Weekend Things

1. Film Fest - Off to a Rip Roaring Start

I saw my first fil-um (two syllables) last night with Richard and Sam. It was the sci-fi thriller, 'Moon'. To be honest, I'd had very low expectations. Whenever people had asked what I'd be seeing, they looked at me strangely, as if to say, 'And that's something you want to see? Why?'. I just kinda shrugged and mumbled, 'I dunno. Film Fest.'

But I really liked it. It's a neat little low-budget ($5m, 33 day shoot) film. I've never seen the whole of 2001 but I imagine it has similarities. I read that he was in a way paying homage to those older space sci-fis of the 70s. It was a true sci-fi, rather than the lesser space-opera genre (which, other than Star Wars, I avoid). The special effects were really old-school - they actually used miniature models for the outside scenes of the moon, which worked surprisingly well. Kinda quaint.

The look of it all was minimalist. While it was stark, sterile white there was a grittiness to it, with what I assume was moon-dust coating the space suits and drips of coffee smeared on the GERTY computer which kept the astronaut company. I like that GERTY and the other technological aspects were also fairly low-tech things you could imagine being made right now on earth. If anything they were even more low-tech that what is already achieveable, keeping that old-school feel. No hovercrafts or conveyor belt footpaths. Even the graphics on the computer screens looked like something from a C64, in a good way. I liked that - a lot of sci-fis get so distracted with coming up with new, slick gadgets and trying to make the CGI convincing that they lose site of trying to have an actual plot to support their visual cleverness.

The film has lots of psychological and ethical issues that it explores. According to IMDB, the tagline is 'Moon: It's the last place you'd expect to find yourself'. That works on a few levels. Essentially, the film is about the sole man working up on the moon harvesting H-3, some kind of wonder-helium that now powers 70% of the world. This is something they are actually working on at NASA, where the film had a special showing at the request of a boss-man there.

He is coming to the end of his 3 year term and is understandably feeling the effects of having been isolated so long. He is an employee of some international corporation that seems to be cutting corners and is reluctant to upgrade the base. He spends most of his days talking to the plants (who have names) that he is lovingly growing and watching reruns of Bewitched on a tiny screen. Always in his slippers.

The film rests heavily on the performance of Sam Rockwell, who I have to admit I'd never heard of before. He's great! His character has to convey a lot of layers and changes, and he does it well. I liked him best in his degenerative state, where he constantly has blood dripping down the side of his face, soaking into his t-shirt and spends most of his time playing with a ratty bandage that is half coming off his hand. It adds some nice black humour to the film.

It's a film where you have to care about the fate of the characters, and I did. It does get thrilling as you discover a few twists and watch to see how they affect things. All the while, Kevin Spacey's monotonous voicing of the GERTY computer provides an interesting and comical side-kick to the lead character.

Anyhow, really good film. It was better than most of the things I saw at last year's festival. It's the first film from a young British director who happens to be David Bowie's son (though I only found this out after researching it a little last night - it wasn't part of the advertising of the film, with the kid we knew growing up as 'Zowie Bowie' now going by 'Duncan Jones', a rather more sensible sounding name).

2. Our Animated, Fun-Loving Prime Minister

I really don't like having John Key as our nation's leader.

I have seen him several times in the last few weeks doing 'silly' things. The media seems to love showing him in this 'personable' light. He is at a kindy, caught in the middle of a tiff between two boys, smiling away. Then he's getting down and dirty tackling a sheep, or kicking a rugby ball. A few weeks ago he was drinking kava on a tropical island.

The media seems intent on showing him as this kind of mild-mannered, fun-loving everyman.

When was Helen Clark ever afforded this image? She may not have angled for quite so many cutesy PR events, but if she did I doubt it would have got quite so much coverage. I guess she might've had more of that stuff when she was a 'new' prime minister. Certainly all I have in my recent memory banks is footage of her having to grimly defend herself against criticism. No frolicking with animals and children allowed.

There was a nice bit on her on stuff today, though. It emphasises that she was much nicer in person, but didn't cash in on that image in public, where she was stern and serious. Maybe a statement on how women have had to put on that brave face, rather than act silly with the media, in order to be taken seriously?

Under this kooky exterior, Key is meanwhile making awful policies that hurt the average New Zealander. He's cutting funding to the arts, reversing the focus of our whole educational system. Pretty much running our country like it's a billion dollar business, forgetting (or consciously avoiding) the other obligations of a responsible government. I think this 'fun' media coverage is a cheap distraction from all of the serious, hugely affecting changes he has very quickly pushed through with relatively little debate.

In some way it may be the fault of the new Labour leaders that there isn't much of an opposing voice out there. They seem to lack the charisma or political nous to get themselves heard very effectively. It pains me to think this way, but I have my moments of wishing Darren was a more senior member. Despite some of my arch-nemesis interactions with him at school, I've never questioned his ability to speak eloquently, with humour and with a charisma that belies his somewhat homely looks.

Key reminds me of George Dub-Ya. At first I thought he was this harmless, kinda idiotic seeming man. He was depicted in the media this way. Then I found out that beneath that kindly-uncle-like exterior he was doing all kinds of awful, immoral things. The fact that he did them all with that bumbling, placid exterior made them all the scarier. It was like the horror films of the 1970s where cute little kids and leprachauns were becoming villians.

It makes me grate my teeth. I miss Helen. At least she spoke in a way that didn't make me cringe in shame of our accent.

Footnote: This Finlay Macdonald article is actually critical of Key. Some logic! I think Finlay is one of my favourites.

3. I will Not Tolerate Lactose

I am developing a theory that I may be lactose intolerant. I was googling it last night and a couple of the symptoms sounded familiar.

I'm going to start experimenting on myself.

I'd quite like to have one of those trendy, new-age dietary issues. If this works out for me, I might look into that whole gluten thing next.