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As a kid I fell in love with movies mainly for the stories and characters, and every once in a
while, maybe some special effects. As I got older, my love affair was renewed when I discovered the
Cult of the Director. The Cult of the Director allows one to look at movies in a far more personal
way. It's an ongoing game; one can discover long-forgotten works, or piece together old puzzles,
but one can also look ahead and guess how a director's career arc will come together. Basically,
there are roughly four kinds of directors. The most common is the kind with no personality, and
perhaps very little skill, someone like Brian
Robbins, the director of Meet Dave (58 screens). Many
of these folks eventually disappear without ever making much of a mark. After that, we get the
craftsman, someone with lots of skill and talent but still no personality. These guys are the most
interesting to talk to; they're unpretentious and tell the best stories. Brad Anderson, the director of Transsiberian (81
screens), is a good example.
Then there's a weird category of directors who have somehow come to popular attention, despite a
lack of skill and/or a lack of personality. These can range from moneymakers like Brett Ratner to Oscar winners like Ron Howard. But of course, since we're talking about
live human beings here, there's a lot of wiggle room in these categories, and I could probably
establish several sub-categories. Not to mention that any director's career can suddenly change
course at any point. Yes, even Brett Ratner could suddenly make a good film. (I'm not saying he
will, just that he could.) These people manage to stay on top through a lucky
combination of subject matter and promotion. Even though films like Brick Lane (31 screens)
and Mongol (16
screens) have no skill or personality, they seem like great films because of their
stories and packaging.
Having bought my fair share of laptops over the years, I've noticed that the packaging has gotten
smaller. I remember years ago buying a laptop and receiving a huge box with the actual
laptop suspended in a styrofoam suspension system. More recently, I've seen laptops coming in much
smaller boxes. However, Wal-Mart and HP have apparently decided to try ditching most of the packaging altogether, and letting you walk out with your new laptop
in a messenger bag, rather than a box. Yes, there are still boxes from when the machines are
shipped from HP to Wal-Mart, but the company can now fit 3 laptops to a box, significantly reducing
packaging and making life easier on customers in the long run.
We recently had the chance to check out Combat Arms, the free-to-play online FPS
brought to US shores by Nexon of America. Nexon is
best known in the states for its unique side-scrolling MMORPG Maple Story. Despite the company's grounding in
the MMO genre, Nexon chooses to see itself as a purveyor of online games in general. From online
racing in Kart Rider to virtual
karaoke in Audition, the company
publishes or develops a multitude of multiplayer experiences. Its extension to first-person
shooters, in that light, makes a great deal of sense.
What's surprising is not that Nexon has chosen to jump into the FPS genre, but that the offering is
as good as it is. The company has combined elements of mindless combat shooters like XIII with the multiplayer tactical orientation
of a game like Counter-Strike. In
doing so, it's delivered a title that can be as explosion- or strategy-focused as players want.
And, of course, it wouldn't be Nexon without some unique twists -- namely, the incorporation of its
successful microtransaction-based business model.
In an effort to facilitate ticket purchasing, SNCF -- France's public rail system -- will commence
a 1,000 user trial of its Weneo smart card system this Fall. Riders will be able to purchase
tickets with the small USB dongles at turnstiles via RFID. Once the balance is depleted, users can refill their
accounts by plugging the devices into a computer, whereby they're transported to the SNCF's online
hub. Since only the rider's account number is stored in the RFID portion of the smart card, this
system allows commuters hassle-free ticket purchasing, all while keeping important information
privy from hackers -
information that some RFID devices seem to have
problems keeping secret. If all
goes well, SNCF expects to expand the use of Weneo nationwide by 2010.
Rachel Getting Married is a terse, smart, funny and tough family drama about forgiveness
and failure written by Jenny Lumet; it's also a loose, smart, broad and bright film about family
and love directed by Jonathan Demme. When these two things are in sync, the end result is something
truly impressive - a moving story that appeals to your heart and soul without insulting your
intelligence, a film full of big scenes that never stoops to the most obvious possible iteration of
those big scenes, a movie loaded with great and sincere performances from the top down. When the
two parts of Rachel
Getting Married fall out of synch - as they do, most notably, in the last third of the
film during Demme's raucous, joyous post-wedding reception - it's less catastrophic than it is
curious, and the final film is still very much worth watching.
Rachel (Rosemarie
DeWitt) is getting married; her little sister Kym (Anne Hathaway) is coming for
the big event ... which involves getting picked up from her most recent stay at a rehab clinic. A
cynic could look at Hathaway's part in Rachel Getting Married and paraphrase Robert Downey
Jr. in Tropic Thunder: Always go full rehab. And while it's true that the Academy and
critics tend to reward gritty, hyperbolic portraits of drug-addiction's misery, the fact is that
Hathaway's Kym is not quite as simple as that. Kym knows all the things she's done wrong; she also
knows she'll keep doing some of them. Immediately, in the car, the lines of battle are drawn, with
Kym going on the offense as part of her defense mechanisms, asking her dad (Bill Irwin) and step-mother
(Anna Deavere
Smith) about how Rachel's holding up: "Are all of her latent food issues coming up? Is she
still hoarding Snickers and Cool Whip under the bed?" Soon, Kym's plunged into the thick of the
preparations for Rachel's wedding, responding to the chaos by adding to it. ...
Samsung UK consumer electronics boss Andy Griffiths doesn't see a lengthy lifespan for the Blu-ray format. Speaking to Pocket-lint, he said, "I
think it [Blu-ray] has 5 years left, I certainly wouldn't give it 10." 10 years as in the product cycle
Sony has mapped out for PS3, which features Blu-ray as a core technology?
Griffiths' prediction could very well be accurate, but consider DVD, a format that is still going
strong 12 years after the first player launched in Japan in 1996. To put things in perspective,
Blu-ray players only hit the scene two years ago. With adoption of HDTVs continuing at a steady
pace and that whole victory
over HD-DVD thing, the format (for video, at least) has to have at least six years
left in it.
The iPhone 3G is making
its Best Buy debut this Sunday, and
a copy of the ad you'll see in your local paper confirms that even though Best Buy has the
distinction of being the iPhone's first independent US retailer, it'll be the same old Best Buy peddling it.
If you buy one of four bullshit accessory packages—going for $106 to $234, according to
AppleInsider—Geek Squad will set up your phone and email for free. In other words,
something they have to do anyway (activate your phone), and another that's complimentary at the
Apple Store or easy enough to do yourself. Thanks, Geek Squad. [Apple
Insider]
Has anyone tried to buy any thing, or has anyone bought anything from iworld.co.uk - I think I've
found another fraud site selling on line. Ordered an iphone cover a few weeks ago and I've had two
updated e-mails saying the product is out of stock and will arrive soon. The first e-mail said the
order will be processed on a certain date, then a day after another email apologizing and extending
the processing.
Also saw a review site where someone said they ordered from them and didn't get the delivery
because the delivery and payment address were different.
Would be interested in anyone comments from anyone who has made a purchase through iworld, so we
can confirm if they are legit, or confirm they are another fraud site.
I've found posting sites addresses online in forums like this raises the awareness for anyone doing
websearches to become aware of any dodgy sites. So if the name of the site is written it comes up
high on the search engines to warn people in association with the site.
We've
stayed away from all the Ghostbusters rumors these past couple days because last time we
crossed this road, we were told nothing existed. Well, seems that's not at all true: Variety
reports that Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky (The Office, Year One) have been
asked to write a script for a Ghostbusters sequel (reported earlier today by Pajiba.com) that may or may
not "pass the torch to a new group of ghost chasers." Funnily enough -- and even though he flat out
told us he had nothing to do with it -- this is totally in line with those early rumors that "The
Apatow Clan" would be involved in some capacity; namely Seth Rogen. When
we asked him about it during the Pineapple Express junket, however, the man denied
knowing a thing. Then again, he's an actor ... and he's paid pretty damn well to pretend.
The Apatow connection is also there in that these two writers are behind the Apatow-produced
Year One, which, ahem, is being directed by Harold Ramis -- who, in case you forgot,
played Dr. Egon Spengler in both Ghostbuster movies. No word from Columbia Pictures on the
project, and Variety is simply throwing out all the same fluff that's been reported on
other sites for months now. Could we see a reunion and a torch passing? Will the Apatow folks take
over the Ghostbusters franchise? I'd certainly be down for it.
You?
(And now we shall continue to run circles around this monster until someone finally caves ...)
BioWare's return to PC as a primary platform has been met with rapture and glee from the PC
gaming crowd. The development chops of the Canadian company are almost impossible to question, with
hit after hit being released from its Edmonton headquarters. Now the reunion with keyboard and
mouse is accompanied by the most ambitious fantasy RPG BioWare has attempted since the original Baldur's Gate. Dragon Age: Origins is a true return to roots for
the company, a homecoming with its dearest fans.
It makes sense then to find David Gaider, one of the original writers of the Baldur's Gate
plot, at the keyboard behind Dragon Age. We had the chance to talk briefly with the author
about what this highly-anticipated title will offer. Though he couldn't reveal much in the way of
story components, he did offer a tantalizing view into the world's history. Join us as we talk with
Gaider about stepping back from Mass
Effect's advances, the joys of returning to PC gaming, and what he considers required
reading for any Dragon Age fan.
Until September 8th, you can buy Office for 30% off with the purchase of any Mac at Apple
resellers. Visit this Microsoft
Promo Page and choose "Save Now".
Students can get additional discounts by purchasing Office with academic pricing. This Student Pricing page offers tips
about ongoing student discounts that aren't limited to the September 8th cut-off.
A cheap copy of Office ... what more could you want?
The
latest documentary from Michael Moore
will be released exclusively online beginning September 23. FOR FREE. Yes, that's right, and
it's a dream come true for both Moore's fans and those millions of anti-fans that despise him. For
the followers it's obviously good because they don't have to wait very long to own a copy of the
movie. For the enemies it's good because they can check out the movie without giving the man a
dime. Or be witnessed buying a ticket.
The 97-minute film is titled Slacker Uprising (formerly Captain Mike Across America), and it's about Moore's
62-city tour during the 2004 presidential election, as he attempts to rally young "slacker" voters.
The premise doesn't sound quite as intriguing as his last election-year release, Fahrenheit 9/11 -- which may be
part of the reason this one is not receiving a proper theatrical opening. But Moore also says this
method is particularly to thank his fans as the 20th anniversary of Roger & Me approaches.
Man, what a
toll the
loss of HD DVD has taken on Toshiba. Judging by the vast expanse of floor space at Tosh's booth
not covered with people (seriously, look for anyone in the gallery below) and the
inclusion of CES-announced DVD / VHS
recorders (yes, really) as premiere products, we'd say the outfit is still hurting from the
outcome of the format war. In all honesty, we felt kind of sad sashaying through its installation
while reading slogans like "See everything in HD (even the non-HD stuff)." We even viewed the
Super Resolution Technology demonstration with an open mind, and while there's certainly a mild
difference
with SRT, these sets hardly make SD signals into high-def. Grab a tissue and wander through the
gallery at Engadget
HD.
Purchasing this month's episode of Qore unlocks the
door on the
Motorstorm: Pacific Rim Rift demo when it actually releases on Sept. 11. It also includes
an "exclusive" LittleBigPlanet theme.
Beyond that, it's a relatively quiet week on the PSN, but it is worth checking out the Pure demo. The details
about this week's
PSN update can be found after the break.
Those rugged stallions over at PS3 Fanboy have the details
on this week's European update.
Why "rugged stallions?" What happens at PAX,
stays at PAX, friends.
When a developer submits a "Pull My Finger" application, you've kind of got to expect it's going
to be rejected. iFartz was rejected. Ibrate was rejected -- and
that one was even raising money for breast cancer research. Today, over at Mac Rumors, I read
about "Pull My Finger"'s rejection for
limited utility. Right at the bottom of the rejection letter was the name "Victor Wang".
Mr. Wang has become a near legend for his rejection letters, usually long, delayed (I suspect
he's second- or third-tier in the review process) and for aesthetic reasons that leave developers
blinking with surprise. While "Pull My Finger" would probably not meet "Koi Pond" levels of user
reach (here's
our look at Koi Pond), it could have a solid audience. It's a simple, stupid joke app (notice
how I'm not pulling punches here) but it's the kind of simple, stupid joke app that a lot of
people would download and use because people like simple, stupid joke apps.
I've complained about this before, so apologies to everyone who has heard this point -- the next
post is just a wee bit below this one, feel free to scroll -- but until Apple offers developers a
firm set of guidelines, developers will continue to be ticked off by seemingly arbitrary
rejections like this one. Apple is clearly refusing applications that fail the sniff test -- and
yes, I know that's a little more apt a metaphor than this application deserves. "Pull My Finger"
is tasteless. Apple should have rejected it for that reason, rather than pulling new reasons out
from thin air.
Apple needs to step forward, and do so soon, with a clear set of guidelines that explain to
developers exactly what to expect when they press that "submit" button for their new app.
Developers shouldn't be wasting Apple's time with unpublishable software. Apple should not be
wasting Developers' time with a secretive and arbitrary review process.
Dell's Inspiron Mini 9
didn't waste any time going from its formal debut to hitting the review circuit today, and although
it's basic design didn't blow anyone away, it seems like an impressively put-together piece of kit
for the price. Everyone laments the tiny keyboard, although it's apparently fine once you get used
to it, but Notebook Review flat out says it won't cut it as a primary typing machine. PC Magazine
says the 1.6GHz Atom and 1GB of RAM are enough for most tasks under XP, although multitasking is a
chore; the Linux configurations seem similarly capable -- Laptop says the custom build of Ubuntu
Remix is "smooth" and "sleek." The four-cell battery averaged around three and a half hours under
both XP and Windows, which is decent, but several noticed that Dell hasn't made an extended battery
available yet. We'd expect that to change soon, but overall it's a minor quibble -- could this be
the netbook that finally makes you reach for your wallet?
Read -
Laptop (4.5 out of 5) Read - Notebook Review
("...fabulous netbook... [but] only 'your new best friend" if you're willing to overlook a few
flaws.") Read -
Washington Post ("... isn't perfect, but it does offer a terrific design and a good price.") Read - PC Magazine (3 out of
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For years, we've been hearing telco execs, telco lobbyists and politicians screaming over the coming
death of the internet due to an "exaflood" of bandwidth, as things like internet video and
bittorrent totally overwhelmed the internet infrastructure. There was little proof that this was actually an
issue, and plenty of evidence suggesting that ordinary infrastructure upgrades would more than
handle all expected growth. And, in the last few months we've been seeing more and more public
reports supporting this position. In August alone we saw two separate reports noting that internet growth was actually
slowing rather than
increasing at an alarming rate.
And now there's a third such report, looking at internet backbone traffic and noting that there's little to worry about: For the second consecutive year, the
rate of underlying international Internet capacity deployment outpaced global Internet traffic
growth, leading to lower utilization levels on many Internet backbones. Between 2007 and 2008,
average traffic utilization levels decreased from 31 percent to 29 percent while peak utilization
fell from 44 percent to 43 percent. Yet, if you listen to telco lobbyists, execs and
politicians, they'd have you believe that over the past couple of years, the growth of BitTorrent
and internet video was flooding the networks. Hopefully, with so many reports pointing out the
opposite, politicians will finally start pus
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The iPhone 3G is making .jpg)
We've
stayed away from all the Ghostbusters rumors these past couple days because last time we
crossed this road, we were told nothing existed. Well, seems that's not at all true: 
The
latest documentary from Michael Moore 
Dell's