Sunday, July 31, 2005

Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest

The winner of the 2005 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest has been announced. The contest is in memory of Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton. Bulwer-Lytton wrote the memorable opening lines "it was a dark and stormy night". This international parody contest seeks bad openings for imaginary novels. Check out the winners here:

Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest

mypetgoat.tv

Following the goat theme, here's a nice little place filled to the brim with conspiracy and healthy paranoia. Have a browse around:

mypetgoat.tv

Monday, July 25, 2005

War of the Worlds

I caught War of the Worlds the other day and, to my surprise, it didn't suck.

I expected an effects-fueled train wreck like Independence Day but instead got a subtle, believable sci-fi masterpiece.

Spielberg has gone back to his "Close Encounters" days and showed that you don't need megabudget sfx to make a great sci-fi film. Whilst the effects are visually impressive, they aren't the centre of the show. Instead, he uses them with great effect as a device to build tension. It's a refreshing change from the 30 second attention span crap which usually spews forth from Hollywood.

I spent a good part of the film just watching Spielberg at work. He redefined the way frantic action is filmed in "Saving Private Ryan" with his low-tech, low frame-rate handheld camera effects. He uses this effect again in WotW, reminding us who invented it after it has been mindlessly abused by TV hacks in past years. Spielberg also revisits the kill-or-be-killed scene from "Private Ryan", again delivering a memorable scene as emotionally engaging as the orginal.

Perhaps the most pleasant surprise was Tom Cruise. He plays a kind of anti-hero who gets thrown into a nightmare and just manages to survive. He has no plan, no skills and no shitty action movie one-liners. He is just a believable well played character from a somewhat underrated actor.

The one minor let-down was Dakota Fanning. Pretentious little attention seeking bitch, I just want to punch her in the face for crapping up a good movie. She is like a miniature version of Sharon Stone.

go see it.

Neuromancer - Audio Book

If you are into audio books, this is a cracker.

Neuromancer by William Gibson, narrated by William Gibson with musc by U2.

This is the sci-fi classic where Gibson first used the term "cyberspace".

Grab it here:

Greylodge Link