When the mind is the crime scene anything is possible. When its somebody else’s mind however, it gets a bit more complicated.

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Inception is a Sci-Fi thriller that tries to get you to remember how you got to where you are. From the start of the film you’re cast into a beautiful world of paradoxes, a castle by the sea, children playing, men with assault rifles. Then the world is explained to you, multiple people are able to coexist in a specific dream. This dream is in the head of a specific person and that person’s subconscious might (read: will) try and get rid of the intruders.

How do you stay focused in such a world? How do you know which world is real? What evil lurks in the deepest of dreams of those around you and is the risk worth the reward?

Even here I feel like if I’ve said too much and should just tell you the following:

Inception was written and directed by Christopher Nolan, it is brilliant, the acting is top-notch, and it is the only movie I am able to recommend so far this summer.

A few days ago I started a Five Star review of Los Abrazos Rotos. This is not that review. Again a John Cusack movie that surprises me, this time in a good way.

The movie is called “Hot Tub Time Machine”. There are no surprises here, just fun. A coworker said it best when she asked “is it just like making fun of old John Cusack movies?” In a sense, yes.

The fact is this movie borrows a lot from many 80s movies. There’s definitely references to Better Off Dead but it’s not just that. It’s the spirit of the eighties seen through today’s eyes. More than once, the characters are mortified that the worst thing that could happen to them is having to live the 80s again.

I have not seen a movie as consistently funny as this one since last year’s The Hangover, which is no easy feat.

“Yea but, five stars?” I rate movies based on what I would like to see again and what I want my friends to experience or talk to them about. When I got out of the theatre I immediately called people to tell them that they had to spend money in this movie. It’s that funny.

I would honestly not mind a movie like this every year.

it’s like the white buffalo.

You may find it appropriate that I am writing this while alone in my apartment during christmas eve. It is not lost on me.

This movie was never in my radar, in the last few weeks it came to my attention and I was actually amazed that I did not know about it earlier. The movie follows Ryan Bingham as he flies from city to city performing a task that makes most people he meets hate him or at least dislike him. He preaches about how to let go, and how every connection you have weighs you down. He lives disconnected, he feels at home in the sky.

Being a metaphor for all of our complex lives, the jet setter fits the bill. He might be a caricature of people but we are all too busy to stop and look around. A theme that has been around ever since Ferris Bueler asked us to do it all those years ago. Life is passing us by, and we keep setting dates for when we are going to do something and then just hearing the swoosh as the deadlines go by.

I completely understand all the award buzz that it has. The movie is funny and real. Clooney is brilliant, as always, but its the women who shine and carry this film. While many older people can see themselves in Clooney’s or Vera Farminga’s (Alex) characters, younger moviegoers will find their voice on Anna Kendrick’s character Natalie.

If you’re looking for a film this holiday season and you’re already tired of silly comedies and want something new. In my opinion Up in the Air is a great film to start the year off with.

If I had to describe this movie in one word, that word would be satisfying.
Luckily for me, nobody in their right mind would allow me to just review this movie in one word and I don’t intend to.

In true Tarantino fashion, the dialogue in this movie is as powerful as the imagery that follows in the later scenes. From the very first scene you are introduced to Colonel Hans Landa (played in a oscar-worthy performance by Christoph Waltz) you are stricken by fear. Fear of his quiet demeanor and unspeakable resolve. This sets the mood for what will come. You can’t predict what Landa is going to do next, but you also don’t know what to expect from the Americans.

The Americans, here being a band of Jews led by 1st Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), that have been going through Europe with only one goal: Kill as many Nazi soldiers as possible. They have come to be known by the Nazis as “The Basterds”. This movie has no intention of sparing you from the blood splatter, demolition and suffering of the war that it creates, only that the way that it does it somehow doesn’t feel stale.

I am personally tired of World War II, I understand how important that war was but the way that it is still being used has really tired me. Tarantino did what should have been done years ago, he re-wrote history as he saw fit. He made some decisions about what he wanted the story to say and never even bothered to look at a history book. This is not to say that he was one sided at all. The Nazis are not stupid or careless, they are calculated and human. Lando shows how they are fully behind their main objective and how they have been able to get this far with the war. It is really unsettling but at the end it leaves you satisfied. It gave me the closure that countless other WWII movies have been unable to give me all these years.

Finally, I must say, knowing that ‘The Bear Jew’ is on my side is the only thing that lets me sleep at night.

Inglourious Basterds is available today on DVD and Blu-Ray.

I asked a few months ago what camera would be good for low-light shooting and one of the cameras that kept getting mentioned was the F200EXR. When I asked it was about to be released, I was unable to get it back then, but now that I had the opportunity I went back and picked one up. I should have done this back when I meant to.

The F200EXR is not my only camera, I have a Nikon D80 but it has proven to be a on the bulky side for going to rock shows and just normally walking around aimlessly. This role was fulfilled by a Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-P200 which has since been passed on to my youngest brother since he helped me purchase it back in the day. With all this said, I went around and took random pictures with the camera trying to see what its range was and how it performed in each situation. I have created a set on Flickr with the images I took. Keep in mind, these were mostly random and have not been touched in any way.  (maybe I rotated them, but no Photoshop manipulations) Heres the link: Flickr Set

Shots like this one make me think that I will be taking way more pictures during the day but as I mentioned before, the main reason I got this camera was for night shooting, so a few of the shots that I liked had back-lighting and or were otherwise lit from various angles: Market Street Station and the Ross neon. While I like the colors, the pictures came out way too grainy using the EXR mode, something I was able to fix by using the manual controls (to set the shutter speed and aperture).

The Good

The EXR mode does a very good job of automatically selecting what the best settings for the camera are for the given lighting conditions and subjects. It does take a few seconds for it to get there though, which is not bad, but its not instant. There is a portrait mode that takes two pictures back to back, one with flash one without, this is not only good for picking between the two, but I am personally going to try and play around with it on some HDR modifications. The camera while it is not the lightest or slimest does not feel bulky to me and fits nicely in a pocket. Boot up takes about 2 seconds, which is not bad from pocket to shooting. The camera has enough presets and shooting modes to keep you entertained through the new-year. Oh and I guess I’ve been missing out but this image stabilization thing, its pretty damn sweet.

The Bad

Maybe it’s just me but I don’t like that the LCD does not have a cover. I may be too used to my D80 or something, but its something I ordered this week because it was really getting to me having such a big screen just uncovered in my pocket. While I was researching the camera I kept reading reviews that mentioned the menu system being too cumbersome. I found this to be silly, there’s a manual how complicated can the menu system really be? Well, they were right. The ‘menu’ button is contextual, which  means you get different options depending on the setting you have the camera on. This might confuse many which don’t have the patience to really understand their device. There are some things that are always the same however, like the ‘set-up’ option is always at the bottom of every menu, but its enough to either make my mom shoot on ‘EXR’ mode, or just recommend a different camera. While we’re on the subject, EXR mode is noisy. When I got the camera it was on EXR mode and once I was done talking about the camera and started to take some shots, I noticed the camera was making noises. I had to immediately go online to check if my camera was busted or something.

The Bottom Line

It could be easy for me to tell you that I am very happy with my purchase and that I have no doubt in my mind that I made the best possible decision. Sadly I can’t do that. While I like the F200EXR the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-WX1 has me intrigued.  Sure, its a newer camera, and its a different sensor, but after reading David Pogue’s review I really wanted to give it a shot. Then I came to my senses and no matter how excellent the Sony camera may be, I was just not about to go back to Memory Stick. So I picked the FujiFilm.

For my uses this camera is perfect. I am okay learning new menu systems and fiddling with controls to get something to work the way I want it. I find that the FujiFilm gives me enough control like that. If I needed a perfect shot then I would most likely be using the D80 anyways, which leads me back to, would this work for my mother? I believe the answer is no.

The decision to hide the specialized presets just doesn’t sound like a very friendly decision for me on my old Sony camera I could just show her the icons and she can figure it out, a person and a moon, night portrait. This is available in the Fujifilm of course, but not on the wheel, you have to set the wheel to SP then click ‘menu’ and pick the option from there. The FinePix does help the situation by using the LCD to give you a clear explanation of what it is that every mode does however, for example ‘Sunset’ has a picture taken in that mode and then reads ‘For shooting sunsets, making colors more vivid’. I would like to point out that the DSC-WX1 seems to have a control system similar to the one of this camera, and not like my old DSC-P200, so if I were writing a DSC-WX1 review instead, I would most likely still complain about this.

I believe that if you want a solid point and shoot to tide you over between your uses of a DSLR the FujiFilm is a pretty solid alternative. If you just want to take pictures without having to think about it that much I don’t think this camera is for you. I must admit though, I do like that this camera is all camera and zero gimmick. It does not have a touch-screen on the back and it does not have a projector either. It just takes great shots, as it should!

Where To Buy

For more information about the FujiFilm FinePix F200EXR you can visit it’s official site. I purchased the camera for $284.95  from Amazon.com (referral link)

I am a few days late on this one but i have a very good excuse. Testing the headphones has been harder than originally anticipated. The guilty party here? Apple iPhone 3G.

However I do have some comments about the headphones and I would like to share them with all of you even though I think that it is a bit sad that my review didn’t go as well.

The Good

The headphones have a bit of weight to them in the earbuds but not too much and if you use the correct headphone plug they will fit very tightly and not fall off easily. The box also brought a clip so you can clip the cable to the back of your shirt just in case it does fall. The clip is a bit weak though so consider it a precaution more than a true solution.

The cable between the earbuds is quite sturdy and the jewel case is quite stylish.

Jogging with the headphones is very possible and I have not had any problems at all. Running should not be much of a problem but Im honestly not that much of a runner.

The battery life is adequate for its size but I have managed to get the low battery warning at least once every 2-3 days, and they have died on me once. I have a 1 hour commute to and from work, which makes for 2.5 hours of use guaranteed use every day and whatever else is during lunch or something. This is not exactly a problem but going a weekend without charging the device, is impossible.

The Possibly Bad

I have been having intermittent connection problems with the headphones. Also I have been having problems with the video/sound sync when watching podcasts. I say this is possibly bad because I am thinking that it might not be the complete fault of the headphones. Let me explain myself.

The breaking up normally happens when my phone is in my pocket and I am walking. It happens every few seconds but it is not a regular interval. Picking up the phone and just holding it in my hand fixes this as long as I am not swinging my hands that much. After searching around I found this which is exactly what I thought was happening :

My thinking is the CPU can barely handle the iPod and Bluetooth at the same time, so when you start moving the iPhone around it has to track the accelerometer movements and puts it over the top. (link)

I decided to take this and run with it. Since I have a jailbroken iPhone 3G I downloaded the Rotation Inhibitor. This has really made a significant impact on the breaking up problem. I have been using it for 2 days with it so I will most likely update this article when I get a bit more data.

The Audio/Video sync problem I have found that if i disconnect the headphones (turn them off) and then turn them back on they normally sync up well. They lose sync if they switch between stereo-bluetooth and normal headset bluetooth for phonecalls. It is kind of random and odd, I honestly think this is something that can be fixed through software soon. The sync has so far not happened when using the headphones with my MacBook Pro, so again I am blaming the iPhone 3G for this.

The Bad

Sony, in their infinite wisdom, decided that instead of using a standard Mini-USB plug so that you could charge through your computer and be able to charge them at any moment, people would enjoy a proprietary new plug. The plug is actually the standard Sony Ericsson phone plug cut in half. When I went to ask for this plug at the Sony Style at the local mall, the guy said were a small store we cant carry everything. So they make a proprietary plug and they dont even sell it. I am currently considering getting the full plug off of ebay for the office.

There is no way to plug the headphones in to charge while you are using them. This is not really much of a problem… but its just kind of lame.

The Bottom Line

I am not going to lie and say that I was not disappointed when the sound started breaking up or when the movies audio was not in sync. But honestly the liberty of not having to deal with large headphones make these the best form factor ever. They are light and small and they can be just stowed away in a pocket at a moments notice.

Considering I paid $110 for the V-Moda Vibe Duos and those lasted for about a year because of my very tough use of headphones I think that these will really last for a while just for the fact that I do not have to plug/unplug them and they wont be jerked around by the iPhone on my pocket. Im quite certain Ill get quite the mileage out of these.

I am happy with my purchase and I have been showing them off to everybody since not only are they awesome, they also dont look silly by having large pieces for no apparent reason or not being a large DJ style headset either. Both of these things are very important to me and the HBH-IS800Z delivers… Now if only I could get the iPhone to work nicely with them!

Where To Buy

If you go to the Sony Style store (sonystyle.com) you will end up paying $179.99. This is better than going to the Sony Style store at your local mall where they are asking for $199.99 for them. Amazon.com still wins though, they are currently listing them for $121.99 (link). I purchased them at Amazon.

Please, please, please, let me get what I want.That is the song that Tom plays as Summer walks by his desk trying to call her attention to him. I remember being young and playing a song to try and peak the interest of somebody as well. I fell in love with this movie since the second it started and Tom shows how completely head-over heels he is. If you wanted to know, the song I played was Semisonic’s Secret Smile.

Starting from the first minute of this movie the narrator tells us that this is not a love story. He is quite serious. This movie is about how no matter how great you think you are, or how much you try if the things are not right they are just not going to work out. Its such a cute, wonderful, quirky film that I can identify fully with just like “Away We Go”, which I talked about a few posts ago.

In fact this film has so much to say about friendships that it is quite unfair to call it a romantic comedy. The idea of unrequited love has been tackled by many this year. The biggest of these films was Hes Just Not That Into You which I felt was a complete cop-out. The two movies that dealt with friendships this year were “I Love You, Man” and “The Hangover” and neither of those really explored how friendships work (or dont, actually) between men and women. The exploration of how men relate to women, specially women who they are completely smitten by is worked so wonderfully in this film that you kind of have to laugh when you tell yourself ‘I would totally do that, I am such an idiot’.

Lets not say any differently though, Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt make such a great couple. I was jealous the whole way through.

The way I enjoyed this movie I have not enjoyed many, and how I mentioned that its genuinely funny? They don’t have any cheap laughs they’re all well placed and real.

Ive tried to say as much as I could without giving away much, maybe this makes this post seem quite silly, just know that I pre-reserved my copy of the Blu-Ray before I left the theater.

This movie will go next to my copy of “When Harry Met Sally” and “Say Anything” just in case I need to be reminded that all you need, is love.

I went to see this movie with my friend Angela. It was painfully apparent a few minutes into the film that this had been a bad idea.

The story follows a couple that while not entirely sure of what they should do with their own lives are now going to have a child of their own and are desperate to try and find the best place to raise the child. These are two perfectly reasonable people, they both have jobs, pay their bills, have savings and are ridiculously in love with one another. This is such a refreshing take on these situations because, honestly, I’m tired of the quirky people movies weve had to sit through in the past few years. Real people, that make real decisions can sometimes become completely overwhelmed by the situations that life throws at them and this is 100% alright.

It is not a typical rom-com and that’s why it seemed like a pretty odd pick to go with somebody with whom Im not romantically involved with. The questions the movie poses are just not great conversation pieces unless there’s a relationship there. Sitting in a cafe afterwards asking a friend about her plans on having children is a bit odd. However once the awkwardness was over we were able to talk about our own odd friends and the situations that the characters were launched into throughout the film and how we could totally identify with them.

I would also like to point out that Maya Rudolph was a revelation.

As I pass the mid-twenties mark in my life and more and more of my friends are getting married and having children, I have often asked myself if I have any of that stuff in me. If any of that is even for me. This film kind of made me feel like this was something I could do, that its all just part of growing up, part of the journey.

In the interest of full disclosure, I must tell interested parties that “I think this is something I could” do does not mean I have any plans to have children or get married, now or in the foreseeable future. Furthermore, Angela has not talked to me since the day of the movie, this is probably not a coincidence.

Miyazaki is a god. The scenes that he crafts in his mind are amazing, whimsical and magical. There’s few movies that have made me want to really try and see them through more innocent eyes. This is one of them. There is really something that I love about hand-drawn animation and how it reminds me of simpler times in a way. The only argument that I had about the film going in was the simplification of the title from ‘Ponyo on the Reef by the Sea’ to ‘Ponyo’, but honestly, who cares? This movie fits perfectly amongst Miyazaki’s earlier works and follows the same themes that those do as well. The main difference in this one however is that the overall story is rather simple so even young children should be able to understand it. This is not my favorite of his movies, but it took me to such a wonderful place I couldnt help but smile the whole way through. I would love to see more children’s movies just like this one.

My girlfriend said it best as we were leaving the theater:
If I were five or six years old this would be my favorite movie ever.

Again, I would like to make sure everybody understands, unless otherwise noted, I have not seen these movies. Hopefully these non-reviews save everybody some money or at the very least serves as a well timed ‘I told you so’

G.I. Joe : The Rise of Cobra is probably last on my list of movies to watch this summer. In fact, if I had started this column earlier this summer I would have listed Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as one of my least expected movies of the summer and while that looked like a train wreck it looks like a masterpiece when compared to G.I. Joe.

G.I. Joe, according to this movie, is a group of elite recruits from armed forces around the world. That is not the ‘Real American Heroes’ that I remember. Oh, they answer to the U.S. Government? Okay, whatever, lets forget that they’re destroying my childhood with this ‘multinational’ stuff and carry on.

The trailer shows the Eiffel tower being eaten at by some weird green thing and the members of the team in some kind of bionic suit. That seems like the making of some non-stop action movie… sadly I like my non-stop action with some silly story not just some rehash of Team America: World Police.

Up until here you have a few things that are not great but definitely not anything catastrophic until you consider the finer points of the movie.

1. The director Stephen Sommers directed the enjoyable The Mummy (1999) and then went to direct one of my most Unwatchable movies of all time Van Helsing.
2. The flick has the lowest screening test scores in the history of Paramount (link)
3. The director was fired from the movie and Stuart Baird (editor of Casino Royale) was brought in to try and salvage the film. (link)
4. Producers later denied that Sommers had been fired from the movie but did not comment on if he had any say in the post-production process of the movie citing that the movie “tested very well”. (link)
5. The comedic relief is provided by Marlon Wayans, I dont think I need to link to any of his recent work.
6. The film was not shown to critics before release (which is normally used to hype the movie… Another movie that did not do press screenings: Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds) (link)
7. Google an image of Cobra.
8. Rotten Tomatoes had a 41% after the first showings last night. Today it shows a 39% which might mean that audiences are not sticking forks into their eyes and are actually making it safe back to their computers in order to say how mediocre, derivative and redundant this movie is. (link)

Prediction:

I think the movie will not do well at all in theaters but will really take off in rentals. I think I will end up seeing it at some point when I go visit my cousin and he makes me watch it… like he made me watch the original Transformers for a second time.

Actual Review:

“G. I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” is a 118-minute animated film with sequences involving the faces and other body parts of human beings. It is sure to be enjoyed by those whose movie appreciation is defined by the ability to discern that moving pictures and sound are being employed to depict violence. Nevertheless, it is better than “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.” – Roger Ebert (link)