Monthly Archives: February 2018

Movies

Skyscraper poster…

During the Superbowl (I think) there was a trailer for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s latest film (I believe he has something like 563 films coming out this year), of which the following poster has appeared:

Image result for skyscraper poster image

In the trailer, which ends with this jump, I turned to my wife and said: “Welp, I guess that’s how that character dies.”

Other people have noted the same, as pointed out in this amusing article by Lee Moran and presented on Huffington Post:

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s new movie poster baffles fans online

My favorite notation on the poster was the first one, presented by James Smythe on twitter.  He did the math:

R.I.P. Mr. Johnson.

Movies

A little late…

…but I just found it.  From observer.com:

Rex Reed’s 10 Best and Worst Films of 2017

Last year I had fun with the 10 “Worst” films on Mr. Reed’s list (you can read that here) and, while he doesn’t offer many comments for why he feels these particular films are worthy of falling on the worst of list (though several of them have links to his reviews of the films), I’ll nonetheless present his list here (if you’re interested in what he considers the best movies of the year, click on the link!):

  1. Mother!
  2. The Disaster Artist
  3. Get Out
  4. The Layover
  5. The Cure for Wellness
  6. It
  7. Downsizing
  8. Suburbicon
  9. Colossal
  10. Fallen

Mother! certainly had its share of detractors and, of the list presented, is the one I’m most curious to see, if I should have the time.  I know perhaps a little too much about it at this point, so it doesn’t seem terribly likely I will get that opportunity, despite whatever curiosity I may have.

Intriguingly, he really didn’t like Get Out, which was one of the more successful films that came out in the last year.

I was familiar with all the other films save for the last on the list, Fallen.  I had to look that one up and, having read its plot, doubt I want to see it.  The IMDB listing is here, if you’re at all curious.

Aaaaanddddd…

Here’s where the rubber hits the proverbial road.

Once again, I’ve got a list of intriguing titles of which I’ve seen not a single one of the films on it.  As I mentioned, I won’t list Mr. Reed’s 10 Best films of 2017, but of those, I’ve also not seen a single one on that list.

Intriguingly, though not falling on either list, Mr. Reed was not as impressed by many critics regarding both Dunkirk and The Shape of Water, the film that currently has the most Oscar nominations for any film released last year.

Movies

Heath Ledger…

Over at slashfilm.com and in an article written by Hoai-Tran Bui concerning…

Heath Ledger had planned to return as the Joker after The Dark Knight

While I don’t want to spoil the article, which itself is lifted from a news.com.au article, features an interview with Kate Ledger, Heath Ledger’s sister, who states that indeed it was Mr. Ledger’s intention to return as the Joker in the next Christopher Nolan directed Batman film.

A true shame.

I know there are those who don’t like the third Nolan Batman film, but I’m not one of them.  I don’t feel the film was superb (I’d tend to agree with most fans and critics that The Dark Knight, the second film in the trilogy and the one featuring Mr. Ledger as the Joker, was the overall best of the lot), mind you, but I think people were being overly harsh when they beat it down.

Regardless, hearing about this makes one all the sadder regarding Mr. Ledger’s passing.

Would the third film have been considerably different with Ledger back in the role of the Joker?

I suspect so.

Would we have still seen Bane and Catwoman and Talia?

Perhaps, though I suspect Bane’s role would have been much smaller.

Still, a sad shame we never got to see more of Mr. Ledger, not only in this role, but likely in the possibility of having a robust career with many other interesting roles.

General, Movies

Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood…

This is, frankly, shocking.

Ellie Shechet on Jezebel.com has the following article:

Robert Wagner has been named a “Person of Interest” in death of Natalie Wood

Back in 1981 there came the shocking news that actress Natalie Wood, known for roles in Rebel Without a Cause and West Side Story (among others) and then wife of Robert Wagner, disappeared from the family’s yacht and was later found drowned.

Aboard the yacht at the time was Robert Wagner, Christopher Walken, and Captain Dennis Davern.

Of course, there were plenty of rumors spread at that time regarding her death.  Christopher Walken, who as mentioned was on board the yacht, was starring with Mrs. Wood in the movie Brainstorm.  Were they involved in some other way?  Did this lead to some kind of confrontation between Wagner and Wood?  Were they simply partying too hard and she accidentally fell of the yacht?  More darkly: Was she pushed?

There were many questions but the case was essentially concluded as an accidental drowning and not much was made of it.

Yet the questions lingered.  It was reported that Wagner and Wood had an argument shortly before she disappeared.  People in a boat nearby stated they heard someone saying she was drowning.  True?  False?

Regardless, the case is being given another look and, as mentioned, Robert Wagner is now being listed as a “person of interest”.

Mr. Wagner will be 88 this month so even if something were to come of this new scrutiny it is doubtful he will face many/any consequences -if indeed any are merited!

If nothing else, the curious case of Mrs. Wood’s death seems like it’ll be back in the news again, a reminder of the sad ending of an extraordinary actress’ life.

Computers/Electronics

Apple iPhone X…

Over at slate.com Christina Bonnington wonders…

Is the iPhone X in trouble?

Ms. Bonnington notes that Apple has slashed orders for both the creation of new iPhone Xs as well as their components and speculation is building that the unit is simply not selling as well as Apple hoped it would.

Ms. Bonnington further wonders in the article whether the very steep $1000 price tag might have something to do with the lag in sales of the phone.

I wouldn’t be surprised, but I suspect other things are afoot as well.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Sometimes an electronic product, be it a cell phone or computer or laptop or tablet, reaches a level where its about as good as its going to get.  Yeah, new models might come out and they may indeed feature some new/better things but at some point they become very incremental and small, to the point where people don’t feel the need to “upgrade” like they used to.

I’ve told this story far too many times before, but I distinctly recall the desktop PC rise, from processors that ran on the 8086 chip to the 286, 386, 486, Pentium, Pentium II, etc.

The difference between the 8086 processors and the 286 machines was like night and day.  Similarly, when the 386 machines came out they made the 286 machines look like they were in the stone age.  Similarly, the 486 made the 386 look weak.

By the time the Pentium models came out, though, the changes were much smaller.  Instead of seeing a brand new computer that clearly outpaced the one you currently had, you had a new computer system that was perhaps a little faster and a little nicer but not anything you had to get.

Thus, instead of considering buying a new computer system each year, I found myself going some 6 years with my Pentium machine before replacing it.  And I did so only because the computer I was using was starting to glitch and I need my desktop for the work I do and figured I should get a new system before my old one simply dies out.

With regard to cell phones, I fear they too are reaching that point.  There was, of course, a time when there was a strong and noticeable difference between one model and the next year’s model but, like the desktop computers, that isn’t quite as big a difference anymore.

Certainly one doesn’t need to upgrade to the current state-of-the-art model as before.

Especially when it’ll cost you some $1000.