The last two weeks were quite rough at work and hence I didn't have the time to do much else.  Was returning home late everyday, and even last weekend was a busy one, with Saturday being spent in office.  Therefore, I was looking forward to this weekend, and was glad to have it all to myself.

I got to do some work on Stygian_Nebula.  Currently, I'm building the exit portion of the level, and trying to work in some interesting stuff into that.  Even otherwise, as this level is set in space, that allows me a bit more flexibility to use both floors as well as ceilings for detail — I'm opening up portions of both to reveal space, which adds interest to the level.

Today, I also watched three very interesting movies, all worth watching for different reasons.

• The Number 23 — Jim Carrey stars in this Joel Schumacher-directed psychological thriller about a man who becomes obsessed with a book called "The Number 23", which seems to mirror events in his own life.  It's a pretty decent thriller, though the ending is not as shocking or as revelatory as expected.  Anyway, this movie is worth watching for its stylised look (thanks to the work of cinematographer Matthew Libatique).  7/10.
• TMNT — The latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie is set loosely about a year or so after the events in the first live action film.  Leonardo has gone to Central America to train to become a better leader, while life is not what it once was for the other Turtles.  However, when industrialist Max Winters begins buying up stone statues and capturing monsters, trying to fulfill some sort of ancient ritual, it seems like great danger is going to befall the world.  Fortunately, Leo returns, and the TMNT team up to stop the threat.  The film was a total blast — it had terrific action scenes, an engaging story, and well-done characterisations.  Klaus Badelt's music was good and the filmmakers obviously had a lot of respect for the material.  That really shows in the film, as it would appeal to kids as well as older people.  Really well done.  8/10.
• The Fountain — Director Darren Aronofsky's third film is an ambitious work about life and death.  There are three storylines that intersect.  The primary story is about neuroscientist Tommy Creo (Hugh Jackman) searching for a cure for his terminally-ill wife Izzi (Rachel Weisz).  Izzi gives him a book that she is writing, called "The Fountain", about a conquistador Tomas (Jackman) who is sent on a quest by Queen Isabella (Weisz) to find the tree of life, and finally, there are scenes with a bald man (Jackman) inside what seems to be a bubble, floating upwards into space to reach Xibalba, a nebula that gives life.  This is an exquisite, goregeous piece of work, with a music score (Clint Mansell), visuals and photography (Libatique) that are beyond amazing.  The film is not easy to understand and leaves much to the viewer's interpretation, and though I obviously didn't understand everything I was seeing, I really enjoyed the film, and am sure repeated viewings would definitely add a lot.  Great stuff.  9/10.

Also came across this link with the proposed cover artwork for the DVD of The Fountain.  Personally, I think it stinks.  It is totally out of tone with what the film is about.  They should have used the visuals from the original poster instead.

I also downloaded a speedmap pack for Quake III Arena, and played the map by dONKEY in that one.  This map looks like something out of a 1950s B&W film, and is aptly titled "Film Noir".  Hard to believe that he made it in an hour!

I think I'd better go to sleep now.  But first, a cup of tea...