16 December 2010

UPDATED: THIS BLOG HAS MOVED!

Hello reader.

Thanks for stopping by.

This blog is now hosted by Wordpress at http://newwritersdrift.wordpress.com, so I can keep all my blogs in the same place. New posts won't be appearing here, although the blog will remain active.

In the next few days my http://blog.richardcosgrove.co.uk will take you to the shiny new Wordpress version. As soon as I figure out how to make that happen.

In the meantime, please stop by http://newwritersdrift.wordpress.com.

And while you're there, please visit my new blog on how I'm remaking Blade Runner… in under a minute: http://bladerunner60.wordpress.com.

UPDATE: http://blog.richardcosgrove.co.uk now directs you to the Wordpress version of this blog. Please update your bookmarks and RSS feeds. Thanks.

13 December 2010

Gawker passwords and Hint.io

This morning I received the following email from a website I'd never heard of called Hint.io.

Hi there,
Hint wanted to let you know that your email address and password that you used to signup for Gawker (or one of its sites) was hacked. Forbes' coverage is here
In situations like this, time is of the essence, which is why we were surprised & shocked to find that Gawker Media hadn't taken the initiative to notify you of this privacy breech immediately. We HIGHLY recommend you change all of your online passwords as a precaution.
-The Team at Hint
My instant reaction was that this email was a phishing attempt. But as I read on I saw it did not ask for my account details or to reset my password using a link it provided.


Then something else struck me: the only way Hint.io knew my personal email address,that I had an account with Gawke, and my account information had been compromised, was if the staff at hint.io had access to that stolen information.

I've emailed teamhint@hint.io asking for an explanation as to why the hell they have a stolen password database.

Hope they have a really good explanation.

Just like I hope Gawker has a good explanation why account details were stolen, why they didn't inform account holders themselves, and why their password reset system has gone down.

9 December 2010

Tron Legacy review - two thumbs down

*MINOR SPOILER AHEAD*

I saw this movie at a preview screening last week.

It was extremely disappointing.



The 3D - what there was of it - was stunning. Jeff Bridges very entertaining in both of his parts, and Olivia Wilde gave a good comic turn. And the action scenes were passable (although reliant on slow-motion at times.)

However, the script was a mess: badly structured (overlong lead up to the world); no connections between the real world and the virtual; it lifted its structure and sequences directly from Tron and other movies (Star Wars: A New Hope for one - Mos Eisley bar, Bridges is Obi Wan Kenobi, and there's a dogfight with spacecraft); the virtual world made no sense (how and why would it have wind and weather?); there were plenty of overlong lectures and monologues; there were basic flaws in logic (for a start how does someone bleed in a virtual world?) and continuity (at one point a character has their data disc stolen. A few minutes later it's clearly seen on their back, when they're discussing how to recover it); and characters behave in contradictory ways.

The other major flaw was lead actor Garrett Hedlund. He just does not hold up as a lead in this film. Especially not when he's stood next to Bridges and Wilde.

(Image © Access Hollywood)

The biggest flaw was the lack of Tron. The lead character from the last film is now a (literally) faceless, generic goon. When Bridges character recognises him as Tron, it's hard to see how - Tron looks identical to every other goon in the film.

Watch the original. Tron Legacy is entirely skippable.

EDIT: @tronprogam2 has pointed out that the disc I mentioned earlier belongs to another character. So that continuity flaw isn't really a flaw. But I found it hard to pay attention as I was very ungripped by the film. And that particular disc comes to a grim end at the end of the film, which is another part to characters that doesn't make any sense.

Also, there's a blatant "Reason for the inevitable sequel" moment near the end.