This silent movie looks to be the basis for many movies to come. It has action, thrills and a chilling ending.
Four men jump a train with one thing in mind... robbery.
The four men carry out an ingenious plan as they rob the train and make a getaway to their hideout but when a failure to tie off a loose end comes back to haunt them, they'll have to mount up and out run the long arm of the law.
All in all; a great movie. My only complaint, the deaths are a little over acted, even for a silent movie.
4.5 of 5 stars.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Big Blue, Little Red or Remote Red.
I am an avid movie goer. There is rarely a Friday night when I can be found anywhere except the theater, catching the latest flicks.
Frequently, I also like to catch up on some of my old favorites or watch the one movie I missed in the theater. So which option do I choose? To I head for the Blockbuster? Hunt down a Redbox? Update my queue on NetFlix?
Actually I use a bit of a combination. First off, I have never liked Blockbuster. They have always had higher prices and poorer service when compared competitors, including local rental stores.
Now, we're all NetFilx, Redbox and Hulu. With NetFlix and Hulu streaming options I can stream almost anything I want to my Xbox360 or PC. For the few things that I can't get via stream, I can either drop it in my NetFlix queue (and wait 24 hrs) or run to a near by Redbox and rent it for a dollar.
With options like this, its no wonder the big blue of the movie rental business is going down.
Frequently, I also like to catch up on some of my old favorites or watch the one movie I missed in the theater. So which option do I choose? To I head for the Blockbuster? Hunt down a Redbox? Update my queue on NetFlix?
Actually I use a bit of a combination. First off, I have never liked Blockbuster. They have always had higher prices and poorer service when compared competitors, including local rental stores.
Now, we're all NetFilx, Redbox and Hulu. With NetFlix and Hulu streaming options I can stream almost anything I want to my Xbox360 or PC. For the few things that I can't get via stream, I can either drop it in my NetFlix queue (and wait 24 hrs) or run to a near by Redbox and rent it for a dollar.
With options like this, its no wonder the big blue of the movie rental business is going down.
You can hear the music on the AM Radio
I'll be honest... I'm a TV nut. If you give me a situation, I can probably come up with a line from a TV show that fits.
That being said, I also love old time radio. I know many people would think that radio shows would be less engaging because the eyes aren't engaged but what your eyes don't see your mind is free to make up.
One of my absolute favorites was the War of the Worlds radio program. Orson Wells was so amazingly convincing that people thought it was real. Today people watch live TV and question if its real.
One thing that I believe was key to the longevity of radio shows was that the show was performed in front of an audience. This ensures that we don't have voice actors just reading off of a card with a monotone voice. It ensures an active voice and engaging content.
I recently saw a program on PBS where a group of people were simply reading the lines from a play while standing in front of a TV camera. Talk about boring. I think I was ready to change the channel in about 3 minutes. Some would say I didn't give it a chance buy when my 6 year old niece can read more fluidly than those clowns, I had given it all the chance it needed.
One of my favorite places to listen to radio programs is on road trips. I especially like mysteries because we turn it into a contest of who can figure it out first. Like clue but without the game board.
I truly feel that the TV killed a wonderful art when the radio show was laid to rest.
That being said, I also love old time radio. I know many people would think that radio shows would be less engaging because the eyes aren't engaged but what your eyes don't see your mind is free to make up.
One of my absolute favorites was the War of the Worlds radio program. Orson Wells was so amazingly convincing that people thought it was real. Today people watch live TV and question if its real.
One thing that I believe was key to the longevity of radio shows was that the show was performed in front of an audience. This ensures that we don't have voice actors just reading off of a card with a monotone voice. It ensures an active voice and engaging content.
I recently saw a program on PBS where a group of people were simply reading the lines from a play while standing in front of a TV camera. Talk about boring. I think I was ready to change the channel in about 3 minutes. Some would say I didn't give it a chance buy when my 6 year old niece can read more fluidly than those clowns, I had given it all the chance it needed.
One of my favorite places to listen to radio programs is on road trips. I especially like mysteries because we turn it into a contest of who can figure it out first. Like clue but without the game board.
I truly feel that the TV killed a wonderful art when the radio show was laid to rest.
Napster v iTunes: A battle for the ages?
I'll admit, I was one of the first people I know to start using Napster. Yes, back in is pre-legal days. After joining the working world and actually having money to spend on music, I decided to go as legit as possible. I went back through my entire song database and either purchased each song or attempted to find a CD to purchase with the song on it. Needless to say, this was quite expensive for my 4,500+ songs.
After becoming legit as I could (there were a few songs by flash-in-the-pan bands from the 90's that were nowhere to be found), I became a loyal iTunes customer. This was back when iTunes purchases were only available in the A4P format (pre-fairplay, which was a HUGE misnomer). That really didn't bother me all that much because there were easy ways around the protection. Some utilities would simply remove the protection, others would mimic a CD Burner and allow you to "burn" to MP3. If all else failed, you could always burn an Audio CD and then use iTunes to import the audio back in to your collection as an unprotected format.
Now, even this technique is obsolete as Apple as started releasing many of their tracks in the standard MP3 format.
I only have 2 complaints about iTunes.
1) Using it with a non-apple device is a nightmare.
2) Their music purchasing selection does leave something to be desired.
I really can't fault Apple directly for the second complaint, they get what they can and most of the music I fail to find on iTunes, I have a difficult time finding elsewhere as well. But I can easily fault them for locking out other devices. I understand that the software is "free." What apple doesn't realize is that for many users, iTunes could be the foothold for creating one of their precious "switchers."
iTunes wins out but if I ever find a music organization system that works like iTunes, supports devices other than Apple's and isn't full of bugs, I would gladly pay for it.
After becoming legit as I could (there were a few songs by flash-in-the-pan bands from the 90's that were nowhere to be found), I became a loyal iTunes customer. This was back when iTunes purchases were only available in the A4P format (pre-fairplay, which was a HUGE misnomer). That really didn't bother me all that much because there were easy ways around the protection. Some utilities would simply remove the protection, others would mimic a CD Burner and allow you to "burn" to MP3. If all else failed, you could always burn an Audio CD and then use iTunes to import the audio back in to your collection as an unprotected format.
Now, even this technique is obsolete as Apple as started releasing many of their tracks in the standard MP3 format.
I only have 2 complaints about iTunes.
1) Using it with a non-apple device is a nightmare.
2) Their music purchasing selection does leave something to be desired.
I really can't fault Apple directly for the second complaint, they get what they can and most of the music I fail to find on iTunes, I have a difficult time finding elsewhere as well. But I can easily fault them for locking out other devices. I understand that the software is "free." What apple doesn't realize is that for many users, iTunes could be the foothold for creating one of their precious "switchers."
iTunes wins out but if I ever find a music organization system that works like iTunes, supports devices other than Apple's and isn't full of bugs, I would gladly pay for it.
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