Shmee.Me

August 16, 2013

Windows Phone Amber Update

Microsoft and Nokia are rolling out the Amber (GDR2) update. Since my phone updated without issue, I thought I would give my impressions of it for my Lumia 928.

The biggest addition in the Amber update for all Windows Phones is greater developer control of the camera. Nokia took full advantage of this by releasing the Nokia Pro Cam app that allows you to change the shutter speed, ISO, which flashes to use, and whatever else you would want to tinker with. This app is really for their 41 Megapixel camera on the Lumia 1020, but it is fun to have on this phone as well. Plus Nokia updated the auto setting on the camera to just take better pictures overall for us point and shooters.

The Lumia line (except the 520) now also has a feature called Peak, and what that does is when you look at the phone it shows the time without unlocking it. It is low power, so it is not a battery drain, and it is nice if you do not wear a watch. Peak also turns on when you are charging the phone, so you can see your phone’s charging status.

The last major update my phone got was the ability to filter phone calls and text messages, so now if I go to Settings, call+SMS filter, I can enter in numbers that I do not want to hear from.

I was bummed that I did not get the FM radio feature that most Lumia’s got because it would be nice to be able to listen to music when I don’t have a good data connection. Luckily Verizon’s LTE is just about everywhere so it is not major issue.

The rest of the Amber update is mostly bug fixes, an email update to better allow for the syncing of GMail, and better group texting, so all and all it was a good minor update.

August 15, 2013August 15, 2013

Summer 2013 Box Office Wrap Up!

With the Summer movie season winding down, I thought I would give my take on the most important season for film distributors. It was a crazy year, and there were a lot of surprises.

Super heroes are still the kings of Summer:

Iron Man 3 is the unquestioned winner of the Summer taking in an amazing $1.2 Billion worldwide, and Superman finally had a hit with Man of Steel this Summer with a still pretty impressive $650 Million. The Wolverine is going strong and making money, and it is already up to $308 Million dollars With the three combined taking in over $2 Billion dollars, you bet the studios are busy getting more super heroes ready for a theater near you.

Families still go to the movies:

Despicable Me 2 came in number two (probably a minion poop joke in there) in the domestic summer box office with a staggering $350 Million dollars and $750 total worldwide, the Croods barely in the summer area in March taking in a healthy $530 Million world, and Monsters University taking a great $640 Million worldwide. Proving that if you create a family movie worth watching, the family market will show up.

The ‘R’ rated comedy is not going away:

We’re the Millers ($45 Million) is starting strong, The Hangover Part III did not do as well as its predecessors but it still did $350 Million over all, and The Heat did $200 Million which is great for such a low budget movie, so if you like raunchy ‘R’ rated movies they are not going away any time soon.

The international market flexes it muscles:

The international market is proving to be the real focus now for Hollywood, with movies like Pacific Rim making less then $100 Million in North America, but over $245 Million in internation markets for $345 Million over all, and if it can get to about $380 Million we may get a sequel even though it was a “failure” in the US. This has also been true for World War Z, while not a failure in the US its global total of over $500 Million is making Paramount very happy. Fast & Furious 6 has made an incredible $544 Million in overseas box office alone for a crazy total of over $782 Million.

Stars don’t guarantee success anymore:

Tatum Channing and Jamie Foxx could not save White House Down ($127 Million), Bruce Willis took a bullet with Red 2 ($93 Million), Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges wish they hadn’t done R.I.P.D ($56 Million), Will Smith and son suffer together in After Earth ($240 Million), and most startlingly Johnny Depp crashed and burned with The Lone Ranger ($196 Million). Sure Robert Downey Jr. helped Iron Man 3, and Brad Pitt added to the appeal of World War Z, but you can no longer bank on a movie due to star power alone.

Sony is going to loose a lot of money this year:

Sony had a historically bad year with the Smurfs 2 ($160 Million), Red 2, After Earth, and White House Down all loosing a lot of cash for the studio. I hope they have good insurance, and a great accounting team to try and write off all that damage.

I hope you enjoyed this little wrap up! It has been a crazy Summer at the movies, and I cannot wait for this Fall and Winter to see how the box office fares.

August 14, 2013

Star Trek: The Animated Series

I always thought I was supposed to dislike Star Trek: The Animated Series because it wasn’t canon and the episodes could be a little silly at times, but after watching it, I have to say that I quite like it. Sure some of the episodes are not great, but in being animated they got to have far more extra terrestrial landscapes and characters.

The episodes range from pretty good to pretty bad, but still it was is another twenty-two episodes with the original cast and crew, so if you like Star Trek it is streaming on Netflix right now, and it is worth the bandwidth.

August 13, 2013August 13, 2013

Five Favortie Star Wars Characters!

I have watched a lot of Star Wars movies, played a ton of Star Wars video games, and read more than a couple Star Wars books and comic books, so I thought I would give you my favorite Star Wars characters.

5: Jek Porkins

Porkins cracks me up every time I watch Star Wars IV: A New Hope. All my life I have wondered how desperate the Rebel Alliance must have been to recruit this guy, but like all things Star Wars the expanded universe has given him tons of back story so he doesn’t seem like a the fat incompetent idiot he is. I mean even his name is a joke, but that is why I love him. It is the sort of thing that only Star Wars would try and get away with. Stay on target Porkins, stay on target.

4: Darth Vader

It quite is fashionable now to bad mouth George Lukas, but when he created Darth Vader it was a moment of pure genius. I don’t think there is a more iconic super villain in all of fiction. The Joker may get close, but he is no cyborg mage with a laser sword that can choke you from across the room with his mind.

3: Han Solo

Speaking of genius creations, has there ever been a character that oozed cool like Han Solo? The more of a jerk he was, the more lovable he became. Being a Jedi is pretty sweet, but he is the character I wanted to be when I grew up. All I need to do now is find a Wookiee that will be my friend.

2: R2D2

R2D2 is the hero of the Star Wars movies. Delivering messages, open doors, hiding light sabers, and pretty much anything else. Without R2D2 the Rebel Alliance would have fallen apart and the Empire would have won. I am not sure that you can say that about any of the other characters. This foul mouthed droid is the best character from the movies bar none.

1: HK-47

HK-47 is from the video game Knights of the Old Republic, and the only character on this list not from the original trilogy, but that is because HK-47 Personal Assassination Droid is awesome! His name is stolen from another famous video game assassin, and he loves to kill meatbags. In the game if you let him kill people he loves you, and if you don’t he hates you. He was not the most powerful character in the game, but his lines were so well written that you needed to have him in your party just to hear the stuff that would come out of his speakers.

Dishonorable Mention: Boba Fett

People love this guy for some reason, but when his big moment came did he shine? Oh no, he gets knocked in to Sarlacc pit while wearing a jet pack by a blind Han Solo. Maybe you should be paying attention eh buddy? If there was ever a chumpier way to get beaten, I have not seen it. This dude is the worst.

So there is my list with a little Boba Fett trolling thrown in. I hope you like it, but since we are geeks, I don’t expect you to agree, and I would love to hear your list!

August 12, 2013August 12, 2013

They Made a Sequel to Despicable Me?

Despicable Me 2 is obviously to the sequel to the 2010 movie Despicable me. What is different this time around is that it went from a pretty large hit last time to a mega hit this time already taking in over $750 million dollars worldwide, and still going strong, but much like last time this movie is saved by the adorable yellow minions.

The film starts with a giant magnet flying over a top secret base and stealing it, so the AVL (Anti Villain League) recruits Gru (Steve Carell) to help them find out who did it since he was once a villain himself, but Gru is much more interested in keeping his oldest daughter away from boys, and the minions just do a bunch of wacky stuff.

The problem with this movie is that they totally waste what made Gru somewhat interesting and that was being super villain and coming up with crazy schemes. Don’t get me wrong he is a sweet dad, but it is just not as interesting as him trying to steal the Moon. They could have at least let him create a crazy plan to counter the evil villain’s crazy plan, but at least minions are as funny as ever.

The special effects are as good as you would expect for a current day 3D animated film, but at this point if they weren’t it would be very disappointing.

The actors all know their roles, but there were not really any standout performances. Just Steve Carell with a crazy accent and bunch of people getting paid, and with the success of this film they will probably get paid a whole lot more for next time.

If you liked the yellow minions than you will like this movie. If you like the rest of the characters than you probably will be disappointed because they do not do a whole lot. It is no wonder the minions are getting their own spinoff, and I am sure it will make oodles of money.