24 May 04
I walked out of the cinema somewhat ambivalent toward this Hollywood ancient history epic—my girlfriend thought it was laughable, but I must admit I was expecting worse and there were some sequences, such as the one-on-one battle between Achilles (Brad Pitt) and Hector (Eric Bana), that I really enjoyed.
For once the computer effects don’t completely overwhelm the story, but Brad Pitt might be computer-generated for all the depth he brings to the role of Achilles. There’s never anything going on behind that confused expression and perpetually troubled pout, and his weakness is not helped by a director who can’t resist zooming in on his star at every opportunity. A great shame, as complexity could have been brought to the conflicted Achilles by a better actor. Seeing an old man like Peter O’Toole (King Priam) blow all the newbies away in every scene in which he appears makes you despair for the future of the film industry. Is this all we have to take up the mantle when the oldies have gone— Brad Pitt and Eric Bana? Ye gods!
The city of Troy is spectacularly realised—how many thousands of beautiful ancient cities have burnt to the ground or crumbled to ruins over the ages, I wonder— and the battle scenes visceral and real enough to make you go “oof” in your seat. And I thought they condensed a complex story to film length quite well. But a mix of lame script and beefcake acting drags the film down from the Olympian heights to which aspires.
2 and a half breastplates out of 5.
Movies and TV
21 May 04
This morning Headless Hollow has been mentioned on Todd Dominey’s What Do I Know site. Since he designed the original Blogger template for this site and I have a great deal of respect for his work, this is exciting news. Thanks Todd!
In the coming weeks I’ll be adding some new sections to this site, including free downloads eg. a nicely designed Filemaker database system for databasing your CDs, books, software and hardware which overly organised people like me should enjoy. (Sad? Well yeah, a bit, but then you’ll have the last laugh when the house burns down and the insurance people try to question your claim!). If you like what you see and read, bookmark Headless Hollow and come back now and again. I’ll endeavour to give you something interesting with which to pass the time while enjoying your coffee.
Site News
20 May 04
A guy drives into a service station with two penguins in the back of his car. The service station attendant says to the guy “what are you doing with those two penguins in the back of your car?” The guy answers “I don’t know what to do with them.” The attendant says “well, why don’t you take them to the zoo?” The guy says “that’s a good idea, I’ll do that.”
Next week the guy drives back into the service station with the two penguins still in the back of his car. The attendant says “didn’t you take those two penguins to the zoo?” The guy answers “yeah, they really enjoyed themselves. Today we’re going to the beach.”
Boom-tishhh.
Stuff
18 May 04
What the world needs now is another blog… ahh, here’s one. If you’re a designer, you might enjoy it. If you like movies, music, art, books, writing, travel… well you might find it occasionally interesting too. There’s nothing too personal here, and hopefully nothing too boring either. If you like, leave comments about posts using the ‘Comments’ links.
Talking about launching… the practice of breaking a bottle of wine over a ship’s bow was introduced by the British navy in the late 17th century as a cost saving measure. Previously the ships were baptized with a ‘standing cup’ of precious metal, which was then promptly thrown overboard. The rapid production of ships during the height of the British Empire put an end to that.
Stuff
17 May 04
A wonderful, warm fable of a movie that was the perfect antidote to the sugar-coated derivative bloat of Van Helsing. From the moment Mark Isham’s score kicked in I knew I was in for a quality, old-fashioned movie. And what a change to have realistic, human sex scenes—with real bodies not models—in a movie.
4 and a half chips out of 5.
Movies and TV
17 May 04
A committee is a dark alley down which bright ideas are lured and silently murdered.
Stuff
15 May 04
According to the Sydney Morning Herald this morning, between 1996 and 2003 house prices in Sydney rose by 100 per cent while average weekly earnings grew by just 3.6 per cent a year.
Opinions
14 May 04
petergifford.com
My personal site features travel diaries from trips all over the globe. The most recent is Turkey but there are writings and photos from North and South America, Egypt and India as well.
Tékumel: The World of the Petal Throne
The huge official site for Tékumel, an imaginary world that is the life’s work of an American linguistics Professor, M.A.R. Barker – and easily the match for Tolkein’s Middle-Earth in detail.
The Telltales
Site for independent Sydney band The Telltales features pics, music and movies. A successful debut CD is out there and the second is close to completion.
Design
14 May 04
Stuff
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