I may have alluded in the past to the giggling man-crush I have on Paul Verhoeven (no, not the director) and Luke Ryan (Tramdalf was one of their earlier escapades) but their 'see no evil, hear no evil' review of The Human Centipede had me squealing with glee*.
And retching. Violently. Especially after reading the synopsis on Wikipedia..
Read the review here. It's a brilliant piece and it'll save you watching the film. Although if you have any desire to watch it after seeing the time-lapse footage of their reactions you're a sick sick puppy..
Actually, if you're at all squeamish you shouldn't even read the review. Best to ignore that the movie even exists. I hope never to see - or hear - it.
On the other hand - Scott Pilgrim vs The World is awesome. I lesbians it.
* in a manly way, of course..
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
orse like a horse*
My Girl Friday is staying with me at the moment so I'm taking the rest of the week off to hang out, drink coffee/wine/beer, talk shit, people-watch and buy books with her. It's already wonderful.
* This is an in-joke. By which I mean not a very good joke. You're not expected to get it and if you do you probably won't laugh anyway. That's not what in jokes are about. Look, just ignore it ok? And forget we had this conversation. Jeez.
* This is an in-joke. By which I mean not a very good joke. You're not expected to get it and if you do you probably won't laugh anyway. That's not what in jokes are about. Look, just ignore it ok? And forget we had this conversation. Jeez.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
animated
I've had a pretty busy life over the last week what with social outings, boozing and the Sydney Graphic Festival on the weekend. That was where I saw/heard Neil Gaiman read his story The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains with music/sounds provided by FourPlay String Quartet and paintings by Eddie Campbell. It was fantastic.
Neil Gaiman got a rock star greeting from the adoring fans - among whom I definitely place myself although I've always had difficulty with hero-worship, I'm just instinctively mistrustful of anyone who inspires adulation. He was good though, very good - as he should be since he wrote the story and does these things a lot. With the haunting sounds provided by FourPlay and the lovely illustrations by Eddie Campell shown on a big screen it was a darkly magical reading.
The Q and A between Gaiman & Campbell afterwards was a humorous affair - it seemed more like two old friends slinging witty insults at each other than anything, and appeared to be pretty much off the cuff. It was quite lovely to watch.
Sunday saw me back at the Opera House for a screening of Akira with a live score provided by Regurgitator. Which was particularly awesome. And loud, rib-rattlingly loud, especially in some of the full-on action scenes. I hadn't seen the movie for twelve or fifteen years and was taken by how modern it is - and how influential it's been in the twenty-odd years since it was made.
I think the friend I went with got more out of it than I did since he was able to focus on the movie, the subtitles and the band. I tried for a few minutes but gave up - partly because I can't multi-task but mostly because I was just totally absorbed into the movie. It's still pretty brutal by today's standards. Of course there are hundreds of imitators that are even more graphically bloody, but the almost off-handed way a lot of the violence is dealt with in the movie adds to the shock value. Plus the condensed nature of the adaptation from the comic books makes for a curiously more subtle story - less time for explanation equals more of the 'show, don't tell' principle.
If you haven't ever seen it I recommend you do. Preferably on a big screen with a good sound system.
Neil Gaiman got a rock star greeting from the adoring fans - among whom I definitely place myself although I've always had difficulty with hero-worship, I'm just instinctively mistrustful of anyone who inspires adulation. He was good though, very good - as he should be since he wrote the story and does these things a lot. With the haunting sounds provided by FourPlay and the lovely illustrations by Eddie Campell shown on a big screen it was a darkly magical reading.
The Q and A between Gaiman & Campbell afterwards was a humorous affair - it seemed more like two old friends slinging witty insults at each other than anything, and appeared to be pretty much off the cuff. It was quite lovely to watch.
Sunday saw me back at the Opera House for a screening of Akira with a live score provided by Regurgitator. Which was particularly awesome. And loud, rib-rattlingly loud, especially in some of the full-on action scenes. I hadn't seen the movie for twelve or fifteen years and was taken by how modern it is - and how influential it's been in the twenty-odd years since it was made.
I think the friend I went with got more out of it than I did since he was able to focus on the movie, the subtitles and the band. I tried for a few minutes but gave up - partly because I can't multi-task but mostly because I was just totally absorbed into the movie. It's still pretty brutal by today's standards. Of course there are hundreds of imitators that are even more graphically bloody, but the almost off-handed way a lot of the violence is dealt with in the movie adds to the shock value. Plus the condensed nature of the adaptation from the comic books makes for a curiously more subtle story - less time for explanation equals more of the 'show, don't tell' principle.
If you haven't ever seen it I recommend you do. Preferably on a big screen with a good sound system.
Monday, August 09, 2010
subconscious
I must be over-thinking things again: I had a dream incorporating not one but three ex-girlfriends the other night. No, it wasn't a wet dream. Or a nightmare, oddly enough.
It was probably sparked by the email exchange I've had with my ex last week where we raked over some of the coals of our relationship and (in a very civilized manner) gave our somewhat differing opinions on the demise. It was interesting and a little illuminating, although I'm not sure that I got quite as much from her as she did from me. Admittedly she has yet to respond to my last email so that might change. Also there are few people who can ramble as much as me in text when I put my mind to it. Or my insomnia to it in this case..
It's nice, in a weird way, to be able to talk about it rationally and openly with her. Although it's probably something we could only do through email otherwise, as she admitted, she'd just end up crying. There are certainly some things that needed to be explained on either side, and nothing really bad has cropped up. It's just, as should be expected, sad.
Blah. Need to think more about that stuff before I splurge here. Will come back to this at a later date. Possibly.
It was probably sparked by the email exchange I've had with my ex last week where we raked over some of the coals of our relationship and (in a very civilized manner) gave our somewhat differing opinions on the demise. It was interesting and a little illuminating, although I'm not sure that I got quite as much from her as she did from me. Admittedly she has yet to respond to my last email so that might change. Also there are few people who can ramble as much as me in text when I put my mind to it. Or my insomnia to it in this case..
It's nice, in a weird way, to be able to talk about it rationally and openly with her. Although it's probably something we could only do through email otherwise, as she admitted, she'd just end up crying. There are certainly some things that needed to be explained on either side, and nothing really bad has cropped up. It's just, as should be expected, sad.
Blah. Need to think more about that stuff before I splurge here. Will come back to this at a later date. Possibly.
Monday, August 02, 2010
ggg*
Currently obsessed with Dan Savage's sex and relationship advice podcast - the Savage Lovecast. I advise everyone with an interest in sex to listen - you will be informed, amused, surprised and probably repulsed by at least something in there. I loved the latest 20ish 'casts so much I've downloaded the entire 200-odd and am listening to them from the start - back in 2006.
Seriously though - go listen to some of them, even if you don't learn anything (and, oh my god, the things I've learned about dolphin fucking..) you will be highly entertained. I've just about doubled over on the street laughing so it's best not to listen when you're on public transport. He's also very often right, or at least offers good advice. Obviously though: not for those who can't handle sex-talk or plentiful profanity.
It's made me realise that despite my kinks there are people out there (LOTS of people) who are so much more freaky than me. Makes me want to up my game..
* ggg
Seriously though - go listen to some of them, even if you don't learn anything (and, oh my god, the things I've learned about dolphin fucking..) you will be highly entertained. I've just about doubled over on the street laughing so it's best not to listen when you're on public transport. He's also very often right, or at least offers good advice. Obviously though: not for those who can't handle sex-talk or plentiful profanity.
It's made me realise that despite my kinks there are people out there (LOTS of people) who are so much more freaky than me. Makes me want to up my game..
* ggg
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