Cineplex - DO BETTER - Your Movies are WAY TOO LOUD

Dear SilverCity Customer Service, I am writing to express my frustration regarding my recent movie-going experiences at your theatre. Unfortunately, this is the second consecutive visit where the movie volume was so excessively loud that it significantly detracted from the experience. During my most recent visit to see The Odyssey last evening, I measured sound levels of approximately 90 dB using a sound meter app. Sitting through nearly three hours at that volume was not only uncomfortable but also concerning from a hearing health perspective. I now feel compelled to bring earplugs to every movie simply to avoid potential hearing damage, which should not be necessary in a cinema. I would appreciate an explanation as to why movies are presented at such extreme volume levels. Is there a technical standard or company policy that requires this? I genuinely do not understand why the sound needs to be so loud. Because of this issue, I have almost completely stopped going to the movies. I now attend perhaps one or two films a year, despite previously enjoying the theatre experience. The people I attended the screening with last night shared the same opinion—that the volume was uncomfortably and unnecessarily loud. I hope you will take this feedback seriously. I believe many patrons would enjoy the cinematic experience more if the sound were reduced to a comfortable level without sacrificing the impact of the film. I would appreciate a response explaining your theatre's approach to sound levels and whether this issue is being considered. Thank you for your time.

Some of My Favorite Photos of the North Shore Region

 

Welcome Islands (Thunder Bay off in the Distance)

MacKenzie Falls - Shuniah

Prince Arthur's Landing Sunrise - Winter

Kakabeka Falls

Battle Island Light House - Rossport

High Falls - Pigeon River Border

Swing Bridge - Kaministiqua River

Sleeping Giant - Winter

Camp Life - Pass Lake

Lupins - Chippewa Sandy Beach

Spring Fowl

Fishing Boat with Bike - Silver Islet

High Falls - Pigeon River - Winter

Lake View atop Sleeping Giant

General Store - Silver Islet

Sea Lion - Sibley Provincial Park

At Anchor - Slate Islands - Rossport

Aguasobon Falls - Terrace Bay

Eagles - Kakabeka

High Falls - Autumn

Thompson Island Anchorage

Sleeping Giant - Sunrise

Bella - Lake Superior

Watched It Somewhere Near Greenland, Forgot It Somewhere Near Ireland

 I was reluctantly pulled back into the Krasinski universe of Jack Ryan. I enjoyed the TV series well enough, thanks in large part to supporting players Wendell Pierce and Michael Kelly, who do much of the heavy lifting here too.

Unfortunately, Ghost War feels like a "the gang's all here" reunion more than a standalone film. The whole thing has the compressed feel of a television season squeezed into two hours, rushing through plot points that might have had room to breathe in episodic form.

It's perfectly watchable, but never quite finds its own identity. Krasinski ends up stranded somewhere between James Bond and Ethan Hunt—competent enough, but lacking the charisma, style, or spectacle to stand alongside either.

That said, I watched it on a flight somewhere over the North Atlantic, probably not far from Greenland, and that may be the ideal venue. It's exactly the kind of movie that makes a few hours disappear at 35,000 feet without demanding much of your attention. By the time the plane lands, you've mostly forgotten it—and that's not necessarily a criticism.

 Netflix cracked the Hallmark Christmas movie code — and somehow broke the mold while they were at it. I loved this.

Yes, yes… my half-Italian bias is definitely showing, but still: Christmas in Rome is a Hallmark-style movie that isn’t made by Hallmark, and that alone feels like a small miracle. It walks a familiar path without blindly following the checklist we’ve all grown used to playing bingo with.

The characters are believable, the charm feels earned, and the film smartly dances around the usual clichés instead of tripping headfirst into them. I kept holding my breath, waiting for the inevitable “Hallmark misunderstanding” — the one that sends the newly star-crossed lovers spiraling apart until the final 10-minute reconciliation.

It never fully goes there. And for that, I was genuinely delighted.

Quite possibly my new favorite Christmas movie. 🎄

-follow me on Letterboxd!

https://letterboxd.com/s0bad/

The Secret of Secrets is your next Page Turner

 

A surprisingly refreshing return to the Robert Langdon universe. After finding the post–Da Vinci Code sequels only “fine,” this one felt like a genuine rejuvenation of the character. Dan Brown strikes a better balance of adventure, history, and pacing, with far less of the usual “I’m Robert Langdon — the expert!” energy. The real cleverness is in shifting the emotional focus to the secondary character, letting Langdon support rather than dominate. It makes the story feel fresher, tighter, and more engaging than the last few outings.

Running Man meets 1984

 

Is it good? Yes.
Worth seeing in a theatre? Absolutely.
Am I familiar with the 80s Arnie movie? Yep.
Does it compare? Not really—this is its own thing.
Have I read the book? Not yet.

---

Edgar Wright’s adaptation is tight. Exposition lands cleanly, and the pacing never drags. Glenn Powell is perfectly cast as the relatable everyman, Lee Pace is straight-up kick-ass, and Josh Brolin brings a charismatic charm to a very likable “bad guy.”

PMG’s 80s version took huge swings—because it was the 80s. Wright’s take is far more grounded, which somehow makes it even eerier because it gets so many details uncomfortably right. Will this version hold up in 20 or 30 years? Hard to say—but the future feels close enough that it might.

I got shades of Children of Men and Andor in the bleak, bureaucratic hellscape of the co-ops. What really struck me was how much of the movie happens in broad daylight. I’ve walked grey, empty big-city streets in the fall, and it was easy to imagine this world bleeding into ours.

The “future tech” is refreshingly understated. Nothing glossy or over-designed—more knobs and tactile hardware, with the occasional SpaceX-style sleekness sprinkled in. Nothing felt sensationalized.

What did stand out was the frictionless TikTok-style social media layer. It’s disturbingly natural—everyone casually participating in tracking and identifying runners. It’s 1984 meets influencer culture: a surveillance state turned up to 11, not through force but through engagement and normalization.

On the surface, it’s a fast-paced action romp. Beneath that, it’s a sharp commentary on the near future—one we’re inching toward if we’re not paying attention.

I’m looking forward to reading Stephen King’s novel, written over 40 years ago, to see how his nightmare stacks up against today’s world. And I’ll definitely be rewatching Wright’s version to catch the little nods and Easter eggs I know I missed.

Greyhound

They did it!

I was just having a conversation about the state of films and how everything needs a crazy exposition or twists and turns.

I've been beating the drum that we need 'sometimes' to be given a bare bones story. "Here's the plot laid out in the first few minutes... character x needs to accomplish y. Go!"

Audience now on edge of seat/couch glued to screen to see if character can pull it off.

Done.

This Tom Hanks character is a first time captain charged with escorting a convoy. Guard it against u-boats across the Atlantic to supply the war effort. Will he succeed?

Bravo! You did Apple! Tight one act story full of action!

Did Some Great Waterfall Chasing

 Managed to put on some miles this past weekend.  My foray into the USA since the pandemic, then north of Thunder Bay to Terrace Bay.   For more:  @thunderbaylandscapes on Instagram,  of ThunderBayLandScapes on Facebook 

City Of Thunder Bay Bus Art

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Thunder Bay Landscapes (@thunderbaylandscapes)

Best Free Recording Software for your Kitchen Studio - Protools First with Mbox 2 Mini

So finally after a few years of pushing Protools 8 on an older Windows 7 computer with an Mbox2 Mini, I made the jump to Protools First.   I had tried casually a few times last year to see if I could use 'First' but ran up against problems with legacy drivers for Mbox. 

I just wrapped up production on my latest project (https://cosmicseam.bandcamp.com) and really noticed my trusty PT 8 wasn't cutting the mustard.   The production sounded good, but I finally decided now was the time.  I debated whether buying new hardware and interface would be the best solution, but it came with a price tag I just can't afford.  I am after all just a 'kitchen studio' writing and recording songs for the pure love of it.

Free 99.99 was the goal and last night I succeeded!  So the Achilles heal to this is the driver for the Mbox.  If you're not careful you will BSOD your Windows 10.  I'm currently on 2004.  I did a scratch install of Protools First on a laptop with Windows 10 1903 and it worked and the Windows Update surprisingly found the driver.   However on a anything newer than 1903 there's a major issue with the driver. 

So "robertomurta" in the Avid forums found a work around to install a specific driver set with instructions here: https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?p=2595552  

Prior to finding this gem of a resource I managed to Blue Screen my newer PC 2x.   Luckily I had created restore points prior to installing and was able to recover both times. 

So a night of installing to my 'better' Windows 10 PC and I managed to fully jump from Protools 8 to Protools First.   My first impressions on First is so far are really good.   It's free 99.99!  The new Expand 2 plugin samples are sounding awesome!  I managed to get my old Radium 49 Keystation working flawlessly.   The only thing missing from First is the Eleven Rack guitar amp simulators.  But those weren't great in the old version, so using an Orange Micro with the headphone out seems to work nicely to give my guitar tracks a better sounding guitar amp.

 

Get That Kodak/Fuji Film Look Within Your Nikon Camera Using Picture Control Editor

I was tired of spending time in Lightroom post processing my images to look like ‘film’. I spent a lot of time creating a preset in Lightroom to try and make my photos look like National Geographic . On a side note when I was a child we had a subscription to NG and I’m sure that had some impact on me and why I like photography so much. But I digress. 

It felt like work after spending hours in nature shooting then coming home to the daunting task of culling, then processing all my photos that were shot in RAW.

I was in the deep end of thinking I had to shoot RAW to get the best amount of data in my file rather than a pleasing picture. I subscribed to the ‘make it the best after you shoot’ method. This literally would take hours of touching up and tweaking in Lightroom. 

I found some articles and forum posts that led me to: https://nikonpc.com/ - a site that someone created and uploaded Nikon profiles that mimic all our favorite film stocks.

You simply browse the examples and download the ones you want to try. Copy the file to your SD card then load it into your camera. VOILA! Film stock settings that manipulate the color definitions, contrast sharpness etc. 

 Now you have more options besides (vivid, portrait etc) in your camera.

It shoots only JPG with these profiles – but I think that’s a positive as it saves space. 

The other great thing as well is with the newer Nikons (like my D5600) is SNAPBRIDGE. Snapbridge  now allows me to connect to my camera to my phone and grab a copy of the pictures which I can then easily put into Instagram and Facebook. I think for this point in time I’ve learned what I can from Lightroom and I just want to spend more time shooting and less time editing. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments. Hope this helps those film enthusiasts that shoot digital! Don't forget - you can now order my prints or canvas at my store: https://adamsabaz.darkroom.tech

Ice Skating on a Frozen Pond

Learning some lessons from my first use of my new camera stabilizer, I made some corrections to my setup and took the ice with my kids skating outside.  The park we skated at is a very scenic spot surrounded by mature trees and monuments.    I swapped out my Tamron with my less heavy kit lens, went full manual and well, I think it went pretty good!   Still have to tweak and nail down exposure via shutter settings but overall I'm very pleased with this little project.

 

Morning Sunrise Content Creation Project

 Got my self a camera stabilizer and had the opportunity to try it out. There was a bit of learning curve and  I definitely will be taking a lost from this initial test.   The main takeaways:

-my Tamron lens is just too heavy and i'll have to use my kit lens
-the heavier lens also forced me to slot the camera in slightly off balanced position so all my shots appear to swoosh up a bit-Aperture priority just won't cut it in low light situations, will need to go full manual to avoid the compensations 

A Quick Tutorial On Long Exposure Photography

A nice little video I made with some one of my favorite musical pieces.   I explain my workflow for long exposure photography - using an ND filter to knock down the amount of light hitting the lens so the camera has to keep the shutter open for longer.  In this case about 20 seconds.   

 

Sailing The North Shore of Lake Superior