Puki shoot 'em up

This is a very addictive shooter game, where you aim at the fast approaching miniature men, and blast the living crap out of them. Way to go!

Thanks to Kukla's.

Origami Folding Patterns

I very often host pieces on origami; I used to do a little when I was a child; just being able to fold cubic water bombs gave me kudos when I was at school, not to mention the currency they became.

The designs on this site are amazing and beautiful though; there are also full folding patterns, so that you can build the modules and assemble them to make these geometric shapes. I know what I'll be doing to augment those Christmas decorations! See additional designs on the gallery page.

Thanks to Ursi.

DIY Soup

Want to eat soup, but feel that you've not earned the experience? Why don't you grow the tomatoes from scratch yourself? This story tells how, in Japan (where else?), Campbell's have packaged soup tins with seeds in them that grow the tomatoes themselves. And not just tomatoes either; they do pumpkins and peas too! Apparently, they've sold 25,000 cans already!

"We would like customers to enjoy growing plants and making the dishes they like with vegetables, not necessarily just to make soup," said Machiko Endo, spokeswoman for the Tokyo-based World Flower Service.

Thanks to Kukla's.

Billy Harvey

This guy is good! I would describe the music as slightly rocky alt.country, and you can listen to his songs, and watch him sing them on his web site. It's all Flash animated, and it's really clever.

Check out the site map, and just move around to each of the different polaroids; there's hidden videos and other stuff everywhere. The Housesitter made me laugh, as did clicking the ghetto blaster. Leave comments, if you don't get to find these.

Thanks to J-Walk

Film Review: The Interpreter

I was looking forward to watching this movie, because it had Sydney Pollack at the helm - in the past he has produced a variety of different movie genres: lush landscapes in Out of Africa, a pacy legal thriller in The Firm, slapstick comedy in Tootsie. Now he turns his hand to the Interpreter, a taut political thriller, with two of Hollywood's hot properties in Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn.

Kidman plays a South African born translator for the UN (Silvia Broome), who accidentally overhears a sinister message to assassinate the dictator of the country she grew up in (a made-up African country). As she reveals the information to the police, they bring in the Secret Service to protect the foreign dignitaries, headed up by Tobin Keller (Sean Penn). In investigating Sylvia's claims, he finds her a bit of an enigma. He starts uncovering pieces of her activist past, and while maintaining his professionalism, he becomes intrigued by her. She becomes increasingly under threat from foreign assassins, and while protecting her, he starts to fall for her.

This is where Penn gets to reveal his depths - he slowly starts to unravel his recent marriage break up, and open his heart up to Sylvia. All is not a bed of roses, however, as her shady past reveals that all is not as it seems. Is she a victim, or indeed involved? I'm not a personal fan of Kidman's; she has a coldness about her - her best roles are those that don't require any warmth, such as The Others, To Die For etc. When the role requires a level of humanity, she often falls short. She is tailor made for this role, however, and is as good as I've seen her. The (albeit wavering) South African accent is clipped and cold in its delivery, and the way she doesn't reveal all about herself, but masks much of her emotions is right up her street.

When the time gets nearer to the threatened dignitary's visit, the pace of this movie ups a notch. There is a sensational scene on a bus that is both tight and tense, and is perfectly shot by cinematographer Darius Khondji ("Panic Room," "Seven") and (more importantly) edited to perfection. The finish boils over and presses all the edge-of-the-seat buttons, and much of the finale happens within the actual UN building itself.

Ok, so the final reel, and ultimately the plot is a bit predictable, but it's what has gone before that is interesting. Pollack takes time to develop his characters, and isn't afraid of a slower pace to explore their nuances, and their developing feelings for each other. It's this patient approach which merits the film its mark, alongside some fine performances from Penn and Kidman. When the pace does notch up, the slick editing and camerawork take over and more than competently deliver a laboured plotline. 7/10.

Film Review: The Woodsman

Kevin Bacon has been in many films in his career, so much so he single-handedly inspired a bunch of college students to develop a web-based search engine (the Oracle of Bacon). It works on the basis that you can find only a finite number of hops between Bacon and the rest of the movie industry, because of his proliferation of roles. Of the various characters he has played, they haven't always been upstanding WASP models - nothing quite compares to this very brave move, however.

In the Woodsman, Bacon plays Walter, a paedophile who has just been released from prison after serving 12 years for interfering with young girls. We never quite learn exactly what Walter was imprisoned for, but he himself says "it's not what you think, nobody was hurt". He returns to his home town, where he takes up a job in a lumber yard, offered to him by a friend of his father's. During that time he keeps his head down, and does his job, while wresting with the fact that his secret will inevitably get found out, and more importantly, fighting with his innermost desires, which are of course for young children.

Despite this obviously distasteful aspect, the directors don't portray him as a despicable person; instead they show a man who's aware of his failings, but is trying to get his life back on track, but also desperately needs society to let him. Kevin Bacon is very convincing in his role. He visibly wrestles with his demons, and shows genuine contrition for his past shortcomings. He makes it possible for the audience to show some empathy for him, amidst all that we know.

To layer his character more, he has a very tender relationship with Vickie, a co-worker at the yard, played by Kyra Sedgwick. She brings to their union a sensuality that Walter cannot allow himself, plus some skeletons from her own past, that seem to redress the balance. When she learns about his past, she understandably takes it badly, but ultimately displays a level of understanding that it is clear we should be feeling too.

The power of the movie lies in this internal struggle that we too are forced to share. Should we care for this man, even though if he lived in our neighbourhood, would we be so understanding? The movie doesn't steer away from the realities of Walter's desires, and even puts him in the sort of situations that make the audience cringe - these are important to further emphasise the dichotomy in our own minds. Ultimately, how he copes with these scenarios will determine his destiny. What adds to the complexity, is that given these couple of make-or-break situations, Walter battles with himself, and ends up doing the right thing. It's clear that his reltionship with Vickie, and the overbearing attentions of a local cop, played (brilliantly) by Mos Def, offer him hope, and chance for redemption.

Sedgwick is excellent as Vickie, shocked yet touched by the tenderness of their relationship, choosing to see the good in Walter. Of course, Bacon (in the same way as Gene Hackman proves in his career), always produces the goods, but in this movie he streatches himself. It's an outstanding performance.

While this isn't a Saturday night date movie, it's a very brave film for all the actors and the the director (Kassell) to take on. All refuse to shy away from the unpleasant nature of Walter's tendencies, but manage to add a humanity and sensitivity to a storyline that on paper (and in reality) is both controversial and unpalatable. This is an unsettling watch, but one which really cares about the central character, and gives the audience the space to love and hate him in equal measure. 7/10.

Film Review: Million dollar baby

Just when you think Clint Eastwood will retire in the annals of history as a great movie star and director, he produces another tour de force with Million Dollar Baby. Here he plays Frankie Dunn, a boxing trainer (and renowned cut man) who runs a seedy downtown gym, full of chancers and downbeats. He shares this space with his long-time friend Scrap-Iron Dupris (Morgan Freeman), who keeps the gym clean, and helps to train the motley array of losers working out.

He's managing a fighter who has been steadily improving, and is desperate to challenge the World Champion. Frankie is reticent to enter him, so the boxer leaves him for another manager, who can get him the title bout. This affects Frankie deeply, and he distracts himself from loneliness and rejection by learning Gaelic. Then one day Maggie (Hilary Swank) comes to the gym, looking for someone to train her. Frankie refuses to take her on, on the grounds that she's a girl.

It is clear that Maggie helps to shore up the gap in his life left by his estranged daughter, who continues to return his mails. It's a gap the church can't fill for him either, and he's reluctant even to let Maggie in. The long line of boxers he takes so far towards success, but can't let them reach the heights, in case they leave him .. well, they all leave him. To lose a second daughter would be heartbreak for him, so he resists her enquiries. In the end though her persistence and enthusiasm force his hand, and he relents.

So then you have a story about her climb to success, but it has very little to do with that, it's about how the two individuals learn to trust each other, while sparring emotionally with each other all the time. They have similarities – she too is estranged from her family, in that they are white trash looking to scam benefit, while she has the mark of one of life's fighters written all over her.

Eastwood finds a greater movie in himself than his seventy-something years would suggest. He's still tough as old boots, but with the creased lines of experience to make a role like this work. He is still playing a man's man, a laconic, wise-cracking hero stunted emotionally, but inwardly strong. His guilt/shame at his previous failings sits just beneath his surface often making him appear cold, something that becomes less apparent as their relationship develops.

Morgan Freeman is sensational as "Scrap", the also-ran, the sad voice of someone who has nothing else in his life but a back room at the gym to live in, a number of his own fight stories, and a boxing accident that was the only thing to ever knock the stuffing out of him. His narrative throughout the movie displays a war-weary wisdom, and creates a deadpan canvas for the characters to paint on.

But Swank steals the show; despite everything going on in her life, she is both heroic and inspiring, and proof that with the right attitude and belief, you can be anything you want. She thoroughly deserved her Oscar for this performance (her second), and when you line her up against Hollywood's other leading women, it's difficult to see who else could challenge her as a better actress right now.

Cinematographer Tom Stern creates a low-lit feel, almost monochromatic at times, that helps to make the locations appear more seedy, and forces us to focus on script and characters on show. Behind all this there's a lovely score, which is never intrusive, and, I was surprised to learn was created by Clint himself.

This film was released in January (in the UK), but it's going to take some beating this year – I cannot imagine feeling so strongly about a movie in the next 12 months. While last year's favourite (Eternal Sunshine..) has a lot to offer, this film really is in the mould of Godfather, Shawshank, Raging Bull, Citizen Kane, Casablanca et al.

Immense in every department (Direction, Cinematography, Score, Screenplay, and of course heavyweight acting) - if you only rent one movie this year, make it this one. You won't be left wanting – I've seen it twice, and the second time only intensified both my emotions and the experience. 9/10.