Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Indianna Jones and the Photoshopped Skull

I went to see Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull recently. I'd been looking forward to this for ages but had a little worry in the back of my mind ever since the on set photos started to be released. It all looked like Indiana Jones but it to lack the Indiana Jones sparkle. These worries were increased when I saw the trailer. CGI tastic with scenes that looked like they were pulled straight from The Mummy Returns. Still I was looking forward to the movie, after all it was Indiana Jones and that had to count for something.

Unfortunately it counted for very little. From the moment Indiana Jones stoops down to pick up his hat the whole movie feels more like a series of cut scenes from a state of the art computer game than a major cinema release. Maybe it was the screen I watched the movie on but every scene seemed to have been "enhanced" by computers. Spectacular and colourful skies that look too spectacular and too saturated. large jungle canopies. Jungle scenes where half the jungle trees seem to have been added in. The final scene filmed on a mountain peak looked like it was a blue screen effort. Even the bad guys seemed too regular, too smooth, too generated. I'm sure they filmed lots of the stunts, Spielberg and Lucas insist that most of the stunts were real and not computer generated but it looks like they took those stunts and then photoshopped the background to make the scene more dramatic or more colourful.

But it's not all bad, Harrison Ford might be old and sometimes he does seem just a little too old for some of the action scenes but he still manages to pull off the role. Shia Labeouf is not as annoying as I imagined, in fact he might be able to pull off an Indiana Jones movie as the lead character. Some people did not like the plot but lets face it after The Ark of the Covenant, a priest who can rip the hearts of his victims out with his bare hands and a thousand year old crusader knight no one should go to this fourth movie expecting realistic plot points.

All in all I'd give this a 2.5 out of 5. Not good not bad but perhaps if this had been The Mummy 3 instead of Indiana Jones 4 I'd have given it an even lower score.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Eurovision

How in the name of God did the Eurovision get so popular it can be on TV twice this week? Sure the Eurvision itself can be a laugh for its pure stupidity and bizareness but do we really need two semi-finals? No wonder RTE sent a turkey, they couldn't afford to host 1 Eurovision never mind 3.

It's like the EU, the more we vote the bigger and more painful it gets.


Update: Just saw Dustin perform. Only one way out of this now. Vote No to Lisbon and tell them it's all part of the same anti-EU campaign :-)

Update 2: So we didnt make it through, my national pride is a little bruised yet relieved. Was anyone truely surprised?

Friday, May 09, 2008

Anyone want a Spire?

Newstalk reported today that several monuments including the Spire, O'Connell Monument and Parnell Monument on O'Connell Street might have to be removed for several years to allow construction of the new Metro. Brian Cowen is only in charge of the countey for 24 hours and already he's redecorating the gaff.

When I first blogged about this over at the Dublin Community Blog I thought it was a good idea. Now though I wonder if the cut and fill approach to building the metro is the way to go?Why cant they dig tunnels underground and minimise the impact above ground? Why is it going to take several years to complete the O'Connell Street section of the line? If this is the rate of progress that can be expected how long will it take to build the line from St Stephens Green to the airport? How much of O'Connell Street will be closed to the public? Will it the work be completed in time for 2016? Will they restore all the monuments back to their original positions?

Monday, May 05, 2008

President Laura Bush?

I just watched Laura Bush on BBC News giving a press conference announcing aid for Burma in the aftermath of the cyclone that has killed thousands. She went on to condemn the Burmese government for their actions. I wonder if she is padding out the international affairs part of her CV for a run to the White House after President Hillary Clinton. At that stage she'll probably be running against Senator Chelsea Clinton.

Friday, May 02, 2008

Mayor Boris

The BBC is reporting that Boris Johnson is likely to be elected Mayor of London. There is a God and he has one hell of a sense of humour. This is going to be a classic mayoral term.

If you dont know who Boris is, look at this:


It's official, Boris is the Mayor of London for the next 4 years.