Digital2Film

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I feel like the announcement for the PS4 Pro was one of the most confusing announcements for any console since the Wii U. While I got the gist of what they were saying only after the fact by doing research it still isn't clear to most people what exactly this new console is.

A lot of the confusion has to do with the fact that this current console generation is basically behind by a generation due to the PS3 and Xbox 360 lasting way to long then the life span needed to be. So an incremental upgrade to the current gen consoles makes sense as it catches everyone up in a way that doesn't abandon everyone who had just bought the consoles brand new in the last two years.

UPSCALING

The best way to describe this new console is a 4K upscaling as the hardware isn't actually powerful enough to run games at native 4K. Even the most powerful modern PCs have a hard time rendering games in 4K at a smooth experience. Its much better than it ever was but it still isn't quite there just yet.

Upscaling is a way for them to bypass this by taking a lower resolution and sharping the pixels and making them larger. The games will look better but it won't be making the actual graphics look better. It is really only the image that is being affected not the actually processing of the graphics.

So the PS4 Pro being marketed at a 4K machine is a bit misleading seeing how most games won't be real 4K. It is however a good way for Sony to sell those 4K TV's they have stocked up that haven't been sold.

1080P 60FPS?

This is by far the most interesting aspect of the console as with new, more powerful hardware. You would assume that already existing games would run better on this new console. The PS4, while having some games run at 1080p 60fps struggles to handle games at that frame rate and resolution consistently. With the new upgrade the new console is definitely powerful enough to get games to this stable format.

The question is will the PS4 Pro take advantage of this? They have mentioned that the Pro will scale based on the resolution being output to you TV but will this improve gameplay? This is something that will be answered when the console arrives but right now not knowing is what is preventing me from buying the console.

If this ability is taken advantage of I can actually see the case being made to go out and buy one of these things even when you already have an original PS4. The majority of console owner use a 1080p screen anyway and the one thing that consoles owner do miss out on is a decent frame rate with a good looking game.

Clint Eastwood can have hit and misses in his films but over the years he has been tackling true events stories from recent years and portraying them in a way that feel very real and unbiased. Is his latest film a hit? Tom Hanks is always a likable actor and most characters he plays are always likable and here, its no different. We follow the story of Chesley Sullenberger, who became a hero after gliding his plane along the water in the Hudson River in 2009.

What really caught my attention was how this movie really focuses more on the aftermath of the plane crash than the actual crash itself. We do get the see the crash but it is much later than I would've expected, where most movies would have something like this as the first scene of their film. A lot of this movie is about the aftermath drama as companies are looking for a person to put the blame on this as you watch as Sully tries to defend himself. Of course the situations are never that simple as the people after him really try to pick everything apart to find every flaw that they could use to blame him.

My only complaint about the film is that I felt that it would've been better told if all the even were in chronological order. I understand why flashbacks and past experiences are shown as it takes a break from certain scenes but most of the time I like to see things play out one after another. This movie has a number of flash backs including the plane landing and even dream sequences showing what could have happened if things didn't go the way they did. Not many movies take the time to dive in this much to a situation and it was nice to see that here.

Sully's biggest strengths was the runtime. The movie isn't that long and is paced in a way that could've been misused very easily if they wanted to extend the time. It feels way to early to say if this film will carry on to the Oscars season, because a Clint Eastwood true even story seems like a movie that would be, but regardless this a good movie and I would say one of the better ones of this year. I think it will be best to catch this film in a matinée price if you are looking for a good drama that isn't just about the action set piece of the film.

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Nicolas Winding Refn is one of the few directors that just by releasing a new film I am automatically interested in seeing it. Drive was the first film of his that I watched and while every film hasn't been as straight forward and Hollywood like, his films are always different and fantastic visually. The Neon Demon is no exception to that. Unlike his previous films I do feel like this film was a tad bit mis-marketed. You are lead to believe that this was going to be a horror/thriller only to really find out that this is just a dark comedy. In many ways this is the best parody film I've seen in quite some time, that doesn't just spoof the popular movies that year.

In the film we follow Jesse (played by Elle Fanning) who is trying to make it as a model in Los Angeles. Right away you get the feeling that this movie doesn't take place in the real world. Everything acts weird, the conversations and dialogue are slow and strange and things only continue to get weirder as Jesse gets more involved in the fashion industry. Its really when she gets in where we begin to see the type of movies this is going to be. Everyone who already works in the industry in the film feel like super exaggerated versions of what people would think these type of people would act.

Again, this is really made clear until much later in the film but as we start off you don't really know what the film is trying to do. Early on you notice that everyone that comes into contact with Jesse is memorized to the point of obsession. The is shown in the few interview scenes as well as photo shoot scenes Jesse partakes in where most of the other models are put to the side as everyone becomes obsessed with Jesse's beauty. The obsession only continues the grow as other models become threatened by this and the concept of natural beauty is explored a bit through the exaggeration of these characters.

You really have to accept this world that that things that wouldn't pass here are not only pushed aside but are welcome as this world in the film clearly flipped. I find it weird criticizing this movie because I think a lot of the complaints I have is what the film was trying to do on purpose as everything relates to the fashion industry and really the imagination people have of it. What do I mean by this?

Well one example is that the film is gorgeous, every shot every new scene is lit and colorized in the way that I don't think I've seen in any film. But the movie looks so good all the film to the point that if feels empty. I don't know how else to describe it really, the films looks good but I don't really remember any singular shot as they all kind of blend together. As for the parody side, I feel like not everyone will be able to get what Refn is parodying if they have no context as to how LA feels or really what the fashion industry is like. It doesn't have a wide appeal, which again isn't necessarily a bad thing.

The one thing I can always say about a Refn film is that is unlike any movie I will see that year. The Neon Demon is one of those films, I can also see this film gaining a cult following as years pass as this films seems to be very decisive already. Maybe its because I am tired of seeing the same old Hollywood movie or that this was a much smarter film that people are giving it credit for. Again, not for everyone but if you are interesting in seeing a different film this is one for you.

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Over the weekend I had a chance to see one of the latest video games movies to release this year, Ratchet & Clank. The film wasn't received well by critics or fans of the series so I wasn't looking forward to anything much.

The film it self was pretty generic and the problem is that it didn't have too. The original game was cleaver and funny and most importantly, had something to say. In contrast with the reboot which is boiled down to simple jokes for children while not really having anything to say at all. I understand that you have to make changes but when something is already laid out for you I don't see why you wouldn't just bring it over. It feels like the person who wrote this movie had never played the first game but just was told a basic outline and then started over from scratch.

I think the biggest problem this movie has is that lack of any dynamic between Ratchet and Clank, there was no contrast and I think a lot was taken away by changing Ratchet's character so much. It is weird that I am even using character to describe them because they feel more like formulaic archetypes than individual characters.

It's interesting because the video game adaption of the film was very well received and not only included cutscenes from the film but also expands on some of the scenes not shown in the film without feeling like filler. I think this is because of a reminder that video games are mostly held up by gameplay and removing that takes a lot of the experience away. This is something that all video games movies will struggle with and I hope a move can find a way to avoid. The closest I can think of is Wreck-it Ralph.

Sly Cooper is next in the lineup of video game animated films from Sony and while it is a another property that can work very well in a film I do worry that the same problems will also appear from the Ratchet and Clank movie. While they have kept some of the voice actors they have also replace some major ones like the voice of Sly Cooper himself. I really have a feeling that this will be another origin story instead of just making it an adventure with the characters being free to do what ever they want. Maybe they will learn their mistakes from Ratchet and Clank or maybe they won't.

Video Game movies still feel like they are in their early stages and while I don't think it will be long until we get a great one, I just don't see how any of these movies can compare to the experience you get from playing the game.

I recently re-watched the Lord of the rings trilogy and upon my latest viewing I couldn’t help but notice an aspect that never really caught my attention the previous times I’ve seen it. That is that Frodo is a pretty BORING character! And it's not just here, I’ve noticed in video games and even some of the latest big comic book movies to come out from this year. Even some of my favorite films of all time contain very boring main characters or main characters that are easily outshined by their counterpart.

So that begs the question, why are main character's boring?

The main protagonist of a story is who we follow when watching or listening to any story being told. In many ways they are what connects their world to the audience by allowing them to see through to their world. Many are stuck to a certain archetype that can limit some of the actions that the character can do. Such as having them make decisions that could drastically change their character or that would make you question about whether or not to follow them. In a way they can’t go that off the deep end that would ruin their character but that doesn’t mean you can spice things up a bit.

There is a formula into writing main characters that you can follow and stick with immediately as seen in many tv shows and movies, specially the ones that have you follow one person who is at the center of everything. Because we have to be able to follow them if not it becomes a rather clustered mess and the audience won’t ever make any connection to your film. This usually only happens in big budget films or larger casted films that force you to follow so many people but leaves so little time to know them individually.

I would say that it isn’t necessarily that characters are becoming boring as so much that their archetypes are just so over saturated at this point. If you think about it, almost every big budget trilogy of movies has that “chosen one” archetype. It works for a reason but the problem it is used so much and with little to no distinguished between them to make them special from one another. You can go from the lord of the rings, to the matrix, to even star wars and many more that all follow this template.

In recent news, there has been some hints at the possibility of future Star Wars Rebels seasons being tied into the films much more than there already are. Is this a good thing? Well not totally. I do think this will become more prevalent in anything Star Wars related in the future as it seems that Disney is really serious about connecting everything that is apart of this universe. I like the idea of connecting everything but I don't like the idea of crossing over everything, what do I mean?

Star Wars Rebels is a good show on its own. In fact I would say that the show gets better and better I look at it through the perspective that this is not connected to the movies but other animated shows like The Clones Wars and the books based off of the show it self. To me this should be its own universe that can build upon it self instead of having to shove in references and characters that we are already familiar with just to throw them in.

I am interested in seeing the direction they take this show and how they continue to grow these characters. I don't however want to see them put in a live action movie where they would obvious cast a different actor and most likely have to change the character to fit the tone of what ever the film calls for. On top of that there is also another problem that is becoming more noticeable with the modern era of Star Wars. That is the large universe that seems to be getting smaller and smaller.

No longer are we getting stories that take place in the galaxy else where or exploring a side or background character and expanding their story. Now we just focus on the main plot. The plot that we know the ending too and we know the back story too. It just feels very limiting to the stories they can tell by having so much be connected to the movies. Before everything was canon we got stories like Dark Forces and The Force Unleashed that connected to the main story but also took them in a different direction and most importantly focused on taking their characters in their own direction.

I still don't see how this canon thing can work going forward, especially when there is just so much material coming out and much more to come. This will only lead to them quitting or worse, rebooting the universe and starting over from scratch. So is connecting Star Wars Rebels to films a good idea? Well it really is a "We will see" scenario here. On one hand I like to see great stories be connected but at the same time, I think that stories should stand on their own in their own mediums that they were presented on.

Maybe my mind will change but at the moment It just leaves me skeptical.

The finale of Rebels is here and this time they are taking on Vader!

Ezra, Kanan, and Ahsoka all arrive at Malachor trying to find out why Yoda wanted them to go there. The first assumption is to gain knowledge that could help them take on the Inquisitors. Of course we know that isn't the case entirely as the group actually stumble upon a sith temple! The explore inside and see what they find as they walk past a battlefield with old lightsabers.

An Inquisitor takes them on trying to distract them to get to their ship and make them stranded or worse, trace back to the rebels hideout. Ezra falls into a lower level and is met by the formally Darth Maul who leads him to a room that he claims that can destroy the sit. Maul manipulates Ezra into opening the door to this room through the use of anger and other emotions that lead Jedi to the dark side.

Maul leads him to a holocron that contains all the sith secrets and they use the force to get to the platform. they retrieve the holocron and meet back up with Kanan and Ahsoka who are fighting all three Inquisitors in which Maul begins to help them by fighting them off. Maul convinces the group to get the top of the temple where there is a room that only can be opened by the holocron. After an Inquisitor attack they split up and Maul teams up with Ezra once again.

They fight one for Inquisitors and Ezra almost dies from the attack but Maul saves him and kills the Inquisitor just in time. He even goes to help Kanan and Ahsoka and takes out both of the other Inquisitors. He reveals that Ezra will be his new apprentice as the location they thought to be a Sith temple was actually a battlestation! Maul wants to destroy all his enemies including the rebels so he can get his revenge.

This is when we get Ahsoka vs Maul to Maul vs Kanan! Which is over quick when Kanan throws up off the cliff, but of course that wasn't enough to stop him. Ezra realizes he was tricked and as that happens, DARTH VADER SHOWS UP! Vader fights Ezra destroying his lightsaber and when he is about to attack Ahsoka shows up! She takes on Vader alone and they battle it out Master and Apprentice!

Kanan shows up and helps Ezra turn off the Hollocron, Ahsoka sacrifices herself to take on Vader alone, we don't know if that was end of her for good but I have a feeling that is the end we will see her on the good side. Maul escapes on a tie fighter and Vader escapes his battle with Ahsoka. We leave the episode seeing Ezra as he takes a look inside of what the Holocron has stored in it. Possibly beginning his journey to the darkside?

Just when Rebels was getting great it comes to an end! This was a great episode and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time! The biggest highlight for me was Ezra subtle turn to the dark side with Maul manipulating him so easily the entire time. But when Vader showed up, that is when the episode quality just bumped up and began to feel more authentic to the original trilogy. I do wish that the Inquisitor were delved into a bit more or at least were kept alive especially after they introduce a fourth new Inquisitor in this episode. I know I am not alone in knowing what is stored on that Holocron and even to know the voice of who ever was speaking from it!

A very satisfying finale and makes me excited for where they go next with this Rebels story line! See you on the next season of Rebels!

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