The HTC Touch Pro2

When I took the HTC Touch Pro2 out of the box that Verizon had sent me, the first thing that struck me was its amazingly large screen. Then, while still holding it in hand, I noticed its weight. It was heavy enough to do some damage if thrown. The 3.6-inch screen, with its stunning 480×800 resolution is made possible by the ginormous size, it measures 4.57″ (H) x 2.33″ (W) x 0.68″ (D) and weighs 6.4 ounces.

Comparing the weight to the iPhone’s 4.8 ounces and the Palm Pre’s 4.76 ounces, it’s a lot heavier. You may say 1.6 ounces isn’t all that much, but when it’s a full 33 percent heavier, I say that’s a lot. The Touch Pro2 isn’t as wide as Apple’s iPhone, but it’s extra thickness and height add to its bulk. When walking around with the phone in my pocket, it felt noticeable and not every phone is. Compared to the Palm Pre, the Touch Pro2 is wider, taller, thicker and heavier.

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 ”This Is It” IS the concert the world never got to see.

If you’re a fan of Michael Jackson and his death left you feeling empty and looking for a final performance from the King of Pop, ”This Is It” is an absolute must.

I’m giving three options here because if you were looking forward to this movie, see it, you probably won’t be disappointed… but if you’re just mildly curious, wait and enjoy it when it is released on DVD.
 

(Spoiler-free review)

The very personal look at the making of what was to be MJ’s final concert tour is well done, blending the songs and all the back stage footage as if we the audience were attending a concert, while on stage with the music legend.

“This Is It” is taken from more than 80 hours of rehearsal, soundchecks, and backstage footage over several months as MJ and his team of performers, musicians, and technical crew prepared for his planned shows in London.

The music documentary is riveting, showcasing MJ’s creative, inspiring professionalism.  Its an amazing final performance from MJ, who at 50 years old, looks very healthy and energetic… showing he’s still got the moves and the vocals.

But its also a very personal look at how MJ conducts business with loving determination, pushing the performers and technicians to make it the best show for the audience.   While he’s surrounded himself with some of the best talent in the world, he is still carefully and calmly teaching and leading them with a caring hand to help them shine.   MJ is very hands on, which gains him respect amoung the crew.. but he is the creative force when its all said and done.

Its interesting to see the 50-year-old MJ dancing with and setting the pace for dancers and musicians 20-25 years younger… and watching them try to keep up, while he is just in warm up and rehearsal mode.  Its amazing to think what this concert and MJ would have been like in full speed “live” mode.   The dancers are the supporting cast – as the documentary points out, the dancers are “an extension of Michael” – they even go through regular pillates, ballet, and choreography for the famous ‘grab’ to keep their skills sharp.

As you can imagine, the movie, like a concert, moves from one song to another through different devices like sounchecks, lighting, and choreography.   The song list includes “Beat It”, “Black or White”, “Jam”, “Billie Jean”, “The Way You Make Me Feel”.  Like a throwback to his classic music videos, new scenes were shot for the intro of “Thriller”… and for “Smooth Criminal”, MJ is put into a scene from the 1946 movie “Gilda” to set up the whole gangster motif.   Later, in “Man in the Mirror”, he’s singing with vocalists who grew up singing the song.

He’s a man with a message too – “This Is It” also captures MJ’s environmental concerns that he put into his songs and was planning for the London shows.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

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I have said this before, I am not a fan of horror movies… but I do like horror movies that are well done… and this one is well done.  “Paranormal Activity” passes my test: does it give me chills just thinking about it – the answer here is an emphatic YES.   Horror movies are meant to scare the audience, so this also passes my second horror movie test: is it hokey, corny, or so bad that I am not scared by it – and the answer is no.  “Paranormal Activity” seeps into your memory… and doesn’t let go.

This is probably obvious since its scary enough to give adults nightmares, but I would not recommend taking kids to this movie.

A viral marketing push got Paramount to release the small budget “Paranormal Activity” to theaters nationwide after some very good early screenings.

 (My spoiler-free review)

“Paranormal Activity” is chilling and unnerving, it makes going to sleep a nightmare.

Set in the very real believable world of one couple’s home, this movie succeeds with an increasing level of scare, offset by frequent moments of comedic relief that break up the rising tension created by the paranormal events going on in the house and the growing uneasiness in the couple’s relationship.

There are only really four characters in this movie, the guy Micah (pronounced mee-kah) and his girlfriend Katie, a psychic (Mark Fredrichs), and Katie’s friend.  Ohh, and don’t forget the character that is haunting their home… a very well developed character… one of the more menacing evils of the horror movies I’ve seen given the lack of real screentime.

Micah and Katie give very real, very convincing performances, which is important because the more this movie feels real, the more terrifying it is that it could be happening… much like “The Blair Witch Project” (1999)… but this movie is better than that because of its setting, completely limited to the couple’s home. (more…)

“Where The Wild Things Are” is a great fantasy adventure, director Spike Jonze delivers an incredible world of fantasy focused on Max, a boy with a lot of energy and no friends… who falls into place in the world of the wild things.

While its based on Maurice Sendak’s children’s book, the movie may not be good for young children, as the monsters are very big, real, and scary… a credit to the filmmakers that the wild things were so believable, because if they weren’t this movie would have been hard to watch.

  (My spoiler-free review)

12 year old Max Records delivers a great performance as Max, a wild child with no friends and not even his mom will put up with him because he’s out of control.

Max is great as the crazy little monster who makes his way to an imaginative world, where being a rambunctious tall tale teller is acceptable.   The movie is dependent on the success of Max’s performance and its the best child performance of the year.

Jonze creates a very real fantastical world with convincing characters of Carol, Ida, Judith, K.W., and others… its easy to follow and fun to be immersed in.   The message is pretty clear, that Max needs to grow up and being such a problem child, but its encased in a fun story in a world of make believe.

If nothing else, the costumes in “Where The Wild Things Are” should put the movie up for an Oscar nomination this year.

THE BOTTOM LINE:  (more…)

Strong performances from Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx makes this thriller about a widowed husband turned vigilante top notch.

But I’ll warn parents: this movie earns its ‘R’ rating early and often with some brutal violence… its not for kids.

(My spoiler-free review)

From F. Gary Gray, director of some hits (”The Italian Job”, “The Negotiator”) and misses (”Be Cool”, “A Man Apart”)… comes a great thriller that challenges the justice system as a vigilante blurs the line between justice and vengeance.

After an attack on his wife and daughter that he’s forced to watch and one of the suspects get a lighter conviction after a deal, Clyde (Butler) thinks that he’s dealing with an impotent legal system, and that his wife and daughter were denied justice, he decides to go after the suspects… and the system.

Nick (Foxx) is the up-and-coming Prosecutor trying to protect his 96% conviction rate so he can become the Assistant District Attorney … he makes the deal in Clyde’s case that becomes the most frustrating mistake of his career.

In an ironic perversion of justice for the audience, you find yourself rooting for the bad guy, but are then challenged by a character who may be taking his message too far. (more…)

 ”Couples Retreat” is an all-inclusive laugh vacation, a comedic retreat with Vince Vaughn and Jason Bateman at the top of their funnyman game.

A warning though, while there is no frontal nudity, there are a lot of sexual references and innuendos that may not be appropriate for younger audiences.

Another warning, if you see this movie with your wife/girlfriend/date, you may end up discussing any “problems” or “issues” in your relationship.
 

(My spoiler free review)

The sights in Bora Bora are amazing, the cast is really good, and the script is well-written… but as I’ve wrote before, for me the greatness of this movie may be a victim of its marketing campaign – some of the funniest moments are in the trailers and tv spots.

Don’t get me wrong, this movie is funny, and most audiences will be hearing and seeing these jokes for the first time, but there are some jokes that are also predictable… its a good thing this movie also has a story like “The Hangover” and is not just a series of jokes and pranks, but unlike “The Hangover” this movie doesn’t really surprise or create something we haven’t seen before in other comedies.

Vaughn, Bateman, John Favreau, Faizon Love, Malin Ackerman, Kristen Bell, Kristin Davis and the rest of the cast are great… everyone creates a memorable character and the movie delivers a ton of one-liners.

The movie does entertain and does make you laugh, but its not my favorite comedy of the year, it could make my top five… we’ll see with 4 months left… its on the bubble.

FYI – While there are no bloopers during creditrs like some comedies, there is a short scene at the end of the credits.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

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“Surrogates” is a sci-fi overload with a futuristic society turned robotic and high-tech, but a little predictable.

A mish-mash of previous sci-fi fantasy movies, with robots, science, and technology… ”Surrogates” confronts issues of technology replacing human interaction with the world.   Its a little heavy-handed and obvious, but also entertaining.
 

(My spoiler-free review)

Set in the near future, humans plug into robots of their likeness – the result is lower crime crates, no racism, fewer diseases, etc. but there’s a growing resistance to the technology that have made things even more perilous than before.

The filmmakers play their message (whether intended or coincidental) with a very slick package of effects and technology while drawing a very clear line between the surrogates and the real people they represent.   The surrogates are very healthy looking and vibrant, basically perfect, albeit plastic while the real people they resemble are older and sickly and flawed.

Bruce Willis is FBI Agent Tom Greer, who is investigating the first homicide in years, and as he investigates outside of his surrogate, he falls further down the proverbial the rabbit hole of this fantasy.

James Cromwell is good as the creator of the surrogates (a similiar role to his character in “I, Robot” (2004), Rosamund Pike brings some believability to the role of Greer’s wife, and Ving Rhames is good as the leader of the resistance, but while the other actors do well to appear robotic – the roles lack any true heart that makes you care about what happens to them… and caring about all the characters becomes critical to the climatic point of the movie… which is undercut by this lack of connection and caring with the audience.

The movie accomplishes a lot in a short period of time… a futuristic society that is different from ours in many ways, plus a resistance group that opposes this futuristic way of life.      But it also creates more questions in the end: if there are non-surrogate robots (like we see at FBI) to do mediocre jobs and everyone is perfect, why are people still doing those jobs and if the real people never come out of their rooms into the real world… how are their homes so spotless?

THE BOTTOM LINE:

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Fun, yet mostly predictable, “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” is a good, fun story following the conventions of Charles Dickens’ classic tale of a jerk (Matthew McConaughey as Connor Mead) visited by ghosts that change his outlook on life… er, dating.

This was a fun premise, a decent story, and a solid cast of mostly B and C-list stars that works… for the most part.
 ( My spoiler-free review )

McConaughey plays a relationship jerk, but women still flock to him… Jennifer Garner is the object of his affection… and Michael Douglas is his womanizing uncle/mentor… some of the details of the movie you can’t think about and just have to accept.  

For example:  If his uncle is a ghost, how does he drink a “beverage”?   If Garner is the girl of his dreams… why didn’t he try harder and have so many other relationships?   Why is there a ghost of someone who is still alive?   Where are Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim?

Because of the predictable pattern laid out by the three ghosts, this movie does little to try to not be predictable… in fact, the ending is anything but surprising… a little too predictable for my liking.

But I did like the way they brought the classic Dickens into modern times and twisted into a romantic comedy… other than that, I was not impressed with anything else, just your average romantic comedy.

There were some decent performances from supporting cast of Douglas, Emma Stone, Breckin Meyer, and Lacey Chabert.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

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If it weren’t for “The Hangover” and “I Love You, Man”… this would have been the funniest movie of the first half of the year.

Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds are great, but their supporting cast really makes this movie one of the best date movies of the year.

 ( My spoiler-free review )

Bullock has built her career on rom-coms… and this is another one to add to the collection… but she doesn’y play the same type of character she plays in so many other movies… this time she’s more of an agressive businesswoman with a very cold shoulder.

Reynolds is a great compliment as his career is exploding this year, but we’ve been watching him get better and better in bigger and bigger roles … he’s a draw for both male and female audiences with his comedic timing and facial expressions that nail the jokes all by themselves.

But you can have too much of a good thin.. and the filmmakers were wise to see that they had a great, but small supporting cast like Mary Steenburgen and Craig T. Nelson to give some funny lines and moments to.  But the real scene stealers were TV Legend Betty White amd “The Office”’s Oscar Nuñez.

THE BOTTOM LINE: (more…)

 ”Fragments” is slow and broken, good acting, good premise… but overall a disappointment.

Forest Whitaker, Kate Beckinsale, Guy Pearce, Jennifer Hudson, Dakota Fanning, Jackie Earle Haley, Josh Hutcherson, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Embeth Davidtz are a very good group of actors showing their craft… but they are not enough to make this movie the hit *it could have been*.

“Fragments” is ultimately a victim of its own style – too many characters – too little time to develop them well and tell everybody’s story.

PS – This movie is rated “R” for violence, adult themes, and language.

 (My spoiler-free review)

“Fragments” (aka “Winged Creatures”) features a great cast of talented actors… which got me to rent it soon after it became available… with all of the main cast mentioned above putting on an acting clinic with their performances.

Whitaker is great as a troubled bad luck guy who finally finds good luck, Beckinsale pulls off a character that you’re forced not to like, Fanning delivers a performance that is good but jarring, Hudson and Pearce and the rest suffer from not enough screen time to really appreciate their work.

There are good production values with framing, symbolism, lighting, and the style of storytelling is not a bad formula – it just may have been the execution of the style that left me a little disconnected from the characters.

There’s a central theme the director seems to be trying to point us to, but then there’s another them, then another… its stylistic… but causes confusion for the audience.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

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