Jorge Quinteros
Blogger, web enthusiast & avid photographer based in Brooklyn.

5th June 2010

Antitrust ★ ★ ★ ★

As a techie, one my favorite geek movies is Antitrust starring Ryan Phillippe. It’s a film that presents a rather credible technology-oriented story line that can be enjoyed by the general public but even more so by those who have a more direct connection to the software/computer industry.

I have absolutely no programming knowledge but a great selling point for me was seeing how the movie showed many aspects of the current computer industry and if you’re the type to embrace the future, specifically in how a device like the iPhone has revolutionized the way we communicate and share content, then you’ll love this movie.

The basic plot is this:

Milo Hoffman and Teddy Chin are two of the brightest minds in the computer programming world and also best friends. Their views are very close to being the same when it comes to the world’s knowledge. That it should be free.

But one day Milo lands a job as an elite programmer for the most prodigious technology firm in the world (clearly patterned after Microsoft). His tech genius friends are disappointed that he sold out to the corporate giant.

They believe that all source code should be non-proprietary (translation: programs that programmers create should be free for everyone to use) and this is where the story gets juicy. The program that they’re both working on will let every device such as cell phones, PDA’s, laptops, and computers transfer and broadcast media such as pictures and videos.

It may not be the most accurate movie in terms of technical details and user interfaces or in how computers communicate, but all of that doesn’t matter. The movie is suspenseful, exciting, and highly entertaining and Tim Robbins plays a very convincing bad guy.

I can’t help imagine how well received this film might have been by the Open Source Community. I rarely ever buy DVDs. I’m more of a renter or streamer of content but I actually own this one.

8th May 2010

Iron Man 2 ★ ★ ★ ★

I think the reason sequels are sometimes difficult to pull off is because of the battles they must go against. There’s the necessity of finding the best story to tell, the necessity to retain ingredients that worked in the first film while surprising us with new material and more importantly the necessity to meet the audience’s expectations.

I’m the least well-versed person with anything comic book related especially in noticing proper plot development in the films but the action-packed combat scenes draw me in every time and there’s several in Iron Man 2.

The dialogue and character interaction was absolutely hilarious and I appreciate the writers taking a comedic direction because it helped the film a lot. Justin Hammer was my favorite character straight through. I’m assuming he was meant to be hated but I couldn’t help laugh at how zany he was.

On a sour note, the thought of knowing they were trying to do a little too much was inevitable. The impression of that need of them to squeeze the Avenger’s story and the additional characters made the film feel like two movies condensed into one at times.

It was certainly entertaining but I think there is a difference between a film being entertaining and one being a classic. The Dark Knight for me was a classic. Iron Man 2…well, you be the judge of that but either way, who doesn’t want to see a billionaire capable of building some amazing indestructible suit with an arsenal of cool new weapon systems while flying around?

Without spoiling the movie for you, I will say that one of the biggest questions you’ve probably had is finally answered – how does Iron Man pee when he is wearing the suit?

I also should have known better than to leave early and not wait for the rolling credits to be over. Apparently there’s an important scene we missed but of course it’s nothing you can’t find on YouTube afterwards. These cliffhangers is what make the audience look forward to the expansion of the franchise even more.

18th January 2010

Cameron’s Avatar ★ ★ ★ ★★

With all the well-deserved success and admiration that Avatar has attracted since it’s release, I can’t think of anything else that hasn’t been said about the film other than it’s the one movie I think we’ve all dreamt about seeing and which has a world we’ve all wished about visiting.

It’s by far James Cameron’s finest pieces of work and although I’ll be one of the many to grab a Blu-Ray copy, seeing it in theatre is an experience you should not miss out on regardless of how big your Hi-Def TV is. Even the 3D-glasses supplied were a considerable upgrade from the tradition paper and plastic ones so I kept them as a souvenir.

The most exhausting part of the movie is trying to make sense of what’s consider “effects” because the technology is so deeply ingrained that I had no idea where the discipline began or ended. It’s just sheer brilliance that has set a new bar in the industry.

One of the criticisms I’ve been reading about the film has to do with it’s plot. While it may come across as simplistic and familiar, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a story that you’ve been acquainted with because the difference will be in that one was well told and that’s the case with Avatar. It doesn’t just grab you visually but emotionally as well.

Zoe Saldana was the complete and absolute star for me. Her interpretation of Neytiri was fantastic, profounding and I’ll go as far to say that her Zoe’s attractiveness was very well translated to her character. Beautiful green eyes, great facial structure and lips but apparently there’s others that think much more highly of her which makes my statement seem less weird.

5th January 2010

The Blogging in Julie & Julia

Reverse back 7 years ago and people would have characterized you as either a loner or just completely weird if they found out that you kept a blog. The concept was new and generally viewed as a self-indulgent effort executed by people with too much time on their hands but I like to think that perception about the craft has changed now and even more so when I saw that there was a movie made around that very concept.

My wife and I watched the other night the film Julie & Julia with Meryl Streep. In case you’re not too familiar with the plot, it’s based a woman (Julie Powell) who idolizes Julia Childs cooking and takes on the challenge of working her way through her cookbook during the course of a single year while blogging about her progress.

The story was beautifully told and well structured in recounting how Julia Child first began and eventually introduced French cuisine and cooking techniques to the American mainstream. Without going into a typical movie review rant, I wanted to talk more on what piqued my interest the most which was the “blogging” aspect.

If you’ve read up to this point I’m assuming it’s because you’re not interested in the cooking portion and instead you run a blog of your own and have spotted a closeness with Julie (blogger). I’ll be honest in saying it’s difficult not to if you’re an active participant already in the cultural phenomenon that blogging has become.

In fact, it’s a must see for any blogger because the film clearly lays out all those thoughts you first had when you began blogging: is someone really going to read this, I wonder if people will comment, how will my family react if they came across it, will people like what I’m writing and will I be able to remain consistent with my postings.

I admire how the film shows how blogging can present up a whole new range of possibilities to anyone who has the desire to be heard and in return hearing from extraordinary people who have something to say.

Julie herself says in the movie, “I can write a blog. I have thoughts!”, which is true and it’s all about setting time to sit down and write about it.

With so many successful stories about people who blog for a living or people that have made a name for themselves doing it, it would be great to see this film push blogging even further to the point where people who see it will get inspired to create their own and write what’s on their minds.

Eventually Julie Powell published her accounts in a book and later got made into the film I’m talking to you about but whether there’s gold at the end of the rainbow or not, in return the whole “blogging thing” has made me a better writer, a more selective reader, a more perceptive person and more willing to meet people who equally enjoy the process and avoid those who don’t understand it.

I’ll leave you with some friendly blogging tips from Julie Powell herself.