Do you believe in magic?
I did a job interview yesterday. Wee! It was for Student Connections, providing website consultations for businesses (and fixing their websites). While not a permanent position, it seems designed to be exactly what I need: a transition into the field. I'm told previous designers were then hired on by companies after their two or three-month terms.
The interview went well (I was able to comment on the Hulk movie as well as answer the usual probing questions) and the dudes seemed to like my stuff. They're still sending questions about availability so I'm . . . cautiously optomistic. Should know if I have a new job by Friday at the latest . . .
Anyway, here are some thoughts on movies I've taken in lately:
Imperial Grand Strategy - A plot so sinister even Noam Chomsky, that god among left-wing intellectuals, is unable to discern it. Nor is he a good lecturer. Despite the inclusion of Nazis and Russians it was still snooze-worthy. Not a great rental.
The Madness of King George and Cyrano de Bergerac - Both highly entertaining historical romps that I'd recommend without hesitation. " What, what?"
Children of Men - Very bleak without losing it's hopeful undercurrent (or having a few laughs). Excellent depiction of distopia with poignant performances and tense plotting. So few good, hard sf films are released these days, so this is a welcome entry.
Pan's Labyrinth - Very bleak without much of a sense of hope. I enjoyed the monster designs but it never felt magical. It's possible the fantasy elements were just Ofelia's delusions, which makes them kind of sad rather than wonderous. Not sure what the critics are on about, as I couldn't see what was to be imparted from this. I really hasn't resonated with me since the weekend viewing.
And comics too (thank you, public library, for being so hip):
Street Angel - An indie classic at this point. The plots rely too much on "random" without approaching madcap, but overall it's still kind of cute.
Runaways - The first volume or whatnot. I've heard so many raves about this series but really can't find much original in it. The dialogue is the usual sort of Marvel smart-ass speech, and the superpowers don't define the characters distinctly enough. (Super strength? Pet dinos? Meh.) I'm not really missing much, it seems, though no disrespect to those who rate this series highly.
Astonishing X-Men - Also the first volume. Much better than I had expected, especially considering the previous book. Joss Whedon focuses on a few key characters and "big issues" to keep it less cluttered than the usual X-book, and has true wit rather than smart-ass remarks. Sad that this story led to this inspired the depressing, kind-dumb X-Men: The Last Stand, but reassuring to find the team so fresh in print.
The Books of Magic - I've never quite been sure what to think of Neil Gaiman. A lot of my friends and associates think the world of him, but I've never been inspired to "get into" his work. I try, but this book, for example, is not so vividly imaginative as it should be . It's protagonist is a boring, geeky proto-Harry Potter, who gets a tour of the more fantastic realms of the DC Universe only to conclude that "all you need is to believe." Can do?
I have Louis Riel on reserve, since I too plan to write a comic biography of a particular historical figure. (You'll find out who . . . oooh, so many secrets.)
'tis all for now. Feel free to discuss/disagree.
The interview went well (I was able to comment on the Hulk movie as well as answer the usual probing questions) and the dudes seemed to like my stuff. They're still sending questions about availability so I'm . . . cautiously optomistic. Should know if I have a new job by Friday at the latest . . .
Anyway, here are some thoughts on movies I've taken in lately:
Imperial Grand Strategy - A plot so sinister even Noam Chomsky, that god among left-wing intellectuals, is unable to discern it. Nor is he a good lecturer. Despite the inclusion of Nazis and Russians it was still snooze-worthy. Not a great rental.
The Madness of King George and Cyrano de Bergerac - Both highly entertaining historical romps that I'd recommend without hesitation. " What, what?"
Children of Men - Very bleak without losing it's hopeful undercurrent (or having a few laughs). Excellent depiction of distopia with poignant performances and tense plotting. So few good, hard sf films are released these days, so this is a welcome entry.
Pan's Labyrinth - Very bleak without much of a sense of hope. I enjoyed the monster designs but it never felt magical. It's possible the fantasy elements were just Ofelia's delusions, which makes them kind of sad rather than wonderous. Not sure what the critics are on about, as I couldn't see what was to be imparted from this. I really hasn't resonated with me since the weekend viewing.
And comics too (thank you, public library, for being so hip):
Street Angel - An indie classic at this point. The plots rely too much on "random" without approaching madcap, but overall it's still kind of cute.
Runaways - The first volume or whatnot. I've heard so many raves about this series but really can't find much original in it. The dialogue is the usual sort of Marvel smart-ass speech, and the superpowers don't define the characters distinctly enough. (Super strength? Pet dinos? Meh.) I'm not really missing much, it seems, though no disrespect to those who rate this series highly.
Astonishing X-Men - Also the first volume. Much better than I had expected, especially considering the previous book. Joss Whedon focuses on a few key characters and "big issues" to keep it less cluttered than the usual X-book, and has true wit rather than smart-ass remarks. Sad that this story led to this inspired the depressing, kind-dumb X-Men: The Last Stand, but reassuring to find the team so fresh in print.
The Books of Magic - I've never quite been sure what to think of Neil Gaiman. A lot of my friends and associates think the world of him, but I've never been inspired to "get into" his work. I try, but this book, for example, is not so vividly imaginative as it should be . It's protagonist is a boring, geeky proto-Harry Potter, who gets a tour of the more fantastic realms of the DC Universe only to conclude that "all you need is to believe." Can do?
I have Louis Riel on reserve, since I too plan to write a comic biography of a particular historical figure. (You'll find out who . . . oooh, so many secrets.)
'tis all for now. Feel free to discuss/disagree.