Hello

What strange times we live in, first of all Hello again. Its been quiet because well life sort of took a hold and time became a precious commodity I could no longer ignore.

     There are lots of reasons for the inactivity, dreams exceeding ambitions. My son growing up and needing more of my focus and time and just the fact that though still watching movies at home and in the cinema and streaming I just hadn't seen anything that made me want to commit thoughts to the blog.

     Then along came a little bug and an international pandemic and the internet became an angry place. Twitter exploded with consipricay theories and and an endless stream of bial and vitriol and cyber bullying.  Arguments I thought would never see the light of day suddenly resurfaced, racism, sexism accross facebook and I returned to my bunker to shelter from the gathering storm.

     Here in Wellington, we started the year off with the city being brought to a stand still by anti vaxxers protesting the loss of there freedoms. Contradicted by the fact that they were being extremely loud and vocal and infilitrated by a number of known entities that had more extreme facist like views.

    But thats life, and when your fed up the world movies become more of an escape.  A form of normality is now restored, an election is about 14 months away and those angry voices can vote away their hate. They wont they will find another veichle for their ire.

    So as life reboots so have my personal dreams. Since my last posts I am now fully in love with 4K movies, I have a growing collection of movies some classic most new and I have found myself revisiting a lot of movies I used to watch in the eighties that hark back to the seventies. Recently I have revisited the Marathan Man and Little Big Man (Dustin Hoffman) the French Connection. 

   I love the fact that in 4K old movies look like film again, with more natural colours and a healthy dose of film grain.  That my 65inch Panasonic tv adds to that Natural feel. Its not perfect, its not OLED but I'm sorry after having a Plasma tv and learning and experiencing screen burn I just couldnt make that leap.

   Another revelation for me was the Beatles Get Back documentary. I did miss the grain, the digital smoothing that at times look a little waxxy but it was four nights of my life where I felt I was a fly on the wall with my favourite band that have been a vital part of my life and who I have taught my son to love too.

   So I'm back, older , fatter , greyer and dreaming of having my own projector. New dreams in an old body. I don't know how regularly I will post but it will be when I have something to say and not to meet some self imposed target. 

Welcome to 2017, and I find myself returning to this blog, my son is now 8, his genre tastes are developing nicely and he is a little more independent compared to the last two years. Tomorrow I will be taking him to see Assasins Creed and so kicks off my new cinema going year.

To be honest the last two years of silence have been down to laziness and a feeling of having seen it all before. 2016 however was not an all out cinematic endurance test as there were a few movies that I enjoyed , Deadpool was like a massive caffeine hit to the soul for daring to be R rated in both style and substance and for being different from the usual Superhero fayre. 

Hunt for the Wilderpeople was my favourite of the year, funny, heartfelt and heartwarming it entertained in  a good way and I came out of the cinema grinning like a Cheshire cat and not for the first time in 2016. Zootopia,  Doctor Strange, The Nice Guys, The Lady in the Van being films that entertained without being dumb.

Oh and on a controversial note, I loved the Ghost busters 2016 movie, I felt it was better paced than the original and the villain more interesting. It certainly didn't deserve the flack that had been directed at it.

Suffering from Super Hero fatigue, however 2016  did provide plenty of alternatives to the regular churn out of Multiplex programming with The Revenant, Spotlight , Jungle Book engaging on a much deeper level than some of the safer summer releases.

So I'm going to dip in and out again, but not with reviews, but little hits of my obsessions , more of a diary feel. Just to keep this blog going and to improve my writing skills. Also with Netflix now available I will give an overview of my current tastes with the more satisfying long form story telling  Netflix offers access too. For example during  the last two weeks of 2016 I have just binge watched two seasons of House of Cards with its mix of thriller, politics, black humour. 

I might also share some book recommendations based on what I have been reading over the last twelve months.

So drop by again, and happy New Year. 

Here and back again.

Well after a long rest, I am back.  The time has been spent wisely watching my expanding blu ray collection sifting through mainly classic movies of the 70's and 80's (classic but in all honesty some of my purchases haven't aged well).  Also in June I attended the Armegeddon Expo in Wellington  where I drooled over a wealth of collectibles many of which were beyond my price range.

My moviegoing though frequent has been a mixed bag of entertaining delights and disapointing failures. The first half of this year has the distinct vibe of playing it safe with sequal after sequal. Stand outs so far for me have been Captain America 2, Godzilla and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
Spiderman 2 and Transformers however Stand out as boringly predicatable and lacking in pace. Each had their standout moments but there is more boom and bluster present than great story telling.

The direction of my blog will change, I'm a film fan, and not a film reviewer so I will be toning down that part of my blog in favour of book reviews and some blu ray reviews for the collectors amongst my audience. These will be for those with doubts about potential purchases due to potential quality issues. Of course these will be of a Southern Hemisphere slant as that is my location.

So I will be back with more of a local flavour but also I hope a more general chat like vibe. A diary of my geek life, freeing me up to be more open in my opinions.

Robocop 2014

1987 was the start of a good run for Paul Verhoeven, already well established as a Dutch filmaker his transition to Hollywood kicked off with Robocop a movie that courted as much critisim as praise for its dark ultra violence mixed with a blacker than black satirical edge. This was the time of the greed is good 80's.

       I loved it at the time, for daring to go out on a limb, and for Paul Wellers outstanding turn as Alex Murphy. in fact it could be argued that it was his performance that brought class to the whole enterprise.  I was an avid reader of Judge Dredd and this was as near as I would get to taste of that bleak black comedic view of a world gone mad and consumed by greed and violent civil unrest.

       The film delivered it appealed to gore hounds as well as action film fans and this was a period of the 80's when Stallone and Shwarzenegger dominated.   When action was king with anti heroes bleaker than Dirty Harry.

        So now we come to the new 2014 verison of Robocop. Instead of critics being polarized by the movie we instead have dissent from the rank and file fans who despite an endless  stream of reboots and reimaginings seem overly protective over the mettalic future of law enforcement.

        I hold no such qualms this is a film that relects the current time as much as the original is very much a product of the 80's.  The violence is toned down but still there, the idea of man becoming machine and which is the dominant factor Murphy or Robocop is now front and centre and very much the heart of the film.  So my first bit of advice therefore would be to ignore the original. Take this new film on its own terms as it is a vastly superior film to the originals lacklustre sequals even if it doesnt reach the originals emotional wallop. 

       Everything about the set up is different , the big bad is different and theough violent it is less bloody it is very much a relection of current times.  This is a world in which politics is in conflict with corporate interests.  Villains are more ambigious and less clear and if there is one critisism this film lacks a big scenery chewing baddy for Alex Murphy to go up against.

       I feel strongly its because the man or machine element is of more interest to the film maker rather than being a pure action movie.

       On the whole I enjoyed the film on its terms.  The original is still out there, it can still be viewed and loved the new reboot exceeded my jaded expectations and deserves to exisit in its own right. It was a journey I am glad I took and if there was to be a sequal i would gladly welcome it. But next time, we need a bigger, badder villain for Alex Murphy to go up against.

And a little extra More pics from yesterdays visit to the Roxy in Mirimar

Just some more pictures taken yesterday at the Roxy with one older picture of the Roxy for a comparison to the Lego Sculpture in my last post.

2014 Happy New Year and a Day at the Roxy

Well currently I'm enjoying a well earned break and one that has recharged my desire to see some new releases where they deserve to be seen on the Big Screen.  From the very start of my blogs, I had expressed my desire to visit the Roxy, to savour the atmosphere and hell even have a meal at Coco's. So as I'm officially on leave for a week my wife and I decided to leave the snug confines of Porirua and experience the Hobbit Desolation of Smaug at the Roxy. A cinema that has though retaining the original Mirimar cinema's façade has been rebuilt to the latest safety standards incorporating an Art Deco look but with filled with Weta magic from the Gollum's statue greeting you before you ascend the stairs.

Below are photo's taken yesterday, a marvellous Lego reconstruction of the Roxy. The old style Cinema 1, it was here we watched the second part of the Hobbit but not until we had experienced the sheer magic of Coco's restaurant. The food and service was fantastic and this is definitely the place movie magic. The detailing and consistency of design shout out quality.

So recharged, on Holiday and raring to go so far this year I have experienced The Hobbit Desolation of Smaug, which is critic proof I have now seen it standard 3D and HFR 3D and the latter wins hands down. The film felt a lot better the second time around and though a tad too long is still a satisfying experience that leaves you thirsty for more.

Frozen marked my first film of 2014 and I found it to be pure Disney magic , a worthy addition to the Pantheon of Disney movies that confidently embraces Old and New Disney. I loved it, the songs were perfection the characters engaging and the pace perfect for both Adults and children.

After my disappointment with last years movies this year kicked off brilliantly and my next visit I hope to be the Wolf of Wall Street. So Happy New Year long may it continue.

Technology, blu rays and mastering the home theatre system

Well the pre christmas buildup has begun. Time to cast aside my blu rays for the real deal. First out of the gate next week will be Enders Game. This will be followed by the Hobbit Desolation of Smaug.  Meanwhile my local entertainment emporium, will be flooded with christmas product all fighting for my attention.

It all seems daunting but last week I bit the bullet and treated myself to Pacific Rim and In 3D no less.  The presentation is jaw dropping, the sound incredible and the sheer detail on display just draw dropping.  For a 3D experience this disc is demo quality,  simply astounding. Colours pop, the spectacle is all there for you to see.

Yesterday I also treated myself to the Hobbit extended edition which again is a stand out presentation with brilliant supplementary material. Of course this is to be expected the precedence having been set by the Lord of the Rings extended editions. With releases this good then Christmas promises to be a real treat this year making up for a less than impressive year of movie going.