“Stream These 11 Movies for the Apollo 11 Anniversary - The New York Times” plus 2 more |
- Stream These 11 Movies for the Apollo 11 Anniversary - The New York Times
- Xplora 3S impressions: A kids smartwatch for calls and location tracking - Digital Trends
- Child exploitation charges: NSW man arrested on more than 200 counts - 7NEWS
| Stream These 11 Movies for the Apollo 11 Anniversary - The New York Times Posted: 18 Jul 2019 11:22 PM PDT Portions of this were published previously in the March 3, 2019, article "Want More After 'Apollo 11'? Here Are 5 Space Documentaries to Stream." Fifty years ago, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the moon. Their mission, Apollo 11, was the culmination of over a decade of space exploration by the United States and the Soviet Union: a "space race" that captivated the world, introducing laypeople to concepts in advanced rocketry and astrophysics while producing images and moments that still awe. In the decades since, filmmakers have revisited the heyday of space travel in documentaries and dramatizations, trying to put these remarkable achievements into their proper human context. In honor of the Apollo 11 anniversary — an event depicted recently in the feature film "First Man" and the documentary "Apollo 11" — here are 11 of the best movies about real-life space exploration, all available to stream. 'The Right Stuff' (1983)Image How to watch: Buy or rent it on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu and YouTube. Tom Wolfe's lively 1979 nonfiction best seller, "The Right Stuff," about NASA's "Mercury Seven" — America's first astronauts — is at once mythopoetic and lightly satirical. The writer-director Philip Kaufman adapted the book into an equally energetic and sly movie, with an outstanding cast that includes Ed Harris as John Glenn, Fred Ward as Gus Grissom, Scott Glenn as Alan Shepard and Sam Shepard as the pioneering test pilot Chuck Yeager. "The Right Stuff" captures the boys' club quality of early outer-space exploration and shows how these cocky adventurers fought to retain their dignity and humanity amid the red tape and media frenzy. [Read the New York Times review.] 'For All Mankind' (1989)How to watch: Stream it on Criterion; buy or rent it on Amazon, iTunes and Vudu. The gold standard for NASA documentaries, this Oscar-nominated 1989 film is rich with the alien wonder of a trip to the moon. The director Al Reinert was granted access to footage shot by astronauts during the various Apollo missions, and he and his editors (led by Susan Korda) cut them into an approximation of a single voyage, with a focus on moments that are eerie and awesome. With its score by the ambient music pioneers Brian Eno, Roger Eno and Daniel Lanois — and narration provided by the original Mission Control audio recordings, combined with reflective astronaut interviews — "For All Mankind" evokes the grand science-fiction adventure of Apollo. 'Apollo 13' (1995)How to watch: Stream it on Starz; buy or rent it on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu and YouTube. Tom Hanks gives one of his best performances in "Apollo 13," playing Commander Jim Lovell, who kept his cool and used his engineering know-how to help prevent a trouble-plagued lunar mission from turning into a tragedy. Gary Sinise and Ed Harris play two of Lovell's NASA colleagues, busily crunching numbers and brainstorming out-of-the-box solutions at Mission Control. Because this is a well-known true story about astronauts who survived a major equipment malfunction, the movie is not exactly a nail-biter. But it is an enormously entertaining and inspiring tribute to scientific acumen, and to grounded professionalism. [Read the New York Times review.] 'Hidden Figures' (2016)How to watch: Buy or rent it on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu and YouTube. Throughout the 1960s and '70s, the public faces of NASA tended to be white men. Then Margot Lee Shetterly's 2016 book, "Hidden Figures" — and its movie adaptation — diversified the story, offering the true accounts of three black women in the segregation-era South who provided technical and engineering support to the early NASA missions. Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe play the women, in a film that conveys the injustices and indignities of racism but also honors the phenomenal collaborative project that was the American space program. [Read the New York Times review.] 'The Last Man on the Moon' (2016)How to watch: Stream it on Netflix; buy or rent it on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu and YouTube. The story of the final Apollo moon mission — and how it changed the life of its commander, Eugene Cernan — is as powerful in its way as the better-known saga of Apollo 11. "The Last Man on the Moon" covers the public's growing frustration with the expense of the space program circa 1972. And it also gets into the technical complexities of that last trip and how an astronaut's job conflicts with family life. The film doesn't lack for great lunar footage, either. Apollo 17 had access to color video cameras far beyond what Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin worked with, and the images Cernan and his crew captured on the moon are stunning in their clarity. [Read the New York Times review.] 'The Farthest' (2017)How to watch: Stream it on Netflix; buy or rent it on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes and YouTube. When NASA launched its two deep-space Voyager probes in 1977, the missions sparked conversations among scientists, artists, philosophers and ordinary people, all wondering what information about Earth should be sent out into the universe, and what might come back. The director Emer Reynolds's documentary "The Farthest" describes the work that went into crafting these enduring marvels of mid-70s technology, which are still zooming away. The film is a reminder of the idealism and optimism of the people who worked in the space program over 40 years ago, and it serves as a call to recapture their spirit and ingenuity. [Read the New York Times review.] 'The Mars Generation' (2017)How to watch: Stream it on Netflix. Manned space exploration has slowed lately, but the nonprofit organization the Mars Generation has been working since 2015 to keep the next wave of astronauts and rocket scientists ready anyway. The documentary "The Mars Generation" introduces some brilliant, space-obsessed teenagers who take part in special camps designed to simulate what it might be like to travel to and even live on Mars. These kids are sometimes socially awkward, but they're always sweetly earnest. It's heartwarming to watch them work together toward a goal they may never achieve — unless the public broadly supports another big, expensive project like the Apollo missions. 'Salyut 7' (2017)How to watch: Stream it on Amazon; buy or rent it on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu and YouTube. This Russian production (with English subtitles) is often tagged as the Soviet Apollo 13, which is an apt description — not just because it has the dazzling digital effects of a Hollywood blockbuster but also because it is about how courage and brains helped some dedicated cosmonauts and technicians save a dying space station in 1985. Don't expect anything like the recent HBO mini-series "Chernobyl," criticizing the entropic last days of Soviet-style socialism. "Salyut 7" is more rousing, focusing on daring spacewalks and clever problem-solving. It is also one of the few big-budget movies about the Russian space program, joining the 2013 biopic "Gagarin: First in Space" and the 2017 docudrama "Age of Pioneers." 'Mercury 13' (2018)How to watch: Stream it on Netflix. In 1960, the NASA adviser Dr. William Randolph Lovelace II began an experiment to see if ace female pilots could endure the series of physical and mental challenges he had originally devised for the Mercury Seven. He discovered that some women scored highly on the tests, prompting the privately funded "Woman in Space" program to begin petitioning the media and the United States government, arguing that America needed to overcome its deep-rooted sexism in order to compete with the Soviets. The documentary "Mercury 13" features interviews with some of these accomplished pilots and scientists, many of whom remain certain that the space program — and perhaps the culture — might have been different if NASA had been more open-minded. 'First Man' (2018)How to watch: Buy it on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes and YouTube. A gripping "you are there" dramatization of the first manned lunar landing doubles as a moving character sketch, depicting the deeper motivations of the outwardly stoic Neil Armstrong. Ryan Gosling plays Armstrong, who signed up for NASA's moon program while still racked with grief over the death of his toddler daughter. In "First Man," the Oscar-winning "La La Land" director, Damien Chazelle, and the Oscar-winning "Spotlight" co-writer Josh Singer take an intimate and impressionistic approach to the Apollo 11 story, letting audiences share Armstrong's experiences: patiently enduring NASA's competitive culture in order to get the chance to sit in a cramped, rickety space capsule. [Read the New York Times review.] 'Apollo 11' (2019)How to watch: Buy or rent it on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu and YouTube. For the documentary "Apollo 11," the director Todd Douglas Miller and a team of archivists and editors found rare footage of the original manned lunar landing mission and compiled it into "Apollo 11": an immersive and uplifting record of the voyage, from launch to splashdown, with no narration or interviews. The film lets audiences feel like part of the action, whether they're watching the rocket launch among the crowds, hanging out in Mission Control or sitting next to Neil Armstrong, discovering the wonders of the moon. The Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Read more on the first time humans set foot on the moon |
| Xplora 3S impressions: A kids smartwatch for calls and location tracking - Digital Trends Posted: 11 Jul 2019 12:51 PM PDT  The kids smartwatch scene has taken off in the last few years with a host of companies clamoring to get in on the action. Some of these smartwatches are designed to entertain, while some are billed as a way to stay in touch and track your children. The Xplora 3S falls into the second camp. Xplora is suggesting the 3S might serve as your child's first smartphone, because it can accommodate a SIM card to make and take calls. It's also waterproof, tracks steps, has a camera, and supports location tracking with a geo-fence feature. At 100 British Pounds (around $125), the Xplora 3S is quite expensive and you have to pay for cell service on top of that. On the other hand, it's significantly cheaper than all of our suggested phones for kids and it's harder to lose, since it's strapped to your little angel's wrist. I tried out the Xplora 3S with my seven year-old daughter Amy to see how well it works. Durable designIt's no Apple Watch, but the Xplora 3S is a well-built smartwatch that feels durable. Like a lot of kid's tech, it comes in an unimaginative choice of blue or pink. It's fairly light at 50 grams, and it's comfortable to wear, according to Amy, though it inevitably looks big on a child's wrist. Xplora suggests the 3S can be used by kids from age 3 to 12 years. The Xplora 3S comes unlocked and so you can insert any nano SIM card to get started. The whole wearable is finished in a soft touch plastic, and there are flaps on the back that open to reveal a Micro USB port for charging and a SIM card slot. With the flaps properly closed, the Xplora 3S has an IP67 rating, which means it can be submerged in water up to 1.5 meters deep for up to half an hour without sustaining any damage. That means your kids can wear it in the bath or shower and don't have to worry about rain or spills. Amy was really excited to test this out and the Xplora 3S has successfully survived several baths. The Xplora 3S sports a 1.33-inch IPS LCD screen that has an adequate 240 x 240-pixel resolution. It's not the brightest, so it can be difficult to read outdoors and totally indecipherable in direct sunlight. There's also a VGA camera above the screen. The app and callsThe Xplora 3S comes unlocked and so you can insert any nano SIM card to get started. You also have the option to buy it with 12 months of cell service for 180 British pounds (around $225). It connects to the 2G network and works with most major carriers across Europe. Xplora is a Norwegian company and while previous releases have been available in the U.S., the Xplora 3S is only sold in Europe at the moment. To set it up you'll need to download the iOS or Android app. I tested it with the Android app on a Pixel 3. It was quick to get up and running, but the app is not very well designed. The disclaimer screen creates a messy first impression and the way you add your phone number is less than intuitive — you have to tap a blank box at the top to select the right country code before you put the rest of your number in or it won't work. Your child can only call or message contacts that you add through the app. They can also only receive calls from approved contacts, which is important. If an unapproved number calls then they're put straight through to voicemail and messages are blocked. You should also get an update through the app telling you a number attempted to call and was blocked. While it's nice to be able to call or message your child and check in, you may tire of random calls. Amy called me roughly six hundred times in the first day, and I have received countless strings of emojis — the novelty soon wore off. The signal and audio quality seems reasonable. I live in an area with patchy service, but calls to and from the Xplora 3S have worked well so far. The watch does also support voice and picture messages. The Xplora app is simple. You can check the location on a map and you can call or message the smartwatch. If you dip into the settings, you can check on step counter progress, which has a daily goal of 10,000 steps, you can add contacts as well as set alarms. There's also a remote shutdown option and a school mode that enables you to turn off most of the Xplora 3S's functionality during school hours or on another schedule that you choose. You can add a Wi-Fi connection through the app, too. Tracking your childXplora said the 3S uses a blend of GPS, GSM, and Wi-Fi to provide accurate location tracking. I found accuracy varied a fair bit. When Amy is at home, the Xplora 3S suggests she is in one of our neighbor's houses. Out and about, it seems to vary by up to a few hundred meters, so it would serve fine for getting you in the right ballpark, but if your child is in a busy area or a shopping mall, it can take a while to track them down. I found the Xplora 3S goes two days between charges. Something that does work well is the geo-fencing feature, which allows you to set a safe radius around your home, school, or any other location you choose. It goes from 300 meters up to 1,000 meters, and will alert you on your phone whenever your child passes in or out of the zone you've set. It's potentially quite handy, though the fact it's a simple circular radius around a central point means it's not versatile — it would be nice if you could draw your own borders. One final feature worth mentioning before we move on is the SOS alert: If your child holds down the power button for five seconds, then you get a loud alarm on your phone alongside a location update and the Xplora 3S automatically captures and sends a photo. This is supposed to be a safety feature and it could prove useful in an emergency, but you can expect some accidental false alarms, and possibly some deliberate ones if your child is feeling mischievous. Battery life, camera, and storageThere's a 520mAh battery in the Xplora 3S and the company claims 5 days of stand-by or 7 to 8 hours of continuous calls. Realistically, you won't get anything like that. On average, I found the Xplora 3S goes two days between charges, but you'll want to charge daily to avoid any worries. You do get an alert through the app when the battery is running low. Unfortunately, the fact that you have to open the flap on the back and insert a Micro USB cable means that the Xplora 3S is not very kiddie-friendly for recharging, so you'll want to get into the habit of doing it yourself. The camera on the Xplora 3S gives it a spy gadget feel that kids will love. Just get ready for a lot of unflattering and unexpected photos looking up your nose, pictures of toys, and random shots of things that often prove impossible to identify. It's a VGA camera, so the quality is only really good enough to view on the tiny smartwatch screen. The Xplora 3S has 160MB of storage which is enough for around 1,000 photos. You can plug it into a PC if you ever want to review them or back them up, but the quality is truly terrible. Amy's verdict"It's epic, I love it." The camera, the step counter, and the waterproofing were all big hits, and she loved being able to call me and her mother whenever the notion took her. The only other functionality the Xplora 3S offers that we haven't mentioned so far is a simple stopwatch. Having previously tried the Kurio Watch, Amy was definitely disappointed by the lack of games with the Xplora 3S, but I can understand why the makers avoided those kinds of extras and their potential drain on battery life. Is it worth buying?If you want to be able to track your child and check in with them easily, but you're not sure they're ready for a phone yet, then the Xplora 3S could be ideal. It's a reasonably cheap alternative to a budget phone. However, the location tracking isn't pinpoint accurate and a phone is a much more versatile device. Even a similarly-priced phone will have a better camera and access to apps and games. While the Xplora 3S largely achieves what it sets out to do, there's room for improvement. Editors' Recommendations |
| Child exploitation charges: NSW man arrested on more than 200 counts - 7NEWS Posted: 18 Jul 2019 08:40 PM PDT  A 79-year-old man has been arrested on more than 200 child exploitation charges for allegedly producing material featuring a female child known to him. Police arrested the man after executing a search warrant at a home in Cranebrook, New South Wales, on Thursday following a tip-off from a law enforcement partner. Watch the video above The man has been charged with 217 counts of producing, possessing and transmitting child exploitation material. Further charges likelyThe Australian Federal Police says a number of electronic devices, including a desktop computer, mobile phone and numerous storage devices containing terabytes of data, were seized. They will be subject to further examination by digital forensic experts. The AFP says further charges are likely. Victim known to himNSW Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team Leader Jarryd Dunbar said the welfare of child victim remains the priority. He says this is crucial, particularly a situation like this where a child has been exploited by a trusted adult. "Our main priority in any referral we receive is the welfare of any children potentially involved," he said. The child is currently in the care of family. Dunbar says the AFP will allege the man attempted to disguise his activity online, using a number of different tools and applications. The man is due to face Penrith Local Court on Friday. For more NSW news, click here |
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