General

General

Pi

By on Sunday, December 4, 2005

Pi is about a psychotic mathematician (aren’t they all?) trying to develop a formula for making sense of and predicting the stock market. As he struggles against the problem, he is hindered by painful pyschotic attacks but which seems to lead him closer to the answer. As the solution comes within grasp, he realizes that it’s not just him who wants it.

Through great movie-making, Pi successfully draws you into the pyschotic world of the lead character for a pretty immersive move watching experience, i.e. you will almost feel psychotic too :)) As a bonus, it has a lot of interesting math information (some are inaccurate but still interesting nevertheless). Not for the casual viewer but if you’re a serious buff, it could be for you.

Rating: 3/5

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General

New Trackpoint Cap

By on Thursday, December 1, 2005

Selene has a new trackpoint cap. And it came from a rather unexpected source. There’s this really old busted Thinkpad lying around. It’s been lying in a corner, wrapped in newspaper to absorb the acid from its leaking batteries, and gathering dust for around five years now. There were times when I considered throwing it away but for some reason I did not.

A few days ago, I took a look at Selene’s trackpoint cap and decided it needed replacement. Then, out of the blue, I remembered the old Thinkpad. I picked it up from its corner, peeled away the newspaper wrapping, and lifted open the lid. Lo and behold! An almost unused trackpoint cap! I swapped trackpoint caps and closed the lid, carefully re-wrapped it, and placed it back in its little corner. After all, who knows when it might be able to provide a usable part? I certainly didn’t.

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General

Insomnia and The Big White

By on Sunday, November 27, 2005

I watched two of the old movies I recently got: Insomnia and The Big White. Insomnia is about an FBI agent sent to investigate a murder in Alaska and whose judgment was messed up because of insomnia. The Big White is about an travel agency owner who hatched an insurance fraud scheme with the help of a frozen corpse he found in a garbage bin. And what do you know? By chance, I ended up with two movies set in Alaska and having Robin Williams! That was pretty amusing! :))

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General

Mulholland Drive

By on Friday, November 18, 2005

Mulholland Drive is one long drive full of twist and turns that become more and more bizarre as the movie hits the second part. The first part is actually pretty interesting. A woman escaped assassination because of a car accident. But in the process, she also lost her memory. Now it is up to her and her newly-made friend, an aspiring actress, to find out who she really is. It has shades of L.A. Confidential: something’s afoot in tinseltown. But there are also shades of Donnie Darko: strange scenes hinting that things are not as they seem, perhaps a dream or something. However, thing’s got really messy and confusing in the second part. It became a mescaline trip reminiscent of a much milder second half of 2001: A Space Odyssey (now that is one mescaline trip). At least in Donnie Darko, things gets tied together at the end, here it just gets an ending of sorts. I’d rate it two stars, but I’ll add an extra star for the scenes of the women leads making out :P

Rating: 3/5

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