Sunday, 10 February 2008
Pie Charts
You may be wondering why someone would do a random post about pie charts. Me that's who. I love pie-charts and anything pie-chart related.
Scurrying in the Bushes Like Cockney Weasels
If you haven't heard of Zero Punctuation...where have you been? This is a British guy based in New Zealand (?) who does reviews of games in a very unique way. I would never class myself as a serious gamer, but I still find his reviews incredibly funny. Check out his latest one for Call Of Duty 4:
The Escapist: Zero Punctuation: Call Of Duty 4
The Escapist: Zero Punctuation: Call Of Duty 4
Friday, 8 February 2008
The Bucket List
"When he closed his eyes, his heart was opened..."
The Bucket List is the "heartwarming" tale of two elderly men, who on their deathbeds comprise a list of tasks they wish to accomplish before they kick the bucket - a "bucket list" if you will.
Starring the two Hollywood heaviweights Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman this movie was never in danger of being anything other than a box-office smash and it did not dissappoint in that respect when it was released in the US late last year. My main fear about this film is that people will see their names on the bill and think, "Two Great actors, it's got to be a great movie right?". Wrong. Both actors give convincing performances as old men, but to be fair, that was hardly a challenge for either of them. It's akin to asking Lindsay Lohan to play a vapid, drunken slut. She'd probably get an Oscar.
The Bucket List sees us watching old men driving vintage cars round a racetrack, jumping out of planes, and going skydiving, among other things. These tasks inject a touch of comedy into proceedings, but not much. There are more serious and heartfelt tasks the men attempt, but these aren't till the end of the movie.
Thankfully, this is one movie where the tagline gives you fair warning. The problem for me in this movie is that it's just not my cup of tea. I can see it is a decent movie that will be loved by many over the age of 50 and has some very touching moments, but it suffers from the fact that it is released amongst some absolutely amazing movies (No Country For Old Men, There Will Be Blood etc.) Way too much sentimental shmultz for my taste. The ending is sad, so sensitive types will want to take a Kleenex but it did nothing for me and will not stay in my head like many other films I've seen this year. Buy it on DVD for your grandparents and they'll love you forever.
Well, until they die obviously.
5/10
The Bucket List is released Friday 15 February 2008 in the UK. Avoid it at all costs.
Why Microsoft Had No Choice
Remember when I told you that Microsoft offered $44.6 Billion for Yahoo? Just read an excellent article on FT.com on why Microsoft had to made the offer they did. It's a subscription site so here's the article;
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
Microsoft has a good chance of making a hash out of buying Yahoo. Assuming it wins control of the internet company – and it is hard to see it failing to do so unless regulators intervene – the management challenge will be huge.
Yet Microsoft has to try. The offensive arguments are clear. The software giant has missed out on the internet growth wave surfed by rival Google, and to a lesser extent Yahoo. Buying the latter would give it a fighting chance of tapping into that huge, relatively new, and still fast-expanding, internet advertising market.
There are also defensive arguments. Microsoft needs a stronger internet presence to protect its broader software franchise. More and more computing power is likely to move to the “cloud”, where software programmes are run centrally and delivered as a service to internet users. Google, for example, with its huge user base can unleash a new software service on millions of users at the flick of a switch and make advertising dollars from the resulting internet traffic. Microsoft’s software business it still more focused on big upgrade cycles to Windows and Office. These are slow, costly and likely to come under increasing scrutiny as regulators frown on new services being bundled into them.
Microsoft needs a big internet audience as a shop window for new software services, which it can fund through advertising revenues. Also, it wants a hedge in case computing power shifts to the cloud more profoundly than Microsoft expects, undermining the importance of desktop software. If its big monopoly franchises really do start to erode, it will be vital to have a strong position in the software delivery system of the future: the internet. Having lacked the branding and media savvy to build that in-house, Yahoo is the only real option left.
Here's a link direct to the article if you are an FT.com subscriber.
UPDATE: This is now looking pretty irrelevant since Yahoo! are going to reject the offer anyway!
Saturday, 2 February 2008
Free Preview Screening of The Bucket List Monday 4 Feb
Want to see a preview screening of The Bucket List for free? To get tickets simply go to Seefilmfirst and enter code: 810431. Be quick the tickets go fast!
Friday, 1 February 2008
Microsoft offers $44.6 Billion for Yahoo!
Microsoft just announced what has been rumored forever: a formal offer for Yahoo. Microsoft's proposal to Yahoo's board of directors represents $31 per share or about $44.6 Billion.
This is huge. Firstly, this has been part of the internet rumour-mill for the best part of absolutely ages. Case in point: 10 Reasons Why Microsoft Will Aquire Yahoo In 2007 which was written December 2006, or What if Microsoft Bought Yahoo? written January 2007. I guess it makes sense because Microsoft's internet presence is something they desperately want to improve to compete with the snarling behemoth that is Google. Yahoo have a lot of great services and communities that could really benefit from the clout of an industry leader like Microsoft. Will the Yahoo board accept the offer? I hope they do so we can start saying "Microsoft!"
Microsoft offers $44.6 Billion for Yahoo!
Juno Movie Review
"A comedy about growing up...and the bumps along the way."
Aware as I am that this movie has been out in the UK for a while, I still think if I've taken the time out of my busy schedule to watch it, I might as well review it. Juno is a quirky film about a 16 year old girl Juno MacGuff who unexpectedly falls pregnant. She eventually decides to give up the baby to an adoptive couple and the story progresses as things start to unravel. The film earned notoriety pre-release because it's screenplay is the brainchild of a stripper/first-time film-writer.
First and foremost I have to acknowledge the performance of Ellen Page for her excellent portrayal of Juno. Even though Page is not called upon to show huge emotional range over the course of the film, she fills out the character of Juno with a real truth and you can imagine Juno as a real person. The rest of the cast including Jennifer Garner and Jason Batemen give solid performances as well, but Miss Page really shines. My only slight gripe is that Michael Cera yet again gives the EXACT SAME Arrested Development/Superbad awkward male teen performance he always gives. I love Michael Cera and I don't dispute he plays the role exceptionally well, but I must admit it's getting a little tiresome seeing him play the same character over and over. Especially this time without the funny lines.
For me this was a good solid feel good film. From the opening credits this flick has Indie written all over it. Juno is fairly unique in terms of style and this gives it a fresh feel when placed next to the typical lazy Hollywood Rom-com we're usually fed. Special mention must be made for the film's soundtrack. While I would not go as far as to say it is exactly to my personal taste, it matches this film to a T. Totally spot on for this movie It is a perfect example of how the correct marriage of music and film can work beautifully.
After hearing all the critical acclaim, for me this film is just a touch overrated. No argument when it comes to Performance by an Actreess in a Leading Roles, but the Oscar nods for Best Film and Original Screenplay are a bit of a stretch. For the first half of the film, the dialogue of every teenager simply isn't believable in the slightest. In my opinion Juno uses way too much witty incisive adult language for her age and it breaks the illusion of reality.
"I'm telling you I'm pregnant and you're acting shockingly cavalier..." and "Yes, hello, I need to procure a hasty abortion...I’m sorry, I’m on my hamburger phone and it’s kind of awkward to talk on. It’s really more of a novelty than a functional appliance..." While they are delicious lines, they're totally unrealistic out of a 16 yr olds mouth. Also, calling this a comedy is also a but much. I chuckled maybe twice, but never laughed out loud. Criticisms aside, I really enjoyed this intelligent "comedy" and I definitely think that if you like your movies quirky with razor-sharp dialogue you'll love this.
8/10
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