I’m thrilled!!! Didn’t know I’d actually got chosen. Can’t wait to go to Disney next year!! Anyone wanna join me? (announcement video after the jump. Warning: auto-play)
WordPress 1.0 is finally out on iPhone. I’m going to take this app out for a test drive over the next few days/weeks. Right now the feature feels fairly basic, with functionality mainly focused on blog posts.
Some of the basic blog settings are there: category, tags, and edit previous entries. I also like how it allows you to save drafts locally and upload it once you have better data/wifi connection. Makes us EDGE user’s life a lot easier.
As far as blog posts are concerned, iPhone currently does not support copy and paste, so embedding video and links is going to be a pain. I also don’t know if HTML will work (and the ”more” cut off function). Will test that out later if I can remember how to type those tags… It does feature an integrated browser (safari) to preview your blog posts, which should prove a handy tool down the road.
Some improvement I’d hope to see in the future: command shortcuts, tag selection, and photo embedding (now it only allows adding a gallery). My biggest concern though? Battery life. My iPhone barely lasts me through the day as it is now, I don’t see how this app is going to make things any better… Surprisingly, typing on the virtual keyboard never seems to be a big issue for me. Guess I have small hands and tiny fingers?
So here we are, the WWDC keynote behind us, His Jobsness spoke and the iPhone 3G is out of the bag, and I’m feeling a bit underwhelmed. A few things I’ve been having gripes with the original iPhone are a) Slow EDGE network, b) 2.0 megapixel camera, c) no video capture, d) no third party support, and e) no file management system. As my appetite for video podcasts grows, I also recently added a new gripe f) not enough disk space.
Today’s keynote solved some of my gripes - namely the inclusion of App Store and 3G support. I’m looking forward to what the new App Store has to offer, and would hope to see some freebies on there upon launch. I’m used to the free apps on Installer.app, so unless the app offers exceptional functionality, I’m not sure how much I’d be willing to shell out for these applications. Another concern is the lack of storage boosts. iPhone 3G will be available in 8GB and 16GB - I’m already having exceeding the 8GB limitation on a regular basis, with the added 3rd party app support, I was very surprised to see Apple opted the keep the 8GB version in lieu of a larger storage space.
The battery life also appears to receive quite a significant boost (Apple’s word, I still have my doubts, especially with the inclusion of 3G and GPS). The new GPS integration is a neat addition, but living in NYC, I doubt I’d find much use of it. 3G support, on the other hand, is an extremely welcoming, yet expected, feature. I used to have a Samsung 3G phone, and the internet connection was far better than my current iPhone.
Oh, the Asian language input looks pretty neat too. I’m curious as to how well the writing recognition works. But what happened to the rest? All those features that’s been buzzing about? Video capturing? Video conferencing?? Improved camera quality? Nothing? At all? Normally Apple lives up to, or beyond, expectation, but I guess there’s an exception to everything.
One other announcement that piqued my interest is the instruction of MobileMe (replacing .Mac). The online UI looks very streamlined and desktop-app-like. The ability to simultaneously sync between a mobile device, a Mac and/or a PC is very cool. I also loved the “pushed” services for calendar/contact/mail/photo. Looks like Apple’s finally taking its first step towards cloud computing. I’m considering subscribing to MobileMe once it becomes available. That should make data management in between my Mac/iPhone a lot easier.
Apple’s very aggressive with their pricing this time around with a $299 price tag for 16GB iPhone (seriously, buying the 8GB iPhone is like buying an iPod Touch and trying to pass it off as an iPhone - you’ll just screw yourself over down the road). I’m hesitantly tempted… (perhaps someone will come up with an app to allow video capturing on iPhone)
By the way, is it just me or does His Jobsness lost a lot of weight? He didn’t look very healthy at the keynote today…
It’s been a long time since we last saw a movie blending the world of animation and real life action together. To my knowledge, Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) was the last movie to do so. I was extremely psyched when I first heard about the Enchanted project back in 2001. Although I didn’t catch the theatrical release, I finally got to see it when Enchanted became available on iTunes rental service. Enchanted is as enchanting as I imagined it to be (poor pun, I apologize). Being a once-hardcore Disney fan, I enjoyed the movie on several different levels.
The movie started off with a fairy tale ending of typical Disney animated classics - the princess and the prince, despite evil queen’s attempt to prevent it at all cost, fell in love on the first sight, conveying their love through a beautiful duet while heading into the sunset, and living happily ever after. In the first 15 minutes of the film, there already are loads of references to older Disney classics - the evil step-mom and queen wanna-be; the princess enlisting helps from woodlin’ creatures; the prince saving the princess from a monstrous creature; the little blue birds… etc. Even when the story shifts to the real world setting, it still doesn’t forget to parody those classic “Disney moments” (where woodlin’ creatures become city rodents… ewww).
The music also takes cues from many classic Disney movies. The opening duet is clearly an ode to Snow White’s “I’m Wishing” and in “Nathaniel and Pip,” there are clear cues lifted directly from Beauty and the Beast and a few other songs Alan Menken composed previously. Some of the background music also corresponds with on-screen cameos. For instance, the scene where Giselle visited Robert’s office, the receptionist, Sam, is played by Jodi Benson, who also is the voice talent of Ariel from The Little Mermaid. The “elevator music” played in the background is none other than “Part of Your World” - the iconic song sung by Ariel from The Little Mermaid, which also happens to be the first Disney movie Alan Menken composed music for.
So yes, the story is very light hearted and whimsical like the Shrek series. Similar to Shrek, Enchanted doesn’t take itself too seriously, and is not afraid of turning the fairy tale worlds up side down. Unlike the Shrek, however, the plot of Enchanted adapts a more realistic and mature tone as it progresses, before obligatorily returning to its fairy tale ending during the grand finale. It is this transition and progression that really drew my interest and attention. It is fascinating find these hidden “transitions” and “references” throughout the film.
Two “transitions” I loved the most are the “costume transition” and “song transition.” Crossing the border from an animated world to a real world, Giselle’s dresses slowly lose their “fantasy” elements as time goes on and take on a more “modern finesse”. The most apparent contrast is in a ballroom scene towards the end, where Prince Edward and Giselle stand side-by-side as they descend from the staircase. “Song transition” took a similar approach. Both the melody and lyrics slowly loses their “Disney flare” as they progress, and takes on a more “pop rock” style. Personally I think the whole Ballroom dancing scene is ingenious. It takes care of the “singing transition,” “costume transition,” and character development all in one shot. It was a brilliant set up.
Albeit minor, the movie isn’t without its flaws. I felt the CGI towards the end could use some additional work. The color, model, and movement looked unnatural, and Susan Sarandon’s voice over during her “final form” was simply unfitting. The pace also felt a little off, lacking the dire urgency it should have presented, making that last “action sequence” felt a little anti-climatic. I also felt it’s a pity to not see more on-screen time with Susan Sarandon and not having at least one song performed by Idina Menzel (starred in OBC of musicals Rent and Wicked). But in the end, Enchanted has offered enough entertainment values for me to overlook these minor imperfections.
I thoroughly enjoyed the first two installments of Spider-Man. The action sequences were intense, the plots were gripping, and these were backed by solid performances by the leading actors. I intended to watch Spider-Man 3 on the premiere night, but plans fell through and I never got a chance to see it until recently it became available on HD On Demand. It has been a year, and it’s finally time to take Spider-Man 3 off my “to-watch” list and move it into the MovRev vault. So how did this movie fare?
I HATED IT.
One major element missing in Spider-Man 3 is something the previous two installments handled so delicately well - character development. About 30 minutes into the movie, it became apparent that the crew has bitten off more than they can chew. There is barely any depth in any of the characters in Spider-Man 3, be it Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson, Harry Osborn, or Flint Marko. Their character transitions are rushed and awkward. By jamming several major villains into a 2-hour movie (especially Venom, whose story warrants its own feature length movie to properly set up), the movie compromises on committing to any one character, and rushes from role to role just to get the wheel moving. As a result, the movie becomes solely plot driven. A very weak plot at that, I might add.
The movie fell victim of the typical Hollywood Curse of Sequels. The screenplay is mostly driven by a melodramatic, soap-opera-esque theme of “triangular romance” among Peter, Harry, and Mary Jane. The visual effect is border-line CGI abuse - there’s a serious lack of focus in many of the action scenes, and objects fly in and out of frame lacking any apparent choreographing. The stylistic city swinging we’ve grown to love in Spiderman 1 and 2 have become a complete visual mess in our friendly neighborhood’s third outing.
Overall, Spider-Man 3 has been a very disappointing adventure for me, especially when Spiderman 1 and 2 held the bar so high.
P.S. An interesting side note. Back at my previous job, I recall the street by our building was blocked out every evening for almost a whole week. We knew they were shooting Spider-Man 3, but couldn’t find out which scene it was at that time. As it turns out, it was actually for the grand finale (battle of Sandman, Venom, Green Goblin, and Spiderman). Just wanted to point that out.
