Pan's Labyrinth

While I was in New York I managed to catch a showing of Pan's Labyrinth. I've been dying to see this movie for a while now but it has been in limited release (New York being one of the locations).

The film was absolutely fantastic. By far Guillermo Del Torro's best work to date (and I'm a pretty big Hellboy fan). It was magical, breathtaking, suspensful, beautifully shot, fantastically acted, well paced, and extremely entertaining. A fairy tale for adults. It also has great make-up work, with some imaginative (and creepy) creature designs.

I hope the film wins every Oscar it is nominated for. I highly recommend it. 10 out of 10.

New York Pics

This is what we mostly did in NY . . .



Ok, fine, we did more than just drink. Here is my girlfriend as we're waiting for the subway



It was really cold, so we had to make many coffee/hot chocolate pittstops



And while walking the streets one night we came upon a very disturbing scene in a window. I am not even kidding, it was bizarre . . .

New York

This past week my girlfriend and I took a little vacation to New York. It was my first time going (her third).

Wow, what a great city.

We stayed just a few blocks from Time Square so we were walking distance from a lot of locations you would want to visit you first time to The Big Apple. And all the others were just a short subway ride away. Here are some of the places we visited/things we did:

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Rockefeller Center, Ground Zero, China Town, Little Italy, Metropolitan Museum, Museum of Natural History, Central Park, Carnegie Hall, Carnegie Deli (I think I'm still full after that giant pastrami sandwich), caught a Broadway show (Spamalot) and walked up and down Times Square.

We did a lot of walking. I'm surprised my legs aren't sore. It was pretty cold too, dropping down to 19 degrees on Saturday night. Throw in the 25mph wind gusts and we're talking a windchill in the single digits. Us Floridians are not used to that. It was actually a welcomed change, although when that wind really kicked up we started longing for Miami's trademark warmth. But only for a second.

Spamalot I should mention was absolutely great. It was hilarious and entertaining, even if you are not a Monthy Python fan (my girlfriend), and even more hilarious and entertaining if you are (with many inside jokes and references to famous Monthy Python skits.) Central Park is
quite a sight to behold, especially right smack in the middle of such a large city. The Met and Museum of Natural History were great. Ground Zero was somber and surreal. Times Square reminded me of Vegas, yet is nothing like it at the same time. The subway is intimidating at first, and quite confusing, but a great way to get around. The food was phenominal. O'Brien's Pub was a great hangout spot. Overall, the trip was just fantastic.

I'm already looking forward to my next visit.

PS3'S SIGHTED

Ok, I was at Walmart today and spotted two Playstation 3's sitting there... Hmmmm I was kind of suprised. Is there no interest in this gaming console??
As Tanis says, technology wise your gettting alot of bang for your buck... But on the gaming side, its rather lacking. I think this is why they are sitting there collecting dust.

PS3 Dilemma

Now that all three consoles have been released (360, PS3 and Wii) how long before they are no longer called "next gen" consoles and simply become "current gen", so that the current "current gen" consoles (Xbox, PS2 and Gamecube) are known as "last gen". Or has that transition already happened? In my mind, I am in some middle ground where the PS2, Xbox and Gamecube are definitely "last gen", but the 360, PS3 and Wii still register as "next gen". Meaning, there are no "current gen" consoles at the moment.

Ok, I now have a headache.

Anyway, I've commented many times on how happy I am with my 360 (at least I think I have . . . if I haven't, well, I am very happy with my 360). I've played the Wii at my friend's house and am looking forward to purchasing one as soon as I find one in stores. Which leaves the PS3, which I haven't mentioned much on here lately.

Do I want a PS3? Well, I'm a gamer, of course I want one, the question is, do I see myself getting one anytime soon? That's a tougher question.

As a gaming machine, I can easily do without a PS3 for the foreseeable future. The only games I am interested in are Metal Gear Solid 4, God of War 3 (which hasn't even been announced), MLB: The Show 2 and maybe Heavenly Sword (which impressed many people). Gran Turismo? I couldn't care less at this point. I was a huge fan of the first 3 games, but until this game goes for real realism - meaning, car damage and no invisible barriers keeping you on the course - I'm not interested. Forza 2 will fill my needs. Assassin's Creed? Sure, except it is no longer an exclusive and if I have my druthers, I will play it with the 360's gamepad (not a big fan of the Six Axis). And that's it. All the games I am looking forward to in 2007 are heading to the 360. Bioshock, Mass Effect, Brother's In Arms, Half-Life 2, Halo 3, the aforementioned Assassin's Creed, GTA 4, GRAW 2, all of them are 360 bound. Why do I need $600 gaming machine then?

So, the PS3 is not currently needed by the gamer side of me. But I have another side. A tech junkie side. A home theater nut side. And videophile side which sees the PS3 as a $600 Bluray player and can't believe what a great deal it is (and in all honesty, the PS3 for $600 is a steal for what it does). That side can only imagine how great a Bluray movie would look on my HDTV connected to the currently not-in-use HDMI slot in the back. Joy!!!

Plus, a web-browser on the TV would be sweet. Connecting my PSP to the PS3 to do . . . uh, whatever it is the PSP and the PS3 do together would be sweet. Super-Audio CDs? Bring it on. A new way to view pictures? Sure, I'm loving streaming pics from my computer to my 360 . . . but I wonder what they would look like on the PS3? I can connect my camera's memory stick directly to it and transfer the pics to the HDD . . .

See, that is my problem. I know I will not be using the PS3 for gaming (well, maybe Motorstorm if the reviews are good), but I still want that sleek, high-tech piece of equipment sitting in my entertainment center. Just think, I can add Bluray movies immediately to my Netflix queue and enjoy HD movie watching in no time!!!

Someone help me, I have a problem . . .