Review: Radioactive

Good biopics tell you story of someone's life, great ones often pull out insights which give you cause for self-reflection.  Satrapi's take on radioactivity discoverer and Nobel prize winner Marie Curie doesn't quite fall into the great category, but it is an absorbing if science lite watch.

Told in primarily in flash back but punctuated by fever dream like excursions into the future to see the consequences of her discoveries and always giving a Grimshaw like feel to turn of the 20th century Paris - it never looks less than wonderful. I was also really taken by the soundtrack which felt distinctly Vangelis-like at times.

Pike and Riley give solid performances as the couple Curie. They are only slightly hampered by a rather declamatory script. But one senses that the pair might well have been like in real life - awkward and brilliant, but ultimately enviable soul mates.

Overall: Satisfying biopic

Review: Midway

Epic World War II movie covering a key battle in the Pacific as well as a few other skirmishes leading up to it.  The action is thrillingly staged and improvements in CGI since Pearl Harbour makes it a much more involving and tense watch.  Unlike many war movies covering the era, it does make a bit of an attempt to cover the other side's perspective.

Interestingly, it does not have any standout casting - but plenty of recognisable faces from a variety of TV and films - often looking rather older and craggier than usual.

Some plot lines are not especially well wrapped up suggesting that an even longer version of the film likely exists. There are a few other oddities like this. For example, I did not manage to put a name to one of the main characters - square jawed hero, Dick Best (yes, really!) until a good way into the film.

Overall: A few awkward elements aside, this was a decent watch.

Review: The Adjustment Bureau

Apparently inspired by a Philip K. Dick story, The Adjustment Bureau certainly captures the essential vibe of his work. Damon plays something like the everyman in this story whose life is turned upside down one day by the discovery that his and everyone else's life are subject to manipulation by hidden forces - which may or may not be angels working at the behest of a deity.

The film does a great job of showcasing New York although central park is conspicuously absent.  Damon is as solid as ever, and has great chemistry with Blunt - a chance encounter with whom risks everything.

In a nutshell: If you've ever wondered if the world revolved around you...

Introducing Keep to Time

A few months ago, an old friend of mine came up with a new meeting management tool - a nifty timer - and asked me to help him get it ready for launch. After trying it myself, I thought it had real potential. It's especially useful for those meetings where time is short, but you have a lot of agenda items to get through. I've successfully used for meetings where I've had to cram as many as a dozen different agenda items into fifty minutes.

A few UI tweaks and further testing later, it is finally ready for others to try out:

KeepToTime.com

It's been a few years since I last worked on the development of website and this was a lot of fun. 

Drop us a line with any comments.

An alt-theory of Who

One of the problems that any Doctor Who fan of the entire TV canon has to face sooner or later are the inconsistencies.

Why does the Doctor behave in such different ways? Why do they alternatively describe themselves as human (Hartnell to early Troughton era), half-human (Paul McGann) and an alien Time Lord from a planet called Gallifrey (most of the rest).  The wider universe doesn't help either - there's at least three different versions of Atlantis, for example as well as the UNIT dating controversy or breaking the fourth wall.

It's almost like the creators working on the show make it up as they go along.

And that's without considering the wider Whoinverse of books, audio, fan fic, comics and other media - some of which has been folded into the TV show canon.  Some have speculated that some comic versions of Doctor Who represent the "real" Doctor's dreams. Certainly they are bizarre enough.

What if there was a way of making sense of it all, or even just the bits you like the look of? Well, it turns out there is.

An alt-theory of Who

My theory is simply expressed as:

Every story, regardless of media, is set in a slightly different parallel universe. 

 With it, every continuity and consistency problem disappears at the stroke.  Between each story, we somehow switch to another universe and rejoin the Doctor and their companions/friends/fam in a subtly different universe.

The Doctor can be male or female, a Timeless Child or a gentlemen adventurer from Earth's future, and have thirteen incarnations or millions.

It works on another level too as no creator working on Who will have exactly the same view of the character and their accoutrements as another. Each new parallel universe is created by a single or team of creators.

Five reasons why I love jackdaws

This is a post from my days of writing for a UK environmental NGO. It's disappeared from their site so republishing here.

The 100 mph storm we had here in North Wales late last year was the final tipping point. After months of dithering, we fitted cowls over our chimneys to reduce the noise and drafts. Shortly after, I noticed a jackdaw taking a particular interest in the newly built accommodation. Thankfully, of the two vacancies available, it chose the disused chimney - and over the last few months there's been plenty of evidence of it raising a family there with its partner.

During their residency, I've really grown to appreciate these characterful birds. Here's a few reasons why:

1.   Free alarm clock

I'm regularly woken by the noisy clatter of tiny claw steps on the roof at around 5 am, followed by a scrabble to lift off and a smugly raucous caw. As an early riser, I'm grateful for the provision of this thoughtful service. My night owl wife is not quite so impressed.

2.  Dedicated parents

One morning I spotted one of the pair swinging alarmingly on our washing line during high winds and driving rain - using it as a staging post before grabbing discarded bread on the floor for the littl'uns. It was every bit as gripping as some of the stunt sequences in Mission Impossible III.  

3. They bring gifts

It didn't take a great detective to work out who was responsible for the small clump of black sheep's wool I discovered outside of our front door. Or to solve the mystery of the lady's battered earring lying on a nearby stone wall. Jackdaws love to collect shiny things for their nests.

4.  Generosity

They are not just kind to us, their hosts, but also to each other. Jackdaws are more likely to share their food with others than chimpanzees.

5.   Warm welcome

I've come to realise that we are guests in the Jackdaw's land, rather than vice versa. It turns out, we are not the only householder in our street playing host to a family. We’re grateful for their welcome!

Jackdaws have left their mark on local tradition here in my part of Wales. Interestingly, people born within the walls of nearby Conwy castle are known as jackdaws because of the birds nesting in the ramparts. And because of their fondness for nesting in churches, jackdaws have traditionally been regarded as a sacred bird which kept the Devil away, and kept local people safe from harm.

Review: Terminator: Dark Fate

For the sixth entry in a series of misfiring Terminator sequels, this is better than it has any right to be. The production team wisely return to the creative well through securing the involvement of Cameron and Hamilton.  The result is something like the indie terminator movie I've always wanted to see. It's no Logan sadly and the high budget probably but it does manage to recreate the feeling of dread from the first two and there are elements which are recognisably Cameron.

Characterisation and subsequent development is a little weak. Acting is good, with Schwarzenegger  and Hamilton doing a fine job in support of the new cast. The social commentary is a little shoehorned. The early action sequences are excellent.

Look out for an early sequence which features some very impressive de-ageing. I'd have happily watched a full film like this - ala The Irishman and Captain Marvel. The technology is progressing in leaps and bounds.

I find it hard to rank the later films in the Terminator series. I'm the rare person who really liked Terminator:Salvation. Terminator 3, for all its jokiness closes the story off satisfactorily. Terminator: Dark Fate are their equal for different reasons. Terminator: Genisys has some wonderful ideas and its alt-universe greatest hits is a lot of fun - but I can't get past the miscasting of Jai Courtney and Jason Clarke, the total lack of chemistry between Emilia Clarke and Courtney, nor his appalling acting.

Verdict: Back for more.