Thoughts on Star Wars The Last Jedi

Spoilers, obviously.

So I took a few days to digest precisely everything I saw in The Last Jedi. My immediate emotions coming out of the theatre was one of frustration and oddly, anger, but I didn't know why then. The next day I digested all manners of spoiler reviews and discussion, and the picture in my head became clear. 

I was conflicted because Episode 8 disregards every question that was left to be answered in Episode 7. Luke seeing his old lightsaber after 40 years? He tosses it into the ocean after 5 seconds of contemplation. Who are Rey's parents? Simply nobodies. Who is Snoke and how he came to be so powerful? Never explained. The Resistance base planet? Destroyed in the opening act. Maz Kanata's "a good story for another time" - how she came to possess Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber? Nothing. 

I'd go as far as to say Rian Johnson had contempt for What JJ Abrams started in The Force Awakens. 

Heading into The Last Jedi I knew about the massive deficit between the critics score and the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. I was full of excitement and anticipation because I'd thought it was major plot points and twists that are causing divide, and I'm all for a non-cookie cutter Star Wars story. Turns out I got to be disappointed at that, too. The Last Jedi is largely what I thought it would be: Rey gets trained by Luke, the First Order retaliates against the Resistance, Kylo tries to turn Rey to the dark side but get rejected, and Luke returns at the end to save the day. 

All that in it of itself makes for a good and entertaining movie - if you disregard the severed connections with Episode 7. I guess a sizable amount of fans cannot do that, which explains the low Rotten Tomatoes audience score. I can't say they are wrong: one expects a proper saga film to answer questions laid out by the one preceding it. However, I think fan's heighten expectations after two years of rampant (and fun) speculation were so on an edge that by not paying off any of it in The Last Jedi, they felt absolutely cheated.

Looking back, that was exactly my thoughts after watching the movie, and some of those sentiments stuck even after reading Rian's multiple explanations on his decisions. People suggests that upon additional viewings the film improves dramatically because all the pent up expectations were already crushed by the first watch (quite the caveat, wouldn't you say?). I'll have to see for myself when I do watch it again. 

JJ is back on Episode 9, and I wonder if he alters anything in the plans to alleviate the fan backlash. 

To balance out the negativity, here are some things I really liked in The Last Jedi. The fight scene in the throne room is easily the second best lightsaber sequence behind the duel of fates in Episode 1. Force ghost Yoda showing up (in original puppet form!) was a pleasant surprise and a memorable scene with Luke. Snoke's death at the hands of Kylo happened one film earlier than expected but I like how quickly Kylo has claimed agency over himself and the entire First Order. The opening battle of X-wings taking down a First Order 'Dreadnaught' ship, and the ending battle on the salt planet is visually spectacular. Lastly, I quite enjoy the additional levity and humor sprinkled throughout. 

So here's my current verdict: The Last Jedi is a good Star Wars saga movie if you can ignore what was left behind in The Force Awakens. 

Finally going to see The Last Jedi

I am finally seeing Star Wars The Last Jedi this evening, and I am chomping at the bits excited. 

The movie came out almost a week ago so going on Twitter since is like playing Minesweeper with spoilers. Try as I might to avoid them I've already been informed of a few plot points, though nothing major thankfully. The dodging and avoidance can stop after tonight and I can join in on the fun of discussing the movie.

And it appears to be a divisive movie indeed. On Rotten Tomatoes, the audience score is some 30 points lower than the critics score, which is very odd. Comparatively, the audience score for Justice League is 40 points higher than the critic score. What exactly are the fans not happy with in The Last Jedi that movie reviewers are raving about? 

I can't wait to find out. 

As I head into the movie though I'm glad opinions on Episode 8 are mixed, with people generally agreeing it's a good movie but major details are highly disagreeable. It's about time we get a non cookie-cutter Star Wars film because Episode 7 in hindsight was just a rehash of A New Hope with all the usual trappings of a "proper" Star Wars film. Fine, people love a good nostalgia trip and The Force Awakens served that purpose beautifully. I need The Last Jedi to be fresh and though-provoking, and it looks like I will get it. 

I shall give my thoughts on the next blog. Thank you to those amongst my circles of interaction kind enough to not spoil the film. Cheers.  

iMac Pro: the want is strong

Do I need an iMac Pro? Absolutely not.

Do I want an iMac Pro? Absolutely yes, and I have much use for it as well.

Alas, as I've just earlier this year purchased a brand-new 2017 edition of the 5K iMac, upgrading again so soon is blasphemy against sound financial judgement. The 5K iMac is plenty fast and serving me quite well. It chews through photographs and 4K videos with great ease. 

The iMac Pro can do it exponentially faster though! Imagine what I can do with 10 CPU cores, 64 gigabytes of memory, and a workstation-class AMD GPU. One of the best investments is to throw money at saving time, and products like the iMac Pro is entirely about shaving precious seconds off a video render or photo import. It's worth it if your livelihood depends on it.

Unfortunately for me, I have a proper day job and the digital production stuff is but a hobby on the side. Ergo while I can use the iMac Pro, it doesn't make sense for me because my paycheck doesn't depend on it. For sure this might change in the future, but for now, I'll be more than alright with the 5K iMac. 

Besides, there's the modular Mac Pro and pro-level monitor still to come from Apple next year. Even if I were inclined to plop over $5K down for the iMac Pro, I'd at least wait until those other products have seen the light of day. Options are fun like that. 

In the meantime I'll live vicariously through the Youtube creatives that have bought or will buy the iMac Pro. 

Rest in peace, Kim Jonghyun

I woke up to horrible new this morning: Kpop group SHINee member Kim Jonghyun found dead in his home in an apparent suicide.

He was 27.

As someone who reveled in turning 30 just last week, Jonghyun's death somehow felt like a gut-punch to me. Never mind that SHINee is one of my favorite Kpop acts, and Jonghyun had arguably the best male vocals in the business (his ending to SM The Ballad's 'Hot Times' is a master class). It's heartbreaking to see someone so at the end of his wits that the ultimate and lasting release of death was the better option. 

At only 27 years of age. So much potential and life still ahead, but he couldn't see it. Even for me who have been through depression, I can't begin to imagine being in that place.

All the veneer of Jonghyun's success and veneration hid a deep trouble no one knew. Us fans on the outside can see but the happy side of fame and fortune, but we all have struggles, no matter the social standing. Money is a great problem solver yet it can never cover a hole that depression creates. To pull oneself out takes a combination of personal perseverance and outside help.

Unfortunately, in Asia it may still be shockingly taboo to seek psychological help, especially for a celebrity like Jonghyun. People would surely ask what can a world-class entertainer with all the accolades and money possibly have to be sad about? It's tremendous ignorance, and a total blind-spot of first-world Asia and its singular focus on equating success with happiness.

Let's be kind to one another. Appearances can mask hurt: reach out, simply to say hello. We are one in this world, and communication reaffirms it to those momentarily impeded from remembering. 

Thank you, Jonghyun. I pray you've found your peace. 

New Lightroom is finally decent to use

In recent years I've been using the Adobe CC suite for free because San Francisco State - my employer - offers a volume license to faculty and staff. Being a hobbyist photographer I naturally only use two programs out of the many: Lightroom and Photoshop.

I got an email this past weekend from the university IT department informing me the Adobe license have expired, and those of us using CC need to register again to get the updated suite. Me being the lazy type, I decided to forgo the hassle of doing that and instead subscribed to Adobe CC personally. The Lightroom + Photoshop combo is only $10 a month, and I know for sure it'll be updated much faster than the university account on future major releases. 

Besides, can't say for sure I'll be working at the same place anyways. 

So out goes Lightroom CC 2015, and in comes the renamed Lightroom Classic CC. Adobe have promised earlier this year it'll focus on performance in future CC updates, and to my utter surprise, the new Lightroom has indeed sped up considerably! It appears Adobe is sufficiently leveraging GPU power, in edition to expanding the utilization of multiple CPU cores to the entire app, and not just in the 'Develop' module. 

It's still nowhere as fast as it can be - native Apple pro apps like Final Cut are still a cut above of any Adobe CC app, but finally the Lightroom user experience isn't one of feeling like my computer is inadequate to handle it (the latest 5K iMac, mind you). I've been editing the batch of photos I took from the Taiwan trip a week ago, and not needing to wait anymore for the app to catch up to my actions is simply sublime. 

Excellent work, Adobe: more of the same, please. 

Southern California burns

It was only a month ago that much of Napa Valley was on fire for an entire week, grinding normal business in the Bay Area to a halt for the better parts of a week. Therefore it is extremely eerie to watch the wildfires happening now in Southern California. The State simply cannot catch a break. 

Do a search on Twitter for people's videos of their morning commute: it looks like a hell-scape. 

Are these spectacular wildfires going to be a constant in our near future? Some are saying so. California had a proper rainy season in 2016, but before that it was five consecutive years of unprecedented drought - one wet season isn't going to completely solve the problem. It appears this year we have returned to dry conditions: we've only had a week of solid rain thus far and we're halfway into December already. 

I can certainly feel the intense dryness here in supposedly humid San Francisco. In these windy and parched conditions, one false move with a match or electric wire and that's it: tens of thousands of acres will burn. I sure pray another one doesn't start up here as well, that would be devastating. 

God speed to everyone down south, and god bless the fire-fighters doing the work. 

Face ID: the verdict

Apple's Face ID on the iPhone X works just as well as Touch ID, and that is excellent indeed for a first generation technology. Having used the iPhone X for a month now, Face ID has integrated nicely to the workflow, and its infrequent hiccups are no more annoying than those of Touch ID. 

When it works, Face ID is imperceptibly fast; the mechanics of it disappears into the background. Looking at the phone as I swipe up from the bottom in one combo motion, and it unlocks like magic. The only time I even notice Face ID is at work is when it inevitably doesn't work: having the phone buzz at you and prompting a passcode entry is as baffling an experience as Touch ID rejecting my thumb because it's slightly damp.

Thankfully, those moments occurring are miniscule, and half the time it's my fault (if alive, Steve Jobs would say I'm using it wrong). To the surprise of nobody, Face ID doesn't work when my face is half covered by a pillow or wearing a face mask. Sometimes even too sudden of a change in hairstyle - if I were to flip my hair up from its usual down position - would trigger a recognition failure. I hope hats don't interfere, because I've yet to use Face ID while wearing one.

As I've said in my initial impressions, I think Face ID needs an additional biometric layer to complement the base systems: a retinal scanner can alleviate times when the face is covered with a mask, or I happen to be scratching my nose. Being able to still securely unlock the iPhone with an impeded face would be the ultimate. 

What Apple has engineered with Face ID is phenomenal: it's an exponentially better and more complete user experience right out the gate than Touch ID's initial debut. With further software development and deeper machine learning, I hope the technology gets better and migrates to other Apple products. It would be lovely on an iMac.