Exasperated Calculator

Category: Reviews

  • The Exasperated Calculator Game of the Year 2007

    Yes, I’m aware it’s 2009 now. But I still need to cover the games that I played in 2007, before I can move on to the 2008 edition. The rule is that it has to be a game that I played for the first time in 2007 – not paying too much attention to the…

  • Game Review: Mirror’s Edge

    [Mirror’s Edge](http://www.1up.com/do/gameOverview?cId=3160956), by DICE, published by Electronic Arts. I don’t play a lot of games all the way to the finish. The current pile of unfinished games includes *Assasin’s Creed*, *Oblivion*, *Fallout 3*, *Mass Effect*, *Super Mario Galaxy* and *Psychonauts*. So the first thing to note about Mirror’s Edge is that I actually finished the…

  • 2007 Game in Review

    For some reason, I played quite a few computer games in 2007. Aftering buying a [Wii](http://www.nintendo.com.au/) in 2006, I got an [XBox360](http://www.xbox.com/en-au/) and [PS3](http://playstation.com.au/) to go along with it. And a few games as well. Over the next few months I’ll do a series of game reviews (and there’s likely to be a fair gap…

  • TV Review: The Palace

    [The Palace](http://www.itv.com/Drama/contemporary/ThePalace/default.html), a new series from ITV in the UK. The setup is pretty simple: *The West Wing* meets *The Queen*. That’s a difficult premise to live up to – one of the best TV series of all time, and one of the best films of recent years. Inevitably, it doesn’t live up all the…

  • Book Review: Hyperion Cantos

    I just recently re-read an old favourite of mine, the *[Hyperion Cantos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperion_Cantos)* by Dan Simmons. The *Cantos* is a sequence of four books: * [Hyperion](http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FHyperion-Dan-Simmons%2Fdp%2F0553283685%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1202698881%26sr%3D8-2&tag=exaspercalcul-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325) * [The Fall of Hyperion](http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FFall-Hyperion-Dan-Simmons%2Fdp%2F0553288202%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1202698881%26sr%3D8-3&tag=exaspercalcul-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325) * [Endymion](http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FEndymion-Dan-Simmons%2Fdp%2F0553572946%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1202698881%26sr%3D8-4&tag=exaspercalcul-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=932) * [The Rise of Endymion](http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FRise-Endymion-Dan-Simmons%2Fdp%2F0553572989%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1202698881%26sr%3D8-5&tag=exaspercalcul-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325) These were well received novels when they first came out – the first won the Hugo award, and…

  • Movie Review: Cloverfield

    This weekend I went to see the new movie from JJ Abrams, [*Cloverfield*](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt1060277/). I went in with fairly low expectations – I enjoy monster movies, but don’t really enjoy Abrams’ work very much. I’m happy to say that I was completely blown away. This is a superb film, which anyone who can stomach it should…

  • Movie Review: No Country For Old Men

    [*No Country For Old Men*](http://www.us.imdb.com/title/tt0477348/). Directed by Ethan & Joel Coen. Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin. In West Texas, June 1980, a drug deal has just gone very badly wrong. A case containing two million dollars ends up in the hands of Llewlyn Moss (Brolin) when he comes across the aftermath.…

  • Move Review: National Treasure: Book of Secrets

    [*National Treasure: Book of Secrets*](http://www.us.imdb.com/title/tt0465234/). Directed by Jon Turteltaub. Starring Nicolas Cage, Justin Bartha, Diane Kruger, Jon Voight, Helen Mirren and Ed Harris. Treasure hunter Ben Gates (Cage) sets off on a new hunt, this time looking for proof that his ancestor was not involved in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. With only a page…

  • Movie Review: Hitman

    [*Hitman*](http://www.us.imdb.com/title/tt0465494/) Directed by Xavier Gans. Starring Timothy Olyphant, Dougray Scott, Olga Kurylenko, Robert Knepper and Ulrich Thomsen. A mysterious, powerful organisation (known only as “The Organisation”) has created a series of genetically engineered super-assasins. Trained from birth, they are killing machines who complete the contracts the organisation takes from outside. The best agent, known only…