I was really looking forward to Whiplash – I tried to catch while it was still at the movies, but it was a time of transition for me, and it was harder than I thought to grab a couple of hours (not to mention finding someone to go with me). But once a movie is on DVD …
Author Archives: cafedave
book: gospel patrons
Book: Gospel Patrons – history remembers the people who changed the world, but tends to gloss over how they were able to do the things for which they’re remembered. John Rinehart in this work makes the case for taking seriously the notion of financial support for endeavours to spread the Christian message. It’s a quick read, …
Finbox, Thirroul
White Horse Coffee. 269 Lawrence Hargrave Drive, Thirroul. What started out as a surfboard store has grabbed the shop next door and incorporated a cafe selling a mix of White Horse (espresso) and Coal (cold brew) coffee. The emphasis is on coffee rather than food, though there are a few choices. The decor is simple – …
apple tv: the descendants
The Descendants is a drama about growing older, taking responsibility, and regrets. It also contains many jokes. Clooney does a good job. Hawaii is beautiful. It’s not a bad way to spend a couple of hours, but it’s not wort adding to a bucket list of films.
movie: Kingsman: The Secret Service
Casting Colin Firth as the James Bond character in a film is unexpected – watching him balance the action film moves and immaculate dress of an English gentleman makes for an impressive basis for a film. It’s a film that makes some progress against gender stereotypes in spy films, with a female assassin alongside a Samuel L Jackson billionaire …
movie: the imitation game
Bomba turninga2 by Andgasow – Own work. Licensed under GFDL via Wikimedia Commons. movie: the imitation game Watching Benedict Cumberbatch in this film only a few days after watching Sherlock was a challenge – there are many similarities in character genre, but Cumberbatch plays the roles differently. There is a lot of propaganda within the …
dendy direct: the babadook
dendy direct: the babadook I’m not generally a horror fan, but with Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo making regular “babadook” sounds in their flagship film review podcast for weeks and months, I decided to watch it. Again, there were playback problems with connecting the dendy direct (iPad) to the apple TV, and so part of the creepiness of …
apple tv: blue jasmine
Blue Jasmine (2013) was one of those lingering movie-of-the-week offerings on the apple TV, and it took me nearly a month to get back to it, but an evening finally arrived. If’s clear why Cate Blanchett won her Oscar: this is a role that gives her a broad emotional spectrum to play. It’s the usual …
movie: birdman
Birdman (2015) is a borderline-arthouse movie. The camera dances around the key characters in long, continuous shots – it’s the kind of film you can get lost in. If you’re looking for a Fight-Club level tilt from Edward Norton, an only-slightly Galifianakis from Zach, and an amazing performance from Michael Keaton. There are underlying themes of life’s …
addressing the challenge of staying present
Anyone who has owned a smartphone for long enough will know how much it taps into your attention span. Put your smartphone down for a while, and go for a walk: see how many times you feel the twitch to pick it up again, whether it be to check the weather, look up the answer to a trivia …
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