HI There, As you probably know I love film, food and random things. I am also gay and constantly on the lookout for love. I live by myself with an insane and slightly evil cat named Dark. Feel free to say hi - friendships rule.
I asked this simple question on Facebook yesterday and war has erupted between factions. If you were raised with Mac you are a dedicated Mac person and same if raised with PC. Over 20 comments in 3 hours and some people seem willing to die for the cause. Whichever computer I get it must be able to handle high end gaming. Mainly World of Warcraft but I want to be able to run Crisis. I also write a lot - especially on Orble and I also use a lot of photo editing - mainly Photoshop. Being a movie buff I also need to be able to watch trailers and films for reviewing and I do like to have multi programs running and the option of two monitors.
The question I am asking here is what do you use and if you have used both what do you prefer? The arguments on Facebook have been quite entertaining and educational. Here are my two favourite opposing comments:
Argument for PC care of IT hottie Dan:
Do you want to feel 'unique', suffer with large incompatability issues, pay extra money for all software//hardware upgrades and look trendy at coffee stores?
Then Mac is for you.
Do you just want a computer that'll do what you tell it to, don't care what it looks like and not have to take it to a pretentious Apple store where a pair of headphones costs half your paycheck?
Get a PC...
Argument for Mac - care of Troy - Orble's old poster boy
Just get a MAC!! The software is no more expensive, you'll never have to worry about it freezing, it won't need to go in for rebuild every 12 months and best of all you won't be stuck using a peace of shot opperating system - like Vista... And fuck all the "windows 7" bullshit, the marketing spin is the same old rhetoric, and if Microsofts past is anything to go by "7" will be just as useless as every other systems they've released since, well, ever!!
The Mac I have been looking at is the new 27" iMac - it is probably the sexiest piece of equipment I have ever seen. This is one of the redeeming features of the Mac's - they are all so aesthetically pleasing and without the actual PC box as a seperate attachment are better on space. This Mac costs $2800- AU and these are its specs:
2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
1TB Serial ATA Drive
ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB
8x double-layer SuperDrive
Apple Magic Mouse
Apple Wireless Keyboard (International English) and User Guide (English)
The PC I am kind of looking at is below. This system on Ebay comes in at under $2000-. I have been searching on the net and mainly on EBay for a good deal - this appears to be the best deal. If I am spending this money I really want a bigger monitor and this one comes with a 24" monitor. Not quite Mac size but definately a huge difference from my 19".
Quick Specification :
CPU : Intel Core i7 860 QuadCore Processor (2.8Ghz, 8MB Cache, Socket 1156)
Case : ThermalTake V9 Game Casewith Huntkey Green Star 550W 14CM Fan
Motherboards : Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3 MB
DDR2 memory : 4Gb DDR3 RAM
Hard Drive : 1TB SATA Hard Drive
Video card : Nvidia GTX 275 896M Video Card
Optical Driver : 22x Dual Layer DVD Super All Write Drive
Sound Card : Intel High Definition Audio (onboard)
Network Card : Ethernet network adapter (onboard)
Input Device : Rock Multimedia Keyboard and Optical Mouse Combo in USB
Monitor : BenQ G2420HD 24" FULL HD HDMI LCD Monitor Black
The screenplay by Mark O'Rowe, from the multi award winning novel of the same title by Jonathan Trigell is just mind blowingly sensational.
Jack (Andrew Garfield) is released from prison, finally, at the age of 24; having been institutionalized for most of his life. He and another boy murdered a child, when they were themselves children.
The film follows Jack's attempts to readjust to the world outside of confinement and restart a life which never really got going.
Under the fatherly mentor-ship of Terry (Peter Mullan) his parole contact and social worker, he experiences a coming of age, which would normally have happened years ago.
But forces from the past are constantly upon him, as we learn more about the events leading up to the crime which has ruined so many lives, there is an increasing sense of suspense, intrigue and ultimately doom: the tabloid press and Terry's real son are not going to let things lie.
After finding Andrew Garfield the best thing about the recent film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, I found through some research some of his other pieces of work and today I found Boy A sitting as a new release at the DVD shop. What an amazing find and what a talented actor, I cannot wait to see more of him and he has now moved up the ladder of my fave actors.
Garfield presents us with a turmoiled character in this gripping tragedy worthy of Shakespeare. He manages to express an inner battle and coming of age story from a character in his twenties. He is so shy and humble and through facials and body movement succesfully shows the numerous emotions facing someone returning into society that missed many years of his growing up due to being institutionalised. Seeing atonement, wonder, discovery, guilt, confusion, terror and acceptance all on a face in the space of ten minutes is sensational to say the least.
The topic of this story is a confusing one, in his past life Jack murdered a young girl when he was incredibly young. Now he is legally redeemed but his past life will never escape him. The film is art house in its styling and explanations - nearly everything is left to interpretation in the last ten minutes. You never even know if Jack killed the young girl, it is assumed but you never see it. Also, as to what happens to Jack and his girlfriend this is also never clearly explained but I like it that way. I will be hunting down the novel, described as the most discussable book of 2008 in the UK, to see if it sheds more light onto the outcome but I know my thoughts on the ending, but will not share them here as they will end up being spoilers.
The biggest success of this film is getting us to support Jack during his tough times of rehabilitation into the world but leaving us questioning ourselves as to whether we made the correct choice. This is achieved by following our character during current time by splicing in scenes of the past, as well as dreams, visions and hopes of past and present. It is also achieved by not spelling out every letter of the ending and by allowing us to ponder as to what happened. It's thought provoking and at times disturbing but succesful in achieving it's goals. So succesful the film cleaned up the BAFTAS winning awards for Best Actor, Director, Editor and Cinematography and it deserved every one of them. I am so shocked this was not nominated for an Oscar and thoroughly pissed off it went straight to DVD in Australia while so much crap gets released. Spread the word people - this film deserves to be viewed.
The cinematogrpahy of Rob Hardy is exceptional and this film has one of the best scenes showing the ecstacy of the hit of an ecstacy pill I have ever seen on film. He is flying and having an internal time of his life and I could nearly go so far as to say - it looks real. Was that method Garfield?
All the supporting actors are flawless and to be honest there is nothing in this film that annoyed me, OK - the asshole son but that's about it and he's meant to be an asshole to show the conflicts that Terry has, a man who has lost his family over career but spends his life dedicated to helping people rehabilitate into society, a man that really cares and would take Jack as a son.
I can't rave enough about this film and it is out on DVD NOW - do yourself a favour and watch it - it's not all laughs, smiles and love but it is a film that demands a viewing and respect and thanks to big film studios deciding what films get screened to the public not many people will get to see this one but if you do I do not think you will be disappointed. Worth $16-
Jim Carrey is back playing Ebenezer Scrooge in Robert Zemeckis's take on Charles Dickens's famous novel A Christmas Carol. Carrey is not only Scrooge, but also the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.
A Christmas Carol also stars Gary Oldman as Bob Cratchit, Marley, and Tiny Tim; Colin Firth as Fred; and Robin Wright Penn as Fan and Belle.
This film is made using neither live action nor digital animation, but a combination of the two called performance capture technology. This technology has been used before. Audiences might remember Polar Express, starring Tom Hanks as perhaps the most recent parallel example to A Christmas Carol. Like Carol, that film was also directed by Robert Zemeckis. It was the same tech used for Beowulf.
Using this technology, an actor performs a scene on a plain sound stage wearing a bodysuit that has dozens of sensors attached to it. The sensors allow digital cameras to film the movements and facial expressions of the actor in 360-degree detail. The movie is screening in 35mm (non 3D), 3D and also in IMAX 3D.
Firstly, this film presents some of the best visuals I have ever seen. The 3D is sensational and the attention to detail in the image is beautiful. The scenes flying through the air are amazing - I felt as though my stomach lurched from side to side and felt "in" the film. It is so pretty to watch. But unfortunately, like 2012, this is where the greatness of this film ends.
The story is massacred and is all given to watching Jim Carrey's many characters, Scrooge is great but I felt the time was too quick seeing him suffer, he is an ass for about 15min and then he is witnessing and feeling bad, there is no conflict in it, Carrey plays him well. The ghost of Xmas past is just Jim Carrey being a funny guy and I thought the whole scene of this was for us to have the visuals of flying. The Ghost of Christmas Present is basically Jesus Christ and I found the whole film a bit too cheesy and religious but Present was my least favourite - he spends about five minutes just laughing and I did not get it at all.
The Ghost of Christmas Future or death is way too scary for kids. The film will suffer here because it never chose an audience, it was just a piece of film art being made with no concept of who would like it, surely Disney is smarter than this. With it's messages of being nice and being charitable a bit too religious for me, with it's very dark and sometimes creepy visual kids are out and with it being a bit too cheesy adults may find it bland.
And while I love the stylised visuals I find these characters soulless, I can cry like a baby in animations and find animated characters full of life and emotion and the same for regular filmed characters but for some reason these blended characters of the two disciplines lack depth and emotion and this is quite annoying and can feel labored and boring to watch. The music is also quite boring and dated, for Disney the entire film lacks the magic their films are known for.
Also, from what I have read Tiny Tim has a major part in the story and is the heart of the story, in this film he has one or two lines only and his part is too tiny to allow Scrooge to reach the emotional climax required for his life change to be plausible. My heart never ached for him nor did I ever get a tear in my eye or have a good old belly laugh. Most of you that know me know that it is highly possible for me to cry in a trailer - Sam will look at me when watching trailers in a cinema as he loves to point it out to me "Are You Crying?", Where the Wild Things Are, Avatar and The Boys Are Back are good examples of recent trailers having effect but this entire film never once raised my emotional levels - this is bad for a film telling of this story.
If you really want to see this watch it for the amazing visuals but if taking the kids be warned it may be too scary. Soulless and out now. Worth $8-
Ok - it's only a teaser poster but I know how much everyone loves most things Twilight and even though Twilight New Moon is not even out at cinemas the marketing has begun for Twilight Eclipse already and I say YAY to that.
I also know somewhere in my friend Max's head a small alarm is going off saying "get to Salty Popcorn" as new Twilight stuff is out. Max is a freak with all things Twilight and as I start typing he has a mental connection to Salty Popcorn telling him to hurry and be the first to see it
Plenty of excitement and controversy is sure to surround this film from decorated documentarian Michael Moore. After previously taking on America's gun culture (BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE), the Bush administration (FAHRENHEIT 9/11), and America's healthcare crisis (SICKO), this timely film addresses what Michale Moore believes caused the financial crisis that stopped the world in 2008. CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY finds Moore criticizing the government bailout of privately held businesses
I had the fortune of being invited to a screening of Roland Emmerich's latest disaster movie, 2012, and am very thankful to my friends at Sony Pictures and sad to have to write this about the film but this is not only the biggest disaster film I have seen for years (probably since his last disaster film, The Day After Tomorrow) but it is also the biggest disaster I have seen in a long long time
Finally we have a trailer for Disney's Prince of Persia starring buffed up Jake Gyllenhaal and Ben Kingsley. This one should be out next May - let's hope it's as good and succesful as the Pirates franchise.
I have posted this thanks to my number one fan, Sammy, who hassled me via text this afternoon to get it posted - how on earth could Salty operate without you Sammy? Love Ya
Dreamworks is a film production company that hardly ever fails, it always sits behind PIXAR in the animation success heirarchy but their films are always great to watch with Kung Fu Panda and the Shrek films being my favourites.
In the film, Logan Lerman plays Percy Jackson, Poseidon's son who goes on a quest in present-day America to rescue his mother, return Zeus' stolen lightning bolt and prevent a civil war from erupting among the gods.
This is one of my childhood favourites - my mum found the recipe when I was a little tacker or made it up herself and I got so depressed when I was living out of home for the first time by myself that I would only get to eat it a few times a year whenever I stayed with her and Mike. But not to be a moper - I created my own version and I cooked it for mum a few months back and she thoroughly enjoyed it.
Lara - this is the ONLY reason I lean towards the Mac - it's the aesthetics of it. One power cable - what a dream
But currently I am leaning towards PC for cost reasons. Can get a better faster unit for less than the mac and save about $500- but more people are telling me to go Mac so the thinking cap is on and am going mental studying them. I look like a geek sitting down and reading PC mags!
Lady Morgan - it is THE one and ONLY!
It is one thing that scares me - if I go Mac I have to learn how to use it all again - with a PC I know what I am doing.And if they made Macs that look like PC's there would be NO point in making them
Awesome Catherine - I am so glad you liked it just as much as myself and am astounded at the brilliant films we miss out on due to going straight to DVD in our relative countries. I am sure this got a big cinema release in the UK but we got to miss out.
Garfield is definately on the rise and I am sure we will see much more of him over the coming years.
It was a real pity Lara - I don't actually ever remember seeing any previous versions of this film accept that really sill bizarre adaptation of the story, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. I never saw any of the older classics growing up but this was not the version I wanted to be introduced to the proper story by.
I also enjoyed Polar Express - it had "the magic".
WOW Fog - that's been a long time. Been a GU for a few years now. Once they joined all the 3 George St cinemas together it ran as Hoyts for a few years but Hoyts then owned 50/50 of George St and Broadway - deals that were made allowed Broadway to become fully Hoyts and George St fully GU and a good decision it was as the maintenance and constant refurb costs of George St are astronomical.
The VMAX 1 cinema is beautiful with very comfy seats - if it was a Hoyts I would let them know as work for them as a senior projectionist but not the enemy
I watched 2012 in that cinema for a preview the other night - woeful film but sensational imagery.
It failed on logic too; the five souls bet, okay, so why wasn't the bet well and truly over when he delivered four Russian gangsters after he delivered some of the rich women?
damn fine point!!!
I did find most of the performances lacklustre, I just thought Plummer was drunk and sleepy through most of it.
Shame the cinema had the sound so high, where did you watch it?
Thanks heaps for your thoughts and have a great weekend!
Hi Michelle - it was very disappointing for me - visually spectacular but a plot written by an insane guy I do not call a genius - like I said I think he is great when he has not written the script this way he has to follow an organised way to shoot. With his own script he never follows it and ends up with a messed up piece of film. But Bryn enjoyed it, this could be for reasons of his own insanity or as usual just different tastes in film, in which case you could enjoy this one.
Have a good weekend!
Suss out Capitalism - really enjoyed that one. And The Boys are Back is out next week and this looks really well done.
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Comment by Jason King
on PC or Mac?
Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
But currently I am leaning towards PC for cost reasons. Can get a better faster unit for less than the mac and save about $500- but more people are telling me to go Mac so the thinking cap is on and am going mental studying them. I look like a geek sitting down and reading PC mags!
Lady Morgan - it is THE one and ONLY!
It is one thing that scares me - if I go Mac I have to learn how to use it all again - with a PC I know what I am doing.And if they made Macs that look like PC's there would be NO point in making them