Pete's Write

This is an effort by Philip Yung, and stars a rather different looking Aaron Kwok, who even got thinner, dyed his hair to complete the look. Very different from the slick cops seen in the recent cop shows. No Mainland money in this one.  He investigates a murder of a young prostitute, played by a newcomer Jessie Li. Whilst I commend the acting efforts of everyone, in particular Micheal Ning, who plays the murderer that confesses to the crime, I can't understand the plot or follow the story. It isn't the gore, or even the sex scenes, I don't find them particularly distasteful or anything like that, it's just that I don't get the plot :( It's a talkie, so there's minimal surround use. The dialogue is clear, the picture quality is excellent, but it's no demo disc.. Can't wrap my head around this ... even though it was well received at the Golden Horse Awards 2015.  Watch it for yourself and decide. 

So, some of us liked Pelican Brief. And some of us have new kick ass Atmos or DTS-X 11 channel surround systems. Now how about a movie that meets the same thrill and has that pulsating story, and on top of that, has a soundtrack that ensconces you in surround sound, and adds tension, drama and impact to it? State of Play is actually adapted from a British production, and the Brits know how to make a terrific plot. Add a whole host of marquee actors, increased the production values and you have a gripping thriller. You have the likes of a few Academy award winners here, including Helen Mirren, Russel Crowe, backed up by some very solid acting from Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams and Batman Affleck, along with a few more supporting acts that work well together in a political drama that started with a murder under a bridge, an affair, a suicide and the only odd thing that stuck out was that the reporter played by a lion maned Crowe, smelt a rat. Now you may think that this is no movie...

So there was a recent firmware update for my Marantz SR 7010   (http://peteswrite.blogspot.sg/2015/10/marantz-sr7010-review.html) . I after doing this, I decided to take the opportunity to re-do the Audyssey calibration, and see how things sound. I have also recently reduced the toe-in on my Dynaudio C1s and moved the rear surround Usher on the right side to a more central position so the two rears are more equal in distance. So I went through the pre-cal checklist: - using the stock mic - get a mic stand (this is easier to use than a tripod, and you are free from the vibrations that may affect readings if the tripod rests on the sofa, plus it's easier to move too) - keep the room quiet - turn off the aircon, do it on a quiet day - keep the front three speaker tweeters as close as possible - check the other speaker positions - place the mic stand at the right height: ear level when seated (if you recline that chair, make sure the stand is at the height of your ears when ...

This is a small budget production by the Sheen aka Estavez family and stars the patriarch Martin and his son Emilio who also directed it. It covers martin's journey on the Camino way. It's a quiet yet meaning way, with almost Hallmark kind of feel and will leave you with two feelings: One you will feel warm and fuzzy; Second you will feel like slinging on your backpack and rush to Europe and do this 800 km walk. Apart from a warm story it also takes you through a beautiful tour of this walk, almost like a Discovery channel or Japan Hour documentary. If you don't mind the slow pace, it's definitely worth a rental at least. 3/5 Sent from my iPhone Sorry for brevity of message

These days, many shops in SG have closed so ordering from overseas gives you variety, value and goes right to your door step! Some general notes: - check the cost differences, vpost not always better or cheaper - if time is important, go direct - for those shipping other items, check that they can be shipping, eg vpost does not ship speakers - check with your credit card, some have an additional discount Firstly, the pro of a local dealer: - service - warranty - technical expertise - product less likely to run the risk of being damaged, and if it is DOA, an exchange is easily sorted out The cons: - the local dealer may charge a much higher price - service may be only half decent The pros of doing it yourself, or via a professional shipper: - price = the difference in price can be quite significant (will list some examples later and others can chip in) - better features - not available locally Cons: - the risk of damage - voltage issues (more on this later) - claiming warranty or this...

The gold standard of TVs has been the plasma thus far, even though they have been out of production for more than 4 years. The best LED or LCD TVs can only approximate the blacks and film like qualities of the best plasma TVs and the videophiles around the world have been waiting eagerly for the real replacement for the plasmas. From wiki : organic light-emitting diode (OLED) is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light in response to an electric current. OLED has been around for a few years, but now it's coming into real commercial production, moving from astronomical prices to merely high prices that are just that bit more expensive than the best LED TVs. I think that if if they were the same price, we won't have any LED TVs to sell, the OLED TVs will swarm the market. But that's the way it is, the makers need to milk the market for the tech costs first, then bring the prices down. But...

I brought some kids to see this, and I didn't have a high expectation, believing that it will just be another money making sequel, out to milk the original for a few more dollars, kind of like Independence Day II.. but boy was I wrong! To put it simply, I found this story to be more interesting, with greater depth, more food for thought, and yet, it was just as entertaining, if not more than the original. Now that I have let the cat out of the bag, allow me to explain why. This will be consider one of Pixar's best, in my opinion, with the right magical mix of fun, adventure, humor and depth that marks all the hall of fame Pixar productions. Sure, it's another journey that involves fish finding someone and something, but the story writers manage to add the right mix of originality, coupled with elements of the original road trip so those who have seen it have something they can remember, yet there are many more elements of new characters and storylines that will ...