Fringe - Letters of Transit: Observers vs. Natives

SPOILERS

Oh I do love a good bleak future storyline; in well, anything. Games, film, TV - if it's a depressing dark future that forces the viewer to look inwardly, I'm going to enjoy it.

But this isn't the first time that we've been to the future in Fringe, most notably in the Season 3 finale Peter used the BBM to jump to 2026, but that wasn't as dystopian in that instance.

Fringe always handles these time-jumps with such style and making look it seemingly effortless, with the sets, costumes, and props all believable of that time; whether it's 20 years in the future or the past, Fringe's Mise En Scene always shines through.

The theme was very current, very "1984" and it really shone a different light on the Observers, who have so far been little Easter Eggs that crop up throughout the seasons.

Fringe - Everything In Its Right Place: Gutsy Writing

SPOILERS

This is the first Fringe blog I've done in a while... Admittedly I felt uninspired to write anything for the episodes, not sure why and it's definitely not a negative view on the previous episodes.

Maybe it's because I've found the last few episodes all too safe. With all the Olivia and Peter getting back together and David Robert Jones not really in the picture I felt the writers were preparing the audience for the final act in the season ending hurrah; laying down groundwork to what could possibly be the Series finale (sob).

So let's briefly recap on what happened in the episode and why I'm suddenly re-inspired to blog about Fringe.

Canon Goes 4K

As predicted in my previous blog, 4K is what its' going to be all about at this years NAB.

C500

Earlier today Canon joined the 4K party with two new cameras, first the EOS 1D C along with the C500. Neither of these cameras are going to be cheap, in fact it's a bit of a surprise, I think most people expected a C100 or the 1D C being priced in the Sony FS100 area. These cameras are a good and bad thing for the industry, they are good as it shows Canon's commitment to creating a cinema line very much for professionals, however it is also disappointing for all the people who were inspired and captivated by the DSLR revolution. Many of these people just want an affordable next step up from their ageing DSLRs, sadly they are yet to give this too them.

Shock vs. Awe: Violence in Games and Movies

[Mild Spoilers for Modern Warfare 2 & The Hunger Games]

Back in my youth, I did Film Studies A Level, and one of the subjects we looked at was Shocking Cinema, films made to shock an audience, and mostly they used violence to do this. Ever since those lessons at college, I've found the subject of Violence in Media; Games and Movies, an interesting and complex subject, and interestingly, one not broached often.

There are undoubtedly lots of examples I could use for this broad subject, but I will mainly focus on Modern Warfare 2 and The Hunger Games. I have chose these two for several reasons, mainly as in a few ways they handle violence in polar opposite ways.

NAB in 4K? - Do We Need It?

When we came up with the name of this blog, Blog4K, we had one thing in mind, discussing 4K related products from TVs to cameras to content. However since starting the site it seems like the blog has gone different ways with a mix of film, game, camera and other tech reviews and discussions. That's mainly due to the lack of 4K products to talk about, yes there's RED but other than that 4K isn't quite here yet. However is that about to all change?

NAB last year was all about 3D, the year before it was mostly DSLR. From the rumours and hints it looks like NAB 2012 might be about 4K. We know that JVC will be showing off their 4K camera, Canon have announcement during NAB regarding their cinema line, could it be the 4K DSLR? And there has even been rumours of a Sony FS 4K camera.

Review - Pocket Boom Speaker

The guys at gearzap.com were kind enough to send me this interesting looking speaker to review. It's no ordinary speaker with a very compact size and a detachable head which sticks on to a box. Why is it so different? Well this is a vibration speaker and unlike a conventional speaker which has a hollow inside to create the sounds it uses other surfaces to turn things like standard boxes into large speakers. As a result the actual unit can be a lot smaller as all it needs to do is create the vibrations, whatever you attach it to will create the actual sound.

The New iPad - The "Post PC Era" Or Not...

Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, opened up the iPad launch with a talk about the "post PC era". But are these devices post PC? Is "the new iPad" a PC replacement? The answer is no and for at least another year it is a big no.

Now before I get started its probably best to state my position on tablets and mobiles. I own an iPad 2 but I also own a Samsung Galaxy S. I've never liked the iPhone, it's never been bad it's just not worth the extra cost over the top Android phones, the Android OS also has some great features which the iOS still hasn't matched. That said I'm not a Apple hater, yes I prefer Android on my phone and yes I prefer to use Windows over OSX however that didn't stop me  buying an iPad 2 which I love using.

So with that sorted why don't I buy the "post PC era" ideology? After all processing power and battery life already surpass many laptop computers. And with the new iPad the resolution is higher as well. However the tablet and smartphones, whichever brand they are, still fail on a few points that stop them become the only device you need.

Mass Effect 3: "There are no happy endings, because nothing ends."

SPOILERS FOR MASS EFFECT 3

Ending(s) Analysis

So, I have finished Mass Effect 3. That's it. It's done. And alike a lot of players of this game, the ending has left me scratching my head / throwing the controller across the room / weeping uncontrollably.

[Spoilers under the cut]

Mass Effect 3: More than a Game?

MINOR SPOILERS FOR MASS EFFECT 3

I received Mass Effect 3 in the post a day early yesterday. And obviously I started playing straight away as it feels we've been waiting for this game forever!

I have only played a small slice of this game, and this weekend I will be diving right back in, but my general feeling of this game is of overwhelming awe. The graphics are incredible, being on Palaven's moon and seeing the Reapers destroying the Turian home world is truly jaw-dropping. Bioware haven't held back on this scale in this game. Seeing old characters, team banter, and re-kindling relationships really sends home the fact that this is the last game; and I don't know what to feel about that.

Mass Effect 3: Twitter Power

With the launch of Mass Effect 3 in the US (but not here...boo), Bioware utilized Twitter to create some hype and excitement for it's midnight release.

Using the Twitter @AllianceNewsNet they made it seem that Emily Wong (a news journalist from the previous games) was tweeting the events of the Reapers landing on Earth as and when it happened.

This lead to some fantastically powerful tweets that really gave an insight into the games scale and how powerful Twitter could be to help create hype. 

Let's look at some of the best tweets.