The Grand Budapest Hotel

M. Gustave H. : "Why do you want to be a lobby boy?"

Zero: "Well who wouldn't... at the Grand Budapest, sir? It's an institution." 

And so begins the friendship of concierge M. Gustave H. and his loyal lobby boy Zero. Their adventures to follow are a joy to watch; filled with comedy, violence, and a beautiful European backdrop that often resembles a painting.  Watching The Grand Budapest Hotel is movie bliss. Of the Wes Anderson films I have seen this is easily my favorite. The fictional worlds he creates are easy to get lost in and are well known for their unique visual quality. From the opening scenes his movies are instantly recognizable. This holds true here as well. What seems to be different with The Grand Budapest Hotel from other Anderson films is that this fictional world feels very close at times to our own reality, especially with the themes of war, rather than it's own fairy tale. This combined with the writing, and Ralph Fiennes' wonderful performance as M. Gustave H., make The Grand Budapest Hotel not only my favorite Wes Anderson film but the best film I have seen so far this year. 

I can't overstate how much I love this movie. The writing is superb, the cast is top notch, it's humor silly but smart, and world so beautiful that I would still enjoy myself if it were a silent film. The script moves at such a ferocious pace that I didn't dare blink the first time I watched it alone at the Fargo Theater. The second viewing at home was even better, and just as good the subsequent night as I finished writing my thoughts. 

As I already said, Ralph Fiennes outdoes himself in this role. His character M. Gustave H. is easily the most likable character I have seen Fiennes play. Monsieur Gustave is an eccentric man that is both honest and sensitive. He genuinely loves his friends, perfume, poems, and of course the Grand Budapest. His bond with Zero becomes unbreakable and will make you care about these characters even more. Even though it's early I still predict Ralph Fiennes to get an Oscar nod for this performance. 

If you don't like Wes Anderson films, watching this movie probably won't change your mind. For everyone else, I highly recommend checking out this impeccably well done film. 

"To be frank, I think his world had vanished long before he ever entered it; but I will say he certainly sustained the illusion with a marvelous grace."

Official Trailer

E3 2014

Electronic Entertainment Expo, aka E3, is an annual video game conference that I have been religiously watching for years. The two shows in particular that I always make sure to watch are the Microsoft and Sony press conferences. Here are some of my thoughts on this year's shows:

Microsoft Press Conference
Games, games, games. Microsoft shifted their focus from last year on the Xbox One being an all-in-one entertainment system for the living room to a gamer focused approach. There was not a single mention during the conference on the Kinect or Xbox glass, contrary to last year which seemed to be dominated by topics such as these. No, instead the show was all about games, and for the most part they did a good job. I did not care for them opening with yet another Call of Duty game, which just looks like a new paint job with jet-packs, and I also thought some of the other games looked pretty boring (Fable Legends being the biggest offender). There were however some extremely impressive looking titles announced, some of which I highlight below.

I think it's great that Microsoft is trying to listen to what the fans want. When it was first announced that the Xbox One would have to be an always connected console, and fans cried foul, Microsoft switched it's all in approach and made it so games could always be played offline. When fans said they didn't want to be forced to buy the Kinect, Microsoft released an Xbox One package without a Kinect at a $100 cheaper price tag. This type of feedback and response is cool but resulted in a murky image for the Xbox One and Microsoft's goal. Is it an entertainment system first that can also play games or a gaming console first that can also be a center for the living room? After this years show Microsoft has made it pretty clear the focus is back on the gamer, and for me this is a good thing.

Evolve- from the creators of Left 4 Dead comes the next co-op experience that either pits you and 3 other friends against a Kraken monster, or you as the monster versus 4 different adversaries. Judging solely on the quality of the Left 4 Dead games I have a feeling that Evolve will likewise be something special.

Tech Post

New apps, digital music service, and social network I'm using... Hopefully you find one of these to be new and helpful, just as I did. Maybe even something you love.

For me, I love Pocket! This application is basically just another way to “bookmark” things online, but in my humble opinion this is by far the best way to do that. Whether its articles, videos, images, or basically whatever you come across while browsing the web, Pocket is the perfect way to save it for later. That is the main way I use this app--saving cool articles or videos I find to view later when I have more time. As an example, when I’m catching up on my twitter feed during lunch I might find three or four really cool links for videos or articles I want to check out, but I don’t have the time to do so. With Pocket, all I have to do is hold the link down on my phone and select the pocket option to store it for another time. It has a wonderfully simplistic interface that can make articles even more enjoyable to read than on the actual websites, and it works seamlessly with both my iPhone and laptop. If you don’t already have a favorite way of saving your interesting finds on the internet I would highly suggest looking into this app.

PasswordBox is another cool app that I have found to help manage the myriad of passwords I have in my repertoire. And it’s free! Posted below is a video that does a good job of explaining what exactly PasswordBox provides.

I am seriously confused and mad at myself for taking so long to try Spotify out. My stubborn ways lead me for years to using YouTube to listen to full albums while studying, or Pandora for a streaming radio service. All this while knowing full well that Spotify existed... Now that I finally have given it a try I haven’t used anything else to listen to music. It is bar none the best digital music service available. If you like music, which most humans with souls do, download Spotify. No question. 

I’m currently using a free 30 day trial for Spotify Premium which allows me to listen to ad free music, improved sound quality, and permits me to download music to listen to offline (saves on phone data if out of range of Wi-Fi). Depending on how much you use it, premium can be a little spendy at $10 a month. However, if you are currently a student at an accredited institution it is only $5 a month! For me this is a no brainer, but some may want to stick with the free version.

Spotify makes my life a little better. It is easy to use, has a beautiful interface, and a huge library of music begging to be listened to. I'll be interested to see what others such as Amazon can come up with in terms of digital music services to compete with it.

I recently created a LinkedIn account for myself during one of the snow days this last semester. I did it for the potential to network with my colleagues and those with similar career aspirations. I also think it’s important to create the best online identity for yourself as possible. I felt that this was one adequate way to do that. For those who don’t know what LinkedIn is, or are just interested in reading more about it, there is a cool article on slate.com with a perspective on the flaws of this social network. 

My LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/benjamin-olson/94/150/558

I'm always trying to find ways to make my life simpler, and I've found that these help me do just that. If you agree, or have better suggestions for any of these, please let me know in the comments below! 

Punch Brothers

This is something like what I think country music should sound like today.