Tag Archive for ‘Review’ at Didnt You Hear…

Tag Archive for 'Review'

…Iron Man was awesome?

Published

Cory O'Brien

on May 2, 2008

in Movies

. Comments

Iron Man

I AM IRON MAN!!!

Ok, so maybe not, but after watching Iron Man, you’ll want to run down the street yelling that too.

Thanks to TechCrunch’s invitation, I was able to get a sneak peak at Iron Man Wednesday, and I can whole heartedly agree with the 96% that this film is currently rocking on Rotten Tomatoes.

Rotten Tomatoes Iron Man

It’s the summer blockbuster that you’ve been waiting for, and probably beyond what you’re expecting from it.

Sure, it’s got a great theme song, and the commercials look great, but that’s just the Hollywood Hype Machine running on overdrive, right?

Wrong.

Iron Man is a solid film with a plausible (futuristic) story line, fantastic acting, and top notch tech ogling.

First: Robert Downey Jr. is a bad ass. His role as a billionaire weapons manufacturer that likes fast talk, hard liquor, expensive women and cheap thrills is perfect, and he says each line with a bravado that will surely be emulated by everyone for the next few weeks.

Second: The action doesn’t stop. Sure, it’s a CGI film with plenty of additional special effects; but keep in mind, this is a comic book based movie after all. As is expected with a summer blockbuster, the explosions are over the top, the battles drag out, and the eye candy is ever present, but it’s always done in a way that lends itself to the story line, and never seems out of place.

Third: This is a tech head’s dream flick. From 3D holographic displays and futuristic UI to a sassy computer and robotic assistants, it’s a look into the future at what everyone hopes the world will become.

If you have a chance, then go see this movie, because you won’t be disappointed.

Grade: A
Theater Worthy: Yes

[Iron Man]

[Rotten Tomatoes - Iron Man]

[IMDb - Iron Man]

…It’s Music Monday: South By Southwest?

Published

Cory O'Brien

on March 17, 2008

in Music

. Comments

South By Southwest

South by Southwest (AKA SXSW) is an interactive, film, and music festival that takes place every year in Austin, Texas.

Because many of the bands that perform there each year are trying to make it big and break into the scene, they release an official torrent with most of the music from the festival for you to download and enjoy.

This years torrent contained 763 tracks, and played end to end, would be nearly 48 hours of continuous music.

If that sounds like a lot to go through to find what you like, that’s because it is, so Paul Ford decided to listen to them all and give you a kind of cheat sheet for finding the music that you like.

His chart ranks each of the songs on a one to five scale, and gives each a six-word review, making it easy to find the good stuff.

If you’re looking to be on the cutting edge of the music scene, then head on over to the download link and fire up your favorite torrent downloader, because it doesn’t get much rawer than this.

[South By Southwest]

[South By Southwest Torrents]

[South By Southwest - Six-Word Reviews]

…The Bridge and The King of Kong are fantastic documentaries?

Published

Cory O'Brien

on March 17, 2008

in Movies

. Comments

I watched two fantastic (and fantastically different) documentaries this weekend, so I’ve decided to make this post a hybrid review of both.

First, there was The Bridge, a morbid (and controversial) yet fascinating look at those that decide to end their lives by jumping off of the Golden Gate Bridge.

For a year, director Eric Steel aimed his cameras at the majestic and iconic bridge, capturing nearly two-dozen suicides and an equally high number of prevented or failed attempts. Switching between long, beautiful shots of the bridge and close, almost biographical shots of those teetering on the edge of life, it juxtaposes the two sides of the bridge perfectly, and you find yourself engulfed by a landmark with a personality all its own.

The Bridge also features interviews with the friends, family, and loved ones of each jumper, and attempts to explain the story and the history of those featured. You slowly begin to understand a little bit of what each person was going through, and you can see their affect on those around them.

And then they jump.

If the thought of watching someone end his or her life in front of an unknown eye disturbs you, then this film is definitely not for you; but if you’re interested in trying to understand what someone goes through at the lowest of lows, then I can’t think of a better way to do it.

King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters Second, there was King of King: A Fistful of Quarters, a humorous and touching look at those that have decided to dedicate a part of their lives to becoming the best in the world at their classic video game of choice.

The two “stars” are the perfect poster children for a hobby that only a select few find excitement in. Steve Wiebe, the family man who sits in his garage and games away while his family stands by and supports his quest, goes against Billy Mitchell, the long haired hot sauce salesman who has held the title for over twenty years, yet struggles to live up to the crown that he has placed upon his own head.

Though a film about video game records doesn’t exactly sound like an attention grabber, this film manages to capture the heart and soul of each gamer through interviews and over the shoulders in a way that draws you in and makes you a part of the action. You feel for the two men and their quest (along with the handful of supporting characters), and you begin to understand how these games can become a symbol of something more than just the record.

[The Bridge]

[King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters]

[Rotten Tomatoes - The Bridge]

[Rotten Tomatoes - King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters]

…Socialthing! will manage your online life?

Published

Cory O'Brien

on March 8, 2008

in Websites

. Comments

Socialthing! “is a digital life manager that puts what you do online into one place. See everything that’s going on with your friends in all the sites you use, post stuff to multiple places at once and more!”

Basically, it takes your online life and combines it into one easy to read, follow, and update page. Then, instead of checking each site individually to see new messages, updates, photos, etc., you can just check Socialthing! and see them all in one place. The goal is to make interacting across multiple sites as easy as interacting through just one.

Currently, Socialthing! supports del.icio.us, Digg, Facebook, Flickr, Last.fm, LiveJournal, Pownce, Twitter, Vimeo, and YouTube, with plans for more services as the company expands.

I’ve been beta testing the site for the past few days, and I think the service has some definite possibility. Unfortunately I ran into an issue with adding my Digg profile, but issues are to be expected with any beta release, and I’m sure they’ll have things running smoothly in no time. Everything else loaded without issue though, and I was impressed by the speed with which Socialthing! fetched my data.

Overall, I’d say it’s a useful tool that has the potential to become an indispensable one. Lifestreaming is quickly becoming more popular as everyone tries to manage their vast online world, and Socialthing! is one of the first sites out of the gate, which should give them a jump on adapting and changing to meet users needs with new features and functions.

They should be coming out of beta this weekend, so head on over and give it a try.

[Socialthing!]

…It’s Egg Week?

Published

Cory O'Brien

on March 7, 2008

in Food

. Comments

Egg Week

If you liked The Candy Blog’s Hollow Chocolate Rabbit Week, then be sure to check out the results of Egg Week, where six types of chocolate eggs were given a thorough review.

[The Candy Blog]

…It’s Hollow Chocolate Rabbit Week at The Candy Blog?

Published

Cory O'Brien

on February 26, 2008

in Food

. Comments

Hollow Chocolate Rabbit Week

If you look forward to Easter because it means the arrival of the hollow chocolate rabbit, then check out The Candy Blog in the next few days, as Cybele will be reviewing rabbits of the Palmer, Russell Stover, Lindt, Michel Cluizel, and Hotel Chocolat varieties.

Which one do you think will win?

[The Candy Blog - Hollow Chocolate Rabbit Week]

…MarsEdit is out of this world?

Published

Cory O'Brien

on February 1, 2008

in Software

. Comments

MarsEdit

MarsEdit is the latest app to get a full Shawn Blanc review, and as expected, it’s a thorough rundown of what makes this desktop publisher a needed edition to any Mac blogging workflow.

Have you joined the personal publishing revolution yet?

[Shawn Blanc - MarsEdit]

[MarsEdit]

…Shawn Blanc loves Transmit and Coda?

Published

Cory O'Brien

on January 28, 2008

in Apple

. Comments

Transmit and Coda

Shawn Blanc’s series of reviews for “some of the greatest software available for the Mac” continues, and in addition to NetNewsWire and Mint, he’s also published equally thorough reviews of Transmit and Coda.

Though Transmit is something that I use constantly to keep this site up to date, Coda is new to me, so I was definitely interested in reading Shawn’s thoughts on the two.

If you’re at all interested in the best of the best for the Mac world, then these are must reads, so get to it!

[Shawn Blanc - Transmit]

[Shawn Blanc - Coda: The One-Window Wonder]

[Transmit]

[Coda]

…Cloverfield was unique?

Published

Cory O'Brien

on January 19, 2008

in Movies

. Comments

Cloverfield

One of my favorite aspects of Cloverfield was that they didn’t give a lot away in the previews, so I’m going to try and review it without giving a lot away as well, because I think that you should go see it with as little information about it as possible.

Thus, a brief synopsis:

(Warning: Though I’m trying not to, this may contain some small spoilers, so if you want to go in with a pure mind, I suggest you read this after you see the film.)

The Good:

Like I said, I knew little to nothing about this film going in, because they decided to go with vague trailers as opposed to the current trend of using the trailer as a mini-version of the movie.
The ‘Blaire Witch’ style camera work added to the sense of realism, and kept you on edge the whole time.
The pace and tone of the film was so good that for an entire hour and a half, no one in my theater spoke a word. No one. I can’t remember the last time that happened.

The Bad:

The monster had a bit of a scale issue. One minute it’s tearing down building; the next it’s going after individual people. Perhaps it just changed tastes half way through, but it seems like it couldn’t pick a size.
They don’t explain much. Where did the monster come from? Why is it unaffected by our counter-monster measures? Why is the film named Cloverfield?

All in all, I’d say it was about as good as a monster movie can get. They kept you on the edge of your seat the whole time, they kept things somewhat believable, and they didn’t oversell any of it. While I don’t think that this was the ‘Movie of the Year’ by any means (and I’ve already basically give that nomination to Juno), it was a very entertaining film, and I definitely suggest going to see it.

Grade: B+
Theater Worthy: Yes

Note: For a great article on how Cloverfield advertised without advertising, check out MTV’s coverage of the Cloverfield viral-marketing campaign.

[Cloverfield]

[MTV - Cloverfield Viral-Marketing]

[Rotten Tomatoes - Cloverfield]