August 2008 Archives
August 30, 2008 3:48 PM
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0 commentsAugust 30, 2008 2:04 AM
IFA 2008 HD video: Sony Rolly!
Click here for HD video from IFA!
Every once in a while, Sony comes out with a product that is so insane, you wonder how it ever saw the light of day. I'm glad the Rolly did, because at IFA I literally stood for minutes gawking at the things flashing in various colours and spinning around. Better still, Sony's great PR people are giving me one (is it wrong that I'm thinking of what to name it?)
August 29, 2008 1:45 AM
IFA 2008: Blu-ray Disc Association Press Conference
Time to sleep, but not before this is up... DVDTimes: IFA 2008 - BDA Press Conference Sony conference, BRAVIA images and news, video of everything, and Sony Q&A session to follow.August 28, 2008 10:50 PM
IFA 2008: Sony's "200"hz interpolating TV
The Sony/BDA people have been entertaining us all day, but in case you haven't read it elsewhere on the web, Sony's cryptic "200" invitation thing was actually regarding a new Motionflow LCD TV which interpolates 50hz video up to 200hz. In other words, it trades LCD panel blur for motion interpolation artefacts. Videos and pictures of this and the BDA event are coming soon, be patient! Also shown were Sony's OLED TVs, which produce a gorgeous image which I can only describe as like a very, very good Plasma, only with none of the dithering and none of the dancing PWM noise. Examining the 27" version up close revealed a hell of a lot of stuck pixels, though, but that's because it's a prototype... one of only two in the world, actually). Oh, and Sony have an ultra-teensy LED LCD coming out, too. Now to capture a bunch of HDV tapes to get pictures and dodgy camcorded BDA conference footage!August 28, 2008 5:25 AM
August 27, 2008 9:22 AM
Since my flight to Berlin is delayed (albeit only by 15 minutes), I'm having to resort to outrageously priced Wireless internet access in the departure lounge. It's either that or an outrageously priced sandwich or outrageously priced magazine to get my kicks, and I think I made the right choice thank you very much. Over the next few days, keep checking back to links to all the stuff I'll be polluting the internet with, including the BDA (Blu-ray Disc Association) press conference (hopefully I remember to get a press pass and don't have to beg/sneak my way in this time), Sony's mysterious conference (they're paying for it, it's only fair), and who knows, maybe some surprises.August 24, 2008 11:51 PM
Can anyone download some podcasts for me?
Pretty pathetic request really, but I'll explain. I was linked to some podcasts about the filmmaking process over at Apple's site, but in order to access them, I was told I had to download iTunes. So I did that, then I get told this:
Oh, I'm sorry, how fucking stupid of me. It's outlandish that I'd live in the UK and want to watch a podcast about how Australian filmmaker Baz Luhrmann goes about his work. No, you have to live in America for that, and that item is not currently available in the UK Store (it's in a Store, despite the fact that the content is FREE).
"Currently"? Could you give me a date so I can mark my calendar? Can any kind people out there access the podcasts for me? Better still, does anyone know how to avoid this crap and spoof a US IP address, since those are more valuable than the one I have? Heaven forbid Apple would just put a damn QuickTime movie on their site.
August 22, 2008 9:46 PM
Awful film receives great Blu-ray Disc release
I just finished watching Universal's Blu-ray exclusive debut: Doomsday.
I'll get this out the way right now: the video is very close to top notch. Detail wise, it can't be beat, and under almost any conditions, you're almost guaranteed not to notice any compression niggles. It's encoded using VC-1 and the disc is of the less spacious BD25 variety (I don't think the disc is even full), and looks stunning throughout. This is what we've come to expect from Universal HD releases sourced from DI (Digital Intermediate). Shame their fully Telecine sourced back catalogue releases are so poor. If you want to look at the eye candy, check out screen grabs.
Doomsday is partly set in and was partly filmed in Glasgow, which is where I live, so I was naturally interested to take a look at it. The film itself begins with a rather bland futuristic fascist Britain tone. Scotland has become infected and the loveable yet evil English have sealed the country off and shoot anyone who tries to cross the border. Sound sort-of familiar? This is the start of the film, though, and slight similarities inevitably occur, so it's too early to cry "ripoff". Some truly bad dialogue makes for chuckles and the film is established as one of the 3-star variety, that is, one which won't rock your world but won't make you feel like wasted time.
A few decades later, pretty Lara Croft reject Rhona Mitra (looking suspiciously like Kate Beckinsale from Underworld) gets dressed in shiny black plastic and ventures back up to deserted Glasgow with her comrades, who drive a rubbish boxy tank around town. Before the slight whiff of Aeon Fluxiness can develop further, the style of the film completely changes (for the worse). It's not too gently revealed to us that Glasgow 30 years in the future is in fact ruled by naff wannabe punks, who capture the surviving heroes and trot them around in a bizarre event which can only be described as "wrestling match meets destruction derby meets Highland games with generous use of licensed music" (I simply can't describe it, you need to see it for yourself, it's just awful). The naff punks roast and eat one of the heroes and chase the surviving ones, plus some escaped prisoners, back to the railway station.
An old-style steam train mysteriously takes the good guys to a faraway countryside location, where they pass through a strange door. After doing so, the style of the film completely changes again. This time, see if you can guess which popular franchise is flattered through the art of masterful imitation:
It's not long before we're due another mix and match change, so before our heroes can make it to Mordor, the film becomes Braveheart, and then Gladiator (I'm not even boldening the titles any more, it's too embarassing).
Then there's a Mad Max style car chase sequence at the end, where the naff punks return. And then the film ends. Seriously, what a train wreck! To think this is from the same guy who brought us The Descent! That said though, at least I was laughing for a short while and, while not exactly on the edge of my seat, wasn't ever bored.
August 14, 2008 2:32 PM
What was honestly so good about The Dark Knight?
My friend Pete and I went to see the much-hyped The Dark Knight on Tuesday night (OK, it was his third time seeing it, the first was at the Imax and the second on standard 35mm). I've not seen a film in real cinema on a real 2.39:1 screen in ages, so it was a pretty fun experience. Apart from the film itself.
Some people are treating this film as if it's the greatest thing ever made, and to be honest, I was bored for a good duration of it. The only truly gripping scenes were those with the Joker, who's character was so brilliantly and realistically deranged that you had no idea what was going to happen next. The rest of the film seemed to do very little with an awful lot of screen time, and do so in a sometimes questionable way.
Were we supposed to dislike the politician guy, with his stuffed suit and sneery smile? Was Bruce Wayne, with his po-faced smirk, supposed to be similarly unlikeable, and the spitting image of Christian Bale's character in American Psycho? Was his deep-throated growly Batman voice supposed to have me holding back giggles?
It's one of those weird films, where if you asked me to summarise it, I'd find it difficult, because I just didn't care. I can't honestly tell you what REALLY happened during the 2.5 hours, other than a series of somewhat related and well-filmed incidents. No part of the whole thing (apart from the excellent opening) made me care about the grander scheme of things, and needless to say, left me quite cold.
It does make me wonder, were Heath Ledger still alive, would people have hyped the film in such a way? Do average Joes and Janes feel the need to see and exclaim their delight for the film because of the tragic incident? Do they feel that it would be disrespectful not to love the film?
August 6, 2008 3:10 AM
