Thoughts on the TechCrunch redesign from a non TechCrunch reader

I'm not a Tech Crunch reader in the first place but I have to say... The redesign that they released tonight is pretty terrible. I don't know what their old site looked like so I have no affinity for it. Starting with their logo, the only good thing I can say about it, is its recognizable, but they have an issue in that they've already shown it now in two different states. A bold single color version and a pixelated gradient, so, we're less than a day in and already diluting the brand. Clever... I guess the next thing that stands out to me me are the overly large chunky headers, I guess TC's new target audience is "older with poor vision". Their menu isn't terrible, its nothing innovative but it works well enough. Though I believe they should only have one menu, not two. Well... good luck with that one Tech Crunch.

Super 8

Super 8 follows six friends around as they attempt to film a zombie movie. The movie does a good job of portraying kids as actual kids and not what we would normally think kids would act like. You get a real feeling of friendship between the group and I think the movie is much better because of it. Super 8 does a very good job of making you feel that sense of being a kid again even with all that they’re going through.  That being said sitting and writing this right now (about 30 min after watching the film) I can remember exactly two names, neither is actually the main character. We should probably just attribute that to my terrible memory though. The driving event of the plot is a train derailment which our young group of friends is witness too and then shapes their lives for the length of the movie. Of course being an Amblin film the military is called in and they become our “big bad” for the movie. One thing that I noticed early on but then either faded out or just toned down, were there were A LOT of lens flares in the film. Now I know this is kind of J.J. Abrams shtick but its pretty noticeable, it doesn’t really detract from the film it was just a little distracting in a couple of scenes. Over all the film was good, the kids all were good in their roles and pretty believable. So if you want a reminder of what its like to be a kid again and how much adults suck some times, go check out Super 8.

Battle: LA and Sucker Punch

I forgot to talk about Battle: Los Angeles after I saw it last week so I'll talk about it this week. Battle LA (from here on called BLA) is a little different than your normal aliens invade the planet movie. Starting with the difference of its not just a small group of them and they also aren't going to give us any time. This movie takes off at a run and tries to hold the pace through out the entire film. It succeeds with that, mostly but there are a couple dry spells so that we can learn something about our characters and why we should care if they make it or not. I think in the last respect the film falls flat, most people are your standard millitary type and doesn't really veer too wildly off center. I found the movie ultimately to be enjoyable but it wasn't with out its flaws. I did like however that they didn't take any short cuts with giving the invaders some outrageously convient flaw for our protaganists to exploit. So kudos to them for that, all in all there are worse movies out right now but if you have your doubts you're not missing anything by renting it.

So... now on to Sucker Punch. First a little background on my history with this film. From the first trailer I saw and went "Oh wow, I'm so seeing that." I put my self on a media black out. I avoided any and all further trailers (even the one I'd already seen) and tried to not hear anything about film. As it turns out, it's REALLY hard to do in this day and age. So any way, I'll start off by saying that this film is a narrative mess. I understand that, anybody who sees the film will understand that. But, from the very first scene you can tell that this film will be unlike many if any other film you'd ever seen. The film looks gorgeous even in all of its grimy and dirty settings. The special effects are well done and just what you'd expect from a Z. Snyder film. The characters can be a little one note at times but I think that the main actresses really did a pretty good job with what was given to them. This film isn't high drama, its five girls in slightly revealing clothing kicking lots of ass. This movie was pretty much made for me... Once you get over the initial hurdle of "what the hell is going on?" this movie was pretty easy for me to sit back and enjoy. You're not going to get any huge twists, grandiose statements on society or comments on the economy. What you will get though is five very attractive girls shooting guns and swinging swords and you know what? I'm ok with that.

HTML5, Google, and the wonderful things people are doing.

I'm becoming a bigger and bigger fan of HTML5 and the things that will come of it in the future. Google and their engineers have been doing some really cool things with HTML5. This clock catches the eye and makes something as everyday and forgetable as a clock awesome and with only CSS 3 and HTML5. Then today I see that one of them used a New York Subway map to make music. This is pretty cool. All of this just makes me more and more excited for the things to come from HTML5 and CSS 3. Well Flash I'd like to say it was fun... but my Mother told me not to lie. 

Black Swan

I saw “Black Swan” a couple weeks ago and haven't really written about it yet. I was really looking forward to seeing this movie from the trailers I saw and even they couldn't have prepared me for it. “Black Swan” is a story about a young ballerina (Natalie Portman) who fights to become the Prima Ballerina in her troupe. Along the way she struggles against her technical nature to become more emotional and passionate. She meets a new dancer (Mila Kunis) who is aloof and reckless, Kunis tries to get Portman to loosen up and have more fun. As the movie continues Portman begins to lose herself and get more into her character.

“Black Swan” is an intriguing look at what professional dancers go through. Much like Aronofsky’s last film “The Wrestler” you learn things about the people who choose to make their livings in these professions. Portman is amazing her roll and is believable until the end. This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a while and has a fantastic ending.

I have a couple complaints with the film, the middle seemed a little slow to me. That being said it built up the tension nicely and probably isn’t a flaw with the film so much as with my patience. Second and this one I think is a flaw of the film, or maybe just the actual reel I saw, this film has a LOT of grain in it. I understand that people like the feel of film and that its supposed to be warmer and more rich but, the grain stood out to me far too much. It literally distracted me at times during the film it was so heavy. Those are really my only two complaints. My suggestion, go see this film, its an engrossing look in to a life that most of us will never live and I have a deeper appreciation for it after seeing this movie, just like with “The Wrestler”