To all a happy new years eve, and hopefully we get to see a fireworks display like this:
Monday, December 31, 2007
Friday, December 28, 2007
Lessons learned in 2007
Nearly done with the year, let me reflect on some of the trends of this year, and the lessons I should have learned from these.
Everybody cheats, deal with it
It's been a fantastic year to cheat your way to a victory. You could do some fancy blood doping and win the Tour de France, take some steroids and smack away several hundred home runs, or just bet on the games you're refereeing. You could freakin' video tape your opponents signals to predict which plays they're gonna run, for crying out loud.
Everybody then becomes all high and mighty about keeping the sport pure and leveling the playing field, but c'mon... The Mitchell Report mentioned so many major league baseball players, the only people not mentioned were the ice cream vendor and the third base umpire. If you actually took away all the cyclists from the Tour de France that were completely clean, only ten or so guys would run. That doesn't make good TV - remember the Indianapolis Formula 1 GP a couple of years back? And speaking of F1, you can't tell me that every single team doesn't have their eyes on every single new fancy detail on their opponents' cars. To single out McLaren is just slightly hypocritical.
In effect, the playing field is level. Everybody is cheating. It's just that the playing field is a little dirtier and seedier than the media wants the public to strife for. But if everybody gets off their moral high horse, things will be a little closer to the actual practice. Basically you cannot hide behind morals and the rulebook to be lazy.
Of course the way to fuel the moral outcry, is to point out the excesses and the tragedies. The Benoit slayings are a key argument against drugs and steroids. That even one of the most seemingly level-headed and most respected individuals in an industry can succumb to the temptation: less pain, more strength, more success. The Rapid Wolverine cheated his way around and apparently paid the price with his sanity and eventually the lives of himself and his family.
And have these warnings helped? I doubt it. Wellness programs or not, professional wrestlers will still use additional help to heal, to perform, to one-up the competition. That's the way the cookie crumbles. The public wants people to perform at superhuman levels, at their convenience. And sometimes that requires a little outside help. That's what we - the public, the fans - inherently expect from our heroes. To expect them to do so without cheating, is to be extremely naive, or at least to be extremely unrealistic in what you require for your entertainment.
Or you could take a page out of rugby union's book, which to my estimation is about as honorable a sport as you can get.
You cannot delegate responsibilities
There are lots of people who have good ideas and/or good intentions, whether it be at work, in social circles or somewhere else. Organizing a party, passing a new law or legislation, working on a project, or even just doing a proposal. Now if the task at hand is small, and can be handled by yourself, then you are in complete control of its progress, and only have yourself to blame if it doesn't work out the way you envisioned.
However most tasks are actually quite large and elaborate, and require more people to help to bring your idea to life. That means that all these ideas need to be explained, worked out, communicated... and that's where most tasks break down. Implementation suffers, schedules are not kept to and eventually the entire idea fails to meet its goals.
Of course many things cannot be thought of upfront. Requirements and directions tend to change, unforeseen incidents and accidents happen. People in general are not very good at all at seeing into the future, so every idea is naturally flawed. Unfortunately, this knowledge makes people lean towards two tendencies:
Of course, I'm fully aware this very sentence is actually contradictory to my point.
Being happy is the hardest choice
I went to London and to Chicago; I'm learning to speak (slowly) a handful of languages; I partied with cheerleaders; I crunk and I salsa; I worked overtime when I deemed it necessary. I spent truckloads of money on racing, seminars, parties, clothes, video games even. I have the Italian car. I stay put, when everybody else and their uncle say the logical thing is for me to go. I've been picked up in at least four different languages.
I have completely and utterly done whatever I think I should do. Regardless of what other people think I should. I have not stopped for anyone, did not let myself get led by other people's likes and wants. And that is not taken lightly. By neither side. I've been told I don't seem like a consultant. I've been told I don't act as a close friend. Unfortunately for me, those are statements that I cannot rebuff. The very act confirms the premise.
Doing what I think I should do is not as much making me happy, as it makes me confident that I'm doing the best thing in my circumstances. It's the feeling that I haven't been constrained, or held back; and that if I have been, that I only have myself to blame for it. No one else.
I'm confident some of my choices and actions are not meant to improve my happiness, or that of someone else. In fact the things that are in my personal life right now and those that aren't, are the direct result of one single inclination I have: (I'm paraphrasing a quote from House now)
"I see the world as it is. I see the world as it could be. What I don't see, is what everybody else sees, the giant gaping chasm in between. I'm not happy unless things are just right. Which means... I'll never be happy."
Everybody cheats, deal with it
It's been a fantastic year to cheat your way to a victory. You could do some fancy blood doping and win the Tour de France, take some steroids and smack away several hundred home runs, or just bet on the games you're refereeing. You could freakin' video tape your opponents signals to predict which plays they're gonna run, for crying out loud.
Everybody then becomes all high and mighty about keeping the sport pure and leveling the playing field, but c'mon... The Mitchell Report mentioned so many major league baseball players, the only people not mentioned were the ice cream vendor and the third base umpire. If you actually took away all the cyclists from the Tour de France that were completely clean, only ten or so guys would run. That doesn't make good TV - remember the Indianapolis Formula 1 GP a couple of years back? And speaking of F1, you can't tell me that every single team doesn't have their eyes on every single new fancy detail on their opponents' cars. To single out McLaren is just slightly hypocritical.
In effect, the playing field is level. Everybody is cheating. It's just that the playing field is a little dirtier and seedier than the media wants the public to strife for. But if everybody gets off their moral high horse, things will be a little closer to the actual practice. Basically you cannot hide behind morals and the rulebook to be lazy.
Of course the way to fuel the moral outcry, is to point out the excesses and the tragedies. The Benoit slayings are a key argument against drugs and steroids. That even one of the most seemingly level-headed and most respected individuals in an industry can succumb to the temptation: less pain, more strength, more success. The Rapid Wolverine cheated his way around and apparently paid the price with his sanity and eventually the lives of himself and his family.
And have these warnings helped? I doubt it. Wellness programs or not, professional wrestlers will still use additional help to heal, to perform, to one-up the competition. That's the way the cookie crumbles. The public wants people to perform at superhuman levels, at their convenience. And sometimes that requires a little outside help. That's what we - the public, the fans - inherently expect from our heroes. To expect them to do so without cheating, is to be extremely naive, or at least to be extremely unrealistic in what you require for your entertainment.
Or you could take a page out of rugby union's book, which to my estimation is about as honorable a sport as you can get.
You cannot delegate responsibilities
There are lots of people who have good ideas and/or good intentions, whether it be at work, in social circles or somewhere else. Organizing a party, passing a new law or legislation, working on a project, or even just doing a proposal. Now if the task at hand is small, and can be handled by yourself, then you are in complete control of its progress, and only have yourself to blame if it doesn't work out the way you envisioned.
However most tasks are actually quite large and elaborate, and require more people to help to bring your idea to life. That means that all these ideas need to be explained, worked out, communicated... and that's where most tasks break down. Implementation suffers, schedules are not kept to and eventually the entire idea fails to meet its goals.
Of course many things cannot be thought of upfront. Requirements and directions tend to change, unforeseen incidents and accidents happen. People in general are not very good at all at seeing into the future, so every idea is naturally flawed. Unfortunately, this knowledge makes people lean towards two tendencies:
- laziness; because not every single effect is recognized up front, people will use this as an excuse to not think about anything at all. people expect that everything will be alright in the end, because there's always someone else who will help out, play the hero, take responsiblity. People offload responsibility of implementing their ideas on someone else. And that's not the way. As I understood from a PM course, you cannot delegate responsibility. You can only delegate a task, or move into another role which doesn't have this responsibility.
- lack of commitment; it's a classic problem. You can't think about everything and anything that can happen, so you just let it up to the gods how things go, the laissez-faire. You'll take things in stride, and tackle problems as it may. You trust your ability to solve problems and feel confident about overcoming adversity. In fact, you trust that everybody simply understands the spirit of your ideas and acts accordingly. Unfortunately, to the outside world that looks a lot like indifference. And if things do go wrong, it's negligence.
Of course, I'm fully aware this very sentence is actually contradictory to my point.
Being happy is the hardest choice
I went to London and to Chicago; I'm learning to speak (slowly) a handful of languages; I partied with cheerleaders; I crunk and I salsa; I worked overtime when I deemed it necessary. I spent truckloads of money on racing, seminars, parties, clothes, video games even. I have the Italian car. I stay put, when everybody else and their uncle say the logical thing is for me to go. I've been picked up in at least four different languages.
I have completely and utterly done whatever I think I should do. Regardless of what other people think I should. I have not stopped for anyone, did not let myself get led by other people's likes and wants. And that is not taken lightly. By neither side. I've been told I don't seem like a consultant. I've been told I don't act as a close friend. Unfortunately for me, those are statements that I cannot rebuff. The very act confirms the premise.
Doing what I think I should do is not as much making me happy, as it makes me confident that I'm doing the best thing in my circumstances. It's the feeling that I haven't been constrained, or held back; and that if I have been, that I only have myself to blame for it. No one else.
I'm confident some of my choices and actions are not meant to improve my happiness, or that of someone else. In fact the things that are in my personal life right now and those that aren't, are the direct result of one single inclination I have: (I'm paraphrasing a quote from House now)
"I see the world as it is. I see the world as it could be. What I don't see, is what everybody else sees, the giant gaping chasm in between. I'm not happy unless things are just right. Which means... I'll never be happy."
Monday, December 24, 2007
Happy Holidays
Just a shout-out to all readers. To all I wish you good times, and I hope to see, speak, hear from you in due time.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Hard choices
The hardest choice people can make is a choice that makes them happy. That sounds counter-intuitive, but this rings true. Especially when you're given the choice of christmas gifts by your employer.
Essentially your choice boils down to:
You see that there's a hierarchy in this? All things considering if you wanted to do the most good the donation is the only choice. But will it make you happy? You could be indifferent, or even satisfied, but happy?
Essentially your choice boils down to:
- a gift
- an experience
- or a good cause
You see that there's a hierarchy in this? All things considering if you wanted to do the most good the donation is the only choice. But will it make you happy? You could be indifferent, or even satisfied, but happy?
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Best / funniest quotes I've heard in 2007
You can't win an occupation.
- Friendly advice to U.S. President Bush
You can be your own person, treat people with respect, be very demanding but demanding in a way that doesn't trample on people. And you don't have to give up your faith to win in the NFL.
- Tony Dungy, head coach of the Indianapolis Colts
An insult is just someone who hates you making a noise to indicate their hatred. (...) Criticism is someone trying to help you, by telling you something about yourself that you were a little too comfortable not knowing
- David Wong
How do the words 'jet pack' and 'ninja' even get typed into a script about a cyborg that weighs over a ton? Modern screenplay-writing software should detect something like that and pop up a little paperclip that asks you if you've lost your fucking mind, then erases your hard drive.
- Rod Hilton on RoboCop 3
- Friendly advice to U.S. President Bush
You can be your own person, treat people with respect, be very demanding but demanding in a way that doesn't trample on people. And you don't have to give up your faith to win in the NFL.
- Tony Dungy, head coach of the Indianapolis Colts
An insult is just someone who hates you making a noise to indicate their hatred. (...) Criticism is someone trying to help you, by telling you something about yourself that you were a little too comfortable not knowing
- David Wong
How do the words 'jet pack' and 'ninja' even get typed into a script about a cyborg that weighs over a ton? Modern screenplay-writing software should detect something like that and pop up a little paperclip that asks you if you've lost your fucking mind, then erases your hard drive.
- Rod Hilton on RoboCop 3
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Waking up to the light
I used to think waking up could be done in one of either two ways.
It's works quite different from your normal alarm clock, in that it slowly lights up about half and hour before the time you set the alarm to. This slowly increasing light supposedly triggers your body to prepare itself for waking up.
Then at the time you provide, instead of a loud beep, you get the sound of crickets, or a wavefront moving on to the beach. Even the token alarm beep is decidedly friendly.
It definitely takes some time getting used to it. I woke up far earlier than usual the first couple of times I used it, although this effect seems to diminish the more time I spend with it. I'm not sure I'm waking up with more energy than with my old clock, that's a bit too early to tell.
But for damn sure... if I can go clubbing on a Monday night, sleep for three hours, and go to workthe next morning at (about) the same time as usual, without even a bat of an eyelid, then I highly recommend a wake-up light.
- on a weekend, whenever you feel like it
- during the week, harshly with a loud, obnoxious alarm bell; or a drum band; or a bucket of water
It's works quite different from your normal alarm clock, in that it slowly lights up about half and hour before the time you set the alarm to. This slowly increasing light supposedly triggers your body to prepare itself for waking up.
Then at the time you provide, instead of a loud beep, you get the sound of crickets, or a wavefront moving on to the beach. Even the token alarm beep is decidedly friendly.
It definitely takes some time getting used to it. I woke up far earlier than usual the first couple of times I used it, although this effect seems to diminish the more time I spend with it. I'm not sure I'm waking up with more energy than with my old clock, that's a bit too early to tell.
But for damn sure... if I can go clubbing on a Monday night, sleep for three hours, and go to workthe next morning at (about) the same time as usual, without even a bat of an eyelid, then I highly recommend a wake-up light.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Best in Television for 2007
Television is still a big thing, although this year, more than most, it was more diversion and background (and occasionally a waking up moment) rather than the centerpiece of the day. Back when I was a kid, entire days were defined by whichever programme was on that afternoon or night. It could be the network premiere / rerun of a major motion picture, a cartoon series, or a football match. Now only a few things on telly catch my eye.
Number One is House, simply the best kick ass dialogue on television, for the third year running. And what's even more impressive is that it got even better in subsequent seasons: more biting snaps, more clever insults, more insane putbacks. They amped up the sexual tension, deepened the characters, and made the show almost the only must-see TV every week...
...the only programme coming close is Heroes. Already a cult net fave thanks to NBC.com by the time I got to it, Heroes was the most impressive first-year storyline for a drama series. And soon I will learn the ways of the Japanese, that's how awesome Hiro is.
Which brings me to a sidenote... it is not strange that television is getting creamed by internet thanks to the wonders of the downloadable episode. Now if we were just able to consistently spawn my IP address to match the US, I could actually use that feature, and save time. I could actually watch the shows whenever I want to. Instead of when some jerk in the network office thinks I should. Case in point: I hardly ever watch Game Kings, a TMF video game show, even though its own about five times a week. However Gametrailers.com shows GameHead and GameOne, and I watch those all the time.
Bones was pretty good still, but for some reason - once they messed up with the scheduling from Sundays to sometime during the week - I didn't follow it as thoroughly anymore... Same thing happened to My Name Is Earl.
Finally the final television highlight of the week is Top Gear. This year was obviously one of the more exciting ones, with Richard Hammond's brush with death, the Bugatti Veyron, more and more ludicrous challenges, and more laugh aloud jokes from Jeremy Clarkson and co. (line of the year has to be "Have you got pubes yet" to Lewis Hamilton)
Sad, so sad is the television's addiction to celebrity shite. The formula is simple. You put a C-list or at most B-list celebrity in an activity they shouldn't know about (ice skating if you're a singer, singing if you're a skater, ballroom dancer if you are a guy etc.), and then have people text the television network that they are doing badly or well. And the person with the least votes is booted off (not necessarily the worst one). And then they proceed to continue with this formula with ACTUAL, NO-NAME PEOPLE.
Come on guys... if you're going to continue like this, I will turn off the television and move to internet stuffs and DVDs permanently.
Number One is House, simply the best kick ass dialogue on television, for the third year running. And what's even more impressive is that it got even better in subsequent seasons: more biting snaps, more clever insults, more insane putbacks. They amped up the sexual tension, deepened the characters, and made the show almost the only must-see TV every week...
...the only programme coming close is Heroes. Already a cult net fave thanks to NBC.com by the time I got to it, Heroes was the most impressive first-year storyline for a drama series. And soon I will learn the ways of the Japanese, that's how awesome Hiro is.
Which brings me to a sidenote... it is not strange that television is getting creamed by internet thanks to the wonders of the downloadable episode. Now if we were just able to consistently spawn my IP address to match the US, I could actually use that feature, and save time. I could actually watch the shows whenever I want to. Instead of when some jerk in the network office thinks I should. Case in point: I hardly ever watch Game Kings, a TMF video game show, even though its own about five times a week. However Gametrailers.com shows GameHead and GameOne, and I watch those all the time.
Bones was pretty good still, but for some reason - once they messed up with the scheduling from Sundays to sometime during the week - I didn't follow it as thoroughly anymore... Same thing happened to My Name Is Earl.
Finally the final television highlight of the week is Top Gear. This year was obviously one of the more exciting ones, with Richard Hammond's brush with death, the Bugatti Veyron, more and more ludicrous challenges, and more laugh aloud jokes from Jeremy Clarkson and co. (line of the year has to be "Have you got pubes yet" to Lewis Hamilton)
Sad, so sad is the television's addiction to celebrity shite. The formula is simple. You put a C-list or at most B-list celebrity in an activity they shouldn't know about (ice skating if you're a singer, singing if you're a skater, ballroom dancer if you are a guy etc.), and then have people text the television network that they are doing badly or well. And the person with the least votes is booted off (not necessarily the worst one). And then they proceed to continue with this formula with ACTUAL, NO-NAME PEOPLE.
Come on guys... if you're going to continue like this, I will turn off the television and move to internet stuffs and DVDs permanently.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
State of games in 2007
In the video game industry 2007 was a very important year, with the current generation consoles (360, PS3 and Wii) finally becoming commonplace, and several important titles released (BioShock, Assassin's Creed, Halo 3, Mass Effect, Call of Duty 4)... and yet I've never played as little games as this year. I could even say that amid the growth of the industry, the connection I feel with any games, is limited.
I only got myself one big name title this year, which was C&C3, and that was mainly to be able to finish the Tiberium saga. The game itself is decent, well balanced, but unfortunately a little to heavy for my computer. The acting is corny as always (although Jennifer "Dr. Cameron" Morrison takes the cake for looking both really intense and totally disinterested at the same time), and some plot holes still remain (why have the GDI reverted back from hover vehicles?). Still it was the highest profile title of the bunch, and the story is at least going forward again. Next year, bring on Kane's Wrath!
Surprisingly I played a lot of Rugby 08 this year, especially in the wake of the World Cup. Also I picked up Indycar Racing for a bargain, which I found pretty enjoyable, despite it wreaking havoc on my joypad (only left turns...). And I had the Brain Training sequel, which didn't really work out as well as I hoped.
In a sense, not having the latest gaming consoles distanced me from the game hype (Madden 08, Halo, Rock Band), although I have never before watched so much net-based videogame shows as this year. I still keep track of current issues, and it even got me started on the business side of things. The business is interesting, from the producing to marketing, the trade shows, the industry analysts, the mergers and acquisitions, and maybe, just maybe I should apply there. It would be a nice, big next career step.
I only got myself one big name title this year, which was C&C3, and that was mainly to be able to finish the Tiberium saga. The game itself is decent, well balanced, but unfortunately a little to heavy for my computer. The acting is corny as always (although Jennifer "Dr. Cameron" Morrison takes the cake for looking both really intense and totally disinterested at the same time), and some plot holes still remain (why have the GDI reverted back from hover vehicles?). Still it was the highest profile title of the bunch, and the story is at least going forward again. Next year, bring on Kane's Wrath!
Surprisingly I played a lot of Rugby 08 this year, especially in the wake of the World Cup. Also I picked up Indycar Racing for a bargain, which I found pretty enjoyable, despite it wreaking havoc on my joypad (only left turns...). And I had the Brain Training sequel, which didn't really work out as well as I hoped.
In a sense, not having the latest gaming consoles distanced me from the game hype (Madden 08, Halo, Rock Band), although I have never before watched so much net-based videogame shows as this year. I still keep track of current issues, and it even got me started on the business side of things. The business is interesting, from the producing to marketing, the trade shows, the industry analysts, the mergers and acquisitions, and maybe, just maybe I should apply there. It would be a nice, big next career step.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Best (and worst) in music of 2007
Let me tell you what I liked and didn't like about the music in 2007...
The gothic rock band genre is growing on me, and Delain is this year's best new proponent of that (while Within Temptation is going international). Coming close is The Fray, who show - through intelligent lyrics, and insightful songs - that there's still some good stuff coming around (rather than that skinny rock singers crap).
Honorable mention: Rooney, Maroon 5 (back again), Van Velzen
The 2007 MVP: Nelly Furtado;
This is really strange. Three years ago miss Furtado managed to release the commercial turd known as Forca, just because the freakin' European Championships were held where here ancestors used to live... and then she hooked up with Timbaland, grew a set of tits, sex appeal, and apparently a proper songwriter, because practically every single of her latest album Loose was a hit in 2007. That's a remarkable reversal of fortune. Maybe in that sense, the MVP award should actually go to Timbaland.
Honorable mention: Rihanna, Timbaland, The Fray
Top singles of 2007:
- Jumping (Jeckyll & Hyde; DJ Porny); I couldn't understand this craze, more often than not because it made me realize how old I am. This was nothing short of insipid. Thankfully, the first time I heard of it, was on the eight o'clock news. And you know what happens to hypes that are outed on primetime television... they die pretty soon. Unfortunately you have to go through all kinds of wannabees who want to cash in on the hype for the time being.
- Ah, Mika. We thought you were a skinny sumbitch one-hit wonder, with a moderately catchy song (Grace Kelly)... and then you had to spoil it with some seriously crap singles, that you made young girls buy en masse (Relax, Big Girls)... please, go away and let real men rule the airwaves, capisce?
- And while we're on the subject of one-hit wonders (well, to put it fairly, two-hits), let's speak of XYP, a band consisting of twenty-something Brits and Dutch singers, catering to a sub-teen audience. Not serious enough to get played regularly on popular radio, but sold more records than most, thanks to the likes of Jetix and Cartoon Network... and within the space of nine months they got popular, scored a number one hit single... and broke up again. Ah, XYP, we hardly knew ye. At least Iris was kind of cute (call me!).
- Finally, even if you sing utter and total, unintelligible rubbish... if it sounded halfway decent and upbeat, you have your own clothing line, and you're dating a two-time FHM Babe of the year, you could still sell... well... tens of thousands... I'm talking about you, Jantje Smit.
The gothic rock band genre is growing on me, and Delain is this year's best new proponent of that (while Within Temptation is going international). Coming close is The Fray, who show - through intelligent lyrics, and insightful songs - that there's still some good stuff coming around (rather than that skinny rock singers crap).
Honorable mention: Rooney, Maroon 5 (back again), Van Velzen
The 2007 MVP: Nelly Furtado;
This is really strange. Three years ago miss Furtado managed to release the commercial turd known as Forca, just because the freakin' European Championships were held where here ancestors used to live... and then she hooked up with Timbaland, grew a set of tits, sex appeal, and apparently a proper songwriter, because practically every single of her latest album Loose was a hit in 2007. That's a remarkable reversal of fortune. Maybe in that sense, the MVP award should actually go to Timbaland.
Honorable mention: Rihanna, Timbaland, The Fray
Top singles of 2007:
- The Fray - Over my head
- Nelly Furtado - Why do all good things come to an end
- The Fray - How to save a life
- Timbaland presents One Republic - Apologize
- Nelly Furtado ft. Juanes - Te busque
- John Mayer - Dreaming with a broken heart
- The Nightwatchman - The road I must travel
- Timbaland ft. Keri Hilson - The way I are
- Delain - Frozen
- Michael Buble - Everything
- Mason vs. Princess Superstar - Perfect Exceeder
- Ida Corr - Let me think about it
- Pakito - Are you ready
- September - Cry for you
- John Marks - Insanity
Sunday, December 02, 2007
I was looking for that
Some months ago I caught the middle part of a movie that had Ethan Hawke and some French chick talking in long, drawn out dialogues. With long, I mean loooooooong. One scene would last about ten minutes, walking around on the street, just bantering. Then the scene moved indoors, some cafe in Paris, and would CONTINUE.
Now you might think, this is a bad thing for a movie, but I actually managed to stick around for the scene, and in fact through nearly the rest. And it made me thinking... what movie is this?
I never got around to ask or check the name of the movie, and I even couldn't come up with Ethan Hawke at the time. But finally I got all the answers together, and I finally found what I was looking for... Before Sunset, by director Richard Linklater.
Why the movie is so captivating, is because of its premise. The idea that it is possible to meet your soulmate, and that you can, even for only a short amount of time, be together. And in fact get together again later on (Before Sunset is the follow-up to Before Sunrise, which is where the two characters first meet)...
So here's my vote for most impressive movie seen this year... and I didn't even see it completely... and it's not even a movie released this year... Before Sunset.
(No, Transformers is not my most impressive movie this year. It was fun, it had quite a few laughs. Megan Fox is grrrreat. And it had almost nothing to do with Transformers.)
Now you might think, this is a bad thing for a movie, but I actually managed to stick around for the scene, and in fact through nearly the rest. And it made me thinking... what movie is this?
I never got around to ask or check the name of the movie, and I even couldn't come up with Ethan Hawke at the time. But finally I got all the answers together, and I finally found what I was looking for... Before Sunset, by director Richard Linklater.
Why the movie is so captivating, is because of its premise. The idea that it is possible to meet your soulmate, and that you can, even for only a short amount of time, be together. And in fact get together again later on (Before Sunset is the follow-up to Before Sunrise, which is where the two characters first meet)...
So here's my vote for most impressive movie seen this year... and I didn't even see it completely... and it's not even a movie released this year... Before Sunset.
(No, Transformers is not my most impressive movie this year. It was fun, it had quite a few laughs. Megan Fox is grrrreat. And it had almost nothing to do with Transformers.)
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