Film and Theatre Lover!
In a near future California a ‘Grand Lottery’ had been established with a bit of a crazy rule, the winner can be killed legally before sundown and the person who does it can claim the multi-billion dollar jackpot.
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Continue reading “Jackpot! (2024) Review”
After a family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family must reunite and return to the home at Winter River. Still haunted by the memories of Beetlejuice, Lydia has struggled through her life and has a strained relationship with her now teenage daughter Astrid.
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Continue reading “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) Review”
RIP to actor James Earl Jones who has passed away at the age of 93. Most well known for being the voice of Darth Vader. He also voiced Mufasa in The Lion King as well as staring in many films and appearing on Broadway, Field of Dreams is one of my favourites.
When Curtis and his family are selected to test a new AI home device called AIA, which very quickly learns the families behaviours and what they need managing to use this to gain trust.
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Continue reading “AfrAId (2024) Review”
The poster has been released for the up and coming Road Diary documentary with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and this is something I will certainly be counting down to the release! Especially with the fact that I went to two gigs on the tour, Sunderland and Wembley.
Tickets go on general sale on Tuesday 17 September; however, make sure you plan and book early as some screenings and events sell out very quickly. BFI Members have access to priority booking from Tuesday 10th September.
Dates
9 Sep 10:00: Priority booking for BFI Patrons
10 Sep 10:00: Priority booking for BFI Members (join here)
17 Sep 10:00: Tickets on sale
3 Oct 10:00: Extra tickets released for some screenings and events
9-20 Oct: The Festival takes place
Screenings are taking place in London but also around the country at differnet cinemas.
Check out the brochure …
Continue reading “BFI LFF 2024 – Programme”
That’s right last week marked 60 years since the release of Mary Poppins in cinemas and it has stayed around and delighted many generations from that moment forward. This is one of those films that I find strange if someone has not seen it, I think I exhausted my VHS tape (yes, I am that old) from watching and rewinding and watching again. Julie Andrews is practically perfect in every way as Mary Poppins and you cannot help but love the character. This was Julie Andrews big break after the controvesary of her not being cast in My Fair Lady having played the role to perfection on stage, and she started filming Poppins in 1963 ahead of the 1964 release date, I mean I guess it all worked out nicely in the end though given that she walked away with an Oscar for her efforts on the film.
Over the years we have had many different additions and further adaptations from Mary Poppins. It took all the way to 2004 for the stage musical version to be first performed and since then it has not only played on Broadway and in London’s West End but on tours around the world. I caught it in Newcastle on a UK tour in 2016 and it certainly manages to capture so much magic and transfer to the stage, but for me the special nature of the original film will always be difficult to beat.
In 2013 we had Saving Mr Banks which was loosely based around Walt Disney attempting to get the rights to the film from P.L. Travers who managed to resist for many years and often claimed that she did not like the film due to it being so different from her books. As a huge Mary Poppins fan I did enjoy that film though as it was just more to learn around the film being made. In 2018 we eventually got an always wanted sequel in Mary Poppins Returns with Emily Blunt taking over from Julie Andrews in the title role of Mary.
Continue reading “60 Years of Mary Poppins!”
Virtual reality has been a mixed bag in reaching the potential it’s so broadly advertised. Some uses have constantly failed to deliver, but there are others where the technology offers hugely impressive solutions. Home cinema is one of these positive examples, providing an experience beyond what traditional at-home solutions can impart. There could be a real future here, and it might be closer than you think.
The biggest advantage of VR is also the most obvious one – it can completely fake anything in front of you. While these don’t cover your complete field of view, they have been expanding viewable areas as the generations advance. For reference, the original breakout VR device, the Oculus Rift, featured horizontal and vertical fields of views of 110 and 90 respectively. More modern systems like the Pimax Vision 5K Super, as noted at Tom’s Hardware, manage to hit 200 and 150 respective FOVs.
“Daydream View VR Headseet Made By Google” (CC BY 2.0) by Maurizio Pesce
Though anything outside of this area might as well be blindered, anything within this space then emulated real space. This could start with simply browsing the internet on an enormous monitor, like checking out what’s available from an NJ casino app. Here your display could be the size of an entire wall, as you collect bonuses and promotions, play slots and table games, and otherwise enjoy what you would on a smaller screen on an enormous display.
In movies and TV, the advantages come from emulating screens of any size. This means your VR screen could dwarf anything measured in real life by the Guinness World Records, even if you have a wall three meters in front of you. From classic films in the Criterion Collection to the newest hits on digital, combining VR with quality headphones will be as close as many of us will come to owning a cinema of our own.
As great as this tech is, it’s still not a perfect solution for all users. Firstly, a VR headset is a personal system that is only good for one user at a time. This isn’t a problem if you love to watch alone, but it doesn’t exactly make for a great communal experience. VR can also be complicated to set up if you’re not technologically inclined.
Some users might also feel discomfort with VR, as it causes eye strain or nausea if used over long periods. These issues are being addressed with newer technology, but some might find the problems inescapable, especially if you suffer from poor eyesight. There’s also the immense challenge of eating popcorn while not being able to see what’s on your lap, an unforgivable roadblock for some enthusiasts.
“Worlds Within” (CC BY 2.0) by wwward0
For the right person with the right need (and the money to spend), VR headsets will become a perfect home cinema solution. The rest of us should also pay attention here, even if we’re not interested in other uses for VR systems. VR doesn’t just represent a small step in home entertainment, it’s an enormous leap that could fundamentally reshape how we engage with what we love.
Let's Go To The Movies 