A Screen Near You

Is Blu-Ray a Failure?

admin — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:08:36 +0000

Bob Cringely asks the question: Is Blu-Ray a Failure? It’s making in-roads, but it’s certainly not a success. As someone who may have cut back their DVD purchases, but still buys way more than the average, enjoys his movies, etc, I don’t buy Blu-Ray. The reason is price.

I have an HD TV, I haven’t bought a Blu-Ray player yet and the only people I know who do watch HD movies use a PS3 or a PC, not a standalone player.

Really there are two benefits to going HD: better picture and better sound. I don’t have the hardware for the sound, I use my TV’s speakers, so better sound doesn’t really make much difference and better picture requires a screen large enough to show it (you’d be very hard pressed to see it on a 32″ TV). Weigh this against a price tag typically £10 dearer and it’s no contest, DVD all the way.

Find out when’s a good time for a toilet break at the movies

admin — Thu, 21 May 2009 21:40:36 +0000

RunPee.com suggests the best time to nip out for a toilet break in a movie. e.g.

…when Capt. Pike says, “Chekov, you have the con,” you’ve got about three minutes of exposition ahead that you can probably pick up on later..

The site seems to be down at the moment (not surprising as both Lifehacker and Kottke have linked to it).

Darth Vader line tops film misquote poll

admin — Mon, 11 May 2009 22:51:43 +0000

I have to confess, I think I’ve used some of these top film misquotes.

The Fanboys of Summer - The Atlantic May 7, 2009

admin — Mon, 11 May 2009 22:35:56 +0000

I’m not sure I agree with Alyssa Rosenberg’s defence of the sci-fi blockbuster, I think she’s looking a little too deep and that, in reality, their success is down to the fact that all that action doesn’t need a translation.

And, lest we forget, the highest grossing film of all-time was a romance: Titanic.

via io9

Homemade Hollywood

admin — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:47:57 +0000

An interesting piece from The Guardian about fan films.

Making Middle-earth on a shoestring

admin — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 09:24:28 +0000

The BBC has an interesting article on a LOTR fan film. It’s quite interesting to see how the quality of fan films has come on, and the thoughts of the director, who thinks we’ll see more fan films being made.

State of Play

admin — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 09:00:23 +0000

I was lucky enough to get an advanced ticket to see State of Play last weekend. It’s based on the 2003 BBC TV series and, although the location has moved to the Washington, it’s surprisingly similar (from what I’ve read, I haven’t seen the TV series). The story follows a reporter, Cal McAffrey, played by Russell Crowe, investigating a story about a small-time criminal, which turns out to be linked to the death of a congressman’s aide, the gossip angle of which was being investigated by Della Frye, a junior political blogger. As the pair delve deeper they find evidence that points to a massive conspiracy that leads all the way to the halls of power, and back to the congressman.

All in all, an edgy thriller with a decent twist, good characters, well acted and executed. It’s definitely worth a look, although I doubt you’ll watch it more than once.

Watch the trailer on Apple

Fox News reviewer fired for reviewing pirated copy of Wolverine

admin — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 09:30:51 +0000

Roger Friedman, of Fox News, has been fired for reviewing a pirated copy of Wolverine.

We’ve just been made aware that Roger Friedman, a freelance columnist who writes Fox 411 on Foxnews.com — an entirely separate company from 20th Century Fox — watched on the Internet and reviewed a stolen and unfinished version of ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine.’ This behavior is reprehensible and we condemn this act categorically — whether the review is good or bad.

via Kottke

U-571: You give historical films a bad name

admin — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:02:01 +0000

The Guardian article on U-571 is more entertaining than the film was. I remember seeing the film and, while not getting upset, I know it’s just a film, you wonder how much it shapes people’s view of events, and just how many people now think the US captured the Enigma machine, when it was us, the plucky Brits doing wonders again (with some early help from the Poles I hasten to add) and who performed probably the greatest feat in intelligence gathering and cryptanalysis ever achieved, only to keep quiet about it for 30 years, inventing one of the world’s first programmable computers while they were at it.

Fanboys

admin — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 22:19:27 +0000

A movie about a bunch of fans breaking into Skywalker ranch (home of George Lucas) to steal some Star Wars stuff. Sounds lame, looks very funny with plenty of in-jokes.

Watch the trailer on Apple.