Stop Frame

 I Bought a Mac. My first computer was an Atari 800, fully loaded with 48k of RAM. And I mean the original, beige model, not its low-slung, fancy successor. My friend went for an Apple IIe, which cost a relative fortune. Eventually, I’d step up to an Atari 1040ST, while he’d get a IIgs. And even more eventually, we both ended up with IBM PC compatibles. MSDOS was my friend, Unix an ally. It was with great reluctance that I transition from a command-line interface (CLI) to a Graphic User Interface (GUI), always on a PC platform and never a Mac. I never bought into the hype and never experienced all the horrid things that allegedly befell anyone using a PC. For me, they just worked. Yet here I am, these many decades later, typing this on a brand-new MacBook Air M4. How things change... Initially, there was little regret but a mounting list of frustrations. Adjusting to the keyboard isn’t too hard, it’s just a matter of experimentation. Learning how to scale the display wasn’t awful, ...

I have come not to praise Dune but to bury it. I am in a distinct minority. So be it. To explain why, there will be some minor spoilers ahead; sorry. The short version is #NotMyDune. Summary: Picking up where Dune Part 1 left off, we find the young Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) hanging out with the Fremen. Plots to overthrow rival houses and empires ensue. Go here to see what I thought about Dune Part 1 (2021) . Overall, I found it to be technically brilliant, but lacking a human heart, an exercise in frenetic slow motion. D2 is more of the same, though with far more action. Acting-wise, everyone is doing a fine, more than adequate job. Absolutely no one or nothing stands out. The way the characters are written (adapted, actually), their back and forths and interactions, are all weak and unengaging. I generally hate when they speak. I've read the novel a ridiculous number of times, and these films are prompting me to read it again. I understand that trying to translate the n...

No sense in playing coy, this is a great film. I’ve seen it twice and while I don’t quite love it in the way I love the first, original John Wick , it’s my #2. It’s a little overlong, has some wasted space and time, has one absolutely pointless and useless character, and generally ignores the realities of firefights, falling, getting shot, hit, etc. All that notwithstanding, it’s a great action flick, has a genuine emotional core, and is well worth your time if you’re into that sort of thing. Like I am. Summary: John Wick (Keanu Reeves), last seen saying he was fed up with the High Table, goes to war to obtain his freedom. Some of the most incredible action scenes ever filmed ensue, culminating in a very satisfactory finale and a devastating post-credit scene. The first Wick film was a surprise hit. It was a simple, straight-forward tale of vengeance told in a simple, straight-forward manner. Where it stood out was its devotion to human stunt work, on exploiting long camera shots that ...

Wow, it’s been over a year. What a way to get back to this blog because… Are the films of the MCU getting worse? It’s a serious question because the latest that I’ve seen, Thor: Love and Thunder and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania , are strong arguments that the answer is “yes.” Summary: Ant-Man & Ant-Family get sucked into the quantum realm, where skullduggery is afoot. A load of crap ensues. I’m an Ant-Man fan. I loved the first film despite its flaws. It would have been wonderful to see what Edgar Wright may have wrought. It was clear, though, that replacement director Peyton Reed kept some of Wright’s ideas alive. The result was one of the MCU’s most intimate films, a straight-forward tale of a Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) desperate to remain in his daughter’s life while being “gifted” the life of a superhero. Ant-Man and the Wasp sorta stayed that course, but naturally, because this is the modern MCU, we had to have a female superhero take over, the titular Wasp (Hope van Dyne,...

Some time ago, there was video called  The Marvel Symphonic Universe , regarding how terrible the music in the Marvel (MCU) is. It seemed to place the blame on an overreliance on temp scores, those little snippets of random music that a director uses to work with his editor to finalize the cut of the film. They become so enamored with these snippets that they insist their composer warp their music to match. I found this gentle counter opinion, A Theory of Film Music , which rightfully noted that temp scores have been around roughly since the dawn of sound in film. It suggests that the source material being drawn from is an ever shallowing puddle, and film music is seen more as musical landscape, a la Hans Zimmer, rather than melodies and themes. Both of these led me to consider the problem from my own point of view, which from time to time I’ve mulled over. I find bits and pieces within each that I agree, but feel that both miss the main point. That point is simple: The majority of...

The entire Joe Rogan controversy is an example of the kids being left in charge and the adults refusing to teach them any better. I’m not a regular consumer of podcasts. There are a couple I listen to from time to time, but nothing on a regular basis. While I’ve caught a few minutes of the Joe Rogan Experience on YouTube, I’ve never listened to his podcast. One of the primary reasons for that is that you have to subscribe to Spotify to do so, and I prefer Qobuz, Tidal, or even Amazon Music. Rogan is behind Spotify’s paywall and that’s that. But the nature of the fight is about more than who does or does not listen to Rogan. This fight goes to the very nature of the First Amendment and the fundamental concept of the United States. And yes, I understand that cuts both ways. What’s his name and Joni Mitchell are free to yank their creations from Spotify, no ifs, ands, or buts. I’m not denying their right, I’m questioning their reasons. Rogan talks to people. He does so largely unfiltered....

Back in mid-2021, Apple made “news” by upgrading all subscribers of their Apple Music service to lossless audio. They, of course, used their own, proprietary ALAC format. Several services, among the Amazon Music HD, welcomed them to the club (though Amazon uses the open-source FLAC format). Apple's going lossless at no extra charge to its subscribers was heralded as a major sea change. It did have one immediate benefit for me: Amazon made their HD (lossless) tier "free" with their basic subscription, thus saving me a couple of dollars a month. Thanks, Apple! Beyond that, and in the months that followed, it stirred an on-going debate about the audio quality that we've all come to expect and, more to the point, accept. This debate is bound to grow now that Spotify has delayed the rollout of their lossless service, leaving their premium subscribers "stuck" with lossy MP3s. Because of the Bluetooth codecs Apple uses, its existing wireless ecosystem doesn't s...

We now come to the time when we begin looking at the Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 4 films and let’s just start with the worst: Eternals . Summary: Immortal beings who live among us are called once more to defend humanity against an ancient threat that has returned. But who are the heroes and who are the villains and when all is said and done, do I really, truly care? A resounding answer of “No!” ensues. Eternals should have been a very different MCU film. It poses intriguing questions. It wants to examine those in an action/superhero film context, which is fine. Unfortunately, it’s an action/superhero film within the MCU and that means it has to tie back to the 25 films that preceded it while at the same time setting up characters and events for future films. In the right hands, with a studio willing to create something outside of its established universe, it might have worked. Or maybe not. It’s a surprisingly lifeless affair. No one demonstrates any real sense of passion. The few...

The sixth generation Apple iPad Mini is such an amazing device, I don’t understand why Apple insists on crippling it. Then again, why be surprised? Apple does this to their entire iPad line. Anyone who knows me, or even peruses some of my previous posts on tablets, knows that I have a contentious relationship with Apple and, especially, iPads. Hardware-wise, they are above reproach. There are so many little details to their design that I beg others to copy. For example, I’m a huge fan of the folio cover. At first glance, though, it has a fatal flaw that when opened, and held open by magnets, it blocks the camera. Only you can fold down that top most flap and it will be held open, again by little magnets. The entire affair is solid, easy to hold, and just plain works. No other tablet I’ve seen comes close to how well Apple does the hardware and all their accessories. For the larger iPads, the Magic Keyboard is a thing of pure joy. The tactile feel is magnificent, the way it holds the ta...

Question: When does a film feel both slow and frantic? Answer: When it’s Dune as made by Denis Villeneuve. Summary: Really? Do you need this? It’s a film based on a book first published in 1965 and in continual release ever since. There have been two previous attempts to film it, first as a feature film in 1984 and then as miniseries in 2000. Fine, a summary: In the far-flung future, the House Atreides is given control of the planet Arrakis, also known as Dune, the only planet in the known universe where mélange, spice, is found. Spice is needed for, among other things, interstellar travel. Thus, he who controls the spice controls the universe. Plans within plans, betrayal within betrayal, ensues. Well, sort of, since Villeneuve’s film only covers around the first 40% of the book. It doesn’t so much end on a cliffhanger as just…end. Part 2 has (finally) been greenlit and is scheduled for October 2023. Meanwhile, Villeneuve has openly campaigned to made the book into three films, so we...

No sooner do I brag about my little stack of Schiit then it breaks. One night, for reasons unknown, the wall wart power supply for the Magni amp/pre-amp died. I speculate that as it shuffled off to the electrical afterlife, it sent a spike through the system. This didn't damage the Magni and it may be a coincidence, but I had left my Zeus headphones plugged in and they were dead, probably murdered in their sleep. The result was me exploring warranties and how well each manufacturer responded. First, the great one, Schiit. Sent them proof of purchase (via Amazon, silly me) and voila, within days I had a replacement wall wart. The Magni still works like a charm, and my stack of Schiit is back in businss. Second, the nightmare. I purchased my Zeus headphones via Amazon, but it wasn't Amazon making the sale or even a sale that was "fulfilled by Amazon." Instead, it was the HiFiGo store. Out of China. Lesson learned, pay attention to what "store" you're buyin...

There has been a recent uptick in stories about a phone that went on sale in September 2020, which seems a little strange until you realize the phone in question is more than a little strange. The phone is the Microsoft Surface Duo and I was one of those silly people who purchased it on day one. The Duo was first shown at an MS Surface Event in October 2019, almost a full year before it went on sale. I was immediately enamored by the products Panos Panay, the MS executive overseeing the Surface Product line, was showing. This included the Surface Pro X (which I bought and still use), the Surface Neo (a product that now will never see the light of day, demonstrating an the Windows 10X operating system which also will never see the light of day), and the Surface Duo, our subject for today. The Duo is built around the concept that two screens are better than one, no matter how large that one screen may be. If your computer setup utilizes more than one screen, you already have a clear idea...

I am, by no stretch of the imagination, an audiophile. I do, however, appreciate good music well played. When I’m listening, I want to enjoy it. I’ve owned semi-audiophile gear in the past, a lovely NAD amplifier and I can’t recall the brand of bookshelf speakers. The result sounded beautiful and it only set me back around $1,500 in the mid-1980s. "Only..." That system is long-gone, and in retirement I wanted to improve my listening enjoyment. I’ve tried various speakers, such as Sonos, Bose, and even the Harmon Kardon Invoke. All nice, but I came to recognize I was missing true stereo. As good as any of those speakers are, they only truly come alive when you can assemble a stereo pair. I do most of my listening at my computer and things being as they are, a stereo pair would have been difficult to arrange. Headphones seemed the obvious answer and my old Sony PS3 headphones were a nice start. They were joined by a set of Microsoft Surface Headphones and while they were nice, ...

Honest, I don’t know how you could argue otherwise. It’s a multi-billion dollar amateur hour nightmare. I should be clear right off the bat that I’m not saying you can’t like the films. There are a lot of little things in the films to like, there are some aspects of the productions that are quite nice. These do not make them good films. So, enjoy, love them, hug them, take them to bed, but don’t try and tell me that they’re masterpieces, works of genius, socially important, etc., because they’re not. As a trilogy, as films, they suck. Warning: There are spoilers throughout this essay. I’m not in the mood to hide anything, you have been warned. It’s disappointing to say this, to reach this conclusion when all is said and done, and I’ve been pondering it for almost a year. Their failure was complete upon the release of The Rise of Skywalker . With that film it became crystal clear, unavoidably so, that Disney never, ever had a plan for its core trilogy. There’s evidence to suggest that ...

I am always on the prowl for the next best thing in portable computers, especially tablets. The result is that right now, I have a lot of different tablets, in several “flavors,” none of which are 100% but several of which are very close. It’s a team effort. I started this essay using a 2020 iPad Pro 11”, the base model with 128GB of built-in storage. My biggest indulgence this time, as compared to the last time I had an iPad Pro, is that I splurged on LTE connectivity. I’ve come to the conclusion that always having access to the online world is a very, very nice thing, and I hate tethering. Another big splurge with this iPad is the new Magic Keyboard. The key feel is excellent, and the weight pays for itself with a solid base to work from. I’ve seen some complaints about the lack of a range of adjustment with the display, and I get it but it’s fine for me. As for complaints that the iPad can’t double back onto the keyboard for one-hand use, the way it can with the Folio Keyboard, that...

I owe Gareth Edwards an apology. I’ve been unkind to him and, especially now with the power of hindsight, he deserved better. Who knew, when all was said and done, that he would (mostly) direct the best of the Disney Star Wars films, Rogue One ? To properly cover this, there will be here spoilers here. You have been warned. The man has directed precisely three feature-length films: Monsters (2010), Godzilla (2014), and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016). I still believe he doesn’t handle humans well. His human characters generally come across as flat and, more often than not, not likeable. Now, a film’s main character doesn’t have to be likeable, but if they’re not then they have to be interesting, and his characters are, generally, not interesting. In both Monsters and Godzilla , I was rooting for the monsters. Please, please, please crush, kill, and even eat these mouth-breathers! This was also true for most of the cast of Rogue One , with a few exceptions. Donnie Yen and ...

An unmitigated disaster of a film, possibly the worst in the entire series and yes, that includes the prequels. Some of the worst filmmaking I’ve ever seen, dreadful in almost every single way imaginable. After two viewings, and probably a third to come (oh, the joy of family obligations) it just keeps getting worse somehow. Summary: It’s some unspecified time after the events of The Last Jedi . The Emperor returns! McGuffins abound! A dizzying series of cuts and edits ensues. For all it’s many faults, The Last Jedi was at least a well-made film (design, cinematography, editing, etc.). TRoS  establishes that Rian Johnson is a vastly superior filmmaker when compared to JJ Abrams, who is less a hack than a hack-and-slasher. The opening act of TRoS is terrible, a bewildering series of cuts that leaves you numb. There’s hardly a moment when a shot remains on screen long enough to establish what you’re looking at before you’re yanked away to something else. It’s almost as though A...