My Life and Code

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I've been using Oculus Quest and SKYBOX VR to watch movies in a virtual movie theater, focusing on films I either never saw in the theater, or have never seen. Licence to Kill  is Timothy Dalton's second, and final, film as James Bond. It was released in the summer of 1989, which was a huge summer for genre films. Other films in theaters at that time were Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Ghostbusters II, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, and the biggest film of 1989, Tim Burton's Batman , among others. I had never seen Licence to Kill  until now, watching it in SKYBOX VR's virtual cinema environment. Warning: Minor spoilers follow . I only knew a little bit about this one before watching it, basically just that it was considered a dark film, was originally going to be titled Licence Revoked , and that it involves Bond out for revenge for the death of his friend Felix Leiter's new wife, and Leiter's maiming by a villain-induced sha...

While visiting my in-laws for Christmas in 2018, my brother-in-law introduced me to VR by way of his Playstation VR. Whatever preconceptions I'd had of VR were inaccurate, and I was blown away, quickly picking up my own within a few days. A year later, I ordered an Oculus Quest, eager to have a tetherless VR experience. Even though the Quest had a processor that even at the time of release was outdated, I really enjoyed it, though I was already hoping for the next iteration and what could be done with more advanced hardware. I didn't have to wait long, as Oculus Quest 2 was announced in the Fall of 2020, and released that October. Upon receiving the Quest 2 on release day, I was, honestly, disappointed. The major selling points were a better processor, higher resolution, improved battery life for the controllers, and a lower price point. But everything else just felt like cost cutting. First, while the Quest 2 is a little lighter, it's also smaller , and I found that it was...

In my previous post , I talked about Siskel and Ebert, and how much I enjoyed their show. In this  post, I want to talk about my own  love of the movies. There’s something about the moviegoing experience that I really enjoy, but I can’t really put my finger on it. It may just be the atmosphere, being in an auditorium and a large screen. But it also might be the trailers, or the dimming of the lights as it all starts, or the reaction of the crowd. I remember seeing Terminator 2  on opening night, and the audience just gasping  as Schwarzenegger did that first one-handed shotgun cocking while riding a motorcycle. While I enjoy watching movies from the comfort of my home, there’s something to be said for being in a theater. Under normal circumstances, I might get to the movies once or twice a year, and some years not at all. But with the current COVID situation, it’s not an option. However, I found an alternative, a not-quite-the-same but still enjoyable way to experien...