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Weekend Films
Confessions of a Superhero: The film is a s a very well made documentary that is enjoyable to watch and one that I particularly felt akin to because of our recent excursion to the west coast. The four people the film focuses on are street performers who make or enhance their livelihoods by dressing up as superheros, hanging out on Hollywood Boulevard and having their pictures taken with tourists for “tips”. (view trailer)
There Will Be Blood: I sometimes feel inclined to what to see certain films because of the acclaim they’ve acquired and especially when they’re termed a “masterpiece”. The same was said about this movie but at the end, I wondered whether I had seen the same film everyone was taking about.
The production was nothing new or magnificent. The cinematography was mediocre almost annoying at parts as it showed close-ups for extended periods of time. The score was a “nail-on-chalkboard” type with every note out of tune and absolutely no melody just repetitive clicking, banging, or stringing contrasted against the silence of the plains. The film is obviously more of a character study if anything and although I didn’t enjoy the film, Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance still convince me that he’s still has it. (view trailer)
Vantage Point: The entire film is told from 8 separate vantage points and tells the tale of the attempted assassination and kidnapping of the US President by terrorists. The action’s fast and the scene ‘rewinds’ each time for a new ‘vantage point.’ The concept is nothing new; in fact, it was very reminiscent of Swordfish but it was nevertheless well done. Just one tip of advice: rewinds may be a problem for folks with vertigo or migraines. (view trailer)
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No More HD-DVD
In case you weren’t aware, there was an ongoing battle between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray for about a year now and the question was which one would prevail. I say “was” because a winner has been declared and it’s Blue-ray disc. Toshiba announced this month that it’s pulling the plug on HD-DVD and along with that comes some changes.
Just over the weekend, we happen to be at Circuit City shopping for an HD-DVD player before the whole announcement had been made but we came short of buying it because the model we wanted wasn’t available. That same day, I received an email from Netflix informing me that they no longer will be supplying HD movies but rather just regular DVDs and Blue-ray of course. A Blu-ray player does come at a higher cost but I’m wiling to roll with the punches if that’s bound to be the standard in years to come.
Strange things happen for a reason. Before any of this, I was seriously considering purchasing Apple TV to enjoy HD movies. Apple has no choice but to go with Blu-ray now too. This should be interesting.
