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Content by Glenn R. Howes
Commentateur n° : 29,598
Votes Utiles:
1
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Reviews Written by
Glenn R. Howes (Nashua, NH)
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Reviewer Rank:
29598 |
Page : 1 | 2
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Inspiring, Dec 11 2003
This is one of the most helpful computer books I have ever read. I not only learned from the numerous examples, I was inspired by their creativity to create content of which I'm proud, and to go from making a me-too product to something people will talk about. It is truly amazing what the unpublicized, interactive capabilities of QuickTime allow you to make. I would warn anyone buying this book, use LiveStage Pro on a Mac as nature intended it; the Windows version is quite buggy and more than a little clunky.
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Easy to play, beautiful music, Aug 8 2002
As someone who can "sort of" play the keyboard, I really appreciate this songbook. Most of the songs are quite simple to play, yet they are also quite beautiful. Of the dozen or so sheet music books I own, this is my favorite. I amaze myself when I can sit down to play Where do I Begin and actually make lovely sounds with my amateur fingers.I once watched a documentary on film scoring which pointed out the difference between movie music and TV music. TV theme music has to be frentic and grab your attention before you change the channel, the composer of movie music has the luxury of knowing his audience isn't going anywhere. Thus, movie music is often simple and emotional. Comparing the music in this song book with another I have of TV themes, this appears to be accurate. The movie themes are much gentler on the ears, and hurt the fingers less.
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Worth the effort, Jun 24 2002
I've been meaning to learn Objective C, Interface Builder and Project Builder for years. From back in the days of Rhapsody, and before when I'd bought books on NextStep programming. Always intended to do so, that is, until I received this book at Apple's World Wide Developer's Conference. And now after typing my way through the book's source code, I'm comfortable with Objective C's oddball syntax, understand how to wire up an application in Interface Builder and have confidence I'll soon be making quality Cocoa applications of my own. I've already started writing a freedb client.Obviously, it would be nice for me if the book explored network programming or the IOKit, but it concentrated on the fundamentals which nearly all applications share: windows, menus, drawing, printing, preferences, clipboards, documents, icons, etc. I can figure it out from here. So get off the fence, it's time to learn Cocoa.
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I've bought this movie 5 times, Jun 9 2002
This is one of the most comforting movies I know. When you get home from Dilbertland, and the world seems insane, pop this movie in and laugh at someone having it truly rough. It's cheaper than hypnotherapy. I feel so strongly about the healing nature of this film, I will often purchase a copy and send it to a friend when they describe a particularly brain fryingly stupid day in corporate America. And it's also a great quote movie. Watch it and the next day you'll be walking around saying, "Why should I? He's the one that sucks." The DVD itself is light on features, but regardless, you'll want this movie on hand for emergencies. Let someone else fill out the TPS reports, and enjoy.
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Falls in the Good Category, Feb 28 2000
Most actors make 3 kinds of movies: bad, mediocre and good. Kevin Costner makes only 2 kinds: extraordinarily bad and good. Tin cup falls in the good category; it's the best he's made since Field of Dreams. We can give the credit to Ron Shelton who co-wrote and directed with lively results. I give so much credit to Shelton that I wish he'd recorded a commentary track; it'd be interesting to hear how he kept actor Costner while keeping director Costner from tinkering. Regardless of how it got done, what we have is a well scripted, well photographed, interesting movie with an excellent cast. Extra kudos to Don Johnson for his low-key villian; there was no need for a supervillian in a movie about golf so Don just played it smirky. The DVD is a standard catalog title: good clean video and no real extras.
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Compare & Contrast, Feb 10 2000
I don't like the original version of The Thomas Crowne Affair. I've never thought much of Faye Dunaway as an actress, and Steve McQueen did not play suave. On the other hand, Rene Russo is a good actress, and if anything, Pierce Brosnan (aka Remington Steele, aka James Bond) knows his suave. Add a better action director in John McTiernan, a tighter script, good supporting work from Denis Leary, and 30 years of technology and you end up with a better film. The DVD is what you'd expect from a recent film, very clean video and good sound. The director's commentary lacks energy or interest, but you do learn the odd tidbit about the social structure of Barbados, the limits of infrared cameras, class D catamarans, and cold water mirages.
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Endowed with Content, Dec 1 1999
Heavy Metal was released in 1981 and animation technology has left it far behind. Recent high-tech films like Toy Story 2, The Iron Giant or The Prince of Egypt make Heavy Metal look crude. On the other hand, this film still offers much to the 15 year old boy left in some of us. Namely: innocent adventure, gratuitious nudity and oodles of violence.This DVD makes fine use of the format. The disk is packed with content. Hundreds of magazine covers demonstrate the breadth of fantasy art styles; I'm particularly fond of Elvis strumming on a woman as guitar. The rough cut with commentary gives insight into making old-style handmade animation. The making of documentary brings the pleasant sight of grown filmmakers blushing like naughty boys over their baby. The print shows its age in being a bit dirty, and the sound is fair. We can't expect miracles of a 20 year old cult classic. Final recommendation, if you were once a 15 year old boy, caugh up the dough and buy this guilty pleasure.
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A Little Heavy on the Talking, Nov 27 1999
I enjoy John Denver's music. He had an expressive, charming way of delivering his beautiful, simple songs. You could always depend on Denver to deliver strong vocals and a good lyric as he does here with a mixture of Christmas standards and his own music. If music was the only content on this disc, I'd have given it a higher rating. Unfortunately, he filled the dead air between songs with sugary platitudes about sharing and togetherness, as if lecturing a nationwide kindergarten assembly. And he went on and on about the beauty of the scenery, as though saying it enough would make it true. I've lived in Montana and the plains in winter are not beautiful. The plains in Montana are what you drive through at 90 MPH to get to the mountains. The picture on the DVD is pretty good for what was obviously originally shot on video tape for a TV Christmas special, and the sound is OK if not spectacular.
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Shes All That
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| DVD ~ Robert Iscove |
| Price: CDN$ 15.95 |
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| Availability: In Stock |
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It's the Details that Count, Nov 24 1999
I could write about the fine job Rachael Leigh Cook does in this film, and she does. But I'd rather talk about the camerawork. The opening sequence of this film is the best steady cam work I've seen. The camera flows through the corridors of the high school as all the major characters strut into frame to the beat of the soundtrack. It's a real tour de force and I just felt somebody ought to point it out. The choreography in the dance sequence at the Prom is commendable too. Good going. The DVD is quite nice, if minimalistic. I enjoyed the music video. Well worth a buy for fans of the genre.
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She's Got the Whole Picture on Her Back, Oct 10 1999
Sarah Gellar is this movie. Without her, I would wonder for what tax dodge was it even made. With her, we have a whimisical, sweet, lyrical bit of watchable fluff. It is odd; the secondary actors are all never-will-bees, the camera work is shoddy, the effects work laughable, the male lead spends the entire film in dreamland, the sets are depressing and the script has first draft written all over it. Yet there Gellar glows with enthusiasm, tenderness, wit and beauty, and that is enough.She has great comic timing, her beats are dead spot on. A dramatic actress, her gentle tears douse my soul. When she cooks, I'm hungry. I don't know how she spent the summer but I hope she rested or made a movie worthy of her. This one certainly is not. But it is watchable. The DVD's picture quality is soft and washed out, but I saw this movie in a good theatre and any problems with the picture can be traced back to the original camerawork. There is little in the way of supplementary material. The menus transitions are cute. Recommendation: if you love Sarah Gellar buy this movie. If not, you will be happier elsewhere.
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