Vinko’s Thoughts On…

My Rating:

This evening I saw the movie “Hancock” at AMC Theater, Pacific Place, Admiralty, Hong Kong.

Another very good movie by Will Smith. Further proofs that he is a super entertainer: actor, singer and stand-up comedian.

The last movie I watched with Smith was The Pursuit of Happiness, where you can read my review of in my blog, in which he played a totally different character from his typical roles. Like the the previous movie, in Hancock Smith played a down and out character (John Hancock) with super human power that no one likes.

I thought it was very clever of the writers to name the character “John Hancock”. Half way into the movie the plot made a sudden unexpected twist.

I did not recognize Charlize Theron until the end of the movie when I saw the credits, but I did find the actor very familiar through out the movie. She must have changed her look or matured over time, she no longer have the baby face that she had in past movies.

I am giving it a 4 penguin and you should give it a chance, I am sure you will find it entertaining.

Rating Legend:
	Not to be missed
	Wait for the DVD
	Buy from iTunes Store
	Rent it on iTunes
	Waste your time elsewhere

As with everything that Apple does in the past 24+ years, everyone tries to copy what they do.

We saw it with the removal of a floppy disk from a computer (1990s). Initially the critics were criticizing Apple for removing the floppy disk being a stupid idea. Then manufactures begin to imitate what Apple does. Eventually we saw the death of floppy disk and drives.

Apple added Firewire (IEEE 1394) ports (late 1990s) to all their computers and “uneducated” critics thought that it was a proprietary port that Apple force upon consumers and was a waste.

Apple promoted the use of CD-R drives on all their computers, again critics claims that that was a stupid idea as CD-R media was too expensive and say that no one will need such large amount of storage for personal use. Apple does not listen and sent out all their Developers Program media on CDs only.

Apple took the MP3 player, redesigned it and released the iPod in 2003, the same critics come along and claim that Apple is just imitating manufactures like iRiver and others who had MP3 players in the market for years. What Apple did instead was reinvented the mobile music concept with the 3-prong team of the iPod, iTunes audio jukebox and the iTunes Music Store.

Competitors try to imitate what Apple had done, by coming out with what they claim “iPod killers”, which are devices that look like the iPod superficially but does not have the usability, nor do they have iTunes or the iTunes Music Store.

Others also try to over throw Apple’s lead in the online music retail by launching their own online music stores to compete with Apple’s iTunes Music Store, but again they do not have the iPod or the iTunes music jukebox.

In 2007 Apple released the iPhone 2G and changed the mobile phone industry. What they had done was to push the envelop of mobile phone design. They did not try to just create an extraordinary mobile phone, they also wanted to create an ultimate mobile connected information device. In doing so caused all the competitors to rethink their own mobile phone design directions.

Some critics criticizes the fact that the iPhone is not comparable to most high end smart-phones from Nokia, Sony Ericsson, LG, HTC, etc., but what these critics keep missing is what Apple claims the iPhone 2G is capable of and that Apple is using the iPhone 2G as the first-device for the platform.

Can you remember what the iPod was like back in 2003? Could you have imagine the “3rd generation iPod nano” or the “2nd generation iPod Shuffle”? Can you image what the iPhone will be like in 5 years?

Over the years Apple had mostly been successfully in setting the expectations of their customers and audiences for Apple products and services. With the launch of the iPhone 2G on June 29, 2007, Apple released numerous amount of information; including videos, of what the iPhone is and the various things one can do on it.

Similarly, AT&T wanted to do the same expectation management with the launch of the iPhone 3G, and created the AT&T iReady program; including videos. What the iReady program and accompany videos did was to highlight the complexities of purchasing a mobile phone from a carrier and how poor a shopping experience it is.

My Rating:

This evening I saw the movie “Wanted” at UA Cinema, Time Square, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.

What an amazing movie!

If you do not watch any movie this year, you must see this one. Having said that, there are several coming up later this year on my Must See Movies list, that you should also watch out for: Dark Knight and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

This is an action packed movie filled with special effects and stunts. I strongly suggest you get to the theater on time and not miss a single second of this movie.

The plot of the movie is not complicated, but the writers Michael Brandt and Derek Haas must have done it intentionally so the audience will not be occupied with deciphering the plot, and miss the great special effects and stunts that integrates so well together. One can hardly tell when one starts and the other ends.

You must walk into the movie with an open mind and not question any of the events that happen in the movie. It is a movie that entertains and not a movie that depicts anything realistic. It is based on a comic book after all.

Of course, like any Angelina Jolie movies there is a token scene to show off her well toned nude body. The main character Wesley Gibson, played by James McAvoy is the only character in the movie with a full name, further adds to the comic book style of the movie.

If the plot was more complex and original I would have easily given it 5 penguins rating.

So just sit back and enjoy the 2 hours of entertainment that this movie brings.

Rating Legend:
	Not to be missed
	Wait for the DVD
	Buy from iTunes Store
	Rent it on iTunes
	Waste your time elsewhere

This was a nice renovation project by Fritz Haeg for a Spanish-style duplex in Los Angeles owned by David Bernardi.

George Carlin (1937-2008) dies in Los Angeles hospital at age 71 from heart failure.

I always liked Carlin the comedian, watching hours of his stand-up performance on TV shows like Tonight Show, comedy festivals like Just for Laughs and on DVDs. His skid that I like the most is his comparison of Baseball and Football. There are many of this and other Carlin stand-up performance on his web site and on YouTube.

He will be dearly missed.

My Rating:

This evening I saw the movie “The Incredible Hulk” at UA Cinema, Time Square, Hong Kong.

Another sequel to the Incredible Hulk TV series remake, the original remake was Hulk in 2003. This time they change the actor playing Bruce Banner (Edward Norton).

Not sure if it was due to my expectations; or lack of, going into the movie, this was a pretty good movie. As many of you know, the story of The Incredible Hulk has been told many times over and over. The hero, Banner fights all odds to overcome the misguided impressions that people have of him when he is the Hulk. When all he wanted to do is to return normal and  live a regular life.

As always with any Marvel comic there is a villain, this time played by Tim Roth. Where he started as the hated villain in The Musketeer, Invincible, Pulp Fiction and many more.

In the end, they did something no other movies had done, that is to tie two different Marvel movies together to give the audience a hint of what to come.

It is a definite entertaining one to watch. Take the kids, but watch out, you may have to deal with their nightmares afterwards.

Rating Legend:
	Not to be missed
	Wait for the DVD
	Buy from iTunes Store
	Rent it on iTunes
	Waste your time elsewhere

With the announcement of the iPhone 3G by Apple on Monday (Tuesday HK time), Apple apparently change its business model with the carriers around the world. I say apparent because Apple has been some what vague about the details.

AT&T has said that customers will be able to upgrade their existing Apple iPhone to the new Apple iPhone 3G without incurring any penalties (fees) for breaking their existing contracts, but they will have to start a new 2-years contract.

AT&T reports that the new Apple iPhone 3G is only available at Apple Store and AT&T outlets. Most importantly, they also state that these new iPhones will have to be activated on the spot on the AT&T network with a sign 2-years contract.

Apple’s mobile carrier partner in United Kingdom, O2 said that they will be giving away the iPhone 3G on their high-end tariff plans, as described in their iPhone 3G Service Information.

As of this writing there are still no information from Hong Kong’s “3″ on tariff plans available for the Apple iPhone 3G. I suppose it will be something similar to what AT&T and O2 had announced.

I will be checking often to see if I can share this information here before July 11th.