Today I had the privilege to visit the Sundance Cinemas. This high class theater has only 2 locations, one in the fine city of Madison, and the other in San Francisco. As soon as you walk in, you go to the box office and select where you are going to sit on a touch screen computer. You pay something in the neighborhood of $4 in royalty charges, but hey, you pay a premium price for a premium movie-going experience. The Sundance Cinemas also offers snacks and goodies to keep you happy during your viewing of whatever independent/foreign/art-house film you have chosen to see. One would expect of course to see things like popcorn and Raisinets, but no, you have a broad selection of imported beers, fine wines, scones, and several other French-sounding pastries. This is high class, people.
So, I walked into the theater and sat in my chair, which was only slightly less relaxing than a La-Z-Boy. Now then, the film. I went to see Le Scaphandre et le papillon, more commonly known as The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. The film is based off the memoirs of one Jean-Dominique Bauby, the charming and vibrant editor of ELLE magazine. Bauby, who held one of the most prestigious positions in the fashion industry during the early 1990's, suffered a massive stroke on 8 December 1995 at the age of 42. The stroke debilitated his brain stem and left him with a rare condition known as "locked-in syndrome" in which a patient is fully aware of the outside world, but has little or no way of communicating their thoughts or feelings. Bauby was left with only the ability to blink his left eye, and he used a system devised by his speech therapist to dictate an entire book. Through a painstaking process of watching the therapist speak the alphabet and blinking to stop her, he was able to slowly form words and sentences. Using this system, Bauby spoke about his life, and indeed life in general in a truly poetic and engaging manner. In just over 200,000 blinks, Bauby created on of the most moving stories to be found in contemporary literature. The part of Bauby is played to perfection by Mathieu Almaric, who turns in yet another extraordinary performance in a leading role. 2007 was absolutely packed with extraordinary individual efforts, from Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood to Brad Pitt in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford; indeed Mathieu Almaric certainly deserves to be mentioned in any discussion of superb performances from the past year. I cannot think of a single complaint to write about this film. It is an emotional roller coaster ride, taking the viewer through pain, depression, joy, happiness, helplessness, frustration, anger, and finally, triumph. The story is tightly crafted and expertly paced, with not a single scene botched or wasted. If you truly watch this movie with all of your being, and carefully ponder what it has to say, it may slightly alter your outlook on life. This story is a moving tale of the triumph and persistence of the human spirit, and it should not be missed.
In politics, Barack Obama continued his undefeated run, winning the great state of Wisconsin and adding 74 delegates to his total. It looks like Hillary's "eh, it's just Wisconsin" approach to campaigning here really turned out well for her... Of course, John McCain won the Republican primary, but that was kind of a foregone conclusion considering Ron Paul will never get enough votes from moderates, and Mike Huckabee is too religious to gain widespread support. I for one am a proud Christian, and I think Mike Huckabee is a great man. But, mainstream religion of any kind is no longer chic in the United States, and its not cool to try to put God back into the Constitution. I mean, the founding fathers weren't all devout Christians or anything. Right, totally. Regardless, there are not enough traditional Conservatives to get Huckabee in office, so at this point, McCain's neo-Conservative rubbish has pushed my favor into the Obama camp. I suppose I thought I'd never say this, but Obama for President in 2008, baby.
On a side note, I'd like to say that this will be my last post about HD DVD. Toshiba officially announced that they are stopping all production of HD DVD players. Paramount and Universal pulled out of the HD DVD camp, with Universal already proclaiming its commitment to Blu-ray.
It's okay HD DVD, you had a good run, but Blu-ray just fought a better fight.
Cheers.
Blu3
Showing posts with label hd dvd. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hd dvd. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Bounced / Death of a Format
Good day, readers.
Arsenal was devastated today in the 5th Round of the FA Cup when they were handed a stunning 4-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United. The enormous pile of injuries clearly took their toll today, as Arsenal was able to field just 14 players. Arsenal was missing several key players, including superstar striker Emmanuel Adebayor. In addition, Manuel Almunia, Tomas Rosicky, Bacary Sagna, and Gael Clichy were not able to play, crippling Arsenal's defensive capabilities. ManU quickly took advantage of the Gunners' defensive weakness, putting the game on ice with two goals in the first 20 minutes of play. The supporters had it right though as they sang "we'll be back to win the League!" as time expired. The Gunners hold fast to a 5 point lead in the Premiership, and they are still alive and well in the UEFA Champions League.
On a more positive note, the UW Men's Basketball team bounced back this week after being defeated by Purdue for the 2nd time this season. The Badgers posted a pair of solid wins this week over 13th ranked Indiana and the much improved Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Badgers look to finish strong after an impressive 21-4 start. The only game that should really give the Badgers much trouble is Michigan St. on 28 February. Looking on the bright side, we are playing at home, and it is exceedingly rare for us to lose games at the Kohl Center.
Finally, to any folks who have followed the HD movie format war, it is finally over. This week, Netflix and Wal-Mart both announced plans to stop supporting HD DVD, and reports are now coming out of Japan that Toshiba is stopping production of its HD DVD players. Reuters is responsible for the Toshiba report, so the source is indeed credible.
As such, HD DVDs are awfully cheap, and I was able to pick up several on Amazon at $15 a go. I was able to view two of my recently acquired films this week: Shaun of the Dead and The Pianist.
Shaun of the Dead became an instant cult classic in 2004 under the brilliant directing by Edgar Wright and witty performances by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. The trio of Brits created Shaun to be a spoof of George A. Romero's landmark horror film, Dawn of the Dead. The film does just about everything it needs to do to be effective: it has a wry script filled with sarcastic characters and it never, ever takes itself too seriously. The film purposely includes all the standard bits and pieces of a generic horror/action movie, only it is hilariously funny and incredibly well crafted. I highly recommend this film along with Wright/Pegg/Frost's follow up effort, Hot Fuzz. Hot Fuzz is essentially built off the same idea as Shaun, only it spoofs generic cop action films such as Bad Boys II and Point Break. It is infinitely funnier and higher quality than the rubbish it pokes fun at.
On a more serious note, The Pianist is a moving and emotional tour de force. If you are not moved to the point of tears while watching this film, you have no soul. Adrien Brody turns in a performance for which mere words can do no justice. Indeed, the Academy did well by awarding him the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 2002. Brody plays Wladyslaw Szpilman, the famous Polish composer on whose memoirs the film is based. The film opens with Szpliman at the height of his career as a talented pianist who plays for a popular Polish radio station. The film quickly moves on through the occupation of Poland by the Germans in World War II, and we spend the next 90 minutes or so watching the incredible true story of his survival in the Warsaw ghetto. The end is immensely rewarding as we see his triumphant restoration to prominence. The film can be considered nothing other than essential viewing. Saving Private Ryan is the definitive film on the brutality of the German war machine, Schindler's List is the definitive film on the over-arching idea of genocide and the obliteration of the Jews as a people, and The Pianist takes the idea of Schindler's List and focuses it down to a single person, providing the most intimate and truly human perspective of what it was like to be persecuted in such a way. Indeed, the film begs to be seen because after all, history means nothing if we do not learn from our mistakes.
Blu3
Arsenal was devastated today in the 5th Round of the FA Cup when they were handed a stunning 4-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United. The enormous pile of injuries clearly took their toll today, as Arsenal was able to field just 14 players. Arsenal was missing several key players, including superstar striker Emmanuel Adebayor. In addition, Manuel Almunia, Tomas Rosicky, Bacary Sagna, and Gael Clichy were not able to play, crippling Arsenal's defensive capabilities. ManU quickly took advantage of the Gunners' defensive weakness, putting the game on ice with two goals in the first 20 minutes of play. The supporters had it right though as they sang "we'll be back to win the League!" as time expired. The Gunners hold fast to a 5 point lead in the Premiership, and they are still alive and well in the UEFA Champions League.
On a more positive note, the UW Men's Basketball team bounced back this week after being defeated by Purdue for the 2nd time this season. The Badgers posted a pair of solid wins this week over 13th ranked Indiana and the much improved Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Badgers look to finish strong after an impressive 21-4 start. The only game that should really give the Badgers much trouble is Michigan St. on 28 February. Looking on the bright side, we are playing at home, and it is exceedingly rare for us to lose games at the Kohl Center.
Finally, to any folks who have followed the HD movie format war, it is finally over. This week, Netflix and Wal-Mart both announced plans to stop supporting HD DVD, and reports are now coming out of Japan that Toshiba is stopping production of its HD DVD players. Reuters is responsible for the Toshiba report, so the source is indeed credible.
As such, HD DVDs are awfully cheap, and I was able to pick up several on Amazon at $15 a go. I was able to view two of my recently acquired films this week: Shaun of the Dead and The Pianist.
Shaun of the Dead became an instant cult classic in 2004 under the brilliant directing by Edgar Wright and witty performances by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. The trio of Brits created Shaun to be a spoof of George A. Romero's landmark horror film, Dawn of the Dead. The film does just about everything it needs to do to be effective: it has a wry script filled with sarcastic characters and it never, ever takes itself too seriously. The film purposely includes all the standard bits and pieces of a generic horror/action movie, only it is hilariously funny and incredibly well crafted. I highly recommend this film along with Wright/Pegg/Frost's follow up effort, Hot Fuzz. Hot Fuzz is essentially built off the same idea as Shaun, only it spoofs generic cop action films such as Bad Boys II and Point Break. It is infinitely funnier and higher quality than the rubbish it pokes fun at.
On a more serious note, The Pianist is a moving and emotional tour de force. If you are not moved to the point of tears while watching this film, you have no soul. Adrien Brody turns in a performance for which mere words can do no justice. Indeed, the Academy did well by awarding him the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 2002. Brody plays Wladyslaw Szpilman, the famous Polish composer on whose memoirs the film is based. The film opens with Szpliman at the height of his career as a talented pianist who plays for a popular Polish radio station. The film quickly moves on through the occupation of Poland by the Germans in World War II, and we spend the next 90 minutes or so watching the incredible true story of his survival in the Warsaw ghetto. The end is immensely rewarding as we see his triumphant restoration to prominence. The film can be considered nothing other than essential viewing. Saving Private Ryan is the definitive film on the brutality of the German war machine, Schindler's List is the definitive film on the over-arching idea of genocide and the obliteration of the Jews as a people, and The Pianist takes the idea of Schindler's List and focuses it down to a single person, providing the most intimate and truly human perspective of what it was like to be persecuted in such a way. Indeed, the film begs to be seen because after all, history means nothing if we do not learn from our mistakes.
Blu3
Saturday, January 26, 2008
A Few Points
After a brief absence, I have a few things to talk about again. I just finished Assassin's Creed (360) and I must say that it was a massive letdown. There is almost nothing about this game that I would consider impressive. It is extremely repetitive and boring, so I'm going to have to suggest you avoid this one.
The new semester has just begun, which is why I've been absent for a few days. Genetics is wonderfully interesting; my professor is an eccentric Italian chap with shaggy hair. I finally get to go inside the Genetics-Biotech building... hooray! Gen-Bio is one of the newest buildings on the UW campus; it's a state of the art, multi-million dollar research facility. It quite scratches my science/nerd itch.
I also picked up the remastered version of Casablanca on HD DVD. It is in 4:3, but it looks AMAZING for a 70+ year old film. Casablanca remains one of the finest cinematic achievements of all time, and indeed one of the top 5 greatest movie stories ever. I could not be more impressed with the remaster and I highly recommend it.
A quick recap of the Australian Open- Maria Sharapova easily cruised past Ana Ivanovic, 7-5, 6-3 for a convincing victory in the Women's Final. Sharapova completed one of the greatest tournament runs in recent memory, failing to drop even a single set. In the Men's draw, Novak Djokovic stunned world #1 Roger Federer, defeating the Swiss master in straight sets. Federer's legendary run of 10 straight Grand Slam final appearances has finally ended. Djokovic, the feisty Serb, is quickly becoming a fan favorite due to his emotional flare and humorous, lighthearted approach to the game. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, an unseeded Frenchman, upset world #2 Rafael Nadal in an absolutely mindblowing performance. Tsonga played out of his mind- I've simply never seen a better show. This sets up an intriguing final of Tsonga vs. Djokovic, with Djokovic entering as the heavy favorite. This match will be one to watch and is sure to be filled with surprises.
Finally, I'd like to say a few words about the current internet war against Scientology. No religion is wrong and everyone on this earth is entitled to believe what they wish. If you are a Christian, or Muslim, or Buddhist, or you believe in the flying spaghetti monster (real religion... Google it) it is of your own free will that you choose to believe.
The Church of Scientology is a cult whose rammifications are terrifying. They degrade any member outside of their church, and church law gives members freedom to cause any necessary harm to non-Scientologists. The Co$ is a sham designed to make money and ruin lives.
Anonymous, a group of hackers, has declared war on the Co$, and has already brought down several Scientology websites with denial of service attacks (DDoS). Anon has already made news with their deeds. I implore you to get educated, and read any information as it becomes available. All religions should make their private documents to the public and they do not have the right to silence and suppress critics or non-believers. The church has even gone so far as to insist that Jesus was a pedophile among other absurd statements of slander. Furthermore, the church is responsible for numerous deaths as well as other disgusting acts of human abuse. John Travolta will not treat his severely autistic child because he does not believe in psychological disorders. Please assist in the spread of information in any way you can, it is essential for change.
"Knowledge is Free.
We Are Anonymous. We Are Legion. We do not Forgive. We do not Forget.
Expect Us."
Blu3
The new semester has just begun, which is why I've been absent for a few days. Genetics is wonderfully interesting; my professor is an eccentric Italian chap with shaggy hair. I finally get to go inside the Genetics-Biotech building... hooray! Gen-Bio is one of the newest buildings on the UW campus; it's a state of the art, multi-million dollar research facility. It quite scratches my science/nerd itch.
I also picked up the remastered version of Casablanca on HD DVD. It is in 4:3, but it looks AMAZING for a 70+ year old film. Casablanca remains one of the finest cinematic achievements of all time, and indeed one of the top 5 greatest movie stories ever. I could not be more impressed with the remaster and I highly recommend it.
A quick recap of the Australian Open- Maria Sharapova easily cruised past Ana Ivanovic, 7-5, 6-3 for a convincing victory in the Women's Final. Sharapova completed one of the greatest tournament runs in recent memory, failing to drop even a single set. In the Men's draw, Novak Djokovic stunned world #1 Roger Federer, defeating the Swiss master in straight sets. Federer's legendary run of 10 straight Grand Slam final appearances has finally ended. Djokovic, the feisty Serb, is quickly becoming a fan favorite due to his emotional flare and humorous, lighthearted approach to the game. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, an unseeded Frenchman, upset world #2 Rafael Nadal in an absolutely mindblowing performance. Tsonga played out of his mind- I've simply never seen a better show. This sets up an intriguing final of Tsonga vs. Djokovic, with Djokovic entering as the heavy favorite. This match will be one to watch and is sure to be filled with surprises.
Finally, I'd like to say a few words about the current internet war against Scientology. No religion is wrong and everyone on this earth is entitled to believe what they wish. If you are a Christian, or Muslim, or Buddhist, or you believe in the flying spaghetti monster (real religion... Google it) it is of your own free will that you choose to believe.
The Church of Scientology is a cult whose rammifications are terrifying. They degrade any member outside of their church, and church law gives members freedom to cause any necessary harm to non-Scientologists. The Co$ is a sham designed to make money and ruin lives.
Anonymous, a group of hackers, has declared war on the Co$, and has already brought down several Scientology websites with denial of service attacks (DDoS). Anon has already made news with their deeds. I implore you to get educated, and read any information as it becomes available. All religions should make their private documents to the public and they do not have the right to silence and suppress critics or non-believers. The church has even gone so far as to insist that Jesus was a pedophile among other absurd statements of slander. Furthermore, the church is responsible for numerous deaths as well as other disgusting acts of human abuse. John Travolta will not treat his severely autistic child because he does not believe in psychological disorders. Please assist in the spread of information in any way you can, it is essential for change.
"Knowledge is Free.
We Are Anonymous. We Are Legion. We do not Forgive. We do not Forget.
Expect Us."
Blu3
Friday, January 4, 2008
Warner goes Blu-ray!
Warner Bros. has decided that it will now support Blu-ray only instead of HD-DVD and Blu-ray together. This is HUGE news, placing over 70% of all major studio support in Blu-ray's corner.
Hit the link for more info: Blu-ray FTW.
In response, HD DVD has CANCELED their CES showing: HD DVD pouts.
Blu3
Hit the link for more info: Blu-ray FTW.
In response, HD DVD has CANCELED their CES showing: HD DVD pouts.
Blu3
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