Month: April 2013

Posted on

Olympus Has Fallen

As action films go this one is ok. It’s just like Die Hard but not done as well. Terrorists take over the White House and have trapped the President and some of his senior staff. Only Gerad Butler is there to save him.
The opening was sweet with a Christmas theme and the incident where Banning does the right thing is all well and good. Once the invasion of Washington DC started the whole thing became somewhat less realistic. It was nice seeing the views of DC again having been there recently. I recognised most of the places and the aerial views really made the layout of the city clear. I spent most of my time running around DC so I was quite aware of where things were, it was just nice to see a different view.
There were a few times throughout the film when I wanted to laugh out loud. The script was painful at times and it didn’t go smoothly. My favourite line was when a helicopter with people was taking off from the North Lawn and someone in the Pentagon said “it’s ok, we’ve got a tracker on board”. It’s a HELICOPTER. RADAR normally works quite well with big metal objects flying through the sky. What rubbish.
How you could fly an unidentified aircraft within 20 miles of DC and not get shot down for later questioning is something the film doesn’t address, but then it would mess up most of the film. It’s all rather silly.
Don’t expect anything sensible. Expect silly, get silly and suspend your disbelief. It’s not a complete waste of less than a tenner if you live outside London.

On a completely separate issue it really bugs me that the President ends his addresses to TV with God Bless America. I find it amusing that God blesses Americans and the land they stole from the indigenous peoples. The fact that God is on the side of the USA and not the Republic of Korea is even more amusing. I guess God is always on the winningest side! Read the US constitution and tell me where it mentions God!

Posted on

Oblivion

This is the first in an occasional series where I give my opinion of films I have seen. The reviews are not going to be long and not going to be that insightful. Writing is not a gift of mine. I originally started this many years ago on this Previous Films.
Warning – general plot and theme spoilers.
So, this communication is about the Tom Cruise vehicle that is Oblivion. Let’s start off by saying this film is alright. It’s not stunning. It’s not ground breaking. It’s just alright. Many of the themes the film pushes have been done before. While watching it you can almost put together the films the director/writer grew up with. If you want to watch a decent film with similar themes I suggest you buy or rent Moon, The Island (not a good film), Bladerunner, 2001 etc.. They are generally far better and more organic with better acting.
The special effects in Oblivion are seamless and so you don’t really notice them. The female actors are pretty, as you’d expect, and Tom just cruises around, but then you don’t expect wonders from him. I also feel as though Morgan Freeman is now a cliche of himself! It’s no surprise to see him popping up half way through, there are plenty other actors who would have been better and less recognisable in the role.
Overall, this film is a reasonable starter into science fiction but if you are already a nerd then it’s not worth your money. Watch the classics and philosophise all you want.

Posted on

KMFDM

Saw KMFDM at the O2 Academy in Islington. Small venue but nice and close to transport.
KMFDM were very good. Loud and funky the band played a good mixture of old and new. I’m not sure about some of the music being samples and recordings but I think I can cope with it if it’s occasional. They started with DIY and played Kunst third. Many hits followed and the atmosphere was as expected.

20130420-235208.jpg
For someone used to the heavy metal crowd it was quite clear that I had crossed into a newer and different genre. Some members of the audience were not metal fans and were a little more extreme and edgy in appearance. The very tall man in the dress and make up, the other man in a dress and pink hair and the man who looked like a stereotypical butch lesbian with orange hair. I’m just glad these people have somewhere to call home.

20130420-235506.jpg
The support bands were:

  • Sheep on Drugs
  • Explore the TV

    • Sheep on drugs were ok but Explore were awful, just not my scene or anyone else’s I think.

    Posted on

    1000 Up

    It may have taken a while and lots of money but I finally have 1000 cars in Gran Turismo. Who needs another game (or life)?

    20130420-070223.jpg

    I’m still not at level 40 in A-Spec though.

    Posted on

    Bridge Construction

    When I was in America I did some running. On my last day in the USA I ran past some bridges. While running up to the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Bridge I noticed a curious linkage design in the side of the bridge.

    TRMB

    In the UK the majority of bridges are built on rollers so that when they expand in the summer, warmer months they don’t crack and break apart. These rollers can be observed from under the bridge and the expansion joints can be seen on top of the bridge.

    This particular bridge in Washington DC is hanging from the cantilever end parts of the bridge to allow expansion in the structure. A close up below:

    Bridge Expansion

    A close up with my annotations:

    Extra

    This is quite a clever solution to bridge expansion. I also think it is quite clear that I would make an excellent dinner guest, not boring at all! One of the things I love about civil engineering is that it is Meccano but just bigger. Big bolts, big nuts and big cables!

    Posted on

    They Are So Mine

    Here’re my boys looking at Rochester Airfield. They loved waking around and seeing the planes. We were going to go on a river trip but all sailings were cancelled because the river was flooded!

    20130414-153347.jpg

    Posted on

    Birthday Present

    What happens when you ask a four year old to pick a present for his seventy one year old granddad? This:

    Grandpa's Present

    Fair enough I guess. #1 wasn’t interested in getting Granddad a book and thought he would like these diggers. Granddad took these home so that my sons can play with them when we visit.

    Posted on

    DC Day Six

    My last day in Washington DC! I knew I’d be leaving for the airport at around 19:30 so I had all day and plenty more to see. Another sunny day in DC and slightly warmer than the last week or so.
    Got up, had coffee and then prepared for another run. I hadn’t seen the World War II memorial so far and that was my destination for today.

    Create Maps or search from 80 million at MapMyRun

    On the run I saw a coast guard helo. My helicopter total for the trip was as follows:

    • Black Hawk
    • Marine One
    • Coastguard
    • Park Service UH-1

    Back to Georgetown and time to get ready for a busy day. I had lunch organised at midday and so I wandered in to town at about 11. I was planning to get the metro from Foggy Bottom and go two stops to McPherson Square but I had plenty of time and so kept going on foot. I got to 14th and Eye just on time and walked a little further to The Hamilton bar for lunch.

    View of the Capitol

    After a Hamilton burger for lunch I walked towards the Newseum. I hadn’t quite decided whether to go there or the National Museum of American History. I happened to wander past the FBI Headquarters building and didn’t blag my way in to that place. I figured if I wanted to see inside I could try and get arrested somewhere, although that would probably not be worth the effort. I like my body cavities as they are!
    I saw a sign indicating Ford’s Theatre and so I walked to see that. There were many many school children waiting outside. I understand, it’s the place of assassination.
    I decided that the Newseum would wait and so I walked to the Museum of American History. Half of the museum was shut for the year to be refurbished which was a shame. I saw the original flag that inspired the lyrics to the Star Spangled Banner and some pieces of American History. Again, much like the Natural History Museum, I have a feeling that we do museums far better than the Americans and it all seemed a little “not quite the nation’s museum” even though it was.
    I headed for the National Aquarium close to the White House and waited in line to be searched and pay my entry fee of USD10. I’m glad it was only a small amount of money as the Aquarium was pretty rubbish. The London Aquarium is far superior. Apparently there is a branch of this aquarium in Baltimore and I would hope that one is much better. Maybe another trip.
    It was time to start wandering back to GT. I was feeling a touch peckish and thirsty and I wanted more coffee so I found a bar on M street in GT. Mr Smith’s saloon fed me coffee, buffalo chicken sandwich and a Goose Island beer.

    IMG_3734

    Much refreshed it was now cupcake time. There are two shops in Georgetown that feature in their own TV shows on some small time channels. I though it might be worth buying a cake from there however, the queue was around the block and I don’t like cupcakes enough to wait that long. Instead I had a muffin and coffee from Saxbys.
    Packing my suitcase in Winfield Lane was methodical and calming and then I played some guitar hero Metallica while I waited for Rich to come home from work. The journey to the airport was uneventful and the flight home was boring. I tried to sleep but don’t think I managed it.

    IMG_3737

    It was great to see my boys and spend the next few days with them in the UK.

    Privacy Policy Proudly powered by WordPress