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dvd: Jumper.
From the director of Swingers, and Mr and Mrs Smith comes this “must try harder” effort. Watching the special features reveals that they put enough ideas together to make a trilogy: perhaps that explains the poor ending, and the reason that the comic-relief character has a stronger screen presence than the lead.
A diverting fluff-piece, [...]

dvd: fearless
Some great fight scenes in this biopic of a legendary martial artist. Unusually for Jet Li, the characterisation is quite good - this is due, perhaps, to the Chinese dialogue, instead of the English pictures I’ve seen him in. Somewhat inspirational, though by-the-numbers story of a man who learns to see beyond his obsession [...]

DVD: My Sassy Girl
A Korean movie destined for cult status; an odd combination of romantic comedy, and genre-defying comedy. Hard to compare it to anything else I’ve seen, but if looking into a movie that somehow combines film references like “The Matrix” and “Tomb Raider” with physical comedy and the best parts of those teen-angst [...]

[inflight movie] The Kingdom
I found this movie about americans investigating terror in the UAE to be disappointing: it seemed to be a way of justifying the caricature of muslims, without really explaining any of the interplay between the US and the Middle East. Watch Syriana instead: it manages to make the case a little more [...]

[NZ TV] Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
It amazes me how much of the dialogue from this film I can still remember, though I haven’t seen it in years. I suspect it’s easier to enjoy this film if you’re under 20, but it’s aged reasonably well.

DVD: Sideways
A road movie with two rogues, one who you must struggle to like, and one you end up barracking for. There’s all kinds of reasons to avoid this film, and if you’re not into independent films, or road trip movies, or questions like “what does life really mean when you hit 40 and are [...]

DVD: Bob Roberts
Tim Robbins again in a political film. Shot as a documentary, but really a parody of the electoral process, and the media-induced hysteria that is part of politics. An unusually watchable young Jack Black, and a number of other now famous names have small parts here. Worth it for Alan Rickman alone.

DVD: The Player
Robert Altman piece set in Hollywood; Tim Robbins is good as the self-interested movie executive, there are dozens of cameos, and the plot - while not as good as I remember it - stands up as one with some worthy twists and turns.

DVD: NOOMA 02 - Flame
Pastor Rob Bell presents an ultra short (11 minutes) sermon in the style of a short film. Highly watchable, and quite a talking point for discussion groups, if you’re so inclined.

After months of thinking about it, I bought the William Shatner / Ben Folds album titled “Has Been” (link to the itunes music store) - I’m enjoying it. One of my favourite songs is That’s Me Trying (link to lyrics); partly because it reminds me of someone I met once.
If you’re a fan of Ben [...]