I didn't watch the whole thing. I was playing with my computer, taking showers, and went out to dinner, so I skipped some parts. But here are my thoughts:
Ellen DeGenerees sucks as a host. She's lame and not really funny. Ellen made me miss Jon Stewart from last year and he wasn't even that great, but at least he's funny ("for those keeping score: three-six mafia 1, martin scorsese 0"). How come nobody thought of bringing Jon Stewart back especially when this year, Al Gore and An Inconvenient Truth features prominently this year.
There are good commercials, but nothing memorable (Apple iPhone comes close). I missed last year's AmEx commercial by Shyamalan (before the lady in the water fiasco).
My prediction results: 11/20 = 55%. I don't know if it's good or bad. But I'm proud of predicting 2 things correctly: Eddie Murphy not winning The Oscar and The Departed for Best Picture.
I said it here before and I'll bring it up again. Eddie Murphy would not win an Oscar because he had that stinking joke called Norbit getting released before Oscar. I was surprised that Eddie Murphy didn't beg or do anything in his power to get that movie postponed after the oscar, I'd definitely do that if I was him. I think the academy is very kind enough to get him nominated (with his recent track records) and seeing Norbit released is like getting the finger from Murphy. I hope that Eddie will take this snub as a sign to make Better movies. Some actors can survive a bad movie or 2, but Eddie Murphy hasn't done anything good since Bowfinger in 1999 (I'm not counting Shrek since it's just voice work). Daddy Day Care? Pluto Nash? The Haunted Mansion? ewww... It's a wonder that the guy still has a career after a string of bad movies ... sigh. Eddie, please come back and make a good movie again.
However, Alan Arkin winning instead? I say it was undeserved. (SPOILER ALERT)
The dude died halfway through Little Miss Sunshine, before he could make a great impression. If there's anyone more deserving in that film, it's Steve Carell (and he didn't even get any mention). If this is a gesture to reward Arkin's career, I'd accept it. But I think the award should have gone to Mark Wahlberg (or Murphy, if he hasn't made Norbit). (END SPOILER ALERT)
On The Departed winning the best picture. This year's best picture oscar is a wide open race, unlike last 2 years. What made me pick The Departed is simple. It's the most seen movie of all the nominees (with the highest grossing box office). If the history of oscar has taught us, box office can make/break a best picture win: consider Titanic and Gladiator. Whereas in the past 2 years when Million $ Baby and Crash won, they didn't have any nominees with high box office. So I'm not surprised if The Departed won, even if it's undeserved. When you have the academy consisting of 5000+ voting members, don't you think the most seen film would win it hands down?
Somewhere along the show, somebody mentioned The Departed as a remake of JAPANESE film Infernal Affairs. I didn't catch it because I was taking shower then, but my sister, roommate and even a friend in Canada told me about it. Hello!! It's a Hong Kong film. Okay, I'd have to go asian film fanboy here. Everybody has their opinion. But IMHO, Infernal Affairs is a better film than The Departed and it didn't even get nominated for Best Foreign Film in 2002/2003. and finally they hand the best picture to the remake and called the original film a Japanese film? How ignorant. and the best adapted screenplay win? Come on, the screenplay copies a lot from the original and it only adds a lot of profanities and violence to it. I was upset for a short while about this Hollywood disrespect to Hong Kong film industry (No HK film ever get nominated for best foreign film). But then again, that's just the way Hollywood and Oscar works - just a popularity contest. If there's anything positive from this, it's that Martin Scorsese is classy enough to mention that Infernal Affairs is a Hong Kong film and thanks the "wonderful asian cinema". Scorsese, such a gentleman that everyone else in Hollywood should follow.
Scorsese finally won Best Director. I say good for him. I watched his win when I was in a restaurant having my dinner and I clapped my hand. Even if he had won it for the wrong film, it has been long overdue.
Lastly, Al Gore's clever stunt announcement really had me on the edge of my seat and it was the best and most memorable moment of the night.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Personal Oscar 2007
For my list last year, click here
2006 Overview:
I didn't really watch a lot of movies in 2006 (only about 38 2006 films). This is due to lack of time when I was still in school and then I wasted lots of time in Youtube, Anime (Bleach) and 24 marathons after I graduated. But then again, the 2006 films aren't really that great. At the beginning of the year, the titles look really promising. However, by the end of October, many of them have become disappointments. It's so disappointing that I become discouraged from watching more movies too. Furthermore, this year has no 5 star movie for me. So 2006 has been a really disappointing year to me for the movies.
Here are my personal awards for 2006:
Best old film discovered on DVD:
Lord of War (2005) by Andrew Niccol. starring Nicolas Cage
This dark comedy about worldwide arms trade is one of the best films in 2005. I would put it in my top 3 if I had watched it 2 years earlier. Its darkly funny, powerful and unsettling. Unfortunately, despite of Nic Cage's star power, this film flopped at box office. Roger Ebert said that "you owe it to yourself to see this film" about an Inconvenient Truth. I would apply the same statement to this film. and oh, this is the only film I gave perfect 5 stars in 2006.
Honorable Mention:
Kingdom of Heaven: Director's Cut by Ridley Scott
Failed Genre of the Year: Movies with Magician.
In 2006, we have 2 high profile magic movies: The Prestige and The Illusionist. While both aren't bad, both are disappointing and mediocre enough to let down the genre this year
Best Use of Powerpoint Presentation: An Inconvenient Truth (actually, it's Apple Keynote)
Most Misleading Title: The Pursuit of Happyness (should be Pursuit of Materialistic Happyness)
Best Title: Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Most Underrated Film: Superman Returns
Superman Returns is not only the best Superman film ever, it's also one of the best films I've seen this year. Yet, there seems to be so many complains about this movie, especially the romance angle and the lack of action. The last straw is when Kate Bosworth got nominated for a worst actress Razzie. Whoa. enough is enough, it's time to defend.
First, I have to admit that I am not a big fan of Superman - He is someone too powerful whom I can't identify with. A Superman film that revolves around him fighting some of his powerful adversaries would be boring because it would just be a contest to see who's more powerful. But what makes every Superman story interesting is his romance with Lois Lane. Director Bryan Singer recognized this and made this romantic conflict drive the film. This film isn't mainly about Superman vs Lex Luthor or Superman saves Metropolis. It's about the unrequited love between Superman and Lois Lane. Superman and Lois Lane love each other but they can't be together, least of which because Superman's not human, but in this film, it's about Superman's betrayal of Lois (leaving without saying goodbye) and Lois denial about her true feelings that kept them apart. It's only in the end when Superman saves Lois from sinking and Lois returns to save Superman from Lex Luthor do we see that all is not lost between them. It's as romeo and juliet as it can get it's a love story that people who are not familiar with the characters can identify with. Yes, it maybe melodramatic as it can get but this love story also drives the first 2 Christopher Reeves Superman Movies and makes them memorable. The love story, Brendan Routh as a perfect Superman (even better than Reeve) and even setting it in the same universe as the first 2 Superman Movies (the Superman Theme in the opening credits blew me away) made this movie perfect. So, why is there so much hate?
Rumors has it that the next Superman film will be more action oriented. Well, I just hope that Bryan Singer does not forget what makes Superman special and sacrifice it just for more action.
Most Overrated Film: The Departed
First let me say that The Departed is a very good, tough, gutsy film with memorable performances. It's a worthy remake of the original Infernal Affairs. However, with some critics calling it one of the best Scorsese films like Goodfellas and Raging Bull. I just have to say stop. This film isn't perfect, it has some editing issues and a joke ending. Its tough, gutsy, violent and politically incorrect scenes might give the movie some character but they also give a lot of fat and excess to the film that prolong its running time more than necessary. Watch the original film to see a more effective and lean film with a better ending. The Departed is a damn good film. But one of Scorsese's best film and a best picture Oscar nominee? You gotta be kidding.
Runner-ups:
Pan's Labyrinth
Borat (do you really want the whole title?)
Most Disappointing Film: American Dreamz
In a year of disappointments, it's harder to pick this category than the best picture. However, after much consideration, I have to pick this film which missed its opportunity so much. American Dreamz has the best Idea for satire: President Bush and American Government, War In Iraq, and American Idol. The cast is great and more than willing to participate: Dennis Quaid (as George Bush-like President), Willem Defoe(as Dick Cheney-like Chief of Staff), Hugh Grant (as Simon Cowell-like Judge), Mandy Moore (lampooning her own pop singer persona). However, writer/director Paul Weitz is not brave enough to attack and plays it too safe. The result is a failed film with too many cheap, safe jokes instead of effective ones. This film flopped badly at the box office and has probably been forgotten. It's too bad, really, if only it had more courage to follow up on its great idea.
Runner-ups:
Borat
Inside Man
Snakes on a Plane
The Prestige
X-Men: The Last Stand
Most Surprisingly Good Film: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men's Chest
The first Pirates has this overly complicated but unnecessary long plot whose purpose is to give Johnny Depps moments to shine as Jack Sparrow. The 2nd movie, surprisingly, has an overly complicated plot too, except it's actually quite good and makes sense and successfuly ties everything from the first movie into a cohesive story and yet strangely, Johnny Depp is quite subdued here. But it doesn't matter, the film has its entertaining moments with/without Depp and the cliffhanger ending is just unexpected. Can't wait for the next entry.
Honorable Mention:
Rocky Balboa
Most "Important" Film: An Inconvenient Truth
"You owe it to yourself to see this film." - Roger Ebert
Dude, it's Al Gore! it's Global Warming!
Seriously, a film that could make a powerpoint lecture so compelling deserves some mention. Global Warming is real and we should do something about it. Besides, Al Gore's story of redemption is quite compelling too.
Plain Worst Movie: Lady In The Water by M Night Shyamalan
If you need a story about overblown ego and someone fall from grace, look no further than M Night Shyamalan and Lady in The Water. A bedtime story? stereotypical characters (worst of which is the korean neighbors)? casting himself as the prophetic world savior author? Stupid names like Narf, Scrunt, Tartukic, Kii... If that's not enough, consider that he wrote a tell-all book about how he got this project turned down at Disney, the studio that supported all his movies except this one since The Sixth Sense because the studio exec actually dared to tell him the script sucks. Too bad he should have listened to the exec before making this film.
It's really heartbreaking for me as a big fan of Shyamalan to see him crash and burn on screen. He really lost it in this movie. I hope he makes a good comeback though now that he has been brought down to earth
Dis-Honorable Mention:
Daisy by Andrew Lau Wai Keung
6:30 by Rinaldy Puspoyo
Best Song: Kazakhstan National Anthem in Borat! ... (do you really want the whole title?)
Best Original Music: The Fountain by Clint Mansell
Best Cinematography: Children of Men (DP: Emanuel Lubezski)
Best Looking Film:
with CGI: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men's Chest
without CGI: The Fountain
Most Hardworking Actor: Hugh Jackman (X-Men 3, Scoop, The Prestige, The Fountain, Flushed Away, Happy Feet)
Most Hardworking Actress: Maggie Gylenhall (Stranger Than Fiction, Trust The Man, World Trade Center, Sherrybaby, Monster House)
Most "For paycheck only" Performance: Tom Hanks in The Da Vinci Code
Tom Hanks is a great actor when he's given a great role. Unfortunately, The Da Vinci Code protagonist Robert Langdon isn't one of them. A bland character in a bland novel does not make a great role and the bland looking Tom Hanks just blandly essays the character in the movie. Throughout the movie, it's so painfully obvious that Tom Hanks does not enjoy this role and he looks like he can't wait to get out of the picture. I think the hair actually acts better than him. I hope the paycheck is good.
Tom Hanks discusses on who has worse hair.
Most Versatile Actor: Ian McKellen
If there's an actor who understand perfectly how to tackle everything from shakespeare to genre films, his name is Ian McKellen. In contrast with Tom Hanks, Ian McKellen is delightful as Teabing in Da Vinci Code and he is still good as Magneto in the disappointing X-Men 3. Even his voicework in Flushed Away is great. Remember, this is the dude who plays Gandalf after all. There should be more actor like him, really.
Best Performance by an Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed
Leonardo DiCaprio can finally bury the ghost of Jack Dawson in Titanic forever with perhaps the performance of his career here. Playing the role of undercover cop who is struggling very hard to maintain his cover as well as his sanity, Leonardo manages to really become the character and brings a lot of raw intensity and vulnerability that could match Robert DeNiro's performance in Raging Bull. Daniel Day Lewis would be proud of this kind of acting. It's too bad that the academy chose to recognize his performance in Blood Diamond instead (which is great too, but this one's much better). At least this performance should silence those Titanic critics.
Honorable Mention:
Hugh Jackman in The Fountain
Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat
Best Performance by an Actress: Helen Mirren in The Queen
When I watched The Queen, I couldn't see what's so great about Helen Mirren's take on The Queen. In contrast of Leonardo DiCaprio's screaming and shootin performance in The Departed. Queen Elizabeth is rather low key, reserved character who doesn't display a lot of emotions. However, the performance actually stays in my mind weeks after I watch it. Only then do I realize the great performance it is. The Queen might not show a lot of emotion on the surface, but inside she struggles to understand how the public turned against her soon after the death of Princess Diana. It takes a lot of talent to deliver this kind of performance and it should be rightly recognized.
Honorable Mention:
Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada
Best Picture (and Director): Children of Men by Alfonso Cuaron
2006 has great films. But it lacks truly great/ groundbreaking/ wow films. While Children of Men is not those kind of film, it's still a great one nevertheless. The film takes place in a world where women is unable to reproduce anymore and uses it to provide a scathing look at humanity and the world we live in today: government, terrorist/rebel groups, religious groups are all not spared. With excellent production design brings to life a chaotic future and cinematography (lots of long tracking shots) brings a lot of tension. There is no film that's more powerful, heartbreaking and hard to forget than Children of Men this year.
Honorable Mentions:
Babel by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Superman Returns by Bryan Singer
V For Vendetta by James McTeigue
Casino Royale by Martin Campbell
======
That is all for now. I will give my views on upcoming movies in 2007 and maybe my take on the oscar ceremony that I'm watching now.
2006 Overview:
I didn't really watch a lot of movies in 2006 (only about 38 2006 films). This is due to lack of time when I was still in school and then I wasted lots of time in Youtube, Anime (Bleach) and 24 marathons after I graduated. But then again, the 2006 films aren't really that great. At the beginning of the year, the titles look really promising. However, by the end of October, many of them have become disappointments. It's so disappointing that I become discouraged from watching more movies too. Furthermore, this year has no 5 star movie for me. So 2006 has been a really disappointing year to me for the movies.
Here are my personal awards for 2006:
Best old film discovered on DVD:
Lord of War (2005) by Andrew Niccol. starring Nicolas Cage
This dark comedy about worldwide arms trade is one of the best films in 2005. I would put it in my top 3 if I had watched it 2 years earlier. Its darkly funny, powerful and unsettling. Unfortunately, despite of Nic Cage's star power, this film flopped at box office. Roger Ebert said that "you owe it to yourself to see this film" about an Inconvenient Truth. I would apply the same statement to this film. and oh, this is the only film I gave perfect 5 stars in 2006.
Honorable Mention:
Kingdom of Heaven: Director's Cut by Ridley Scott
Failed Genre of the Year: Movies with Magician.
In 2006, we have 2 high profile magic movies: The Prestige and The Illusionist. While both aren't bad, both are disappointing and mediocre enough to let down the genre this year
Best Use of Powerpoint Presentation: An Inconvenient Truth (actually, it's Apple Keynote)
Most Misleading Title: The Pursuit of Happyness (should be Pursuit of Materialistic Happyness)
Best Title: Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Most Underrated Film: Superman Returns
Superman Returns is not only the best Superman film ever, it's also one of the best films I've seen this year. Yet, there seems to be so many complains about this movie, especially the romance angle and the lack of action. The last straw is when Kate Bosworth got nominated for a worst actress Razzie. Whoa. enough is enough, it's time to defend.
First, I have to admit that I am not a big fan of Superman - He is someone too powerful whom I can't identify with. A Superman film that revolves around him fighting some of his powerful adversaries would be boring because it would just be a contest to see who's more powerful. But what makes every Superman story interesting is his romance with Lois Lane. Director Bryan Singer recognized this and made this romantic conflict drive the film. This film isn't mainly about Superman vs Lex Luthor or Superman saves Metropolis. It's about the unrequited love between Superman and Lois Lane. Superman and Lois Lane love each other but they can't be together, least of which because Superman's not human, but in this film, it's about Superman's betrayal of Lois (leaving without saying goodbye) and Lois denial about her true feelings that kept them apart. It's only in the end when Superman saves Lois from sinking and Lois returns to save Superman from Lex Luthor do we see that all is not lost between them. It's as romeo and juliet as it can get it's a love story that people who are not familiar with the characters can identify with. Yes, it maybe melodramatic as it can get but this love story also drives the first 2 Christopher Reeves Superman Movies and makes them memorable. The love story, Brendan Routh as a perfect Superman (even better than Reeve) and even setting it in the same universe as the first 2 Superman Movies (the Superman Theme in the opening credits blew me away) made this movie perfect. So, why is there so much hate?
Rumors has it that the next Superman film will be more action oriented. Well, I just hope that Bryan Singer does not forget what makes Superman special and sacrifice it just for more action.
Most Overrated Film: The Departed
First let me say that The Departed is a very good, tough, gutsy film with memorable performances. It's a worthy remake of the original Infernal Affairs. However, with some critics calling it one of the best Scorsese films like Goodfellas and Raging Bull. I just have to say stop. This film isn't perfect, it has some editing issues and a joke ending. Its tough, gutsy, violent and politically incorrect scenes might give the movie some character but they also give a lot of fat and excess to the film that prolong its running time more than necessary. Watch the original film to see a more effective and lean film with a better ending. The Departed is a damn good film. But one of Scorsese's best film and a best picture Oscar nominee? You gotta be kidding.
Runner-ups:
Pan's Labyrinth
Borat (do you really want the whole title?)
Most Disappointing Film: American Dreamz
In a year of disappointments, it's harder to pick this category than the best picture. However, after much consideration, I have to pick this film which missed its opportunity so much. American Dreamz has the best Idea for satire: President Bush and American Government, War In Iraq, and American Idol. The cast is great and more than willing to participate: Dennis Quaid (as George Bush-like President), Willem Defoe(as Dick Cheney-like Chief of Staff), Hugh Grant (as Simon Cowell-like Judge), Mandy Moore (lampooning her own pop singer persona). However, writer/director Paul Weitz is not brave enough to attack and plays it too safe. The result is a failed film with too many cheap, safe jokes instead of effective ones. This film flopped badly at the box office and has probably been forgotten. It's too bad, really, if only it had more courage to follow up on its great idea.
Runner-ups:
Borat
Inside Man
Snakes on a Plane
The Prestige
X-Men: The Last Stand
Most Surprisingly Good Film: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men's Chest
The first Pirates has this overly complicated but unnecessary long plot whose purpose is to give Johnny Depps moments to shine as Jack Sparrow. The 2nd movie, surprisingly, has an overly complicated plot too, except it's actually quite good and makes sense and successfuly ties everything from the first movie into a cohesive story and yet strangely, Johnny Depp is quite subdued here. But it doesn't matter, the film has its entertaining moments with/without Depp and the cliffhanger ending is just unexpected. Can't wait for the next entry.
Honorable Mention:
Rocky Balboa
Most "Important" Film: An Inconvenient Truth
"You owe it to yourself to see this film." - Roger Ebert
Dude, it's Al Gore! it's Global Warming!
Seriously, a film that could make a powerpoint lecture so compelling deserves some mention. Global Warming is real and we should do something about it. Besides, Al Gore's story of redemption is quite compelling too.
Plain Worst Movie: Lady In The Water by M Night Shyamalan
If you need a story about overblown ego and someone fall from grace, look no further than M Night Shyamalan and Lady in The Water. A bedtime story? stereotypical characters (worst of which is the korean neighbors)? casting himself as the prophetic world savior author? Stupid names like Narf, Scrunt, Tartukic, Kii... If that's not enough, consider that he wrote a tell-all book about how he got this project turned down at Disney, the studio that supported all his movies except this one since The Sixth Sense because the studio exec actually dared to tell him the script sucks. Too bad he should have listened to the exec before making this film.
It's really heartbreaking for me as a big fan of Shyamalan to see him crash and burn on screen. He really lost it in this movie. I hope he makes a good comeback though now that he has been brought down to earth
Dis-Honorable Mention:
Daisy by Andrew Lau Wai Keung
6:30 by Rinaldy Puspoyo
Best Song: Kazakhstan National Anthem in Borat! ... (do you really want the whole title?)
Best Original Music: The Fountain by Clint Mansell
Best Cinematography: Children of Men (DP: Emanuel Lubezski)
Best Looking Film:
with CGI: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men's Chest
without CGI: The Fountain
Most Hardworking Actor: Hugh Jackman (X-Men 3, Scoop, The Prestige, The Fountain, Flushed Away, Happy Feet)
Most Hardworking Actress: Maggie Gylenhall (Stranger Than Fiction, Trust The Man, World Trade Center, Sherrybaby, Monster House)
Most "For paycheck only" Performance: Tom Hanks in The Da Vinci Code
Tom Hanks is a great actor when he's given a great role. Unfortunately, The Da Vinci Code protagonist Robert Langdon isn't one of them. A bland character in a bland novel does not make a great role and the bland looking Tom Hanks just blandly essays the character in the movie. Throughout the movie, it's so painfully obvious that Tom Hanks does not enjoy this role and he looks like he can't wait to get out of the picture. I think the hair actually acts better than him. I hope the paycheck is good.
Tom Hanks discusses on who has worse hair.
Most Versatile Actor: Ian McKellen
If there's an actor who understand perfectly how to tackle everything from shakespeare to genre films, his name is Ian McKellen. In contrast with Tom Hanks, Ian McKellen is delightful as Teabing in Da Vinci Code and he is still good as Magneto in the disappointing X-Men 3. Even his voicework in Flushed Away is great. Remember, this is the dude who plays Gandalf after all. There should be more actor like him, really.
Best Performance by an Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed
Leonardo DiCaprio can finally bury the ghost of Jack Dawson in Titanic forever with perhaps the performance of his career here. Playing the role of undercover cop who is struggling very hard to maintain his cover as well as his sanity, Leonardo manages to really become the character and brings a lot of raw intensity and vulnerability that could match Robert DeNiro's performance in Raging Bull. Daniel Day Lewis would be proud of this kind of acting. It's too bad that the academy chose to recognize his performance in Blood Diamond instead (which is great too, but this one's much better). At least this performance should silence those Titanic critics.
Honorable Mention:
Hugh Jackman in The Fountain
Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat
Best Performance by an Actress: Helen Mirren in The Queen
When I watched The Queen, I couldn't see what's so great about Helen Mirren's take on The Queen. In contrast of Leonardo DiCaprio's screaming and shootin performance in The Departed. Queen Elizabeth is rather low key, reserved character who doesn't display a lot of emotions. However, the performance actually stays in my mind weeks after I watch it. Only then do I realize the great performance it is. The Queen might not show a lot of emotion on the surface, but inside she struggles to understand how the public turned against her soon after the death of Princess Diana. It takes a lot of talent to deliver this kind of performance and it should be rightly recognized.
Honorable Mention:
Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada
Best Picture (and Director): Children of Men by Alfonso Cuaron
2006 has great films. But it lacks truly great/ groundbreaking/ wow films. While Children of Men is not those kind of film, it's still a great one nevertheless. The film takes place in a world where women is unable to reproduce anymore and uses it to provide a scathing look at humanity and the world we live in today: government, terrorist/rebel groups, religious groups are all not spared. With excellent production design brings to life a chaotic future and cinematography (lots of long tracking shots) brings a lot of tension. There is no film that's more powerful, heartbreaking and hard to forget than Children of Men this year.
Honorable Mentions:
Babel by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Superman Returns by Bryan Singer
V For Vendetta by James McTeigue
Casino Royale by Martin Campbell
======
That is all for now. I will give my views on upcoming movies in 2007 and maybe my take on the oscar ceremony that I'm watching now.
Oscar's Predictions
Here are my predictions for tonight. Many of them are based on random guess, hunch or "should win" feeling rather than buzz. For the first 6 categories, the most important ones, I especially decided to go against "buzz" in maybe 2-3 categories. Here are my predictions:
Best Picture: The Departed
Best Director: Martin Scorsese (The Departed)
Best Actor: Peter O' Toole (Venus)
Best Actress: Helen Mirren (The Queen)
Best Supporting Actor: Mark Wahlberg (The Departed)
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Children of Men (or Borat)
Best Original Screenplay: Babel
Best Editing: Babel
Best Music: Babel
Best Art Direction: Pan's Labyrinth
Best Cinematography: Children of Men
Best Costume Design: Curse of the Golden Flower
Best Makeup: Apocalypto
Best Visual Effects: Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest
Best Documentary: An Inconvenient Truth
Best Animated Film: Happy Feet
Best Foreign Film: Pan's Labyrinth
Random Guesses:
Best Sound Editing: Blood Diamond
Best Sound Mixing: Blood Diamond
Best Documentary Short: The Blood of Yingzhou District
Best Animated Short Film: The Little Matchgirl
Best Live Action Short film: West Bank Story
... meanwhile expect to see my personal awards in a few hours. It's almost done. I am still deciding on whether to see Dreamgirls or not.
Best Picture: The Departed
Best Director: Martin Scorsese (The Departed)
Best Actor: Peter O' Toole (Venus)
Best Actress: Helen Mirren (The Queen)
Best Supporting Actor: Mark Wahlberg (The Departed)
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Children of Men (or Borat)
Best Original Screenplay: Babel
Best Editing: Babel
Best Music: Babel
Best Art Direction: Pan's Labyrinth
Best Cinematography: Children of Men
Best Costume Design: Curse of the Golden Flower
Best Makeup: Apocalypto
Best Visual Effects: Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest
Best Documentary: An Inconvenient Truth
Best Animated Film: Happy Feet
Best Foreign Film: Pan's Labyrinth
Random Guesses:
Best Sound Editing: Blood Diamond
Best Sound Mixing: Blood Diamond
Best Documentary Short: The Blood of Yingzhou District
Best Animated Short Film: The Little Matchgirl
Best Live Action Short film: West Bank Story
... meanwhile expect to see my personal awards in a few hours. It's almost done. I am still deciding on whether to see Dreamgirls or not.
Friday, February 23, 2007
This Weekend
Expect a lot of long unnecessary updates this weekend as Oscar is announced. I will give my personal movie awards for 2006, oscar musings, predictions as well as views on this year's upcoming movies. Not that anybody care.
Friday, February 16, 2007
The Nintendo Update
So, I finally got my white Nintendo DS Lite last week. Finally, after a long search and I've been playing it ever since.
What am I playing now?
- Gamecube:
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
This is my very first Zelda game ever. I'm not joking. I know it's such a shame coming from a nintendo fan like me. But I've always been a Mario fan. Anyway, let's talk about this game. In the game, you basically play Link as he explore the land of Hyrule, defeated monsters, solve some puzzles here and there, get new weapons and meet new people. It's really a fun and epic game and the learning curve is definitely not hard for an epic game. The best thing about this game is the epic feel of Hyrule and the fact that you only play ONE character: Link throughout the entire game makes the epic feeling much more satisfying (unlike Final Fantasy games where u play many characters) as you discover new places. The thing that I don't like about the game is the wolf link as he has limited capabilities and playing him is really tough ... also the game really feels linear for an epic like this. Every Zelda game always carry a lot of reputation and this one could be the last traditional zelda game. I definitely hope so, I want to see a newer non-linear Zelda.
I have only finished about 20 hours now, I'm in Lake Hylia, about to start entering the lakebed temple. Oh, I'm playing the gamecube version and this will be the last gamecube game I play before I sell it to make way for the Wii. I think the gamecube version is the way to go since this game is originally designed for the traditional controller. I've tried playing the Wii version and I don't like it, the motion sensing thing makes the learning curve much higher.
- DS:
Elite Beat Agents
Elite Beat Agents is a rhythm based game where you tapped circles on the screen as the music beat goes on. What makes it stands out is that you're not just tapping at some music. The game has a clever and wacky theme story to it where you play dancing agents (don't ask) who help people in trouble. Each scenario has a song to accompany it. and the stories are wacky and funny as hell is done in funny manga style too. You have to be good at rhythm games because the progression of the story depends on the movement/dancing of the agents which depends on how accurate/fast you tap on the screen. If the whole concept sounds outrageous, that's the point. Trust me it's a really fun game. However, I'm not really good at rhythm game and this is probably my first serious attempt at one. I'm now still stuck in the final stage of the easiest difficulty .. sigh.
... and it has one of the most creepily sappiest presentation of Chicago's You're The Inspiration ... EVER:
Hotel Dusk: Room 215
This one is more like an interactive novel than a game. It's about a disgraced ex-cop from NY who happen to stay in a Hotel in Las Vegas on an assignment. During his stay, he discover that the hotel and the people who stays there hold many secrets and perhaps one that he has been searching for since he quit the force in NY. It's definitely noirish and full of twist and turns (but don't expect dark stuffs). Since it's more like a book, it's not that hard to play too. The only thing I don't like is some characters are stupid and some lines are too redundant. But so far the story is engaging and it's worth playing (or reading?)
What am I playing now?
- Gamecube:
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
This is my very first Zelda game ever. I'm not joking. I know it's such a shame coming from a nintendo fan like me. But I've always been a Mario fan. Anyway, let's talk about this game. In the game, you basically play Link as he explore the land of Hyrule, defeated monsters, solve some puzzles here and there, get new weapons and meet new people. It's really a fun and epic game and the learning curve is definitely not hard for an epic game. The best thing about this game is the epic feel of Hyrule and the fact that you only play ONE character: Link throughout the entire game makes the epic feeling much more satisfying (unlike Final Fantasy games where u play many characters) as you discover new places. The thing that I don't like about the game is the wolf link as he has limited capabilities and playing him is really tough ... also the game really feels linear for an epic like this. Every Zelda game always carry a lot of reputation and this one could be the last traditional zelda game. I definitely hope so, I want to see a newer non-linear Zelda.
I have only finished about 20 hours now, I'm in Lake Hylia, about to start entering the lakebed temple. Oh, I'm playing the gamecube version and this will be the last gamecube game I play before I sell it to make way for the Wii. I think the gamecube version is the way to go since this game is originally designed for the traditional controller. I've tried playing the Wii version and I don't like it, the motion sensing thing makes the learning curve much higher.
- DS:
Elite Beat Agents
Elite Beat Agents is a rhythm based game where you tapped circles on the screen as the music beat goes on. What makes it stands out is that you're not just tapping at some music. The game has a clever and wacky theme story to it where you play dancing agents (don't ask) who help people in trouble. Each scenario has a song to accompany it. and the stories are wacky and funny as hell is done in funny manga style too. You have to be good at rhythm games because the progression of the story depends on the movement/dancing of the agents which depends on how accurate/fast you tap on the screen. If the whole concept sounds outrageous, that's the point. Trust me it's a really fun game. However, I'm not really good at rhythm game and this is probably my first serious attempt at one. I'm now still stuck in the final stage of the easiest difficulty .. sigh.
... and it has one of the most creepily sappiest presentation of Chicago's You're The Inspiration ... EVER:
Hotel Dusk: Room 215
This one is more like an interactive novel than a game. It's about a disgraced ex-cop from NY who happen to stay in a Hotel in Las Vegas on an assignment. During his stay, he discover that the hotel and the people who stays there hold many secrets and perhaps one that he has been searching for since he quit the force in NY. It's definitely noirish and full of twist and turns (but don't expect dark stuffs). Since it's more like a book, it's not that hard to play too. The only thing I don't like is some characters are stupid and some lines are too redundant. But so far the story is engaging and it's worth playing (or reading?)
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Downtown Mountain View has changed ...
... and it doesn't look good. From 2002 - 04, I used to frequent downtown mountain view a lot (on castro) close to where I lived. It was a quiet, peaceful place. Now, almost 3 years later, I move back here and found some unwelcome changes ...
Whatever happen to peace and quiet? It's a much more crowded place now. Damn, it's even harder for me to find parking there nowadays.
2 weeks ago, I finished watching movies on Friday night. It was saturday morning around 2 am. So, I decided to go to eat at Pho Hoa. Boy oh boy, the place has changed. There are many clubbers and gangsta wannabes in town frequenting the new clubs in town (one of which is called Buddha bar -_-). I thought this town was peaceful. Pho Hoa was just as crowded. Speaking of clubs, I thought this town was not the kind for clubbing ... 2 years ago, I actually saw a club close down here. But maybe times have changed and it's modernisation time.
... and speaking of modernisation. There's a bubble tea place here called Verde. That place hold a lot of memories for foothill students like me who hang out there. It looks like your typical bubble tea place: bright decor, flat screen tv on the wall playing a chinese movie/mtv/concert footages, crowded with asians, and with magazines and games that you can play in the shop. and then it went for renovation. Last weekend, I finally went there to see the "new" Verde. It has become like an elite knock-off of Starbucks. With dark chocolate walls and fluorescent lighting ... and the big screen tv shows "The Marine". and it's not surprising to find the visitors are mostly white too. Have the store tried to change its customer demographics? No wonder it lost its charms. But worry not, assuming it has not undergone similar renovation, there's still an old school Verde in Cupertino.
and the last straw about this town? Last weekend, I went to KFC there and there was this beggar outside. When I returned to my car, the beggar asked me for money. Being the stingy ass person that I am, I ignored him. He then YELLED at me. WTF. Boy, you know, all this while, I thought Berkeley is a bad town with its homeless people and all. But those 2 years I spent there, the beggars/homeless never yelled and actually say "thank you" even when I ignored them. I hardly recall seeing any beggar in Mountain View before, but this one really upset me. Mountain View has really changed. It is no longer the town it used to be. Why is that? could it be Google? lol. But yeah, that beggar really made me feel that way. I miss Berkeley and maybe next time I go there, I will actually give some money to the beggars/homeless.
=====
Anyway, some random ramblings of the day...
SF Mayor Gavin Newsom admitted his alcohol problems on top of the affair scandal that erupted last week. Oh boy.
Steve Jobs share his thoughts on Digital Rights Management system. Interesting read. My skeptical self says that his position is probably motivated by the recent potential european ban on iTunes. But hey, at least he is candid enough to admit only 3% of songs in iPod are purchased from iTunes. Can you see Bill Gates admitting Zunes only have 2% of mp3 player market share? Go Steve.
Watched Superbowl 2 days ago. Much has been written about it, especially Rex Grossman's incompetence. But I won't write on what I'm not familiar with. Instead, I will show you how noob i am. About 1/2 an hour into the match on the first quarter, I was watching and remarked "wow, they play really well, look at the throws ..." and then my roommate who was watching with me said, "Of Course, this is Pros". Ooops, oh well.
My sister wrote an interesting and funny take on the indonesian movies based on a recent movie she has just watched. I recommend you head over, but I will print the funniest part:
"... everything always runs ever so smoothly for the main character of the show!!--which 99% of the time happens to be a skinny bitch with a pair of bambi eyes and super long black hair. How can it be so coincidental that your neighbor's son whom you've never met before suddenly shows up looking like a person someone ripped out from an Abercrombie Ad?! And how can it be that he, already looking so darn good, also drives a freakin Range Rover in Indo and a fucking Ferrari in amrik, lives in this apartment overlooking a panoramic nightscape in SF, and goest to school at Berkeley ..."
Okay, maybe the filmmakers mistook Berkeley student for a spoilt ass USC student. But yeah, the indonesian filmmakers is only digging their grave by making more pointless fantasy like that film described. I really want to blog on Indonesian film industry... but I shall save it for another day. My sister's entry is as good as it is. And until then, ciao.
Whatever happen to peace and quiet? It's a much more crowded place now. Damn, it's even harder for me to find parking there nowadays.
2 weeks ago, I finished watching movies on Friday night. It was saturday morning around 2 am. So, I decided to go to eat at Pho Hoa. Boy oh boy, the place has changed. There are many clubbers and gangsta wannabes in town frequenting the new clubs in town (one of which is called Buddha bar -_-). I thought this town was peaceful. Pho Hoa was just as crowded. Speaking of clubs, I thought this town was not the kind for clubbing ... 2 years ago, I actually saw a club close down here. But maybe times have changed and it's modernisation time.
... and speaking of modernisation. There's a bubble tea place here called Verde. That place hold a lot of memories for foothill students like me who hang out there. It looks like your typical bubble tea place: bright decor, flat screen tv on the wall playing a chinese movie/mtv/concert footages, crowded with asians, and with magazines and games that you can play in the shop. and then it went for renovation. Last weekend, I finally went there to see the "new" Verde. It has become like an elite knock-off of Starbucks. With dark chocolate walls and fluorescent lighting ... and the big screen tv shows "The Marine". and it's not surprising to find the visitors are mostly white too. Have the store tried to change its customer demographics? No wonder it lost its charms. But worry not, assuming it has not undergone similar renovation, there's still an old school Verde in Cupertino.
and the last straw about this town? Last weekend, I went to KFC there and there was this beggar outside. When I returned to my car, the beggar asked me for money. Being the stingy ass person that I am, I ignored him. He then YELLED at me. WTF. Boy, you know, all this while, I thought Berkeley is a bad town with its homeless people and all. But those 2 years I spent there, the beggars/homeless never yelled and actually say "thank you" even when I ignored them. I hardly recall seeing any beggar in Mountain View before, but this one really upset me. Mountain View has really changed. It is no longer the town it used to be. Why is that? could it be Google? lol. But yeah, that beggar really made me feel that way. I miss Berkeley and maybe next time I go there, I will actually give some money to the beggars/homeless.
=====
Anyway, some random ramblings of the day...
SF Mayor Gavin Newsom admitted his alcohol problems on top of the affair scandal that erupted last week. Oh boy.
Steve Jobs share his thoughts on Digital Rights Management system. Interesting read. My skeptical self says that his position is probably motivated by the recent potential european ban on iTunes. But hey, at least he is candid enough to admit only 3% of songs in iPod are purchased from iTunes. Can you see Bill Gates admitting Zunes only have 2% of mp3 player market share? Go Steve.
Watched Superbowl 2 days ago. Much has been written about it, especially Rex Grossman's incompetence. But I won't write on what I'm not familiar with. Instead, I will show you how noob i am. About 1/2 an hour into the match on the first quarter, I was watching and remarked "wow, they play really well, look at the throws ..." and then my roommate who was watching with me said, "Of Course, this is Pros". Ooops, oh well.
My sister wrote an interesting and funny take on the indonesian movies based on a recent movie she has just watched. I recommend you head over, but I will print the funniest part:
"... everything always runs ever so smoothly for the main character of the show!!--which 99% of the time happens to be a skinny bitch with a pair of bambi eyes and super long black hair. How can it be so coincidental that your neighbor's son whom you've never met before suddenly shows up looking like a person someone ripped out from an Abercrombie Ad?! And how can it be that he, already looking so darn good, also drives a freakin Range Rover in Indo and a fucking Ferrari in amrik, lives in this apartment overlooking a panoramic nightscape in SF, and goest to school at Berkeley ..."
Okay, maybe the filmmakers mistook Berkeley student for a spoilt ass USC student. But yeah, the indonesian filmmakers is only digging their grave by making more pointless fantasy like that film described. I really want to blog on Indonesian film industry... but I shall save it for another day. My sister's entry is as good as it is. And until then, ciao.
Friday, February 2, 2007
Random ramblings: SF Mayor, DS, etc
Yesterday morning, as I was driving to work, I was shocked to hear on the radio about the San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom's affair scandal. Gavin Newsom is a popular (esp for his strong support of gay marriage) and well liked mayor. So to find out that not only did he have an affair, but he was having it with the wife of his best friend and right hand man was very shocking. But when I heard the news, I can't help but recall ... 3 years ago.
Fall 2003. I was still studying in Foothill then. The SF mayoral election was happening at that time and it was a neck to neck race between Democrat Gavin Newsom and Green party candidate Matt Gonzalez. I took a Java Class with a kick-ass Instructor who happened to volunteer for Gonzalez and he would promote Gonzalez and put down Newsom because Gonzalez is supposedly more independent and for the people than Newsom, who seemed more like a career politician. But in the end, Newsom won and everything seemed lost (Arnold got elected as governor around the same time).
and then Newsom turned out not to be a bad mayor after all. He became popular for his homeless program and gay marriage support especially in 2004 when it became a hot issue during the presidential election. He became very popular and even got an Honorable mention in a Best Mayors in america edition of time magazine in 2005 (or 2006, can't remember).
... sorry for reminiscing. But anyway, then came this scandal. It's almost like bill clinton all over again. Except Newsom isn't just shagging anyone, but his own best friend's wife; that's really too much. I don't know what to say on whether he should continue being a mayor. On one hand, what he did is really wrong. On the other, he's really a good mayor. I guess it's up to him. He could take the responsibility and resign. But if he continues to be a mayor, then he better prove it that he's not going to make this kind of mistake ever again. ever.
===
It's so hard to get a Nintendo DS (let alone Wii) these days. They're sold out everywhere. But yesterday, I was so lucky to stumble upon Best Buy's website because they happened to have it in stock. I immediately ordered a white DS... yay, I finally get it. Elite Beat Agents and Hotel Dusk, here I come.
I also just received my DVDs of asian Movies: Johnnie To's Election 2 and Exiled and Shunji Iwai's Love Letter. I have not watched a Johnnie To's movie for almost a year now and I'm really excited.
===
This is old news but Beckham is coming to US to play for LA Galaxy. I don't care what everybody says. Sometime this year, I hope I can come down to LA and watch him play.
Superbowl is on this sunday. I'm gonna watch it. First time watching it ever since I come here.
last movie watched: The Queen. Gonna watch more as part of my oscar run. Reviews coming
Fall 2003. I was still studying in Foothill then. The SF mayoral election was happening at that time and it was a neck to neck race between Democrat Gavin Newsom and Green party candidate Matt Gonzalez. I took a Java Class with a kick-ass Instructor who happened to volunteer for Gonzalez and he would promote Gonzalez and put down Newsom because Gonzalez is supposedly more independent and for the people than Newsom, who seemed more like a career politician. But in the end, Newsom won and everything seemed lost (Arnold got elected as governor around the same time).
and then Newsom turned out not to be a bad mayor after all. He became popular for his homeless program and gay marriage support especially in 2004 when it became a hot issue during the presidential election. He became very popular and even got an Honorable mention in a Best Mayors in america edition of time magazine in 2005 (or 2006, can't remember).
... sorry for reminiscing. But anyway, then came this scandal. It's almost like bill clinton all over again. Except Newsom isn't just shagging anyone, but his own best friend's wife; that's really too much. I don't know what to say on whether he should continue being a mayor. On one hand, what he did is really wrong. On the other, he's really a good mayor. I guess it's up to him. He could take the responsibility and resign. But if he continues to be a mayor, then he better prove it that he's not going to make this kind of mistake ever again. ever.
===
It's so hard to get a Nintendo DS (let alone Wii) these days. They're sold out everywhere. But yesterday, I was so lucky to stumble upon Best Buy's website because they happened to have it in stock. I immediately ordered a white DS... yay, I finally get it. Elite Beat Agents and Hotel Dusk, here I come.
I also just received my DVDs of asian Movies: Johnnie To's Election 2 and Exiled and Shunji Iwai's Love Letter. I have not watched a Johnnie To's movie for almost a year now and I'm really excited.
===
This is old news but Beckham is coming to US to play for LA Galaxy. I don't care what everybody says. Sometime this year, I hope I can come down to LA and watch him play.
Superbowl is on this sunday. I'm gonna watch it. First time watching it ever since I come here.
last movie watched: The Queen. Gonna watch more as part of my oscar run. Reviews coming
On the HDTV hype
On HDTV:
Last week, I attended Alex, Cul, Daniel and Alexander's housewarming party. Some people went to play some version of Burnout on Daniel's Xbox 360. Daniel has a flat screen hdtv of size 27-30 inches and I saw the game being played on it. The graphics really look good and polished. But I felt like something isn't right, it's "too good". It might be the uncanny valley problem. But that's precisely the point. Whenever I look at the HD displays in shops like Best Buy etc, I always get the similar "too good" feeling. It's like they look really good, but at the same time, it turns me off too. I don't know why, maybe it's because I'm not used to it. But my feeling about the whole HD quality is like seeing a perfectly beautiful woman whose beauty is achieved through plastic surgery ... it's like she looks good, but also at the same time it's really superficial.
... and superficial is how I feel about the whole HDTV hype. The way I see it, the technology and maybe the masses in general are not ready yet. But I just hate the hype created by everyone including but not limited to manufacturers and retailers. I would welcome a next generation entertainment standard like HDTV. But seeing the way HDTV is overhyped now by the manufacturers and retailers, it shows that they're more interested in getting lots and lots and lots of money rather than actually creating a worthy next gen entertainment quality. Here's some of my gripes:
Firstly we have different resolution standards ... 720p, 1080i, 1080p. I won't explain what they are, just do your own research. But basically, the numbers refer to the number of scanlines and "i/p" refers to interlaced/progressive. The general consensus is more lines and progressive standard produce better and sharper resolution. So the manufacturers (especially Sony) are trying to push for 1080p. But I don't like the whole "bigger is better" thinking - especially when the current 480i standard for standard TV has served us well for decades. We have different standards and we can't agree to it, and yet the only thing better about the standards is that they make the pictures look sharper but does that really matter? is the current TV not good enough?
so if it's just about sharper pictures, then it's not really worth the hype, especially when they can't even agree to it.
Then, HDTV prices are high. I know they're coming down as fast as a waterfall, but they're still high. And then, there's LCD, Plasma type and many incoming types including one called SED that is based on same principle as the current CRT TV. and then, I've also read about many stories on how HDTV break down easily.
So, the way I see it it's really not a pleasant experience to get a HDTV. Prices are high, different screen standards and types require research and getting a reliable one requires even more research. and all that, just for better picture resolution? and that's just for the TV. To get content in HD, you have to pay more to the cable company. HD sound? get the set up. HD Games, PS3 and XBOX 360 for $300 -600 depending on configuration and maybe you still need to buy more peripherals. I won't even get into the HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray battle. The whole thing's just too much investment for me. No wonder Nintendo choose to skip HD standard for Wii and look at how it's doing now.
and yet, we can't really avoid the hype these days. HDTV hype is everywhere, manufacturers and retailers are pushing them really hard through ads and store placements. It seems like the consumers are given no choice. I am just sick and tired of the hype. The whole HDTV business have become more like plastic surgery business to me ... it makes people better looking, but everything is just superficial - a lot of brouhaha over nothing.
and by the way, if you're looking for TV now, I'd recommend looking at the last gen standard TV. Since they're last generations, they're picture quality couldn't be better and since they're proven, established technology, they won't break down easily. So, get them for another 5 years perhaps and maybe, hopefully, by then HDTV would have settled on a standard.
Last week, I attended Alex, Cul, Daniel and Alexander's housewarming party. Some people went to play some version of Burnout on Daniel's Xbox 360. Daniel has a flat screen hdtv of size 27-30 inches and I saw the game being played on it. The graphics really look good and polished. But I felt like something isn't right, it's "too good". It might be the uncanny valley problem. But that's precisely the point. Whenever I look at the HD displays in shops like Best Buy etc, I always get the similar "too good" feeling. It's like they look really good, but at the same time, it turns me off too. I don't know why, maybe it's because I'm not used to it. But my feeling about the whole HD quality is like seeing a perfectly beautiful woman whose beauty is achieved through plastic surgery ... it's like she looks good, but also at the same time it's really superficial.
... and superficial is how I feel about the whole HDTV hype. The way I see it, the technology and maybe the masses in general are not ready yet. But I just hate the hype created by everyone including but not limited to manufacturers and retailers. I would welcome a next generation entertainment standard like HDTV. But seeing the way HDTV is overhyped now by the manufacturers and retailers, it shows that they're more interested in getting lots and lots and lots of money rather than actually creating a worthy next gen entertainment quality. Here's some of my gripes:
Firstly we have different resolution standards ... 720p, 1080i, 1080p. I won't explain what they are, just do your own research. But basically, the numbers refer to the number of scanlines and "i/p" refers to interlaced/progressive. The general consensus is more lines and progressive standard produce better and sharper resolution. So the manufacturers (especially Sony) are trying to push for 1080p. But I don't like the whole "bigger is better" thinking - especially when the current 480i standard for standard TV has served us well for decades. We have different standards and we can't agree to it, and yet the only thing better about the standards is that they make the pictures look sharper but does that really matter? is the current TV not good enough?
so if it's just about sharper pictures, then it's not really worth the hype, especially when they can't even agree to it.
Then, HDTV prices are high. I know they're coming down as fast as a waterfall, but they're still high. And then, there's LCD, Plasma type and many incoming types including one called SED that is based on same principle as the current CRT TV. and then, I've also read about many stories on how HDTV break down easily.
So, the way I see it it's really not a pleasant experience to get a HDTV. Prices are high, different screen standards and types require research and getting a reliable one requires even more research. and all that, just for better picture resolution? and that's just for the TV. To get content in HD, you have to pay more to the cable company. HD sound? get the set up. HD Games, PS3 and XBOX 360 for $300 -600 depending on configuration and maybe you still need to buy more peripherals. I won't even get into the HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray battle. The whole thing's just too much investment for me. No wonder Nintendo choose to skip HD standard for Wii and look at how it's doing now.
and yet, we can't really avoid the hype these days. HDTV hype is everywhere, manufacturers and retailers are pushing them really hard through ads and store placements. It seems like the consumers are given no choice. I am just sick and tired of the hype. The whole HDTV business have become more like plastic surgery business to me ... it makes people better looking, but everything is just superficial - a lot of brouhaha over nothing.
and by the way, if you're looking for TV now, I'd recommend looking at the last gen standard TV. Since they're last generations, they're picture quality couldn't be better and since they're proven, established technology, they won't break down easily. So, get them for another 5 years perhaps and maybe, hopefully, by then HDTV would have settled on a standard.
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