'The Road Movie' - Movie Review
Spectacular and appalling dashcam footage from Russia.
Giles's Notes
Latest posts
Top Ten: Animated Movies
Read this first: Index of "Top Ten" . See also the Anime list , as I'm not doing overlap between the two, and any Anime movie is also an animated movie ... I'm also going with generally short descriptions as most people are familiar with these ... I'm a huge fan of the genre, so there are a lot of entries on the list (a lot more than ten). " Heavy Metal " isn't on this list - it's spectacularly…
Sumac Tea
Simple to make, and tastes good.
'Hoppers' - Movie Review
'Damning with faint praise' comes to mind.
'In the Grey' - Movie Review
Too normal for Guy Ritchie, who should be more interesting.
'Supergirl' - Movie Review
Alcock is good, the movie less so.
'Lethal Weapon 2' - Movie Review
A bit better than 1, but not 'good.'
BIG On Bloor Photos
Photographs from the BIG on Bloor street festival.
Iceland, Photos Posted
Icecland photos posted.
Top Ten: Books I Re-Read
Read this first: Index of "Top Ten" . These are books I find myself returning to a lot. Some are philosophical, some are adventure stories that I enjoy. You'd think with the predominance of Bujold's work on the list, I'd have read her entire catalogue. I have not: I don't mind her SF, but it's some of her fantasy that I love. There's overlap with both Best Fantasy Novels and Best SF&F Adventure…
'Send Help' - Movie Review
'Survival horror thriller' with Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien.
'The Amateur' - Movie Review
Slightly different spy-gets-revenge story.
'Love Affair' - Movie Review
Precursor to 'An Affair to Remember.'
Iceland, Day 14
Iceland wrap-up.
Iceland, Day 13
Bits and pieces of Reykjavik.
Iceland, Day 12
The church on the hill - Reykjavik.
Iceland, Day 11
Puffins, volcanoes, and a fifty-year-old memory.
Iceland, Day 10
A glacial lagoon and a crash landing.
Iceland, Day 9
Along the southeast coast of Iceland ...
Iceland, Day 8
So. Many. Waterfalls.
Iceland, Day 7
Craters, pseudo-craters, and ice cream.
Iceland, Day 6
A canyon, waterfalls, midges, fish and chips, and beer.
Iceland, Day 5
Whale watching and seasickness.
Iceland, Day 4
Turf houses, herring, and approaching the Arctic Circle.
Iceland, Day 3
Lupines, horses, and sheep.
Iceland, Day 2
Þhingvellir National Park is fantastic.
Iceland, Day 1
Your crash course on what Iceland is like.
Top Ten: Superhero Movies
Read this first: Index of "Top Ten" . I'm not going to spend much time describing the Marvel and DC movies, as they're blockbusters and everyone knows them. Although I'll at least try to point out why I think they stand out. Far more interesting are the movies that aren't part of either of these franchises. And I can't talk about this genre without mentioning " Dakota Skye " - it's low budget,…
The Continuing Deterioration of Customer Service
90 minutes on hold to change an email address.
'Castle' Season 2 - TV Review
The first (short) season was very good. This is longer and proportionately poorer.
'Venom: The Last Dance' - Movie Review
Third and weakest (and last?) of Marvel's Venom series of movies.
'Dalia and the Red Book' Movie Review
Children's animated story that simultaneously (and successfully) talks about authorship of stories.
'The Apothecary Diaries' Season 1 Part 1, TV Review
Interesting but problematic Anime series.
Top Ten: Romantic Comedy Movies
Read this first: Index of "Top Ten" . See also Best Jane Austen Movies . All of them are romances, most have an element of comedy, and if the screenplay preserves a reasonable amount of Austen's writing, they'll still have some of the best writing in the English language. These are approximately in order of my opinion of their quality. Roman Holiday Undoubtedly not the first romantic comedy…
Top Ten: Drama Movies
Read this first: Index of "Top Ten" . The Seven Samurai Yeah, it's on everyone else's list too ... but seriously: it's a great movie. The Shipping News Well regarded in its time, but mostly forgotten now, this is a superb story of one man's journey from weakness to strength. Casablanca Again, another movie that's on all the lists ... but again, it's one of my personal favourites. Shakespeare in…
'Billy Talent: Scandalous Travelers' - Movie Review
Deeply disappointing.
'Solo Mio' - Movie Review
Middle-of-the-pack, typical romcom.
'Dan Da Dan' Season 1, TV Review
Beautifully presented crazy-idiotic story.
Top Ten: Graphic Novels
Read this first: Index of "Top Ten" . Just to be clear: these are almost all aimed entirely at adults. Maus I and Maus II by Art Spiegelman Art Spiegelman wrote these as a record of his father's experience in the concentration camps during the Holocaust. The decisions that went into the visualizations of races as presented in this pair of graphic novels seems utterly bizarre: the Jews are mice,…
'Goat' - Movie Review
Too predictable and not funny enough ...
'Warehouse 13' Season 1 - TV Review
I guess 'The Librarian' started a genre?
'Heavy Metal' - Movie Review
Good? No. Important? Yes.
'Castle' Season 1 - TV Review
Witty dialogue keeps me happy.
'The Paper' - Movie Review
Too frenetic and not as funny (for me) as I would have hoped.
'The Burmese Harp' - Movie Review
Another 'classic' from Criterion that I really didn't like.
Drone Flying, Day 3
Slightly better photos than day 2.
Drone Flying, Day 2
I didn't crash it this time, and actually got some photos!
Drone Flying, Day 1
So cool! Oh, wait ... I crashed it ...
'Beware of Mr. Baker' - Movie Review
Ginger Baker was insane. He was also one of the world's best drummers.
Linux Terminal Memory Usage
Surprising results comparing memory usage of X and Wayland terminals.