SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 8.0 REVIEW

Samsung will launch the Galaxy Note 8.0 tablet in Australia in April, the company has announced.

The Android tablet will sell for $459 outright and be available in "early April".

Read our Guide to Using your Android Phone

The 16GB Wi-Fi version of the Galaxy Note 8.0 is available for pre-order through Samsung's Experience stores in Sydney and Melbourne.

The 3G version of the device is expected to be launched at a later date, but no pricing has been announced.

The Galaxy Note 8.0 was officially announced last month at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) trade show in Barcelona, Spain.

It has an 8in screen, includes a Wacom-powered stylus called the 'S Pen' and can make regular voice calls like a smartphone.

The S Pen can be used on the capacitive "hardware" buttons for back and menu and the tablet comes preloaded with the Awesome Note app. It also includes an infrared port that allows it to act as a universal remote control.

The tablet is powered by a 1.6GHz quad-core Samsung Exynos 4 processor, has 2GB of RAM and comes with either 16GB or 32GB of internal memory. There's also a microSD card for extra memory expansion, along with a 4600mAh, non-removable battery.

The Galaxy Note 8.0 will initially ship with the 4.1.2 'Jelly Bean' version of Google's Android platform and comes skinned with Samsung's TouchWiz user interface.

Consumers can pre-order the Galaxy Note 8.0 at the new Melbourne Samsung Experience Store, Shop 2351 at Highpoint Shopping Centre, Melbourne, and the Sydney Samsung Experience Store at Sydney Central Plaza, 450 George Street, Sydney.

Here is a quick look at the key specs of the Note 510 once again:

• 8-inch TFT LCD with a 1280 x 800-pixel resolution and a pixel density of 189 ppi
• HSPA, Class 12 GPRS/EDGE
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot
• Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP
• Micro USB 2.0 with MHL-support and USB Host
• A-GPS support and GLONASS
• 5-megapixel primary camera with 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera
• 16/32GB internal storage, expandable up to 64GB via microSD cards

APPLE-SMART WATCH

According to unconfirmed reports, Apple is preparing to release a new type of device, This will be the smart watch. By analogy with other branded gadgets, expected that the product will be called iWatch. The designer presented his own concept of this device. The gadget features an attractive appearance and strictly sustained in style apple products. 
In addition to the design, Apple iWatch boasts a set of advanced features. This connection to the proprietary cloud services and synchronization with the iPad, iPhone, iMac or MacBook. Instead of the traditional dial smart watches equipped no-touch OLED-display. Management is carried out by a small touchpad below the screen. This is quite an interesting solution. Below the display are also available controls MP3-player.  

LIMBO SMART WATCH

This future smartphone design dubbed the LIMBO. LIMBO has a flexible Smartphone concept for next generation. ‘Limbo’ is corresponding to the Smartphone that is bent quite freely by using various materials and technology together withflexible display. This Smartphone provides better usability and new lifestyle in the extension of existing Smartphone. 
Infusing a new life to Smartphone, the Limbo includes four buttons, including master (Home button+ Power button), volume manager and two other buttons, out of which three buttons are concealed when you transform it into the watch mode. Featuring flexible materials, the Limbo can be divided into three hard modules to switch between the watch and the Smartphone. The Limbo also incorporates a number of motion sensors so it could be used as a wrist-mounted health monitor. Will it actually turn out to be true, or is it just a dream. 

CHASING SACHIN BOOK

From the very first time he watched Sachin Tendulkar bat as a 12-year-old boy, Adam Carroll-Smith was transfixed. He dreamed of not just bowling to the ‘Little Master’, but actually knocking his off-stump over, too.

The only problem was, he was never much of a cricketer. But determined not to let a small detail like that get in the way - and eager to settle an old score with a childhood chum - Carroll-Smith spends a hilarious summer trying to achieve the unthinkable, fending off the unwanted attentions of over-zealous Indian fans, crazed Italian spiritualists and his meddling best friend - not to mention the dozens of blazered officials and luminous-jacketed stewards stood between him and his hero.

Key features

• The story of one Sachin Tendulkar fan’s unlikely mission to try and bowl just one ball at his childhood hero during India’s 2011 tour of England

• A fast-paced, uniquely comic and heart-warming account of the highs and lows of a summer spent striving to achieve the   near-impossible, peppered with beer-pickled anecdotes, razor-sharp humour and a healthy dollop of farce

• The book marks former national newspaper sports reporter Adam Carroll-Smith’s literary debut

PUBLICATION DETAILS

Publication: 31 October 2011
Price: £9.99
ISBN-13: 978-1908051516
Format: 198mm x 126mm
Binding: Paperback
Extent: 272 pages
Category: Cricket

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THE TEST OF MY LIFE BOOK

NEW DELHI: It was a poignant occasion and the entire Indian cricket team, along with a sizeable gathering of well-wishers and the media, was at hand to be with Yuvraj Singh at the release of his memoir, The Test Of My Life.

The book talks about Yuvraj's successful battle with a rare germ cell cancer. The dashing batsman has shared his experiences "so that someone else can feel they are not alone when the chips are down."

Many of Yuvraj's illustrious teammates likeSachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwagand Virat Kohli recalled the moments spent with him after Tendulkar launched the book formally at a city hotel on Tuesday evening. One by one, the cricketers came to the stage and shared vignettes from their association with Yuvraj.

But it was Tendulkar who had everyone wiping a tear from their eyes when he recalled how he was scared of breaking down in front of Yuvraj when he had met him in London after his treatment in the US.

"When I went to meet him in London, I was telling my wife (Anjali) that I don't want to break down when I see him. I met him and gave him a tight hug. We enjoyed a meal and from the way he (Yuvraj) ate, I was convinced that he is back on track," Tendulkar said.

"When I saw my wife discussing medical terms with Yuvraj, I realised what he has been going through. He is like my younger brother and I would ask God why it (the illness) had to happen to Yuvraj," Tendulkar said.



Even Dhoni recalled how he got a shock of his life when someone told him about Yuvraj's illness. "When his test reports came, someone told me he had cancer. I just said 'are you sure'. The person repeated what he had said. I was shocked," Dhoni admitted.

The pair then recalled their 2011 World Cup triumph. Yuvraj started off by saying, "Dhoni does not talk too much while batting. But when he got out against Australia in the quarterfinals, while going back he told me 'shaabash Yuvi, jitake aana.'" Yuvraj did guide the team to a famous victory with an unbeaten 57.

In lighter vein, Dhoni remembered how Yuvraj greeted him when the present captain first joined the Indian team back in 2004-05. "Are bhai kya chal raha hai, sirf chakke maarne se kuchch nahi hota, match jitaane se jyada appreciation milta hai." Dhoni recalled, "First, I used to refer to him as aap. From then it came down to tum and now it is just tu."

Kohli recalled that he had gone to Yuvraj's room during the 2011 World Cup and found that he was coughing with a lot with medicines lying at the bedside.

"I asked him why are you coughing so much. And he replied that he had cancer. I thought it's his habit of fooling around with people. I told him not to joke and I left the room," Kohli said.

When the anchor asked Yuvraj how did Kohli get the nickname 'Chickoo,' he said, "When he came to the team I thought he resembled a baby bulldog. But now he has surpassed me in all departments, including being the most eligible bachelor."

Harbhajan Singh also had his share of fun. "During Yuvi's illness, I never spoke on that subject."

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SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK REVIEW

Director:David O. Russell

Running Time:122 minutes

Release Date:September 8, 2012 (initial release)

A character drama with a twisted sense of humor Silver Linings Playbook follows Pat (Bradley Cooper) a recently released psychiatric hospital patient who moves back in with his parents and begins a quest to reclaim his broken marriage. Despite the warnings from doctors Pat's mom Dolores (Jacki Weaver) and dad Pat Sr. (Robert De Niro) take him in hoping familiar settings and a little Eagles football may be the perfect cure. It isn't — Pat continuously loses his s**t over his ex-wife Nikki frantically stressing over her high school English class' reading syllabus (he toss Hemmingway's A Farewell to Arms straight through a glass window) and breaking down every time he hears their wedding song. There's no hope for him and Nikki — catching her with another man and beating him to a pulp led to his institutionalizing — but Pat's focused mind doesn't let him deviate.

After being invited to a friend's house for dinner Pat meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) who sees a friendship in the bipolar patient. After the death of her husband Tiffany went off the deep end engaging anyone and everyone for sex. She's sees a companion in Pat and although he's reluctant the off-kilter pair can't fight the magnetic power of their psychological issues.

Most of their conversations end in screaming or blunt admissions — but they're relatable.

Mental illness and human connection may sound like an equation for eye-roll-worthy saccharine but director David O. Russell mines Cooper and Lawrence's comedic strengths to turn Silver Linings Playbook into one of the funniest movies of the year.

Nothing is off limits for Russell; one reoccurring joke is that Pat can't stop bringing up the fact that Tiffany's husband is dead. As Tiffany puts it to Pat, "You say more inappropriate things than appropriate things."

To make Pat aware of how his bipolar existence affects the people around him and to make us the audience feel for this heart-wrenching experience Russell shoots and paces Silver Linings Playbook for awkward comedy.

He also returns to the always-reliable family dynamic. The Fighter is to Boston as Silver Linings Playbook is to Philadelphia De Niro perfecting the Eagles-loving everyman with a collection of betting buddies who may be just as delusional as Pat.

The legendary actor proved he had comedy chops in Meet the Parentsbut here he blends it with gravitas that earned him a legacy in the first place. Rush Hour actor Chris Tucker also pops up as Pat's good friend from the institution. More restrained than ever Tucker helps add warmth to the picture. Pat has a support system everywhere he turns. In essence the film emanates with positive vibes.

Even with a great ensemble Silver Linings Playbook is Cooper and Lawrence's show. To the bitter end Pat and Tiffany never get sappy with one another always at each other's throats over the feelings they harbor and the pasts they can't shake away.

Cooper loses himself in the chaotic mind of Pat without ever slipping into a caricature of the mentally ill. He can stir up laughs with his desperate search for Pat's missing wedding video and then shock us in the blink of an eye when things turn violent.

Impressively Lawrence's Tiffany is never written down. She never succumbs to being a comforting presence always provoking Pat to push himself.

She's a strong woman but a strong woman juggling her own set of issues. Lawrence conveys all of that without missing a beat. That dynamic should be make Silver Linings Playbook the talk of the town come Oscar time.

                                        

ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH REVIEW

Director:Callan Brunker

Writter:ory Edwards, Tony Leech, Callan Brunker, Bob Barlen

Release Date:February 14, 2013 (initial release)

It's an impressive feat for a movie to be strange and forgettable, subversive yet littered with crass product placement. Escape from Planet Earth manages to be all of these things and more. In this world, aliens are abducted by government officials, Roswell is an intergalactic work camp, an Army general is conducting an online affair with a sexy alien lady, and the stoners who work or hang out or whatever at 7-11 ply their new little blue friend with a matching blue Slurpee. Sounds promising, right?

Not entirely. For the most part, the plodding plot is driven by a lackluster sibling rivalry between Gary Supernova (Rob Corddry) and his lantern-jawed brother Scorch (Brendan Fraser). These little blue dudes live on the planet Baab and work at BASA, which is (obviously) Baab's version of NASA. Gary's the nerdy mission control guy who saves his brother's butt when Scorch is off being a bad ass astronaut. A plodding series of events lands them both on Earth, a planet full of violent, devolved creatures where aliens from across the galaxy routinely go missing. There, they find the devious General Shanker (William Shatner) is snatching otherwise peaceful aliens and putting them to work on building a giant weapon that will destroy the universe. The other aliens Gary and Scorch run into are way more interesting and fun than the folks they left behind on Baab — a cafeteria food fight between Roswell employees and the aliens is more entertaining than 90% of the interactions between Gary and Scorch — which is a bummer since Gary's wife Kira (Sarah Jessica Parker) is hot on their heels to rescue them. Lena, the head of BASA, is a lovelorn villainess (Jessica Alba) who would be willing to blow up the world for a hot human with an Elvis pompadour that she met online. She and Kira used to be coworkers but now Lena's like, whatever, now you're a stay-at-home mom! And Kira's like, I will kick your butt. And so on. The female characters in the movie are pretty decent, all things considered.

Still, Escape from Planet Earth is a bit of a mess. Are we rooting for family values? Or railing against how silly humans are? Or constantly, odiously plugging 7-11? There is also auto-tuned music on the soundtrack, although it's not clear if this was yet another invention of the aliens (like the iPhone, Facebook, the Internet, and Pixar, according to one montage) or yet another example of how humans have devolved. Adding to the confusion: a sexy news reporter alien voiced by Sofía Vergara.

Escape from Plant Earth seems like its plot was originally cooked up by some sorta cool goofy dudes — I mean, Steve Zahn and Chris Parnellas stoners who work at 7-11? Pretty funny! — that was then wrangled into something a little more family-friendly. (Vis the website, which is littered with seals of approval from the Parents Television Council and the Dove Foundation.) It's not that it's particularly bad, it's just not something that sticks with you in any meaningful way. The rest of the voice cast is pretty good, like Craig Robinson as a cool talk radio "therapist" alien and Jane Lynch as a one-eyed librarian from the sun with anger management problems. It's just that there's so much other stuff happening that isn't particularly gripping. Like the crux of the entire story. Who cares if Gary and Scorch ever make up? Who cares that Kip thinks his dad is a pantywaist? You really don't. In a world where film-lovers of all ages can be challenged, entertained, and moved by animated film, it's entirely fair to expect more of family films.

(Escape from Planet Earth is available in 3D, but for expediency's sake, I saw the 2Dversion.

                                  

THE CALL REVIEW

Director:Brad Anderson

Writter:Richard D'Ovidio

Release Date:2013 (initial release)

We hear The Call and, for about three-quarters of its runtime, we answer. This is a twisty, compact thriller that completely skids off the rails before it’s through. Which is a shame, because it features Halle Berry’s best performance in a long, long time, and because directorBrad Anderson (Transsiberian) mines Nancy Grace Era paranoia about sex offenders and serial killers to palpable effect.

Berry plays Jordan, a 911 emergency operator in Los Angeles, who spends her days taking call after call, most of them definitely notemergencies. There’s the lonely drunk who always dials 911 just for company. Endless reports of missing cats and other animals on the loose, and even the odd pizza order every now and then. But then Jordan gets a true emergency call from Casey (Abigail Breslin), a girl who’s been abducted at a shopping mall and is stuck in the trunk of her kidnapper’s car as he speeds out of the city. It becomes clear from details Casey gives about her assailant that it’s the same guy who mutilated and murdered another girl. A girl who also called Jordan right before she died. Jordan’s still nursing grief and regret that emergency responders weren’t able to get there in time, and so she makes it her mission not to let history repeat itself with Casey.

Much of The Call consists of close-up shots of Breslin, confined to the dark interior of a trunk, intercut with close-up shots of Berry talking into her hands-free phone. It demands a lot from both actors to modulate their performances so that we’re getting more from them than abject terror (from Breslin) and barely hidden terror (from Berry), and both actresses more than meet that challenge. There’s a really nice exchange early on when Jordan tries to calm down a panic-stricken Casey by asking her what her favorite movie is. (You’ll have to see the movie to find out the answer.) And their phone conversation quickly becomes an intricate display of escape artistry as Jordan walks Casey through several possible ways she can get out of the trunk, or at least signal for help. That WWE Studios (yes, that’s World Wrestling Entertainment for you) co-produced a movie about two women using their wits to combat violence from men is pretty impressive. Though maybe the fact that the WWE is a company devoted to entertainment taking place inside an enclosed ring, explains the film’s affinity for claustrophobia.

Anderson keeps upping the ante as Casey’s kidnapper encounters multiple strangers who know he’s up to no good and try to free the poor girl trapped in the trunk. But unlike Hitchcock, who would have made the scenario far more perverse by encouraging some identification with the kidnapper, in The Call he’s nothing more than a one-dimensional psycho, a bogeyman driving a Camry. This is a movie for people who love to spend their nights watching HLN and think that any stranger they encounter may possibly want to torture them to death.

Yet, The Call doesn’t become truly sensationalistic until its final 20 minutes, when Berry’s Jordan decides to leave her call-center desk, venture out into the field, and attempt the rescue of Casey herself. On her own. It’s a violation of an otherwise suspenseful parallel-editing structure that’s so effective because it’s as old as D.W. Griffith.

Once I was attending a screening of Rear Window at a Chicago repertory theater, and there was an audience member who suggested Hitchcock’s film would have been better if Jimmy Stewart had left his apartment and, broken legs be damned, chased down Raymond Burr’s Thorwald around New York in an epic mano-a-mano pursuit. Of course, that would completely ruin the concept of the movie. Maybe that audience member was Brad Anderson, because that’s exactly what happens in The Call. The movie ends up                                               

                                          

OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL REVIEW

Director:Sam Raimi

Writter:Mitchell Kapner, David Lindsay-Abaire

Running Time:130 minutes

Despite looking like a spiritual sequel to 2010's Alice in Wonderland and sending every punctuation stickler into a tizzy, the Wizard of Oz prebootOz the Great and Powerful works magic on the big screen. Director Sam Raimi (Spider-Man) fixes all of Alice's mistakes, fluffing up the eye-popping CG decor with bright colors and fueling his fairy tale adventure with a good deal of soul. Like 2011's Hugo did with the early days of cinema, Raimi turns Oz into a love letter for old school magic, mesmerizingng Technicolor, and the fantastical approach that made the 1939 original a classic. Alice may have made a billion dollars at the box office, but Ozis the success — whimsical, silly, and totally transportive.

James Franco stars as Oscar Diggs, the man who eventually becomes "the Wizard" that we know. But first, he's a magician from the Dustbowl Era, willing to con even his closest friends to have life go his way. To help him learn a lesson, the Forces That Be ensnare him in a tornado — a one way ticket to the land of Oz. After quickly shaking off the fact that the alternative universe bares his same name, Oscar crosses paths with Theodora (Mila Kunis), a witch who believes him to be a prophetic Wizard sent to save Oz from the Wicked Witch of the West. So begins their cross-Oz journey — and Oscar's greatest con to date.

As the "Wizard" learns the ropes, accepting the challenge to defeat the Wicked Witch after learning of Emerald City's vast treasures, he meets the real stars of Raimi's show. Rachel Weisz has a ball as Theodora's dastardly sister Evanora, who pulls strings in the Emerald City as the citizens await the Wizard. Continually sending into a Mommie Dearest-level rage is Glinda. Michelle Williams captures the innocence and elegance of the Glinda from the '39 film with an added snap of wit. She may be the nicest witch in all of Oz, but piss her off and she'll blast you with magic. Much of Oz the Great and Powerful is dedicated to exploring the expansive world Raimi has designed — The crystalline Emerald City, Munchkin City and its wholesome residents, the delicate "China Town" (made of actual China plates) ravaged by the Wicked Witch's flying monkeys — and it works thanks to the host of characters carrying it along. Even Zach Braff as a talking monkey works as comedic relief (providing a few of the surprisingly effective 3D gags).

The only thing that falls flat in Oz is Franco. And not just a little bit — like a house lifted up by a maelstrom and slammed back into the Earth kind of thwomp. Oscar is supposed to be a man in need of redemption, a self-obsessive who is destructive to the people around him. Franco fits the bill… but it doesn't feel like a character. The actor is self-aware of his non-existent surroundings. He's goofy instead of theatrical. His smug grin creates a disconnect between him and his costars, real or digital. At one point Oscar cradles a living porcelain doll he finds in the smoldering remains of China Town. It's a touching bit of sadness that Franco sells. But as Oscar begins to "change," Franco stays put, acting like the world of Oz is one big joke when we're waiting for him to wake up to the fact that it isn't.

But not even Franco's laid back approach can sink Raimi's inspired vision, which unexpectedly expresses all of the director's quirks right down to the wild camera movements, bold canted angles, and an instinct that allows Oz to get a little scary (don't worry, children: not Evil Dead scary). Raimi's film pays its dues to past Oz incarnations, down to a riff on "Lollipop King" from composer Danny Elfman, but still feels innovative. The director contends with Franco around every turn of the yellow brick road, orchestrating action sequences, fantastical encounters, and even a musical number, around him in hopes of drowning Oscar in imagination. The combined powers of Weisz, Williams, and Kunis do the trick against the charisma-lacking leading man. Maybe just the three ladies for the sequel? 

                                      

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