I’m coming back to Cinematical after a bit of a hiatus, so I thought I’d start with something that’s been on my mind. This morning Armond White’s review of Machete — in typical Armond White style — claimed that anyone who enjoyed it was a moron. I like Armond’s reviews, and that comment is more aimed at a reader response than at analyzing the movie, but he still misses the point. Machete isn’t a movie meant to be absorbed by the mind, even though it does deliver a righteous message on the immigration issue. Rather, Machete is a purely physical experience, and it’s a good one at that; it’s currently on my shortlist of the best films I’ve seen so far this year.

What do I mean by physical experience? Let’s start with perhaps the most basic appeal of the movies: they’re like dreams. Humans have been dreaming in moving pictures and sounds for thousands of years, but moving pictures have only existed in reality for a little over one hundred years. No poetry, painting, opera, theater or anything else can remotely come as close to the mystery of dreams as cinema can. Dreams are personal; we get emotional and physical responses. They show us our greatest fears and our greatest desires. Sometimes they’re just so weird we have no idea what they’re about.

Continue reading Why You’re Not a “Moron” If You Enjoyed ‘Machete’

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Last week we gave the Apple loyalists in attendance a chance to rip and rag the iPhone 4, and this time around we’re doing the same for Motorola’s best frienemies. The Droid X is without question the largest Droid in the family today, and calling it a showstopper on Verizon would probably be understating things. Now that it’s been on the market a few months, we’re curious to know how you early adopters like (or dislike) it. Did the massive screen end up being too large for comfort? Anything you’d tweak software-wise? How’s the VZW service been? Might your world change if Android 2.2 ever hits in official fashion? Go on and let us know how you’d alter this behemoth down in comments below — but give it some real thought first, cool? Cool.

How would you change Motorola’s Droid X? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 22:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oh, The Twilight Saga. It’s the sexiest sex-free series we’ve ever seen. Bella leaves the sun, heads for the rain, and falls in love with a hundred + year-old virgin vampire who could break her with one single touch … or thrust as the case may be. He’s all distracted by his super vampire strength and early twentieth-century morals, which have him convinced that pre-marital sex might ruin Bella’s soul and make her eternally doomed for one act of teenage lust.

Abstinence is the name of the game, though that doesn’t keep the pair from cuddling every night, and occasionally partaking in super-steamy, half-clothed makeout sessions. Yet, as sexless as it is, could Twilight actually be selling sex?

Filed under: Romance, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

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We have two trailers and the first clip from Buried, the Ryan-Reynolds-in-a-coffin suspense-thriller, Due Date, a comedic road movie starring A-lister Robert Downey, Jr. and the ubiquitous Zach Galifianakis, and the first clip from Let Me In, Matt Reeves’ (Cloverfield) remake of the 2008 Swedish horror film with Chloe Moretz (Hugo Cabret, Kick-Ass, (500)Days of Summer) as a preteen who may not be what she appears to be.

1. Buried: A bidding war erupted this past January at the Sundance Film Festival for this suspense-thriller set entirely inside a coffin. Reynolds plays an American contractor in Iraq who, post-kidnapping by persons unknown, awakens in a coffin with only a cell phone, a lighter, and enough oxygen to last 90 minutes (conveniently the length of an average feature film). Reynolds received kudos at Sundance for his intense performance as the increasingly desperate contractor.

[After the break, the international trailer awaits.]

Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Horror, Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense, Trailers and Clips

Continue reading Trailers and Clips: Buried, Due Date, and Let Me In

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Mobile broadband has come a long way since the early (and expensive) attempts at integrating 3G modules into laptops; today, cubicle dwellers are liberated by cheaper mobile data, along with the abundance of 3G dongles and the emerging mobile WiFi (ergo “MiFi“) hotspot devices. It’s no secret that Huawei’s been flirting with both Three and Vodafone for some time, but it was only recently that the manufacturer also made a MiFi — the R201 — for Vodafone (the carrier’s lesser-known MiFI 2352 in Spain is from Novatel). The question is: does this new HSPA MiFi have enough meat to steal the limelight from Three? Read on to find out.

Continue reading Vodafone R201 mobile WiFi hotspot review

Vodafone R201 mobile WiFi hotspot review originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One of the biggest tablets of the year is bound to come with a price tag that would lighten any wallet, and though Samsung hasn’t revealed how much a Samsung Galaxy Tab will set you back or a solid release date yet, online retailers around Europe may have beat them to it.

UK store Expanseys has the tablet up for sale at £679.99 with an availability date of October 11^th. It’s in the same price range as the iPad, except you’ll be paying for a 16GB Galaxy Tab in this case, whereas a 64GB version of Apple’s tablet will cost you £699.99. If these figures turn out to be true, the iPad might not have so much to worry about anymore!

Prices for the tablet have appeared across the channel too. It has been reported that an unlocked version of the Galaxy Tab will cost 9,000 Swedish Kronor, which works out to be a rather hefty £806. In France and Germany, rumoured prices are €599 and €699, which we’re assuming is for a 16GB and 32GB Samsung Tab respectively. However, O2’s official German Twitter did unveil a data plan for said device, with buyers having to put a €99 deposit down and then paying €27.50 a month for two years, which works out to be £632 overall, which sounds a little easier on the bank balance.

Engadget are reporting that Samsung are still sticking to their word at IFA saying that no prices have been announced and that any figures floating around are purely speculation. However, with some official word on the matter from other sources, we’re not sure who we should believe right now!

All UK networks are expected to offer the Samsung Galaxy Tab and hopefully 3G data plans will be available too. Samsung’s Tom Richter also added that providers might be offering a “two SIM option” so users can run the tablet and a mobile phone from the same number. Looks like we’d best start saving up!

Samsung have confirmed that they will be bringing a slide out QWERTY device to the UK later this year. TechRadar broke the news after the handset, which is thought to be the Samsung 15510 that Vodafone have been showing off recently, was spotted at IFA yesterday.

Carey McGregor, the Senior Project Manager at the company, revealed that it would be a mid-range Galaxy phone and true to their word about prioritising Android, the new handset was seen sporting Froyo at the Berlin convention.

The specs are unconfirmed at the moment, but it seems to be a Galaxy S with a smaller processor and LCD screen instead of an AMOLED one. It also has:

• TouchWiz layer
• 600MHz processor
• 5 megapixel camera
• 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 3

This isn’t the first time a QWERTY Galaxy handset has caught the public’s eye, but the slightly lower-tech specs suggest that the device isn’t the Samsung Galaxy Q or Galaxy Pro. Fans may be disappointed to find out that the Epic 4G lookalike isn’t the UK equivalent of the second 4G handset to hit US shores however, the rumoured £200 price tag may be a welcome alternative for users who aren’t quite so keen on trading up to a full touchscreen device just yet.

Camp Cupertino may have breathed a heavy sigh of relief when their free iPhone 4 case program was launched in July following the infamous Antennagate saga. As with all good things though, it’s due to come to an end on September 30^th. Steve Jobs explained at the time that the program was a temporary measure to allow the company to further investigate the iPhone 4’s antenna problems and come up with a more permanent solution if necessary.

Now, word from Mexican provider, Telcol is suggesting that the manufacturer has come up with a solution and plan to release a redesigned iPhone 4 at the end of this month. The comments were made by Marco Quartorze, the director of Value Added Services at the company, who exclusively carry the iPhone in the country. Telcol believe that the original problem with the handset was a hardware issue and have said that the design of the revised iPhone 4 has solved this.

Right now, we’re taking the news with a pinch of salt. With there being no mention of the handset being re-released at Apple’s music event on Wednesday, we can’t imagine they would spring it upon the world at such short notice, but you never know! Reports have also suggested that Quartorze may have misunderstood the reasons behind the free case program ending, and if this rumour does turn out to be true, will unhappy iPhone 4 users be able to get hold of a new handset without having to pay the full whack for it?

With the free case program due to end in a few weeks time, if the manufacturer really has come up with a solution, it probably won’t be too long until we find out.

Samsung may be one of the manufacturers set to appear in the first Windows Phone 7 line up, but it looks like the company’s relationship with the platform could be short lived. In an interview with Reuters at IFA, YH Lee, Head of Marketing at Samsung Mobile revealed that the manufacturer is “prioritising the Android platform” due to consumer demands and the flexibility of the OS.

The company may have hit the nail on the head with this move considering the huge success of their first Android powered smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S, which sold more than one million units in the USA alone during its first month on the market. The Google platform is also powering their newly announced Samsung Galaxy Tab which is one of the biggest stories to come out of this year’s IFA so far.

Android itself is no stranger to success being the third largest software platform with only Symbian and BlackBerry’s OS beating it to the top spot. Samsung’s own software platform, bada is also high on the agenda according to Lee who revealed that more handsets running the OS will be launched in the coming quarters. The manufacturer also unveiled their second bada handset, the Wave 723 at IFA.

The most interesting revelation to come from this interview was about Windows Phone 7. Lee did confirm that the company are introducing a smartphone powered by the Microsoft platform later this year (our money’s on the Samsung Cetus), but added that there is “some professional, specialised demand” for it. That must have hurt! While we’re on the subject, Samsung aren’t seeing a “visible demand” for Symbian either.

Well, we guess this might narrow down our options whenever we see a Samsung leak from now on! Do you think that Android is the best way forward for future Samsung devices? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Indie Roundup is your weekly guide to what’s new and upcoming in the world of independent film. Pictured above: Ryan Kwanten in Red Hill (see Deals after the jump).

Opening / Expanding. Why not try something different and head to the art house for the last weekend of the month? Among the limited releases that are opening or expanding:

• Centurion. The latest from Neil Marshall (The Descent) is a bracingly violent adventure. See Scott Weinberg’s review.
• Mesrine: Killer Instinct. The first part of an epic that explores the brutal life of a French gangster in the 60s and 70s.
• Daniel y Ana. The close relationship between a young woman, about to be married, and her teenage brother is put to the test when both are kidnapped.
• Change of Plans. A summer dinner party reveals secret affairs of the heart in a comedy by Daniele Thompson.
• Get Low. Robert Duvall gives an extraordinary performance as a recluse come to settle affairs with his very unusual funeral plans; Bill Murray is an accommodating funeral home owner; with Lucas Black and Sissy Spacek. Expands onto 570 screens. Check Scott Weinberg’s review.

Late Summer DVD Spotlight. This week has been jam-packed with new indies on DVD, as I mentioned the other day, and that’s not unusual as films jockey for attention. Unfortunately, some get missed, and that’s the case with New York Street Games, a recent documentary that’s now available on Amazon. Directed by Matthew Levy and narrated by Hector Elizondo, the film covers games that, mostly, I’ve never heard of: Boxball, Ring-o-leavio, and Skully. Folks like Keith David, Ray Romano, and Regis Philbin relate their stories. More information is available at the official site.

Filed under: Deals, New Releases, Distribution, Cinematical Indie

Continue reading Indie Roundup: ‘Street Games, ‘Want Money,’ ‘Red Hill’

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