Movie: Les Miserables

Not your average movie, but it passed the test of lasting impression.
I guess always going to be difficult transferred to the screen when you know a stage musical so well, with all the stereotypes to overcome.
When Jackman and Crowe appear, you automatically expect acting, but you get singing, and when Hathaway sets up to Dream a Dream, we dont get the Susan Boyle rendition we've somehow accepted as standard, we get acting! 6-8 minutes of sniffing, sobbing and face-pulling, instead of soaring glorious melody, lost in the drama.
Jackman thoroughly deserved his Golden Globe Best Actor Musical I thought, despite the cheap shot of one critic who said his voice creaked "but maybe that was just for dramatic effect". I didnt notice it.
Hathaway ditto female, well maybe because there wasnt much else in the field, the role of Fantine isnt a very big one.
Russell Crowe, likeable bugger, so-so, but he did "Stars" really well.
Some reviews have suggested a bit of license taken with the story line vs the stage show's, and this was all to the good I thought, I've never really got to grips with the stage plot, but the movie tied up the plot and sub-plots pretty good, even if they were contrived somewhat, at which stage the musical became a movie again!
Never read Victor Hugo either so dunno for certain about the story.
Another observation maybe peculiar just to me, but have been moved at almost every stage show I've been to, even the local Amdram, but never got the same level of emotion with this movie.
That Dompost reviewer Tuckett says he knows nothing about musicals, but as a movie it ticks all the right boxes, and I'd agree, camera, direction, setting etc, strong contributors to the lasting impression.
You could hardly get a better score-line in a musical than with Les Mis, and the music was always going to pull this one through.
Pity about dreaming a dream.
Still, 5 out of 5.

Appliance: Electrolux Ultrapower

Lol, bit of a laugh this social media biff, but at least I can deal with stuff on my own blog a fair bit more sensibly than many do on Facebook, and so it is come to pass writing up about a vacuum cleaner!
My old sucky 1300w Sanyo's been doing a commendable job, but there are things about vaccys in common that get right up my nose, and make the job a real drag. Like not being able to stay upright and getting the hose in a twist, and no longer on its wheels, being a drag to, well, drag around. Then there's the power cord, inevitably, never long enough, or wanting to spring recoil itself back in. Or if its the paper bag variety, having a supply of bags when you want them, or bagless, trying to empty it in the garden without the stuff blowing in your face, or back in the house through the open door you just came out. Then, storing the thing without it being somewhere you trip over it, or so well put away in a cupboard you're stuffed just getting it out and set up proper like.

I'd followed the TV ads for the Shark, where you could detach part of it and do the stairs, so was interested enough to poke around Mitre10, and more recently Harvey Norman, where I settled on buying this cordless 'Lux. The young lady assistant was very helpful, and pretty too, so I believed her it was a fair punt to buy.
Dear enough at a bit over $400 on special, but its great enough I'm moved to put it up here on the JReb Blog.
Its 2 speed. The low speed is plenty fast enough. I'm in a bloke's house here, where the carpet pile is more shagged than shag-pile, and on high speed, all the buggered pile gets sucked up and blocks the suck-way. Fortunately, a couple of clicks dismantles the suck-way for unblocking, and this whole mention indicates the suction power is right up there.
And this suggests a bloke ought to be doing the 'luxing a bit more regularly, and it sure is easier to do just that with this baby, even though the dust bowl isnt very big.
So anyway, on low power, I can get round all my carpeted floor on one, or sometimes two, empty outs.
The battery has never looked like running out. I got the 24volt model, which I think's probably a wise decision.

In the charger

When not in use the machine clips into its charger, maintaining itself on mnimum power consumption till next time. I've set it up in the hall where I pass it every day and get reminded to do a couple minutes here or there. The charger's got a discrete amber light that comes on intermittently indicating charge, and in the hallway, this is useful in the dead of night if you're trying to find the loo.
The vac head's got a torchlight too, useful when you're working dark corners, or under beds and furniture. There's plenty of swivel angles for getting round stuff, and the head's got about 3-4 ins straight edge each side which when you flush it with the floor/wall corner sucks the corner wonderful. With the old machine I had to pull the head off and use the pipe end.
The powerful suction is also good for mats, saves having to take them outside for a beating.
And the stairs are a dream to do with all this convenience, lightweight, handy angles, and no cord. There's also a nifty button you can push with your toe to clean the rotating brush in the pick-up head.
6 out of 5 for this baby.

Uncle Dave Does a Dive

Uncle David turned 90 recently and the cousins shouted him a tandem skydive for his birthday.
Any trepidation we might have had about him doing it got swept away when he accomplished it with aplomb.
He said he was always curious what it would be like, despite coming close to a parachute jump but fortunately not having to, into shark and Jap infested water, while serving as rear gunner up in the islands around Bouganville in WWII.

David right, Jack 2nd right

The tandem dive was set up for Sat 12th at Taupo, cant remember the name of the company, there are 2 operating there, but its the first hangar on the right.
Its a surprising proper industry, the hangar full of comings and goings, the lift plane operating almost non-stop nearly all day, giving young punters another slice of their adventure tour cake here in NZ.
The company do it well, you get a stretch limo ride out from town, full briefing, video job on the way down, and a movie put together for a take-away memento. David's had Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly" poignantly spliced into the sound, you can view it in the theaterette.

Grandson Jack accompanied him on the dive, but no-one else in the family took the opportunity to have a go. I was content with my ride up and back on the CB, on a fine and warm day, up via the Parapara, National Park, and home via Desert Road.
David took the cake with his closing quip when asked if he'd like to do it again.
"I'll come back for my 100th", he said.

On the road home

Movie: Quartet

The hit of the holiday season.
Most critics put this in the same thread as Exotic Marigold Hotel, sure its about aging and hanging onto your character when you do, but this one's in a different class. While memorable, Marigold didnt do much for me.
Maybe it was Billy Connolly, magnetic at any time, but the four did standout performances, Tom Courtenay, Maggie Smith, and Pauline Collins, not often you find yourself rooting for more than one or two characters to succeed.
Excellent camera work, as well showing off some classy English countryside and a stately home, with more than a salute to classical music.
Convincing and entertaining support cast.
Dustan Hoffman's directing debut, at age 75, a triumph.
6 out of 5!

Book: Dark Matter by Michelle Paver

I cant say I enjoyed this book, but it was so damn well written it deserves mention.
Its a ghost story set in the encroaching 24 hours darkness in a land above the Arctic Circle.
The author brilliantly captures the encroaching mental claustrophobia of aloneness in a hut, in the dark, the sole companionship of a dog, and this, going to get worse.
I'll be honest, I do most of my reading in the dead hours of night, and I couldnt bring myself to do it with this book, right off from the first few chapters, things were going easily enough, but you just knew it wasnt going to stay that way.
A stand-out book because it was set so unusually. Wont let on how it ends.
Well done Michelle Paver, 5 out of 5.

Movie: The Hobbit

Trouped along, as we ALL have to see this one.
Saw it at Palmerston North's Cinema Gold, to catch it in 48 fps/3D. Two issues settled.
One, all those comments from people who felt nauseated/giddy, whatever, from the high frame rate, are just dribbling, I didnt experience any problem, although I think this movie would be better watched from seating further back and a bit higher. I was about 4 rows from the front and looking up.
Two, this is a long movie, whose 3 hour cause not at all helped by at least 20 minutes in this particular PN cinema, of puerile pre-movie advertising stuff. Its like kiddies from the local gamer graphics community having a show-off. In front of an expected and large captive audience. Totally pathetic.
The movie itself could probably be justly called another Jackson triumph, excellent camera work, the 48 fps did work to my mind, and Martin Freeman did the standout acting performance, although all the dwarves were good.
Everyone else looks 5 years older, except for Gollum, creepy as usual, but still fantastic, as was the scenery.
A quip doing the rounds about school kids studying The Hobbit in class, didnt go see the movie, they read the book instead.
So the storyline, this first movie of 3 covering only 300 pages total of book, was a bit of a doddle. Like with Skyfall's shortcomings, I WANT A STORY!!
4 out of 5, begrudgingly.

Movie: Skyfall

The best part about this movie was the opening sequence, but for those of us who've followed the franchise a lifetime, the rest of it was, OK, Bond............., but not as we know it Jim.
Daniel's a good Bond for sure, have picked up a few comments he looked a bit haggard this time, but then that's what the plot called for with his comeback from the "dead".
There wasnt any sex either, to speak of, and the best hint of it got shot.
And was the storyline a bit thin? Or was it no worse than the average other movie Bond movie?
Judy Dench was her usual attractive and good self/performance, and that and the camera work and backdrop were the other memorable carry-forwards.
Saw a recent snippet that Hugh Jackman once turned down an offer of the Bond role, but could get interested.
3 out of 5