The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship
Based on the Russian folk tale, adapted by John Hambley
1990
The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship: An animated short
based on a Russian folktale, made for the show Long Ago and Far Away. The Tsar decrees that whoever brings him a
flying ship shall marry his daughter; a naive young woodcutter sets out
to find his good-for-nothing brothers and stumbles upon ship and a
haphazard collection of very strange shipmates.
Stop-action claymation,
absolutely gorgeously done; the story is a terrific folktale, the characters are kind and memorable, and it's wonderfully funny to boot. It used to be very hard to find but well-worth the search; now I think you can buy the DVD on Amazon. Highly recommended.
IMDB: Fool of the World
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Very Brief Film Reviews: Eddie Izzard
Eddie Izzard: The Definite Article (1996)
Eddie Izzard: Glorious (1997)
Eddie Izzard: The Definite Article: Eddie Izzard is wonderful...except when he's not. He's not very smooth. He'll have whole sections which just aren't very funny, and then in a heartbeat I'll be laughing so hard I'm crying and gasping for breath. In general, I love him, but I do wish he were a little more consistent. The nature of comedy, I guess.
Eddie Izzard: Glorious: Basically the same: parts were great, other parts were lame. I kept doing bad Sean Connery impersonations for a week. My wife was ready to kill me.
My favorite Eddie Izzard filmed routine is definitely Dress to Kill (1999); I would recommend that one above these other two routines. Otherwise, I would definitely recommend being in a relaxed, probably somewhat drunk, giggly mood already, and then you'll have a terrific time.
IMDB: Definite Article
IMDB: Glorious
Eddie Izzard: Glorious (1997)
Eddie Izzard: The Definite Article: Eddie Izzard is wonderful...except when he's not. He's not very smooth. He'll have whole sections which just aren't very funny, and then in a heartbeat I'll be laughing so hard I'm crying and gasping for breath. In general, I love him, but I do wish he were a little more consistent. The nature of comedy, I guess.
Eddie Izzard: Glorious: Basically the same: parts were great, other parts were lame. I kept doing bad Sean Connery impersonations for a week. My wife was ready to kill me.
My favorite Eddie Izzard filmed routine is definitely Dress to Kill (1999); I would recommend that one above these other two routines. Otherwise, I would definitely recommend being in a relaxed, probably somewhat drunk, giggly mood already, and then you'll have a terrific time.
IMDB: Definite Article
IMDB: Glorious
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Very Brief Film Reviews: Labyrinth
Labyrinth
Jim Henson
1986
Labyrinth: Jim Henson's classic, and one of the great modern works of art of the fantastic. As with all of Henson's great works, the comedy and the cuteness and the slapstick are perfectly balanced with, and delicately undermined by, the grim and the gruesome and the truly terrifying, with the edge of the unearthly and very, very real that he and Brian Froud could tap into when they were at their height.
I first came to this movie as an adult (and wish I'd grown up with it as many did), but I love it deeply, and have watched it again and again over the years. I'm still not a fan of Jennifer Connelly's acting, sorry, but the puppetry of all forms is mind-blowing, and David Bowie really is terribly, hella sexy.
1986
IMDB: Labyrinth
Jim Henson
1986
Labyrinth: Jim Henson's classic, and one of the great modern works of art of the fantastic. As with all of Henson's great works, the comedy and the cuteness and the slapstick are perfectly balanced with, and delicately undermined by, the grim and the gruesome and the truly terrifying, with the edge of the unearthly and very, very real that he and Brian Froud could tap into when they were at their height.
I first came to this movie as an adult (and wish I'd grown up with it as many did), but I love it deeply, and have watched it again and again over the years. I'm still not a fan of Jennifer Connelly's acting, sorry, but the puppetry of all forms is mind-blowing, and David Bowie really is terribly, hella sexy.
1986
IMDB: Labyrinth
Healdsbury Ranches: Cabernet Sauvignon
Healdsbury Ranches
Cabernet Sauvignon
California, 2008
Tonight's lesson: Stay away from boots on wine.
Cabernet Sauvignon
California, 2008
Tonight's lesson: Stay away from boots on wine.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Friday, March 8, 2013
Col Di Sasso Banfi - Cab Sauv & Sangiovese
Col Di Sasso - Banfi
Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese
Tuscany, Italy, 2007
Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese
Tuscany, Italy, 2007
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Film review: Butter
Butter
2011
Written by Jason A. Micallef, directed by Jim Field Smith
Rated R (language, sex)
This was an odd movie.
A champion butter sculptor (Ty Burrell) in Iowa retires at the height of his fame to make way for new talent, to the great consternation of his singlemindedly ambitious wife Laura (Jennifer Garner) who had planned to parlay their butter power into political power. Stymied and furious, Laura decides she will take up the reins in his stead, but she meets with unexpected competition on her way to the State Fair in the form of Destiny, a young black girl in foster care (Yara Shahidi) whose white foster parents think that butter sculpting is "awfully rednecky."
There's also a stripper with a vendetta (Olivia Wilde) and a used car salesman who's slick and sleazy and pretty damn dumb (Hugh Jackman!), just to spice things up a little.
It was not a brilliant movie, not incisive or especially witty or tremendously truthful. But it was a fun movie, despite its occasional clumsiness, and there are a couple of scenes that really broke through into excellence, particularly Destiny and her foster father talking about the Worst Things that Could Happen (e.g. being attacked by racist ninjas).
Light, fun, a movie to watch when you're not looking for much substance and are possibly a little tipsy.
IMDB Link: Butter
2011
Written by Jason A. Micallef, directed by Jim Field Smith
Rated R (language, sex)
This was an odd movie.
A champion butter sculptor (Ty Burrell) in Iowa retires at the height of his fame to make way for new talent, to the great consternation of his singlemindedly ambitious wife Laura (Jennifer Garner) who had planned to parlay their butter power into political power. Stymied and furious, Laura decides she will take up the reins in his stead, but she meets with unexpected competition on her way to the State Fair in the form of Destiny, a young black girl in foster care (Yara Shahidi) whose white foster parents think that butter sculpting is "awfully rednecky."
There's also a stripper with a vendetta (Olivia Wilde) and a used car salesman who's slick and sleazy and pretty damn dumb (Hugh Jackman!), just to spice things up a little.
It was not a brilliant movie, not incisive or especially witty or tremendously truthful. But it was a fun movie, despite its occasional clumsiness, and there are a couple of scenes that really broke through into excellence, particularly Destiny and her foster father talking about the Worst Things that Could Happen (e.g. being attacked by racist ninjas).
Light, fun, a movie to watch when you're not looking for much substance and are possibly a little tipsy.
IMDB Link: Butter
Monday, February 11, 2013
Robert Parker's Wine Glossary
An excellent glossary of wine terminology from the internationally acclaimed wine critic Robert Parker and publisher of The Wine Advocate:
eRobertParker.com: A Glossary of Wine Terms
I expect to be returning to it frequently.
eRobertParker.com: A Glossary of Wine Terms
I expect to be returning to it frequently.
Wine blogging in general
I have started reading some other wine blogs - not professional ones, I'm frankly not as interested in those - and am quite humbled by the level of expertise and quality of content out there.
To be very clear to the Potential Reader: I post my wine reviews not in any authoritative way, or to set myself up as someone at all knowledgeable.* Rather, it more traces the slow journey of someone first learning about wine.
To be very clear to the Potential Reader: I post my wine reviews not in any authoritative way, or to set myself up as someone at all knowledgeable.* Rather, it more traces the slow journey of someone first learning about wine.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Adult Content?
When creating this blog, one of the settings is whether my blog contains adult content. The options are, predictably, "Yes" and "No."
I feel like there should be a third option: "Maybe?"
I've barely written anything yet. How should I know what I'm going to say in the future, let alone what exactly constitutes adult content? Does swearing sometimes (which I have done and will cheerfully continue to do) count? Does saying "Tintin is totally asexual" count? Does discussing R-rated movies or liquor, both of which are supposedly adult, count? I assume not. But still.
So:
WARNING: This blog does not yet contain adult content (except for aforementioned cussing). It may in the future. It will very likely link to adult content in the future. If there gets to be a lot of it I may change the setting, but right now I think it's a bit pointless. Make your own, adult, choice.
I feel like there should be a third option: "Maybe?"
I've barely written anything yet. How should I know what I'm going to say in the future, let alone what exactly constitutes adult content? Does swearing sometimes (which I have done and will cheerfully continue to do) count? Does saying "Tintin is totally asexual" count? Does discussing R-rated movies or liquor, both of which are supposedly adult, count? I assume not. But still.
So:
WARNING: This blog does not yet contain adult content (except for aforementioned cussing). It may in the future. It will very likely link to adult content in the future. If there gets to be a lot of it I may change the setting, but right now I think it's a bit pointless. Make your own, adult, choice.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Cuvée A, Müller Thargau, Château Benoit (white)
Cuvée A, Müller Thargau, Château Benoit
White wine
Willamette Valley, Oregon, 2007
White wine
Willamette Valley, Oregon, 2007
Film review: Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin
2011
Based on the comics by Hergé, screenplay by Stephen Moffat, Edgar Wright, and Joe Cornish, directed by Steven Spielberg
This fantastic computer-animated adaptation of the Tintin books (specifically The Secret of the Unicorn) is not only incredibly well done animation-wise, but also, I felt, provided an excellent adaptation of the original. It hewed very, very closely to the original, both in terms of dialogue and visuals (frequently shot-for-shot), but it gave itself a little room to play, too.
2011
Based on the comics by Hergé, screenplay by Stephen Moffat, Edgar Wright, and Joe Cornish, directed by Steven Spielberg
This fantastic computer-animated adaptation of the Tintin books (specifically The Secret of the Unicorn) is not only incredibly well done animation-wise, but also, I felt, provided an excellent adaptation of the original. It hewed very, very closely to the original, both in terms of dialogue and visuals (frequently shot-for-shot), but it gave itself a little room to play, too.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Film review: Love and Other Disasters
Love and Other Disasters
2006
Written & directed by Alek Keshishian
This was so much fun. British romantic comedy, a bit of an "Emma" interpretation but not strictly.
2006
Written & directed by Alek Keshishian
This was so much fun. British romantic comedy, a bit of an "Emma" interpretation but not strictly.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Complementary centers of gravity
I think one of the reasons John gets on so well with Sherlock is that he does not feel intimidated or threatened by him, and by his brilliance, in any way.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Sherlock timeline
The canon timeline of the BBC "Sherlock", and a couple of thoughts thereon.
Quite long and with complete spoilers, so hidden under the cut:
Quite long and with complete spoilers, so hidden under the cut:
Monkey Business: Cabernet Sauvignon
Monkey Business
Cabernet Sauvignon
Califonia, year unknown (prob. 2006)
Cabernet Sauvignon
Califonia, year unknown (prob. 2006)
Barefoot Champagne
Barefoot Wine
Champagne
California, year unknown
This is the worst sparkling wine I have ever had. It is weak, pathetic, and bad. Very little flavor, no subtlety, no spark.
DO NOT BUY.
Champagne
California, year unknown
This is the worst sparkling wine I have ever had. It is weak, pathetic, and bad. Very little flavor, no subtlety, no spark.
DO NOT BUY.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Film review: X-Men III: The Last Stand
X-Men: The Last Stand
2006
Directed by Brett Ratner, written by Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn
Edited: A really, really, really long review in here. Warnings: Spoilerific and not at all complimentary.
2006
Directed by Brett Ratner, written by Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn
Edited: A really, really, really long review in here. Warnings: Spoilerific and not at all complimentary.
Memory, Muses, Musings
This will be an eclectic blog, discussing wines, movies, fandoms, and other things that spark my curiosity. There will be occasional NSFW content, frequent geekiness, and no consistent throughline. My muses are many and varied. I'm writing this for myself more than anything, but you, whoever you are, are welcome to wander along.
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