Up, close and personal

So the summer is over and I did not really do much, or maybe I did, but I'll leave that for the time when I've got pictures available :P

For starters, a brief review of movies I watched this summer:

Sin City: cool, very much like the comic, panel by panel. In fact, exactly like the comic, which might be good, or not, depending on who you ask. I spent a good time. Half the people in the cinema walked away at the middle of the film, though. Too much violence for your average neighbour (unless you live in Malaga, that is).

The skeleton key: a flick on voodoo ... sorry, hoodoo. A young woman arrives to an ancient southern house to take care of the owner, who stopped speaking some months ago. Now, the house seems to be enchanted, but she does not believe in ghosts ... yet. Much more predictable that the script writer thought, but nice, anyway. Kate Hudson played okay and the environment was well captured.

The island: did not like it much. It was so obvious that you could state how it would go from the very first minute. I should have known when I realized in horror (too late) that it was directed by that Armageddon and Pearl Harbor guy. Anyway, I went there to see Ewan McGregor and that I did.

Plus I watched on DVD the two Bourne films. Quite good, both of them. Not so original, though, if you've read Van Hamme and Vance's XIII for the last decade or so, but fun to watch, anyway.

And now in buffer, Charlie and the chocolate factory, Dark Waters, Mr and Mrs Smith, and the Nightwatch!

See ya around!

In my humble opinion, Josh Whedon's Firefly is the best sci-fi series ever, but it only lasted half a season for reasons that escape my limited wits. Fortunately, Serenity, the movie is coming in september, 30. I'm not sure it will be released in Spain as well, but, hey, planes to NYC are fairly cheap, anyway! Meanwhile, this month Dark Horse has released Serenity#1 (comic series) in continuity with "Objects in space" and previous to the movie. Got the Mal cover, myself! And, while I wait, I can do some drawings on the crew ...

Maybe I was not expecting much of this film, but I sort of enjoyed the ride, even though the plot was not much. FX are okay (except Mr Fantastic) and most characters were correct (except, well, ... Mr Fantastic) Doom was a dissappointment, though. As much as I like the actor -and he played the script all right- I stick to the old Von Doom in comics, ruler of Latveria and all the stuff. This Tetsuo-like one was a bit out of character. Enjoyable movie, anyway.

Nope. Sorry, but I did not buy it. I still like the first film better. Right, no flashy FX there, but the script was faster and, somewhat, better paced. True, I get bored pretty easy, but why does Cruise have to be on screen in every plane of his last films? Like that Last Samurai thing, where he copycats the strategy of Leonidas in Greece (classic battle where every spartan got killed, BTW). Ok, Kingdom of Heaven was far worse, but we all know that Scott does one good/two bad with his movies! I think I stick to Minority Reports as Cruise's only film I really like.

BTW, where did the guy with the digital video camera in the beginning buy it? Everything stops to work, including cars and electricity,but it keeps recording even after it hits the floor ... Gimme two!

Not that they are my nieces or anything, but ain't them cute? :)

So just to prove that working on friday is not an obstacle to properly celebrate Beltane ...

The moon, as low as it will be in 16 years aprox

A bit of music in the dark

A fireless night is not the same!

Yep, been there, done that, bought the t-shirt

The end is nigh (Plus Javi is almost back and needs to read this final chapter) :D
I hope you enjoyed the ride!

Part 6

I've finally watched Batman Begins and it was as good as I expected. Not exactly the Yr1 saga, but close enough to be satisfying for comic readers. I'm not telling much because if you are reading this, you MUST see the film, but I'll point out my fav points:
-Christian Bale. Definitely, the best Batman and a superb Bruce Wayne. Ok, the guy is a personal weakness, but he is also a very good actor. And does he a scary Batman!!
-Alfred portrayed by Michael Caine. What can I say ...
-The progressive building of the Batman costume
-The Scarecrow's panic gas effects

A second part? Please?

Living peacefully (sort of) in Auckland ...
Part 5

1. Visit the Colosseum



2. Throw a coin in the Fontana di Trevi



3. Lose a hand into the Bocca de la Verita



4. Eat tons of gelatto di liquoritzia ;)

Mordor at last and arriving to Auckland :)
Part 4

I haven't done much lately -except for getting the OW Advanced diving license-, so here are a few recommendations.

-Six Strings Samurai: a weird movie involving rock&roll, katanas and the Red Elvises (the music group behind the soundtrack). Alternative future where the US were conqueered by the russians and only Las Vegas resists under the rule of its king: Elvis. When he dies, a new king is needed and rockers from all around the country go to Las Vegas. However, Death has its own agenda and is also on the way to Las Vegas. I won't tell anything else just in case you get to watch the film. But, on a side note, the main character is (quite obviously) Buddy Holly with a katana :D

-Kungfusion (Kung Fu Hustle): what can I say except watch it in chinese with subtitles. A nut kung fu movie with cool fights and lots of crazy stuff that made me laught from the very beginning. It's from the crew of Shaolin Soccer, but unrelated. The movie focuses on a city controlled by gangs and a very special building in the suburbs where neighbours are not exactly what they seem to be. Better not to tell anything else. It's a must see for Hong-Kong movies fans.

-Bleed like me (Garbage): The new album and, being a fan of the previous ones, of course I'm listening to this CD as well. And, as usual, it takes me a bit of time to get used to the songs, but I'll get to it. I recall that my first Garbage album was a gift from my friend Sarah, who lived in London by the time, so here in Spain Garbage was not that popular at the moment. Lucky me, I got the preview :) Thus far, I stick to Beautiful Garbage. But in a couple of weeks ... who knows?

Busy at work lately, not much fun. This is a sketch of Visby, in Gotland (Sweden), a very nice island full of Mignola-like churches and stone houses and, presumedly, the best sunset in the Baltic sea (it was nice, I'd say :))