Movies

Okay, any decent phone you purchase these days is a smart phone.

Finding the right one can be difficult. How can you be certain you're not following the hype of the iPhone, avoiding a WinCE device because it's WinCE or if a Symbian based OS is your flavour?

Does the phone have all the features you need/desire? How can you compare all the available models on the market?

The SmartPhone Grid takes all the guess work out of it for you. Answer the 30 simple questions, and then get a rating on what smart phone suits you.

Interestingly, I'm a Nokia N95 8GB owner, and it was the N95 and the 8GB model that scored highest for me. I did my research over a few months at the time, so it seems reasonably accurate.

In other news... Nokia's answer to the App Store has arrived -- in the form of the Ovi Store.
Tip: Use the web version instead of the one on the phone, it's faster and easier to navigate. You can then just have the apps sent directly to you.

Like a screaming and kicking two year old being dragged through a shopping centre by the arm by a frustrated mother, the MPAA and RIAA appear that besides all the tantrums they have thrown over Internet users obtaining their material; that the struggle is futile.

Statistics have been released for both the Movie and Music industry for 2008. Remember, the year the bottom fell out financially in the 4th quarter (when you think people would be dropping entertainment products before anything else).

The numbers are in... 2008 was the biggest year for both the Music and Movie industries. So much for Internet users destroying both industries as claimed by both bodies!

What the industry associations seem to slowly becoming aware of (and are appear quite scared of the consequences), is that former consumers are turning into online prosumers.

There is no need to run out and see that flashy new movie based on a slick TV advert. Most users wait for reviews, and even watch various trailers and snippets of the movies on YouTube these days (before the MPAA jump up and down and it's pulled).

Likewise people have woken up that by using online music stores they can buy just the individual 1-2 songs they want and not an entire album that is normally full of 8-9 tracks that are crap. (This isn't always the case, and I often purchase full albums). As a result album sales are dramatically down and have continued the slide since 2006. (Can anyone say iTunes store?)

With the issues of DRM media, you'll see more people demanding non-restricted medium. Particularly with issues moving that same purchase between different players (ie: Car CD player, MP3 player, desktop computer). Why should a user need to pay for multiple copies of the same item. With the physical medium this isn't required.

It's great to see artists are jumpin onto digital downloads. (Examples that instantly spring to mind are Monty Python with their own YouTube channel, and Radiohead releasing their 'In Rainbows' album direct to listeners over the Internet.) Hopefully the industry-execs realise it's a brave new world and that their fat-cat style lifestyles are over. Every other industry has been shaken up by both computing and the Internet, why not entertainment?

The frivolous lawsuits these industries have waged over recent years against their actual customers shows just how reluctant they are to move on. Is it a case they realise that the days of a big publishing house (Sony, EMI, Warner Bros, Universal, etc) are slowly eroding?

Sure distribution to cinemas for movies is still probably required, but the days of customers buying media (CDs or DVDs) is quickly disappearing.
For block-buster movies - I still love watching them on a big screen. But I would see probably 10% of movies these days in those red chairs and the remainder in the comfort and convenience of my home.

With Nintendo jumping on board and announcing a Wii entertainment channel (named Wiinomia), on top of items like Tivo - it's becoming common place. Users are already quite familiar with digital downloads for entertainment media (thanks largely to Apple's iTunes Store).

So are you one that still buys CDs? Have you moved all your music across to digital libraries? (Personally I have bought music CDs, but very rarely play them, but use the ripped versions on my computer more than often. I often end up losing the CD and forgetting where I put them. They are somewhere in the house.. but loading my music player on my computer or grabbing my iPod is so much more convenient).

Will we still see Music and DVD bricks and mortar stores in 10 years time?

Online services like last.fm, Jamendo, MagnaTune have helped many budding artists get global recognition that traditional distributors haven't been able to provide. Interestingly, I wonder if there is a service similar to these for budding movie creators (besides YouTube)?

Hopefully more established artists currently under contract follow Radiohead's lead, and don't renew with their traditional labels and move to some of these new online distribution channels. It's a better solution for their fans, and likely to make them more revenues. (It's rumoured that Radiohead made $9mUSD from releasing his album directly to the public! - mostly by selling a limited edition of the album to fans). Quite clever!

Where do you see the entertainment industry heading? Will the public get more direct access to artists and do away with record and movie companies? Will we see the work of these large companies restricted in future to just promoting cinema releases and rock band tours?

Hold on to your hats, this game hasn't even started. What we've seen so far is only really like watching a New Zealand sporting team doing the Haka. The real game hasn't even commenced! Expect the industry to play dirty holding onto whatever perceived advantage they believe they have.

So far their Artists Direct website seems nothing more than a propaganda website, whilst appearing to be along the lines of Magnatune and Jamendo to confuse end-users. I guess the dirty tricks may have already started.

Someone directed me to this NFO entry.

Can't say I've seen the movie (it's currently showing in cinemas across the country if you're interested).
If the movie is anything like the NFO entry than it's bound to be awesome!

Responding to Sandra's Post on the top 25 IMDB movies...

(Bold the ones you saw in theater, italicize the ones you saw some other way instead, and leave the unseen ones alone.)

Here's my scores:

1. Titanic (1997) $600,779,824
2. Star Wars (1977) $460,935,665
3. Shrek 2 (2004) $436,471,036
4. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) $434,949,459
5. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) $431,065,444
6. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) $423,032,628
7. Spider-Man (2002) $403,706,375
8. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) $380,262,555
9. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) $377,019,252
10. Spider-Man 2 (2004) $373,377,893
11. The Passion of the Christ (2004) $370,270,943
12. Jurassic Park (1993) $356,784,000
13. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) $340,478,898
14. Finding Nemo (2003) $339,714,367
15. Spider-Man 3 (2007) $336,530,303
16. Forrest Gump (1994) $329,691,196
17. The Lion King (1994) $328,423,001
18. Shrek the Third (2007) $320,706,665
19. Transformers (2007) $318,759,914
20. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) $317,557,891
21. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) $313,837,577
22. Iron Man (2008) $311,708,133
23. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) $310,675,583
24. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) $309,404,152
25. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) $309,125,40.

I knew I was a movie whore, but 23 outta 25... wow. (I'm planning on seeing Iron Man, and never really was interested in the The Passion of the Christ).

It seems I do enjoy the big screen... there's nothing like cuddling up with a loved one and watching something fly out and hit you whilst you both jump and cluth each other. Having said that, it's mainly the 'big titles' I go to the movies to watch, I probably see a ratio of 50:1 (Home:Cinema).

Well... that filled in 5 minutes of boredom as I wait to head to the hospital...

We all enjoy a good holiday. Getting the time to take one always seems to be the problem for me however. I think I may have just found the answer...

If you're like me you grew up watching The Wonderful World of Disney at 6:30pm every Sunday. Here we marveled at cartoons of Mickey, Goofy and other great Disney characters. (So much so, many the hostnames on my home network are now named after Disney characters! ).

It also introduced us to classic 'childrens' movies like Herbie, 101 Dalmatians, Mary Poppins and Alice in Wonderland.

It's probably the dream of every child to visit the magical place of Disneyland or DisneyWorld.

With the help of Google you can now explore DisneyLand without leaving your chair!
Google has produced a 3D interactive representation of Disneyland inside Google Earth.

If you've got Google Earth installed try the following:

1. Once Google Earth loads, search for "Disney World".
2. Click on the golden Disney Mickey Ears - This will load an information window.
3. In the info window click on Show Disney World in 3D.

The 3D world contains over 1,500 3D models and will let you explore right through the park. The models are highly detailed and a sight to behold!

It's nearly as good as being there!
Just think - no more queues for rides, no long-haul flight getting there, and the park is now open 24 hours for you.

Have fun exploring!

I find life with the Internet is as common as getting up in the morning.
I often find that routine tasks I used to use a manual system I rely more and more on online equivalents.

Here is a quick run down of some of the quick resources I use regularly.

• Dictionary - Easy to use when you're looking for a dictionary for a quick lookup of a word.
• Thesaurus - Great when you're finding 'that' word.
• Urban Dictionary - For common 'slang' and non-formal English, handy for forums and the like.
• Flickr - Find a particular photo you are after.
• Wikipedia - Great online encyclopedia.
• Computing Dictionary - Excellent way to find the definition for those computing acronyms!
• Movie Database - IMDb contains everything you ever need to know about a movie or television show.
  

Best of all, a lot of these are available as Firefox search plugins.  This means you can drop down the list where the Google search sits in the top corner and select your desired website and type in your search option.  Very funky!

There is a bunch of other sites that regularly make it to my bookmarks and it includes:

• Bureau of Meteorology
• Australian PostCode search
• White Pages and Yellow Pages
• WhereIs
• TV Guide
• Travel Time on the roads
• OnlineConversion - covert any measurement!

These are just a few of the sites I use on a regular basis.   My local web database has thousands of sites -- ensuring everything is only a click or two away. 

So what sites do you rely on to quench your thirst for knowledge?

Jason, one of the guys I worked with at Telstra wished to sell his notebook.

Pauline and I have been in the hunt for a good notebook for some time... after our old one had the screen die on us. That notebook was going to cost us more to repair than buy a new one!

So we jumped at the opportunity! It's only approx. 6-9 months old and at $700 with all the goodies included it was a bargain! So it's gone to a good home!

The computer is a Compaq Presario V2157AP Basically it's a widescreen, 1.4Ghz Mobile Celeron, with a 40GB HDD and 256MB of memory. Comes with a 802.11b/g wireless connection, 10/100 ethernet port, a built in modem, firewire, USB2, Dual-Layer DVD ReWriter and a 6-in-1 digital card reader! More than what we need.

Basically we'll use it for photo storage and able to watch xvid movies whilst on holidays!

Here are some pictures of it in action. Click to see larger versions.

Last night I went to see Doom: The Movie.
If you've ever played any of the iD Software games (Doom or Quake), you'll enjoy the movie. It's basically a fantasy shoot-em-up.
Don't expect a big story line, as you'll be disappointed, but if you don't mind two hours of chilling out and enjoying mind-numbing shooting and gore then you'll love this movie!
I headed down to the cinema with both Pauline and A.C. (a Doom/Quake die-hard!) to ensure a few hours of gore! The cinema was reasonably empty; besides the occasional typical nerd with glasses as thick as coke-bottles and afro hair that wouldn't look out of place on an African American. (In this case it was probably a case they hadn't had a haircut or used a brush for some time!


The movie is set on Mars in at a space station research facility for the UAC where something has gone terribly wrong.
The hardened marines part of the Rapid Response Tactical Squad are sent in to isolate and remove that threat - at all costs!
With enough fire-power for a small army, and enough baddies to keep you occupied you know there is going to be lots of gunfire!






Don't see the movie if you want a story-line. You won't find it in this movie!
If you are looking for a movie to keep you jumping and your heart-beat up and don't mind some blood and gore, then you'll enjoy it.

It's rated 'M'... so probably not one for the kiddies. However there are much worse films they could see.

If you're a gamer, it's worth seeing. If you don't know what Quake or DooM is all about, you can probably miss this one.

Rating: 7/10

Pauline and I decided to watch a movie... to take our mind of waiting for results....

We chose Napoleon Dynamite....

Some movies are just made to be stupid. Napoleon Dynamite is one of those movies.

People under 30 will probably find it funny... those over 30 will shake their heads and wonder how they can recover those last 2 hours.

Napoleon Dynamite is a movie set in the mid-west of USA... in one of those non-descript country locations. Population, probably 1,500-5,000.
All the characters are likely to be high school drop outs and will not amount to much... and the charm is in what little their characters do.. and the sterotype 'loser' they play.



All the characters are boring... and you wouldn't of blamed the characters from committing suicide.. it's that depressing a movie.

It's been made to be a cult movie, but unless you're a big fan of Jim Jarmusch style movies... you'll probably not like it.

It's so stupid at times... it's funny. Though it wears off after the first 30 minutes. I found I only kept watching it, like those caught watching a train wreckage.

Rating: 4/10

There has been many movies about weddings over the years. (Popular ones that spring to mind are My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Four Weddings and a Funeral and The Wedding Singer.)

Wedding Crashers, is however quite different. It's a movie based around the notion that females are 'vulnerable' at weddings due to the romantic atmosphere and as such are 'easy targets'. Hence both John Beckwith (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy Grey (Vince Vaughn) two womanisers regularly crash weddings to lure on these poor unsuspecting women.

Whilst it sounds shocking... it's quite funny.



The two go to wedding after wedding, and have huge success along the way...
Some of the stories and aliases they pull out are hillarous!

They then pick the wedding of the year and end up getting more than they bargained for.

Quite funny and shows the non-serious side to the whole wedding ceremony. It's not a film you'll remember in a year, but one that will fill in a few hours.

Rating: 6.5/10