Silent House Blu-ray Review

In 1948 Alfred Hitchcock made a film called Rope, an ingenious thriller about two men who host a dinner party shortly after murdering a classmate they deem inferior. The ingenious aspect of the narrative is coupled with an equally ingenious method of cinematography, in that the film is made to look as though it were shot entirely in just one take.

Shoot to 2012, this very same technique is being used once more, but with a slightly fresh twist. In Silent House, we follow Sarah (Elizabeth Olsen), a young girl who ends up trapped inside a house while it is seemingly robbed. But things get more terrifying when it becomes clear to Sarah that the strangers may be omnipotent in nature.

Told entirely from Sarah's perspective, this one-take thriller unfolds right before your eyes in a surprisingly chilling manner. Alas, Silent House, from Open Water directors Chris Kentis and Laura Lau (who also scripted), is no Rope. Rather, the film is a messy exploration of someone's madness painted with a thin veil of ghostly horror. As such, the film has very little replay value and is nowhere near as memorable as Alfred Hitchcock's classic.

The biggest problem with the film is in its twist. Without giving too much away, let's just say that the means do not justify the whole. In other words, Silent House is a film built on a lie. This wouldn't be much of a problem if the twist didn't negate the rest of the story that happened before it.

On some level, the twist is fascinating. It adds a layer of subtext that otherwise wouldn't be there in a generic horror film. However, it also makes for an unsatisfying whole that asks far too many questions and leaves the audience with almost no answers.

Cinematography, despite having a video-like appearance, is quite brilliant. The execution of the one-take visuals is expertly done. And the film's haunting foes are often rather creepy. Elizabeth Olsen, who basically controls the entire picture, is absolutely staggering here as well. While her sisters were not the world's greatest actresses, Elizabeth shows more promise than the both of them combined, and then some.

Silent House certainly boasts some interesting ideas, along with a great performance from Olsen, but the film simply has no replay value. It's not a very satisfying experience, and sometimes, because the audiences never privy to all that's going on inside the house, the one-take cinematography does dampen the thrills. However, if you're up for something that ultimately plays things a little more psychological than horrifying, Silent House should prove to be an interesting deviation from the normal genre fare.

The film comes to Blu-ray courtesy of Universal Studios Home Entertainment. It is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen, in 1080p/AVC with 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Shot on video, largely in the dark, Silent House does not always boast the finest image. There's quite a bit of motion blur, noise and other minor distortions. The encode is mostly decent, though, other than some minor banding.

Audio is fairly effective though not nearly as immersive as expected. Dialogue is clean, with no distortions or crackles. Surrounds are aggressive on occasion, but more subdued than I would have hoped. Given the one-take nature of the production, I would have expected a mix that relied on audio for thrills, and while Silent House does do that every once in awhile, sound design is a bit more muted and quiet, leaving the audience underwhelmed.

Extras are fairly thin. There's a commentary track from co-directors Chris Kentis and Laura Lau. It's an interesting track that explores both the story and the film's elaborate cinematography. It'll really make you wish the film were just a little bit better. The disc also boasts Universal's traditional extras like BD-Live and pocketBlu. The BD also includes a DVD and Digital Copy of the film.

Silent House is a film worth exploring, if only once. It boasts a few decent scares and a great performance from Elizabeth Olsen, but it can't shake the stale story and dull twist that very nearly ruins the entire picture.

Source : feeds.ign.com

The Newsroom: "Amen" Review

Note: Full spoilers for the episode follow.

Hopefully fans of The Newsroom have seen Rudy. If not, this week's episode, "Amen," might have just spoiled the film for you. But it's no matter. Despite borrowing the ending from the 1993 sports classic, "Amen" was a strong episode and a nice recovery from last week's somewhat wobbly entry.

In the episode, the News Night team desperately searches for a lost reporter named Amen, who was seemingly abducted after his first-hand footage of the Egyptian riots aired on the program. Meanwhile, Will McAvoy, angered that TMI continues to dig up dirt on his fellow co-workers, contemplates paying off the journalist responsible. And, as usual, the news team continues to struggle with various relationship issues.

To be honest, I'm only scratching the surface of the different interweaving plot elements of tonight's episode. There were almost too many to count. It's quite surprising how much Aaron Sorkin manages to pack into a 55-minute block. His balance between meaningful character moments and complex plot threads is simply remarkable, and tonight's episode was a fine example of Sorkin at his best.

Despite the occasionally heavy-handed, plot-heavy narrative, "Amen" had quite a few funny spots, some solid character development and even some of the relationship beats worked better than previous episodes, too. Emily Mortimer got quite a few moments to stretch her comic muscles, while Dev Patel anchored the episode's best subplot with intense emotion and raw drama. And the simple fact that tonight's episode was framed around Valentine's Day certainly helped when it came to the relationship babble. It was also nice to see some ramifications for silly behavior from previous episodes -- namely the e-mail that Mackenzie accidentally sent out.

That said, there was almost too much going on in "Amen." There were enough story cues for at least two episodes, maybe more. And sometimes the lightning-fast dialogue comes at you with such blinding fury that it's a tad hard to follow, and feels slightly distracting. People in reality simply aren't that speedy with their thoughts and opinions. Sometimes the show feels like it's playing at double speed, and even triple speed at times. As the series quickly approaches present day, one would think Sorkin would want to slow things down a little. It'll be rather interesting to see what happens when the show catches up with current events.

The ending, as with previous episodes, was a knockout. Audiences were treated to yet another outstanding monologue from Will McAvoy. If Jeff Daniels doesn't earn himself an Emmy nod next year it will be quite tragic. Of all the monologues he's delivered thus far this season, tonight's was a personal favorite. The finale itself was also heartfelt and emotionally potent, especially for fans of Rudy. While the final scene perhaps lacked originality, it was a very real moment for the characters -- a moment where McAvoy's co-workers finally seemed to not only accept him, but acknowledge him as their leader. Conversely, it was wonderful seeing McAvoy take that leadership role with stride.

It'll be interesting to see how the TMI story develops as we head towards the second half of this first season. Hope Davis has incredible chemistry with Jeff Daniels, and I eagerly await seeing them duke it out on screen in the future. Unfortunately, knowing the show, it'll probably somehow brew into a romantic relationship. But let's hope that doesn't happen.

Source : feeds.ign.com

Canon Introduces Mirrorless EOS M, Coming in October for $800

Point-and-shoot cameras offer pocket-friendly convenience, but the image quality rarely holds a candle to digital SLRs. Today, Canon is introducing a digital camera that could offer the best of both worlds without breaking the bank.



Canon U.S.A. Inc. announced on Monday the new EOS M Digital Camera, available this October for $799.99 SRP when bundled with the new EF-M 22mm f/2 STM kit lens. While a black model will be available everywhere cameras are sold, Canon will also be offering a white version exclusively on its online store.

The Canon EOS M isn't a full-fledged digital SLR, but the mirrorless 18-megapixel shooter offers an APS-C-sized CMOS image sensor inspired by the company's more expensive EOS technology, targeting both photographers and videographers alike.



"The EOS M includes a unique feature set making it an ideal movie-making tool, while also offering incredible still image quality on its APS-C-sized CMOS sensor," said Yuichi Ishizuka, executive vice president and general manager, Imaging Technologies & Communications Group, Canon U.S.A. "The camera's size, image quality, advanced video capabilities and the versatility of Canon's full lineup of lenses make the EOS M another great option to help our customers record and capture their creative vision."

Canon is also debuting a pair of M-series lenses with the EOS M. The EF-M 22mm f/2 STM kit lens is aimed at general shooting of video or still images with a fixed focal length lens with an aperture of f/2, while the EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM ($299.99 SRP) offers variable zoom range for both video or still imagery. A $149.99 SRP Speedlite 90EX flash unit will also debut in October.

EOS M owners won't be limited strictly to M-series lenses, however. An optional Mount Adapter EF-EOS M ($199.99 SRP) allows the use of any Canon EF or EF-S lens, making it quite a versatile little addition to the Canon lineup.

Source : feeds.ign.com

App Store Update: July 23

Every day hundreds of new apps make their debut on the App Store, and hundreds more are updated or reduced in price. We have sifted through the noise and highlighted those select few that might be worth your attention.

Price Drops

Paper Monsters – ($0.99)

It's a rare day when no new games debut in the App Store, but that's what's happened today – so we're jumping straight into our Price Drops section. First up here is Crescent Moon Games' colorful Paper Monsters, which has dropped back down to its debut price of 99 cents after spending a while up at the three-dollar level.

Hotel Dash: Suite Success Deluxe – (Free)

One of the many spin-offs of PlayFirst's popular Diner Dash franchise, Hotel Dash: Suite Success Deluxe is available for free for iPad owners right now.

Mutant Storm – ($1.99)

The iOS edition of this twin-stick shooter debuted last month, and now it's had its first drop – a buck knocked off its asking price.

Superman HD – ($0.99)

Also getting its first ever price drop right now is Chillingo's Superman HD, one of the better adaptations of the Man of Steel into the video game medium.

The Rise of Atlantis HD (Premium) – (Free)

Here's a severe drop worth paying attention to – Playrix's mythical puzzler has jumped around in price quite a bit before this, but it was sitting at $6.99 before falling all the way down to free. Saving seven bucks isn't too shabby in the App Store

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Warm Gun – ($0.99)

Developer Emotional Robots' first-person shooter taking you through a futuristic vision of the Wild West has matched its lowest ever price again, once again hitting the 99-cent mark.

Call of Mini: Zombies – (Free)

It wouldn't be a proper App Store Update if we didn't point you toward a potential fix for your zombie-slaying addiction, and today's is both free and overly cutesy. (As cute as zombies can get, I suppose.)

Monster Soup – (Free)

Also free – and also cute – is the Kieffer Bros.' Monster Soup. Look how whimsical those little guys are, floating around dodging the encroaching ice!

Lumi – (Free)

And you know what, let's just finish things out on the same note with Lumi, an action/platformer dealing with manipulation of light and magnetism. It is, of course, both free and cute.

Source : feeds.ign.com

Johnny Depp Returns as Edward Scissorhands...on Family Guy!

This morning, FOX announced its upcoming all-star roster of guest voice talent for their Animation Domination shows Family Guy, The Simpsons, The Cleveland Show, American Dad and Bob's Burgers. Johnny Depp, Jon Hamm, ... are just some of the names headed our way.

Johnny Depp will reprise his iconic film role and voice the character of Edward Scissorhands on an episode of Family Guy. Other Family Guy guest voices include TV producers J.J. Abrams, Mark Burnett and Dick Wolf, actors Jon Hamm (“Mad Men”), Ryan Reynolds (“Safe House”), Kellan Lutz (“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1”) and actress Elizabeth Banks (“The Hunger Games”).

The Simpsons will travel to New York City in search of Bart's long-lost love (Zooey Deschanel, "New Girl"). Other upcoming adventures include Homer finding out his bowling buddy (Steve Carell, “The Office”) is an accountant for the mob and Bart discovering the new neighbors’ son (Patton Oswalt, “Young Adult”) isn’t as cool as he appears to be.

Kanye West will reprise his role as Kenny West on The Cleveland Show as Cleveland discovers a secret hip-hop society starring West, singer/songwriter Bruno Mars, rapper Nicki Minaj, Grammy Award winner ?uestlove of The Roots, and musician and recurring guest voice will.i.am. Other notable names headed to The Cleveland are Sofia Vergara (“Modern Family”), Nick Offerman (“Parks and Recreation”), Krysten Ritter (“Don't Trust the B---- in Apt 23”), Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee George Clinton and a recurring guest role for Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”) as a doctor who joins the gang at the bar.

Zach Galifianakis (“The Hangover”) will drop by Bob's Burgers as Chet, a former department store window dresser pining for his estranged wife, who happens to be a mannequin. Also on Bob's Bugers: Nick Offerman (again!) and real-life wife Megan Mullally (“Will and Grace”) as a pair of married hippie farmers who hire the Belcher kids as “weed pickers.” Also, Kevin Kline (“A Fish Called Wanda”) returns as Bob’s (H. Jon Benjamin) eccentric landlord “Mr. Fischoeder,” who purchases an unpredictable mechanical shark as an attraction for the pier; and Jeffrey Tambor (“Arrested Development”) voices “Captain Flarty,” a crazed cruise ship captain who shanghais Bob and his family.

Jon Hamm ("Mad Men") and Alison Brie ("Community, Mad Men") will lend their voices to American Dad this season, along with Patrick Stewart (“Star Trek: the Next Generation”) as himself in a recurring role. Also, Danny Glover ("Touch") guest-voices as a Christmas demon in the annual holiday episode. Other guest voice appearances include Nathan Fillion (“Castle”), Sarah Michelle Gellar (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) and Rupert Grint (“Harry Potter” franchise).

Source : feeds.ign.com