'Holiday Season' Movies Review

The Holiday Season and the cold weather here in New York has brought with it the opportunity to catch up on the latest blockbuster movie releases. Here's my summary of the movies I've seen this past month:

Die Another Day

Seeking a mid-exam period break, I snuck out of the library one evening in early December to catch Bond film #20. African-American of the moment, Halle Berry, dons a saucy orange bikini, seduces Pierce Brosnon with some of the worst one-liners I've heard in years, and together they take down the bad guy - in this case, a North Korean warlord who has been through DNA replacement surgery to look like a pompous white Brit. Ice hotels, chase scenes on hovercraft, a space-based laser cannon, and a transparent Bond car - what would life be like without James Bond?

Rating: 7 out of 10

Star Trek: Nemesis

The latest installment in the Star Trek saga, Nemesis, proved to be a bit of a disappointment. The Next Generation crew get together for one last intergallatic fling. Riker and Troi finally tie the knot. Beverley Crusher and Geordi play token roles. Wesley Crusher's anticipated guest appearance doesn't materialize. And Data and Picard play a few games with a young Picard clone who is not entirely convincing as the villain. Bring back the Borg or Species 8472!!

Rating: 5 out of 10

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Probably even better the The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers is truly spectacular. The CGI work done to create Gollum is most impressive, especially with the different facial expressions associated with his split personality. The battles between Sauraman's 10,000-strong army and the humans is amazing, and the conference of tree-like Ents prior to their attack on Sauron's tower serves as an amusing break from the action-packed main storyline. Peter Jackson and his crew have created another masterpiece. Make sure you see this one on the big screen. Twice.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Gangs of New York

Set in the mid-1800s in downtown Manhattan, Martin Scorcese's Gangs of New York is definitely one I'll be adding to my DVD collection next year. This movie sees the return of Daniel Day-Lewis (In the Name of the Father and My Left Foot), one of the most versatile actors of our generation. He plays the role of Bill Cutting, the notorious leader of the "natives" gang, the 19th century equivalent of the Mob. Boy wonder Leonardo DiCaprio and the lucious Cameron Diaz round out the cast in this action packed and rather bloody blockbuster. Definitely worth seeing again on the big screen (especially since I arrived late, and had to sit in the neck-craning front row).

Rating: 9 out of 10

Catch Me If You Can

Boy wonder Leonardo DiCaprio also stars as teen con man, Frank Abagnale Jr, in the Spielberg-directed Catch Me If You Can, which was released here in New York on Christmas Day. Set in 1960s America, this movie is based on the true story of a young con man who commited millions of dollars in bank fraud, impersonated a pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer for several years, before eventually being caught by the FBI. It is part comedy, part drama, part caper, with an amusing Pink Panther-like score from John Williams. Tom Hanks is understated as lead FBI agent Carl Hanratty, and Christopher Walken is brilliant in the supporting role of Frank Abagnale Snr, the father who's life gradually falls apart over the course of the movie.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Also on the "to see" list before I round out my time here in the United States:

- 25th Hour starring Edward Norton and directed by Spike Lee

- Adaptation starring Nicholas Cage, directed by Spike Jonze, with a screenplay by Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman (Being John Malkovich)

- Road to Perdition starring Tom Hanks, Paul Newman and Jude Law, and directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty)

White Christmas

Forget about dreaming of a white Christmas - it's happened for real in New York today. After a relatively warm week with temperatures in the 30s and 40s (about zero to 10 degrees C), the temperature dropped below freezing about lunchtime on Christmas Day, and the rain turned to snow. The city's now covered in about 3 inches of snow, cars are sliding all over the roads, and the icy wind stings the face when we walk on the streets. It's been fascinating just to stare out the window, watching the street scene change as the snow piles up. Hopefully the storm will cease over night; clears skies tomorrow will make for some awesome photos.

All done

Big sense of relief....

My mother has actually been in town since last Friday, and I've been sending her out on her own while I finish off my term papers and exams. Now I'll be able to join her, visit a few museums, catch the latest Star Trek and LOTR movies, drink a bit, party a bit more, and enjoy the festive season in New York. Woo hoo!!

Highlights of Montreal

I was reminded recently that I haven't been posting nearly as many photos as I'd originally promised. Rest assured, I've been taking a few, and I'll get around to posting lots of them over the next few weeks.

In the meantime, here's a taste of my recent visit to Montreal.

Australian Graduate

Yet another totally shocking site devoted to post-graduate education in Austraila: australiangraduate.com

Supposedly set up to attract international students to our shores, this site is so unprofessional, I feel embarrassed to even link to it. I've sent them a constructive email with a series of suggestions, but I doubt I'll hear back from them.

Whoa!

The casebook fee for my Introduction to Venturing course at Columbia this term was US$203.

5 subjects down, 1 to go

Nearly there.

3 subjects down, 3 to go

It's been a looooong semester.

White-collar sweatshops batter young workers

[USA Today 25.11.2002]

"Nancy Collins remembers when she hit rock bottom. She was in Australia for her investment-banking job at JP Morgan, trying to seal deals on two projects at once."

She thought she could handle the stress. After all, co-workers had dubbed her previous boss the "Prince of Darkness" for making people work until 3 a.m., and she knew she was good at what she did. But then, one night after weeks of 18-hour days and constant travel, she staggered home at 7 a.m. Not to sleep. To shower. As she stood in the water, she started crying. At age 25, she was having a midlife crisis. "I started thinking, there's got to be more to life than this," she says."

As I venture back into the working world next year, I'm sure one of the questions I'll be asking myself is "Is it worth all the effort?"

1 subject down (Brands), 5 to go

Woo hoo!! Guess who's going to see Moby in Melbourne next March?

Concert description at inthemix.

Proposed subjects for final term at MBS:

I've submitted my preferences for subjects for Term 4 back home at MBS. Similar to this term at Columbia, I'm going to do a mix of subjects. I'll post descriptions later, but here are my top five preferences:

1. Marketing Strategy - the capstone subject in the marketing program at MBS; includes the simulation game MARKSTRAT
   
2. Risk Management - taught by a visiting professor (John Bilson) - this subject will be very handy if I end up in banking post-MBA
   
3. Managing New Ventures - an opportunity to put my Introduction to Venturing knowledge into practice; this subject is essentially a consulting project for an existing start-up
   
4. Corporate Strategy - the name says it all; handy subject for CEOs and management consultants
   
5. Negotiations - a mostly practical subject; should come in handy when negotiating that post-MBA salary package ;-)
   

If I don't get into all of these subjects, there are at least three other subjects available at MBS next term that I'd be very keen on doing. Should be an exciting semester!

The Current State of Recruitment at New York Investment Banks

I was having a chat with an M&A banker from one of the most prestiguous investment banks last week. Apparently the recruitment scene is so bad right now that people who used to be Analysts and have spent two years at business school are applying to be Analysts again, because the few Associate positions that are opening up this year have pretty much been allocated to people who did really well on their summer internships.

The whole recruitment scene here at Columbia is pretty surreal. I am surrounded by some truly brilliant people, and very few of them have managed to secure employment yet.

It's going to be just as challenging when I return to Melbourne in January to start the whole recruitment process myself. Aaargh - I shouldn't be thinking about this now. Must get my Columbia term papers and exams out of the way first.

Fast Thinker, but...

"Unfortunately, we have been unable to invite you to participate in the final stage of our recruitment process based on our current hiring needs."