Recent viewing

"Batman & Superman - Battle Of The Super Sons" (2022): By the numbers. Standout animation/voicing, though.

"Journal 64" (2018): Fourth Department Q adaptation. Chilling history, conspiracy.

"Judy Blume Forever" (2023): Loved it like I did her books. OR: Groundbreaking author and terrific lady to boot.

"Puzzle" (2018): Rom-com? Nope. Sweet, sad, smart, serious, satisfying.

"Still Standing" (2023): Uniquely Adelaidean perspective on arcade history/revival.

"The Endless" (2017): Cult escapees tempted back. Maverick multigenre mindbending!

"The U/S Of Insanity" (2021): ICP family battles bullshit F BI "gang" classification.

[Seen on Netflix, SBS On Demand, Prime, DVD borrowed from Mum, DocPlay (via Prime), Kanopy x2.]

Little river, big needle

DQ and I were reminiscing about ill-chosen subjects and uninspiring teachers from junior high. It brought back the memory of an ungraded, compulsory music class I had in which the teacher pretty much just showed us Little River Band concert vids. Not that I minded. It was a good bludge, as we liked to say back then. The same teacher chewed out a problem kid for drawing a detailed syringe that took up most of the underside of his forearm in heavy blue biro. Said kid responded by threatening to involve his father: "My old man will punch the **** out of you!" They grow up so fast. Ahem. Here's LRB with arguably their finest song, "Help Is On Its Way" -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tcutmdnFvk

Recent viewing

"Iron Sky 2" (2019): Outrageous sci-fi satire comically memorable, mainly execrable.

"Kill Boksoon" (2023): Assassin fillums can stop now. Korea wins.

"Tales Of The Night" (2011): French silhouette-fairytale anthology delights the eye.

"Tar" (2022): Maestro Blanchett. Orchestrated complexity/ambiguity. Sinister notes. OR: Great artists abuse power like anyone else.

"The Fab 5" (2011): College game-changers learnt cost of success.

[Seen on SBS On Demand, Netflix, Kanopy, Apple Store rental, Disney+.]

I don't want to just see the new "Indy"

I don't want to just see "Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny".

Before it's released, I want to buy the novelisation from my local newsagent, read it more than once and pore over the colour plates in the middle. Later, I'll discover it has multiple differences to the film due to the writer working from an early draft of the script and adding in gonzo content of their own.

I also want to buy a poster book containing a giant quiz with a humorous rating system. I promise to learn the answers by heart.

I want a plastic "Dial Of Destiny" cup from Macca's.

And a half-arsed toy line I encounter a single time, in an out-of-the-way, overpriced toy shop. The Indy figs will be gone, so I'll purchase either Phoebe Waller-Bridge or Mads Mikkelsen's character. Whichever has the best gun.

It's imperative I have access to a poor simulation of the movie's key events for the Commodore 64 and/or a tie-in that bears absolutely no relation to them for the Atari VCS.

A "Dial Of Destiny" ice block or chocolate bar wouldn't go astray.

A "Mad" magazine parody is essential. (Yes, I know the mag's gone - they can resurrect it.)

Bog-standard trading cards. No special inserts, thanks. Except gum.

I want a totally different TV ad for the flick's second run, to get me excited all over again.

Then, when the VHS/Beta release is heading to the video store, I want to ask the staff if I can make an offer on the promotional poster...only to be told someone else has already reserved it.

I don't want to just see the new "Indy". I wanna experience it with so many friends, we have to travel to the cinema in a station wagon, a couple of us squashed into the back bit normally reserved for grocery bags and pet dogs. On the return journey, I will bore everyone by listing "changes" from the novel.

Recent viewing

"Al Davis Vs The NFL" (2021): Grouse gridiron history documentary interestingly utilises deepfakes.

"Bad Girls" (1994): Rewatch. Gal-power western retains meagre charms.

"Rise Of The TMNT" (2022): "Teen Titans" animation, "X-Men" plot. Dug it.

"Snake Eyes" (2021): Nutty actioner didn't even cure my insomnia.

"The Worst Person In The World" (2021): Intelligent Norwegian drama experiments, stays with you. OR: Comparisons to Sally Rooney's novels not unjustified.

"Willy's Wonderland" (2021): Theme-park horror/Cage coolness screams CULT.

[Seen on Disney+ x2, Netflix x2, Kanopy x2.]

Les Nessman

I'm old enough to recall when "cashless society" (paying for everything by card) was a scary new term.* It's latterly been replaced by "walletless society", as mobile phones do more and more. Along with the various payment apps, some governments are putting secure digital forms of driver licences and other official citizen ID on 'em. Don't lose your mobi!

*I also remember Atlantis. Those marine archaeologists are sifting in the wrong places.

Recent viewing

"Luther - The Fallen Sun" (2023): Preposterous breakout/mastermind-killer hunt nonetheless engages.

"Murder Mystery" (2019): Sandler farce meets colourful whodunnit. Harmless fluff.

"Murder Mystery 2" (2023): Tried to go bigger, only went stoopider.

"Tetris" (2023): Very Hollywood telling of amazing gaming history.

"The Real Cost" (2022): America's student-debt crisis. Multiple expert viewpoints.

[Seen on Netflix x3, Apple TV+, Kanopy.]

Pony tale

I have a ponytail. I've had one for a large proportion of my adult life. If you asked me why I have it, I'd probably admit that it's just force of habit. My ponytail's not an impressive lock like it was when I was 20. It's scraggly now, with streaks of silver, and I'm sure loses more hairs on a weekly basis than I can possibly regrow. I'm in danger of looking like the TV/movie cliche of an aging muso. Maybe I already do!

It's likely I was sporting a ponytail in 1996 when Ginuwine's "Pony" was released. I remember off-handedly saying I thought it was a good song and having sister AC disgustedly remark, "Have you LISTENED to the lyrics?" How many of us dudes who spent way too many hours in the uni computer rooms back in '96 had ponytails (and sneakers, ripped jeans, geeky T-shirts and leather jackets)? Roughly 99.99%, I reckon. We didn't know much about fashion, but we could recognise a killer jam ;-P

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbnoG2dsUk0

Palmistry

It's Palm Sunday in the Catholic faith. When I was a kid and forced to attend church, it added a welcome novelty to the usual boring service in that they'd give out palm leaves. These could vary a lot in size/shape and had sometimes been painstakingly woven into little crosses by anonymous devoted parishoners. We'd play with them, then take 'em home to stick behind a religious icon or whatever until we decided they were too deteriorated to keep. I wonder if the tradition is as strong today. 

Office romance

I think it's fair to say office romance is never encouraged. Indeed, it's often frowned upon. I'm sure I hadn't been in the workforce long before I heard someone caution, "Don't screw with the crew." On a Brazilian program I watched the other day, they put it far more nicely: "Don't get your honey where you get your money." I like that expression.

As far as real-world examples go, I was present when two colleagues first hit it off on a wild night out. However, many of our coworkers didn't realise they were a couple until they moved overseas together! Seriously. That's one way of avoiding judgement. Not that they should be judged. There's nothing inherently wrong with office romance.

Watch out for April Fool hoaxes. A.I. tools are gonna make those easier than ever this year...