These weeks of November 2024 have been BUSY. The kids have had performances, we've built decks, I've burned through kilometers of fuel and learned how to transcendentally meditate. We've swung lightsabers and lost employment and applied for jobs and watched rebellions from unrest foment. I've attempted to stay on top of TAFE work and bought far too many movies, we've seen psychiatrists, attended birthdays, lost BTS questions in Song Pop Party and manned canteens and used whiteboards to organize our chores. I've messaged my father for his birthday and spoken verbally with my brother about money from our mother. There's five days left and still doctor's appointments and awards ceremonies and movie premieres and chiropractor corrections and nephew's birthdays and Feasts of Thanks and on the final day, Sunday, November 30th, 11:59pm, my first TAFE assignment for this module is due.
The board is then wiped clean and the month of December 2024 filled in.
Thoughts are running riot. I had three puffs and these are the thoughts bugging me
(This one is problematic.)
To remember
Lilith - the corn on her foot. Bake cookies. Sort out school excursion TOMORROW
Bridgette - her sore stomach. Talk with her more.
Isaac - wrestle more. Prep for excursion
Theo - cook eggs and learn with him
Connect with all your kids more. They are here and are yours.
I checked YouTube by the Alien Romulus full movie searches came up with Nada, except for a fake display for another film. Jade must've been lucky to see it before it was caught. Etc
My gay cowboy from Lance
confirm toolbox Monday
Ask what's on people's minds
Ask if people can collect broken things when they see them because sometimes I am without a pallet transport
Plan to mark them and separate them
-Collect first
Telling myself I am worthless and building pictures of why isn't constructive
You are alive and your experience is yours
Why are you imagining encounters that haven't happened yet?
(Stop building your own walls)
I am unclear about what lightsaber training is, what aspects matter. I am handling other people's equipment.
-I get to be present
-What is it to you Adam? What is it to your family?
-Be prepared
-bE CLEAR
-Confirm status of current sabers
Talk to people. Understand more. Be responsible and commit to your decisions, including the ones you don't know. Especially when you don't know. Be open and aware.
Make sure to be on top of your duties! Remove the distractions! The ones that you KNOW are distracting you. YOU KNOW WHAT WE MEAN. CLOSE THE TABS!!!
Spend time every day sorting out the day!
People are around you every day. Be grateful you are still alive.
Could AP have been shoved by a different entity instead of the truck? Many drivers crossing lines.
Is my direct experience causality or correlation? Can I conflate my experience with the whole? The circles of self- local community?
Aaaaaaaand I just discovered Isaac's been watching kinky ASMR videos on this tablet. A lot!
Thoughts: It's really better than the first. More laughs, more pace,
fantastic music, great performances. Will be watching the third one soon, and I
remember feeling let down by that one so let's see if the sequel is the best!
Thoughts: I had an old friend named Brice. We met in our early teens
in high school, I'm fairly certain it was the first year of high school in
Shailer Park, Brisbane. We bonded over nerd stuff, video games, books, anime and
just generally each others company. He was an only child from a divorced family,
living with his mother and rarely seeing his father. He was quite sardonic,
rather sarcastic, and never afraid to speak his mind when he felt something was
incorrect or when someone was being Contradictory. Generally this came out as a
cynical statement of confusion at what the person was saying or doing call my
delivered in a way that showed he didn't exactly know what to do to fix it but
he was aware that it made no sense. As time wore on, his general grade
Depression expanded, and although he had no trouble with the ladies, he had a
lot of trouble accepting himself. I learned in our mid 20s to 30s that he
developed a drinking problem, and he lived by himself while working in various
writing professions.
Brice was a massive fan of animation. Video games and
animation. I never got to the depth of what he probably was into, as we drifted
apart over the years during my marriage and work and family commitments,
however he always knew what the good stuff was and wasn't ashamed of liking
what he did, and we shared a love of such things as Cartoon Network classics,
unusual works like over the garden wall, and the more cartoonish works like
Adventure Time. I did come to understand over the years that Brice would jump
from obsession to obsession, diving into comics, then Japanese superheroes,
then pro wrestling. I would meet up with him and he would be gushing about a
particular hobby and then a year later I would meet up with him again and there
would be a new hobby to gush about, whereas any mention of the previous hobby
would be cast aside and spoken of with derision and disdain.
I mention Brice because not only does Robot Dreams feature a
generally good natured but rather flighty self-defeating lead character stuck
in a serious depressive funk, trying to connect with someone- anyone-
emotionally, but also is built on the back of a fantastic soundtrack and an art
style that I immediately felt he would greatly appreciate.
As mentioned, Dog is stuck in a frozen dinner, single
player, apartment dwelling subsistence, watching late night commercials to pass
the time, when suddenly he sees an advertisement for a robot companion. In short
time, the build your own robot kit arrives, and after some heavy lifting and
construction, Dog and the child-like, ever curious, eternally positive Robot
happily venture out into 1980s New York City to experience the sights and
sounds. Unfortunately a trip to the beach goes awry and Robot is stuck for an
entire season in the sand, experiencing all the negative actions of a world
that could care less for someone in need. Meanwhile, Dog’s attempts to rescue Robot
from his stationary fate are met with roadblocks at every turn, and he resigns
himself to attempting to rebuild his life while waiting for the weather to
shift.
I was hoping this film would be dialogue free and it turns
out it was, leaving me a happy camper since I am a sucker for a dialogue free
visual experience. I'm a massive fan of the silent film era, and can thoroughly
appreciate good editing and expressive performances to tell a story. I was
concerned that robot dreams would have a hard time filling out the one hour and
43 minutes, however my fears were allayed as the credits rolled. The experience
is an enjoyable and an emotional one, with a variety of characters and
situations painted across the screen in true 1980s splendour. The animal cast a
decked out in fluro lycra and roller skates, the beaches are jam packed with
families sunning themselves, with humorous moments peppered throughout the
runtime. There's a lot to love here, and altogether a worthwhile experience
with Earth, Wind & Fire's fabulous September the backbone and bookend to
the whole experience. Of particular note is the sequence with the birds and
robot nesting together on the lonely beach, offering cute learning sequences
and beautiful music. The character of Robot is the beautiful optimist against Dog’s
mild self centeredness, however the nature of all our idiosyncrasies is what
makes the film.
I'd say it's a good film to leave on in the background, with
music or without. I wonder if Brice likes the film?
Thoughts: I absolutely LOVED this film. Directed, written, story, produced and including music by Sia (with some help from Labrinth). Heartfelt, expressive performances coupled with thoughtful editing and sturdy cinematography result in a musical that now rates as my number one.
Zu (Kate Hudson), a free spirit estranged from her family, suddenly finds herself the sole guardian of her half-sister, Music (Maddie Ziegler), a teenager on the autism spectrum whose whole world order has been beautifully crafted by her late grandmother. The film soon challenges whether it is Zu or Music who has a better view of the world, and that love, trust, and being able to be there for each other is everything. (From imdb.com)
I cried five times. The whole thing got to me. I enjoyed the storyline and the dance sequences, appreciating and accepting that the entire enterprise is designed as a capsule of life, incorporating the big moments that shift us forward while the little details keep up the frame. Characters are painted with honesty and emotion, allowing the performances themselves to feed the drama with plot points as props to hang our messed-up humanity upon. Naturally, the dance sequences are key, and to me they do not disappoint, drawing my focus to the expressions and outfits of the performers.
The music is top tier, making me move and feel the rhythm of underlying context and overt lyricism. Emotion is the core, for a film called Music, and we are asked to make judgements while reserving our initial reactions to situations, statements and reactions.
I appreciated the colour, the sound, the editing especially, and the performances and how the whole thing made me feel. I look forward to watching it again with Bridgette this time!
Thoughts: Like with the previous two venom films, the franchise always seems to just fall short and not quite make it. The jokes are *just* not funny, the action is *just* not quite coherent, the story is *just* not quite interesting, the characters are *just* not quite deep. Venom: The Last Dance continues that standard and provides a fitting yet underwhelming end to the trilogy.
Eddie Brock is lost in the multiverse which is a good thing because he is a fugitive on the run after the events of Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Before I even finished the sentence however he is whisked back through a wormhole to his original Earth and immediately set upon by the practically unstoppable minions of a mysterious evil intergalactic Warlord called Knull (played by Andy Serkis!). What follows is a road trip across America with some asides featuring a laid-back traveling family and Chiwetel Elijofor and Juno Temple has military and scientists respectively at the now defunct Area 51. Things eventually lead to a climax where multiple symbiotes come into play and death follows.
I appreciate the hell out of Tom Hardy, and his performance through all the films is and continues to be a whole lot of resigned and frustrated fun. What I found interesting is that the film is directed by Kelly Marcel, the story is written by Hardy and Marcel, and they were both major producers on the film. Makes me think that there was a vision at work here and maybe I'm not catching what they're trying to put down, but looking at it purely for what it is, if this did not feature the character of venom, would I forgive the film? Would I forgive the trilogy? I don't think I'd even be interested.
In each film I feel a lack of investment in any one aspect of the production. The action is hard to track, more than a Transformers film, and generally lacks any real weight. The characters aim for dramatic moments but the overall effect isn't one of true connection. The humour which makes up a significant section of each film is frequently not funny and delivered in manners that don't quite match the material. This isn't a statement on what should or shouldn't be in a film but more so whether or not what is being presented actually works. There isn't really a punchline I suppose. I also found a real issue with this film in particular where I had trouble understanding the dialogue of many characters both human and symbiote alike.
On the plus side it's fun, my kids like it and there are worse films out there. I genuinely don't feel like watching it again though 😂
I started meditating about a week ago. I signed up for 4 day course, 770 bucks, and that's concession- health care card. I palm it off as a good thing, and it's helping. But I'm making dumb decisions with money; I MAKE dumb decisions with money. New TV, then ANOTHER 4K player to make it play what I want. Bought ANOTHER Xbox a month or two ago. Spent hundreds on new movies just last week. I buy snacks, and quick food options, sometimes alcohol. Dumb shit, unnecessary shit, filling holes I'm staring into, acknowledging them openly as I toss my meager earnings- SAVINGS- inside. Load up the fast credit facilities. I WAS debt free, then I bought the FIRST TV earlier this year (last year?) on credit. Then I found out I racked up 12K in Centrelink overpayments a year or two ago, after the divorce.
I haven't smoked weed in a while. The last batch, Jack Herer, really sets off my paranoia, so I've just gone off it. The alcohol has really slowed down too; wine gives me headaches now. Doesn't stop me. It's cheaper and hangs around for less time than a bottle of spirits!
Bought a synth keytar. I can see it gathering dust. Because I hate how the laptop isn't strong enough to handle the app for building music! I let myself get distracted by the minor things.
Beside all this, I feel ok. I feel fine! I am accepting I am a selfish, insensitive, financially unstable axxhole: it's who I am. What is fighting against what I am inside and outside? I do not feel the anxiety of this, and I am feeling less anxiety being this in public, with others. I am learning to accept I have very stunted personal assertive skills in social situations. This is the pain I have to live with: it is my pain. To fight it, lament it is to fail understanding that we all have pain.
I love my kids, my family, despite my shortcomings and how who I am makes me come up short in all aspects of life. I am a boring, uninteresting, persistent machine of habit. I make a minimal fuss of myself. I make everything worse by being this way and yet I persist, I must. Changing myself by force just doesn't work.
All of the self reflection is a lie I'm feeding myself.
Thoughts:
Irresistible is director Ann Turner’s last film and it's been almost
20 years. As a bit of melodrama featuring top tier actors I found it engaging
but a bit quick in its cutting. Letting that slide though, the film is
absolutely delicious.
Successful housewife and artist Sophie (Susan Sarandon)
spends her day taking care of her two preteen daughters and working on
paintings, currently fretting over a new project that involves artists painting
works based on their personal trauma. Right from the opening as we see Sophie
going about her day, seemingly innocuous moments take on malevolent forms, and
she is shown to be a highly neurotic and nervous person with a penchant for
mental construction. In comes the stunning Mara (Emily Blunt), the slinky and
suggestive coworker significantly reducing the burden of her busy husband Craig
(Sam Neill). As the two families draw closer together, Sophie becomes convinced
that Mara is trying to steal her man, and not only that, but her personal
photos and clothing, her way of life and inevitably her actual life. Who is
Mara and is Sophie really losing her mind?
The direction quickly draws you in, using camera angles and
pacing to maintain a sense of unease, as the film rocks forward like a child's
seesaw on ice. Susan Sarandon looks ******* incredible and plays the part to
perfection, with every nervous twitch and manic outburst flowing out from her
beautiful frame. She's only improved by a young and tremendously sultry Emily
Blunt, and when the both of them are playing off each other sparks fly. Sam Neill provides a solid rock of empathy and
anger, pushing things forward as the beleaguered every man stuck between these
two women and the difficult choices that come with protecting your family and
following a lead. Of course mistakes are made, but as the film barrels towards
its conclusion, things only improve and you're ultimately left with a final
shot that clinches the whole thing together like a picnic lunch filled with
chilled wine and delicious cheeses.
That being said, some rapid cuts, notably during the trial feel like whiplash and you have to take a moment to realign. It doesn't take away much, but the film suffers because of it.
I look forward to watching it again, hopefully in one
sitting next time.
Thoughts:
You'd be
hard pressed to find a reason not to love The Croods: A New Age. The film
propels forward at an astonishing pace, reminding me of Hotel Transylvania 2
which felt like the team got to let the brakes off and embrace the kooky
zaniness. The Croods: A New Age feels much the same, but in its own way,
offering crazy visuals, fun edits and winning performances.
The Croods have been travelling as a solid pack for some time,
with Guy fully incorporated into the clan, and into the heart of Eep-much to
Grug’s dismay. After fighting to survive for every minute of their life, the
group stumble into a virtual Eden, maintained and set up by the far advanced Bettermans.
Cue much savage versus classy dynamics and some romantic tension with the
reintroduction of the long-time childhood friend of Guy, Dawn Betterman.
There's a lot of fun to be had here. The characters are
mouldable like clay: squished, crushed, stretched and tossed about like rubber
balls. Early scenes such as a shifting pile of sleeping bodies provide tactile visuals
with satisfying audio and plenty of room for humour. The actors pivot from
emotion to emotion with rich gusto, filling the soundstage with roars, cackles,
shrieks and growls all the way down to swoons, purrs and whispers. Jokes repeat
but never grow old and the core emotional theme holds strong, reminding us that
we do our best work together.
Isaac was sent to bed for his behaviour, so I look forward
to watching it again without nodding off and with the whole family.
Thoughts:
I'm happy to say that I enjoyed it, and not least because of the
fantastic, mind-blowing visual 4K upscale that the HDR10+ and Dolby Vision
provides. The film is ridiculous and easy going, doesn't go for broke on any
particular count, but is still completely satisfying from an enjoyable Sunday
afternoon perspective.
Brad and Dusty are now getting along just fine working well
enough together as any co-parents would. In comes their two fathers for the
holidays and, Dusty's father Kurt being the self-obsessed ladies’ man that he
is, books an Airbnb for the whole family to trip to and enjoy in the last week
leading up to Christmas Day. Naturally, everything goes wrong and a variety of
mishaps generally involving Brad enduring a significant amount of pain both
physical and financial, and inevitably bringing up emotional trauma both
current and previous, threaten to waylay the entire holiday season.
I admittedly find it funny. I really enjoy when Will
Ferrell's character Brad loses control of the ice thresher, and in a thoroughly
inspired bit of directing and slapstick, decimates the entire house’s lighting
display, clotheslines his ageing father (John Lithgow), and ultimately cops a
rooftop Santa freeze to the head for the second time. I find the movie flows
evenly and has no real problems, because it's so good-natured and inoffensive.
It really helps that the film books fantastic as well. Like,
you don't even understand how much it improves this whole thing- it just
looks so Christmassy that it almost hurts. I'll happily watch it again this Christmas!
Thoughts:
Alex Garland’s cerebral science fiction endeavour is more of a drama
than an in depth exploration of scientific ideas, however as with anything Alex
Garland my tendency is to dig and dig and continue digging 'cause there is
almost always something under the surface, and with regards to the twofer of Devs
and Ex Machina, I really want to know just how deep the script goes with
regards to AVA and her communication constructs.
Caleb is a talented coder working at Google stand in BlueBook,
who in the opening of the film winds a companywide lottery too spend a week
with reclusive, enigmatic owner Nathan. Upon making his way to the secluded, high-tech
fortress, he is quickly introduced to the mercurial mastermind, and made to
sign a waiver ensuring he cannot talk about the tests he's about to perform, on
an extremely advanced AI named AVA. He is about to be the first person on the
planet to attempt to perform a positive Turing test for true artificial
intelligence.
What follows is a deteriorating balancing act between the
three major players and a handful of extras, as they explore the nature of
control and response, emotion and understanding that makes up what we
understand as the human experience. We do not know who is playing who and whether
what anyone is experiencing is real, however there is no denying that there is
a direction that is being driven towards, and by journey's end what dictates
survival and existence will be tested and applied with fatal results.
I picked up the 4K based on a gushing review on blu-ray.com,
and I did not find the transfer to be particularly exciting however I haven't
compared it to the Blu-ray that I've picked up in the last year or two. I've
recently tinkered with the settings on my new Sony TV and currently find the
output to be extremely satisfying as my newly minted Star Wars: The Force Awakens
4K can attest. Another rewatch is in the cards so I can continue this
investigation into the film, However at this stage I am still uncertain as to
how I feel about the film aside from appreciating the technical merits,
including the engaging soundtrack, fantastic performances, dreamlike
cinematography and intriguing script.
I really enjoyed Weird: The Al Yankovic Story the second
time around, and not just because it was in 4K with the best audio possible. Allowing
myself to fall into the cameo fest, and completely appreciate Daniel Radcliffe
and Evan Rachel Wood’s dedicated turns makes the whole experience richer. That
being said, there is a lot of patches and stretches where the dramatic takes
centre stage and, considering the inherent ridiculousness of the entire
enterprise, but the lens by which we are forced to view the film as completely and
totally serious, these lengths can really stick out in an otherwise fantastic
film. Uneven is the best way to describe it.
I don't really see the point in trying to summarise Weird: The
Al Yankovic Story aside from stating it is the life Story of musician Al Yankovic
as narrated by Diedrich Bader. He is but just one cameo in a film that relies
almost entirely on a constantly shifting roster of cameos, whether that is a
fault or a boon is up to the viewer. Knowledge of Al Yankovic and his music
benefits the experience or else it results in consistently wondering if most of
the events played out on screen are true-or at least that is what my eldest son
seems to think. There's definitely some solid quotes peppered throughout so that's a plus!
The film is shot in a meat and potato style with some nice
flourishes, usually when it extends into ultraviolence. Almost all the songs
are performed by Al Yankovic himself, lip synced by Daniel Radcliffe in the
title role. Frankly I'm happy that I own it now, so I get to watch it again,
although I do think altogether it is a bit of an uneven and hodgepodge kind of
film.
Thoughts: Upon finishing the last act (where I fell asleep) and running through the infectiously enjoyable BTS special features as I folded washing and updated the family wall calendar for November 2024, I can safely give Abigail above-average marks as a thoroughly enjoyable single location vampire romp.
Boasting an extremely strong cast (Dan Stevens, Kevin Durand & Kathryn Newton 4Ever), a fun script and so many physical FX blood explosions it puts other horrors to shame, Abigail tells the story of a motley kidnapping crew directed by Giancarlo Esposito to abduct the daughter of a rich mogul and hold her for ransom in an isolated mansion for 24 hours as they await an easy paycheck. Naturally things turn sour as their ballet dancing ward turns out to be a centuries old blood-sucking fiend, and the characters get picked off one-by-one in a variety of ways.
Initially I was a underwhelmed by the endeavour, thinking it was just a bit of fluff with an expletive-laden script too busy winking at itself to offer anything of value. But as the film progressed, and upon finishing the final act while still conscious, I can safely say that Abigail rates as one of the better vampire bites, offering solid direction and thoroughly enjoyable asides, such as Kathryn Newton's freshly-possessed self dancing wildly before attacking the remaining survivors, and Matthew Goode showing up for a brief bit of scene-chewing as Abigail's wayward father.
I can easily rate this strongly and will enjoy watching it again for a future halloween.
Thoughts: Admittedly I started to nod in the last act, though I don't think I missed too much. With the Furious Five receiving only an opening and closing nod, Kung Fu Panda 4 pares down the cast and ups the couples relationships, exploring notions of holding onto the past, and accepting where power truly lies- the connections with others.
Kung Fu Panda 4 sees Po and co going about their daily lives in the valley: cooking, eating, protecting. Master Shifu throws the inevitable spanner into the works, advising Po that the time has come to relinquish the Dragon Warrior mantle to a successor. Enter the fox Zhen, quick-witted thief of Juniper City, and the pair must trek to bring down an evil shape-shifting chameleon terrorising the city.
Tai Lung makes a welcome return in various guises, personal favourite of mine, with Ian McShane returning for voice duties. Honestly there's not much to say, as I found the film overall an enjoyable experience, but muted in comparison with 1 and 2.
