TECH | It’s Showtime!

It’s Tuesday in America, and that means Apple’s big news day. But I didn’t have to fire up Firefox to get the news, as soon as I turned on my Mac I was asked if I wanted to update my iTunes (so that it would be compatible with movies and games). What I did need Firefox for was to see the new range of iPods…

Apple is the king of the trendy, fashionable (but only for this season), expensive gadgets. I own both a video iPod and an iPod Shuffle. Both have now been replaced with (apparently) better versions.

The iPod Shuffle is now so small, you can just clip it on your lapel, or anywhere you want. Of course you could just forget where you clipped it and put it in the washing machine with your clothes…. I wonder if Steve Jobs thought to make it waterproof?

Don’t get me wrong I think it’s extremely cool, but I’ll be hanging onto my old Shuffle, ‘cause I like the way it hangs around my neck. That, and it cost me $110, and it’s not that old! (It’s still under warranty).

Of course the new 80GB iPod Video would be nice, especially as Apple are now in the movie selling business. But wait, they’re only selling Disney movies. Oh that’s right, because Steve Jobs & Pixar own Disney. But then, as was quotes in Wayne’s World 2, “If you build it, they will come.” As with music, it should only be a matter of time before Apple shows the world that they know how to sell movies online, and then all the other movie companies will join up.

But then Apple doesn’t really care about the world. Well, not the whole world. To Apple, the world consists on America. In New Zealand there still isn’t an iTunes store to buy music. I’ve been tempted to try and set up an Australian account, seeing as everyone thinks we’re apart of Australia, but when I checked out the Aussie iTunes store it was devoid of the obvious: movies. Sure it had the games that can now be bought and downloaded to you new iPod, but no movies.

And this is pretty significant. iPods, like Sony’s PSP are portable, and like the PSP, iPods shouldn’t be constrained by regional zooming on it’s product, especially as most of the movies currently available on iTunes are back catalogue.

So c’mon Steve, make the Aussie iTunes available for Kiwis, and give us some Movies and TV programmes… there’s a whole different world outside of America.

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NEWS | Green Light For The Hobbit?

While other studios are cutting back on big budget tentpole films, MGM has decided to do the exact opposite and recently announced a slate of tentpole films budgeted in the 150 to 200 million dollar (US) range. Among those, which include Terminator 4 (cool) and a sequel to the The Thomas Crown Affair (huh?!?), is the one prequel most of us have been waiting for ever since we first laid eyes on Frodo and Samwise Gamgee.

That's right, not only is MGM planning to make J.R.R. Tolkien's prequel to the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, The Hobbit, but also they're planning "one or two instalments" and they'll be teaming with New Line to produce and they are hoping will be directed by Peter Jackson.

The main point of contention that had prevented The Hobbit from coming to the big screen was a complex rights issue between MGM and New Line that, for all intents and purposes, wouldn't be resolved until the universe caved in on itself but someone apparently worked some magic to clear up that issue. The only question now is, are they really willing to move forward if Jackson doesn't return to direct?

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DVD | A History Of Violence

Rating: R18 - Contains Graphic Violence & Sex Scenes.
Duration: 91 mins.
Genre : Suspense/Thriller.
Actors: Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, William Hurt, Maria Bello, Stephen McHattie, Peter MacNeill.
Release Date: Available now.

I was a little taken back when I discovered – just before watching – that David Cronenberg had directed A History Of Violence.

Cronenberg is a capable director, don’t get me wrong, it’s just that he normally chooses movies with a stranger subject. In the end however, it became easy to see why Cronenberg had chosen to tackle this movie.

History’s plot is simple: small town diner owner Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) is a loved member of the community, with a loving wife and two children. Then one night, as he’s closing up, two men enter his diner and demand to be served. Tom senses something isn’t right and tells his waitress she can go home, but then men stop her and Tom takes action. With in seconds Tom has disarmed both men and killed them. Tom is hailed a local Hero, and the story is picked up by the media and he becomes front page news.

The attention is unwanted, as Tom has a dark past that is about to catch up to him, and put his life and the safety of his family on the line.

The quality of the preview disk that I viewed History on, was such that the tonal range was all wrong, and the movie was devoid of a full range of colour, and resulted in a very dark image. Being a dark subject matter, I’m guessing that some of the scenes would have been filmed a little darker, but it’s hard to judge based on my viewing.

The camera work however was good, with some interesting angles, and the pacing was perfect, with Cronenberg finding the right amount of action vs reflection.

If you watch History purely as an entertaining movie, you might end up disappointed with the ending, but if you’re prepared to delve deeper into the subliminal subject matter, you’ll get the fullness of the story.

Cronenberg you see has strong beliefs in the Darwinian theory of survival of the fittest, and in History takes a look at inherited survival traits.

As the film’s title suggests, these survival traits are violent in nature, which comes as a shock to the viewer when they manifest in Tom’s son Jack, who has spent his entire life shying away from confrontation.

It’s in this dark and violent movie that Cronenberg wants us to believe that we are all capable of hideous acts of violence, if we are forced into a situation where our survival – or the survival of loved ones – depends on them.

It also seems to be Cronenberg’s belief that we cannot escape our past, that we are born a certain way, and that is what we will be for the rest of our lives.

It’s an interesting, if seriously flawed theory, which makes for an engaging movie.

Food for thought:
Are we born a certain way or do our decisions in life develop who we are?

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PS2 | Commandos Strike Force

I’d played Commandos once before, back when It was a really cool, think your way through the problem, played from an isometric view point.

It was clever because you could see the objective and think you route to it, and hard because you had to use you wits not to get caught!

So when I discovered the series had gone the way of the first person shooter, I was excited. The screen shots on the back on the box seemed to show damned good graphics, and if the game play was just as addictive, this would be one of those defining games.

Sadly though, Commandos Strike Force was an abysmal balls up.

Graphically clunky the game played like the dogs breakfast. Without the overview, the ability to plan was gone, and in its place was a confusing mess of uncertainly and annoyance.

What should have been a combination of Splinter Cell and Call of Duty, was instead a nightmare of wasted money.

NEWS | Pirates Continue Plunder

Despite the first Pirates Of The Caribbean flick making all kinds of money, the second one managed to out-monetize its predecessor and become the 3rd highest grossing movie of all-time over the past week, clearing the US$1 billion dollar mark worldwide, and placing it behind only Titanic at US$1.8 Billion and The Return Of The King at US$1.1 Billion. The original Pirates, in contrast, only made US$636M worldwide, placing it in 26th place on the overall list.

DVD | Land Of The Dead

Rating: R16 - Contains Horror Scenes & Violence.
Duration: 93 mins.
Genre : Zombie.
Actors: Robert Joy, Dennis Hopper, John Leguizamo, Simon Baker, Asia Argento.
Release Date: Available now.

Land of the Dead is cult director George A. Romero’s 4th Zombie movie. Having made a name for himself in 1968 with the most celebrated of zombie movies; Night of The Living Dead, Romero’s name became synonymous with anything zombie.

It’s been 20 years since his third outing, Day of the Dead in 1985, but the recent spate of zombie movies, including the remake of Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, enticed him to continue his Dead Series.

In Land of the Dead we find that the balance of power has been shifted, with zombies controlling the vast stretches of America (because, America is the entire world after all) and the living are forced to live in a walled city, run by corruption and greed.

Things, however, are about to get interesting, as the living dead are showing signs of intelligence, and their eyes are focused on the last remaining outpost of humanity.

Having not seen any of Romero’s previous masterpieces, I can’t comment on his previous works. I have however seen a number of the recent zombie movies, and in my opinion Romero isn’t king anymore.

Whilst Land of the Dead does have its freak me out moments and some tense situations, as a whole it’s a pretty ho-hum affair. The zombies aren’t very scary at all, and to some degree are far too over the top to be believable (disclaimer; I do know that zombies aren’t real, but some movies make them more believable than others!). They seem to have superhuman strength with little effort, being able to dismember the living with ease.

The blood is bright red and plentiful, making it look like Romero’s believes that we will all be filled with fear just because of some liberally used red food colouring.

What Romero was apparently good at, was weaving social commentary in his movies, and this is something he’s still good at.

Land of the Dead passes judgement on our corrupt, money loving western society, where the almighty dollar is the most important thing, and people are nothing but a commodity to be used, traded and abused.

There are three groups of people in Land of the Dead. The rich and powerful live in the intercity, in a controlled community. The rest of the living, circle the inner city in what is essentially a slum. And then there are the living dead. They roam the rest of the country, looking for food.

The slum dwellers are sent out in teams to the zombie controlled wastelands to raid supermarkets and chemists for supplies, along the way dispatching of as many zombies as they can – kind of like what big corporations do in the developing world.

When they get back to the walled city, the supplies are distributed to the living, but the cream of the crop go to those in the controlled community – money and power still buy you the best in life, with little in the way of hard work.

If anyone steps out of line, they’re likely to find themselves as zombie fodder, as he that controls the money, also controls the military.

As a zombie movie, there’s plenty of more entertaining movies to choose from, my favourite being 28 Days Later. As an interesting social commentary, Land of the Dead rules supreme.

Food for thought:
Money isn’t evil, it’s your attitude towards money that decides how it affects you.

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DVD | March Of The Penguins

Rating: G - Suitable for General Audiences.
Duration: 80 mins.
Genre : Documentary.
Actors: N/A.
Release Date: Available now.

March of the Penguins is a remarkable documentary. Produced by French director, Luc Jacquet, it follows the annual mating rituals of what must be the most resilient of animals: the emperor penguin.

Every summer, fresh from a period of feeding they march over 70 miles to their nesting grounds, where they find a mate, then after laying the egg, the mother passes it onto the father who looks after it for three months while the she walks back to the sea to get food. The father waits, and protects the egg for these three months with nothing to eat, and endures some of the severest storms that winter can produce.

Stunningly beautiful, March of the Penguins is a visual feast of an alien like landscape, complimented by the smooth narration of Morgan Freeman and an original musical score.

Initially trumpeted by the American Bible-belt’s moral agenda, for it’s family values, Penguins Director Jacquet, was quick to point out that whilst it was a story of love and commitment, the penguins choose different mates each year, so could hardly be a role model for Christian monogamy.

A better cause to trumpet would have been the love and self sacrifice of the emperor penguins that they literally risk their own lives, marching on empty stomachs to find food and enduring the worst living conditions known to man, all for the single purpose of pro-creating.

A remarkable and brilliantly produced documentary.

Food for thought:
Does western society place enough value on the upbringing of children?

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DVD | Battlefield Britain

Rating: PG - Contains Low Level Violence.
Duration: 497 mins.
Genre : Documentary.
Actors: N/A.
Release Date: Available Now.

Father and son Peter and Dan Snow team up to take a look at 200 years of battles that have helped shape British history.

Using a combination of computer graphics and re-enactments, pivotal battles in British history are bought to life. The focus is quite wide, with the Snow’s looking at the lives of the men who fought, the type of weaponry used and the tactics employed. They manage to show the human side of history through interview type segments where the men and women of the day (played of course by actors!) describe what is was like through there own experiences.

Because of the depth and breadth of the series, some episodes will be more enjoyable than others, and for me the most interesting was the last, which outlined the Battle of Britain. This also had the advantage of actual footage, and authentic accounts.

Overall, a very well done documentary that utilises several means of visualisation, to bring history to life.

Food for thought:
History has many lessons for those willing to listen.

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POSTER | Dr. No

I’m starting a new feature: Movie Posters. I saw a book in PaperPlus last night on the subject of classic movie posters. I spent a little time looking through it, but decided I couldn’t justify the expense. So instead of buying a book on the subject, I’m going to compile my own collection of movie posters online, and to kick it off we have who else but James Bond!

Dr. No (sometimes published as Doctor No) is the sixth James Bond novel by Ian Fleming, originally published in 1958. The novel was adapted as the first official Bond film in 1962, the success of which would lead to a popular, long, and continuing series of films made by EON Productions.

The film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman with Sean Connery in the first of six official appearances (and 1 unofficial) playing the role of British Secret Service agent, Commander James Bond.

I choose the French version of the Dr. No movie poster for two reasons, it’s unique in as far as it’s not overtly sexualised, and I love the simplistic approach to the brush work – simple, but bold, and it conveys Bond’s character very well.

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NEWS | WoW Memorial Service For Croc Hunter

With many still lamenting the unfortunate death of Steve Irwin, the man who struck fear into the hearts of elusive crocodiles everywhere, several World of Warcraft players have decided that it would be a marvelous idea to have an in-game memorial service. User Bubbrubb asserts in a WoW forum post that he's deeply upset about the Australian's passing and that a dignified gathering on the computerized coastal area, Zoram Strand, would be a fitting way of saying goodbye. "I would like to spell out CRIKEY with players as a tribute to his wonderous catch phrase, and then we can dance and swim in the ocean to celebrate his life instead of mourning his death."

The World of Warcraft has been host to similar events in the past, providing a common virtual ground for those hoping to express their grief with others. Of course, it also provides an outlet for those hoping to barge in on funerals and completely wreck the proceedings with little fear for real repercussion or reprisal. Let's hope there's a magical security detail for this one.

[Via CVG]

Because only sane people play WoW....

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DVD | Firewall

Rating: M - Contains Violence & Offensive Language.
Duration: 100 mins.
Genre : Suspense/Thriller.
Actors: Paul Bettany, Virginia Madsen, Harrison Ford, Alan Arkin, Robert Patrick, Robert Forster, Mary Lynn Rajskub.
Release Date: Available Now.

Jack Stanfield (Harrison Ford) has a very comfortable life, a loving wife, two kids and a dog. He’s living the American dream. His life is made comfortable because he’s good at what he does – he heads up computer security at a bank’s head office.

But changes are afoot, the bank is looking at a merger, and Jack is being head hunted. Changes, that could make Jack even more comfortable.

Unfortunately, because of his position, Jack is also a target, and when his family gets kidnapped, Jack finds that he has to use his skills to hack into the bank and steal money or his family will be killed.

Yes, we’ve seen the plot a million times before, and Harrison Ford plays it by the cards, it’s predictable, formulaic and has a saccharine sweet ending.

So why bother watching a run of the mill suspense flick? Because its fun, it’s easy on the brain and it’s got a warm fuzzy ending.

It also has a few twists and turns that you might not see coming, so there’s the possibility that you, like me, will be on the edge of your seats from time to time.

Production wise, like the plot and action, it’s average, but probably a lot better than anything you’ll be watching on TV!

Food for thought:
Money can’t buy you happiness, but it can make you a target!

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TECH | The Amazing Colossal iMac

Apple has done the unthinkable, introducing new computers on - gasp! - a Wednesday, not a Tuesday. If you haven't seen yet, check out the specs on the simply breathtaking 24" iMac. So massive but so delicate.

I never could have guessed eight years ago that the iMac would have gotten so small and so big at the same time. This is a product introduction that really caught me off-guard. In the mean time, the whole iMac line has gone to the Core2 Duo line of processors, so even the older models will scream.

The Mac mini has seen a similar update, though more modestly, hopping from Core Solo at the low-end to Core Duo across the line.

How quickly are we going to see those Core2 MacBooks now? Will it be Showtime Sept. 12 or do we wait until the 25th of the month? Why does Apple do all its introductions so close together?

Source: CultofMac

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NEWS | Code DVD Releases October 11

Sony have announced that The DaVinci Code will release on DVD in New Zealand on October 11th, with a single disk and a double disk Extended Edition. The weird thing is that the US release date has just been announced as November 14th, a month behind New Zealand!

Special Features on the extended edition are:

* Extended Film includes 25 minutes of additional footage!
* Filmmaker Commentaries
* First Day on the Set with Ron Howard
* Book To Screen
* A Portrait of Langdon
* Who Is Sophie Neveu?
* Unusual Suspects
* Close Up On Mona Lisa
* Recreating Works of Art
* Magical Places
* Da Vinci Tours
* Da Vinci Props
* The Filmmaking Experience
* Visual Effects
* Editing The Da Vinci Code
* Scoring
* Da Vinci (Film) Codes
* Da Vinci Cameos
* Deletes Scenes Featurette
* DVD Introduction From Ron Howard

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NEWS | Welcome To The Third Place

Europe, Australia and New Zealand PS3 Launch Pushed Back to March 2007
Xbox Europe boss Chris Lewis will surely have cracked a smile this morning as he, along with the rest of the world, awoke to the news that Sony has been forced into ordering a humiliating delay of PlayStation 3 in Europe. He perhaps even allowed himself a hearty chuckle.

For when Microsoft embarked upon its audacious global next-generation crusade with Xbox 360 it could scarcely have hoped, nine months after launch, to be in the lofty comfort zone it finds itself in today in Europe.
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Acutely aware of the importance of being first to market, Microsoft smashed the traditional hardware launch model in a back-breaking effort to ship to the US, Japan and Europe near-simultaneously. And in the face of intense skepticism it pulled it off. Just.

Last year's launch of Xbox 360 was far from perfect, as any number of shortage-ravaged retailers or empty-handed gamers would have testified. But it launched on time and thus immediately reset consumer and trade expectations of a hardware launch; and, significantly, gave Europe hope that it would no longer be treated as the second-class citizen of the gaming world. For once, the rhetoric rang true.

And 360's unprecedented worldwide roll-out came, lest we forget, hot on the heels of Sony's own clumsily delayed European PSP launch. That Microsoft had therefore changed the rules of engagement became abundantly clear earlier this year as both Nintendo and Sony quickly fell into line, promising grand, effectively copycat, global launch initiatives for Wii and PlayStation 3.

[read more]

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NEWS | Lost's Hanso Revealed

The Lost plot has thickened significantly. Over the last several months, the creators of Lost have been trickling information to fans while the show is on summer hiatus, through an innovative "game" called the Lost Experience.

The latest phase of the game has had users tracking down fragments of a video featuring none other than the legendary Alvar Hanso himself -- the mysterious founder of the Hanso Foundation, an organization referenced in the show that has something to do with the island the show's main characters find themselves on. In the video, Hanso claims that the DHARMA Initiative was formed to "do nothing less, than save the world."

Hanso says that an equation exists (probably having something to do with Hurley's numbers, I'll bet) that can predict the years, days, and hours to when humanity will exterminate itself -- through nuclear war, pandemic, or some other means. DHARMA is an acronym that stands for Department of Heuristics And Research on Material Applications. Most interesting of all, Hanso mentions the Lost island at great length, revealing that its location is the greatest of secrets, and that DHARMA uses the island as its base of operations, via "underground laboratories." Other notes of interest include mentions of perpetual food and supply drops and the island's radio transmitter.

When the video ends, the camera pulls back to reveal that it was playing for a group of modern-day scientists, who are attempting to succeed where Hanso failed, using some sort of virus...

Ho-hum

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DVD | Life Is A Miracle

Rating: M - Contains Sex Scenes, Offensive Language and Drug Use.
Duration: 155 mins.
Genre : Festival & Foreign.
Actors: Slavko Stimac, Natasa Solak, Vesna Trivalic, Vuk Kostic, Aleksandar Bercek, Stribor Kusturica, Mirjana Karanovic, Branislav Lalevic, Nikola Kojo.
Release Date: September 13, 2006.

Luka is a man with a vision. He lives in a small Bosnia town and has a passion for trains. It’s these trains that form his vision.

You see Luka is building a scenic railway to encourage tourists to visit his village. But no everyone shares his vision. His wife would rather be somewhere else, with someone else and his son just wants to play football. But the townsfolk are behind him, so that’s something.

And then the war starts. Luka’s son is drafted into the army and his wife runs away with another man. Luka’s dream and family has been taken from him. The army takes over the railroad and forces him to stay and maintain it.

Storm clouds have gathered and threaten to engulf Luka when a ray of unexpected sunshine brightens his life, in the form of an attractive young Muslim nurse called Sabaha.

Initially brought to him, as a prisoner of war, and entrusted to his care, Luka and Sabaha soon sense a spark passion, and embrace each other and life with renewed vigour. There’s of course is not an easy romance.

Life Is A Miracle is a light hearted, warm human drama/comedy that takes a different look at the Bosnian conflict, with a hilariously eccentric cast that includes reoccurring scenes with a very stubborn donkey.

Clocking in at a whopping 155 minutes, you will need a bit of stamina, but it’s well worth the effort to see story telling as rich as this.

Food for thought
Sunlight always comes after the storm.

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DVD | Yesterday

Rating: PG - Contains Adult Themes.
Duration: 96 mins.
Genre : Festival & Foreign.
Actors: Kenneth Khambula, Leleti Khumalo, Harriet Lenabe, Lihle Mvelase, Camilla Walker.
Release Date: Available now.

Yesterday is a moving story set against the harsh landscape of rural South Africa. You can almost feel the sense of hopelessness during the movies agonisingly slow intro, and you start to wonder what kind of a movie you’ve just sat down to watch.

But once Yesterday unveils it’s secret you’ve come to love the lead character, a fiercely independent and proud mother by the name of Yesterday, and the discovery comes as a savage body blow.

Yesterday is sick – she’s been walking the two-hour plus journey to the clinic every two weeks in an effort to see the doctor, but she’s always too late and the queue is too long. When a friend steps into to help and pays for a taxi ride, Yesterday gets the news that she has contracted AIDS from her husband, who works in Johannesburg, and is rarely home.

It’s here where the movie really kicks in. We get to see the human face of AIDS. The violent denial of her husband, the forgiveness and acceptance of Yesterday, and the ignorance and fear of the other villagers.

To say that Yesterday is a powerful and moving story would be a gross understatement. To claim that it offers hope and understanding would be a lie. What it does do is force you to confront some of the issues facing the uneducated people of the developing world, and makes you look at your own life, taunting you to complain about the traffic, or the price of petrol, and mocking you for doing so.

Food for thought
Ignorance strips away dignity and denies love its opportunity to shine.

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NEWS | Jackson Goes To War!

Peter Jackson has signed on to produce the WWII action flick Dambusters for Universal with his longtime associate Christian Riversa making his directorial debut. Rivers, who was worked with Jackson in various fashions over 17 years, recently served as animation director on King Kong. The film is based on the WWII air raid attack on three Nazi dams that were essential to running German steel factories. The story of the dam busters was previously made into a movie in 1955.

Jackson said of the film, "When Michael Anderson made his thrilling version of this story in 1955, many details of the dams raid were still a closely guarded secret. It has since been declassified by the British government, making the dynamics of the story and the people involved even more intriguing."

Universal is looking to get into production on the US$30-$40 million Dambusters next summer with a 2008 release planned. Jackson, who is also producing HALO for Universal and Fox, is expected to next direct The Lovely Bones based on Alice Sebold's novel.

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DVD | Lord of War

Rating: R16 - Contains Violence, Offensive Language, Drug Use & Sex Scenes.
Duration: 117 mins.
Genre : Black Comedy.
Actors: Ian Holm, Nicolas Cage, Ethan Hawke, Jared Leto, Bridget Moynahan, Eamonn Walker, Sammy Rotibi.
Release Date: Available now.

It’s hard to categorise Lord of War. I went into it thinking it would be a little like The Rock or Con Air – an action flick with some seriously funny one-liners. But alas, it was slightly more sedate. It was a mix between a black comedy, action story, political protest and true story.

It’s essentially the story of one man, being voiced over and acted by Nicolas Cage. It’s disturbingly funny and has numerous one-liners to keep you smiling – or cringing, depending on how black you taste in humour is. The pace is sufficient to call it more of an action movie than a drama, but probably not enough to satisfy a die hard action fan. It is beautifully shot and has some colourful characters and great chemistry.

Its moral agenda is clear – guns are inherently bad – and it’s political views are rammed home right at the end of the movie.

It is an interesting mix, the kind of movie you’d expect if you combined Michael Bay with Michael Moore, and in the end gets you thinking as well as being entertained.

Food for thought
Guns don't kill people. People kill people, right?

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TECH | Zune Is a Modded Toshiba Gigabeat

As you may have noticed, this is the time of year when everyone begins to assume that some great new device will unseat Apple's iPod as king of the digital media player hill.

The newest entrant in the field (so new it isn't, you know, officially unveiled), is Microsoft's Zune. A lot of people think that Microsoft, using all of its resources, will inevitably kill the iPod.

Not so fast, noted American Technology Research Analyst Shawn Wu to Forbes.

"Microsoft had hinted of an all-new design from the ground up, but from our analysis, it appears that the Zune is essentially a repackaged Toshiba Gigabeat that has seen limited success," said Wu in a report.

Yeaahhhhhhhh. There's the way you take down a dominant force -- repackage a previously unsuccessful solution. I am officially unafraid of Zune now. Do your worst Microsoft!

Oh, right. You already have. It's kind of pathetic.

Via MacSurfer.

Not that I was ever afraid of Zune.

DVD | The Grid

Rating: M - Contains Violence & Sex Scenes.
Duration: 270 mins.
Genre : Television Drama.
Actors: Dylan McDermott, Tom Skerritt, Julianna Margulies, Bernard Hill, James Remar, Jemma Redgrave, Paula Devicq.
Release Date: Available now.

The Grid is a three-part BBC mini-series that plays on our post 9-11 fears. As gritty and realistic as HBO’s Dirty War, The Grid outpaces and out classes HBO’s TV Movie by taking the threat world wide and involving a combined British and American team.

Where as it is your typical Muslims-are-the-bad-guys plot, as everything is these days, The Grid takes a more balanced approach and shows normal, everyday Muslims as being a valid part of modern society.

The story takes the action across the globe, as the good guys are taken on a wild goose chase, and the terrorists seem to have the upper hand.

ER’s Julianna Margulies fits in perfectly to her new counter terrorism role, and is aptly supported by Dylan McDermott. But what makes The Grid really stand out from the usual crop of US crime dramas is the inclusion of the British side, and approach.

The BBC has crated a winning formula with a human drama that has a fast paced plot, plenty of twists and turns, and some great on screen chemistry.

Food for thought
Hatred left unchecked will grow into rage and devour you.

NEWS | Black Sheep

Weta Workshop has completed filming on this unique and extremely fun feature. Written and directed by Jonathan King, Black Sheep tells the story of what happens when an experiment in genetic engineering on a vast New Zealand sheep station goes horribly, horribly wrong. Trust us when we tell you that this film will change your perception of the 40 million cute and fluffy sheep in New Zealand!
weta

Only a New Zealand filmmaker could come up with a story that turns the cute and cuddly into the evil and menacing. This is a fun project that is simply and undeniably commercial in its intent.
mark gooder, icon

Oh yes, killer sheep on the rampage, bring it on…

DVD | Keeping Mum

Rating: M – Contains Violence, Sexual References & Offensive Language.
Duration: 99 mins.
Genre : Comedy.
Actors: Rowan Atkinson, Patrick Swayze, Maggie Smith, Kristin Scott Thomas, Emilia Fox, Tamsin Egerton, Liz Month.
Release Date: Available now.

Rowan Atkinson is perfectly cast in the role of a small village vicar who is so straight laced that he doesn’t notice the world going on by.

But this is no ordinary Mr Bean comedy – Keeping Mum has a much darker comedic edge, and is all the better for it. Even with the inclusion of Patrick Swayze, the movie tends to keep to the British mode of humour, and retains much subtlety, rather than the garish in-you-face comedy that Americans are famous for.

It’s a bit of a cross between Mr Bean and a Murder Mystery, and this has the effect of keeping you slightly on edge, and laughing out loud at the stupidity of it all.

The entire cast is perfect, and play their parts wonderfully – even Swayze seems comfortable with poking fun at himself, which is good, because he’s easy to laugh at.

Of course, plot wholes big enough to drive a truck through abound, but that’s on par for a movie of this type.

Food for thought
How often do we get so focused on what we’re doing that we don’t notice the world going on by without us?

DVD | River Queen

Rating: M – Contains Violence.
Duration: 109 mins.
Genre : Drama.
Actors: Kiefer Sutherland, Stephen Rea, Cliff Curtis, Samantha Morton, Temuera Morrison, Anton Lesser, Rawiri Pene, Wi Kuki Kaa.
Release Date: Available now.

River Queen is an interesting movie and a fascinating story that starts off rather haphazardly and confusing.

Essentially a story focussed an Irish immigrant called Sarah, the focus tends to lurch around a lot in the first half of the movie, making the whole affair somewhat of a chore to endure. But when the movie settles down in its direction and focus in the latter stages of the movie, Vincent Ward delivers a historical epic that takes an interesting look at conflicting cultures and what it really means to be a family.

The subject of Colonisation and subsequent war is handled well, and neither side comes out smelling of roses, in fact redemption seems on offer only for four of the central characters. Everyone else is painted with a rather bleak brush. It’s possible Ward is trying to say something about man’s inherently aggressive nature, rather than taking sides in a conflict that still causing grief today.

Visually, the movie can’t fail. With New Zealand as its backdrop, amazing vistas are everywhere. Pace wise, as mentioned before, River Queen takes a while to find it’s groove, but when it does the pace picks up and we’re left wondering just how the story will pan out.

Food for thought
How do you define family, and what would you do to protect yours?

NEWS | Violent Research

A new study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology reports that as few as 20 minutes of violent video game play can desensitise players to real violence. The 257 college students who took part in the study were divided into groups that played violent and non-violent games, then had their emotional reactions measured when exposed to short, extremely violent film clips. Researchers found that those who played the violent games had "lowered physiological responses." Iowa State University instructor Nicholas Carnagey, who co-led the study, observed, "It appears that individuals who play violent video games get used to it. They eventually become physiologically numb to it."

Interesting, but somewhat flawed.

The term real violence is ambiguous at best. I mean you take a group of people that enjoy video games, played on a TV screen, and then test their response to ‘real violence’ by showing them images on a TV screen. It doesn’t work that way. I can see news images on TV and not be moved by them, because it’s what you expect to see. It’s not real, because there’s nothing you can do about it.

But put me in a situation where someone needs my help, and I’m able to do something about it, and I’ll help. Its not about being desensitised, its about context.

And of violent behaviour, how much is really caused by violent video games? My neighbour gets verbally violent most weekends. He doesn’t play video games, he drinks excessively.

PS2 | Black

I don’t mind dying.

It’s all part of the game really – you’re not going to be able to play the game without dying on occasion.

The problem was with my rebirth.

I’d been sneaking around the forest for some time, killing the patrolling guards. I’d managed to blast my way, building to building through the enemy compound, and was now through the border. The problem now was the sniper with the RPG, down the end of a straight road, just out of range of my gun. I’d invested over 30 minutes of my night to get to this point in the mission.

And it’s this last 30 minutes that was on my mind as my heartbeat slowed and my vision became blurry and dark. Death wasn’t a problem, having to re-play a whopping 30 minutes of game play just to get to the same point and die again, was.

I did end up completing the mission – a whopping 1 hour and 14 minutes long. And it did come with two checkpoints. One just after the RPG sniper, and one about 20 minutes later.

The problem with checkpoints, as I learnt two missions later was that they were only valid while you were playing. Exit the game because you want to go to bed, and return the next day and you have to start the mission all over again.

With the amount of time Black demands of you for a single mission, it quickly became too much for a part-time gamer like me. I won’t be re-staring my last mission; instead I’ll be returning the game early. I just don’t have the time to play a game that I restart a mission after I’ve already invested far too much time.

Which is a pity, as Black is one of those games you fall in love with. It’s a FPS like no other. It’s a visual and audio feast with environmental destruction like no other. It also makes you wonder if the Next Gen Consoles are coming out a tad too soon – Black proves that the rusty old PS2 still hasn’t been pushed far enough by game developers.

If you have plenty of time up your sleeves to be able to push through to the next mission, and you don’t get violently aggravated by having to relay over and over again, then black will be a treat for you.

GAMES | Has "Hot Coffee" Killed Creativity?

More than a year after the events of the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas' Hot Coffee scandal, game developers are still reeling from the effects the scandal's had on games in general. According to an MTV article, one of the long-term effects that have come about as a result has been the killing of creativity.

In addition to fears of getting sued, game developers have also had to endure protests and public demonstrations, as well as a tightening of censorship worldwide. The most prominent example of anti-game sentiment probably lies in the will of Jack Thompson, who has not only sued companies and tried to coerce its shareholders, but also appeared on variety of shows to pursue his agenda.

On the protest side, the Peaceaholics recently protested in front of Take-Two's New York office in preparation for the release of Bully, which some seem to think will be a schoolyard GTA. Lastly, censorship has been somewhat more pronounced, and developers have now begun to go the extra mile in filtering their games to pass scrutiny. As Denis Dyack, head of Silicon Knights, mentions, "We've seen signs that creativity in our industry is being chilled as a result of last year's political and media attention."

On the one hand, games have been watered down somewhat to suit the current trend of censorship. Whereas something like Resident Evil would have had no controversy behind it from ratings boards when the first game came out, Dead Rising has garnered media attention just by being rated. As a developer who wished to remain anonymous put it, "If you're going to the ESRB with a rating and it comes back with an 'oh no, this stuff is bad,' then I've seen cases where the developer is like, 'We'd better cut back these other five things, even though the developer hasn't brought them up, as a good-faith effort to show them we're playing along.' "

There is a good side, however, to all this. Like it or not, the attention does force developers to make titles that will appeal to a broader spectrum. How else would Rockstar even be associated with table tennis, for example? This does increase the general appeal of games and acts as something cohesive rather than divisive pasttime.

In addition to this, the history of video game acceptance is much like the history of movie, television and comic book acceptance in their developing years, as game developers who want certain things to remain in the game, at least in essence, will find other creative ways to make the same emotion or sentiment known. This was the case in the creation of visual metaphors in movies, as well as the art of concealing details in comic books to lessen gore and heighten readers' imagination and ideas of suspense.

Games will continue to thrive, and censors will continue to exist. Hot Coffee showed us that there can be a difference between gaming sense and social sensibility. The task now, if we want games to move in the direction of acceptance that television and movies have earned now, is to find ways to be creative and make a profit without going overboard and losing the respect of the majority.

DVD | Match Point

Rating: M - Contains Violence & Sex Scenes.
Duration: 118 mins.
Genre : Drama.
Actors: Brian Cox, Penelope Wilton, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Matthew Goode.
Release Date: Available now.

I think all Woody Allen movies should be forced to have a big warning on them: This is a Woody Allen Movie. Had Match Point been forced to carry such a warning, I could have saved myself 118 minutes of wasted time.

Some people rave about Woody Allen, so much so, that when Melinda & Melinda was released, I decided to see what all the fuss was about. That’s when I discovered that Allen is hopeless at writing and directing. Of course Match Point doesn’t carry such a warning, in fact it does to lengths to hide the fact.

So enough of my attacks on Woody Allen, lets get back to the movie. Match Point plays out like a bad copy of Cruel Intentions. One could almost say a made for adults version. Gone was the blatant nudity and absurd (but hilarious) storyline, and in its place was carefully filmed sex scenes and social climbing through marriage.

What Allen managed to make was a calculated, predictable story of lust and luck. Yes, luck. You see, where by all the real characters were just there to portray the storyline, luck was the main character, the big star, the main reason. Luck, as Mr Allen would have you believe is the only thing controlling our lives.

Food for thought
If luck is all we can hope for, is there any hope at all?

DVD | Paradise Now

Rating: M - Contains Adult Themes.
Duration: 90 mins.
Genre : Festival.
Actors: Lubna Azabel, Amer Hiehel, Kais Nashef, Ali Suliman.
Release Date: Available now.

Khaled and Said have been best friends all their lives. They’ve grown up together, stuck together, and decided to do one last thing together.

They’re about to send a message to Israel. Well, not so much send, but be the message. They’ve both been chosen to be suicide bombers. Martyrs for the cause. It’s something they’ve wanted to do, and do together for a while.

And now they have their chance.

But things don’t go quite to plan, and the mission is aborted, and almost totally called off. On reflecting their choices, in the shadow of having explosives strapped to their bodies, both men let their thoughts travel down different roads. One, who hooks up with the child of a great martyr, finds out that there’s another side to the story, one of pain and loss. The other however, spends the time becoming more resolved to be the messenger.

On a whole, Paradise Now isn’t the most action packed movie – in fact it’s quite dull in places. But that’s the whole point of the movie – it’s about the life of two Palestinians, two average people living average lives, who suddenly get a chance at greatness.

What the movie does have, and have in abundance is a balanced view on the topic. It tells the story with a commitment to laying out the faults on both sides of the fence. It doesn’t glorify the situation either.

Far from entertaining, it is informative and eye opening, and forces you to think about what you truly believe.

Food for thought
When faced with no other means of fighting, are suicide bombers a legitimate form of protest?

NEWS | 28 Weeks Later

Ok, so 28 Days is probably my favourite Zombie movie, a little bit low budget at times, but it had more of a gritty, realistic feel to it.

And now comes the sequel. Go figure, I didn’t think they’d make one either, but heres the basic outline:

A cure has been found for the rage virus, and 28 Weeks into the re-population of London, an infected guy somehow walks into London and starts the infection process all over again.

Oh boy, now that’s original! It’s also somewhat high on the possible CHEESE factor. The only good news is that the original films creative trio - Danny Boyle, Andrew MacDonald and Andrew Garland are attached to the project.

I’m not holding my breath for this one.

POSTER | Children Of Men

The world's youngest citizen has just died at 18, and humankind is facing the likelihood of its own extinction. Set in and around a dystopian London fractious with violence and warring nationalistic sects, Children of Men follows the unexpected discovery of a lone pregnant woman and the desperate journey to deliver her to safety and restore faith for a future beyond those presently on Earth.

Such is the premise for the movie, Children of Men, based on a 1992 novel by PD James and starring Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

The poster and trailer both have me amped to see this one!

UPDATE | Cruise Gets Axed!

Update #2: Paula Wagner is outraged! Uses words like "undignified" and "graceless". Ladies and gentlemen, let the games begin!

Update: As per Variety, Cruise's producing partner Paula Wagner denounces Redstone's comment about Cruise's off-screen antics affecting box office receipt and mentioned that Cruise had terminated communications with Paramount earlier this week in order to "set up an independent operation" as that new business model would benefit "top actors" such as him. What's the truth here? Who fired who? More as we get it.

DVD | Mozart and the Whale

Rating: M - Contains Offensive Language & Sexual References.
Duration: 90 mins.
Genre : Romantic Comedy.
Actors: Josh Hartnett, Gary Cole, John Carroll Lynch, Radha Mitchell, Sheila Kelley, Allen Evangelista.
Release Date: Available now.

Mozart and the Whale is a warm, funny and often frustrating romantic comedy from the Oscar winning writer of Rain Man.

It is based on the true story of two people with Asperger's Syndrome who meet at an Autistic support group. Asperger’s is a form of high functioning autism that adversely affects the ability to socially interact, but not the desire to interact.

Of course the romance between Donald and Isabella is fraught with problems, and this is where the frustration sets in – not frustration at the movie, but at the characters and their inability to connect.

It’s also where the humour comes in, with the quirks of not only Donald and Isabella, but also all their friends in the support group. Social norms are destroyed by a group of delightful characters that just don’t get what it means to act normal.

Humour and romance are not the only treats on offer as the movie has much to portray about humanities inadequacies and prejudices.

Mozart and the Whale is an absolute smorgasbord of emotions and inexplicable situations that will warm the embers of your soul.

Food for thought
Who decides what normal is?

NEWS | Cruise Gets Axed!

Despite early reports suggesting that Paramount would be renewing their deal with Tom Cruise and his Cruise/Wagner Productions, albeit under substantially less lucrative terms, Viacom (Paramount's parent company) chairman Summer Redstone has decided against renewing Cruise's deal and will essentially be booting Cruise's ass off the Paramount lot. Even though Cruise perhaps believed himself to have such an air of impenetrability that his offscreen Scientology-fueled antics would have no repercussions whatsoever, the reason given by Redstone for ending the relationship with the megastar was "As much as we like him personally, we thought it was wrong to renew his deal. His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount." Ooooh, buuuuurn! Of course, it's likely Cruise will be setting up shop at another studio in no time but for a studio to sever all ties after a fourteen-year relationship with arguably the world's biggest star? Maybe now Cruise will understand the gravity of his continued insanity.

Source: Joblo

BOOK | Serenity – Those Left Behind

Here’s how it is – in a universe filled with hearts and minds as cold and dark as the reaches of space, one small Firefly-class starship named Serenity takes it’s ragtag crew of mercenaries, outlaws, and fugitives in search of a job, any job, that’ll earn them enough cash to afford that most elusive commodity – peace.

Josh Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, unveils a previously unknown chapter in the lives of his favourite band of space brigands in this prequal to the Serenity feature film – the blockbuster follow-up to Whedon’s cult-hit TV show Firefly.

As soon as I discovered this little gem on the Internet, I had to order it. One week later and it’s in my hands, waiting to be lovingly absorbed.

I know I’m gonna enjoy it, even though I also know that it’s not going to be the same as watching Firefly or Serenity, but by gosh, it’s another story. The TV show may have been axed, and the movie may have found a conclusion, but now Josh has found another avenue to tell the stories!

And looking at the large number 1 on the spine, one can only hope that there will be more.

DVD | The Brothers Grimm

Rating: M - Contains Medium Level Violence.
Duration: 113 mins.
Genre : Action Adventure.
Actors: Mackenzie Crook, Heath Ledger, Peter Stormare, Jonathan Pryce, Matt Damon, Lena Headey, Monica Bellucci, Richard Ridings, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Julian Bleach, Bruce McEwan.
Release Date: Available now.

Matt Damon and Heath Ledger are the Brothers Grim. A pair of 18th Century con artists who make up fairy tales to play on the fears of simple towns folk to fleece them out of money.

But then they come upon a town that really is cursed, and they have to use all their wits not only to save the town’s children, but also their own lives.

Terry Gilliam does a wonderful job of creating a world where imagination runs rampant, and fairy tales come to life.

While to story line meanders in some confusing directions, the humour and chemistry between the actors more than make up for a little head scratching. The world of fantasy that comes from Gilliam’s mind is a visual feast, and the enchanting visuals are worth the price of admission on their own.

The pace is varied, but the action makes up for any moments of tedium, and in the end the movie finishes on a high that allows you to come away with a smile on your face.

Food for thought
Reality can be more scary than fantasy, but if we don’t face up to our own fears we’ll never be able to live our lives to their fullest.

NEWS | Reservoir Dogs computer game classified "objectionable"

The Office of Film and Literature Classification has classified the computer game Reservoir Dogs "objectionable".

The Classification Office made this decision because Reservoir Dogs tends to promote and support the infliction of extreme violence and extreme cruelty by encouraging the player to perform, and then by showcasing in slow motion, the most extreme forms of violence and brutality for the purpose of entertainment.

The player controls the six characters who appear in the 1992 movie of the same name. The player must kill large numbers of police officers. By taking members of the public and police officers hostage, the player is able to force the police to drop their weapons. The player can pistol whip hostages and repeatedly smash their heads onto nearby walls and surfaces. After the police comply, they can be disarmed, or killed in whichever manner the player chooses. The player can also choose to set the hostage free, execute the hostage with a single, point blank shot to the head, or kill the hostage using a "signature move". These signature moves include the ability to burn a hostage’s eyes out with a lit cigar, chop off a hostage’s fingers with a cigar cutter, and hack off a hostage's ear using a scalpel, all while the hostage pleads and screams in pain. Deaths can be replayed in slow motion to show, for example, bullets entering and leaving a person’s body with large sprays of blood as he dies, and decapitation by shotgun blast, leaving a headless body lying on the ground spurting blood. The player is able to repeat this violence and cruelty ad infinitum and without penalty for the purpose of entertainment.

A classification of “objectionable” means that the computer game Reservoir Dogs is banned. It is an offence for anyone to import, possess, copy, supply, advertise, exhibit or distribute the game in New Zealand.

But it's still ok to rent/buy the movie on DVD and watch it over and over again?

DVD | The Legend Of Zorro

Rating: M - Contains Medium Level Violence.
Duration: 127 mins.
Genre : Action & Adventure.
Actors: Rufus Sewell, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Antonio Banderas, Nick Chinlund, Julio Oscar Mechoso.
Release Date: Available now.

The Legend of Zorro sees Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones reprise their roles, this time with the future of California at stake.

The movie starts off very cheesy with a set piece chase and fight scene that defies all logic and believability – even for a movie!

But once the movie finds it’s groove, the action scenes become intense and entertaining, and the spots of humour manage to keep the whole affair a light-hearted romp.

With beautiful Wild West scenery, and some great casting in both the villains and minor good guy parts, Legend is an enjoyable adventure that is well paced, and easy to digest.

Food for thought
Can justice be fought from behind a lie?

TECH | Zune Details

A number of new details have come to light about Microsoft's upcoming Zune MP3 player, such as the fact that its bundled earbuds have magnets which make them stick together, the "scrollwheel" is actually a four-way rocker button, the device itself has a magnet on its back (possibly for earbud stickage?), there's a grip on the back for watching videos in landscape mode, and EMI will pre-pack the device with music videos. And like the Neuros devices before it, the Zune will receive and transmit FM radio, so that you don't have to buy an accessory in order to hear static-y digital music over your car stereo.

Gizmodo even scored an exclusive photo - taken in black and white because the Microsoft employee who apparently leaked it didn't want to get busted (each of the 150 beta units evidently has its own color scheme, to discourage such leaks). Nice work, Gizmodo. Or, if the Microsoft leaker actually works with its PR company, congratulations is due there as well; this photo is adding considerably to the buzz around Zune.

The site also mentioned a feature on the device called "Capture Settings" (currently disabled on the beta devices), but didn't venture a guess as to what it might do. I think it's for copying someone else's Zune settings and themes using an ad-hoc Wi-Fi connection (also currently disabled). If I'm right, that option points to the Zune being highly configurable/skinnable.

I also think the Zune will carry a database of the entire Zune music store with it, so that you can select stuff to download while you're offline. MusicGremlin has already done exactly this, but doesn't discuss its pending patents.

These new details are fascinating, but the biggest shock to me so far is still that the Zune won't support Microsoft's own PlaysForSure partners. Napster, Wal-Mart, and all of the other PFS partners are surely shaking in their boots right now, despite Microsoft's claims that it intends to keep supporting the PlaysForSure platform. In a world where iPod and Zune could become the Coke and Pepsi of digital music, there won't be room for many RC Colas.

Source: wired

DVD | 36 Quai des Orfevres

Rating: R16 - Contains Violence & Offensive Language.
Duration: 110 mins.
Genre : Festival.
Actors: Gerard Depardieu, Valeria Golino, Daniel Auteuil, André Dussollier, Roschdy Zem, Daniel Duval.
Release Date: Available now.

36 is a dark, gritty, French police thriller that sets two rival cops against each other, in a race to catch a gang of deadly criminals, and promotion.

It’s dark as the movie makes it very clear that everyone is corrupt. The only difference between the two cops is that one of them still holds on to a code of ethics, whereas the other will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

Gritty because this down and dirty police thriller will have you on the edge of your seats with and explosive and emotional roller coaster, that twists and turns all over the French countryside.

It’s also a film that sees the aging Gerard Depardieu show that he is back on his game, and shines in the role of one so nasty.

Of course being subtitled will put many people off, but once you get past your prejudice of reading, you’ll be entertained with a clever, well thought out thriller that will hold onto you till the very end.

Food for thought
Corruption is ok so long as it leads to something good being achieved, right?

DVD | V For Vendetta

Rating: R13 - Contains Violence, Offensive Language & Sexual References.
Duration: 133 mins.
Genre : Action and Adventure.
Actors: Hugo Weaving, John Hurt, Stephen Rea, Natalie Portman, Tim Pigott-Smith, Rupert Graves, Stephen Fry, Sinéad Cusack.
Release Date: Available now.

V for Vendetta is the Wachowski brothers follow up to the Matrix trilogy, and as you’d expect is not only visually stylish, but also has a message. Loosely based on Alan Moore’s graphic novel of the same name, Vendetta finds England under a totalitarian government, with strong Orwellian overtones, and plenty of nods to Nazi Germany.

But these are only visual clues to what’s going on in the movie – the real target is the current American political system, and seems all to timely to be a piece of fiction.

The movie starts out with a brief history lesson on Guy Fawkes, narrated by Natalie Portman, Vendetta’s tough heroine. It’s necessary to set the tone for our hero’s, who wears the mask and cape of Guy Fawkes to disguise his true identity.

Britain is once again a superpower, America is in turmoil, but the British people are far from free. They have succumbed to government control in every aspect of their lives, and have forgotten what individual though is. That‘s where V comes into play. He knows the truth, and he’s about to start opening eyes whilst embarking on a less than noble journey.

As a movie there is plenty to like about Vendetta. The comical side to the ever-smiling Mask that V hides behind is pure genius. The plot never seems to go in a predictable direction and the action is never far away.

Beautifully filmed, the attention to detail is not left only to the visual sense, but the audible senses are delighted with whimsical verbose, where unending strings of nonsense some how make perfect sense.

There are quotes a plenty to be remembered, the main one being “People should never be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people”. This is a movie that deserves to be watched more than once, and is destined to become a cult movie.

Food for thought
But again, if truth be told... if you are looking for the guilty, you need only look in the mirror.

TECH | No More Burnt Fingers

Now this I wish I had thought of.

When you're at a concert and a band goes into that one solo that just shreds, but really slow? Throw up a tribute with your lighter!

But wait -- you're in California AND a non-smoker. How can you show your love for late-period REO Speedwagon? With the iScorch, a nice picture of a lighter flame for the iPods nano and photo or an exciting video for the most recent iPod. The future of tributes is here.

Rock is here to stay. Burnt fingers are a thing of the past.

Source: Digg.

DVD | Hostel

Rating: R18 - Contains Violence, Offensive Language, Drug Use & Sex Scenes.
Duration: 95 mins.
Genre : Horror.
Actors: Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson, Jan Vlasák, Eythor Gudjonsson, Lenka Vlasakova.
Release Date: Available now.

Hostel revolves around the antics of three young backpackers in Amsterdam, looking for a good time – drugs, sex and more sex. But when they get kicked out of a promising club, only to return to their hostel to find they’ve missed curfew, it seems like they’ve missed out on all the fun. That is until a local rescues them and offers his place for the night. Here he enthrals them with tales of this Hostel in Eastern Europe, where the girls are beautiful, easy, and most importantly, they just LOVE Americans.

Not seeing the obviousness of their host’s bad acting they decide to set out and find said hostel, and when they do, it seems like all their dreams have come true. In reality their worst nightmare is about to erupt in their faces.

Hostel is billed as being ‘In the tradition of dread-inducing terror-rides like Saw and Wolf Creek’. Sadly it falters in comparison to Saw and has little in common with Wolf Creek (apart from the sadistic violence quotas of the two movies). What sets Saw apart as a masterpiece is its cunning, dastardly plot that twists and turns in unexpected and original ways.

Hostel on the other hand doesn’t have a grain of originality in its merge plot. In fact the only thing is does well is bring new meaning to the word gratuitous. The acting is bad, and the plot doesn’t know what kind of movie it wants to be. As an action/horror/survival movie, it doesn’t really kick in until the last 15 minutes, where in sheer desperation for some action, you’re posed on the edge of your seat with the familiar nausea of knowing exactly how the movie will end.

Disappointing in just about every way.

Food for thought
The three backpackers are lured to their nightmare with promises of a self serving hedonistic lifestyle, but they soon find that the pursuit of pleasure has its consequences. Now there’s nothing wrong with being happy, but if we can’t find it in our current situation, can we really find it elsewhere?

NEWS | Lost Season Three

The latest actor to join the ensemble cast of Lost is Kiele Sanchez (pictured), who will play a character named Nikki, which is pretty much all of the information that's known at this time... In conjunction with the recent start of filming on Season 3, ABC released the following description of what's to come: Jack, Kate, and Sawyer open the season in captivity as prisoners of the Others. Just who these Others are and what they want are the primary questions season three will explore. Michael Emerson joins the regular cast in his ongoing role as Henry Gale, leader of the Others, as does Henry Ian Cusick, as Desmond. The fates of Locke, Desmond, and Eko in the aftermath of the hatch implosion are answered. Romance looms on the horizon as Jack's interests veer towards a mysterious new woman, whose motives may be questionable. Sun and Jin will continue to celebrate their pregnancy, but is the child really Jin's? Locke and Sayid will band together with some of the other survivors to journey across the island in an attempt to free Jack, Kate, and Sawyer. Charlie will attempt to return into the good graces of Claire, but can he be trusted to stay sober? Will Penny Widmore find the island and her long lost love, Desmond, and can the survivors find a way to interact with the outside world?

YAWN.

DVD | Goal!

Rating: PG - Contains Sexual References.
Duration: 118 mins.
Genre: Drama.
Actors: Anna Friel, Sean Pertwee, Alessandro Nivola, Stephen Dillane, Marcel Iures, Kuno Becker.
Release Date: Available now.

Santiago Munez loved playing football as a kid in Mexico, and kept up his love for the game in America after his father saves enough money for them to ‘relocate’ there.

As gifted a player as he is, Santiago’s father refuses to have anything to do with his passion, and insists that their place is one of a lowly existence and dreams are a waste of time.

But things change when a visiting English football scout catches a glimpse of his skills whilst visiting his daughter. Such is the scouts belief in Santiago, that he pulls every string he has to to get a trial for a Newcastle United.

Of course things don’t go as planned, and the journey is on of predictable ups and downs with a dreamlike ending that you saw coming from the very beginning.

Predictable and clichéd, this formula written drama offers nothing new. But what it does do, it does well. A heart warming story of chasing after your dreams and believing in yourself, Goal fills a void that is often ignored by Hollywood: the need for a positive, affirming tale.

Food for thought
We can either snuff out someone’s flaming passion, or help fuel it. If we help fuel it and they fail, is anything lost? But if we help snuff it out do we create a void in their life?

TRAILER | Bully

NEWS | Craig talks Bond

I've had my share of pessimistic thoughts regarding Daniel Craig as James Bond but I'm no 007 freak so I'm hardly the target audience. Sadly, for all those involved, a lot of the 007 freaks have the same gripes I have. Daniel Craig, the man who was tapped to be James Bond in the "reinvention" of the series, has faced a lot of scrutiny since signing on and he gives his first in-depth interview to Entertainment Weekly. In the issue that's on stands today (the Fall Preview Issue), Craig takes the cover and talks about the negative feedback. Craig is surprisingly blunt in the interview saying about the fans, "They hate me. They don't think I'm right for the role. It's as simple as that." He goes on to say, "If I went onto the Internet and started looking at what some people were saying about me—which, sadly, I have done—it would drive me insane." He hopes people will reserve judgment and I'd have to agree. It's a pretty interesting and honest article and you can read it online at EW's site here.

Little Known Fact: Craig says he watched every single Bond movie about 3-4 times.
Source: Joblo

NEWS | Interview with Halo Director

I've only just told you about Neill Blomkamp calling the shots for the summer of 2008 Halo movie. A Vancouver-based director of short films and ads, Blomkamp employs a documentary-style, hand-held technique, blending seamlessly with naturalistic and photo-realistic computer-generated imagery effects that will mesh well with the Halo movie. Recently, he gamely answered questions as to his plans for Halo, Master Chief's armour, among many other things.

When asked if he is afraid of the challenge of directing the Halo movie, he says that he welcomes the challenge but he acknowledges how tedious the process will be and how much focus is required. He continued by saying that "there will be some very hard times, with tons of pressure but you work through it. I am so invested in it from a creative standpoint that my eye just stays on the end goal, I keep focused on making it exactly how I want it and treat every day as a path to that final product, plus the support from the New Zealand team is really amazing, its not like i m out in the woods alone, they’ve done this back to back for like 10 years."

He plans to be faithful and loyal to the game but also begin "to layer things that have not yet been seen, over the fabric of what exists. You don t want people who know the game to see the film and not have anything that isn’t new." Although he didn't divulge what those new layers are.

And now on to the Master Chief section of the talk. He assures Halo lovers that Master Chief is certainly something that he do not want to change too much. He says "there are certain things inside the Halo universe that are sacred and he s the main one.
Having said that, there is a need to revise certain parts of him, just from a purely technical standpoint, he has to actually be able to move, like a human, and the game design right now does not allow for full motion freedom, which we will have to achieve." When asked if we would finally be able to see Master Chief's face, he says we'll just have to wait till 2008.

To read the full interview, click here.

NEWS | Rockstar's Bully

Rockstar, the maker of best-selling video game series Grant Theft Auto said Wednesday it plans an October release for Bully, a game with themes of school fighting that has anti-violence critics up in arms.

The game's main character is 15-year-old Jimmy Hopkins, who must defend himself against school bullies at a fictional U.S. boarding school called Bullworth Academy, while dealing with characters ranging from nerds and jocks to authoritarian prefects.

Weapons included baseball bats that break after several blows, stink bombs and bags of marbles that when strategically thrown will lay flat most pursuers.

"Finally Bully can speak for itself. People can look at the game and see what it is and what it's not," company spokesman Rodney Walker said.

In March, Florida's Miami-Dade County School Board called on retailers not to sell the game to minors and required the school district to warn parents about potentially harmful effects of playing violent video games.

In a recent demonstration of Bully, which Rockstar said has not yet been rated, the fighting scenes did not include blood or result in the death of characters.

"We think the school environment is a universal experience that so many people relate to," said Walker, who added that criticism of Bully is unique in that it had preceded the release of the game, which has been kept under tight wraps.

Controversial games are nothing new at Rockstar, a unit of Take-Two Interactive Software, which is the developer of the best-selling urban action game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

That game -- in which the main character robs and kills his way across a mythical U.S. state called San Andreas to save his family and take control of the streets -- got caught in a scandal over an explicit sex scene known as "hot coffee," which could be unlocked with a downloaded file.

Source: Wired

NEWS | Halo Director Named

The Peter Jackson-Fran Walsh executive produced Halo movie, which will create a stir in the summer 2008, finally has a director.

Sitting at the helm of the film will be Neill Blomkamp, a Vancouver-based director of short films and ads. Blomkamp employs a documentary-style, hand-held, cin ma v rit technique, blending seamlessly with naturalistic and photo-realistic computer-generated imagery effects that will mesh well with the Halo movie. Visual effects, miniatures, and creature design and creation will all be handled by Jackson's Weta Digital Ltd. and Weta Workshop, Ltd., known for their Oscar-worthy work on The Lord of the Rings films.

NEWS | Reservoir Dogs

I’ve tired to watch Reservoir Dogs twice in my life, and both times I’ve fallen asleep. Mind you, it’s a film that my wife won’t watch so they only times I’ve tried to watch it are in the wee hours of the morning, so me falling asleep probably has more to do with my body in-voluntarily shutting down than this classic movie being a bore.

But what could be better than watching such a classic? Being IN the movie. That’s right, they’re making a game of the movie, check out the youtube trailer below.

QUOTE | The Matrix

Neo, sooner or later you're going to realise just as I did that there's a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.

DVD | Iron Jawed Angels

Rating: M - Contains Adult Themes.
Duration: 123 mins.
Genre: Drama.
Actors: Anjelica Huston, Frances O'Connor, Patrick Dempsey, Hilary Swank, Julia Ormond, Molly Parker.
Release Date: Available now.

Iron Jawed Angels is a movie I got because I though my wife would be interested in seeing it. By the time we got round to actually watching it, I really wasn’t in the mood. So instead of giving it my full attention, my mind was elsewhere, and I was making trips to the kitchen for food without pausing the movie.

But then, somewhere in the middle of the movie, the story of these underdogs, second generation suffragettes garnered my rapt attention. Not only were Alice Paul and Lucy Burns fighting against an unjust and outdated law, they were also up against the established suffragette movement, who didn’t like their way of doing things.

But unlike their colleagues who had been playing the game for a while now, Paul and Burns were ready to take the battle to the streets, put their own lives on the line and not give up.

In the end, Iron Jawed Angels turned out to be an engrossing tale that keeps building momentum until the predictable (well, we all know that women got the vote, right?) ending.

Food for thought
Unlike many protests today, Paul and Burns organised a peaceful protest that continued unabated day in day out for well over a year. Protesters today only seem committed enough for a single march, do we lack the commitment to our ideals that previous generations had, or is there nothing left that is really worth fighting for?

DVD | The Pink Panther

Rating: PG - Contains Adult Themes.
Duration: 89 mins.
Genre: Comedy.
Actors: Kevin Kline, Steve Martin, Beyoncé Knowles, Jean Reno, Emily Mortimer, David Beckham, Kristin Chenoweth.
Release Date: Available now.

Peter Sellers classic comic genius bought the world the funniest French farce ever, so it was only a matter of time before the Pink Panther was re-made.

One would have assumed that Steve Martin would be the person to be able to pull off a very dangerous attempt at re-creating a cinematic masterpiece. Sadly he doesn’t.

Martin doesn’t seem to have had much luck recently, especially where his writing ‘talents’ are utilised, as recently seen in the abysmal Shopgirl.

The re-written story goes thus; bumbling French Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Steve Martin) is bought in to solve the murder of the French football coach (a great cameo by Jason Statham, who can be seen in better form later this year in Crank) and the theft of the famous Pink Panther diamond ring. Along the way Closeau and his partner (played by Jean Reno) stumble their way from one set piece to another, with out much success at entertaining the audience.

Sure, there are moments of comedic genius, but far too much of the humour seems contrived as Martin chooses to overplay his role in situations where subtlety would have fared better.

All in all the Pink Panther would have been better left in the realms of the classics, and this seemingly aimed-at-children remake would be best if it were quickly forgotten.

Food for thought
Humour is a funny thing (pun intended). But often humour is at the expense of others. Is it really funny to laugh at other people?

Band of Brothers Marathon

My lovely wife is away at a women’s retreat, so I’m home for the weekend with the kids. That gives me two free nights to watch Band of Brothers! 10 episodes over two nights equal a massive 5 hours a night. Some might call me crazy, but it’s been a while since I watched the who series, so I’m gonna take the opportunity!

Of course this means there will be no more DVD reviews for the next couple of days.

Update:
After only four hours of Band of Brothers last night I was fighting a loosing battle with sleep – it’s been a hard week at work, with early mornings and long days, and I was exhausted even before I began. The real killer though, was after doing my teeth, getting ready for bed and getting into a cold lonely bed, I couldn’t get to sleep! What’s more, even after bribing the kids to let me sleep in, I woke up somewhere between 4 and 5 am! (of course didn’t actually get up until 9am….)

So tonight I have to get through Crossroads, Bastogne, The Breaking Point, The Last Patrol, Why We Fight and Points. All up, 6 hours of non-stop DVD goodness.

Of course, seeing as I don’t drink coffee, I might just have to go out and buy copious amounts of energy drinks just to stay awake tonight!

Update #2
Apparently something I ate yesterday and my energy drink of choice (Lift Plus) don’t mix, so during The Breaking Point I was using my popcorn bowl to throw up in. Sadly the popcorn bowl was three quarters full, but it was either sacrifice the popcorn or clean the carpet… I managed to last through The Last Patrol, and most of Why We Fight but missed the end due to falling asleep… Points will have to wait till another time!

NEWS | Playstation 3’s High Human Cost

Sony’s future seems linked to the success of the Playstaion 3 console. With the battle being not only for next gen gaming superiority, but also the next gen DVD format battle.

Such battles don’t come cheap however, and to try and counter the expected first year loss of 100 billion Yen (profit isn’t predicted for the first 5 years!), Sony's Chief Executive Officer Howard Stringer has closed 9 factories, axed 9,600 jobs and closed Sony's restaurant chain in an attempt to reduce costs by 76 billion yen.

So 9,600 people are out of work, just because Sony is desperate to stay the leader in the video game industry?

I wonder how Howard Stringer sleeps at night.