Haibane.info

Category: Movies and Television

  • Cylon speculation

    What we know about the four revealed Cylons of the Final Five:

    Tyrol – a mechanic crew chief aboard a battlestar. Clearly the best mechanic on the show, and by implication aboard the fleet. Not unreasonable to assume one of the best mechanics in the Colonies overall.

    Tori – a political aide. Managed to become aide to the most powerful politician and important civilian leader aboard the fleet.

    Anders – former sports superstar turned resistance fighter turned viper pilot. Managed to become the Michael Jordan of his sport, then became a leader in the Caprica resistance, and then a leader in the New Caprica resistance. Now a viper pilot, which is the elite fighter jock corps of the Colonial military.

    Tigh – war hero during the Cylon War, best XO in the fleet, most self-destructive alcoholic in the fleet (these latter two things not simultaneously. Call it an Exclusive-OR). Also rose to top leader of resistance on New Caprica.

    and, most importantly: all of them managed to 1. survive the Colonial holocaust, 2. get aboard Galactica (even Anders who was left behind), and 3. continued their upwards career trajectories despite fierce competition.

    do we see a pattern? clearly, they are overachievers even by the already rarefied standards of the Galactica crew (and the demands of narrative focus). Presumably, the Fifth won’t be a slacker in whatever it is that they do.

    There are other major clues, the best being the infamous “Last Supper” photo (click to enlarge):

    Battlestar Galactica Last Supper

    … which has an empty place setting for the Fifth (and thus implying, with Moore confirming, that none of the other characters pictured are the Fifth, ruling out Baltar, Adama, Roslin, Helo, Apollo, and Starbuck). The Holy Grail is a nice touch, implying that the Fifth has an intimate connection to Earth.

    The other major inference we can make is that the Fifth probably already knows that they are a Cylon and has known all along. This is because they did not respond to the Activation song which drew the other Four together. Therefore, the Fifth must be somewhat aloof and a loner, as they are acting to their own agenda and cannot afford personal scrutiny.

    I am assuming that the Fifth is aboard Galactica and not aboard some other ship in the fleet, because that’s where all the major characters usually are (and the show is named after her). I suppose it is possible that the Fifth is some random dude aboard the Garbage Schooner or something but this seems unlikely. The Galactica is the nexus of the fleet, and given the likely overachiever status of the Fifth it seems improbable that they’d gravitate anywhere else.

    So, who is aboard Galactica, is a major character, an overachiever, has been a bit of a loner and aloof, and is absent from the Last Supper photo?

    I think only one character fits: (more…)

  • The Office

    The Office returns tonight!

    I got seriously hooked on this via Netflix, which really makes it easy to feed a TV addiction (and I’m not alone).

    My favorite character is Michael but most of the online quiz thingies have me pegged as Jim. Or Pam. Go figure 😛 I think this show is the closest heir to Seinfeld on modern television. The actual plot is basically about Nothing. Sure, the characters fall in and out of various romances but that’s like window dressing for the utter pointlessness of their daily grind. A lot of us can relate to that 🙂

    UPDATE: a preview, the first minute and a half from NBC.com:

  • BSG Season 4 starts tonight

    so say we all! Tonight’s episode is titled “He That Believeth in Me”. Promotional screenshot:

    BSG Season 4 Episode 1

    Spoilers at the Battlestar Wiki. Any predictions on what happens tonight?

    Somewhat relatedly, AICN has a character cast list for the Caprica movie pilot. The most interesting character? spoiler below the fold… (more…)

  • BSG season 4 tidbit: Romo Lampkin returns!

    badgerThis interview with Ron Moore has lots of little morsels to chew on, but by far the best is the news that wily lawyer Romo Lampkin returns twice in season 4. He’ll always be The Badger to me, though.

    The bad news is that there is no word on when the second half of the season will be aired; SciFi milking the series out until 2009 seems increasingly likely. Still, at least we get the first ten episodes of season 4 starting in just two weeks.

    Interestingly, the interview with Moore also includes his thoughts on the new Sar Trek film. Overall, he is very positive, about the reboot with fresh blood. Worth reading in full.

  • trailers

    Mark has a brilliant idea – instead of movie reviews, he is reviewing movie trailers.

    If you think about it, the name “trailer” seems to be a misnomer. After all, they come before the film, right? It turns out that the reason they are called trailers though is because they are appended to the movie reels, which are then fed backwards into the projector. That, and the complete lyrics to “Can you feel the love tonight”, are the sum total of knowledge retained from my brief career in the movie business. And by movie business, I mean working in a theater.

    Though I do have quite a good collection of movie trailers, on actual movie film stock, salvaged from the theater, in a box somewhere in my parents’ house. Including The Lion King. Brian, if ever I can find it, it’s yours man.

  • Lost in translation

    I saw Lost in Translation yesterday via Netflix. This movie was really a surprise, I think I was just expecting a light comedic drama without any real heft to it. The premise of the movie seems like a setup for comedy: an old actor and a young newlywed both arrive in Tokyo, stay at the same hotel, and experience culture shock together. But there’s so much more to this movie, especially as a commentary on marriage and relationships, that it transcends the level of ordinary pseudo-romantic comedy and enters into Artistic territory.

    I haven’t seen Rushmore so this was my first exposure to Bill Murray playing a complex lead, and his performance was just .. well, there was no Bill Murray, there was only Bob Harris. You get inside his head and really, really understand him and who he is, even though 90% of his lines are wisecracks, and the lines themselves are only 50% of his acting. His expression, as he sees the elevator doors close on Charlotte at the end… I don’t think there are many actors who can communicate that kind of emotion with just a look, but you read it on his face like it was printed there.

    The other half of this film is Scarlett Johansson, and she probably ranks as my favorite actress right now on the strength of her performance in this movie alone. Not just because she spends a few scenes sitting around in her underwear, though this helps. She has that kind of vulnerable courage in this film that I used to associate with Sandra Bullock. Again, with her performance, you simply understand her as Charlotte, like an open book – one which none of the other characters except Bob even bother to read, least of all her husband John (played with remarkable restraint[1] by Giovanni Ribsi).

    Tokyo itself, and the hotel in particular, are vibrant and fleshed out and almost characters in their own right. The movie does a masterful job of exposing the characters to all the wierd and wonderful, but unlike some critics I did not find it disrespectful. In fact there was an odd beauty to it, like the teenager simultaneously dancing while playing a video game, or the crazy talk show host, or even the hysterical scene in Bob’s hotel room with the call girl[2].

    I think I’ll take another run through this movie and grab some screenshots later. It was really one of the best movies I have ever seen. This film isn’t one that is content to play by the rules of romantic comedy. The two characters don’t do what you would expect them to do, which actually is how it would be in reality. And the two characters don’t keep up the facade about themselves that you expect them to, and which you yourself might maintain as well. And that too is more real, particularly in the context of the isolation that they both share, one exacerbated by being in a place so foreign, but still primarily deriving from their spouses’ neglect. I won’t spoil the ending but then again, the ending is almost impossible to spoil.


    [1] Dude, you’re married to Scarlett Johansson sitting there in her underwear and all you can look at is your camera?? ahem.
    [2] “lip my stocking!” omfg rofl. I laughed so hard I choked.

  • Star Wars, as told by a little girl

    I loved the part with the Pokeball.

  • Season 4 teaser

    Nothing massively spoilish, aside from the (obvious) fact that Starbuck is not a Cylon.

  • to 1080p or not to 1080p

    Toshiba HD-A3 780p/1080iThe prices on HD-DVD players have started to move downwards at Amazon, with the HD-A3 model now priced at $99 and the HD-A30 at $129. The mail-in rebate for 5 free HD-DVDs expires on the 28th, so I assume that there will be further price reductions on the 29th, assuming they have the inventory. Both players come bundled with 300 and Bourne Identity, and I view the BBC Earth series as mandatory.

    The question is, whether the extra $30 for the A30 is worth it. The primary difference is that the A30 supports 1080p output, whereas the A3 only does 720p/1080i. My intended use for this player is primarily as an upscaler for my standard DVD collection (and NetFlix), for an HDTV I have yet to buy (normal upscaling DVD players cost around $50-$70 anyway). Standard DVDs are 480p. As long as the HDTV unit supports 720p as a native resolution (which it should, regardless of whether I buy a HDTV capable of 1080p or just 1080i), then the 720p output of the A3 is all I will ever need, right? Even if I want to watch my HD-DVD discs at 1080i, few though they presumably will be, will I even be able to tell the difference between it and 1080p?

    I can see myself in a similar quandary later when I decide whether to buy a HDTV at 1080p or not. I could just settle for 1080i as my maximum across the board and simplify things. I’d appreciate any suggestions or information regarding the matter, if you all have any.

    Highly relevant reading: a piece at the NYT in which they talk to the founder of the Abt Electronics chain. In a nutshell, Blu-ray just isn’t a value proposition right now.

    “Most people are happy just buying a better DVD player, instead of spending $350 or $400 for Blu-ray,” Mr. Abt said. “An upconverting DVD for $79 is a great value. It has a great picture, really better than an old DVD. You really see a difference.”
    […]
    What about all the people who bought HD DVD players, prompted by Toshiba’s aggressive price cuts? Mr. Abt hopes he can at least partially mitigate their anger and frustration by pointing out how well the players can display standard DVDs.

    “We have a lot of people who bought HD DVD players in the last few months,” he said. “We are going to communicate with them: you have an upconverting DVD player, enjoy it. You paid $150 for it, so you didn’t lose too much.”

    And of course, we have less than a year to go before the digital switchover.

    UPDATE: HD-DVD players in retailer inventory are now being described as “upscaling DVD players with HD-DVD playback“.

  • HD-DVD RIP

    Engadget Japan live-blogged the official announcement by Toshiba president Nishida-san that Toshiba is discontinuing HD-DVD and ceding the format war to Blu-ray. Some interesgting tidbits from the Q&A following the announcement:

    Q: Any plans to adopt Blu-ray?
    A: No plans at all, not at this moment.

    Q: How many HD DVD players and recorders, exactly, did you sell?
    A: 600,000 players in the US — 300,000 of which were Xbox 360 HD DVD drives. 100,000 units were sold in Europe. And about 10,000 players and 20,000 recorders in Japan. So about 730,000 units worldwide.

    Nishida-san did say that Toshiba would stockpile HD-DVD media and sell them online for use by owners of HD-DVD recorders. Also, Toshiba will “continue to assess the position of notebook PCs with integrated HD DVD drives.”

    The full press release with more details is available here.

    I’e still got my eye on the Toshiba HD players at Amazon. I’m tempted to buy the 1080i player (HD-A3) right now for $117. Or should I wait until the price on the 1080p one (HD-A30) starts to drop? Any thoughts?