January 31, 2010
For some movies it takes me multiple viewings to really form a full opinion of how I feel about them. Consequently, when I saw Avatar a second time this weekend, I was unsure whether or not I would like it as much as the first time. I also wanted to see Avatar in 3D, since the first time I didn't want to deal with the crowds at the few theaters capable of 3D in the area. Now that the demand has waned somewhat I took the 3D plunge.
I have to say after a second viewing, I like Avatar more now than I did previously. The quality of the production design and cinematography in this film cannot be overstated. These combine to create a level of purely visual storytelling that is amazing to watch. This movie is also the best yet at melding live action with CGI elements and the interaction of the two is nearly seamless. Due to this high level of polish, it can be fairly jarring the handful of times when the dialogue is truly cringe worthy. Despite these hiccups, I enjoyed the story more than I had the first time around and its similarities to other films became less important.
My experience with the 3D in Avatar was somewhat mixed. When the effects work best are in the world of the Navi/avatars. The 3D puts you in the forest with the characters, plants, animals, and bugs much better than the 2D version. The scene where Jake's avatar walks through the burning, ash laden aftermath of the attack in the last third of the film is incredibly impressive in 3D. On the human side of things, there were many instances where the various characters in frame appeared as flat images on different distinct planes instead of a continuous 3D space as you would expect, and which is present in the computer generated sections of the movie. Maybe this was more pronounced to me since these sections are primarily at the beginning of the film, when my eyes were still adjusting to the 3D, but they were somewhat distracting nonetheless. Still, if you are one of the 20 people who haven't seen Avatar yet, see it in 3D.
January 04, 2010
I wasn't sure what to expect from Sherlock Holmes. I am a casual fan of the character and have read a couple of the stories, but they never quite sucked me in. In addition to this director Guy Ritchie's previous work in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, and RocknRolla doesn't necessarily mesh well with the story of a private detective in Victorian England.
The highlight of Sherlock Holmes is the fantastic performance by Robert Downey Jr. While he isn't who you would immediately picture in the role, he fills it out well and has a lot of fun with the part. Jude Law is also solid as Dr. Watson; the remainder of the cast, however, is hamstrung by the messy script. Rachel McAdams is underused and Mark Strong could have been a much more sinister villain if his part weren't so poorly written at times. The weak villain adds to an already mediocre plot and makes for some tedious moments as Holmes wades through the minutiae of the story. After considerable build-up the movie concludes in an ending that falls fairly flat, especially the five minutes spent setting up a sequel.
Despite these issues, Sherlock Holmes can be a lot of fun. The dynamic between the lead actors is fantastic and Ritchie's stylistic flourishes are a good change of pace for a period piece. The production design also does a very good job of presenting a caricatured version of 19th century London. Sherlock Holmes is an uneven film, but the style, acting, and overall entertainment value make it worth a look. 3.5/5
December 21, 2009
Avatar has received so much hype that I thought it was sure to underwhelm. Despite director James Cameron's pedigree, I was worried that his latest film would be more Titanic than Aliens or Terminator. In reality Avatar is closest to Cameron's The Abyss. Both movies are slow at times, but never boring, and feature a simple story with archetypal characters populating a fantastically realized world.
A lot has been said about the technology used to create Avatar's alien characters and it is indeed impressive. I would say that 95% of the time I completely forgot I was watching a visual effect. The amount of depth and texture visible in closeups of the creatures really sells their realism. Regardless of the technical achievement, artistically the production design is gorgeous featuring some truly amazing alien flora. I was also really impressed by how biologically consistent the various creatures were, they truly appear as if they belong together on an alien world.
The only major criticism that I have for Avatar is that its story and characters are fairly thin. When you really get down to it Avatar's plot is essentially Dances with Wolves in space. Despite this, the concept for the world in which this story takes place is so compelling and the level that this concept is realized is so extremely high that it more than makes up for any flaws in the plot or characterization. From its design, to its effects and attention to detail Avatar is action adventure filmmaking at its best. 4.5/5
December 15, 2009
Brothers is the type of film that I would usually wait to see when it came out on DVD. Despite a terrible trailer, I kept hearing good things about the movie and decided to give it a chance. Brothers isn't a perfect movie, but it does a lot of things very well and works as a whole.
In hindsight, I shouldn't have been too surprised that Brothers is a decent movie given the amount of talent on display. Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman, and Jake Gyllenhaal are some of the best young actors working, and director Jim Sheridan has a very solid track record. Their characters are the core of the film and they do a fantastic job of drawing the audience into their lives. At times Brothers is a little predictable, but its portrayal of a family dealing with loss is very well done. 3.5/5
November 17, 2009
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves does everything a sequel to an already good game should do. From the story and graphics, to the stunning level design, Uncharted 2 nails the action-adventure genre.
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune was a solid game but I wasn't blown away by the experience. Uncharted 2, however, packs in so many great story and gameplay moments that it is impossible not to be wowed. Everything that worked best in the original is refined and expanded in the sequel. Platforming, which at times took a backseat to gunplay, is used more frequently and to better effect. The shooting controls and difficulty have been improved for a much more even gaming experience and the production values are top notch featuring graphics that are not only technically, but artistically fantastic. The level design is another highlight with more diverse environments and the best train level I have ever played.
Uncharted 2 also deserves a lot of credit for having what is easily one of the best written and produced stories in gaming history. The story is intimately integrated into the game, presenting the player with well rounded characters living in a real world. This is one of the few games where I wanted to finish the game as much to see how the story would be resolved as the gameplay experience. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a must own title for the PS3.
November 11, 2009
Since Netflix launched their movie and television streaming service there has been a lot of speculation about the imminent death of physical media. Consumers don't want to have stacks of discs around just to listen to music or watch a movie. When I read tech blogs, all I hear about is that people only stream movies and have DVDs and Blu-rays sitting around for months. My experience with Netflix streaming is the exact opposite and I have noticed two key shortcomings of the service that never seem to be part of the discussion.
- Catalog Stability - In addition to the limited catalog of titles available, those that are available are often only available for a limited time. Multiple items in my streaming queue have expired and can no longer be watched because Netflix's rights agreement have expired with the content owner. This is easily the biggest issue with any media streaming service. Content availability is everything, and having a catalog that is constantly in flux is a big problem.
- Stream Quality - I have a standard cable internet connection with a download rate of 6Mbps. When I initiate Netflix's service I typically get a 4 bar quality rating for my stream. When available this also gives me the HD stream. This sounds great, but the fact is that even the HD stream is basically DVD quality. To compare this with a Blu-ray is laughable. To make matters worse, virtually every time I stream a movie the quality regularly starts high and then drops to 3 and sometimes 2 bars, rendering it a far less enjoyable experience. I realize that this is due to my internet connection, but that also means that others with similar connections are suffering the same problems. For this to be a legitimate replacement for physical media, this issue needs to be resolved.
- Transfer Quality - Quite a few of the streams I have come across in Netflix's system are not in widescreen format, even when a widescreen version is available on DVD. Others are presented in letterbox widescreen and appear as a small rectangle in the center of an HDTV. This is unacceptable for a service meant to replace physical media.
Don't get me wrong, I love Netflix. I have been a subscriber for over five years and it has allowed me to become a voracious consumer of movies (I have rented over 1100 movies since June 2004). The death of physical media is coming, but not for many years. Many areas of the country still have only dial-up or slow broadband connections available. The time when the average consumer has enough bandwidth to stream 1080p content is several years, if not a decade, away.
October 24, 2009
See the Future is the second downloadable expansion for Fable 2 and while not as good as Knothole Island, it is still worth getting for a Fable 2 addict like me. Somehow I missed its release earlier this year and only purchased it in the last month or so.
See the Future contains two new quests as well as a glimpse of what Fable 3 will be like. Another addition is a new combat challenge arena which is more difficult than the existing Crucible area in the main game. See the Future also introduces several new potions, items, and clothing options. I completed the expansion content in about 3 hours and while I wish that the new quests were a little more involved for $7 this is a decent value.