Ocean’s Twelve

A few days back, Stuart posted a brief entry on Ocean’s Twelve, basically saying it’s the best thing since sliced bread Ocean’s Eleven, in terms of… most things. Anyway, I kind of believed him, and loved the original, so Tori and I went to see it some time today (my choice, for which — so I am told — I am now being held responsible); it wasn’t great.

Not straight out crap, just not great. It lacked any real concise and rapid plot development, instead being pulled together as one big twist machine which was seemingly poorly resolved and unified at the end point in the same way that the first movie so eloquently managed. The production side of things seemed a little lacklustre, too; they’ve gone for a decidedly boring type face for all on-screen text (primarily Arial!), and either their camera crew sucked, or they used only one take for the whole movie — it alternates between shaky and repetitive in terms of shots used, with an occasional cool one (which, statistically, probably had to happen) thrown in for good measure.

It might be worth seeing, but only once. Tori said that it’d probably make more sense if it were seen a few more times, but that’d mean having to sit through it again — the movie really wasn’t all that interesting!

Full Disclosure: It was an early-afternoon session, and we hadn’t yet eaten lunch. This may have affected perceptions of the movie, attention spans, and responses to the constant eating of characters throughout the entire planning process (!): serving only to induce further hunger and distract a little more from the plot! Having said all that, go see it, if only once… just eat beforehand or buy overpriced popcorn…

Neigh!

I’m a SPECIAL horse!

– Steve, after a spate of random animal noises, during which he produced a sound which I just can’t quite manage…

ATO insanity

Grrrrrrrrr! The tax office here in Australia is realllly annoying me right about now. Apparently, foreign Proof of Identity is more reliable than an Australian equivalent — my Australian passport only counts as secondary ID (“Category B”, in ridiculous ATO parlance), whilst an identical overseas document is apparently primary! Hiss.

What’s even worse is that they require a permanent (as in fixed, as in NOT my current situation) place of residence for their records — the Postal address can be anything, but the home address must be an actual address, not a P.O. Box or anything like that. Which makes things difficult for nomads like me. Oh, right up until I called them, and asked what the deal was; apparently, there just needs to be some fixed address in that field… who cares if it isn’t mine?! The person I spoke to (who spoke English fluently, but with a rather illegible accent) advised I use the address of a parent or girlfriend or grandparent or employer or something — it kind of makes you wonder what the hell the point is in the first place. Surely, a fixed address, as opposed to a mailing address, is designed to allow them to come and beat down your door and arrest you for tax evasion if neccessary! Sigh.

*Josh is angry*

Okay, rant over.

Baaaaaaaaack

…as of some time this afternoon (late). Ah, dealing with email is always fun.

I had a wonderful time, just for the record, and photos may be coming some time in the not-too-distant future (scanning facilities permitting — that’s the one piece of technology I’ve been doing without here).

Going away

This post has been written in advance, and my blogging software will automatically release it some time on Wednesday, at which stage I’ll probably be in a car headed North.

I’m disappearing for a few days with friends, so… don’t expect replies to email, or anything like that! Having said that, the contact form and everything else (comment posting included!) still works, and I’ll be reachable on my mobile, so don’t let my absence stop you from communicating with me in whatever way.

It’s Monday evening as I write this, but a school event at Town Hall will consume tomorrow from around 11 in the morning until sometime close to midnight, and I’m predicting a lack of motivation to turn on the laptop when I get home to make a post! So, farewell, for a few days!