And this isn’t going to be War and Peace, either.  I just wanted to drop a line to let everyone know that I’m still alive.  I’ve found that having an infant in the house doesn’t give you more time to do all of those things you’ve been meaning to do.  Go figure.

My list of upcoming movies that I’d like to see, based on trailers I watched tonight.  (Told you it was going to be fluff.)

• Che – Not that you can believe everything you see from Hollywood but a movie about the history of the Cuban revolution is something I’m interested in.
• Adventureland – Bill Hader is good in everything and Kristen Wiig just cracks me up.
• 9 – Looks like a cool mix of Tim Burton weirdness (even though he’s just the producer) and action and a neat story.  Great voice actors, too.  The director did 300 so it’s got some pedigree.
• Good – Wow.  This Viggo Mortensen flick about a professor who gets drawn into the Nazi party is right up my alley.  A thinker that makes you ask the question, what would I do?  How can good people go so wrong?
• Astroboy – I watched the cartoon when I was a kid.  I’ll rent this one.  Guilty pleasure.
• Watchmen – The special effects in the trailer look incredible.  I know nothing about the back history but it looks like you don’t need to.
• I Love You Man – Paul Rudd is one of the funniest actors going.  There truly isn’t a role I haven’t loved him in.  He plays a guy who has never really had a guy friend and he sets about trying to find one.  Has Andy Samberg as Rudd’s brother and Rashida Jones, of The Office fame, as his bride-to-be.
• The Wrestler – Looks sad but good.  People think Mickey Rourke might win an Oscar for this one.
• Yonkers Joe – A gambling/con movie with heart.  I welled up watching the trailer.  You just know something awful is going to happen.  Joe is trying to win enough money to send his Down syndrome son to a good school, but he’s going to do it by stealing from Vegas.
• Duplicity – A heist movie that looks like Mr. and Mrs. Smith without the guns.  I like Clive Owen enough to overlook Julia Roberts.
• Seven Pounds – Will Smith could sell a ketchup popsicle to a woman in white gloves.  He sold me as an actor after Six Degrees of Separation.  I have no idea what the movie’s about but it’s intriguing.
• Knowing – Although I’m not really a Nicolas Cage fan, the trailer for Knowing creeps me out and excites me at the same time.  His son uncovers a 50 year old letter that has the dates and body counts of every natural disaster from the past, and some from the future.  Hilarity ensues.  Just kidding.  It actually moves into end-of-the-world aliens/gods territory after that, in a Sixth Sense sort of way.  Awesome.
• Terminator: Salvation – If anyone can reboot a franchise it’s Christian Bale, as he’s already proven with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.  But really, if you’ve seen the previous 3 Terminators, are you going to skip the 4th?  Didn’t think so.
• The Proposal – Total date movie but it’s got Ryan Reynolds in it.  Like Clive Owen over Julia Roberts, I’ll see this one for Reynolds over Sandra Bullock.  A witch of a boss is forced to marry her whipped assistant when she finds out she’s being deported (back to Canada).  There’s just something wrong with the whole Canada angle but I’ll overlook it.  (Perhaps Reynolds should have coached Bullock a little on being Canadian.  We would never say, “but I’m from Canada!”  We’d surely say, “but I’m Canadian!”)
• He’s Just Not That Into You – Another date movie about, well, modern day dating.  This movie features a few people I really like in movies such as Scarlett Johansson, Bradley Cooper, Justin Long, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Connelly and Drew Barrymore.
• X-Men Origins: Wolverine – My only complaint about this movie is that it seems like it might be overloaded with cool characters.  I felt like that was what dragged down the original set of X-Men movies and others like Spider Man.  Wolverine is cool enough on his own to carry a movie.  We don’t need 7 baddies to keep us interested.  I thought Iron Man did such a great job of keeping it simple.  Amazingly, Ryan Reynolds features again.  He’s my favourite actor right now so that is just more goodness for me.  Liev Schreiber looks completely badass in the trailer and, despite my trepidations, I really can’t wait to see this one.
• All About Steve – Sandra Bullock again?  This date movie has Thomas Haden Church and Bradley Cooper in it so that makes it ok for it to be on the list.  Bullock follows Cooper across the country thinking they’re meant to be together.  Hilarity ensues.  Maybe.  I’m sure I’ll have a couple of laughs though.  Sometimes that’s enough.
• Street Fighter: the Legend of Chun Li – Strictly a wire fu filler.  When you’re testosterone level is a little low, like after watching a Sandra Bullock movie, just watch some wire fu.  It’ll have you topped up in no time.  Let’s hope this one is better than the terrible first try at the Street Fighter franchise featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme.  Just terrible.
• Year One – Michael Cera and Jack Black is a bit of an odd combination but Cera’s uncomfortable nerd seems to mesh well with Black’s over the top crazy man in the trailer.  This one may be best viewed in the company of like-minded viewers.  People who liked Nacho Libre or Superbad.
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – Some people I know won’t have anything to do with a Michael Bay film.  All I can say is that, except for Mojo the dog whizzing on Ironhide’s foot, I absolutely loved the first Transformers movie.  The special effects were truly amazing.  I expect more of the same – pure popcorn fun.
• G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra – Seems like I’ve hit a few movies with colons in the titles.  That might tip my hat a bit to the type of movies I’m apt to pay money to see.  Truthfully, I had no interest in a live-action G.I. Joe adaptation, until I saw the trailer.  I love the direction they’ve gone and again, the special effects look incredible.  I’m nervous about Marlon Wayans in an action role, but I might have said the same about Jamie Foxx before I saw Collateral.  I’ll give him a chance.
• Land of the Lost - I’m all for actors branching out and trying something a bit new (see my Jamie Foxx comment above, and I also loved Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Tom Cruise in Tropic Thunder).  I am worried that this Will Ferrell movie won’t be Will Ferrelly enough though.  We’re pretty used to “non-stop laughfest”s from Ferrell and Land of the Lost appears to have a significant CG component.  Ferrell and his crew stumble into a world with dinosaurs etc.  Hilarity ensues.  Danny McBride, of Tropic Thunder and Pineapple Express fame shows up in this so that bumps the movie up my list.
• Crank 2 – Jason Statham seems to only play one character these days: the super tough everyman.  Like a British Bruce Willis in his prime, if Bruce Willis had been an MMA champ.  I caught myself enjoying the first in the series, appropriately named Crank, so I can only guess this one will be more of the same.  The trailer certainly points that way.  Amy Smart was excellent in the first one but I don’t know how they’ll top the sex scene at the newstand in front of a school bus.  The MacGuffin in the first movie was that Statham had been drugged and his heart was going to explode very shortly (just enough time to exact his revenge it turns out).  In this one the MacGuffin is that his heart has actually been replaced by a cheap artificial version which will hopefully last long enough for him to find his real heart and get it put back into his chest (oh, and exact his revenge).  A sequel was inevitable after the original more than doubled its money.  If nothing else, see this one for Statham’s character’s name: Chev Chelios.  Awesome.

Well, that’s it.  I got a little carried away and wrote way more than I intended.  Hopefully you made it this far and dug what I had to say.  If you did, leave me a comment with your 2009 movie list.  If you didn’t, leave me a comment and tell my why my list is terrible.

Cheers everyone!

J

I’ve done the research.  I know Sony’s Playstation 3 is expensive and is not the world leader in “fun” games or units sold.  I didn’t buy the PS3 based on what it is not.

The PS3 is an incredible DVD upconverter.  So good that the night I plugged in my PS3 I watched 4 movies in a row because I was so blown away by the visual quality of the image (Saving Private Ryan, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, 300, and Casino Royale).  If you have a large DVD collection and have purchased an HDTV lately, don’t bother buying an upconverting DVD player, buy a PS3 – you get native BluRay support, too.

The PS3 has built-in WiFi.  Within a few minutes of powering up I had the PS3 on the Internet and I was browsing with their (admittedly limited) browser.  Being connected to my wireless network has benefits beyond surfing though.

The PS3 can access media servers on your network.  That sounds like something you’d need a degree to set up but if you own a PS3 just install TVersity on your PC and you’ve instantly set up a media server.  Now I can stream songs, videos and pictures to the PS3 (and thus onto my big screen and home theatre) quickly and extremely easily (even from iTunes now that Apple is removing DRM from all their songs).

Oh yeah, and the PS3 plays amazing games.  So far I have owned Guitar Hero, NHL ‘09, Little Big Planet and Metal Gear Solid 4.  I had to return MGS4 because it was too good but the rest are really, REALLY good.  “Too good” you ask?  The immersion, graphics and story were so good that I knew that I would need to devote a lot of time and effort to really enjoy it and, with 2 kids and 2 jobs it was unlikely that something wouldn’t fall through the cracks.  I’ll try MGS4 when I have more free time – it really is amazing.

Lastly, the PS3 on screen interface is pretty slick.  The XMB, or CrossMediaBar, is really well thought out.  So well thought out that I’ll probably try to copy it in an upcoming web project…

I wish I had more time to write about all of the things I’m learning in the home theatre field but I’m too busy doing…

Crank it to 11, everyone!

J

While I may be pulling the curtain back and exposing the one of the most lucrative markets in North America, below are the top 3 HDTV-related myths and their [probably not-so shocking] facts.

Myth #1: 1080p is much better than 1080i (720p).  (i – interlaced vs. p – progressive scan is briefed at the bottom)

Fact: In tests after tests experts have proven that the human eye just isn’t sharp enough to see the difference at screen sizes and distances typical of North American homes.  So while you may feel like you’re slumming when you ’settle’ for a 720p HDTV to save a few bucks, know that your picture will likely look just as good as your neighbour’s 1080p (all else being equal).  And don’t forget, your incoming Satellite or cable HD signal is coming in at 720p – that’s a perfect match!

Myth #2: You need expensive new HDMI cabling to take full advantage of your HDTV.

Fact: Well, this one is about 50/50.  Yes, you’ll need HDMI cabling to get a higher than 480p picture but you don’t have to spend a lot on it.  There are only two standards when it comes to HDMI: standard and high speed.  If you are being asked to pay more than $10 CDN for less than 2 metres then you’re overpaying.  PMP: Packaging + Marketing = Profit.

Myth #3: 7.1 Surround sound is the best way to recreate that in-theatre experience.

Fact: Guess what?  The audio you’re listening to wasn’t even recorded in 7.1 surround sound.  Even on Blu-Ray.

What’s the difference between 1080i and 1080p?
That’s a good question.  Well, the 1080 is the number of horizontal lines of resolution.  That’s the same on both.  The “i” stands for interlaced and the “p” stands for progressive scan.  Interlaced means that only half of the lines are being refreshed during every other scan while progressive scan means that all 1080 lines are being refreshed on every scan.  Theoretically it means a smoother picture during fast moving action but in the real world, viewers have a really hard time picking out which set is “i” and which set is “p” on typically sized HDTVs.  480p is the maximum that a good DVD player can produce.  Oh yeah, and 720p and 1080i are basically the same – you can choose to have the entire screen refresh 720 lines at once, 720p, or you can have the entire screen refresh 1080 lines every other scan.  Experts say that fast moving sports like hockey sometimes look better on 720p.  I’ll let you know what I think soon.

What’s the difference between 60Hz and 120Hz?
Yet another good question.  60Hz and 120Hz (pronounced hertz) are the refresh rates of LCD TVs.  Not to be confused with response rates, which are how fast the screen can display the signal from the source, refresh rates are the hot topic in 2008.  Film movies and television are shot at 24 frames per second (as opposed to digital which is 30 frames per second).  If your TV has a refresh rate of 60Hz it means that some fancy footwork has to be done to try to show those 24 frames evenly.  Thus the 3:2 pulldown.  Your TV has to adjust the content to 30 frames and this can cause ‘jaggies.’  A 120Hz TV can handle 30 frames per second as well as 24 frames, without having to adjust anything (both 24 and 30 divide evenly into 120).  Jaggies are bad.  Choose 120Hz if you can.  This is not an issue with plasma displays.  Which brings me to my final question.

Plasma or LCD?
Personal preference.  Take your favourite movie into your favourite big box store and ask them to show you on both.  It really is just down to personal preference now.  Don’t let anyone tell you that burn-in or brightness are issues with either – those days are long gone.

Get ready for something completely different, coming January 2009 – jacobkennedysolutions.com – trust me, it’s different…

I have to say that, being raised in a small town I was nervous about living and working in the city.  The general notion is that people in a small town are warm and generous and people in the city are cold and terse.  I’m proud to report that at least one city, Belleville, Ontario, is as kind and as warm as any small town I’ve ever been in.

This weekend was a highlight for me as I got to watch my daughter ‘perform’ in her first figure skating gala.  Since this is her first year her performance was little more than some shuffling of a hula and some circle skating but it was clear to see that she has a knack for the spotlight.  We were also treated to some fantastic displays of showmanship from Peter O’Brien, Shawn Sawyer, and Joannie Rochette.  Suffice it to say that I was impressed with the production quality of the show.  I did feel bad for Joannie and Shawn being put on the spot to comment about the Olympic torch coming to Prince Edward County (they both handled the task admirably).  Oh yeah, and the attendance?  Packed house for both shows.  Great job everyone.

On Sunday I took my Ella to the Sears family Christmas party.  It’s an annual event that Sears puts on for its employees and it reaffirms the reason why I stay here.  While the pay could be better (who doesn’t complain about their pay?) the effort to please the employees is stellar.  My Ella received a gift, was entertained for the morning, watched a movie and played her heart out.  She is already looking forward to next year’s events (there’s a summer party, too).

To top it all off, this morning in the drive-through at Tim Horton’s I was attacked with a random act of kindness.  The woman in front of me must have liked my singing along to the radio because she anonymously paid for my breakfast.  This is the second or third time I’ve received this kind of RAoK and I’ve given it twice and it amazes me each time the rush and the joy it brings to both parties.  If you get a chance, and are feeling adventurous, give it a try.  You’ll spend the rest of the day wondering about the person behind you and how you’ve surprised them.  It puts a smile on your face the whole day through.

Oh yeah, and I saw the Dark Knight on the weekend.  One word – wow.  I’ll never forget the image of Heath Ledger in the nurse’s outfit walking away from the hospital.  Scary.  And the lip-smacking.  Agh!  Ultra creepy.

PS – The happy faces?  Those are the results from the Acid Test 2 in IE 7 (the first image) and Chrome (the second).  What are the good people at Microsoft doing?

As if you needed an excuse.

My boss is really into post-apocalyptic movies and books.  If it’s dark and dreary (or has vampires in it) he loves it.  He recommended that I read Cormac McCarthy’s The Road a long time ago but it wasn’t until I saw the movie No Country For Old Men (based on a McCarthy novel) that I decided to pick it up.  I hate seeing a great movie knowing I could have read the book first.

You see, the movie The Road comes out this fall.  I know it will be good because it stars Viggo Mortensen, and he doesn’t make crap.  I’ve tried to steer clear of any spoilers because I’m now reading the book but what I do know is the general story.  It is, of course, a post-apocalyptic story about a man and his son heading south to avoid the freezing cold of the coming winter.  From what I’ve read in the first 25 pages, the event occurred several years ago and the man has survived much longer than most.

The book very quickly goes from dismal to scary.  On page 5 is a phrase that so closely aligns with how I feel about my kids that I wish I’d written it.  The man is watching over his son while he sleeps and he says, “If he is not the not the word of God God never spoke.”  At this point I was very in touch with the man and thought how much we are alike.  I put the book down for a break when the man asks himself on page 29, “Can you do it?  When the time comes?  Can you?”  Clearly this is not the world I live in.  The thought of saving your child from unspeakable horrors by ending his life – that deserves a break.

It’s another one of those, “what would you do in the same situation” type of books that I love and love to talk about.  Feel free to leave me your impressions of The Road.  I promise not to read them until I’ve finished the book (which will likely be very, very soon at the rate I’m reading it).

Update:
Finished the book in one  day – a new record for me!  I do recommend it but it is not for the faint of heart.  Very emotional for fathers of young kids anywhere.  The large print and style of writing makes for a nice quick read – you could probably get through the whole thing in one transatlantic flight…