Up

I saw this with the whole clan at the El Capitan, complete with opening live show and full digital 3D presentation.

The thing is, with a the bells and whistles attached to the screening I attended, I felt it was all the kind of things that would be used by marketing to help hype the audience for a lesser flick. And I feel that speaks highly to the ability of Pixar’s “Up” to stand on it’s own, and hints at its ability to stand the test of time.

The story concerned grumpy old man Carl Fredrickson (Ed Asner) fulfilling the wish he shared with his late wife of traveling and making a home by a waterfall in South America. This path has him run across characters like annoying ‘Wilderness Explorer’ Russell (Jordan Nagai), ‘talking’ dog Dug (director/writer Bob Peterson) and a large bird named Kevin.

No doubt you’ve seen the trailers or billboards with the house being hoisted by about a million balloons. The start of the story deals actually deals with Carl’s life and times with his wife in a very touching and almost wordless sequence. Pixar did an amazing job with this sequence and took a risk, I believe. Some people had concerns with the wordless tale-telling at the beginning of Wall-E, but personally, I say it works. Why? Because it’s a MOVIE! A visual story medium. Many other studios would have simply stuck a voiceover describing Carl’s history, but in showing Carl’s life the way they did, it actually made you sympathetic to a supposedly ‘unmarketable’ old man, couple with the fact that you are more than willing to go along with the totally insane idea that someone can fly a house simply because they attached a bunch of helium balloons through their chimney and stuck curtains outside the house to steer.

As much as the characters of this story are well rounded and interesting, the humor of the film is excellent. I can actually say I laughed out loud at this film.

Pixar has shown once again that they are masters of the computer animated movie. All the visuals and animation are incredible. This was made in 3D and some of the visuals are quite impressive when seen in a digital-projection 3D theater, but again this movie could easily stand on its own without it.

That being said, I’d definitely recommend seeing it in the theater. In 3D. I’d see it again that way. This is a very well done film that I believe anyone can enjoy. Go see it.

Star Trek

Usually when the term “reboot” or “re-imagined” is applied to a new entry in a franchise, I tend to wince a bit. It usually means that whoever owns the property is simply slapping a new coat of paint on it the color of “whatever-will-get-those-with-money-to-pay-up-and-watch-this-old-stuff-again”. There might actually be some good ideas and concepts in the re-make, but it usually pales in comparison the the vision of the original. Or it just sucks hard.

I say this so you can understand the weight of when I say that J.J. Abrams reboot of Star Trek is pretty much the gold standard of how to reboot an old and cherished property.

This movie rocks. It’s a very well done, fast and funny action movie. The story not steeped in the series usual heavy allegory and metaphor. But this doesn’t make it light fluff either, since the depth and heart of the film comes from the origins of the main characters and relationships. This choice and mix of material manages the highly tricky feat of being able to appeal to both the Trekkie and the non-Trekkie.

While the humor does nod to the show’s various conventions and some famous lines and phrases, it never stoops to parody. This film manages to be even funnier than Trek IV!

The acting and cast are dead on for everyone with a special nod to Chris Pine, who pulls off the amazing acting feat of channeling James T. Kirk without invoking William Shatner. Zachary Qunito not only looks the part of Spock completely, but deftly conveys the character’s struggle of logical versus emotional quite vividly. This really carries to all the main cast, who take these classic characters and make them their own.

I could really go on, but the point is: see it! Without question: see it. TheJoe and I saw this in IMAX and not only do I feel it was worth seeing in that format, I would see it again in the theater. See it.

Axiotron Announces the ModBook Pro

Talk about getting a graphic chubby!

For quite awhile I’ve seen the Modbook as a very tantalizing device, but I couldn’t see it as something that could be my sole computer. Sure, I would be able to draw and design directly on the screen, but if I needed to type something, I’d have to drag out an external keyboard. (Right now I have the reverse situation going with my Macbook and an external Wacom tablet) This device, however, is said to support the pen AND touch capabilities. Of course I’d have to see if this thing has a touch keyboard and how well it types, but it would be very sweet if it did.

About the only other caveats I have are the fact that this isn’t an official Apple product and therefore would have some hoops to leap through for maintainence and repairs. Axiotron has made a lot of noise about how they have The Woz in their employ now, but unless he’s doing all the repairs himself at a very fast pace, it doesn’t assuage my concerns much. This second is the price tag. Five thousand is a hefty price for something I’d be carrying around with me everywhere and therefore prone to gravity and the elements. Then I’d have to go with one of Joe’s Sony netbooks.

SONY UNVEILS WORLD’S LIGHTEST 8-INCH NOTEBOOK

WOW!  This gave me a CHUBBY!

I have not been huge on this whole “netbook” craze.  But, I have to admit this device looks insane!

The highlights:

• 1600 x 768, LED backlit 8-inch ultra-wide display (diagonal)
• weighs just 1.4 pounds and is small enough to slip into a jacket pocket
• built-in wireless WAN 3G Mobile Broadband, 802.11n wi-fi and Bluetooth
• real-time GPS functionality
• pricing starts at about $900
• available in February

Some of the Technical Specifications:

• Intel Processor @ 1.33 Ghz
• 2GB RAM
• 128 GB SSD
• 8″ XBRITE-ECO Display @ 1600×768
• Mobile Intel GMA500 Graphics
• 2 USB, 1 Memory Stick Duo, 1 SD
• Windows Vista Home Premium

It’s OS is Vista.  Not a big fan, but for the functionality, we can forgive them if it works well.  The screen resolution alone on this thing is incredible. Read more