More than meets the eye. It was pure eye candy tonight at the theater; the effects and action were non-stop and was a real exciting movie to watch. The sound effects we’re perfect but the dialog was lacking. If it weren’t for the constant half sentence punch lines that made me laugh in the beginning and later made me annoyed it would have been one of my favorite action movies. Now it’s just a fun popcorn movie just in time for the 4th of July summer time weather that forces people to pay $10 for a movie because of the free air conditioning.
I’m a fan of Bay’s action but after thinking about his past movies I really don’t think he can make a meaningful relation happen on screen. The main character was way more in love with BumbleBee than he was with the hat chick in the movie. And I never took film school but I know relationship conflicts need to happen to build relationships within a movie but if it happens over a 3 minute span that includes horrible dialog take that shi# out of the movie, it’s unnecessary.Â
Other than the dialog (that I anticipated to be worse) the movie was great. I found I don’t like rating movies on a number scale anymore, so I’ll say it’s worth the full box office price because of the effects and large sound.
Another copy and past from Jason’s original post on scary stats.
I agree that BOOKS are regarded too high, almost as if they are the great tool of knowledge. In the past, books were the mainstay for increasing knowledge, fair perceptions of life and the world. Now it’s different and with many new media streams people can be very knowledgeable, still increase imagination and find avenues of philosophy without even touching a paper book.
Similar to what Nathan said, smart people have convinced the majority that books are for smart people and if you want to be smart you do what smart people do, which is read books. I really don’t see smart people reading because they’ve decided it’s the smart thing to do, I see them reading books because most are introverts and that’s a way of expression. Now I am generalizing a lot and I’m assuming that smart people are smart not because they’ve read a few books but rather they’re smart from the begining. Because it can’t mean that if I read Chomsky (never had) my scope logic is comparable to a genius.
Here’s where I flip-flop a lot.
As I said there are a lot of media streams rather then just books and IMHO these new inlets are ruining us. Since most aren’t calming and thought provoking we turn into fast passed media whores. TV, film, mags, music and the web I read only makes me only knowledgeable in the present rather then the future or the past; decreasing thought and imagination.
Unless we can consciously be aware of the numbing effects of this new media and are retroactively increasing thought through these forms we’ve essentially created a worse replacement to the books that brought us here in the first place.
So, I’m for books but personally I just can’t bring myself to complete a book maybe it’s because of childhood and just in case that’s why I’m going to take an effort in reading to Avery (or making sure Sara does) and limiting mind-numbing media from her.
My other problem; I’ve become a whore to tech, since it’s my hobby I want to broaden myself by reading a lot on the internet but the scary thing, I don’t see an end in sight. With no point of reflection, contemplation and thought in order to create something of my own it’s useless. And IMHO that’s true knowledge, when you’ve created or solved something for others that’s beneficial to all.
I’ve closed the comments so you’d go here instead.
An animated GIF showing a stabilized version of the infamous Bigfoot film. … Read More »
February 02
I really can’t write as much as I would like because I don’t want to shame this great movie with my conjecture. But let’s start of with Wonderful. Finally a movie worth paying the $10 for to ditch the wife and kid on a Friday night for, wow.
3 hours; it didn’t feel like 3 hours except at some early points in the film when I just anticipated some Kong crushing power. But I regress to say that my favorite movies tell stories through characters and the beginning had all of that for me. And I thank PJ for taking that time because I’m sure the studio wanted it to be cut and trimmed but he didn’t, he brought almost a (for the lack of a better term) friendship, between you and the character.
IT is vital to know the characters in and out before the tense situations that occur later. Because without that understanding you would not come close to feel what Ann felt emotionally when she stared at Carl Denham’s face right before the first capture attempt; a POWERFUL cinematic moment.
(more…)
I’m not really there but I intend to post what I find as fast as I can here.
- AND ONE MORE THING…
You’ll be able to buy TV shows from the iTunes Music Store – Desperate Housewives, Lost and more shows from ABC and Disney. Five shows will be available to watch on iPod or computer: Lost, Desperate Housewives, Nightstalker, The Suite Life and some other Disney thang. $1.99 an episode.- iTunes iTunes has an 84% market share in the US. Five weeks after the launch of iTunes 5, here’s iTunes 6. Surely video downloads are the order of the day?
- here are the big changes: firstly, ‘gifting’ – you can buy music for other people, who get an email telling them to download. Next: customer reviews – Amazon-style peer reviews of music.
iTunes iTunes has an 84% market share in the US. Five weeks after the launch of iTunes 5, here’s iTunes 6. Surely video downloads are the order of the day? Hell yes.
- here are the big changes: firstly, ‘gifting’ – you can buy music for other people, who get an email telling them to download. Next: customer reviews – Amazon-style peer reviews of music. Third: Just For You (beta) – a recommendation service, again similar to what Amazon offers.
- and finally… music videos. Currently there are 2000 available to buy. But they’re gonna cost $1.99. And Pixar are offering 6 short films, also for $1.99. The price seems a bit high, and didn’t get a cheer from the audience. The videos take the space of six songs (so about 20MB) and have the same rights management as music tracks.
- – iPod. Apple has shipped over a million Nanos in less than five weeks. Now, it’s the NEW white iPod – and yes it does video! The format is similar to the old pod – 2.5in TFT display with 320×240 pixels with realtime decoding of MPEG 4 and H.264. It’s only 260,000 colours but it does have video output to connect to TV.
- - The video iPod is available in 30 and 60 GB capacities – and both are thinner than the current 20GB Pod. 30GB will be $299, 60GB will be $399. UK prices will be confirmed later. And did we mention it was available in black? Oh yes, and it comes with a case, so don’t worry about scratches!
- - Front Row – which comes with all new iMacs – gives people a new way to enjoy your music, video and pictures from the sofa – with an iPod style remote control. It still uses the iMac’s screen, but text is big and control is simple, so you don’t have to be hunched up in front of the screen. He’s comparing the simple, small remote for Front Row with the bloated remotes from Microsoft Media Center – Apple’s 6 buttons compared to Media Center’s 40-plus.
- - Photobooth uses the iMac’s screen as a flash and it’s got cool little animation where the photo pops out. It’s got wacky photoshop-style effects built in. Fun, but hardly groundbreaking. ‘The funnest app we’ve ever written.’
Engadget
Act I: The iMac G5. We sold over a million of them in its first year. What better place to put the computer than right behind the display? Today we’re introducing and all new iMac. [It looks extremely similar] Three great new features.
(1) It’s even thinner. The 20-inch is now thinner than the 17 used to be.
(2) iSight videocam. The new mac has an iSight built in. The camera has even better specs. Right out of the box videoconferencing without any extra stuff. We wrote a new app called PhotoBooth. [Demo: It has a built in flash - the entire display flashes. There are special effects including “Warhol� and effects that morph your face goofily.]
(3) Front Row. It s a new way to experience the media on your computer. It’s an incredible way to enjoy your music, your videos, and your photos … from your sofa. We’ve done a remote control, Apple style. It’s got six buttons. [Demo: He presses remote and a menu for Music / Photo / DVD / Video zooms in. There's a giant iPod-style interface for music. “I can enjoy my music from across the room and see the artwork.â€? Photos navigates through everything in iPhoto with slide show effects for albums. “Now, a lot of people watch DVDs in their iMac, and it would be nice to control them from across the room. Now you can.â€? [Loads DVD of The Incredibles with menu that blurs out the typically unusuable menu on the DVD with an iPod-style menu. Movie posters and trailers in HD format streamed from apple.com] This remote control, I just wanted to point something that to me captures what Apple is all about. [Shot of huge button-congested remotes next to the tiny 6-button Apple remote]
Specs: Bluetooth, Superdrive, Mighty Mouse standard. 17-inch $1299. 20-inch $1699. Available today.
New iPod announced! The new iPod, as speculated, features video capabilities and the wider display, but it’s still a music-first device.
The device will feature a 2.5-inch display, QVGA resolution (320 x 240), and will MPEG-4 h.264 (natch), and presumably Quicktime.
The new iPod will be 30% thinner than the current 20GB iPod (making it 0.44-inches thickâ€â€say wha?), and will feature a 60GB version (which should be thinner than the current 0.63-inch thick 20GB iPod), and editions of both in black.
The 20GB should go for $299, and the 60GB for $399. They’ll be shipping next week.
What’s the device named, you ask? The iPod. That’s it, just The iPod. Well spare you the Prince jokes. The iPod will have TV out.
Stevie has iTunes 6.0 up thereâ€â€only about a month after introducing iTunes 5.0.
iTunes 6.0 will also feature video and the iTunes Music Store will feature Fairplay DRMed video downloads (big surprise, right?).
At launch over 2,000 music videos will be made available at a cost of $1.99 apiece. You can download iTunes 6.0 starting today.
Oh, and one more thing…
It’s not only music videos you can buy. No, Apple’s set up to allow you to purchase TV shows for $1.99 apiece. Get Desperate Housewives or four other ABC shows premiering on iTunes at two bucks an ep. Videos are native QVGA resolution.
Marc gives me the craziest emails sometimes. I normally wouldn’t spread this around but you have to see this.
READ THE STORY FIRST, THEN WATCH THE VIDEO….
Strange but interesting. This is a car advertisement from Great Britain.
When they finished filming the ad, the film editor noticed something moving along the side of the car, like a ghostly white mist. The ad was never put on TV because of the unexplained ghostly phenomenon. Watch the front end of the car as it clears the trees in the middle of the screen and you’ll see the white mist crossing in front of the car then following it along the road. If you listen close, you will also notice a strange sound. Spooky!
Is it a ghost, or is it simply mist? You decide.
I have been using podcasting for about a week now and I love it.
There are actually some great casts out there right now that aren’t just a couple bloggers talking about there day in audio instead of just posting there nonsense on their blog.
Here is a list of the blogs that I have been listening to lately:
I have a lot more but I haven’t had time to listen to more then one or two of the episodes to really recommend them or say that I have fully subscribed to the casts.
Any recommendations?
Watching Batman (‘89) just because I wanted to refresh my memory and I am half way through it and I figured out I’m not insane. Joker did kill Bruce Wayne’s parents in this adaptation. The deciding factor is the quote by Joker, “Ever dance with the devil by the pail pale moon light?”, just before he shoots Bruce Wayne at [what's her name]’s house. Then Bruce has a flash back and remembers the same quote by a younger Jack/Joker then after revealing his face to the boy Bruce; the grin. As I always remembered (now who’s crazy? Jared Nathan). I know the comic books are different but for few/some who only watched the movies and maybe a little bit of comic book history it’s hard to forget the discrepancies that lies in Batman Begins.
Also at the end of Batman Begins (spoiler?) when Batman was handed a joker card and was told to go after this guy, with a quote of he has a “double homicide”, my speculation is, the double was the Waynes and with the confirmation of the Next BB headlining Joker I strongly think the new movie plot will be keep with the old and still have Joker as the murderer of Bruce’s parents. Not really that big of a deal to me either way but just an observation.
I just hope the next BMB will be great enough, like the first, to not really care what I remember in the last mess/series of films.
I also recommend for the people who just watched BB not to rent ‘89. It is so bad. Even if you remember it being so great.
Casting A Hypothetical Live-Action Simpsons Movie
that the Simpsons feature film is, in fact, in production, our reader Sean left the following comment: "Paul Giamatti IS Homer Simpson." Of course, the film that Fox is making is animated, and all of the voice actors who work on the series will get to keep their jobs. But what if someone *was* making a live-action version of The Simpsons? Who would you cast as Marge? Lisa? Comic Book Guy? Let us know in the comments. Here’s a couple to get you started: I’m casting my votes for Bruce Willis as Krusty the Klown, Philip Seymour Hoffman as Barney, and, of course, Anderson Cooper as Kent Brockman.
I think Paul g. would be great; but maybe too emo and not enough dumb. What do you guys think? I will post my picks as they come to me.
You may want to read this first.
E1-2 was cool. I am glad Jared said that the cheese factor, that some call it, can be contributed by age of the early viewers. You notice all the people complaining about 1&2 are around 30 making them kids or young adults when they watched the first series; over and over again. The only complaint that I have about the first two movies is, yes, JarJar and his voice, that’s it. I think this character was not only necessary for the plot of the next film(E2) but the fact they didn’t have a cute cuddly character. After all, the movies are still all about the younglings.
About the ghost blue glowing stuff: I am not for sure but it seemed like Yoda was talking about Qui-Gon teaching them how to do the ’showing’. Meaning Q- has found out how to do it and he will teach them how to do it so they can communicate to each other, either through Q-G or by themselves, I don’t know which, but it seemed to me like it was about the spiritual video conference then when you die you can communicate through the force. But I do think it was about the learning and growing stronger in the force.
I think you guys are ‘reading’ into the balance way to much. Ani- brought balance to the force right after he killed Mace. Realizing the true meaning of the prophecy he says, “What have I done” and Palp, most likely knowing the prophecy he says, “this is your destiny”. His destiny was to balance the force, or make it even. I do agree with what Jared was talking about with the Jedi being cocky, but that would not have happened if the Jedi hadn’t been on the “higher ground” for so long. So bringing balance was not a good or bad thing, the good for the Jedi was the fact that they were humbled and no learned the fact that they could be wrong, like Master Yoda said, “I have failed”. And the good for the Dark side was the fact they are now on the same level as the Jedi.
Another thing that I didn’t like about what you guys were talking about above is the ’swaying’ of the balance. The quote is, “he will bring balance to the force”, not he will bring a somewhat balance to the force that will bring the pendulum closer to the center while swaying back and forth. Think of it mathematically and pure strength. After Mace was killed by Ani-, the point that I believe was the defining “balance point”, because he made it two on two. And if you take it a little farther, strengthwise Palp- was stronger then Yoda, Obi- was stronger then Darth-. BALANCE. Making it perfectly balanced. So balanced that neither side could could be defeated. I think you guys are wrapped up in the politics of things and who controls what, so I am just saying that the force does not include power, or the power to rule the galaxy. The force is the force nothing more. So if the empire is ruling the galaxy the f’ing podium is not swaying in there direction. Politics swayed the people but it will never sway the force. Ha Ha! And if you want to take it further, I did not think it was cheesy when Darth found out Padme died, it showed that he was getting stronger because of his hatred, that hatred that for himself made him “stronger then any-other”; and if you think about it, he has to be stronger since his children brought more good to the force. Maybe I should do a graph of the force throughout the movie to convey what I am trying to say.
