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cultural consuming, creating, reviewing, discussing technical + general geekness and all that pixel-pushing. political copyright vs human rights, panic vs privacy … personal and that which does not fit in elsewhere. subscribe to posts, comments, categories … Erika Nilsson My Thoughtbook Welcome to Thoughtbook » Reviews. Here, you will find posts exclusively from the content category 'Reviews'. If you would rather return to the Thoughtbook main page though, that's fine too. Ten years more by Erika on Wednesday 5 August 2009, 23:31 \| Comments (1) If laughing makes your life longer, I just added about ten years to mine. I went to see “The Ugly Truth”. It’s a romcom which is, all in all, rather stupid and definitely not for the faint-hearted (the number of appearances of the word “fuck” alone proves both points). However, I admit that Gerry Butler is cool even when he plays a chauvinistic pig and I’ve already touched on the fact that the film was so hilarious that I just could not stop laughing. I laughed so hard that my stomach muscles actually hurt. Also, “The librarian and the stripper” sounds like a cool name for a film. (Not that kind of film.) Tags: cinema, films, laughing, note, The Ugly Truth Posted in Cultural, English, Reviews \| Comments (1) What Lucinda said! by Erika on Wednesday 1 April 2009, 20:58 \| Comments Short summary I am disappointed. Medium summary When I pay to see a psychological thriller, I want a psychological thriller, and not Biblical prophecizing cock-and-bull. Please disregard my religion or lack thereof for a minute; Ezekiel meets Star Trek is not the ideal resolution to an intriguing supernatural and numerological riddle, and I find it hard to believe that I would have thought it was even a year ago, when I classified myself as religious. The catchline of the film was “Knowing is everything”, well, let me rephrase that: “Knowing” is apparently bloody pointless. Continue reading “What Lucinda said!” » Tags: Biblical crap, cinema, films, Knowing, Nicholas Cage, righteous indignation Posted in Cultural, English, Reviews \| Comments The car, the war by Erika on Wednesday 18 March 2009, 23:19 \| Comments (1) Walt Kowalski is an old war veteran who knows how to scowl, wheeze, growl, squint, spit, swear, use guns and make big, tough gang boys pee themselves (Clint Eastwood may be almost 80, but he hasn’t lost his touch). He has no more contact with his two sons and their families than is absolutely necessary, and the three loves of his life are his wife, his labrador and his 1972 Gran Torino. The story begins with Mrs Kowalski’s funeral, and Walt’s scowling at his grand-children’s bad posture, navel piercing and Austin Powers quotes, respectively (the cinema audience giggles). Then, the young padre who Mrs Kowalski talked to before her death tries to get a confession out of Walt, who confesses “that [he doesn't] want to confess to a boy who’s just out of seminar” (the audience snorts). That’s about the most polite we see him. Continue reading “The car, the war” » Tags: brilliant, cinema, Clint Eastwood, films, Gran Torino Posted in Cultural, English, Reviews \| Comments (1) Pity, really by Erika on Friday 6 March 2009, 23:28 \| Comments “The best films are those that surprise.” Did I say that? I clearly ought to have been more precise. Because films that surprise by having you sit there for two hours feeling like a question mark might feel if a question mark would be capable of having feelings is one thing, if most questions are answered before the end, that is. It is another thing entirely to see the end credits scrolling up in front of you, still feeling like a question mark might feel, wondering whether you were slightly stupid when you asked yourself if this film would get ever so slightly interesting at some point. What if there are never any grand, intriguing questions to start with? Continue reading “Pity, really” » Tags: cinema, films, The Young Victoria Posted in Cultural, English, Reviews \| Comments Those that surprise by Erika on Sunday 1 February 2009, 19:38 \| Comments (1) The best films are those that surprise. Those that surprise, for one, in the sense that at 6 p.m. I ask an open question to everyone in the room (”Anyone seen any of these films that are on tonight? Either of them any good?”), at 8 p.m. I find myself in a seat at Vue having followed a rather vague recommendation, and at 10.30 p.m., I push open the door, my head spinning. Oh, and how is it even possible that a film with a title like “Slumdog Millionaire” can keep you hanging until the very end, not knowing whether the guy will actually win the effing money or not? Continue reading “Those that surprise” » Tags: cinema, dance number, feel-good, films, Slumdog Millionaire Posted in Cultural, English, Reviews \| Comments (1) Pauline Croze by Erika on Thursday 22 January 2009, 14:17 \| Comments I am listening to the beautiful voice of Pauline Croze. I have finally got around to buying her first album from 2004 and it was 13 euros very well spent. It must have been during my Mathieu Chédid-surfing on YouTube in early 2008 that I came across track 5, “T’es beau”. Continue reading “Pauline Croze” » Tags: beautiful, CDs, excessive poetic imagery, music, Pauline Croze, swept off my feet, T'es beau Posted in Cultural, English, Reviews \| Comments Physician, heal thyself by Erika on Tuesday 9 December 2008, 17:23 \| Comments Martin Sturrock desperately needs a psychiatrist. The problem? He is one. Back cover of “All In The Mind” by Alistair Campbell. I am partly having to force myself to write. While half of me claims, quite convincingly, that this is pointless (How many people read this anyway? What difference does it make in the grand scheme of things? What peace of mind will it give me?) and that I should just not give a damn, the other half is itching to put thoughts in writing. The irony is that is wasn’t even “All In The Mind” that made me walk up to one of the five or something WH Smiths at the Edinburgh airport. I was very close to not buying it at all. The book that caught my eye was “Outliers - The Story of Success”, and the decision to buy “All In The Mind” was very much due to the quotes from Stephen Fry on the cover, saying that the book is out of the ordinary and that it describes extremely well “the agonies and insecurities of mental trauma”. Continue reading “Physician, heal thyself” » Tags: All In The Mind, books Posted in Cultural, English, Reviews \| Comments The 25th by Erika on Wednesday 26 November 2008, 18:22 \| Comments ”Tomorrow, I will not work unless I feel like it, and I will not feel guilty about the above or anything else that I might do.” That’s what I said to myself when I went to bed Monday (probably the earliest night in half a year by the way). One does what one can to celebrate one’s birthday when people around aren’t likely to. Not working wasn’t difficult; the other bit took some determination. All in all, a guilt-free day is something I ought to do more often, although not too often of course; that would take too much time away from actual work. (It’s almost sad that one of the best birthdays I’ve ever had was one when I got no presents and the only thing out of the ordinary was I took away the guilt. I said almost sad, because it’s really everything but. ) Continue reading “The 25th” » Tags: 7/4 time, birthday, Coldplay, freaking marvellous, guilt-free day, happiness, Prospekt’s March EP, top of cool Posted in Cultural, English, Reviews \| Comments /start rant by Erika on Monday 11 August 2008, 16:29 \| Comments Friday, 10.42 pm. I just saw a new film called “Make It Happen”. Let’s be honest about it, it sucks. The (excuse for a) plot is, and this is obvious from the first minute, one long, straight (one way) road leading up to a monumental Don’t Sell Out On Your Dreams. A very nice moral which has of course been used, worn out, washed, tumble-dried and recycled about 250.000 times already. I mean, I could have figured that one out from reading the title of the film, duh. Continue reading “/start rant” » Tags: rant Posted in Cultural, English, Personal, Reviews \| Comments 4 x action by Erika on Monday 4 August 2008, 14:33 \| Comments I have Internet again, at the library. They’ve removed my favourite second floor table by the window (sob) but put sockets (”laptop recharging points”) on the big tables. Good stuff. They’re also turning the newspaper reading room into a staff room, because the place that the staff has previously occupied is up for demolition, apparently. As you will know, I have been away for a month. More on that later. I returned on the 31st, moved into the new flat on the 1st and spent the rest of the Friday in the cinema. Here’s the story: I wanted to see “Batman — The Dark Knight”. Continue reading “4 x action” » Tags: action, Batman, cinema, films, spending Posted in Cultural, English, Reviews \| Comments Tweeted Would this be what's wrong with the 'bay? http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10645779 #tpb 03:18:48 AM May 18, 2010 from web Rights holders: "We should change the word 'piracy' - it's too sexy" http://bit.ly/cn3Lnv 04:53:56 PM March 21, 2010 from web Tier 4: Actually more convoluted than I imagined. 06:40:10 PM March 10, 2010 from web IS AWESOMELY KNACKERED. 12:47:55 AM February 28, 2010 from txt Group photo of speakers at Tomorrow's Mathematicians Today. I'm near the middle, gazing admiringly towards Prof Stewart http://bit.ly/dBI2kv 04:27:30 AM February 23, 2010 from web Find me Links ‘About’ page Calendar Favourites Photos Thoughtbook Subscribe Feed info Blogged Ten years more Bloody timetables again Dagens fniss — ägg och felskrivning PP for pppresident! 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