Movie Review: Gravity (3D)

This is an amazing movie and an absolutely vivid experience in 3D. I have no idea how the movie makers so convincingly created the impression of the actors being in outer space floating above the Earth (the movie was filmed at Shepparton Studios in England). The special effects are incredible, including several space walks, debris hurtling around the Earth, the space shuttle Endeavour, the International Space Station, a Chinese space station, a Soyuz capsule and its Chinese equivalent.

It is even more remarkable for the whole story being carried by only two actors (George Clooney and Sandra Bullock) and for a time the disembodied voice of Mission Control (Ed Harris - a neat tribute to his previous roles). Clooney plays a convincing role as jocular seasoned astronaut Matt Kowalski acting as mentor to nervous newbie Dr Ryan Stone.

This is a disaster movie, but a very personalised one. There is the customary large-scale destruction, with debris resulting from the Russians accidentally shooting their own satellite creating havoc and tearing at high speed through the space shuttle, the ISSS and the Chinese station and many other satellites, blacking out communication with Mission Control.

In the opening scene, Kowlaski, Stone and one other astronaut are outside the space shuttle conducting some repairs to the Hubble Space Telescope. Initially it seems that the debris will miss them, but due to a chain reaction it is suddenly heading their way. The three astronauts do not have time to get back inside the shuttle and end up floating in space. Stone is suitably panicked by the situation and starts hyperventilating and uttering lots of disconsolate grunts. Kowalski has a jet pack and manages to rescue her and clip them together, but their other colleagues are not so lucky. Ever calm, he hatches a plan to travel across a large expanse of space to the ISSS, from whence they will take a Soyuz capsule back to Earth. During their journey he manages to engage with Stone on a personal level and finds out that she tragically lost her only child, a daughter, at the age of four. As they approach the ISSS, it is clear that the station is deserted, with one Soyuz gone and the other is damaged, with the parachute deployed. Kowalski determines that it is still serviceable enough to hitch a ride across to the Chinese space station Tiangong, from whence they can take the Soyuz-equivalent capsule back to Earth.

By the time they near the ISSS, all of Stone's oxygen is gone apart from the air in her suit. By a combination of circumstances, they overshoot the station and are about to drift off into space. Miraculously Stone's foot is caught by the strands of the parachute. However, the pull of Kowalski's weight being tethered to her causes the grip to loosen. Kowalski can see that her only chance of survival lies with him unclipping their connection, and with a remark about breaking the spacewalking record, he lets go. Stone is distraught and insists that she will come and get him.

Drowsy from the lack of oxygen, Stone barely manages to get inside the ISSS. She recompresses the airlock, takes off her spacesuit and floats blissfully in a foetal position for what seems like an eternity. A journey through the station to Soyuz results in further disaster as a loose panel sparks when slammed shut but she does not realise this as she floats past. She tries to raise Kowalski and applies the same positive psychology techniques that he earlier used on her. Before too long the fire has taken hold and spread, and Stone once again barely manages to get into Soyuz and as a last-minute thought takes the fire extinguisher with her. At the time it seemed to be a bit of a strange thing to do, as surely there would be one inside the capsule, but like Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, this device has a future role to play for good or for ill.

Stone gets ready to propel the capsule off towards the Chinese station but the parachute anchors are holding tight. She sets off on another spacewalk to unscrew them just as the debris arrives on its second orbit, effectively destroying the ISSS as she struggles to set the restraining wires free. Having succeeded, she gets away from the mayhem only to discover that she is drifting in space with no fuel left.

Desperately trying to make communication with anyone, she issues a 'Mayday'. To her surprise, she picks up an earthbound signal which is coupled with interference. It is a language she does not understand (an Inuit from Greenland) and there is a dog and a baby in the background. Stone talks about realising that today is the day she is going to die, and turns down the lights and turns off the oxygen pressurisation dial in the capsule and lies back in her seat.

Suddenly the hatch opens and in climbs Kowlaski. In good humour, he says it is "quite a story" as to how he managed to be there. He immediately turns on the lights and the oxygen and pulls out a bottle of vodka from under the dashboard, having previously indicated that he knows where the Russians hide it, and takes a swig after offering it to Stone, who declines. Stone is agitated, as she explains that she is out of options as the fuel tanks are empty. Kowalski jovially retorts that there are always options, and the landing thrusters can still be used to propel them towards the Chinese station Tiangong from whence they can travel home as the Chinese capsule is exactly the same as Soyuz. Stone has been concerned about flying the capsule as she always crashed it in the simulator.

Equally suddenly, Kowalski is gone and Stone sits up with a jolt. She thanks Kowlaski for the insight and decides to go home. She asks him to remember her to her daughter. With the lights and oxygen restored, Stone determines how to separate the landing module from the other components of Soyuz and engage the thrusters. This successfully done, she heads off towards the Chinese station. As she nears the station, she has another moment of insight, dons her spacesuit and exits with the fire extinguisher. In scenes reminiscent of the Wild West, she tumbles and turns through space using the extinguisher as her jet pack. Once again she nearly overshoots, but manages to grab onto a railing at the last possible moment.

Once inside she heads for the Soyuz equivalent just as the storm of debris arrives again. This time all the lettering is in Chinese so there is an excruciating game of "eenie meenie miney moe" as Stone works how to disengage the capsule and head home. She is accompanied by a fiery band of debris from the now-destroyed space station heading alongside towards Earth.

Somewhat miraculously, the capsule lands in a lake not far from shore. When Stone opens the door, the capsule starts to flood and sink to the bottom. She eventually manages to swim out, but the weight of her spacesuit prevents her from rising to the surface. She discards it and swims upward towards the light and surfaces. In an echo of her foetal position on the ISSS, she floats blissfully on the surface and drifts towards the shore. Stone drags herself out of the water and grabs a handful of the red earth, savouring the feeling of being back on terra firma. Like a newborn foal, she struggles to rise to her feet, the effects of having been weightless for an extended period evident, and then triumphally succeeds. The film ends with the camera behind Stone, who is facing the wilderness in the knowledge that a rescue mission is on the way.

Sandra Bullock's extraordinary performance carries this film. It is unusual for a film to feature only two actors and even more unusual for the weight of the film to fall on only one actor. Apart from Clooney's brief cameo as a hallucination and the foreign language triumvirate of man, dog and child, Bullock's character is entirely alone in space.

At the start of the film, we are reminded that space is a completely inhospitable environment, where not only can no-one hear you scream, but unaided survival is impossible.

This is a classic story of salvation and survival against the odds. In the first act we discover the unsure and tortured rookie who finds a kindly mentor only to lose him again in tragic circumstances. He sacrifices himself and implores her to live. In the second act she finds her courage as a sole survivor in a truly remarkable way, but then seems out of options and decides to die in a controlled and dignified way ("pray for me"). At the start of the third act, after a delirious deus ex machina moment, she realises that she wants to live and finds the courage and the means to achieve this. It is a story worthy of any saga or heroic poem.

For a single actor to achieve in a convincing way such a depth of characterisation and range of emotion in terrifying circumstances where the odds are never good is nothing short of remarkable. Both terror and tension are palpable for much of the film, and it is all plausable enough for the willing suspension of disbelief. I did find Bullock's fearful grunts and vocalisations a bit wearing, but perhaps it was felt necessary to have some sound to interject into the silence. At other times the music score is quite powerful.

I would not be surprised if this film is the recipient of a number of Academy Award nominations. Does Bullock deserve an Oscar - yes, absolutely!

(P.S. A nice touch from the Australian perspective that astronaut Andrew (“Andy”) Thomas was an advisor to the project.)

Verdict: Highly recommended!

Getting a quote from an arborist – Simpson’s Tree Service, Melbourne

The rather large tree overhanging the back of several body corporate units needs a trim in order to preserve neighbourhood equanimity so it was time to get some quotes from qualified arborists. Three is always a good number, and the final quote was obtained from Simpson’s Tree Service as it had contributed to a feature article in the local newspaper not long ago and came off sounding as if it is an experienced and reputable company.

The first two gentlemen who came to quote (from other companies) had been personable and engaged in social niceties such as introducing themselves and shaking hands. In contrast, the representative from Simpson’s Tree Service (whom I will call "Mr STS") was taciturn and world-weary and did not offer his hand. However, he was thorough in assessing the tree and cited his lengthy experience and provided a well-considered quotation. I bade him farewell with a non-committal remark about being in touch later and some time went by without further contact.

Late last week I happened to be working at home and had the doorbell turned off as is customary unless someone is expected. There was a knock on the front window and as I approached the front door there was a strong stench of cigarette smoke. I opened the door and went outside and was surprised to see several men in work clothes standing around. The apparent leader made a scarcastic remark about the bees flying in and out of a gap in the masonry between units: "just admiring your bees' nest" and then said "can we get this car out of the way", referring to my car which was parked in the carport. I appeared puzzled and this man (wearing sunglasses and ear muffs) said "we're here to do the tree". I then realised that this was Mr STS. I indicated that I had not made a booking and I did not believe that any other owners had done so either. He seemed unconvinced and appeared annoyed, so I indicated that I would make a telephone call to check this. He also remarked "aren't we getting the job?", to which I indicated that it was my belief that a decision had not yet been made. I made the 'phone call and confirmed that no booking had been made and that confirmation of the chosen arborist was subject to Body Corporate ratification. I conveyed this information to Mr STS, who once again seemed unconvinced and attempted to persuade me to go ahead on the spot. I politely declined and reiterated that I was sorry, but no booking had been made. Mr STS appeared aggrieved but retreated. At no time did Mr STS remove his sunglasses whilst talking to me. As I turned to return inside I noticed that the offending cigarette butt had been thrown onto the front lawn just next to my car.

As there is no rear exit, the tree branches would have to be brought through one of the units and considerable preparation would be involved in rearranging furniture to provide clear access so it was simply not practicable to accede to his request to allow them to commence work "on the spot".

However, as a result of this episode, they will not be getting the job. I was not impressed with the attitude and behaviour of Mr STS and his crew, which I felt was unprofessional. I felt that I was not treated with respect and common niceties were dispensed with. I came away feeling that this had been an unsavoury experience and had the perception of having being stood-over by an unpleasant man in sunglasses who seemed unwilling to acknowledge that the problem had originated at their end.

WARNING - Do not buy from Megabuy.com.au!

This is a bit of a belated review, but I had such a bad experience with megabuy.com.au I would like to warn others about this. In my experience this company engages in bait advertising and snowballing tactics and then fails to provide any customer service and delays providing a refund, using your money for working capital. This is the worst online ordering scam that I have encountered.

On Wednesday 8 May I received an email from Megabuy advertising the latest Apple iPod Touch 5th Generation 64Gb in yellow for $299.00 ($323.03 incuding courier and credit card charges). Since my iPod had been stolen at New Year and I had limited insurance money to replace it, this was the best price I had seen so I ordered one late in the evening. The next day I received another email advertising the same model in pink for the same price, so I rang up to change my order. I was assured that stock was available and that one would be put aside for me.

My credit card was debited on 8 May and I expected to receive my new iPod within a couple of days as per the delivery advice. I waited and waited and nothing arrived. A few days later I received an email saying that, as a new customer, I had to verify my identity in order to avoid fraud. I had to provide an alternative email address and/or a work telephone number and someone who could vouch for me being who I said I was. This appeared to be a scam to obtain personal information, and as the credit card payment had already been processed, it was a suspicious and inexplicable breach of privacy for a minor purchase.

After complaining about this and referring Megabuy to my public web presences that verified my identity, I received another email advising me that stock had run out and that my order could not be satisfied.

I complained about this and Megabuy claimed that, despite a unit having been put aside for me, they had "completely run out of stock" and offered me either a refund or a 32Gb model for the same price (half the capacity of the one that I ordered). Despite threats to report them to Fair Trading and the ACCC (which unfortunately I have not had time to do), there was no response to my complaints and insistence that the item be supplied as ordered and paid for, and I simply received an email on 31 May saying that my order status had been changed to "refund" and a refund would be provided within 24-48 hours. A refund was not received until 6 June 2013. Megabuy had my money for nearly a month.

In summary, Megabuy:

• engaged in bait advertising;
• confirmed that stock was available and set aside for me but later failed to honour this;
• debited my credit card at the time of placing the order (rather than after confirming stock availability);
• 'snowballed' on delivery through making a very suspicious demand for further personal employment and contact details;
• subsequently claimed that all stock had run out;
• offered an item of lesser value and capacity for the same price;
• did not respond to my consumer complaints and threats to report them to consumer affairs authorities; and
• took a month to refund my money utilising it for working capital in the meanwhile.

As a result, I strongly recommend against dealing with them no matter how good their prices sound - if it is too good to be true, it probably is, and no-one should have to go through this sort of experience if you are dealing with a reputable company.

Why are we waiting? - mixed experiences with Virgin Australia

I have recently made two day trips to Sydney to take workshops at some Advanced Life Support courses. Both times I flew with Virgin Australia and then took the airport train and a suburban train to within walking distance of my destination.

The first round trip was on a Friday in late October, and turned out to be a bit of a horror story from a flight perspective. I left home at 06:50 and then finally returned home at 22:30 for a very late dinner.

I drove myself to the airport and arrived in plenty of time as I did not have any luggage other than my carry-on backpack. I checked the departures screen on arrival, and was dismayed to see that my 08:30 flight had been cancelled. My blood pressure was already rising, as I had to be at my destination in Sydney no later than 12:30 to set up for the afternoon workshops. I wasn't sure what to do, as the check-in area was crammed with people and I knew from experience that it would take about 45 minutes to get to the front. I rang my colleague in Sydney and he suggested going to the barely populated Priority Check-In desk. I did this, only to be told off as I am a mere Velocity Red member as opposed to a Gold or Platinum member or Business Class flyer who would actually qualify to use this desk. However, fortunately they helped me anyway.

First of all I was told that I had been re-booked on a flight to Cairns at 09:00. Cairns???? It took some time to sort this out as of course I was going to Sydney. I was eventually re-booked on an 09:00 flight to Sydney, but there was further consternation and discussion as the fare class was more expensive than my original fare. Close to 30 minutes later I finally walked away with a new boarding pass in hand. At that stage I noticed that there was a Service Desk nearby, but its existence had been completely obscured by the crowd of people queued up around it and there were no overhead signs to assist in locating it. I went through Security and headed for the Gate Lounge.

Alas my new flight was not running on time either, and in the end was delayed by a further 55 minutes. By this stage it was a long time since I had eaten or drunk anything substantial and I started feeling both mildly hypoglycaemic and caffeine-deprived. By the time the complimentary coffee arrived on the aircraft I had quite a headache. However, I was pleasantly surprised to be given some yoghurt and a muffin as this was included with my new and improved fare class. I scoffed the yoghurt and saved the muffin for later, as I had a feeling that I would be needing it during the afternoon (which proved to be the case).

When I arrived at Sydney Airport the Visitor Help Desk was not manned, and the person I waited to speak to at the city bus counter had not heard of the private hospital that I had to travel to, but helpfully looked it up on his iPhone and made a suggestion as to the nearest train station. I went down to buy an Airport Train ticket, and the service person wasn't sure where I had to get off either, but sold me a ticket to what he thought would be the nearest station. I had to change at Central, and as I still wasn't clear where I was going, I asked the lady in the control booth. Miraculously she was familiar with the hospital and the area and was able to suggest both the nearest train station and how to walk to the hospital from there.

Sydney has marvellous double-decker suburban trains, and it was a bit of a thrill to travel across the Sydney Harbour Bridge by train. Eventually I arrived at St Leonards, but the girl in the ticket office had no idea where the Mercy Hospital was, and time was marching on, so I went out the front and took a taxi for the final leg. The hospital was more or less straight down the road, but it was certainly quicker by taxi. I arrived at 12:25, but there was no time for lunch and half a sandwich later it was on with set-up. The workshops were fairly full-on and then we had to pack up all the equipment afterwards. My colleague drove me back to the airport, arriving at 17:20.

This was a day when lightning did indeed strike twice. The flight home was delayed and the gate was also changed without telling anyone until I noticed that my flight had disappeared from the lounge display screen and made an enquiry. I was missing my afternoon coffee and was getting increasingly hungry and headachey, so after consuming the banana muffin I decided to self-medicate with a large cappuccino from the airport McDonalds, this being the best value. After an extremely long wait, the coffee was finally mine. It was actually very nice. It was a dark but smooth roast with depth of flavour. My strength renewed, I approached the gate lounge staff to ask whether it might be possible to change to an earlier flight, but unfortunately it was completely full, so I went back to waiting.

I think that my frustration was made worse as my work colleague had been telling me how nice it was to spend time in the Qantas and Virgin lounges whilst waiting for a flight. These provide a quiet and comfortable environment with free internet access, food and drink. As he travels frequently there is no problem with maintaining enough "status points" to get into the lounges. However, whilst I have a massive number of Velocity points I have nowhere near enough "status points" to gain access to the lounge.

On the fight back complimentary tea, coffee and alcohol were offered, but no food. I felt this was very inappropriate as the flight had been badly delayed and most people would be ravenous and it is never a good idea to drink alcohol on an empty stomach.

My flight departed 65 minutes late and I eventually landed in Melbourne at 21:30. After catching the bus back to the Long Term Car Park I drove home to enjoy my now very soggy fish and ships at about 11pm.

In total I spent 5 hours and 50 minutes waiting around at the airports waiting for delayed flights. It really was a physically draining ordeal on top of all the other travelling time. At the end of it I was actually hesitant at the thought of ever flying Virgin again.

However, as I am trying to accumulate enough Velocity points to get a "reward" flight to travel to an overseas conference next year, I bravely agreed to take another Virgin return trip the following time that I had to go to Sydney for work.

Fortunately the second time went more smoothly. The morning flight ran to time, but as it was a Sunday there were multiple delays due to the infrequency of trains. I took the Airport Train to Central and then travelled to Westmead and walked to the Private Hospital. Amazingly the major road I had to turn down did not have a signpost so for some distance I was not sure that I was actually on the right road! This time I arrived at 12:15 and had a little time to eat before we had to set up for the workshops. The workshops went well, and my colleague dropped me back at Westmead station shortly after 16:30. I had to wait for a train to Central and then wait at Central for the Airport Train. I actually found the stop to get off at a little confusing, as I recalled Mascot being the name of the airport "in the olden days". Wrong! I alighted in confusion at Mascot station and it turned out that this is now a suburban station and the domestic airport was one stop further along. After another fifteen minutes' wait I finally arrived at the airport.

According to the Departures board my 19:00 flight was now scheduled for 19:40. Dismayed I approached the check-in desk shortly before 18:00 and asked if it was possible to take an earlier flight. The lady at the desk very kindly helped me and transferred me to the 18:30 flight. I was in a hurry to get to the gate lounge, but there were delays at the security screening and just as I started to run for the gate I was grabbed by the man with the explosives screening wand and forced to submit to my bag and my shoes being checked, and during this process I was further distressed that my computer was knocked off the small shelf that my bag was on and fell onto the floor. Fortunately it does not appear to be damaged.

Food-wise this time I had planned ahead and had brought a thermos of coffee and a muesli bar. I ate this together with the last few mouthfuls of cold coffee whilst I was waiting at Mascot.

The return flight was mercifully running more or less on time and I arrived home for another late dinner just after 21:00.

Virgin did much better the second time around but both times it was a very long and tiring day. It would have no doubt been a lot easier and more pleasant if it was possible to pop into the Lounge whilst waiting, and I can't imagine doing a regular commute of this nature on any other basis.

Vale Fatso the Warfarin-resistant mouse

Over the past few months it was not unusual whilst sitting at the kitchen table and working to catch a glimpse out of the corner of your eye of a daredevil dark brown shape darting across the floor. This 'Scarlet Pimpernel' of the mouse world could be seen at any hour of the day or night and seemed to have a voracious appetite for Ratsac pellets (which contain a Warfarin equivalent). This little mouse appeared to be plump and prosperous, with a sleek and shiny chestnut coat. As a result he was dubbed 'Fatso' and almost was around for so long that he almost became a household pet!

Some days after a small and considerably skinnier grey mouse succumbed to the pellets, I came downstairs one morning with a migraine and noticed a dark shape stationary on the floor near the pantry. Once fortified by analgesia I returned to the spot to investigate. There sat an unwell-looking plump brown mouse. Alas Fatso had consumed one pellet too many.

I pondered what to do. It was a lovely warm and sunny day, and in the end I decided the most humane thing to do was to scoop Fatso up in a small container and take him outside to enjoy the sunshine before he too finally succumbed. You could tell that the spirit was willing but the flesh was weak and he was unable to put up much of a struggle. I deposited him on top of the rich mulch at the base of a huge Desert Ash tree and left him in peace.

His chestnut coat glistened and looked positively beautiful in the sunlight and his perfectly formed little feet were gorgeous. Even though he qualifies as vermin, it was still a sad moment as I knew that he was not long for this world. I also paused to think how ironic it is that mice and rats have done so much to help humans through medical research whilst simultaneously causing so much havoc and disease, the most famous case of which being the transmission (by rats) of Yersinia pestis ("the Black Plague").

Fatso was certainly a survivor, and perhaps even a genetic mutant - he also had a curiously bent tail. However, it is possible that he acquired this via the thrillseeker run through the refrigerator fan, which was a cause of mortality for at least one of his colleagues.

Vale Fatso - a memorable character!