I was disappointed by this film, not because it was bad, but because it was nowhere near as good as it could have been. This was far too much a straight story of a man with schizophrenia, when it could have been a much greater and deeper exploration of the nature of reality. Essentially, I was disappointed because I was expecting something of the calibre of Closer, and got something more like Wimbledon. And I didn’t think Russell Crowe played his part particularly well, though Jennifer Connelly was amazing.

The schizophrenia was played very well, and from my medical knowledge of the condition, it seemed fairly accurate for a particularly severe case (generally, people just ‘hear voices’ – they tend not to see hallucinations. Though, as a point of interest, people deaf from birth tend to see patches of colour instead of hearing voices), and in the sense that it is accurately portraying a taboo medical condition, then it’s an excellent film.

Overall, it’s a worthwhile, thought-provoking, and enjoyable movie, but it could have been so much better. You really wouldn’t want to see this more than once, and it’s not really worth all the fuss that’s been made about it.

I’m going to go out on a limb, here, and suggest that this will fail miserably, because of this condition:

However, users may not be keen – if at any point they decide to stop paying the monthly subscription to their provider, they’re left with no access to any of the songs in their library or on their music player.

The idea that I have to continue to pay someone for the rest of my life to listen to the music I’ve downloaded is certainly a turn-off for me.

My favourite download site of the moment is Easy Music, by Stelios. It has a very simple pricing structure, and very simple DRM conditions. I suggest you check it out.

Downloads clearly are the future of the music industry, but I’m certain that pay-as-you-go services will be more popular than subscription services.

I’ve just seen this film for the first time, and it was largely as I expected. It missed most of the real points, and padded out with general silliness. It was distressing to see that bereaved parents were being abused to make a weak political point. There were some point where I shouted at the screen in protest at completely unfair and stupid accusations, and several points where I actually laughed out loud at some observations (one of the most memorable being that the Saudi Embassy was at the heart of Washington’s decision making process because it was located opposite one of the most important government buildings – the Watergate Hotel).

The BBC series The Power of Nightmares was far better, soberly and sensibly exploring the background issues that Michael Moore tried to sensationalise. And, judging by the US Election results, failed.

Anatomy for beginners

This looks like it should be an excellent show. I’ll certainly be watching, though my housemate did comment that it was slightly unfortunate that I felt the need to watch a ‘Beginners’ show just days after I did my anatomy exam.

I’m not entirely sure on the ethical side of this exercise, but things that increase the general public’s knowledge of health issues are generally positive, and provided the cadaver was donated with informed consent about the TV dissection, then I think it would be difficult to pick any particularly strong ethical arguments out of the situation. Though I admit that I’m not entirely familiar with the background of the programme, so I can’t say that I’m entirely comfortable with the concept. But we’ll see. The show itself should be great.

I really expected to be able to say that this CD was one of the worst I’ve ever heard. I expected a G4 style massacre of classic songs, rearranged to be sung in a novelty style. But I was very surprised. This is actually an excellent album, with music of the highest quality and beauty. The second track makes even me want to cry, and that isn’t something that music normally does. It’s even as good as Damien Rice, but in a completely different way. You can play this over-and-over again without getting bored. An amazing album.

I’m beginning to think that, with all these good reviews, I’m going soft. But then I just think that all of these things have actually been really excellent. I’m sure something will come along soon that I won’t like, so that I can get back to my usual sarcastic self.

I start lectures again on Monday, so maybe I’ll be more tired and over-worked, and hence less likely to like stuff. We’ll see.

I’ve just been to see this, and I thought it was one of the very best movies I’ve seen in a long time. It worked on so many different levels that I think you could see it repeatedly, and have a compeletely different interpretation each time. Four of us went to see it, and none of us agreed on what it was about. But we all loved it. Someone said to me that they found it similar to Lost in Translation. I think not. This movie is everything that movie tried, but failed, to be. Closer was the genuine article, and it was an absolute joy. Five stars.

This is a brilliant CD, one of the best I’ve bought in a long while. I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s incredibly emotional, and yet very simple, impassioned beyond belief, and amazingly moving. Just buy it. Now. I can’t imagine you’ll be disappointed. In fact, I think you’ll love it.

I just finished reading this a couple of days ago. It was a fairly enjoyable book, but it certainly wasn’t as fantastic as some of the newspaper reviews would have you believe. There were parts that stretched believability to new lengths, and the whole thing was fairly predictable. Having said that, the mix of fact, superstition, legend, and fiction works surprisingly well, and I did learn a thing or two about art from reading this book. It was just disappointing that the author felt the need to leave so many clues as to the ending that it was hard not to guess.

It is something of a formulaic bestseller, a sentiment beautifully expressed by Mark Lawson:

Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, 450 pages of irritatingly gripping tosh…

It’s certainly worth reading, but don’t expect a masterpiece.

I read the ebook version, since most of the books I read now are in that format. It’s one of the many uses of my Pocket PC. But you can buy the paperback from Amazon.co.uk by clicking on the graphic above.

And if you want to join the sjhoward.co.uk book club (!), or basically just read the same books as me, I’m currently working my way through Shooting History: A Personal Journey by Jon Snow, The Guardian Year 2004 edited by Martin Woollacott, and The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux (which is an absolute bargain).

Lewd, licentious yet lovely

If anyone was offended by Jerry Spinger: The Opera, then they are over-sensitive. It did not, as the Christians claim, mock anybody’s religious beliefs. Yes, it featured Jesus in a nappy singing that he might be a little bit gay, and out of context that does sound terribly offensive. And yes, it did contain an awful lot of swearing. But it was clearly not mocking religion, it was mocking the absurdity of Jerry Springer, and similar TV shows, and mocking the elitism of opera.

It did this through hyperbole. What more ridiculous situation could there be than a TV argument between Jesus and the Devil, moderated by Jerry Springer? That isn’t insulting to religion, it’s insulting to the over-grand self-importance of American talk shows. A provacative talk show host cannot reunite heaven and hell any more than an eleison can be based on the name of a talk show host. Both are hilariously absurd – and anybody who doesn’t respect Christian teachings simply wouldn’t get the joke.

The whole thing is a bit excessive and extreme, but that’s the point. The church should be embracing cultural formats that poke fun at quick-fix TV solutions to life’s problems, not shunning them. Unless, of course, their apparent faith is so weak that they believe that their religion is one of those quick-fix solutions. In which case, they deserve mocking.

It was an excellent opera, both musically and ideologically, and I heartily congratulate the Beeb for being brave enough to go ahead with it.

I’ve been using the beta version of MSN Messenger 7 for a couple of days now, and I think it’s rather good. There are no particularly huge changes, but I do quite like the addition of Winks and Nudges (though the novelty may wear off soon).

Anyway, it’s definitely worth a click.