Low budget Australian movie that did nothing to capture the imagination.

Review of The Magician
Rated as 1/5 on Nov 4 2007 by Ken McGuire

A terrific prequel to a movie series that spawned a horror idol in the form Michael Myers. Well worthy of watching - and not just the one time.

Rob Zombie deserves all the credit he gets for his direction on Halloween, the movie exceeding any expectations I had before settling to the cinema for this one.

2007 certainly hasn’t been a bad year for movies, especially of late - Die Hard 4.0, Pirates Of The Caribbean 3, Transformers, The Bourne Ultimatum to name but a few. I reckon that when the curtain falls on 2007 I’ll be counting Halloween amongst the top I’ve seen this year.

Rob Zombie’s extension of the franchise gives us the background story on Michael Myers as a 10-year old boy living in Haddonfield, Illinois. Played by Daeg Faerch, we’re drawn into the mindset of Myers - bullied in school, mother living with a dead-beat drunk and working as a pole dancer, a fascination for killing small animals and hiding behind a mask from a young age.

Needless to say Myers doesn’t have any love for his family and is jailed on three counts of first degree murder, confined to a psychiatric ward for treatment and study. It is here we meet Dr. Sam Loomis, played excellently by Malcolm McDowell (who you might recognise from ‘Heroes’ as ‘Linderman’), Loomis befriending Myers over near 20 years in his care.

The transformation in Myers physical character is genuinely scarier than any weapon he could yield in the movie, changing from a 10-year old short blone boy to a near 7-foot monster, played by Tyler Mane, a former professional wrestler. The sheer size and strength of the charac

On a night where Myers is due to be transferred out of the facility, everything goes horribly wrong, Myers escaping and embarking on a relentless killing spree in a quest to find his sister, Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis in the original 1978 movie).

The film itself has all the elements of a 70s/80s horror movie that you would expect - the bad guy killer, the good looking female victims (and nudity), running up the stairs and hiding in the bathroom when you’ve nowhere to go - all served without a single hint of cheese.

The chase sequences are great, the character movements are great, the lighting a little dark at times, but such is the nature of Halloween - most of the action takes place at night. Some of the camera work is shaky, though a trait in movies I’ve admired since the Blair Witch Project.

Listening to and watching people around the cinema there were plenty of unexpected f-words, stifled screams and jumping in seat (falling victim to it myself at one point), the general consensus from the group of use who attended the film being Rob Zombie’s Halloween is a great movie.

I can’t see how fans of the original movie will be disappointed and if you’ve never gotten into the Halloween franchise then this is a perfect and thrilling gateway into the horror series.

Rated 4/5 on Sep 30 2007 by Ken McGuire
Review Tags: film, halloween, horror, michael myers, movie, rob zombie
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Budget hotel, few minutes walk from Grand Central Station. Comfortable perhaps but don’t go expecting the Ritz or anything….

Review of Hotel Continental, Damrak 40-41, Amsterdam, 1012 LK, Netherlands
Rated as 2/5 on Sep 12 2007 by Ken McGuire

Great way of connecting people in a social networking environment, reliable uptime, use of channels a big bonus.

Until recently it was a case where you were a Jaiku user or a Twitter user. Now - at least in my case - I’ve noticed the chain swaying more towards Jaiku.

Launched in 2006, Jaiku is a microblogging service allowing users to post presence updates / thought streams enclosed within 140 characters, updating either via web interface at Jaiku.com, SMS delivery or via Jaiku’s S60 application (mobile).

I was introduced to Jaiku prior to planning for PodCamp Ireland and was an instant convert. The limits on 140 characters are lifted in subsequent replies or comments, allowing full threaded conversations and interaction - perfect for following conversations in order; Jaiku Channels also offer an ideal way for separating conversations completely, focusing topic-driven conversation in one location, something I’m using at present on four different fronts while not annoying the public. That said, channels are accessible to the public i.e. anyone can join them, with options to establish closed channels rumoured to be coming.

Other useful features include subscription control over any number of a given user’s feeds e.g. should you choose to provide your flickr feed, blog feed, last.fm feed, del.icio.us feed in your Jaiku profile, other user can choose to opt in or out of receiving updates from your other social streams, not just Jaiku.

The overall interface on the site feels tighter and certainly a lot fresher - must be the Scandinavian influence. Also impressive are the flash badges /widgets provided to keep your blog readers up to date with your Jaiku presence.

SMS delivery is reliable and almost instant, in some cases SMS updates arriving before a screen refresh, thus keeping you updated in relative real-time when on the go.

From the top-down I feel Jaiku is the friendlier, certainly more reliable of late, choice for micro-blogging and long may their early success in this area continue.

Rated 4/5 on Sep 12 2007 by Ken McGuire
Review Tags: blogging, jaiku, micro-blogging, presence, unifeed
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One of the finest locations in Kilkenny for a spot of lunch or a killer breakfast.

The Coffee Club has been my preferred breakfast location in Kilkenny for the last year, almost every weekend in fact.

Many factors go into this - quality and choice of food, location in the city centre, ability to accommodate a large group, friendliness of everyone there - it all adds into a five star feeling. I’ve been prompted to review The Coffee Club as it closes its doors, at least in its present form, on Friday September 14th.

Every Sunday morning for the past year, coupled with sporadic Saturdays and midweek breakfast and lunches, The Coffee Club on Rose Inn Street has been the meeting home of The Devious Theatre Company. From our early core meetings of four of us for breakfast through to committee meetings, pre and post-show meetings (of 8-10 people), the Coffee Club has always been accommodating.The biggest pull for us, and for me personally, has been the breakfast and subsequent cost of the breakfast.

Serving from 9-12 (lunch menu kicks in at midday, still serving an all-day breakfast), you can have anything from scrambled eggs on toast, bacon and pancakes, small Irish, full Irish, the famous “hunger buster”, and everything inbetween. I don’t think there’s ever been an issue with having something random made up for breakfast (if its not on the menu, they’ll make it for you).

The breakfast menu is accommodating to us meat lovers, vegetarians and also comes with some coeliac friendly items.There aren’t many places either where you’re going to get free refills all day long on your tea and coffee. We’ve planned many a twist and turn on our theatrical path of late in the front and back of the Coffee Club (seating for about 20 odd in the front and a further 6 in the back) and our time there has produced many a friendly conversation with the staff - regulars to the point where you don’t need to order your food or request tea. Our home on the road so to speak!

Cost on breakfast ranges from about €4 - €8.95 (including tea), cheaper again if you’re not looking for hot food i.e. scones, breads plus whether you’re on your own, there as a pair or as a group, there’s likely to be a free refill going.

The lunch menu evolves into fresh sandwiches, soup, bagels, hot wraps and other hot dishes, with the chicken and garlic mayo bagel standing out as a favourite of mine (priced around €7 with chips, cheaper without or bump it up to get some fine baked wedges with your meal).

Specials and desserts are also served throughout the day. 

If you fancy lunch out, they’ll even make you a picnic pack to take to the nearby Castle Park or simply get any item from the menu to takeaway. That said, they also do a great takeaway service for coffee, minerals and snacks.

There are very, very few places in Kilkenny that would get a 5* rating from me but this is certainly one of them. Hopefully it won’t be the end of The Coffee Club (or the staff there), as Kilkenny will certainly be left lacking in the breakfast department - particularly at weekends - with its closure.

Rated 5/5 on Sep 11 2007 by Ken McGuire
Review Tags: coffee shop, food, kilkenny, restaurant
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Interesting blend of fruits (without the bits) with an interesting brand name. Tasty but not thirst-quenching.

Shopping at the weekend, as you do, I picked up two cartons of AdeZ fruit juice, one Pineapple and Passionfruit, one Mango and Apricot. While they appear to be new in Super Valu, Kilkenny, they’ve been on the market for at least the past year.

I’ve been on a smoothie buzz of late, along with the rest of the country, so I figured I’d try something in between a juice and a smoothie - enter AdeZ.

Now the smartest name out of the branding department but it is the content of the carton that matters in this case. AdeZ is a great tasting juice, egg-like in appearance for colour and thickness, and on read of the carton it packs a nice punch in delivering 35% of your calcium RDA as well as a healthy boost of soya in your diet.

The flavours are great - the juice was tried and tested first off with breakfast, going down excellent with bagels and croissants on a Saturday morning, while later going down well as a rum mixer. On comparison I feel the Mango and Apricot packs more of a punch in the flavour department, disappointing as the Pineapple and Passionfruit was the first carton I went for.

There’s no over-powering after-taste, no fruit bits, and despite its milky texture - texture, not colour - there’s no dairy either.

While I did find it tasty and certainly enjoyable, I’ll admit I didn’t find it thirst-quenching - even after a long stint in the fridge - unlike the feeling you get from a nice chilled glass of orange or apple juice.

Price-wise you’re looking at around €2.70 per litre carton, a cut above store-brand juices but not quite at the Tropicana price level.

I’ve satisfied my curiosity, enjoyed a nice breakfast, but there’s not enough in it to keep me coming back for more.

Rated 3/5 on Sep 11 2007 by Ken McGuire
Review Tags: adez, drink, fruit juice, juice
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If its yoghurt you’re after, go right ahead, if its a real smoothie you’re looking for then guess again.

They’ve been staring at me on the shelf in the shop at lunch time for the past few weeks - Yoplait’s ‘Smootheze’. Long being a fan of the ’smoothie’ drinks, whether making them at home or picking them up in a smoothie bar. I’d be quite critical therefore of what people offer to me as a smoothie and on that note I’m quite disappointed in Yoplait’s latest offering.

Described as

A delicious mix of yummy mango and scrumptious banana blended with a smooth, low fat probiotic yoplait yogurt.

I’ll have to say that I was less than pleased with the content. They’ll score points for their presentation and the flavour, the mango and banana compliment reasonable yet nothing ground-breaking, but beyond that I won’t be buying one again.

I feel a smoothie needs a certain thickness, the heavier drink representing (I feel) more of a value for money. Fruit bits are ok too you know, they add a nice texture to the drink! Ok, you might not get away with the use of fresh fruit or some kind of modified fruits given how long some of these drinks have to sit on the shelf but the overall it is simply lacking. Lacking in enjoyment, lacking in refreshment, lacking all round.

If you’re a fan of yops or yoghurt drinks then you might get something out of this one - but not me. ‘Smootheze’ by name but certainly not by nature, more of a pricey yoghurt in my books.

Rated 2/5 on Sep 03 2007 by Ken McGuire
Review Tags: smootheze, yoghurt, yoplait
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Overall a decent place for a meal out in Ballina, worth checking out, affordable too. Pub or restaurant available for dining.

A recent weekend away from Kilkenny brought me over the west of Ireland and in search of food on a Saturday evening (6:30pm-ish) I wound up in Crockets (On The Quay) in Ballina.

This pub / restaurant certainly has a lot going for it - masses of space, large screen projector for sports, multiple TVs around the bar, pool room, separate smoking room - but it was the food I was after.

Having ordered a round of drinks, the four of us seated at the table all opted for different dishes - one traditional fish and chips with a mushy pea puree, one 8oz sirloin steak, one starter combo of buffalo mozzarella potato skins and a warm Thai chicken salad while I opted for the “Roast Loin of Pork with a Smoked Bacon and Herb Rosti, Roast Stuffed Vegetables and a Cherish Relish & Herb Jus”, priced at €16.95.

It took around 20 minutes for the food to arrive, likely because of the steak, which had come with a 20-30 minute cook time warning, but in that 20 minutes you get a good feel for the atmosphere. If pub grub is your thing then you’ll be quite happy here. The bar area where we were seated was quiet enough upon entry but within a half hour or so had filled reasonably to the point of being noisy.

The workaround here is that there is a separate restaurant located off the bar (reservations) which serves the same menu so if returning I reckon I’ll be hitting the restaurant part.

When the food arrived, presentation was excellent. The pork served in two good sized portions, sitting on a large squared rosti with the cherry relish in a small dish. The roast stuffed vegetables were half peppers, packed with stuffing.

While it looked fantastic on the outset and tasted great as well I was a little let down by the pork dish. The meat - despite the sauce - was a tad on the dry on side, as was the stuffing - something remedied by the presence of the cherry relish. The smoked bacon rosti showed no sign or smell of bacon at all, no matter how hard I looked and was certainly more oily that I would care for.

A quick round table revealed that the traditional fish - ling - was also on the dry side (receiving a 3/5 overall), the Thai chicken salad was a lot more salad than it was chicken with the words “there isn’t much” heard at one point, while the steak seemed to take the better remarks, the ‘medium’ cooking looking at tasting well, peppered sauce served off on the side and a large helping of fried onions seemed to go down well.

On a value-for-money note, the round of drinks along with the meal (no starters, no desserts), clocked in at just under €100 which I would consider reasonable when dining for four.

Having sampled the Thai chicken salad I will say that it is an extremely tasty dish (the chicken marinated in roast chili and coriander while the salad is served with a coconut and lemongrass dressing) and both starters were coeliac friendly.

On an average I reckon the food could score 4/5, my own a 3/5, with the overall experience taking a 3/5. Next time around I’ll be booking the restaurant and taking the more peaceful atmosphere.

Rated 3/5 on Sep 02 2007 by Ken McGuire
Review Tags: ballina, crockets, restaurant
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Great food, comfortable atmosphere, friendly staff, dynamite steak.

It has taken me a few trips to Lombardis to decide to place a review of it online but I’ll say one thing - the place is great.

From the decor to the staff, the quality of the food to the price you pay, Lombardis has quickly become one of my preferred places to eat in Kilkenny.

Their pizzas are top class, the addition of fresh rosemary on the Mediterraneo (€11.95) a sheer delight - plenty of fresh toppings but all presented rather neatly (thin enough to devour with ease but sturdy enough so it doesn’t fall away in your hand).

The starters are wide and varied, catering for meat lovers and vegetarians alike - the melon and ham quite a nice choice. If pizza isn’t your thing, their pasta dishes are delicious but my praise is reserved for the steak.

You ask for a medium-rare steak, you get a medium-rare steak - tricky enough to find a place that will cook a steak exactly as you ask it.

The staff are attentive, more than willing to cater for your every need, friendly and outgoing to match. If you can’t finish the meal there’s no problem in getting your food packaged in the kitchen to take home with you.

Prices are very reasonable (a recent dinner for five with drinks cost under 90 euro), with their takeaway menu and restaurant menu displaying similar costs. A plain pizza starts at €8.95 with enough in it to feed two - 10oz fillet steaks top out in the early 20s but you won’t be lost for the extra helpings of potatos / wedges / chips / salads / vegetables and sauces.

If you’ve got young kids they’ll take care of it too - out come the colouring books, crayons and a dedicated childrens menu, all with a touch of class. That said, they’ll fit a good crowd in for you as well, my latest excursion there I brought 16 people for dinner with no problems.

If wine or spirits aren’t your thing there is a selection of bottled beers, cider, and the hallowed Heineken is on top (and a nice pint at that).

If you’re looking for a nice Italian restaurant in Kilkenny and haven’t yet heard of Lombardis then check it out.

Rated 4/5 on Aug 29 2007 by Ken McGuire
Review Tags: italian, kilkenny, pizzaria, restaurant
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Fantastic movie and great portrayal of the Battle of Thermopylae. Maybe not an absolute epic of a movie but terrific for its genre.

So - I finally went to see 300 in the cinema. I’ve had a dvd quality copy of it for a little while now but never watched it, something of this magnitude deserves to be watched on the big screen. So, that said, I paid my eight quid into the cinema, followed by a subsequent six-something for a coke and popcorn and sat down to enjoy 300 as directed by Zack Synder.

There’s two things I’ve to take into account before watching the movie - first off, I haven’t read Frank Miller’s graphic novel but would be familiar with his work through Sin City; second off, I watched the most recent episode of Southpark Season 11 which in a sense is a piss take of the movie, so knew what to expect out of some of the scenes (take the dodgy Southpark ones and flip them on their head for the cinematic experience). Novels and cartoons aside, 300 is a cracking film.

It has an extremely Gladiatorish feel to it, ironic really as Gladiator was on RTE when I walked in the door from the cinema, and parts of the movie (particularly those corn shots around the Queen) felt right out of Russel Crowe land but when you add in Frank Miller’s influence in dialog, character development, colour and motion you’ve got a great movie on your hands.

If you’re unfamiliar with it all, 300 is a retelling of the story of the Battle of Thermopylae where 300 of Sparta’s army lead by King Leonidas stood strong in the face of adversity from a marching Persian army thousands strong, holding off the Persians until betrayal lead to their ultimate demise (I can’t be spoiling this for you, if you’re aware of Greek history then you’ve an idea of how it will end anyway). All the while, the Queen works in Sparta to rise the support of the council to order the entire Spartan army out in support of Leonidas before all of Sparta burns and all of Greece falls.

The battle scenes take place over three days and combine elements of Sin City, Max Payne (game), The Matrix and enjoy all the privileges and sins that modern cinematography and CGI can afford them; fantastic slow-mo sequences, gorgeous 360-degree camera turns throughout the battle scenes really bring you close to the skill and awareness of the Spartan army while indulging you in big-screen violence in ways you’ve never seen it.

The colouring overall, an influence from Frank Miller’s original work, adds to the heightened cinematic sense and appeal of the movie. Deep rustic colours and tones, fantastic shading, harsh lighting, really great stuff to watch and soak up on the big screen.

The cast itself are quite strong and portray their respective roles without flaw. Gerard Butler makes for a great Leonidas. I hadn’t seen him on the screen since Phantom Of The Opera (yes, I’m a musicals fan too, but ‘Phantom has a great dark side to it) and I’ll likely give him a miss when he pops up in the adaptation of Cecilia Ahern’s ‘PS I Love You’ next year (just not into that kind of movie) but he’s most convincing as the pure hardy and cheeky bastard that King Leonidas is. Look out for his exchange in dialog with the Persian god Xerces when they first meet, he can be righty cocky when he wants to.

If you’re after some serious onscreen violence and greatly choreographed battle scenes then this film is for you. Almost from start to finish you’ve got fight after fight, arms flying off, legs flying off, heads rolling… the whole nine Spartan yards. I don’t think it will go down in history as an absolute epic of a movie (Gladiator does set a damn high bar) but I know I’ll certainly be buying it on DVD when it is released and won’t mind watching it again, and again, and again…

Rated 4/5 on Apr 19 2007 by Ken McGuire
Review Tags: 300, movie, sparts
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