the system, and it works. Visible forks of light illuminating the usually dark world in vivid moments of clarity. Why usually dark? Well, because some types of behaviour are more likely in the night or the day. Even the spinning of the world is important.
Now, all of that was grossly over-simplified and even partially wrong but I can't help but think of all that air high up in the skies, thinning unto the edge of space. They're gaseous continental masses of differing temperatures and densities which conspire and mix to make our favourite default topic: The weather.
O.
Fascinating is a good word, isn't it?
Some time ago I must have talked about how everything is fascinating once you think about it enough. Think about the weather for a moment, if you will, and then be awed.
<One hour passes>
A little while ago it was sunny. Now it's it pouring down with rain. Probably somewhere up above two huge masses of air have met and rubbed up against each other. One is of a different pressure to the other, and in the mixing we have made weather. The mixing may be nowhere near here but unsettled weather is going to happen here anyway and it is good. And it's because of the air. Now, we all think of air as light but it's not. It's actually quite heavy in the bulk volume we're considering and its little bouncing molecules press down on us all day every day. Air is awesome.
We can't blame air for all of the weather as there is also heat. Different levels of heat in different parts of the air mass cause the pressures partially. Heat comes from two sources. Firstly the sun, an immense fusion reaction at centre of our solar system that's sending out light photons which then partially convert to heat on contact with matter. On top of that, we're living on a giant rocky ball in space, which at its core is full of incredibly hot molten iron and lava. And that core is spinning! Spinning! That's a lot of heat, and it affects the local weather systems in myriads of ways. Now, that is awesome.
Weather formation doesn't end there, oh no, because heat affects the environment, the environment affects the air, and the air and contained clouds affects the amount of sun that reaches us in a vicious cycle. It's an enormous chaotic system which can not be predicted except in the shortest of time scales.
<looks out of window at points at rain>
Sometimes the air masses clash so much they make electrical charges that lightning leaps up to the clouds above in a titanic event to complete a circuit and ground the system, and it works. Visible forks of light illuminating the usually dark world in vivid moments of clarity. Why usually dark? Well, because some types of behaviour are more likely in the night or the day. Even the spinning of the world is important.
Now, all of that was grossly over-simplified and even partially wrong but I can't help but think of all that air high up in the skies, thinning unto the edge of space. They're gaseous continental masses of differing temperatures and densities which conspire and mix to make our favourite default topic: The weather.
O.
Monday, 4 February 2013
Buy this, friend!
It gets tempting to write bizarre creative things each day, and never to write about events and the world at large. Well, I never do that anyway, but if you have 'Yoghurt Vat Kids', 'The Carrot Man', and 'The Ninja of Health' percolating under the surface somewhere then perspective can be lost. Perspective is everything, and also impossible to reach if you're looking for it.
"New Perspective-In-A-Jar! Thanks to the groundbreaking research taking place here at Frank's Sensors we have now perfected a revolutionary therapy that can be sold over the counter worldwide. Kiss those depressive tendencies goodbye and calm those manic periods right down with Perspective-In-A-Jar. For every one hundred bought collect a free easel."
You see, the smallest opening can let out the crazies, and when you're in an office by yourself there are lots of openings. Actually despite all that I've made lots of progress today. I've twisted FreeFem++ about as far as it can go and am now working out normal derivatives of a very important function. It's so important that I've named it the Smurf function. It has the potential to change almost entirely nothing. That's research, friends!
Aberystwyth is nice today, with a scattering of clouds blowing across a light blue sky. It's strange to think that I spent so long inland. The coast is definitely the place to be, with scudding weather and blinking lights on the sea's horizon. Somewhere far across the waters is Ireland, and if you skirt around Ireland you could make a break for Iceland. Iceland would be a good place to visit sometime, and is on my list of places still to see before giving up holidays. Also on the list: Luxembourg (no reason), Thessaloniki (friends there), Seville (ditto), Copenhagen (no reason again), and Stockholm (ditto). Oh, and maybe Seattle/Vancouver. That list would exhaust my wanderlust if completed!
"Wanderlust, now with added sparkle. Are you out of travelling inspiration, friend? Do you need a new infusion of curiousity and enthusiasm? Then look no further as here at Toxicala we have the thing for you: Wanderlust PLUS! This wondrous shampoo oozes straight through your scalp and motivates you in the only way possible: With chemicals! Buy Wanderlust and travel like you've never travelled before. Not to be used in conjunction with spray deoderant."
Oddly, it seems as if the terrible movie 'Masters of the Universe' has a pretty good score, or at least the segments I've heard on YouTube are. Who would have thought it?
O.
"New Perspective-In-A-Jar! Thanks to the groundbreaking research taking place here at Frank's Sensors we have now perfected a revolutionary therapy that can be sold over the counter worldwide. Kiss those depressive tendencies goodbye and calm those manic periods right down with Perspective-In-A-Jar. For every one hundred bought collect a free easel."
You see, the smallest opening can let out the crazies, and when you're in an office by yourself there are lots of openings. Actually despite all that I've made lots of progress today. I've twisted FreeFem++ about as far as it can go and am now working out normal derivatives of a very important function. It's so important that I've named it the Smurf function. It has the potential to change almost entirely nothing. That's research, friends!
Aberystwyth is nice today, with a scattering of clouds blowing across a light blue sky. It's strange to think that I spent so long inland. The coast is definitely the place to be, with scudding weather and blinking lights on the sea's horizon. Somewhere far across the waters is Ireland, and if you skirt around Ireland you could make a break for Iceland. Iceland would be a good place to visit sometime, and is on my list of places still to see before giving up holidays. Also on the list: Luxembourg (no reason), Thessaloniki (friends there), Seville (ditto), Copenhagen (no reason again), and Stockholm (ditto). Oh, and maybe Seattle/Vancouver. That list would exhaust my wanderlust if completed!
"Wanderlust, now with added sparkle. Are you out of travelling inspiration, friend? Do you need a new infusion of curiousity and enthusiasm? Then look no further as here at Toxicala we have the thing for you: Wanderlust PLUS! This wondrous shampoo oozes straight through your scalp and motivates you in the only way possible: With chemicals! Buy Wanderlust and travel like you've never travelled before. Not to be used in conjunction with spray deoderant."
Oddly, it seems as if the terrible movie 'Masters of the Universe' has a pretty good score, or at least the segments I've heard on YouTube are. Who would have thought it?
O.
Saturday, 2 February 2013
Story: The Glove, I
(Part II)
On Ganymede, a moon of Troos in the Farseeker system, there were Scots. Sometime in the millennium since practical spaceflight to the stars blossomed a band of colonists set their caps for this dim and distant yellow star and flew. The moon Ganymede was large and spacious and hosted two large cities, both on the equator but on opposite sides of the planet. These cities were known as Edin and Burgh, and traditionally were spaced so as to allow each the best chance of survival should the other fall. Of course, as centuries rolled by, the two cities became more distinct in their cultures and beliefs.
Edin became the focus for academic and scientific advancement, where technical achievement begot industrial progress which in turn begot more technical achievement. Burgh developed the arts, and was hereditary home to the bards, pipers and libraries of artefacts brought from Earth in the last days before departure. There would be no more artefacts as Earth was no more, vanished inexplicably forever.
One fine spring day, an apprentice piper called Steffan awoke and rolled out of his hammock to face the new day. Troos was large in the sky, but no longer intimidated people as it had done for so long. Now it was normal, a great rocky mass that seemed to orbit Ganymede as the moon in reality spun on its axis. This was hoped to be a landmark day for Steffan, the day when he might cease life as an apprentice and become a journeyman. He shaved, washed, dressed and ate before finally leaving his apartment in Burgh and heading out to the Circle.
Crossing Burgh and traversing the four great parks, Steffan reached the Circle, that great performance area where all musical rites were performed and exams undertaken. Standing at the periphery it seemed as if an extra layer of magic lay over the place. The great standing stones that stood in a ring encompassed the world literally hanging overhead and the air tasted of cheese and sulphur.
Now all he could do was wait. The exam would come when his peers arrived and sat in judgement. Perhaps he would fail and remain an apprentice for another six months, or maybe he would pass. Seeing someone ready for a performance park visitors drifted over to the circle and began to settle down, not knowing how long the wait might be for.
The wait would not be for long...
On Ganymede, a moon of Troos in the Farseeker system, there were Scots. Sometime in the millennium since practical spaceflight to the stars blossomed a band of colonists set their caps for this dim and distant yellow star and flew. The moon Ganymede was large and spacious and hosted two large cities, both on the equator but on opposite sides of the planet. These cities were known as Edin and Burgh, and traditionally were spaced so as to allow each the best chance of survival should the other fall. Of course, as centuries rolled by, the two cities became more distinct in their cultures and beliefs.
Edin became the focus for academic and scientific advancement, where technical achievement begot industrial progress which in turn begot more technical achievement. Burgh developed the arts, and was hereditary home to the bards, pipers and libraries of artefacts brought from Earth in the last days before departure. There would be no more artefacts as Earth was no more, vanished inexplicably forever.
One fine spring day, an apprentice piper called Steffan awoke and rolled out of his hammock to face the new day. Troos was large in the sky, but no longer intimidated people as it had done for so long. Now it was normal, a great rocky mass that seemed to orbit Ganymede as the moon in reality spun on its axis. This was hoped to be a landmark day for Steffan, the day when he might cease life as an apprentice and become a journeyman. He shaved, washed, dressed and ate before finally leaving his apartment in Burgh and heading out to the Circle.
Crossing Burgh and traversing the four great parks, Steffan reached the Circle, that great performance area where all musical rites were performed and exams undertaken. Standing at the periphery it seemed as if an extra layer of magic lay over the place. The great standing stones that stood in a ring encompassed the world literally hanging overhead and the air tasted of cheese and sulphur.
Now all he could do was wait. The exam would come when his peers arrived and sat in judgement. Perhaps he would fail and remain an apprentice for another six months, or maybe he would pass. Seeing someone ready for a performance park visitors drifted over to the circle and began to settle down, not knowing how long the wait might be for.
The wait would not be for long...
To be continued... ?
Friday, 1 February 2013
Movie: 'Speed Racer' (2008)
I am becoming convinced that 2008 was a miniature golden age for movies I actually liked and ended up buying. Listing off in no particular order I have seen and even purchased:
- Encounters at the End of the World,
- Get Smart,
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,
- Iron Man,
- The Incredible Hulk,
- Kung Fu Panda,
- Speed Racer,
- WALL-E,
'Speed Racer' was made by the Wachowski Brothers (now known simply as the Wachowskis for readily discerned reasons) and was based on the Japanese anime. This movie was roundly criticised on release, with some holdouts, and is now comparatively unknown. I really don't know why that happened, except as a punishing self-correction of critics after the 'Matrix' series.
I really enjoyed this movie. There are obvious flaws, and apparently noone was expecting a family movie from the Wachowskis, but it is overall a very enjoyable romp. The story is simple, as is everything else: The young Speed Racer (yes, that's his real name) is racing for his family's company in the futuristic racing league, and trying to redeem his dead brother's memory, when he and his family are approached by corporate behemoth Royalton Industries for a racing alliance. When Speed rejects the offer thoughtfully Arnold Royalton reveals the corruption at the heart of racing in bitter vengeance before vowing to break the Racers by any crooked means necessary, as he broke Speed's brother Rex before his demise. This lays the groundwork for most of the racing action in the movie as Speed endeavours to defeat Royalton and save his family and his own future.
The movie has twin cores of easy appeal in the incredibly colourful and dynamic racing sequences which dominate, and the excellent score by Michael Giacchino. Giacchino is clearly the composer of now; I love his scores and have ever since 'The Incredibles'. He is awesome and marries sound to colour vividly and coherently.
As mentioned the races are visually colourful and kinetic, forming miniature masterpieces of cartoon-like action linked together by the routine plot and John Allam hamming it up mercilessly as Royalton. Colour zooms all over the screen, in the backdrops that are halfway between cartoons and realism, in the blur of the racing and the costumes and colour schemes everywhere you look. It is awesome and a throwback to the '60s colour boom. It's also one of the things people didn't like, and I can appreciate that, but it is a good way to insulate the movie from reality.
Amidst all the special effect frothiness, there is a surprisingly heavyweight and high profile cast that includes John Goodman, Susan Sarandon and Christina Ricci as well as comparative newcomer Emile Hirsch. John Goodman seems to know no bounds; He will appear everywhere and in anything, and always pull his considerable weight. Ricci is an enigma as always, and someone whose back catalogue should be investigated. I had forgotten she existed in her quirky excellence. The cast also provide the one moment that sticks out like a sore thumb, the infamous brawl where Goodman as Pops Racer twirls a hoodlum over his head and everything looks wrong.
Summing up, 'Speed Racer' is an exciting, colourful, kinetic, musically gorgeous cartoon of a live-action movie. It has some bizarre moments that break the mood, and probably too little story for many viewers, but I liked it. I don't understand why it was ridiculed so badly. C'est la vie.
O.
PS Now to get back to reading. Far too many movies recently!
PS Now to get back to reading. Far too many movies recently!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)