iPhone.

After having used the iPhone rather intensively for about a day now, I think I’ve managed to dig down through most of the pros and cons of the phone. To call this a “review” is perhaps a little bit far fetched since it’s really just a list of those pros and cons, but who cares? Keep in mind that my impressions are from a jailbraked and unlocked handset with firmware version 1.0.2, not the latest 1.1.1 version. Continue reading "iPhone."

“Revelation Space” by Alastair Reynolds.

Science fiction is perhaps my favorite genre, not only when it comes to books, but also other forms of entertainment, like movies and computer games. Every now and then a science fiction book comes along that every fan of the genre should read. Alastair Reynolds’ “Revelation Space” is not such a book.

Dan Sylveste is a scientist obsessed with the Amarantin, an alien race that was suddenly wiped out nine hundred thousand years ago. Sylveste lives in a universe where human kind has colonized worlds far from Earth and has evolved into several sub-species like the Ultras who are a mix of man an machine.

Enormous space ships called Lighthuggers move between the colonized worlds at a speed very close to the speed of light while their crew is stored in reefersleep chambers. Aboard one of the Lighthuggers is Triumvir Ilia Volyova, she and the crew on a desperate mission to find Dan Sylveste and his father, Calvin, so they can heal the vessel’s Captain, who is ill with a viral infection that has taken over parts of the ship and is slowly, but steadily spreading. Continue reading "“Revelation Space” by Alastair Reynolds."

The Simpsons Movie.

I’m a great fan of the The Simpsons cartoon and proud owner of all the seasons released on DVD so far. I’ve seen each of them at least twice, which does not make me their number one fan by far, but I’m at least among, say, the top five million.

If you have seen one of the three trailers for the movie, you have probably noticed that it’s simply impossible to figure out the plot. With some movies you really don’t have to see anything but the trailer to know everything about it, which can be a good thing because you save a lot of money.

So when you sit down to watch The Simpsons Movie you have no idea what to expect and I’m not planning to spoil the fun by telling you about it here. The movie is like seeing four The Simpsons episodes in a row, for me it was quite a few laughs, but I never had any problems breathing at the same time. That said, it’s all good fun, Simpsons style. I’m not sure why FOX let the writers kick them in the nuts so often; but I’m guessing it’s because the family of five is a gold mine for the network.

I’ve read a review where the author complained about the low quality of the animation and compared it to the works of animation studios like Pixar, writing that the animation in The Simpsons Movie far below Pixar’s superior quality. I’m not sure how it’s even possible to make that comparison as Pixar works exclusively in the 3D animation realm and a Simpsons movie made up exclusively of CG graphics would have looked plain stupid. Even though there are some CG in The Simpsons Movie, they are mostly sticking to their faithful Korean 2D drawers and I love it.

This movie can be watched by both hard core fans and people who are not at all familiar with the Simpsons. There is something in there for everyone, but I guess that the fans will be the ones getting the more subtle jokes.

And remember, the movie is not finished before the end credits are over. Sit through it all and you’ll be awarded.

Transformers.

I grew up with Transformers and naturally I was rather excited when the motion picture was announced two years ago. There is a problem with getting too excited about anything, though; the more excited you are, the greater the risk of disappointment.

The plot is not very complicated: Two fractions of autonomous robots, the good Autobots and the evil Decepticons have fought a war over a mystical talisman, the Allspark, that has ruined their homeworld. Whoever controls the Allspark is granted unlimited power. Some time during the war, the Allspark was lost in space. The Autobots are on its trail and has traced it to Earth, but of course the Deceptions are not far behind. Unless the Autobots can stop them, they’ll soon find the Allspark and destroy Earth in the process. The stage is set for some serious monster robot action.

Now, let’s talk about disappointment. There was none. It was quite the opposite, really, the movie was even better than I’d hoped. Michael Bay has done a brilliant job, turning a cartoon into an epic movie. It’s crammed with humor, an extremely hot heroine (not the drug, moron), and of course robots. Literary tons and tons of giant robots, all of them so detailed you almost believe they are not computer generated, but real, mechanical beasts.

You should go see this movie and go home and build your own robot afterwards.

Be warned though, if you had no knowledge of Transformers before the movie was announced, you’re probably going to be left with another impression of the movie when the end credits roll.

Death Proof.

Death Proof is Quentin Tarantino’s latest movie. It was originally meant as one of two full length feature horror movies put together as a two film feature; Grindhouse. The second movie, “Planet Terror” by Robert Rodriguez, was for reasons unknown dropped when Grindhouse was released in Norway and only Death Proof was shown. No two film feature for you! The Death Proof movie poster even stated that we would see “coming attractions from Robert Rodriguez”, so I have to admit I felt a somewhat cheated when it turned out that was not the case.

In Death Proof we meet Kurt Russell as Stuntman Mike, a very enjoyable, but mentally challenged character. Friendly at first, he turns out to be that guy you really wish you never met. Stuntman Mike, the brother of Stuntman Bob, likes to stalk young and sexy women, and there are a lot of young and sexy women in this movie. The main issue with these women is that they talk too much. They talk all the time. Continue reading "Death Proof."