Taiwan-based electronic and optical glass specialists Polytron Technologies are working on a transparent smartphone. Mobile Geeks traveled to take a look at the prototype device. It uses switchable glass, which contains liquid crystal molecules and an electric current to generate a smartphone display. There is no software running on the prototype as its main goal is to showcase the hardware.
Not all of the components are see-through as current technology doesn’t yet allow for transparent SIM cards, SD cards, or microphones. Polytron will be able to work around this by covering up the bottom section of the handset with an opaque filter where all of the non-transparent technology could be hidden.
You can take a look at Mobile Geeks’ hands-on video below:
The cineplex will be run over this year with quality movies, both big and small. This year, each member of Limité‘s film staff presents his or her top 10 picks. What movies are you most looking forward to? Comment below.
Note: Since many of these films are currently in various stages of production, the release dates are subject to change. All loglines are courtesy of IMDb.com, unless otherwise noted.
Dan’s Picks
GRAVITY
by Daniel Quitério
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Screenwriters: Alfonso Cuarón, Jonás Cuarón, Rodrigo Garcia
Cast: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney
Genres: Sci-fi, Thriller
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Release Date: October 18
It’s been six years since Mexican writer/director Alfonso Cuarón took a seat in the director’s chair. And now, following his heralded 2006 release Children of Men, the filmmaker is primed to launch his much-anticipated sci-fi thriller Gravity. The $80 million space odyssey tale focuses on a pair of astronauts who are stranded beyond Earth after debris smashes into their shuttle during a routine spacewalk. Characters played by Oscar winners Sandra Bullock and George Clooney are tethered together as they spiral into negative space, hoping to find a way home.
The director partnered with his son Jonás Cuarón and filmmaker Rodrigo García (Albert Nobbs, 2011) on the script, which will be realized on screen in 3D and IMAX 3D. Prior to Bullock’s and Clooney’s attachment to the film, the two crucial roles had names like Angelina Jolie and Robert Downey Jr. attached to them. Several other notable Hollywood elites were also considered for the weighty female lead, including Marion Cotillard, Scarlett Johansson, and Natalie Portman, among others. Cuarón proves himself an auteur of the highest caliber with this and other films which he wrote, directed, produced, and edited. His three previous Oscar nominations came in the categories of Best Original Screenplay (Y tu mamá también, 2001), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing (Children of Men, 2006). Gravity will be photographed by past Cuarón collaborator, the 5-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer and fellow Mexico native Emmanuel Lubezki, who likely employs a similar sense of vast space and wonder in this film as he displayed in Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life (2011).
I recently sat down with Portuguese filmmaker Miguel Gomes in Manhattan’s Film Forum, where his new feature Tabuwill be screening as of December 26th. The film’s story begins in Lisbon where we meet Aurora, an elderly woman with a seemingly uninteresting life. Following her death, Aurora’s neighbor and maid join to find an old man with a connection to Aurora’s past. As the man begins to tell his and Aurora’s story, we are transported to a former Portuguese colony in Africa, where we witness their youthful, eccentric lives play out.
Tabu is told in two distinct parts: the first half set in Lisbon in the present day and the second set in Africa decades earlier. Both benefit from the classic mode of filmmaking that Gomes employed. His use of black-and-white imagery and a 4:3 aspect ratio hearken back to a cinema of old, honoring a long-forgotten art while emphasizing the film’s theme of lost youth.
This year, the film has screened at the New York Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival, Las Palmas Film Festival (Spain), and won two awards at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival.
Last week, we unveiled Limité‘s 2012 class of Young Hollywood filmmakers—seven talented directors under the age of 40. The importance of a director can never be understated; however, it’s the actors who bring the story’s characters to life. Actors are more than just pretty faces who stand in front of a camera and recite lines. The best of them are able to emote and embody their characters. They dig beneath the skin to explore the core of each character, and what results (hopefully) is a transformation.
For our third year, Limité presents our annual, two-part “Young Hollywood” feature. Mixing a combination of established and up-and-coming filmmakers under the age of 40 (Part 1) and actors under the age of 30 (Part 2), we seek to highlight some of Hollywood’s freshest talent.
In Part 1, we focus on the filmmakers. This list includes both male and female talents who are creating exciting works that, at times, push the boundaries of traditional Hollywood. This year’s class includes one-third of a female writing collective known as the “Fempire,” as well as the director behind one of 2012′s biggest little films: the festival darling and Oscar favorite, Beasts of the Southern Wild.
The peeps over at High Snobiety put together this feature on the history of Japanese Denim and if you pay any attention to key details in your jeans such as texture, comfort and construction, spend a few minutes educating yourself on this informative history of Japanese Denim.
Denim from Japan has a reputation among denim enthusiasts as being the best in the world and for good reason. While it doesn’t have nearly as long of a history, Japanese denim is known for its premium construction and the skilled, artisanal craft required to make it. Here we’ll explore the relatively short but significant history of Japanese denim to discover how it earned the reputation it has today and debunk a few myths along the way. Take a look below for the full story.
You can’t manufacturer character, persona’s on the other hand, we see that all time. Brand’s spending big coin on their illusions, unfortunately for them, it doesn’t matter how fat their wallets are. Character is rooted in your DNA, so it was a pleasure for Limité to have linked up with Raen Optics. A company that oozes authenticity with a timeless style. We sat down with Raen Optics founder, Justin Heit for a little introspective.
What do you think has been the single most influential factor or person in your decision to start Raen?
If I were to distill down all reasons why we created RAEN, or what was the most influential factor in its birth, would be a desire to generate another creative outlet that we could incorporate our friends and family into. This is meant to include many of the ambassadors that are a part of RAEN today (Warren Smith, Kassia Meador, Al Knost, etc). We also wanted to create an outlet that would allow us to supply a premium product at a price point for our peers and community. Something authentic that could unite our small community of like-minded peers and a platform that could help bring more lives and more eyes into our world.
Labor Day has passed, and now it’s time to consider this year’s crop of what will inevitably be considered some of Oscar’s biggest fodder. It’s no surprise that when it comes to the Academy Awards, the movies that are most likely to be honored with a nomination are those that are released towards the end of the year. Some of this year’s frontrunners appear to be Argo, Django Unchained, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Hyde Park on Hudson, Life of Pi, Lincoln, The Master, Les Misérables, Silver Linings Playbook, Wreck-It Ralph, and Zero Dark Thirty. Of course, there’s plenty of other flicks to look forward to, spanning all genres and audience interests.
Note: All non-authored pieces’ loglines are courtesy of IMDb.com.
Gabrielle Christina Victoria Douglas affectionately called “Flying Squirrel” catapulted from hometown gymnast to a record-breaking household name, in what seemed to be overnight. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, 16-years-old Douglas showcased her talent to the world with her high-flying bar and vault routines, infectious smile, vibrant spirit, and sportsmanship. While doing what she loved and “worked so hard for”, Douglas not only won the highest title in gymnastic but she also became the first African-American gymnast to win a gold medal in the all-around competition, and the first gymnast in American history to win the all-around and team gold.
In a not-so-distant future in Cold Springs, NY, wherein the setting closely resembles that of the present time, save for Facetime-like communication screens controlled by the human voice and smart cars that look like they bred with mopeds, the curmudgeonly ex-cat burglar Frank (excellently portrayed by Frank Langella) begins to show signs of decay in his decrepit, remote home. His concerned son, Hunter (James Marsden), fails to convince his father to enter a home for the elderly, so he opts for the next best thing: a white, robotic caretaker that doubles as a butler and a housekeeper (voiced by Peter Saarsgard). Frank adamantly resists the new addition to his household, especially after it alters his meals to more vegetables and fruits, but he eventually accepts the robot when Frank realizes that its somewhat submissive nature makes it the perfect accomplice for one final heist.
And so sets the motion of the unconventional buddy caper of Robot & Frank, one of the two winners of this year’s Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. The award is given yearly to distinctive films that explore themes dealing with science and technology. Based on the innovative and fresh (and a little silly) way the theme and overall premise have been featured, there couldn’t have been a more deserving winner than this film.
