Movie Review: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

Sullied. That’s how I felt as I left the screening of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. I felt unclean. Not because of the film’s desperate attempts at shocking gore and violence - and it’s not as grotesque as it likes to think it is - but because it feels the need to further diminish the legacy of Tobe Hooper’s classic original.

Review: Torchwood - Episode 2: Day One

After the dark, rain drenched start of episode one, Torchwood’s second episode seems a strong contrast. There’s an atmosphere of happiness as Gwen and her boyfriend are out bowling and having a good time. Presumably, they’re celebrating Gwen’s transfer to “Special Ops”. Things are cut short when a meteor of some description strikes Cardiff, and Gwen receives a single word text message: Torchwood. Time to go to work.

Review: Torchwood - Episode 1: Everything Changes

It begins with a CSI style sweep over Cardiff, and a crime scene. There’s blood, a corpse, rain, forensics and the police.

Before anyone can do pretty much anything, they’re all cleared out. Torchwood, apparently, have told them to clear the area. Who are Torchwood? The attending officers are as in the dark as we, the audience, are. Special Ops, they say. As one welsh accented forensics officer says in the opening 5 minutes of Torchwood’s first ever episode - “There’s no procedure any more - it’s a f**king disgrace”. Thankfully, the episode isn’t.

Vista RC2 + Mac Mini = Failure!

As reported by TUAW here, Vista RC2 doesn’t work on the Mac Minis. Or at least, it doesn’t work on mine. I’ve heard reports of some Mini users getting the install to work with no problems. On my machine, the Vista installation routine doesn’t like the smell of the partition that Bootcamp creates, and refuses to install.

This is a shame - I thought Microsoft were actively supporting the Mini, and other Apple machines. This struck me as a Smart Move. Shame they’ve broken things in this release. Unless, of course, it’s a Bootcamp, or firmware problem…

I’ll have to continue to see if I can find a workaround. Or wait for the RTM release - not that there’s any certainty that this release will fair any better.

Movie Review: The Departed

There is the most perfect cinematic moment in the later stages of Martin Scorsese’s The Departed. Cut off from his handlers, feeling more alone than at any other point in the movie, undercover police officer Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) receives a call on his mobile phone. The phone is his only real point of contact with the powers that be, and yet - under the circumstances - he knows answering it would be a bad move.

On the other end of the line is corrupt cop Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) - the yin to Costigan’s yang. While Costigan’s role is to infiltrate one of Boston’s most prominent criminal gangs, Sullivan’s origin rests in the heart of that very same group. Sullivan knows that whoever picks up the call is the infiltrator.

Neither speaks. Time stands still. The tension is astonishingly tangible; DiCaprio and Damon both sell the scene with magnificent performances, worthy of actors with far more experience than either of these two relatively young stars. I can’t help but be reminded of the Pacino - De Niro face off in Heat. The tension is that strong.