Posts by Rich Lock
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The Others, The Hours, Birth, Dogville, even Cold Mountain
I'll give you The Hours and The Others. The rest should have died in development. Cold Mountain also has the distinction of having not one, but two 'red light' actors in lead roles (actors whose names automatically kill the film - Nicole Kidman and Jude Law in this case).
I haven't seen (or even heard of) Margot at the Wedding, so won't comment.
a good bet
Well, that's what it seems to be more or less all the time. But I would suggest that anyone who had anything to do with greenlighting 'we're here to help' should find another career. There are some scripts that you can tell have three legs from the first five pages.
Unfortunately, there are too many gamblers in the film industry who don't know how to read the turf or understand the form guide (to stretch this metaphor somewhat), and unfortunately, some of them are playing with public money.
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There's a famous line often attributed to screenwriter William Goldman: "Nobody knows anything." It means that no one can predict what will be a hit and what won't. You can spend US$130m on a film called Australia starring Nicole Kidman and find it only takes US$10m in its first weekend. It's easy to be wise after the event.
Phillip, you're making some good points. However, I'd suggest anyone working in the film industry who couldn't see that 'Australia' had a far greater than usual potential to become a total disaster should perhaps take some time out to do some good hard naval-gazing.
Directed by Baz Lurgi, who only knows how to make monotonal, single-pace films. Fine for shallow eye candy like 'Moulin Rouge'. Not at all good for historical epics.
Starring Nicole Kidman. The last time she made a film worth going to see was.....uh....someone help me out here?
Add an enormous dash of hubris. It's called 'Australia' ffs. If that ain't a clear signpost that suggests the director's ego is raging out of control, then I don't know what is.
Yes, no-one knows anything. You don't know which nag is going to cross the line first at Ellerslie, but you can bet on the odds. It might be the 50-1 long shot, but it's more likely to be the 2-1 favourite
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"I guess the question NZ defence policy is whether the purpose of the NZDF is to intervene when needed if bad stuff happens around here, or to have enough pointy stuff to look good with the Aussies/Yanks/Brits."
"Not sure what that has to do with the jet trainers."
The whinge/justification I have heard most often wrt the airforce fast jets is "to help fulfil our [combat] commitments to our allies [i.e. Australia and the US]". I think that was the point that was being made in the first block of text I have quoted - "to have enough pointy stuff to look good with the Aussies/Yanks/Brits".
It seems to me that if NZ did want to 'fulfil that commitment' (whatever that might mean), it could be far better achieved by, say, a highly trained, well-equipped troop of special forces soldiers The cost would probably be a fraction of that required to maintain a fighter squadron, and they would have a far greater flexibility to deal with a greater range of scenarios, both abroad and domestically. Then if you still want to spend money, spend it on ships/planes/helicopters which can deliver these guys where they need to go, and which can support them when they get there.
But toys of that sort aren't flashy/fast/noisy enough for some people.
Simon: thanks for providing some decent arguments for keeping the jet capability. I've got a bit tired of reading arguments that boil down to 'Helen took my toys away! Whaaaa! Whaaaa! Whaaaa!'
If the airforce really wants a up-to-date modern strike capability, maybe we should buy then some predator drones?
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I presume it was a drug dog, not sure what it thought it had, the bag had never had drugs near it as far as I know
When I first arrived in Auckland, tired, poor, and as part of a huddled mass yearning to breathe free, a customs dog took exception to my handluggage, which was a small day pack.
One of it's main previous uses had been transporting my lunch sandwiches to work (the last use being several weeks previously). The entirely affable dog handler told me that the dogs are also trained to pick up anything MAFF might take exception to, such as potentially contaminatory foodstuffs (seeds, etc). The whole experience was very efficient, very low-key, and very friendly. In extremely marked contrast to LAX, which we had just transited through
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Rustle Brown
Has made like a tree and leafed?
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And a question for the group: Don't you think it's a wee bit arrogant to assume that the human race couldn't be wiped out by a virus without our help?
Yes, but a good dollop of hubris adds flavour to any script.
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And people ask me why I never go back
+1. I tend to pass these stries through my 'scaremonger' filter, because The Right aren't the only ones who think the world is going to hell in a handbasket. But really, FFS.
this wouldn't be quite so bad if the UK government - and it's 1001 contractors - didn't lose millions of records of personal data, oh, every week or so.
Yep. I don't really see why private companies are bothering to pay for personal data: they just need to go dumpster diving. Or possibly hang around train stations or bars near Vauxhall.
And those were the results of a 15-second google search.
It's not so much the stomping all over my hard-earned democratic rights that bothers me. It's the fact they're TOTALLY F**KING INCOMPETENT.
The world won't end with a bang, more of an 'oops, sorry, that wasn't meant to happen'.
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And who knows, C4 might actually pull digit and we'll get to see at least the first half of season four before the DVDs come out here.
And thanks to the writers strike and a very long mid-season hiatus, they're not being released in the US until the middle of January.
Hold on, I'm a little confused - You're talking about BSG, not Dr Who, right? you're saying BSG Season 4 isn't available on DVD in the US yet?
But you can buy seasons 1-4 as a box set on UK Amazon. Or season 4 separately. And the season 3-4 one-off bridging specialRazor.
Am I missing something, or did I just blow your Christmas budget?
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Craig, could I politely ask you not to post any more BSG spoilers, even with the warnings?
My eye moves faster than my brain can react.
I've just finished season 2, and season 3 should be in the shop tonight.
WRT the season 2 eps, I found I enjoyed the ones that got slated (black market), and really got hung up on some of the 'acts of god' in the story arc towards the end of the series - one in particular (won't be more specific in case Jake is still playing catch-up). The end of the series more than made up for it, though.
One reason I don't go for the extras in situations like that is because I don't really want to know that the makers thought e.g. 'black market' was crap - it retrospectively tarnishes my enjoyment.
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I feel a Stephen Colbert question coming: "The consequences of the current financial crisis: Great Depression or The Greatest Depression?"
Now That's What I Call A Depression - Volume 2!