I could not have written this review before tonight. It is a simple review, perhaps one of my shortest. I have a new found respect for Andy Dufresne* and that kid from Slumdog Millionaire after our oft used toilet revolted against us. Having re-claimed the bathroom, I must proclaim the afore mentioned characters absolute bad-asses. Although, I do hope they took really, really long showers with a ton of soap and plenty of hot water.
*He's the character from the Shawshank Redemption. I called him by name because I actually knew it without looking it up.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Friday, January 18, 2013
The Fox Website Episode Streaming
Our access to entertainment is just plain astounding. When I was a kid, I remember having to watch shows when they were actually on tv. In general, I don't think we appreciate just how great our entertainment feeding tubes are nowadays. I sat here and watched three episodes of a show on the internet, and it wasn't even illegal! Fox is kind enough to provide recent episodes of their shows on their website for free streaming.*
When I say it's free, I mean that you don't have to pay them anything. You do, however, have to sacrifice brain cells and time. I had to watch just as many commercials as if I had watched the show during its television airing, and I'm okay with that. I'll pay the price of watching the ads to see the show. What I don't care for is the use of the same four commercials at each commercial break. Mind you, I watched three one hour shows. I should have counted how many times I heard the three commercials for University of Phoenix. Also, people watching tv on the internet are apparently in desperate need of lotion, particularly the St. Ives brand. A little bit of variety would be appreciated. As it is, I will avoid the services/products from those commercials out of principle.
I wouldn't substitute watching shows on studio sites over my DVR. Quality is another big issue. While the majority of the show looked good, the quality dropped at the end of each episode. On the third episode I watched, it happened a good fifteen minutes before the end of the show.
I decided to refresh the page, taking note of where I was in the show. While trying to get back to my spot, I had to watch over five minutes of commercials. They hit me with the initial thirty second commercial, and when I clicked to skip ahead to where I had been, I had another two and a half minutes of ads I had to view. I realized I wasn't far enough in, and they treated me to two more minutes worth of commercials after I made the adjustment. I understand that they have agreed to run those ads. I also understand that they could have a better system.
While it is amazing that you can watch your favorite** shows on a free website, there is a price to pay. If you watch shows on the Fox website, you are going to watch close to fifteen minutes of repetitive commercials, and you risk the video quality dropping drastically by the end of your viewing experience. I appreciate the additional venue, but it isn't very kind to the consumer. When possible, stick with your DVR.
*As I'm sure you realize, most stations offer this awesome service. Of course, not all websites are created equally.
**I wouldn't say that I was watching a favorite shows. The shows I like are set to record with the DVR. This was more like one of those shows that I wanted to check on, to see if it was still going steadily downhill. It was.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
The Cabin in the Woods: Special Features and Commentary
I can count on one hand the number of movies that I have bothered to watch with commentary. I don't even have to use all my fingers, let alone the thumb. Cabin in the Woods aside, I have watched two movies with the commentary: Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God and Resident Evil.* To devote that much time to commentary, it has to offer up something of worth. The D&D movie had commentary that was supposed to be the characters from the manuals.** The highlight of the Resident Evil commentary was the banter between Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez.*** Maybe the commentary for the Cabin in the Woods isn't quite that amazing, but it is well worth your time. When you add in the special features, this becomes a film worth buying.
I suppose when you are deciding whether or not to buy a movie on Blu-ray****, the biggest factor is whether or not the movie itself is good. I've already gushed about the Cabin in the Woods in its own review. If you didn't read it or need a refresher, the movie is great, one of my favorites from 2012. Apparently, it's not for everyone. A lot of people don't like it, and I honestly can't figure out why. The movie is full of great lines and a neat premise. I'm not going to bother telling you what it is about, as you can visit my original review for that information. Besides, I expect you already know.
What you may not know is what extra goodies you can expect if you buy the disc. I'm not one for actually taking a DVD off of the shelf and putting it in the player. I have so many venues for entertainment open to me that I rarely resort to my shelves. It's because of this particular flaw that I have a multitude of DVDs and Blu-rays that haven't even been opened.*****
I didn't hesitate to open the Cabin in the Woods. If you buy the it, you get commentary with Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon. They wrote the film together, with Goddard taking on the role of director. I believe Whedon did some second unit directing. The movie is the offspring of two talented gentlemen. You get to hear all about it when you listen to the commentary. I couldn't tell you what they talked about for two hours, but I was entertained the whole time.******
The only downside to having the commentary on is that you miss the dialogue in the movie. Anyone watching commentary should have already watched the movie; that should go without saying. In our case, we hadn't seen the film since it was in theaters. This left me wanting to listen to the film itself over the commentary. An easy fix is to watch the movie again before watching it with the commentary on. This is not an MS3TK situation where they only talk over quiet parts of the movie. This is more of a two hour podcast between two guys chatting it up with a loose focal point.*******
Goddard can be a bit distracting during the commentary. He has a lot of interesting things to say, but he says them oddly at times. His voice goes up or hitches. I spent some time on Google trying to find out why, but I had no luck. If anyone knows, please enlighten me.
After we finished the commentary, we actually watched each of the featurettes. Once again, this is not something we normally do. If you've seen the movie, I'm sure you wanted to know more about certain aspects. A couple of the features delve deep into those aspects, those parts of the film. You get to see more than you did in the actual film. Instead of ruining what you saw, it lends itself to a deeper appreciation.********
I don't actually watch movies on Blu-ray or DVD very often, but I have already watched the Cabin in the Woods twice in the comfort of my own home. With an interesting commentary and multiple high quality featurettes, you should own the Blu-ray. It's actually well worth the money.
*Yes, I realize those are both somewhat nerdy films, especially the first one.
**It was full of win.
***And I quote, "Twat shot."
****Or DVD or laserdisc...whatever you use.
*****Seriously, I need to sell them to someone. They just collect dust.
******When they mentioned that they were drinking wine, Mark suggested we do the same. He figured if it was good enough for Joss, it was good enough for us.
*******Really loose.
********Seriously, practical effects are king.
I suppose when you are deciding whether or not to buy a movie on Blu-ray****, the biggest factor is whether or not the movie itself is good. I've already gushed about the Cabin in the Woods in its own review. If you didn't read it or need a refresher, the movie is great, one of my favorites from 2012. Apparently, it's not for everyone. A lot of people don't like it, and I honestly can't figure out why. The movie is full of great lines and a neat premise. I'm not going to bother telling you what it is about, as you can visit my original review for that information. Besides, I expect you already know.
What you may not know is what extra goodies you can expect if you buy the disc. I'm not one for actually taking a DVD off of the shelf and putting it in the player. I have so many venues for entertainment open to me that I rarely resort to my shelves. It's because of this particular flaw that I have a multitude of DVDs and Blu-rays that haven't even been opened.*****
I didn't hesitate to open the Cabin in the Woods. If you buy the it, you get commentary with Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon. They wrote the film together, with Goddard taking on the role of director. I believe Whedon did some second unit directing. The movie is the offspring of two talented gentlemen. You get to hear all about it when you listen to the commentary. I couldn't tell you what they talked about for two hours, but I was entertained the whole time.******
The only downside to having the commentary on is that you miss the dialogue in the movie. Anyone watching commentary should have already watched the movie; that should go without saying. In our case, we hadn't seen the film since it was in theaters. This left me wanting to listen to the film itself over the commentary. An easy fix is to watch the movie again before watching it with the commentary on. This is not an MS3TK situation where they only talk over quiet parts of the movie. This is more of a two hour podcast between two guys chatting it up with a loose focal point.*******
Goddard can be a bit distracting during the commentary. He has a lot of interesting things to say, but he says them oddly at times. His voice goes up or hitches. I spent some time on Google trying to find out why, but I had no luck. If anyone knows, please enlighten me.
After we finished the commentary, we actually watched each of the featurettes. Once again, this is not something we normally do. If you've seen the movie, I'm sure you wanted to know more about certain aspects. A couple of the features delve deep into those aspects, those parts of the film. You get to see more than you did in the actual film. Instead of ruining what you saw, it lends itself to a deeper appreciation.********
I don't actually watch movies on Blu-ray or DVD very often, but I have already watched the Cabin in the Woods twice in the comfort of my own home. With an interesting commentary and multiple high quality featurettes, you should own the Blu-ray. It's actually well worth the money.
*Yes, I realize those are both somewhat nerdy films, especially the first one.
**It was full of win.
***And I quote, "Twat shot."
****Or DVD or laserdisc...whatever you use.
*****Seriously, I need to sell them to someone. They just collect dust.
******When they mentioned that they were drinking wine, Mark suggested we do the same. He figured if it was good enough for Joss, it was good enough for us.
*******Really loose.
********Seriously, practical effects are king.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
New Year's Resolutions
Every year, people make New Year's resolutions. If what I read on the internet is the least bit accurate*, a chunk of those people have already given up. While New Year's resolutions can be useful, they're only as good as your determination and support.
Last year, I decided to write a review on a daily basis.** My goal was mainly to add a bit of discipline to my life. I had actually intended to add a new daily task each month. I got all the way to August before that went to the wayside. Some tasks were easy, others not so much. The one goal that I managed to stick with was my writing. There was the occasional miss, but I was careful to put up a heading for something I did that day.*** This lead to my week of catch up writing the week prior to New Years.
Perhaps the stress of trying to get all 366 reviews up before the end of the year burnt me out. It could have been the criticism I received after my husband's well meaning post regarding my work on Reddit.**** I might have just been tired. Either way, this is my first review written this year. I've put up headings since day one and have notes and thoughts, but this is the first time I've actually put fingers to keyboard.*****
I succeeded with my daily reviews last year. It wasn't precisely a New Year's resolution, but it happened at that same time. I may have hesitated to call it a New Year's Resolution last year because I thought it that title was indicative of failure. I don't see those resolutions as being completed very often. I know I have never successfully changed my behavior that way in the past.
If I have to declare a New Year's resolution this year, I would once again have it be tied into my daily reviews. I can go through last year's posts and point out the quickly and carelessly written ones. This year, I don't want it to be so apparent. I've always been one of those slackers that just writes from their head. I don't make rough drafts. I don't re-read what I write. I just pour it out and move on. This year, I will re-read each post to verify its quality. If you're going to take the time to read it, that's the least I can do.
As you probably expected, this review wandered a bit off topic. Rather than just reviewing the idea of New Year's resolutions, I focused on my own experiences. In reality, New Year's resolutions are rarely successful. I only managed to get through last year's goal by putting these posts out there for my friends and family to see. The fact that I usually enjoy writing them just makes it easier. Now, let's see if I can do a better job this year. I'm already behind, but it wasn't until today that I decided I wanted to continue on.
Thanks for your support.
*They can't put it on the internet if it isn't true.
**I use the term review loosely.
***When I arrive home from a movie going experience at 1 AM, it is incredibly difficult to write anything of quality.
****Mark, being his usual sweet self, posted my blog to reddit. He wanted people to say some kind words regarding my year of writing. There were some very nice people. Of course, there were also well meaning critics. I appreciate their attempts at helping me become a better writer, but it is still hard to see commentary about how one's thoughts are scattered and uninteresting.
*****Pen to paper sounds so much more dramatic, but it just wouldn't be accurate.
Last year, I decided to write a review on a daily basis.** My goal was mainly to add a bit of discipline to my life. I had actually intended to add a new daily task each month. I got all the way to August before that went to the wayside. Some tasks were easy, others not so much. The one goal that I managed to stick with was my writing. There was the occasional miss, but I was careful to put up a heading for something I did that day.*** This lead to my week of catch up writing the week prior to New Years.
Perhaps the stress of trying to get all 366 reviews up before the end of the year burnt me out. It could have been the criticism I received after my husband's well meaning post regarding my work on Reddit.**** I might have just been tired. Either way, this is my first review written this year. I've put up headings since day one and have notes and thoughts, but this is the first time I've actually put fingers to keyboard.*****
I succeeded with my daily reviews last year. It wasn't precisely a New Year's resolution, but it happened at that same time. I may have hesitated to call it a New Year's Resolution last year because I thought it that title was indicative of failure. I don't see those resolutions as being completed very often. I know I have never successfully changed my behavior that way in the past.
If I have to declare a New Year's resolution this year, I would once again have it be tied into my daily reviews. I can go through last year's posts and point out the quickly and carelessly written ones. This year, I don't want it to be so apparent. I've always been one of those slackers that just writes from their head. I don't make rough drafts. I don't re-read what I write. I just pour it out and move on. This year, I will re-read each post to verify its quality. If you're going to take the time to read it, that's the least I can do.
As you probably expected, this review wandered a bit off topic. Rather than just reviewing the idea of New Year's resolutions, I focused on my own experiences. In reality, New Year's resolutions are rarely successful. I only managed to get through last year's goal by putting these posts out there for my friends and family to see. The fact that I usually enjoy writing them just makes it easier. Now, let's see if I can do a better job this year. I'm already behind, but it wasn't until today that I decided I wanted to continue on.
Thanks for your support.
*They can't put it on the internet if it isn't true.
**I use the term review loosely.
***When I arrive home from a movie going experience at 1 AM, it is incredibly difficult to write anything of quality.
****Mark, being his usual sweet self, posted my blog to reddit. He wanted people to say some kind words regarding my year of writing. There were some very nice people. Of course, there were also well meaning critics. I appreciate their attempts at helping me become a better writer, but it is still hard to see commentary about how one's thoughts are scattered and uninteresting.
*****Pen to paper sounds so much more dramatic, but it just wouldn't be accurate.
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