Nathan's Insights

World Traveller: 7 Continents, 90 Countries, 871 Days Overseas

Review – The Hateful Eight

January 31, 2016

Released: December 2015
Seen: 23 January 2016
Cinema: Astor (70mm version)
Director: Quentin Tarantino
cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michael Madsen, Walton Goggins
Gene: Western
Rating: 7.5 / 10

Synopsis
While racing toward the town of Red Rock in post-Civil War Wyoming, bounty hunter John “The Hangman” Ruth (Kurt Russell) and his fugitive prisoner (Jennifer Jason Leigh) encounter another bounty hunter (Samuel L. Jackson) and a man who claims to be a sheriff. Hoping to find shelter from a blizzard, the group travels to a stagecoach stopover located on a mountain pass. Greeted there by four strangers, the eight travellers soon learn that they may not make it to their destination after all.

Review (warning spoilers)
It was with some excitement I went to the Astor to see Quentin Tarantino’s latest film ‘The Hateful Eight’ in extreme widescreen. Tanatino was aiming for an old style film format with the movie having an extended opening scene with live music (at least for this special event version at the Astor), old style/font credits and 70 mm version. Sitting in the historic Astor Theatre it was easy to recall an era without the multiplex especially as I was sitting in a balcony view.

Tarantino movies almost always have great dialogue, rapid fire conversations that usually go in directions you can’t pick. In this film Tarantino again brings the dialogue but as also can happen struggles with the conclusion of the film without having to go to crazy lengths to resolve the issues, usually only through extreme violence.

The movie bought back several actors who obviously love working with Tarantino (Samuel L Jackson, Michael Madsen) and lots of great landscape scenery during a winter in Wyoming which causes our cast to have to at first travel together and later take refuge at “Minnie’s” for a few days.

There is a lot of misdirection during the film. Samuel L Jackson’s character has issues with racism he has experienced in his life and has no problems getting an old Confederate General draw first so Jackson can claim a ‘legal’ kill. The flashbacks of when Jackson explains to the General what happened to his son are intense which causes us to miss the plots happening around Minnie’s.

If you blink you will miss key details that on reflection reveal the different players agendas, nothing is what it seems and the story in front of you is mostly used to hide the main plot. As is the want of Tarantino movies unexpected violence is suddenly used to move the story forward. The are no real heroes here, no one is safe or pure. The love of a brother to save his sister might be a pure good but attempted by the most evil characters.

The racism and segregation of the era makes you think that a self-proclaimed red neck former Confederate officer now Sheriff Chris Mannix (a fun Walton Goggins) would never team up with a black bounty hunter (Jackson) but in the end the harsh environment makes their alignment make sense. These are the two characters who are the most honest with each other (they hate each other based on race) meaning they have the most honest relationship and in the end can trust each other.

The main surprise for me was the violence ‘The Hangman’ (Kurt Russell) inflicted on his fugitive Daisy (Jennifer Jason Leigh). I guess a Tarantino movie can get away with non-politically correct actions in violence against females but then again Daisy is no rose and has killed many men herself.

Recommendation: While not the best Tarantino movie if you like his style or you like Samuel L Jackson you will find this a very enjoyable movie.
2016 Australian Open Experience

January 23, 2016

Photos

Each year since the Australian Open moved to Melbourne Park (formerly Flinders Park) in 1988 I’ve attended at least one day with the exceptions being 2000, 2010, and 2013 when I was travelling overseas. Living in Melbourne means I get to see the best players in the world playing in the first Grand Slam Tournament of the year. In fact the venue is only about a 20 minute walk from my apartment in Southbank and day passes are extremely cheap (currently $30-$45 depending on which day) and you get to see 10-12 hours of some of the best players in the world.

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Short Trip – Wilsons Promontory National Park

January 18, 2016

Photos

On my birthday my best friend suggested we head out to Wilsons Promontory the next day. For Jon it was a chance to try his new camera and for me the new Fitbit and daypack. For both of us it was a chance to experience nature at it’s best.

Wilsons Promontory – view from Mount Bishop

It took over 2.5 hours to drive to Wilsons Promontory which is really at the outer limit for a day trip but gave me a good chance to catch up with Jon. It’s strange how you can travel the world but not explore your own country or local area. I have a long term plan to when I retire to get into a car and explore Eastern Australia for 6 months to a year but I feel I should do more local areas like this now.

Entry to the National Park is free and they hand you out an information sheet on the best walks. There is a central camping site near a beach that looked like an ideal place to take a young family. Watching young kids play beach cricket and others building sand castles helped me feel young again. Laugher is a great energy boaster.

After a 3.3 km hike around the forest area and beach near the camping site we headed off to the main event – a hike at Lilly Pilly.

Despite the length of the Lilly Pilly Hike Jon was keen to complete all sections. The first part was extremely easy, I mean it was pram accessible so like a 40 minute stroll. However that sets up the wrong idea of the hike, ie after that point the path gets rougher and you start heading up.

The views made the hike well worth the visit. The 1 litre water bottle was a must item which I fully used over at next few hours. The only risky part of the walk was a brown snake (extremely dangerous) that crossed our path. Wasps were also a pain at one of the lookout points. I felt the years a near the end of the hike, reminds ,e to get fitter before next overseas trip.

Nature can be extraordinary. We live in cities and suburbs and yes we see some trees here and there but real nature, as it grows and strives to survive and works with all creatures for balance, is really amazing.

I’d recommend a visit to any national park and especially this one. A chance to get away from the culture of fear we live in with terrorism everyday on the news and changing our lives but instead to see people and especially children having fun. An impromptu idea turned out to be a great birthday present.

Fitbit GPS Hike Map – Lilly Pilly Hike
Creating a false sense of security and what we lose

December 28, 2015

As I do every year that I’m located in Australia at Christmas time I got to go to the Boxing Day Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). As an adult the only times I didn’t go to at least one day of the five day test match (yes friends it takes five days to get a result) was when I’m overseas (and the one year they only played a one-day match on 26th December instead of a Test Match). It’s a tradition in Melbourne to attend and for the rest of Australia to watch including hosting/attending a BBQ on Boxing Day. It’s a time for swimming, relaxing, catching up with friends, recovering from the excesses of Christmas. For some it’s the day to get the post Christmas sales. Mostly it’s a time to enjoy life whatever way that you want.

Unfortunately this year the over the top security at the MCG over the first two days of the Test Match have made me incredibly sad. It shows we have let a few crazy people (terrorists) run and ruin our lives. We seem to be saying “You have won, we give up you don’t need to actually do anything to make us scared now.”

This new security is having check points away from the ground that include metal detractors and pat downs which really only protects the ground not the patrons arriving at the ground. The justification is what happened in Paris recently when so called “jihadists” tried to get into an International Football match and failed. The security at the match in Paris is the same as what we had ie it worked. The terrorists just killed people outside the ground instead.

I hate we here in Melbourne seem to have given in to the terrorists despite it being way more likely in Australia to die from a tree falling or heatstroke. What’s next? Body scans at the Chadstone Shopping Centre? I mean there have been far more terrorist attacks at shopping centres then sporting grounds around the world. It sucks we have giving up the fun and enjoyment in our life and seem to want everyone to be scared all the time.

I mean I saw a five year old getting security scans 😦 Come on, more people die from smoking or car accidents or workplace accidents in Australia but let’s scan a five year old and let them know to be afraid despite there being more chance a shark will eat them. It also meant the kids having a bowl / playing outside the ground were stopped from doing so, this will likely stop the kicking of the footy outside the ground as well if this becomes the new reality.

Let’s not give in to terror. If there is intelligence / justification, or even if the chance goes up from 0.000000001%, we should / could consider a short term over the top useless and expensive security like what I’ve seen the last 2 day at the G but until then don’t give the terrorist what they want – us scared. Let’s support our intelligence and police community but not give in on enjoying life.

Let’s enjoy the sun, the cricket and our friends and really piss off the crazy ‘religious’ fanatics. Let’s live our lives, yes take reasonable care, but we can’t stop living or only living on their crazy terms. Life is so short let’s enjoy it and not jump at shadows and for gods sake let children be children and grown men try to be children again :).

Wishing everyone a great 2016.
Review – Star Wars: The Force Awakens

December 19, 2015

Released: 17 December 2015
Seen: 17 December 2015
Cinema: Hoyts Melbourne Central
Director: J.J. Abrams
Cast: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Max von Sydow
Gene: Science Fiction
Rating: 8.5 / 10

Synopsis
Thirty years after the defeat of the Galactic Empire, the galaxy faces a new threat from the evil Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and the First Order. When a defector named Finn crash-lands on a desert planet, he meets Rey (Daisy Ridley), a tough scavenger whose droid contains a top-secret map. Together, the young duo joins forces with Han Solo (Harrison Ford) to make sure the Resistance receives the intelligence concerning the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), the last of the Jedi Knights.

Review (warning spoilers)
The Force Awakens is a memorable welcome back to the Star Wars Universe. The prequels are now behind us which most people are happy to forget but I thought we passable (at least Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith).

The movie quickly establishes the new main characters; the wonderful Rey (Daisy Ridley), the conflicted Finn (John Boyega), an ace Starfighter Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and the main protagonist Kylo Ren (Adam Driver).

There is much in common with the original Star Wars Episode IV including having an android (BB-8) lost on a desert planet after Poe Dameron realises he will be soon be captured and needs to get critical information to the Resistance. The old stars are back, Harrison Ford (who plays a significant large role), Carrie Fisher (in a small but important role) and in Mark Hamill (for about 30 seconds but very important for the future).
At times the movie felt like a rehash (but a fund rehash) of the original Star Wars movie.

There is a death star like weapon (well be a sequel it’s an even bigger weapon), a call to arms but a young hero, a reluctant hero (Finn) and a dark opponent. But that is selling this movie short. The new characters have greater back stories and motivations, there are secrets we still don’t know and the pieces for successful future movies have been set.

The only thing I was unhappy was with is how they explained the Resistance as different to the New Republic and the First Order. I totally understand the First Oder being established out of the Empire but at the start of this movie there shouldn’t have been a Resistance, they were the winners and part of the New Republic. With the destruction of the Republic (I’m fairly certain Coruscant was destroyed or at least the New Republic headquarters planet) we then should have seen the survivors form a ‘resistance’. For the story to make sense the New Republic needed to be destroyed for the opposing sides to be of similar strength but the Resistance doesn’t make sense existing before the destruction, they could have still be the New Republic Army hunting down the First order.Still it’s hard to be critical when I get to see the Falcon jump to hyper-drive after all of these years. I’m looking forward to this new expanded universe and finding out what is to come and even who of the old cast will be there to see the Force Awaken a long time ago.

Recommendation: The Force is back and the House of Mouse (Disney) will be very happy for the next decade full of Star Wars movies that will expand the Star Wars universe while trying to forget about the prequels.