Phil Villarreal's Blog, page 32

Book Report: "The Sound and the Fury"

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Shifting through perspectives, narrative styles and timelines through a lively, innovative narrative, William Faulkner paints an intriguing, mystery-laden portrait of a Southern artistocratic family imploding from within.

While the disjointed nature of the material makes it tough to keep pace with the narrative, the story unfolds in the manner of a puzzle, with often satisfying conclusions set up by a steady trickle of hints.

Faulkner's immense talents are on display throughout, but his storytelling methods are jarring and often exhausting. The novel is worthy of study and analysis, but it's so brutal that I left feeling punished and exhausted.

A classic that is worth the effort while not wholly satisfying, I recommend the book for someone looking for a readerly challenge to kick off the new year.

View all my reviews

 

Game On: "The Dark Pictures: The Devil in Me"

For our full review, click here.

 

Phil on Film: "Mickey: The Story of a Mouse"

For my full review, click here.

GAME ON: "Sonic Frontiers"

 For our written review, click here.

Phil on Film: "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever"

 For my full review, click here.

Google Pixel 7 Pro challenges among top tier of smartphone pantheon

In the ever-evolving arms race to produce the best smartphone camera, Google isn't backing down. With the Google Pixel 7 Pro, it continues its efforts to keep pace with the likes of iPhone and Galaxy in the sharpshooter sweepstakes.

Blessed with a telephoto lens that acts as icing on a cake layered with a 48MP telephoto camera juiced by a Tensor G2 chip.

Even from a distance, you can nail images at 12.5MP -- a minor sacrifice from the 48MP non-zoom revolution -- that lets you snag images from afar that make it seem as though you were up close.

Combined with the presence of the background-cleansing Magic Eraser seen in the Google Pixel 6 Pro and Google Pixel 6A, the shooting suite excels in distance, up-close, portrait and selfies.

The processor fuels much of what makes the Pixel 7 Pro stand out from the crowd. Juggling heavy data use from the likes of apps, games and video with nimble grace, the device is a beast that can take on the demands of your workday, offtime and communications needs. It hummed with effortless flow on T-Mobile's razor-sharp 5G network..

It all shines bright on a radiant 6.8-inch OLED display that stuns with a 120Hz refresh rate at a top peak brightness of 1,750 nits. At max brightness, you won't even have much of a need of a flashlight.

The one sacrifice is the battery life, which at times pays the price for the demands you find yourself putting the phone through. The presence of induction charging makes it easy to plop on a desk charger for a juice-up amidst your whirlwind of multitasking.

Robust and brawny without being imposing, the phone's light form factor makes it less taxing than you'd think on your hand. But that won't stop you from cradling it in your arms like the prized possession it proves to be.

Phil & Sean Review "Gotham Knights"

 For the full review, click here.

Phil & Sean Review "Star Ocean: The Divine Force"

 For the full review, click here.

Phil & Sean Review "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II"

For my full review, click here.

Phil on Film: "I'm Totally Fine"