Watching ‘Annihilation’ at home versus the cinema

Alex Garland wrote 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Dredd, establishing his bona fides as a master of blending horror and mind-bending sci-fi. He then wrote and directed Ex Machina, which propelled him into an elite fraternity of directors producing smart, arty films that stick with you long after you leave the theater. His latest film, Annihilation, was set to be his big mainstream breakthrough, but it will be released theatrically only in the US, Canada and China. In the rest of the world, the film will play on Netflix. Does that mean everyone in the rest of the world is losing out by having to watch it in the comfort of their own homes? We asked two of our editors — one in New York and one in London — to report their respective experiences.

Devindra Hardawar
US: AMC Village 7 Cinema

After seeing Annihilation in a packed New York City theater on opening night, I had two thoughts. I was grateful to experience such a gorgeous, transcendent film with a group of strangers, on a giant screen that demanded our attention. And I felt sorry for audiences outside of the US, Canada and China who won’t have the opportunity to experience it in theaters. If this is the future of film distribution, I fear that we’re losing something essential.

As someone who deeply admired Alex Garland’s Ex Machina and Jeff VanderMeer’s original novel Annihilation, my expectations were high for the movie. But I was a bit worried when Paramount announced its unusual split distribution strategy. Not so much because I feared it meant the film was bad; rather, it seemed as if the studio was just dumping it to make some quick cash, instead of doing the work to get people into theaters. I suppose that’s understandable for Paramount, though, following a string of box office failures and a rough few years of earnings. Ex Machina also suffered at the box office internationally, making a mere $11.4 million (on top of its $25.4 million domestic gross). A Netflix deal would certainly fetch more for Paramount, and, of course, it would give even more people access to the film.

I’m sure I’ll enjoy watching Annihilation at home, but I’m also a movie nerd with a projector and an extensive surround sound setup. If you’re just watching it on a TV or — movie gods forbid — on your laptop or tablet, you’ll definitely miss out on the film’s epic scope and rich sound design. Several sequences seemed purposefully built to be experienced with a crowd on an enormous screen. A scene with a monster prowling through a room, as our intrepid explorers can only sit trembling, praying not to get attacked, had my audience holding their breath. (I could tell from the collective sigh of relief when it was all over.) The film’s astounding finale, a dialogue-free visual feast that would be right at home at the Museum of Modern Art, felt almost like a collective religious experience.

Perhaps that’s the best way to put it. Seeing a film in a theater, especially a film as masterful as Annihilation, is a bit like going to church. It soothes my soul, and I feel even more at ease when I’m with an audience that’s seeing the light. At home on my couch, it’s like trying to find enlightenment from a televangelist.

Daniel Cooper
UK: PS4 running Netflix on a 40-inch Blaupunkt HDTV, optical out to a Sony HT-CT80

Seeing Annihilation for the first time on the small screen left me with the sense that I’d missed something from the whole experience. It’s the first time I’ve been denied the opportunity to watch an Alex Garland movie in a cinema, which is how I’d experienced all of his work thus far, from 28 Days Later onward.

Whether he’s writing or directing, Garland’s work resonates with a paranoid, woozy energy that amplifies the skin-tearing tension. But, as slow and tense as Annihilation is, it’s hard to be as gripped in your living room as you are in a cinema.

If you want to get pedantic about it, there’s a film theory term — scopophilia — which denotes the pleasure you get from watching something. And in a big, darkened room full of similarly awestruck viewers, you’re more drawn into the world unfolding in front of you.

And Annihilation has one hell of a world, full of weird, off-kilter visuals that mix the joy of nature with extreme body horror. But I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the film has — as Devindra says above — an “epic scope and rich sound design.”

On a TV screen, the Floridian visuals aren’t too broad or deep, but claustrophobic and tight, and in my notes I wrote that the film “isn’t cinematic.” It didn’t look like a $40 million movie, but perhaps that’s because the TV sapped all of those lush visuals and made it look more pedestrian.

That said, a lot of the film is composed of medium-frame shots, and you’ll be spending a lot of time looking at Natalie Portman staring out beyond the frame. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but if you’d told me this was a TV movie on a quarter of the budget, I would have believed you.

And that’s something that affected Garland’s last movie, too, since Ex Machina was essentially a series of scenes in which two people talk in a room. It’s an impeccable movie, but one that just as easily could have been a theatrical production rather than a cinematic one.

It’s the same with the sound design, which I’m sure was much more terror-inducing in a cinema than being pumped out my admittedly piddly soundbar. In the future, I’d love to get a beefier setup, but then, it’s not as if — in a town house with a toddler — I’d ever get the opportunity to use it.

The behind-the-scenes saga of why Annihilation came to be on Netflix is a fascinating one, especially since Paramount is now using Netflix as a dumping ground. This and The Cloverfield Paradox were both medium-budget sci-fi movies that the accountants were nervous about releasing.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Paramount’s David Ellison felt that Annihilation, a mid-budget, cerebral, arty sci-fi movie, would alienate audiences. Which is doubly interesting, given that Paramount did quite well with Arrival, a mid-budget, cerebral, arty sci-fi movie that it released in 2016.

I should add that Annihilation is as brilliant as Ex Machina, even if it lacks that movie’s exploration of such a stone-cold sci-fi premise. It’s also one of a small handful of thought-provoking films that seem to have “tentpole classic of the genre” nailed on them from the moment they’re released.

Image: Peter Mountain (Alligator)

National Geographic built ‘Space Projection Helmets’ for its new show

When it came time for National Geographic to build an immersive experience for its new show, One Strange Rock, the network didn’t want another virtual reality experience. So it worked together with McCann and New York City-based Tomorrow Lab to build something entirely new: Space Projection Helmets. From the outside, they look like replica NASA gear — fitting since One Strange Rock is focused on astronauts and their view of Earth. On the inside, though, they have all of the equipment necessary for a personal theatrical experience. You can think of the helmets as mini OMNIMAX cinemas, the dome version of IMAX screens typically found in science museums.

Putting one on is almost like gearing up for space, at least based on my demo at a media event in New York. A helper first placed a harness assembly over my head, which includes shoulder pads to balance it. I was then led into a theater, where another worker carefully placed the helmet over my head and locked it into the harness. After that, I slid down the visor and prepared to launch into virtual space.

Wearing the Space Projection Helmet is a strange experience at first — you’ve got the freedom to move your head around, just like a real astronaut. But it felt more claustrophobic than wearing a VR headset, since your head is literally trapped in a tiny space. Each helmet features a tiny 720p laser projector paired together with a fisheye lens. Together, they shoot a properly proportional image onto the curved visor. That surface is also transmissive, allowing anyone to see exactly what you’re seeing in the helmet. As for audio, that’s handled by a speaker built into the harness.

Eduardo Munoz for National Geographic

Having seen plenty of weird projector contraptions, I didn’t expect much from the Space Projection Helmets at first. But as I saw an image of Earth slowly appearing on a dark horizon, I started to see the appeal. It’s not like VR, which sometimes feels as if you’re looking through a pair of binoculars. It’s a more natural way too render images, and it accomplishes precisely what National Geographic set out to do: Giving us a look at our planet from an astronaut’s perspective. The demo reel only lasted a few minutes, but it highlighted some choice moments from One Strange Rock, like huge volcanic explosions and tumultuous thunderstorms.

Astronaut Chris Hadfield tries on one of the helmets.

Eduardo Munoz for National Geographic

While I still prefer the sheer immersion of a proper VR headset, especially now that they’re reaching higher resolutions, the Space Projection Helmets are an intriguing experiment. National Geographic plans to bring them to schools and planetariums this Spring. They’re an ideal way to promote One Strange Rock, which is shaping up to be the network’s biggest show yet. Narrated by Will Smith, and produced by Darren Aronofsky, it’s an epic look at what makes our planet special, told by the few people who’ve seen it from space. We’ll have more coverage on the show ahead of its premiere on March 26th at 10 PM Eastern.

Google’s Pixel 2 portrait photo code is now open source

Of all the AI-related features inside the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, the portrait mode is arguably the most impressive — Google manages to produce dramatic-looking depth-of-field effects without relying on dual cameras or other exotic hardware. And now, it’s sharing some of those secrets with the rest of the world. The company has opened up the source code for DeepLab-v3+, the AI-based image segmentation technology that helps Pixel 2 phones separate the foreground and background. It uses a neural network to detect the outlines of foreground objects, helping to classify the objects you care about in a scene while ignoring those you don’t.

This doesn’t guarantee that new phones or camera apps will take Pixel 2-quality portraits, although it does open that possibility. And really, phone photos aren’t the point. Google researchers are hoping that both academics and industry figures will use the source code to not only improve on the technology, but find uses that Google hasn’t anticipated. This could be used for object detection and many other tasks where spotting boundaries could come in handy.

Via: The Verge

Source: Google Research Blog

Netflix Nixes Feature That Gave Patches to Kids for Watching TV

Netflix has decided to stop testing a new gamified TV streaming experience for children, which offered kids “patches” (aka stickers) for watching episodes of certain television shows.

Netflix started testing the feature in February, but it received widespread attention last week after the beta test was highlighted by various media sites. Given the negative attention Netflix received over the feature from parents concerned about their children watching too much TV, Netflix has decided not to move forward with development.

Image from Twitter
In a statement to BuzzFeed, Netflix said the testing for patches has ended and the feature will not be implemented.

“We’ve concluded the test for patches and have decided not to move forward with the feature for kids. We test lots of things at Netflix in order to learn what works well – and what doesn’t work well – for our members.”

During the beta testing period, there were several complaints about the feature from users who encountered it, with customers sharing their negative opinions on Twitter and other social networks. Netflix was accused of attempting to turn children into “binge watchers” through the patch program.

Hey @netflix! If this becomes a thing, my kids are not going to be allowed to watch Netflix any more. We don’t need you to drive engagement for them to *watch more TV*. https://t.co/Eb9sEBy3oV

— aprotim (@aprotim) March 12, 2018

@netflix hi. i have been a netflix subscriber for over ten years. i will cancel my subscription if patches stick around. i don’t need you actively encouraging my child to waste time in front of the television.

— The Ape of God (@simiadei) March 12, 2018

Netflix was testing the feature with a small number of users, with patches provided for shows like “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” “Trolls,” “Troll Hunters,” Fuller House,” and more. Netflix said the feature was aimed at providing collectible items for a “more interactive experience” and to “expand the storytelling world for the show.”

Users who were part of Netflix’s test group will no longer be seeing patches when watching TV shows.

Tag: Netflix
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Walmart says its grocery delivery will hit 100 new cities this year

Walmart and Amazon’s rivalry is alive and well. The former announced today that it plans to expand its Online Grocery Delivery service — currently available in six markets — to over 100 metro areas across the US this year. Additionally, Walmart’s Online Grocery Pickup service, which is available in 1,200 stores as of now, will reach 1,000 additional stores throughout 2018. The company says that with its planned delivery expansion, that service would then be available to over 40 percent of US households.

Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen Amazon and Walmart clap back at each other quite a bit, testing out new ways to get their goods to customers more efficiently, more cheaply and more quickly. While Amazon has explored drive-up and automated grocery stores, Walmart has tested out automated grocery kiosks. Both have tried out letting couriers place delivery orders inside customers’ houses. And while Walmart has played with having employees deliver your packages on their way home from work as well as sending them through Uber and Lyft, Amazon recently launched free, two-hour Whole Foods delivery in some markets. Both are also now offering meal kits.

While Amazon works on expanding its Whole Foods delivery service, it scaled back its Amazon Fresh service at the end of last year. Meanwhile, Walmart bought an NYC startup last year so that it could start offering same-day deliveries in the city.

Walmart says that it already employs over 18,000 personal shoppers that gather and pack customers’ online orders and thousands more will be hired this year as its online grocery shopping offerings expand. The delivery service requires a $30 minimum order and comes with a $10 fee. “Ninety percent of Americans live within 10 miles of a Walmart store, and we serve more than 150 million customers a week, which gives us a unique opportunity to make every day a little easier for busy families,” Tom Ward, Walmart’s VP of digital operations, said in a statement. “Today, we’re expanding this promise by helping even more customers save time and money without leaving their homes.”

Via: Ars Technica

Source: Walmart

EA adds a new battle mode to four-year-old ‘Plants vs Zombies 2’

Plants vs. Zombies 2: It’s About Time was pretty highly anticipated when it came out in 2013. The title got a couple expansions early on, but we really haven’t heard much about the lane-based castle defense game since then. Now, however, it looks like publisher EA and developer PopCap have a completely new high-score comparing player-vs-player system called Battlez mode. If nothing else, this might give us all a reason to hop back into the four-year-old title and try something a little new.

As you can tell from the explainer video, you’re not taking on your opponents directly, Instead, when you choose another player to compete against, you’ll set up plants in your backyard, then launch a massive wave of zombies. You’ll gather points from the number of zombies that you kill as well as how far back on the playing field you kill them. You can watch the score comparison change in a new banner set at the top of the Battlez stage. When the battle is over, you can see which plants your enemy used, which might give you some hints as to which plants to use in future battles. You’ll also get a progressively better reward the more games you win in a row.

Source: EA

Overcast adds a smarter way to dive back into a podcast

Marco Arment’s Overcast has a reputation as the podcast connoisseur’s iOS app of choice thanks to its inclusion of features you don’t even find in Apple’s official client, such as the automatic removal of dead air. That trend is continuing with the newly released Overcast 4.1, whose improvements might be extra-helpful if you find yourself lost whenever you return to a podcast. The new version adds a Smart Resume feature that not only skips back a few seconds when you hit play, but tweaks resumes and seeks so that they land on silences. You’ll ideally remember the context of what was being said before you paused, and won’t be as likely to resume playback in mid-sentence.

The update should also help if you’re the sort who tends to revisit podcasts soon after you’ve listened to them, but not much longer than that. Overcast previously either deleted podcasts the moment you were finished, or kept them for posterity. Now, there’s the option of holding on to podcasts for 24 hours before they’re removed from your device. You can also subscribe to private feeds that might need a login, such as a Patreon creator’s backers-only podcast. All told, you should have considerably more control over what you listen to and when.

Source: App Store, Marco.org

Amazon’s first debit card arrives in Mexico

Amazon has taken a number of steps to help you shop online without a bank card, and now it’s taking those efforts to their logical conclusion: the internet retailer has launched its first debit card, Amazon Rechargeable, in Mexico. Unlike a conventional debit or credit card, you can top it up using cash — you can load it with the equivalent of $967 US every month. You get a virtual card the moment you sign up (you only need to supply basic name, gender and date of birth info), and anyone who loads Rechargeable with the equivalent of $27 or more will get a physical card.

The card isn’t limited to Amazon, either. You can use it at other online stores, or to take advantage of outside internet services like Netflix, Spotify and Uber. Physical card owners can shop in retail stores. And if you need cash in a pinch, you can withdraw it from ATMs.

As with Amazon Cash and similar efforts, there’s one clear objective: making Amazon accessible to a wider swath of the population. Under a third of Mexican adults have credit cards, according to the government’s latest report, and that greatly limits their ability to shop through websites that frequently insist on credit. Rechargeable theoretically lets many more people buy from Amazon — and since it’s relatively open, gives them much more overall purchasing power.

Via: Reuters

Source: Amazon.com.mx (translated)

Apple Promotes iMac Pro as ‘Most Powerful Mac Ever’ With Series of Short Films

To demonstrate how the iMac Pro is the most powerful Mac ever, Apple recently invited a group of filmmakers, CG artists, and graphics designers to create a series of short films using its advanced technologies.

The artists include creative director Erin Sarofsky, motion graphics designer Esteban Diácono, 3D artist Luigi Honorat, director and designer Michelle Dougherty, design and motion studio ManvsMachine, and an integrated collective of designers, artists, and storytellers from production company Buck.

From concept development through final preparations for render, Apple says the iMac Pro was at the center of the creative work. The fine print does note that additional equipment was used for final rendering of 3D content.

Each film is accompanied by a behind-the-scenes video showing how the iMac Pro fit into the creative process, alongside a list of software tools used and testimonials about how great the iMac Pro is. Apple hasn’t shared the films on its YouTube channel yet, so it’s unclear if they’ll double as TV ads.

iMac Pro was described as “blazingly fast” in an early review. Based on benchmarks, the mid-range model with a 10-core 3.0GHz Intel Xeon processor is up to 45 percent faster than the high-end 2013 Mac Pro. The 10-core iMac Pro is also up to 93 percent faster than the latest top-of-the-line 27-inch 5K iMac.

Watch the Films: “iMac Pro: The most powerful Mac ever. Pushed to the limits.”

Related Roundup: iMac ProBuyer’s Guide: iMac Pro (Buy Now)
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How to Set a Custom Lock Screen Message on Your Mac in Case It’s Lost

You can set a custom message to appear on the lock screen of your Mac, which is super useful if you ever misplace or lose your Mac. It lets people see who the Mac belongs to as soon as it’s opened up, and there’s no question about ownership.

You will need an administrator account to create a lock screen message on your Mac, but it’s super easy to do.

Click on the “” icon in the menu bar.
Select System Preferences.
Choose Security & Privacy.
Select the “General” tab.
Click on the lock icon at the bottom of the window.
Enter your admin name and password.
Choose “Set Lock Message…”
Enter your desired message. It’s useful to add contact details here, like your email address and phone number or the email address and phone number of someone who can easily get in touch with you in an emergency situation.

What the lock screen message looks like when your Mac is locked.
If you misplace or Mac or have it stolen, this puts your contact information front and center as soon as your Mac is opened up, so whoever has it can see who it belongs to even before you activate Lost Mode using iCloud. It’s also potentially useful in an emergency if someone needs to know who you are and how to get in contact with a loved one.

I’m personally always paranoid about losing my MacBook or having it taken at some location like an airport security lane, so this is a nice way to have instantly identifiable info readily available.
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