Archive for January, 2008

Cloverfield

Tuesday, January 29th, 2008

This movie was SICK. There is no better way to describe it. If you haven’t heard what the gist of Cloverfield is you’ve been missing out on some good stuff. J.J. Abrams is the producer that brings to screen the story of a few people following the attack of New York City by an unsuspecting monster.

Headless Statue of Liberty

After seeing this movie I was shaken off, not only because I don’t appreciate bad endings but also by how real this felt. When 9/11 happened I was troubled by it but until now I’ve never been exposed to how terrifying it could be. The movie was shot from a single camera perspective and followed the happenings of a group of friends after their goodbye party was trashed by the attack. In a situation like this one I guess I would try to save my own skin and help out the ones around me but going back in the heat of the battle between an unknown monster and the army is just crazy! Love will give you that… I’ll still recommend this movie for the experience value but it’s not a “feel good” movie. Not sure if it would work well on rentals because it’s mostly about living it in theaters, can’t picture myself enjoying it a 2nd time. Bottom line go see it!

On a side note I encourage you to check out this awesome background featured in last weeks Totally Rad Show. They gave out a nice review of it during the show and it motivated me to go check the movie out. You should check the show too.


Episode 44: “Veggiesaur” Background (1009 KB)
By: Eric Beckett

Posted in Movies, Review | 1 Comment »

Terminators are back!

Tuesday, January 29th, 2008

For some weird reason I had totally forgot that a new Terminator TV show was in development. I have watched the first three episodes and was surprised it’s not as bad as I expected.

sarah-connor-chronicles-3-shot-pose-title.jpg

I’m not too hot for the cast, Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker and Summer Glau. But if you were craving for a new action show, you will be served. Forget about the slow paced Heroes, or the mind bending Prison Break. This show has a very long name; Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and takes itself very seriously. Sarah Connor is still ready to fight robots to make sure her son his safe and Skynet never comes to existence and destroy the human race. She is sure she can still stop it what ever happens and she is not giving up. Similar to the plot of the previous terminator movies, future Skynet sends assassins to kill John Connor (leader of the human resistance), and the future John sends a reprogrammed Terminator to protect him. It’s a constant struggle that could last until the day Skynet takes over in the present. Those events happened in the third Terminator movie, so you could say that this movie is not a direct sequel but is evolving in a parallel storyline.

The movies deserve the name of classics and this series is a nice nod to expand the universe. You can be sure that I will be tuning in every week to get my fix. The next new episode will air on FOX, on Monday February 4th.

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3 Things the New PSP Is Missing

Monday, January 21st, 2008

I’ve had my PSP for a few months now, and don’t have a lot to complain about, except for the fact I don’t have a lot of free time to play on it. However, as new features were announced at CES 2008 it got me thinking of what they could of done better for PSP-2000 aka PSP Slim. So here is a small list of a few features and hardware that should be part of any new PSP iteration.

  • 802.11g
    This isn’t really much, but I had to go to my router settings to enable a mix broadcast mode so my PSP could connect to my wireless network. At the time the PSP was originally launched, 802.11b was pretty wide spread and the next version was being rolled out. I can’t believe it would of been too large of an extra cost to update that part of the hardware. And no, I’m not talking about the fancy 802.11n that is supposed to be super fast and reliable, I’m talking about plain old 802.11g that is already a few years old. I presume the cost benefit wasn’t there for that feature.
  • Bluetooth
    Wireless headset anyone? With the news of the added Skype functionality to the PSP. It would allow to connect to many devices that do not make use of wireless Internet technology. You could beam pictures to many cellphones and exchange music on the fly. They would of even been able to use the PSP as a gamepad for the PlayStation 3.
  • Internal memory
    Some packages of the new PSP came with a Memory Stick Duo, but with the falling price of flash memory they could of integrated something like a Gigabyte of memory inside the device, this way people who want to purchase additional memory can do so. I’ve always seen Memory Stick more like a CD, meaning the device has it’s own permanen memory.

Posted in Technology | 1 Comment »

Go placidly…

Sunday, January 13th, 2008

Go placidly amid the noise & haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; And listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud & aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with other, you may become vain and bitter; For always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Tree SunsetEnjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your career, however humble, it is a real possession amid the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virture there is; Many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself; especially, do not feign affection; Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth; Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive him to be, and whatever your labours & aspirations in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your soul; Be careful; Strive to be happy; With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Found in Old Saint Paul’s Church, Baltimore, Dated 1692

This text was placed in the main hall of our church, it’s profound in meaning and think everyone can find it’s share of significance.

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Eastern Promises

Thursday, January 10th, 2008

easternpromisestheatrical.jpgThis movies was seriously unexpected. I’m not a huge fan of Viggo Mortensen, to me he was clearly established in the Lord of the Rings series, but when I saw him in Hidalgo I wasn’t sold on him just yet. I’ve watched his latest movie called Eastern Promises which is about the Russian mafia/mob. It’s graphic, a tad bit violent and has a shocking fight scene in public baths. I had no idea of what to expect when it comes to story line because I never saw any trailer for it.

Here is the gist of the movie: A teenage mother dies giving birth to her baby, the nurse finds her journal and in it, is the information about who is the father, and how she was actually being abused (read raped) by the man. Please remember that she was under age, and that man is a leader for the Russian mafia, so he doesn’t want to be found out, and that poor nurse is in way over her head when it comes to dealing with those guys. Hopefully for her, Viggo Mortensen plays a driver that his compassionate of her that has his own agenda to fulfill.

There as some amazing fight scenes (read one) and you get some insight on how the crime circles operate, betrayal, power, love and compassion all in one great movie.

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