lightning strikes twice

From David Lorenzo:

“We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon-instead of enjoying the roses blooming outside our windows today.”

— Dale Carnegie

Scott Adams has got it right!

I always check a movie’s critical reviews before committing two-plus hours of my life to it. This method of movie filtering does not work because movie reviewers are sick bastards who enjoy misery as long as it is well crafted.

starring Leonardo Di Caprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg

Two young police detectives lives are intertwined – one is undercover in an organised crime ring, the other is infiltrating the police FROM the organised crime ring (with Jack Nicholson as the head honcho).  Great story, a true “All Star” cast with excellent acting, and a good final quarter (with a high body count!).

8/10

Excellent NBA quote this week, from Jemele Hill:

David Stern: He is a modern-day General Zod. If an NBA player steps out of line, Stern just fires off a memo that says, “Why do you say this to me when you know I will kill you for it?” Stern is an absolute gangster. He is the only person who could declare war on hip-hop and win.

starring John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton

Story of a sleazy lawyer and how far he compromises even his low standards to get rich quick.
Not very engaging film, confusing (but obligatory) “twists”.  Forgettable (hopefully!)
4/10

Had a magnificent meal at Becasse last night to celebrate good buddy Nick’s birthday last night.  We all got the 8 course degustation (with matching wines of course), and by the end of the evening I was stuffed to bursting point, like the ‘exploding’ kebabs I get from the stupid kebab people across the road from work.  Probably a bit more food than I like (my daytime overeating didn’t help), but it was all superb, and the meal was spread over four and a half hours.
Highlights were Inez ‘disaster’ Garcia and a mammoth 4! spillages in her vicinity, the lamb and squab feature dishes, plus the excellent wines.  Oh, and the company!

Saw some Euroleague basketball last week, and was amazed at how watchable the game was compared to the NBA I’ve been watching. Real team play, lack of ego, proper coaching… it was all good basketball, as opposed to one-on-one, whingeing players and inane commentary and courtside entertainment.

Flying Fish has a magnificent position, right at the end of an old wharf on Sydney Harbour, just opposite Balmain East.  Just as good was our seating, right in front of the floor to ceiling windows.

The ocassion was inspired by a generous gift from a friend.  The food was obviously based around the sea, with the squid ink linguine being my favourite, closely followed by the Sri Lankan prawn curry.  Overall the food was good, but not great.

Unfortunately the service was more than a little lacking.  Only somewhat attentive, they were also condescending, going as far as calling our initial wine selection uninteresting and boring, while ignoring us at later points in the evening.

Probably won’t be visiting Flying Fish again, with so many other good restaurants in Sydney.

6/10

starring Robert de Niro, Meryl Streep and Christopher Walken

The story of a band of best friends, who work, drink and hunt together.  Stevie gets married, and then three of the core of the group head off to Vietnam to serve their country, and their lives are changed forever.  Barely surviving their ordeals during the war, their three paths are divergent but interconnected.  In particular, the Russian roulette scenes were incredibly intense.

A fantastic part of this film is that the themes are subtle and delicate, unlike so many modern films (see Crash, that somehow managed to win an Oscar, a travesty by my amateur reckoning).  Of course the acting is top notch, but it was the writing that was the biggest feature for me.

9/10