With the help of a German bounty hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.

Quentin Tarantino movies never disappoint and this is one hell of a movie, I don’t like Westerns but I loved this one. Tarantino always adds a modern twist, and you can tell it from the music that was used and I loved that. Jamie Fox was the main character, Django, but to me he wasn’t the star, it was Dr. Shultz. Or in this case Christopher Waltz, the German Doctor turned Bounty Hunger, and he was the bad guy in Inglourious Basterds, he played the bad guy perfectly, and he played the bounty hunter perfectly. It’s a hell of a movie, a bit long, but a great twist towards the end, and there are some fun twists when you do know its a Taratino Movie. Samuel L Jackson played the role of Stephen the house servant, but he played his role to the end, he was a great actor in this movie as well. A hell of a movie and lots of fun, well worth watching, a bit too long, but who doesn’t love a Taratino movie.

Link: IMDB

Rating:

In a violent, futuristic city where the police have the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner, a cop teams with a trainee to take down a gang that deals the reality-altering drug, SLO-MO.

It’s rare that the remake is better then the original, and the original starred Sylvester Stallone, but this one did, it outdid the original Judge Dredd and left it to be forgotten. In this movie Karl Urban was a man of few words, it was pure action on his part, and what little you can see of his face, said it all about Judge Dredd, he played the part perfectly. The story is clear Judge Dredd entered the most crime ridden location in Mega City, Peach Trees, and when he goes in all hell breaks loose and Judge Dredd does what he does best, Judge, Jury, and Executionar. The perfect type of movie, a solid story line, great bad guys, and action that just wouldn’t stop. One hell of a movie and this one did Judge Dredd Justice, I’m hoping for another one because this one ended on an high note.

Link: IMDB
Rating:

Its been about a month since I got the Nexus 4 and I have put it through it’s paces, I took a week to put all my Apps on it and configure to the way I want. So I have been using it for about three weeks as my main phone and abusing it in every possible way. First off it is a much better phone then the Galaxy Nexus, I am honestly happy with this experiment that Google did with LG, if it was Motorolla I would have been really worried. Google gives an opportunity to each manufacturer to show their coolest features and LG won them over this time, Samsung has been known for the SII & SII, as well as the large Note line, not for the Nexus line even though it was a solid phone. Samsung would always save the best for it’s S line like the SII & SIII, but I didn’t like layer they install over the basic or vanilla Android OS, so the Nexus line was always second class to the Samsung S line, the case was the same with the Nexus S & Galaxy Nexus. For the first time a Nexus phone feels like it is the best that Google has to offer on a hardware point of view, and their OS always feels clean and light.

Specifications:

• Screen 4.7″ diagonal – WXGA IPS
• 1280 x 768 pixel resolution (320 ppi)
• Corning® Gorilla® Glass 2
• Dimensions 133.9 x 68.7 x 9.1 mm
• 139g
• Camera 8 MP (main)
• Camera 1.3 MP (front)
• NFC (Android Beam)
• Wireless charging
• 16GB Memory
• 2 GB RAM
• Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU
• Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)

What I Like:

• The New 8 MP Camera is fantastic, especially with HDR feature and extra tools while in use with the camera
• The Processor is powerful, you never feel that this phone is sluggish
• Its smooth and light, doesn’t feel bulky for a nice screen
• The Screen is Beautiful, crisp and very clean
• The Wifi signal is strong, it grabs on to the weakest signal without an issue
• The rear speaker is decently loud to my surprise
• LED flash on the camera is great a flashlight too
• Gorilla Glass on the front, it shows smudges but doesn’t scratch easily
• You can really tell they put a lot of effort into the design of it
• Jellybean 4.2.1 is perfect on this Machine, it is what makes it great
• I haven’t had a chance to try Wireless charging yet but I’m looking forward to it
• My 3G connection on this phone is better then my Galaxy Nexus, streaming isn’t an issue and almost never looses a signal
• This one almost never drop’s calls, even in locations that are known to drop calls it seems to hang on for its life which is a nice surprise, and the call quality is excellent
• The Battery life is pretty decent under normal use, lasts me from day until night, but defining normal is difficult

What I don’t Like:

• This is Gorilla glass and glossy on the other side, I love that it is but its insanely slippery so it may fall at anytime and you won’t even realize that it’s moving depending on the surface your place it on
• No LTE, honestly doesn’t make too much of a difference to me but it would have been nice to have it and working, but for now the normal 3G speeds is more then enough for me
• Under high abuse use the battery takes a pounding and barely lasts 10 hours, and that is extreme use such as steaming audio, while surfing and nonstop use of WhatsApp
• No removal battery, sometimes I want to remove or change the battery but it seems they went for a cleaner design rather then a functional one
• No SD card, sometimes we want to expand the memory, 16GB is not enough but I’m making due with it

I honestly love this phone and that it has such a well done operating system, smooth and powerful, and has never hung on me. The screen is beautiful, love scrolling through Instagram on it, and reading my Google Reader feeds, very clear, and easy to look at. Google gambled with LG and it’s paying off, they built an amazing machine with this phone and I hope that they make an even better one. I honestly don’t think I want any other feature on the phone then what I already have, its really good, you always want better but this was really worth the wait.

Check out The Verge Review for an extremely detailed breakdown

On the hunt for a fabled treasure of gold, a band of warriors, assassins, and a rogue British soldier descend upon a village in feudal China, where a humble blacksmith looks to defend himself and his fellow villagers.

You have to love the excessiveness of this movie, its like one of those typical Kung Fu movies from the 80s but with a ridiculous character line up and the Quintin Tarantino flare. RZA from the Wu Tang Clan, is all over this movie, he one of the main characters, the director, the screenplay writer, and pretty much everything else in the movie. Overall, the movie is just a fun flick to see on the weekend. Lots of blood, decapitation, fun martial arts, subliminal dirty jokes, sarcastic humor, special effects, and a unique, urban take on the classic Kung Fu films we’ve learn to love over the years. This is not a movie you waste your time dissecting. You either love it or you hate. I took the movie for what it was and I loved every minute of it. It had everything an action flick should have, great action, great costumes, great weapons, solid plot and good actors. If you love martial arts movies then you have to watch this one, as usual its fun and over the top.

Link: IMDB
Rating:

I went to Figs for the first time in my life in November of 2011 with my wife, it seems it was a famous pizza place for most people who studied in Boston, it held a dear memory and so I tried it out and the pizza was pretty good. So when going to Figs at 360 Mall I was expecting the same taste, I honestly didn’t remember the menu but I did remember how the pizza looked like. We ordered a few appetizers and three pizzas.

The place looks nice, in a new area of 360 Mall on the third floor which has several trendy looking restaurants. We got the appetizer first, they were pretty good, there was one which was really good, it was so good that it disappeared before I could take a picture. The Calamari was decent, but the dipping appetizer was pretty good, there was a nice selection. Also in the picture this is the Nexus 4 & Galaxy Nexus side by side, we were making a comparison and the Nexus 4 was flatter, but because of the Gorilla glass it slides too easily. Need to get that bumper case for it.

The Pizzas came after about 15 mins and I was pretty hungry, but what I saw was not what I remembered, they were much smaller then what was served in Boston. Those ones were at least double the size, but same rectangular style. The taste wasn’t that great either, I was expecting much better so I came hungry and forced myself to eat more so I wouldn’t be hungry

(All pictures were taken with the Nexus 4)

Continue Reading…

An expansion of the universe from Robert Ludlum’s novels, centered on a new hero whose stakes have been triggered by the events of the previous three films.

Edward Norton is one of my favorite actors and I thought having him onboard would be perfect to play opposite Bourne. Jeremy Renner played an interesting Bourne and I was looking forward to seeing how he would play it out since he was pretty good in the Avengers as Hawkeye. The movie is filled with action but I was expecting the story to have some sort of ridiculous plot that we would figure out later, to lead to some discovery. But half way through the movie I was getting distracted, it just didn’t keep my attention, and the ending was one long ridiculous action scene which was pretty pointless, and when the movie ended I thought “Really? Thats It? Nothing Else?” I was a bit disappointed and with this Bourne movie, I wanted it to be a lot better. The action was fun but it couldn’t cover for the lack of a coherent story, if I wanted senseless action I would have watched Expendables 2 again.

Link: IMDB
Rating:

A factory worker, Douglas Quaid, begins to suspect that he is a spy after visiting Rekall – a company that provides its clients with implanted fake memories of a life they would like to have led – goes wrong and he finds himself on the run.

They took an Arnold Schwarzenegger and modernized it, I was a huge fan of the original with Sharon Stone so I had high expectations for this one. The cast line up was excellent and the previews looked good An excellent cast, I like how it revolved around a man losing his memory that he is a top notch secret agent. A little twist on the story helps and the characters were a bit different, it also took place on Earth this time not Mars, but still a very engaging story, there was no dull moment. There was a bit of a few confusing moments towards the end, but I liked the character that Kate Bakinsale played. It was a fun story and engaging but the slight confusion towards the end threw me off, for any Scifi fan this is something that you will enjoy but everyone else won’t be too keen on it.

Link: IMDB
Rating:

INSIDE APPLE reveals the secret systems, tactics and leadership strategies that allowed Steve Jobs and his company to churn out hit after hit and inspire a cult-like following for its products.

If Apple is Silicon Valley’s answer to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, then author Adam Lashinsky provides readers with a golden ticket to step inside. In this primer on leadership and innovation, the author will introduce readers to concepts like the “DRI” (Apple’s practice of assigning a Directly Responsible Individual to every task) and the Top 100 (an annual ritual in which 100 up-and-coming executives are tapped a la Skull & Bones for a secret retreat with company founder Steve Jobs).

Based on numerous interviews, the book offers exclusive new information about how Apple innovates, deals with its suppliers and is handling the transition into the Post Jobs Era. Lashinsky, a Senior Editor at Large for Fortune, knows the subject cold: In a 2008 cover story for the magazine entitled The Genius Behind Steve: Could Operations Whiz Tim Cook Run The Company Someday he predicted that Tim Cook, then an unknown, would eventually succeed Steve Jobs as CEO.

While Inside Apple is ostensibly a deep dive into one, unique company (and its ecosystem of suppliers, investors, employees and competitors), the lessons about Jobs, leadership, product design and marketing are universal. They should appeal to anyone hoping to bring some of that Apple magic to their own company, career, or creative endeavor.

Like a lot of people I bought the autobiography of Steve Jobs after he passed away, but this book intrigued me at Heathrow Airport, it was the first one to feel like it really jumped into Apple’s secretive policies. I was expecting a book that would be bashing Apple nonstop for their tactics, but at least a view into Apple with a bit more perspective. This type of business book is relative only for a very short time and so I thought to read it within that time and just finishing it recently really was interesting. Surprisingly Adam Lashinsky praised Apple for a lot of their business decisions and how Jobs kept the entrepreneurial spirit in Apple going unlike many companies of it size. If you have any inclination towards Apple then you really have to read this book, I’m not their biggest fan but I do respect them and this book gives you more incite into them. An excellent read.

Link: Amazon

Rating:

Mr. Church reunites the Expendables for what should be an easy paycheck, but when one of their men is murdered on the job, their quest for revenge puts them deep in enemy territory and up against an unexpected threat.

It’s rare that the second movie is better then the first one, but this one is, and if you are a fan of the 80s movies then you really have to watch this one. And this time they brought in Chuck Norris & Jean Claude Van Damme, a true 80s action packed movie, with a damn good bad guy, true 80s style but modernized for our time. The fine art of 80s/90s action movies has been lost and we are stuck with very complex stories requiring our complete attention to know what the hell is going in a movie. You get the right dosage of a story with more action and Chuck Norris thrown in for good measure, how could this not be good. You know there are movie one liners that you will always remember like “Yippy Ka Yay Mother Fucker!!”. Well this one is filled with them and you will love every moment of it. When Chuck Norris joins the battle, Arnie sighs and moans, ‘Who’s next… Rambo?’, that is the best of the movie. At one point in the film, Arnie turns to Bruce and Sly and says, ‘we belong in a museum’. In a way, he’s right. This is the last gasp of this type of film and perhaps the perfect homage to a golden age.

Link: IMDB
Rating:

Having lived with this laptop for about three months now, I can safely say it is without question the best PC laptop I’ve ever owned. Every review out there just raves about this machine. Here’s what you need to know:

• Retina-esque 1920×1080 resolution in an amazingly high quality 13.3″ IPS display
• Intel’s latest 17 watt Ivy Bridge processor with (finally!) decent integrated graphics
• 128 GB SSD with fast 6Gbps interface
• Just under 3 pounds
• Decent 5 to 6 hour runtime
• Classy brushed metal case and cover

Pros:

• The best ultrabook currently out there, it seems Asus just keeps stepping it up, if you are looking for a thin powerful Windows laptop then this is it.
• 4.5 to 5.5 hours battery life with full media use
• Amazing Screen, Very Bright and clear Details
• Light Up Keyboard, and a very nice feel to it
• The SSD & Processor are insanely fast, about a 17 second boot time from scratch and 5 seconds from sleep. These are numbers we wouldn’t even dream of before.
• I love the aluminum clean cut finish of the Zenbook, surprisingly it doesn’t get too hot
• it has just enough ports to make it useful
• With the USB 3.0 I managed transfers of 100 to 130 MB/s from my External Seagate HD
• The best thing is the price as well, its an amazing machine for $1299 and I would recommend it to anyone looking for an ultrabook

Cons:

• The only downfall is the annoying sensitivity of the touch pad
• Windows 7 that came wwith the ASUS was the home version and had bloatware, so I decided to do a clean install which worked perfectly, and it booted even faster, it is up and running within 12 to 17 seconds, nice and smooth.

Specifications:

• Intel Core i7 -3517U 2.4GHz
• Widows 7 64bit Unlimited (I reinstalled it because of the bloatware)
• 4GB Ram
• 128 GB SSD
• Intel HD Graphics

Simple Conclusion:

I love this laptop and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a thin and powerful windows laptop. I started using it everywhere, I take it everywhere with me and it has taken a few odd drops with no issues at all. Its fast, lightening fast and it boots up within seconds, I can’t recommend it enough, and the price honestly is very reasonable.