Saturday night - after an exhausting day of Xmas shopping, the wife and I settled down to watch that classic Christmas movie, the 1965 original version of . . .

The Flight of the Phoenix!

Terrific flick - still holds up.

Randy

We had some friends over and watched Pirates II last night for the first time. I never made it out to the theater to see this one. With the new HT, I can for the first time pass up seeing the big blockbusters at the movies. I liked it a lot, my wife not so much. She loved the first one, but she thought the whole Davie Jones lot of half man half fish characters ruined it for her, but she said she'll give it another chance. Pretty much any scene with Jack in it she liked. It really was his movie. I know a lot of people were mad at the ending, but I thought it was great. Obviously you will have to view 2 and 3 as one movie so of course they will leave you hanging. The picture on the regular SD DVD is terrific (HD-DVD not yet in my immediate future), and although I was disappointed that they did not release it in DTS, the sound was very good. The LFE was awesome. I look forward to watching this one again....perhaps tonight.

Watched Chevy Chase's Christmas Vacation on (gasp) VHS yesterday. The vsx-84tsxi did a very good job upconverting it to 1080i. I was surprised. That movie is always good. It is a must watch this christmas. PS3 arrives this week so new HD movies will abound as the 360 HD-DVD drive is coming as well.

We watched The Family Man with Nicolas Cage over the weekend. What a great movie for the holidays. Very touching and really makes you think what if you made different choices? What if you said yes, instead of no? What if you got a second chance? There are also some great outtakes and a making of documentary.

Saturday: Watched GLADIATOR (Russel Crow - 2000) for our first movie on our new setup home theater setup:

Sony 50: kds-50A2000 (retired Sony 36" Wega CRT non-XBR)
LG Upconverter DVD via HDMI (retired Sony standard def DVD via component)
Onkyo DTS 5.1

We still love the movie but it was hard to see if the upconverter DVD was really making a difference to us at 1080i.

It's always a good flick.....next will either be LOTR or Matrix.

Sunday: Watched King Kong (2005) via Cinemax HD on Time Warner Cable via component. Looked great as if watching from a DVD source. The built in speakers on the Sony are AWESOME! Better than the old Sony 36" CRT Wega speakers at least (non-XBR). King Kong is worth the watch but may not as repeatable like Gladiator.

Saturday: Sahara (HD DVD): Eh... not great.

Sunday: The Enforcer (HD PVR): Classic Dirty Harry flick!

jandawill
Pirates of the Carribean II Dead Man's Chest ... I know a lot of people were mad at the ending, but I thought it was great.They shot 2 and 3 together, but split it at the "A movie should be as long as one can hold their bladder" ~ Alfred Hitchcock
Best part of the movie: Elizibeth arrives, and Jack Sparrow says "hide the rum!"

I've been watching a lot of new DVD releases lately, and an equal number of HD-DVD re-releases, but haven't really been happy with what I've been seeing.

I watched "The Eiger Sanction" yesterday -- that was good.

[after climbing a 1000 foot mountain face, exausted, on the top]
BOWMAN: Want a beer?

HEMLOCK (Clint Eastwood): You gonna call room service?

BOWMAN: We got beer.

HEMLOCK: If you hauled beer up this rock, you're insane.

BOWMAN: I may be insane, but I'm not stupid. I didn't carry it, you did. It's in your pack.(Pulls a six-pack out of Hemlock's backpack.)

HEMLOCK: Jesus Christ, I ought to throw you off this pillar. Besides, it's warm.

BOWMAN: I'm sorry, I thought you'd draw the line at hauling ice.

Just got done watching Reign of Fire on HD DVD with the family. It's not much more than ok.

The story is predictable and sometimes silly, but it makes a commendable effort at telling it.

The dragons look great even if their story is woefully over simplified.

Bale and McConaughey turn in good work with what they have to work with and can't wait to get their shirts off as usual. That's not a spoiler. It happens in every movie they're in.

The AVC compressed HD DVD looks wonderful. It's very crisp and detailed. This is a great looking disc. The DD+ soundtrack is quite good but not exceptional in any way.

Great disc. Barely over average movie... 2.75 out of 5 stars.

Beerfest - perhaps the best "beer drinking drunken frat-boy romp that Jay Chandrasekhar was involved with this year".

It's the kind of bad that needs to be seen, if not for the joy of making fun of it, then for the understanding of what not to do when making a film. Rarely has it been this much fun to witness the unfolding of a cinematic disaster; believe it or not, I left the theater admiring Broken Lizard for having the guts to see this project through. To say that it's low-grade would be an understatement; it's so over the top that you just can't turn away from it. I found myself smiling at the puerile sexual innuendos, giggling at the offensive stereotypes, and relishing in the knowledge that I had absolutely nothing to do with its creation. The television spots pretty much capture the essence, despite being edited for content: this is a depraved film that has absolutely no redeeming qualities, going seamlessly from one tasteless joke to the next.


At 1:21:25 (h:mm:ss) it contains what may be the best burp in the history of cinema.



As another example of how the past couple of months have been dry for DVD movies, I just watched Mel Brook's Men In Tights -- and liked it.

Don't you hate it when your queued Blockbuster titles go from "Available" to "Very Long Wait" in one day.... Anyway...

I recently finished Monster House and Inside Man. I thought Monster house was just great up until you learn the reason the house is the way it is. It kinda lost me at that point. Was really enjoying it up till then though. This ones not for the kiddies as it's a nightmare waiting to happen. The "making-of" special features on the disk were also very good. I had no idea they used the technology they did making the movie. Interesting stuff.

I also really liked Inside Man. I normally don't like Spike Lee films. There were a few scenes that didn't belong IMO, but pretty good overall. I didn't care for the ending though....kinda ends in mid story...

Still, two good movies that followed quite a few mediocre ones.

Happy Holidays.

Dan

Last night: It's A Wonderful Life.

The marathon of holiday movies begins!

Tonight my daughter has a bunch of friends over. They'll be watching "A Christmas Story."

And for the 2006 edition of "you'll put your eye out, kid" "you'll put your eye out kid." (http://www.hobbytron.com/AirsoftSniperRifleGunSpringLPSOFTM324S.html)

http://images.hobbytron.com/LP-SOFT-M324S-lg.jpg

Man, I want one of those!

Randy

Troy
Pirates 1 - I was let down a bit by the DTS track but I guess that might have something to do with the fact that I was spoiled from LOTR which was what I watched prior ;)

Accepted (HD DVD) - A fun movie. No really big laughs. 3 out of 5 stars.

Talladega Nights (DVD) - Funny, silly, crazy, etc. 3 out of 5 stars.

Friday Night Lights - Not bad. Decent high school football movie that takes place in a hard core football town. B-

Jarhead - Pretty good. B

Dan

Superman 2: The Richard Donner Cut-- better than the original Superman 2 movie that was released in theaters. Very enjoyable!

Holiday themed movies have included Scrooge (Bill Murray) and the other was Christmas Vacation. Christmas Vacation was to remind me that regardless of how bad I think I have it with the in-laws and goofy extended family, it could always be worse. Picked up the classics which they had in a multi-disc set Rudolph, Frosty, etc. (the claymation ones) those sure are fun!

For some balance it was Jet Li's "Fearless" last night. Tonight, "Home Alone" with the kids.

King Kong 1976 (HD DVD)

I think it's been about 20 years, maybe more, since I've seen this movie. I was about 8 or 9 when this movie came out and I remember seeing it in the theater. I remember stuff like King Kong trading cards and tons of other memorabilia. It must have been a pretty big deal back then. I was a big fan of the horror genre and I loved the original 1933 King Kong. I remember being very excited about this movie.

When comparing this Kong to the original, the '76 version inevitably falls short. The first King Kong was a much better movie, but this film has an allure all it's own. This movie takes many more liberties with the original story than the recent remake. It bends the story, somewhat ham-handedly, to fit the big ape into the "modern" world of 1976. The new take on an old story thing is ok when it works. It works in this picture some of the time.

I don't quite remember how the special effects looked in 1976, but they look horrible today. There is no need to ask, "How'd they do that?" For the most part, you can clearly see how it's done. Kong looks like a man in a monkey suite and he's obviously a right handed ape. It seems like they only made one giant, mechanical, ape hand because the big hand in the shot is always the right. This movie makes it easy to understand why the use of computers is so prevalent in movie making today.

King Kong '76's campy look and feel are fine by me. While I love the original and 2005 version (even though it's way too long), this movie has a place in my collection for sure. With young Jessica Lange, a giant ape that walks erect, Charles Grodin as a greedy oil executive, and a rampaging monster on top of the World Trade Center building, what's not to like? 3 out of 5 stars.

The French HD DVD's picture looks good. In the very beginning when the studio logo is displayed on the screen, it looks horrible. The DTS-HD Master Audio (core only on my player) soundtrack sounds surprisingly good. There's a little surround activity and some bass but it is a 30 year old film after all.

Although we couldn't get the kids interested, the wife and I enjoyed watching "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation."

Still love that flick!

Randy

I almost greased our homemade sled 3 weeks ago when we had 6 inches of snow here in OKC...:)

One of the most moving Christmas films I've seen in years is" Joyeux Noel ", a true war drama of a spontaneus event on Chrismas Eve, 1914 on the western front. It depicts how great the yearning for peace can be at this time of year among enemy soldiers. Highly recommended.

The film is in English, German and French and is best watched in English with subtitles. Good audio with excellent LFE effects.

agreed..

Watched "Akeelha and the Bee" with the grandparents and the kids. It was enjoyed by all.

Tonight the wife picked "The Family Stone." Excellent cast, fine pic.

Randy

Recently saw "Mountain Patrol", absolutely gorgeous mountain scenery.

Wow, it has been quit a well since I have last posted here. We have not had a lot of time to watch movies and I am so far behind in the movies I own that I feel I am never going to catch up.

With so much bad news going on in the world anymore I have just been in the frame of mind to watch mindless-feel-good comedies.

We watched “Click” the other night and I found it very enjoyable and funny. Adam Sandler has come a long way from his earlier annoying roles and he is finally turning out some pretty good movies.

We also watched “Evidence: The Case For NASA UFO's” Part 1. I have watched many of the UFOs documentaries and they all seem to be presenting the same information, but this is new and refreshing look at this phenomenon. I highly recommend it if you are the least bit interested in this subject.

May all of you have a very Happy and Safe Holiday Season!

God Bless,
Don
The Alien Seeker News

Christmas Day - the family watched "Millions" a charming British comedy, and yes, a Christmas movie!

Randy

Have watched a number of movies in the HT over the last 2 weeks:

1. Serenity - a REALLY GOOD sci-fi movie. Really enjoyed it. Never saw the Firefly TV show, but thought they did a good job on this movie.

2. A History of Violence - one of the best dramas I have seen in some time. Good story and acting, definately recommend.

Watched 2 movies over the holiday weekend:

1. RV - OK comedy - not as funny as I was expecting, but an OK movie.

2. Talladega Nights - again, not as funny as I thought. Typical Farrell movie overall.

Although we couldn't get the kids interested, the wife and I enjoyed watching "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation."

Still love that flick!

Randy

Agreed. We host Christmas Eve at our house for everyone in my family and my wife's family in the area (there are a lot of them), but there is no chance to really exchange presents, especially for my side of the family, which is a bit smaller than my wife's. So for the past two years, we have hosted Christmas Eve Eve, where we order pizza, exchange presents, and then watch a movie. This year was Christmas Vacation, and while Clark is pretty big idiot (you have to suspend your disbelief at times on how dumb he is), the movie is very very funny.

Watched Superman Returns and thought the plotline was pretty good, but special effects were definitely lacking. Brandon Roush looked fake and even CGI at some points, and the general background effects were less than typical quality of recent films. Overall it was worth watching, but I'd only give it 2.5 out of 5 stars.

King Kong.

The HD transfer was incredible, to the point that the green-screen compositing was actually less realistic than in the theater. So much detail is present in some of these HD DVD releases the special FX houses are gonna have to work harder. Amazing that we have this quality in a consumer format. Kickin' sound as well.

That having been said, the CGI rendering of Kong, particularly his behavior, was the most realistic I've seen. Very well done.

Last night: The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (http://imdb.com/title/tt0419294/).

This is an excellent film and I highly recommend it. Tommy Lee Jones stars and directs.

Randy

Last Night : Derailed

I really liked it. Some of it was just great. B+

Dan

CptnRandy,

I agree with you on Three Burials. It was a great movie and the whole cast was excellent.

We tried to watch Wolf Creek this past weekend, but couldn't make it all the way through it. I am running out of HD movies to rent from Netflix, so I thought I would give this a try. Definitely not my type of movie. It started out slow, and when the action did get started it was a bit too much gore for me. Others may like it, but I ended up shutting it down.

We also watched Out of Sight in HD. I thought it was rather boring, and not that funny or plausible even for a comedy. Wouldn't recommend it unless it was for a rainy Sunday afternoon with nothing else to watch.

I've always liked Out of Sight actually. I thought all of the characters were interesting and really well done. Cheadle in particular is just excellent in it. I'll agree and say it's less comedy, and more crime/drama/romance.

I also agree that "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada" is an excellent movie with a big thumbs up for me!

Don

Watched Snakes on a Plane (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JBXHQY).
It's so nice to see a movie deliver exactly what's promised. :)
Even had some paning surround effects out back.
It's PG-13 with one scene and two bad words to turn it into an R rated film (EDIT: oh I see it's PG14 Adult Accompanyment).
Come on, you've seen the trailer, tell me you didn't laugh and said "Yes, that's what we want. A film that needs no explaining, it's gonna be the cheapest CGI snakes on a plane you ever did see, and lots of them. Oh boy, I can't wait for the DVD." Then you slap yourself on the face.
Not the proudest moment for hollywood perhaps, and hardly spiritually refining and enlightening, but a very fun ride nonetheless. I'm glad I saw it. Got a grin on ma face.

Hey Bob, I think it comes out on dvd next week, so you won't have to wait too long :D

This past weekend we caught up on some oldies: Oh Brother... Trading Places and not so old-16 Blocks. Must say we liked them all. Prefered the theatrical ending in 16 Blocks over the alternate ending though, glad they changed it. Saw Eddie on "Inside the Actor's Studio" and had to go watch Trading Places again. Guess I'll be watching some more oldies this upcoming weekend as well. I've got too much to catch up on as it is.

I've always liked Out of Sight actually. I thought all of the characters were interesting and really well done. Cheadle in particular is just excellent in it. I'll agree and say it's less comedy, and more crime/drama/romance.


I think more people enjoyed it than didn't. I am just one of the outliers. I didn't find anything 'new' about the story, so I think that is why I was bored by it. Rotten Tomatoes gave it great reviews!

The wife and I watched The DaVinci Code last night. Having never read the book, we enjoyed it. Not a great movie, but an entertaining one.

We just set up the new front project for Christmas so we have been watching lots of movies:
Lake House - good movie, makes you think
Click - funny and has a great message
Lucky Number Slevin - starts out slow but stick with it, good movie
Over The Hedge - good movie
Behind Enemy Lines2- not as good as the first but okay
Lady in the Water - good movie
My Super X Girlfriend - not bad, funny
Blazing Saddles - classic
Benchwarmers - funny
Family Stone- good movie
Bad News Bears - funny

Just got my 360 HD DDV addon about a week ago. Putting it through some test.

Watched JARHEAD and You,Me & Dupree. Both on HD-DVD.

JARHEAD was O.K. had some funny scenes, but I say it's a rental. (which I did rent)

You, Me & Dupree was really funny to me. I enjoyed it.



I have Lady In The Water (HD-DVD) up next. I'm loving High Definition Movies.

Watched Nacho Libre. (note the distinct lack of a link)
There are movies that keep you on the edge of your seat, excited to see what happens next. This is not one of those. I give thanks and praise that I did not gouge my own eyes out in a moment of self preservation. I bought it used.

Relatively speaking, Crank (http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000K7UBSO) was a much better film. Watched the commentary -- interesting that after meeting the 'girlfriend' actress, they added several scenes with her, all of which are somewhat unusual and help the film's uniqueness.

Watched The Ten Commandments 1959 (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00015HX90/). You've seen it; you know what it is, and what's right and wrong about it. It's been a few years since I'd seen it last, and had forgotten a few scenes. A worthwhile way to spend a few hours.

Just added Joyeux Noel and Three Burials to my Blockbuster queue. Thanks guys.

Watched much movies over the holidays...

The Descent (DVD) - Excellent movie. A great example of the horror genre. It has a depth that can be deceiving. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Total Recall (HD DVD) - Great looking French import disc. I had forgotten how crazy this movie is. 3 out of 5 stars.

Fearless (HD DVD) - Beautiful movie. Great looking HD DVD. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Beerfest (DVD) - Not a good movie but I liked it just fine. There is something about boobs and beer that is almost universally good. 3 out 5 stars.

Second Hand Lions (CBS HD) - Watched this on Christmas day. I love this movie. If you haven't seen this film I highly recommend it. It's not for everyone to be sure, but if it's up your ally you'll love it too. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

World Trade Center (HD DVD) - This movie wasn't quite what I expected. In retrospect I'm not sure what I was thinking. Anyway, it's a good movie. It tugs at the old heart strings and it hits close to home but not nearly as close for me as others. 3 out of 5 stars.

Blood Diamond (AMC Theater) - Very good movie. For me this is a must buy when it comes to a HD format. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

A few posts back there was a reference to Trading Places, well last night I broke out Beverly Hills Cop. Forgot how much fun that was... then watched Die Another Day with the wife. One of the few quiet moments during the holidays we have had as all the relatives were gone, unfortunately...they came back... and won't leave until after New Years Day. :(

Had a bunch of family over - filled up the theater, but I sat out. They watched "Adventures in Babysitting."

Did stick around for the opening with Elizabeth Shue dancing, though. :D

Randy

Wife and I just walked out of "About Schmidt" , what a stinker. Sister-in-law is still down in the theater. And what a disappointment being a Jack Nicholson flick.

Had a bunch of family over - filled up the theater, but I sat out. They watched "Adventures in Babysitting."

Did stick around for the opening with Elizabeth Shue dancing, though. :D

Randy

That was one of my favorite movies when I was younger. I had a major crush on Elizabeth Shue when that movie came out...

I don't know how many versions of that movie are available on DVD, but the copy I have looked pretty bad on my 92" screen...

COACH2369:
Yes. Adventures in Babysitting (http://www.amazon.com/dp/6305428050) great film, lousy transfer. Sometimes I watch just the classic lip-sync in the opening scene where where Chris Parker (Elisabeth Shue) is dancing to the goldie "And Then He Kissed Me." Sometimes I fast forward to Babysitting Blues.

The worst 'professional' transfer I've ever seen is Down Periscope (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00013RC70) starring Kelsey Grammer. In the widescreen version what they did is took the VHS version of the movie (4:3 pan-and-scan -- already chopped left and right, say 320x240 pixels), and chopped off the top and bottom to make it 16:9 (now 320x180 pixels with previously unheard of vertical-pan-and-scan). Fuzzy city and unwatchable on a big screen (projected at 1024x576). The Full Screen version (320x240 pixels) was watchable on a little television, but a still noticably bad transfer.

Watched Hustle & Flow last night and thought it was pretty good 4/5. I was expecting the typical Blackspoitation film but it wasn't. The film felt very authentic and didn't glorify the pimp/ho lifestyle at all. Terrence Howard's acting was excellent. Taryn Manning provided the eye candy although I must confess to feeling a bit dirty when looking at her... Afterall she was playing the role of a $20 whore... :(

"The Interpreter", good flick, good looking in HD, good acting by Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman. Not great but worth the time.

"Click", was good but had some Adam Sandler juvenile influence that detracted from the story.

Friday night the wife and I watched "Beyond the Sea". I enjoyed it - Spacey made some gutsy choices and although they didn't all work, the overall effect was a decent musical bio-pic.

Randy

Looking forward to this. Wonder if I'll have 3D in my theater by 2009.

January 8, 2007
‘Titanic’ Director Joins Fox on $200 Million Film
By SHARON WAXMAN
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 8 — James Cameron, the director whose “Titanic” set a record for ticket sales around the world, will join 20th Century Fox in tackling a similarly ambitious and costly film, “Avatar,” which will test new technologies on a scale unseen before in Hollywood, the studio and the filmmaker said today.

The film, with a budget of close to $200 million, is an original science fiction story that will be shown in3D in conventional theaters. The story pits a human army against an alien army on a distant planet, using live actors and digital technology to make a large cast of virtual creatures who convey emotion as authentically as humans.

Earlier movies like the “The Lord of the Rings” did so on a limited basis, while those like “The Polar Express” have used live actors to drive animated images with so-called “motion capture” technology. But none has gone as far as “Avatar” will do to create an entirely photorealistic world, complete with virtual characters on that scale, Mr. Cameron said in a telephone interview.

“This film is a true hybrid — a full live-action shoot, with C.G. characters in C.G. and live environments,” he said, referring computer-generated images. “Ideally at the end of the of day the audience has no idea which they’re looking at.”

The making of “Titanic,” Mr. Cameron’s last full-blown Hollywood feature, was the stuff of movie legend. The film, released in 1997, went far over its planned cost to become the most expensive production that had then been made. But it went on to become a historic success, taking in a record-breaking $1.8 billion at the worldwide box office, and also winning 11 Oscars, including an award for best picture.

Mr. Cameron said that he had taken care to avoid the problems he encountered on his last gargantuan production, and that he was already four months into shooting the nonprincipal scenes by the time Fox gave final approval to the project today.

“I’ve looked long and hard at ‘Titanic’ and other effects-related things I’ve done where they’ve drifted budget-wise,” he said. “This has been designed from the ground up to avoid those pitfalls. Will we have other pitfalls? Yes, probably.”

For its aliens, “Avatar” will rely on characters that will be designed in the computer, but played by human actors, with tiny cameras on headsets recording their performances to be inserted into a virtual world.

Mr. Cameron has already devised revolutionary methods to shoot the film, which he has been quietly doing since the fall, and expects to create still more methods to bring to life the vision of a completely realistic alien world. He and computer experts have designed a camera that allows the director to observe the performance of the actors-as-aliens in the virtual environment in real time.

Sam Worthington, a young Australian actor, has been named to play the lead, as a paralyzed former marine who undergoes an experiment to exist as an avatar, another version of himself. The avatar is not paralyzed, but is an alien — 10 feet tall and blue. Zoe Saldana, another relative unknown, has been chosen as the love interest.

“We could do it with make-up, in a ‘Star Trek’ manner, we could put rubber on his face, but I wasn’t interested in doing it that way,” said Mr. Cameron. “With the new tools, we can create a humanoid character that is anything we imagine it to be — beautiful, elegant, graceful, powerful — evocative of us, but still with an emotional connection.”

The live-action shoot with actors will begin in April, with major effects being done by Weta, the filmmaker Peter Jackson’s New Zealand-based effects company, which worked on his “Lord of the Rings.” The film is scheduled for release in summer 2009.

“This will launch an entire new way of seeing and exhibiting movies,” said Jim Gianopulos, co-chairman of Fox Filmed Entertainment. “It’s once again Jim is transforming the medium. Jim’s not just a filmmaker; every one of his films have pushed the envelope, in its aesthetic and in technology. This is an astounding undertaking, and one only Jim could do justice to.”

I just finished Miami Vice on HD DVD last night. Not a bad movie. It really had practically zero in common with the original Miami Vice series. Some decent high tension scenes.

My one gripe with last night's experience was the first minute or so of the movie while the title credits were being shown. The only audio is a mid-low bass rumble that's just there for no reason (practically nothing going on video-wise also). It just happened to bring out a buzz in my sub's amplifier that I never heard before and excited a mode at my money seat that made that first minute really un-listenable. I was already at around 15db below reference and had to turn it down during this rumble. Even in my seats with the best room response, this beginning was just annoying.

Dan

I just finished Miami Vice on HD DVD last night. Not a bad movie. It really had practically zero in common with the original Miami Vice series. Some decent high tension scenes.

My one gripe with last night's experience was the first minute or so of the movie while the title credits were being shown. The only audio is a mid-low bass rumble that's just there for no reason (practically nothing going on video-wise also). It just happened to bring out a buzz in my sub's amplifier that I never heard before and excited a mode at my money seat that made that first minute really un-listenable. I was already at around 15db below reference and had to turn it down during this rumble. Even in my seats with the best room response, this beginning was just annoying.

Dan

did you watch the UNRATED or Theatrical edition? What I really liked about the Theatrical version (when I saw it in theaters) was that there was no credits or title scene...it just dropped you into the movie (the club scene)....really different and unexpected and it worked....with the UNRATED, they had a more conventional opening with title screen and credits....

Watched all the Kings Men on Bluray over the last weekend as well as Descent. The latter being interesting cinematically but a real stinker other wise. All the Kings Men was absolutely beautiful looking on Bluray and the story was good too. I watched King Kong on HD-DVD and looked at a couple scenes from Batman Begins on HD-DVD. Both good transfers but not as good as the best Bluray I have seen. I have both the MI3 disc on Bluray and HD-DVD. Honestly, on my 720p projector there is not much if any difference. People who were saying Bluray looks bad need to get a full screen 16:9 movie like All the Kings Men and then rethink what they previously thought. The resolution is there and it definitely shows.

It was the un-rated one then...

I definitely would have preferred to skip the whole boat racing/credit intro...

I just went and took out my RTA, listened again, and the rumble is based right around 80hz, falling off more sharply above than below. It looks like I need to spend a little more time with my PEQ and get rid of that amp buzz as well.....grrr.....

I was planning on having some friends over to watch it last night. I'm sure glad I didn't.

Watched all the Kings Men on Bluray over the last weekend as well as Descent. The latter being interesting cinematically but a real stinker other wise. All the Kings Men was absolutely beautiful looking on Bluray and the story was good too. I watched King Kong on HD-DVD and looked at a couple scenes from Batman Begins on HD-DVD. Both good transfers but not as good as the best Bluray I have seen. I have both the MI3 disc on Bluray and HD-DVD. Honestly, on my 720p projector there is not much if any difference. People who were saying Bluray looks bad need to get a full screen 16:9 movie like All the Kings Men and then rethink what they previously thought. The resolution is there and it definitely shows.

you didn't watch the Descent on Blu-ray...unless you have a PS3

Had a friend over who is a big college football fan (any college football). I showed him The Long Grey Line, in particular the scene when Army gets beat by Notre Dame after Knute Rockney throws the first forward pass.

Great movie.

you didn't watch the Descent on Blu-ray...unless you have a PS3

Yes I have a PS3. Great Bluray player. What is your point? :confused:

Yes I have a PS3. Great Bluray player. What is your point? :confused:

Sony confirmed yesterday that the Descent will not play in any other player besides the PS3 because of the new HD bonus material or whatever on the disc...

I see. Well I could have avoided it altogether and been just fine. Horror movie is just not my genre though..

I liked The Descent, but that's niether here nor there. Could have been better...much better...but it was enjoyable none the less.

Last night I watched "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels." I've heard people talk about this movie for years and never saw it. Best Buy had it for $6 so I thought what the heck. Loved it! Too bad Guy Ritchie turned out to be such a crappy filmmaker after this one.

Last night I watched "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels." I've heard people talk about this movie for years and never saw it. Best Buy had it for $6 so I thought what the heck. Loved it! Too bad Guy Ritchie turned out to be such a crappy filmmaker after this one.

Have you seen the movie Snatch?

I watched A Scanner Darkly the other day. The wife walked out about 10 minutes in. She couldn't get past the "interpolated rotoscoping." Personally I don't think it would be as good without the rotoscoping. The somewhat unique look highlights the drug induced dreaminess. This is another movie based on the writings of Philip K. Dick who inspired movies like Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report, Paycheck, etc. Good movie. I liked it, but it's certainly not for everyone. 3 out of 5 stars.

I thought that they could have cut out about 45 minutes in the middle and added about 15 minutes onto the end... I was bored and I am a big fan of Sci-Fi and P.K. Dick's other adapted works.

Have you seen the movie Snatch?

Just watched that a couple days ago for the...well...I can't count how may times I've seen it. But I enjoy it as much now as when I first saw it.

Have you seen the movie Snatch?

Yeah, but it's been years since I last watched that one. If I remember correctly Guy Ritchie wrote that one.

Yeah, but it's been years since I last watched that one. If I remember correctly Guy Ritchie wrote that one.

Yep written and directed by Ritchie a couple years after Lock, Stock. Snatch and Lock, Stock are exceptional movies IMO.

Last night: "The Inside Man."

Really enjoyable. A taught, interesting, and funny (that was a surprise) heist movie. Nothing else can be said without spoilers, so if you haven't seen it, go get it!

Randy

CptnRandy:

I also liked "The Inside Man".
These 'spoilers' aren't really spoilers, just quotes from the movie that don't really give much away.

My name is Dalton Russell. Pay strict attention to what I say because I choose my words carefully and I never repeat myself. I've told you my name: that's the Who. The Where could most readily be described as a prison cell. But there's a vast difference between being stuck in a tiny cell and being in prison. The What is easy: recently I planned and set in motion events to execute the perfect bank robbery. That's also the When. As for the Why: beyond the obvious financial motivation, it's exceedingly simple... because I can. Which leaves us only with the How; and therein, as the Bard would tell us, lies the rub.


Sorry to interrupt you, Mister Mayor, but there's an old American saying: When there's blood on the streets, somebody's gotta go to jail

So I violated Section 34-DD?

CptnRandy:

I also liked "The Inside Man".
These 'spoilers' aren't really spoilers, just quotes from the movie that don't really give much away.


So I violated Section 34-DD?


Yes. She certainly did.

:cool:

Randy

Just got done watching Crank on the BD. This was my first BD movie experience and the picture and sound are great. This disc delivers!

As a bonus the movie is pretty good too. A friend at work spoiled the ending for me but I still enjoyed it very much. It's quite a ride. 3 out of 5 stars.

Just got through watching Miami Vice HD-DVD on my friends 120inch screen. He has the Panasonic 1000U. Man 1080p looks soooo good.
Now I'm back to my humble setup (see signature) to watch "Derailed" hd-dvd

DERAILED is a must see. Great picture in my opinion. The HD-DVD PQ is just icing on the cake. Great story. Will keep you on the edge of your seat. Well it did for me but go see for yourself.

Last night the wife and I watched "The Cooler". Very nice. Terrific performances by William Macy, Maria Bello, and Alex Baldwin.

Randy

I really enjoyed this picture. The action was amazing. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. No bathroom brakes tonight :D I like the story. Love the whole MI series. Think i'll have to buy the box set, as I rented this one. If you like action go get this movie. You won't be disappointed. I wasn't.

Sat down to watch James Cameron's "Ghost of the Abyss" last night. Thought it was a pretty good documentary regarding one of his visits to Titanic. Also watched the 1994 flick "Surviving the Game" with Ice-T, Gary Bussey, Rutger Hauer. I guess I was more impressed back in then than now.

Watching Get Smart (http://www.wouldyoubelieve.com/).

Whomever created the box for the box set had a great sense of humor.

"For many thousands of fans, the show continues to represent a high point in television -- funny without rancor ... outrageous without offence."

Shortly after defeating Herr Bunny
99 says "Oh Max! You were wonderful!"
Smart says "No 99, the real credit belongs to these children's toys. After all we had at our disposal every fiendish and distructive plaything ever devised for the pleasure of little children. Those poor devils all they had were real guns and bullets."

Chief, I saw two invisible men

Watching Mission Impossible - The Complete First Season (1966) (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HWZ4HU)

Actually I'm really enjoying it.
I was afraid that the technology would be very dated but the first 6 episodes had no serious problems, and the dialog was never predictable.

The only audio is mono. There's no subtitles, and no special features (at least not thus far). Actor Peter Graves is not in the first season.

I never was a fan of Barbara Bain, but Mary Ann Mobley (Miss America 1959) is very cute.

The descent -- awesome and scary!
Invincible - Awesome foot ball movie in the 70's!
Lady in the water - Great mystery with some sci fi mixed in, unexpectedly good!
jackass 2 - Funny if you like that kind of humor!

Watched this weekend:

Little Miss Sunshine - Allan Arkin was a riot in this movie!
Lady in the Water - much better than what others had told me. Real good.
The Lake House - good love story. Would be good for Valentine's Day...

-t

Upon reading reviews from posters on this site, I purchased a copy of Daredevil: The Director's Cut. Everyone stated how much better it was from the original theatrical version, so I had to give it a chance.

Nope, still a piece of crap! Took a bad movie, and added scenes to it of equal suckiness. Just made for a longer bad movie.

Hopefully he doesn't defecate all over Ghost Rider, too.

Watched the Illusionist over the weekend.
If you're into magic it is an excellent movie - a good combo of magic - relationships- and drama

I was a little let down by The Illusionist after reading such good reviews. I thought Paul Giamantti's acting was excellent but I wasn't enthralled by the story.

i have an extensive dvd collection but once ive seen it, it never sees the light of day again:

ive been busy but all i watched was the departed(today)

i have an extensive dvd collection but once ive seen it, it never sees the light of day again:

ive been busy but all i watched was the departed(today)

Then you should give them all to me, so they will be watched regularly. :D

Last night double feature:

First, a girls pick - "Win A Date With Tad Hamilton". Pretty light weight stuff, but passable.

Next, something much more meaty and interesting - "Gosford Park".

Randy

Saturday night, full house for "The Illusionist."

Good, but not great flick. Terrific Philip Glass soundtrack.

Randy

Watched Saw III last night. Yikes!!! The creator of that is one sick puppy. All in all a good horror flick with lots of scenes that will have you grabbing multiple body parts as you watch the poor victims corresponding parts get ripped apart in very creative ways. It had one of those little gotchas at the end that was predictable, but all in all not to shabby.

Watched
The Illusionist- Good, with a nice twist at the end.
The Guardian- The wife & I both loved it! Best performance by Kevin Costner in a a long time.

Friday night my daughter had friends over. They watched "The Princess Bride" and "The Princess Diaries."

I had a poker night Saturday. No movie, but did a theater demo. Just happened to catch then end of "King Kong" on HBO HD while showing of the systems.

Randy

Slither (HD DVD): Ok movie, ok picture for HD, ok sound. All around just an ok movie. I like to mix comedy with my horror and this movie does an ok job of it. The capitan from Firefly plays a lead roll in this movie. 3 out of 5 stars.

Wolf Creek (HD DVD): This is a much more serious movie than Slither. I wanted to like this movie but I had a real hard time. I absolutely hate movies were the characters continuously make stupid choices. I do not enjoy seeing idiots put in crazy situations. I guess that's just me. There's nothing new in this movie except maybe the setting. A very average piece. Picture quality was better than Slither but not on the top of my list. Seemed very true to what the original must look like. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Friday night my daughter had friends over. They watched "The Princess Bride" and "The Princess Diaries."

Randy,

How old is your daughter and what did her and her friends think about "Princess Bride?"

I have an 8-year old and thought she'd love it since I got such a kick out of it when it first came out. She (and my wife who hadn't seen it before) were NOT amused by it.

My daughter, and her friends, are 14.

She'd seen it before, probably when she was 12 or so. We all love the movie, but I'd tend to agree that the humor is not for small children.

Randy

Picked up "The Gridiron Gang" last night, I enjoy the types of flicks based on true events and wasn't dissapointed.

"Flags of Our Fathers": Interesting, the sequel Letters From Iwo Jima looks really good.

"Worlds Fastest Indian" Good flick but appeared to be somewhat choppy in the editing process.

My daughter, and her friends, are 14.

She'd seen it before, probably when she was 12 or so. We all love the movie, but I'd tend to agree that the humor is not for small children.

Randy

That's interesting....my daughter is 8 and she loves it and pickes up on a lot of the humor. I was surprised actually. "No more rhymes now I mean it!!! Anybody want a peanut??" Still funny!! I'm glad she likes it since it is one of my all time favorites.

"Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest" - Liked it. Great character makeup and special effects.

"The Quick and the Dead" (The Sharon Stone one) - Not all together horrible. REALLY bad acting by Sharon Stone however. Some decent scenes and lots of pretty corny stuff as well. I'm not sure if it was meant to be as corny as it was though...

Next up is the Tommy Lee Jones Three Burials flick that's been recommended a few times around here.

I watched The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada last night. Just excellent! Big Thanks to Randy and others who recommended it.

Dan

Slither (HD DVD): Ok movie, ok picture for HD, ok sound. All around just an ok movie. I like to mix comedy with my horror and this movie does an ok job of it. The capitan from Firefly plays a lead roll in this movie. 3 out of 5 stars.

Wolf Creek (HD DVD): This is a much more serious movie than Slither. I wanted to like this movie but I had a real hard time. I absolutely hate movies were the characters continuously make stupid choices. I do not enjoy seeing idiots put in crazy situations. I guess that's just me. There's nothing new in this movie except maybe the setting. A very average piece. Picture quality was better than Slither but not on the top of my list. Seemed very true to what the original must look like. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

OK I have seen both of these they paled in comparison to "The Descent" and " Feast" give them a try...

Edit: Ooops I do see you watched them in HD-DVD :rolleyes:

T

Last night, movie night for some folks from the office. We watched "The Usual Suspects."

Still one of my favorites.

Randy

Cold saturday afternoon. The wife picked "The Lake House."

Eh.

Randy

Flags of our Fathers (4/5) - great movie, but could been a bit shorter. still, great story telling.

And last night, "Posiden".

An acceptable action movie, but certainly not up to the standards of the original.'

Randy

Gridiron Gang last night.

Great movie; a real emotion jerker.

Watched Snakes On A Plane the other night. Great bad B movie. Fun trying to pick out who would die and how.

Watched 'Flyboys' last night. Good story with alot of dogfight action...

Another cold Ohio day. The girls picked "The Devil Wears Prada." Not bad.

Randy

Wife picked up "Lady of the Lake", "Lady in the lake" "Lady...in water" whatever... it was one of M.Nights movies, what a yawner! He must be eating paint chips when he comes up with his scripts.

"The Illusionist" came in the mail from BB and was impressed with this one. Somewhat predictable but the acting was fairly good.

Probably going to get pulled into "Flicka" tonight

"The Guardian" last night with Costner and Kutcher. Pretty decent actually.

Dan

Watched Tenacious D in Pick of Destiny...awesome movie if you like rock

OK I have seen both of these they paled in comparison to "The Descent" and " Feast" give them a try...

Edit: Ooops I do see you watched them in HD-DVD :rolleyes:

T

I've seen The Descent and liked it. The Feast is on my list (bumped up a few notches now that you've recommended it :D).

Friday night I watched Kingdom of Heaven (Director's Cut) on Blu-Ray. Many have said the director's cut is a better movie than the theatrical version and I'd have to agree. Picture and sound was very good. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Saturday night the wife and I watched Employee of the Month (2006) on DVD. Not a great movie. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Last night we watched Red Eye. I BOUGHT it at Hollywood Video for $1 so I figured even if it sucked how could I pass that up. We actually liked it. It was pretty fast paced (only 85 min.) Pretty good suspense and hey...it had the Scarecrow in it so that didn't suck. He plays a very good creepy bad guy. The surround effects in it were great actually with lots of good creeks and moans from the plane as they hit turbulence. It helped add to the overall helpless feeling our hero faced throughout the ordeal. For $1 or hey even twice that much I would recommend this one.

Thats not a bad deal, for $1 I'd probably like it too :D .
Watched Little Miss Sunshine with my wife on Friday and for us it was quite funny. It's a fairly dark comedy per se, but loved it all the same. Had quite a few LOL scenes, definitley a good rental, and should hold up well to repeat viewings. YMMV.

Saturday - "The Gathering" -- Good suspense (although some say horror) flick...reminded me of Stigmata...maybe because of the religious tone.

Sunday - "The Guardian" -- Great movie for action and tested out my new TES-100 (Tacticle Effects System) well. Great feel on the waves, explosions, and helicopters. Good acting and great effects along with camera shots.

Watched Snakes On A Plane the other night.

Was it comedy or horror? I found myself laughing throughout the movie :p

I know it's been out a while but just go around to watching "Derailed".
Great movie with lots of twists. It was the "Uncut", "Uncensored" version. Though at only 112m it couldn't have been added to with much.

Very enjoyable Thriller.
-t

"The Raven" -- couldn't make it through the first 30 minutes, no plot, no character development, bad acting, predictable, horrible sound, no cinematic value at all. I expect better from Lionsgate. It was like the whole movie was shot with a consumer grade camera and built in microphone. I would say a college production in which they had 2 weeks and zero budget to complete. Not to mention they show you the resolution at the beginning of the movie.

Watched the 293 minute version of Das Boot. (that's about 5 hours).
Not bad. Lots of stuff in there I didn't see in the 3 hour director's cut version.

Was it comedy or horror? I found myself laughing throughout the movie :p

I must admit I was really psyched to see this on video and absolutely love Samuel L Jackson. This movie was horrendous. I believe it was supposed to be campy but I didn't buy it. To me it was just corny and stupid. Please give me a little more plot. They just threw some FX on the screen. :(

On a positive note I have watched Unknown (http://imdb.com/title/tt0450340/) 2x in the last week. Pretty good movie. good setup and payoff.

T

Watched Cars...much better story than I expected for a cartoon movie...I really enjoyed it.
Also found El Dorado on one of the Digital channels and watched the last half of it. WOW is all I can say. I have seen this old John Wayne standard many times and it is a favorite...especially the old Indian Fighter deputy hehehe...Watching it in digital on my plasma was a totally new experience and totally awesome. Colors and details were great. Blacks were better than I expected though I did not look critically but just enjoyed the movie on one hell of a cold and snowy weekend.

"Ride boldly ride the shade replied if you seek for Eldorado."

One of my favorite John Wayne movies. I was ecstatic when I discovered HDNet showing it.

"Ride boldly ride the shade replied if you seek for Eldorado."

One of my favorite John Wayne movies. I was ecstatic when I discovered HDNet showing it.

If you like the Duke check out the widescreen 50th Anniversary edition of "The Searchers". Great looking re-master.
-t

I'm a big John Wayne fan.

Apparently such a big fan that I had a dream about him. I fell asleep with the TV in the bedroom on HDNet Movies last night. I dreamt that I went someplace and was introduced to John Wayne. We talked briefly and I told him that my Dad and I used to watch his movies on TV when I was a kid. I asked him if I should call him John Wayne or Duke, he said "John Wayne" and walked away. I woke up and McLintock was on. Crazy how the brain works.

I've seen the Searchers many times. I have it on HD DVD, but I haven't watched it yet.

The wonderful snow and ice in Cincinnati has pretty much shut things down the past couple of days which means movie watching is a must....

Employee of the Month : average and not done that well... I had a few laughs but not until we watched the outtakes...

Devil Wears Prada: I actually enjoyed this movie and thought it was well done. This is well worth the watch.

Tonight it is going to be Hollywoodland and The Departed....

Watched
Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. (1966, Dick Van Dyke) (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00077BPFU) - dated, simple fun.
Wackiest Ship in the Army (1960, Jack Lemmon) (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002TSZHY) - this is the one where they keep raising the sailboat keel as they go over the reefs.
Of Unknown Origin (1983, Peter Weller) (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00009NHBH) - The best Man Vs Rat movie ever made. The rat, big scarry fills the screen rat, gives as good as it gets. The passive fairly nice home gets the worst of the war. If you've not seen it before, try renting (i.e. probably not for everyone, and it takes a while to get going).

Watched The Break-Up (HD DVD) last night. The movie was ok, picture was ok, and sound was ok. All around just an ok movie. I wanted to like it because I think Vaughn is very funny and Aniston is very hot, but the best I can do is... ok. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Watched The Break-Up (HD DVD) last night. The movie was ok, picture was ok, and sound was ok. All around just an ok movie. I wanted to like it because I think Vaughn is very funny and Aniston is very hot, but the best I can do is... ok. 2.5 out of 5 stars.


So let me get this straight. You thought this movie was OK?

Just finished One Eyed Jacks with Marlon Brando. Picture was horrible, the sound was lousy, but what a great movie.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang on HBOHD....great flick...there aren't too many movies were you can laugh throughout and still have a really decent plot...great movie, check it out

Tonight we watched "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" and "11:14"...

I thought "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" had a few funny scenes, but it could have been shorter..

Now I really enjoyed "11:14" and I am surprised I missed this one when it originally came out. I had it recommended to me from a couple of different people. Apparently this was a DTV release but it had a very good cast... I would check this one out..

My copy of "The Departed" on HD-DVD finally arrived today after the wrong one was sent, so I will be watching this tomorrow. I REALLY enjoyed it in the theater and I am looking forward to a second viewing.

COACH2369:

Do you have a link to 11:13? I can't find it anywhere.
Might you be talking of 11:14 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0331811/)?

I've noticed that the HD-DVD release of "The Departed" is a couple bucks more than the BluRay release of the same -- but the BluRay isn't out yet here and the HD-DVD one is.

"The Proposition" with Guy Pearce and Emily Watson. Good movie, violent and well written, but ended rather abruptly. Kinda left you yearning for a few more minutes.

COACH2369:

Do you have a link to 11:13? I can't find it anywhere.
Might you be talking of 11:14 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0331811/)?

I've noticed that the HD-DVD release of "The Departed" is a couple bucks more than the BluRay release of the same -- but the BluRay isn't out yet here and the HD-DVD one is.


I just realized I typed the wrong title... it has been updated.

Last night, in tune with our deep freeze here in Central Ohio, the wife and I watched "Vertical Limit."

:D

Randy

Watched The Departed twice, first time wife and I only made it 30 mins before we turned it off to watch something else. Curiosity got me so I started it up in the morning and found it surprisingly good.

Also fired up Star Trek Nemesis last night, I found it enjoyable. Good sound and visuals.

Lady in the Water (HD DVD) - Better than I expected. Giamotti is quite good at times. 3 out of 5 stars.

The Lake House (HD DVD) - Not a bad movie in any way. Sometimes even Reeves is good. Just not my sort of thing. Nothing really stands out. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

The Departed (HD DVD) - Great movie. 4 out of 5 stars.

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (DVD) - Found this movie being recommended here and I liked it very much. Jones and Pepper are pretty good. Yoakam's character is pretty funny. Thanks to all those that recommended it. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Last night: The Departed. Absolutely loved it. Best I've seen in a while.

Had a crappy movie night. Watched the Philipino 1980 secret agent midget movie classic, "For Y'ur Height Only".

You can't beat a movie that has a guy named "Agent Wang"

Good times by all.

^_^

Just finished The Prestige, wow! Pretty interesting twist. Will watch this one again.

Man of the Year...somewhat predictable... still trying to figure out what genre they were going for, dark comedy, thriller,comedy??? Too bad, Robin Williams use to be able to make a film but his talent alone isn't able to carry this flick.

Watched The Illusionist (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000K7VHQ4).
I managed to predict the plot about 15 minutes ahead of events, but each time I realized what was coming I thought "wow, way to go". Good little film. Some of the second act magic tricks were very cute, including the one they explain.

I watched Idiocracy last night on DVD. It came pretty highly recommended from a friend at work. It wasn't really all that funny to me. I good have gone my whole life without seeing this film and died a happy man. It's not that it's so bad, it's just not very good. Instead of Idiocracy it should have been called Mediocrity. I give it, a generous, 2.5 out of 5 stars.

I watched Idiocracy last night on DVD. It came pretty highly recommended from a friend at work. It wasn't really all that funny to me. I good have gone my whole life without seeing this film and died a happy man. It's not that it's so bad, it's just not very good. Instead of Idiocracy it should have been called Mediocrity. I give it, a generous, 2.5 out of 5 stars.

I saw that a few weeks ago. A great premise, poorly executed, a chuckle here and there.

A great premise, poorly executed, a chuckle here and there.

That's right on. Well put.

The Illusionist (DVD) - The ending was pretty predictable but still a good movie. Gaimatti and Norton are great actors. 3 out 5 stars.

Hollywoodland (3.5 out of 5). Decent flick, little longer than it should have been, great performances (even by Affleck, if you can believe that), and well written.

Last night we watched the 1955 "To Hell and Back".

For another generation, this was their "Band of Brothers" and it still works.

Randy

Watched the Illusionist last night with the wife. Somewhat predictable but still enjoyable. The illusions were very well done and the acting was decent. Jessica Biel was quite hot as usual. Note: I guessing she's not a vegetarian cause it appears she's grown a bit of a booty since the last time I saw her (Stealth). Kudos Ms Biel !!!

Last night was retro night for my daughter and I. Spun up "Planet of the Apes" (Tim Burton version) and then for balance put in "Ferris Buellers Day Off" Hard to believe those were so long ago.

Over the weekend we watched...

The Prestige (Blu-Ray) - I liked this movie very much. I guessed much, but not all, of the ending and still liked it. The Blu-Ray disc looks and sounds great. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

School for Scoundrels (DVD) - Not a great movie. Some laughs. Nothing really to talk about. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

The Groomsmen (DVD) - A movie about family, friends, personal problems, and getting married. Ooo, what fun! The movie is ok even if some of the personal problems are contrived, hard to believe, and seemingly solved in the end. Burns needs to come up with something new. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Saturday night, we finally got a movie night going. With the kids, we watched "Flushed Away", which all of us enjoyed a lot.

After we put the kids to bed, we put in Little Miss Sunshine--what a fantastic movie! The build up to the "final" competition had me quite edgy, but the ending was really great. Good performances from pretty much everyone in the cast, especially the little girl. And congrats to Alan Arkin for his oscar!

So I'm surfing the dial last week (Thursday, I think) and I stopped at INHD. This show was called MOJO I think. Live acts, each song with a diferent group and at a different venue. I loved Echo and the Bunnymen in the 80s. Seems there was a few 80s techno bands playing, awresome! There was one guy (girl? not really sure) called Klaus Nomi. H/she played from the Ritz in NYC.

Q: Does anyone know if I can find the lioneup to these songs on Mojo? I'd really like to know if there were other bands besides Wall of Voodo and Echo :)

Thanks - nc

The Mrs. and I watched Flyboys Saturday night and we both really enjoyed it. Yes it was sort of cliche as far as the plot line goes, but it was very enjoyable. The dog fight scenes were great visually and audibly and it was very clean. Great home theater movie for sure. I don't even recall this one at the theaters...must have had a short run.

Watched "The Prestige" last night. Good movie! I pretty muched guessed everything but was still shocked at the end.

Flyboys is next on the list.

Saturday night, we finally got a movie night going. With the kids, we watched "Flushed Away", which all of us enjoyed a lot.


Me and my family watched the same movie Saturday. Flushed Away! Funny movie.

First time poster on this thread.

Here's what i've seen lately that i have rented.

Little Miss Sunshine - very good move that i would recommend to anyone
Departed - very good
Havoc - I really liked this movie cause of the plot.
Superman - it was entertaining.
The Break Up - it was OK
Derailed - very good.
After the Sunet - very good (hayek - need i say more)
The Matador - it was better than OK
21 grams - very good movie (i thought del toro did a great job)

I picked up yesterday the groomsmen and the last kiss. i'll let you know what i think.

Kids were gone last night so was able to watch several discs from season 4 of Penn & Tellers B.S. Always enjoy that series...

The Matador - Great flick! Peirce Brosnan finally kills James Bond image with a bang.

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang - Robert Downey Jr and Val Kilmer were excellent. We were on the floor laughing.

Both flicks recommended.
-t :)

First time poster on this thread.

Here's what i've seen lately that i have rented.

Little Miss Sunshine - very good move that i would recommend to anyone
Departed - very good
Havoc - I really liked this movie cause of the plot.
Superman - it was entertaining.
The Break Up - it was OK
Derailed - very good.
After the Sunet - very good (hayek - need i say more)
The Matador - it was better than OK
21 grams - very good movie (i thought del toro did a great job)

I picked up yesterday the groomsmen and the last kiss. i'll let you know what i think.

the groomsmen was really bad. don't see it. first couple of minutes of the movie sucker you thinking it's not going to be bad but then it went down hill fast.

I wonder what Christie Turlington told Ed after she say the movie for the first time.

well at least "the last kiss" can't be worse then "the groomsmen".

Finally sat down and watched "Little Miss Sunshine". I enjoyed the movie but I didn't get that "WOW" feeling everybody told me about.... I will say that the last "dance" sequence had me crying.... hands down the best part of the movie!!

Tonight we are going to watch "Stranger than Fiction" and "Black Dahlia"...

Finally sat down and watched "Little Miss Sunshine". I enjoyed the movie but I didn't get that "WOW" feeling everybody told me about.... I will say that the last "dance" sequence had me crying.... hands down the best part of the movie!!

Tonight we are going to watch "Stranger than Fiction" and "Black Dahlia"...

My wife and I watched Little Miss Sunshine last night as well and both really enjoyed it. Wasn't quite what we expected but the characters were all great and there were some very funny moments as well as touching ones. I can see why this movie had all the "buzz". Alan Arkin did not disappoint as usual and that little girl who played Olive was fantastic.

Watched Silent Hill (DVD) and Pulse (HD DVD) each had their qualities but both fall short of being good. 2.5 and 2 out of 5 stars respectively.

The wife and I watched "The Prestige" Saturday night. Very good, but I'm betting there was an even better movie possible (can't discuss without spoilers).

Randy

I watched The Guardian and You Me and Dupree. I did not have high expectations for either but I was mistake both where very good and I would highly recommend.

Finally got around to watching Flyboys last night. Pretty decent flick, a little campy in a few parts. The dogfight sequences were pretty good if you realize that these are WW1 planes and not jets like in Top Gun.

The movie had it's little heartfelt moments and humour throughout.

Overall, I would recommend to anyone on a lazy night.

Watched the Departed and Stranger than Fiction this weekend. I honestly liked Stranger than Fiction a whole lot better. 4/5 stars. The Departed 2/5 stars. I honestly hate seeing a movie that justs drags you down the whole time. Remnded me a bit like Babel. That movie was a downer for me. The best movie I have seen this year so far is "Facing the Giants". If you can get through the bad acting, you will love the story. Probably in my top 10 list of all time. Just an absolutely touching and poignant movie.

I watched "This Film Not Yet Rated" Interesting documentary of how the MPAA works, check out the deleted scenes as they provide additional insight. I guess the most interesting thing is that to determine what the rating of a movie should be, you CAN NOT compare it's content to other movies with similar content. Comparing movies to determine a rating is not allowed.

I went a different direction this weekend and stumbled across Leslie Feist's performance on Voom's Rave channel. She'd never really caught my attention before but her musical adeptness really wowed me. I'm looking around for some CDs now. I'm a fan of live performance when the levels are right and the talent is there, and she surprised the heck out of me. Wonderful performance.

Last night on INHD... Pink Panther. Hilarious! Peter Sellers is one of the oddest actors I've ever seen. Sort of Jim Carrey, but more distinguished.

the groomsmen was really bad. don't see it. first couple of minutes of the movie sucker you thinking it's not going to be bad but then it went down hill fast.

I wonder what Christie Turlington told Ed after she say the movie for the first time.

well at least "the last kiss" can't be worse then "the groomsmen".

saw "the last kiss" a day after watching "the groomsmen." it was similiar to the "groomsmen" from the dynamics of the relationships of the various characters. because of this, i didn't enjoy the moving as much. I should have waited to see it later. but, it was 180 degrees better in its directing and acting from the "groomsmen."

I watched Flags of Our Fathers and was bored to tears. I did not like how it jumped to flashback from the time line and then forward to the narrator... It made it hard heavy watching with little entertainment. I could not recomend it but in the same breath it was not a bad film either if you know what you are in for.

Watched Night of the Comet (1984) (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MDFTHE)
Good ol flick.

Watched Night of the Comet (1984) (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MDFTHE)
Good ol flick.

Very B-rated but I loved it also. WOW...I always had the hots for Catherine Mary Stewart.

T

Saturday afternoon the wife and I got around to watching "The Departed." Excellent movie and some terrific performances. I can see why Wallberg was nominated.

Last night we watched "The Weatherman" (had to think hard for a moment, not that memorable). It was OK, but basically, a movie about a depressed, not very bright man.

Randy

My wife and I rented "Stranger than Fiction". I thought it was a pretty decent movie, especially after I got over the fact that it wasn't going to be a typical Will Ferrell movie. He did a pretty decent job in the roll. I would give it 3.5/5...

The Island (with Ewan MacGregor and Scarlett Johansson, not Leonardo Dicaprio). Pretty forgettable. Weak story and loaded with awful one-line attempts at humor. Some OK chase scenes and sci-fi content, but otherwise a lame Minority Report-like knock-off.

Flyboys (DVD) - Much better than I expected. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

300 (AMC Theater) - Wow. If you like the trailer, you'll like the movie. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

A Knight's Tale (Blu-Ray) - For some reason I like this movie. 3 out 5 stars.

Over weekend, took the kids to see "Bridge to Terabithia"....actually went out to a commercial theater for a change....thought it was very good...the movie that is.

Steve

I agree about "A Knight's Tale". One of the most unexpectedly fun movies I have seen in a long time. And some very good performances from the supporting actors.

Watched "Hollywoodland" last night.
Story on the life and death of George Reeves of TV Superman fame.
I remember as a kid watching Superman on TV and heard that the actor had died but never really knew what was going on off-camera.

I thought it was a well done movie myself. Even though it was over 2 hours I never thought it was long. May watch it again before returning it...

-t

Last night - The Horse Whisperer. Ok movie - nearly 3 hours long. Not my typical choice, but the wife liked it.

Very weird to see Scarlet Johansen as a child actor.

Randy

Watched Pick of Destiny last night. I wasn't expecting to like it that much but I laughed out loud quite a few times. If you "get" Jack Black/Tenacious D, I'd recommend it.

Dan

Nacho Libre. As above, if you're ok w/ Jack Black, it's entertaining. A decent rental.

Watched "School For Scoundrels" last night.

Lots of laughs....Billy Bob Thornton even got a dig into his ex, Angelina.


Watched "Snakes on a Plane" Friday night.

Part disaster flick, part action flick, part comedy.
Pretty dumb but I don't think this was meant to be an Academy hopeful,
Not for kids.

Tonight, Mr. And Mrs. Smith. I know I watched this before but I can't remember it!!

-t

in the past few nights I watched "Washed Away" (great for kids, enjoyable for adults) and "Proof" (great acting and a lot better than I expected). Never thought that a movie about math could keep you on the edge of your seat.

Last night, being St. Patrick's Day, we looked for an Irish theme movie. We watched "Evelyn" with Pierce Brosnan. Very good.

Randy

We had a bout of snow and ice this weekend ,so after sledding all day w/ the boys, Im going to watch "13th Warrior"

in the past few nights I watched "Washed Away" (great for kids, enjoyable for adults) and "Proof" (great acting and a lot better than I expected). Never thought that a movie about math could keep you on the edge of your seat.


I think you mean "Flushed Away"??? Right??? I fell asleep during it. :rolleyes:

I saw "Casino Royale" this weekend. WOW...this one was over rated. I must have completely missed the boat. I thought it was boring. One good action scene at the beginning. Craig was believable as Bond. I was expecting a lot more after all the accolades last year. I think I need to face the truth IMHO Bond movies suck. I don't get it.

I saw Christian Bale in a whacked out performance this week in "Harsh Times". Decent Rental.

T

I think you mean "Flushed Away"??? Right??? I fell asleep during it. :rolleyes:

You're right, I typed it incorrectly...or maybe that would be a better title. I went into it knowing it was a kids movie, maybe that's why I found it entertaining...I can't fall asleep in front of the TV, so in front of my 100" screen it doesn't happen either...anyway will be a good option when the niece and nephew come over. For some reason they always want to watch movies at my house :p

Started watching several seasons of "Deadwood". First time around on HBO didn't do much for me but the second time is keeping the attention. Finished the first season of Sleeper Cell as well. Wow, that kept my attention. Can't wait for the second season which is due out I believe this week.

Last night, being St. Patrick's Day, we looked for an Irish theme movie. We watched "Evelyn" with Pierce Brosnan. Very good.

Randy

Our choice, with St Patrick's Day in mind, was "Boondock Saints."

Love that weird, quirky movie. :)

Daniel Craig double feature this weekend...

Casino Royale (Blu-Ray) - Excellent movie and great addition to the Bond legacy. The Parkour inspired chase scene near the beginning is fantastic. 3.5 out of 5 stars. This is a great looking and sounding disc.

Layer Cake (Blu-Ray) - Another great movie with Craig. If you like British crime movies like Snatch and Lock Stock, I'd bet you'll like this one. I've seen this movie before but it never looked and sounded as good as it does in HD. Great picture and uncompressed PCM sound. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Last night my wife and I started watching Clerks II. I'm sure it was funny but it is pretty vulgar as well. We had to turn it off after about 10 minutes and 50 F bombs. Ended up watching Employee Of the Month with Dane Cook. A pretty forgettable movie but it did manage to entertain us for 108 minutes without making us cringe like Clerks II. I'd give it about 2.5 stars I guess.

My wife and I finally got around to watching The Departed. WOW!!!! Both loved it. Pace was good, performances were riveting and believable, and the ending was totally unexpected, though thoroughly enjoyable. I've read that it was a remake of an asian film, anybody here seen the original?

ion-man,

it was called Internal Affairs, but I've never seen it.

Watched Rowan Atkinson Live (http://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/778114)
I'd been looking for a north american release of this for years, when I stumbled across it on DVD in Australia. (I've got an all-region all-format (PAL/NTSC) DVD player.)

Filmed live before an enthusiastic audience in Boston in 1991, the show features a variety of sketch work, routines and characters compiled by Rowan Atkinson over the prior ten years.

Featuring:
A Warm Welcome <- good skit
Fatal Beatings <- good skit
And Now, Nazareth the Amazing
Invisible Man
The Good Loser <- good skit
Elementary Dating
Guys After the Game
It Started with a Sneeze
With Friends Like These
Pink Tights and Plenty of Pops <- good skit

It's missing 'the janitor playing the drums that aren't there' skit, which was one of my favourites. That sketch is supposidly on the VHS version as the encore sketch in which he wordlessly and near-proplessly makes you believe he's playing an elaborate drum set plagued by a rambunctious cat. If anyone knows of a DVD with that encore on it, please let me know.

My wife and I finally got around to watching The Departed. WOW!!!! Both loved it. Pace was good, performances were riveting and believable, and the ending was totally unexpected, though thoroughly enjoyable. I've read that it was a remake of an asian film, anybody here seen the original?

It's called Infernal Affairs (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338564/)

I haven't seen it.

Thanks alot. I see region 1 with english subtitles on amazon so I'll probably get it to see what its like.

Watched Rowan Atkinson Live (http://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/778114)
...the show features a variety of sketch work, routines and characters compiled by Rowan Atkinson over the prior ten years. ...

BasementBob: I love his skits, he's hilarious! A couple that come to mind - 1) the beach skit where he takes off his pants to go into the water in front of a blind man (which he didn't know until afterwards!); 2) the skit where he's dozing off in church.

Those situational skits are too funny!

Watched a portion of Flags of Our Fathers last night - had an early wakeup, so couldn't finish it. I had previously tried watching this with a couple of buddies over some brews, but it didn't grab our attention at the time. This time around - sober and alone - it's much better. I guess it's one of those movies where the dialogue is more important than the action.

Open Season the other day with my daughter - sadly, I fell asleep - I guess I really needed to catch up on it. But the portions that I did see were pretty funny, and my daughter, who's a fine critic when it comes to what's funny in that genre, thought it was comparable to Hoodwinked and The Incredibles, so I'll have to give it another go!

Hey Cap - congrats on this thread staying alive! What, no mention of any Irish rotgut or the equivalent for St. Patty's Day?
:D

Well, I wee bit of Jamesons :D

Last night we had friends over and watched "The Blood Diamond". I was surprised - an excellent movie.

Randy

Hi,

Internal affairs is much better than The Departed IMHO. I do have a soft spot for Jack Nicholson (liked him a lot better in About Schmidt, though). It makes me a little sad... I wonder how many great films/performances he has left...

De Caprio was much better in Blood Diamond. That was one of the best films I've watched in my room in a while - actually worth seeing again later on.

My biggest gripe about The Departed was that it was soooo similar to Goodfellas in some ways. And my biggest gripe about Martin Scorcese is how he casts/directs the leading ladies in his films...

Ok... rant over :)

I watched Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest (finally) last night. A very fun movie. I enjoyed some of the parallels between that and Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea classic.

- Steve O.

Last night I watched "Casino Royale" and thought it was pretty good. Daniel Craig is a much for "athletic" Bond than the previous actors... I didn't see a couple of the twists coming until right when they happened.....

Over the weekend we watched...

Final Destination 3 (DVD): Average movie at best. The DVD has a gimmicky feature where you can change the movie slightly by responding to questions every once in a while. The movie can be watched with or without this enabled. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Eragon (DVD): Good special effects, pretty crumby movie. The movie ends without resolving certain parts of the story and is blatenly open to a sequel. I can't imagine wanting to see a sequel after watching this movie. 2 out of 5 stars.

Rocky Balboa (Blu-Ray): The weekend wasn't a total loss movie wise. Rocky Balboa is very good and a fitting end to an up and down series. Stallone looks great for the old man that he is, but sometime he looks a little funny with drawn on eyebrows, etc. The story is compelling, the acting is good, the theme is good hearted, but the movie does have some flaws. It's not nearly as good as the original, but it's plenty good on its own. 3.5 out of 5 stars. This disc sounded and looked terrific.

Saw Ben-Hur last night - it was in a discount book store for about five clams - definitely a steal! I viewed it on a portable DVD player, so can't comment on PQ or sound quality, but definitely worth it with the special features and what not.[EDITED (added):] Over 100,000 cast members - wow, amazing how they made movies old-school style!

Also saw Eternal Sunshine of A Spotless Mind (finally). Another good movie, with plenty of twists and turns. It's actually better the 2nd time around, because it's told in a non-linear fashion, and you can put together why certain things are said, or why certain things happen...

We watched an old favorite-- A Boy and His Dog. We haven't seen it in at least a dozen years. Fun and cheerfully misogynistic (and it was my wife's suggestion).

Recap of last week...

Ultraviolet (DVD) - Ultraviolet turned out not to be as bad as I had heard. It's not really any good but not quite as bad as I expected. Interesting visuals and Milla Jovovich's constantly exposed midsection can't carry this bomb very far. 2 out of 5 stars.

Gridiron Gang (DVD) - Heavy on heart and cliche, Gridiron Gang is a formula movie all the way. Underdogs vs. adversity via a sport. That's not always a bad thing if you can pull it off. This movie does a pretty good job and a big reason is The Rock. 3 out of 5 stars.

Children of Men (HD DVD) - There's been a lot of talk about how great this movie is and I think I fell victim to the hype. Children of Men fell a little short of my expectations. It's a good movie to be sure but the balance between political message and entertainment was a little too lopsided for my taste. I felt like I was having my nose rubbed in it so much that I stopped caring. On the good side there are some good performances, interesting characters, and good action. I'm not sure how much of my dissatisfaction with this movie had to do with my mood. I'm intrigued to see how this movie will sit with me the next time I watch it but I think I need to give it some time. 3 out of 5 stars.

District B13 (Blu-Ray) - This is a very entertaining action movie. Completely different than anything one might see from Hollywood. The Parkour chases, martial arts fights, and action are well done. This is the first time I've used the English SDH subtiles and I do not like them. Including both English and English SDH would be a very small but welcome improvement to foreign language movies. 3 out of 5 stars.

I have avoided watching the theatrical release of "Kingdom of Heaven" as it seemed to be pretty resoundingly panned. But I finally got a chance to rent the director's cut of the movie the other night.

Though I really enjoyed the movie, I don't undestand why movie-makers have to alter recorded history so much. I can understand why they had to leave out most of the political disputes and alliances, but I can't understand why they portrayed peace-makers as war-mongers, war-mongers as peace-makers, loving couples as hating each other, and healthy people as diseased. I also don't understand why they portrayed people dying before their time and skipped the major, and easily depicted, reasons for some of the characters' actions. This movie could have been just as entertaining if historically accurate.

I also watched the refurbished "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." Nice restoration of what is perhaps my favorite Bond movie.

"...movie-makers have to alter recorded history so much..."

One word, three syllables: Hollywood
;)

Hollywood = bigger than life...

Watched "Greatest Story Ever Told" last night - haven't watched this in a while. The visuals are quite a treat! Many scenes seem straight out of a painting. The poses, the background, etc. were awesome. There's one that comes to mind right now - where Big J fled into Egypt to escape the murderers of first born in Bethlehem: Under a blue sky with rolling clouds, you can clearly see a caravan passing, two pyramids waaaaay in the distance, and mountain ranges even further back. Good stuff!

Where do you guys find time to watch so many movies? I'm happy to get an episode of House or Lost in during the week. Course when the theater is done I'm sure I'll find time to get one in...a night!

Tonight I watched Twisted (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0315297/). Interesting movie, I had figured it out about 1/4 of the way through...so it didn't do much for me.

As far as finding time to watch movies, for me it is:


No Kids
No Wife
Able to keep hours to 40 per week
Relatively new house (5 years) so it is in good repair
No girlfriend either (extra time and cash)

Finally got around to watching Flyboys last night. Pretty decent flick, a little campy in a few parts. The dogfight sequences were pretty good if you realize that these are WW1 planes and not jets like in Top Gun.

The movie had it's little heartfelt moments and humour throughout.

Overall, I would recommend to anyone on a lazy night.

I thought that movie was horrible, the action was over the top. The acting was terrible...I found the movie so unbelievable and I hate how they used the fancy (if you could call it that) special effects to mask the fact that it was a crap movie.

I never finished it; back to blockbuster it goes!

I certainly don't have much time to watch movies. Or, more accurately, I don't choose to spend much of my time watching movies. While I really like movies, and have a growing list of several hundred that I would like to watch someday, they are really an anti-social thing to do and I prefer spending time with family and friends doing things other than sitting in the dark watching a movie. I also have a lot of books I want to read. So, even though we have a media room, projector and all that, we probably only average about 4 movies a month, some months more, some less.

Where do you guys find time to watch so many movies? I'm happy to get an episode of House or Lost in during the week. Course when the theater is done I'm sure I'll find time to get one in...a night!

I have seen about 320 movies over the past 3 years. My kids go to bed about 9 and my wife about 10. I am a late night person. I *hate* to go bed. I think I'll miss something. I am a home body. I don't like to go out very often.

T

I certainly don't have much time to watch movies. Or, more accurately, I don't choose to spend much of my time watching movies. While I really like movies, and have a growing list of several hundred that I would like to watch someday, they are really an anti-social thing to do and I prefer spending time with family and friends doing things other than sitting in the dark watching a movie. I also have a lot of books I want to read. So, even though we have a media room, projector and all that, we probably only average about 4 movies a month, some months more, some less.

I'm with you, at least until the HT is completed!

My wife and I do not have any kids, but she is back in school for another 6 months and spends her weekends studying. Since she is busy with school, I have been getting some stuff done around the house.

I would say we watch about 6 movies a month in the "theater". We also watch several in our bedroom but those are usually older movies that really don't benefit from being shown on the projector.

Our room is relatively small, 18 x 13, so when we get our new house in a couple of years I want to build a bigger room. Once I do this I am sure we will watch more movies at home.

My wife and I always say that if we had dedicated, first-class theater rooms like Randy and Art or if we didn't live so close to some REALLY nice theaters, we would watch more movies at home.

FYI...If you haven't seen pictures of Randy's or Art's theaters, you owe it to yourself to take a look. I have been in Randy's theater and I am hoping that I can attend the next Theater meet Art has... They did it right!

I certainly don't have much time to watch movies. Or, more accurately, I don't choose to spend much of my time watching movies. While I really like movies, and have a growing list of several hundred that I would like to watch someday, they are really an anti-social thing to do and I prefer spending time with family and friends doing things other than sitting in the dark watching a movie. I also have a lot of books I want to read. So, even though we have a media room, projector and all that, we probably only average about 4 movies a month, some months more, some less.

An interesting post on a forum like this. Reading is less of a social behavior than watching movies. :confused:

Where do you guys find time to watch so many movies? I'm happy to get an episode of House or Lost in during the week. Course when the theater is done I'm sure I'll find time to get one in...a night!

I have two busy orthodontic practices with thirteen employees and six children ( four living at home). When you say you have no time to watch movies do you really mean that ? I can find time on Friday and Saturday night and Sunday afternoons almost every week.





FYI...If you haven't seen pictures of Randy's or Art's theaters, you owe it to yourself to take a look. I have been in Randy's theater and I am hoping that I can attend the next Theater meet Art has... They did it right!

Thanks very much ! I hope to have a meet here in the fall.


Art

An interesting post on a forum like this. Reading is less of a social behavior than watching movies. :confused:
That's not quite what I said. I admit that reading is even more antisocial than watching a movie with other people. But I try to balance my anti-social behaviors! And while I may not watch all that many movies, I do want the ones I watch to have great audio and video, hence my attention to this hobby (which also takes time away from friends and family). ;)

That's not quite what I said. I admit that reading is even more antisocial than watching a movie with other people. But I try to balance my anti-social behaviors! And while I may not watch all that many movies, I do want the ones I watch to have great audio and video, hence my attention to this hobby (which also takes time away from friends and family).

Stop spending so much time on the Internet and go tend to your family!!! :)

Been away on vacation. At the cabin we watched "Akeela and the Bee" which was good family fare.

Randy

Tnilsson - when you look at this tread it may seem like all we do is watch movies, but take a look at the dates. We're lucky if we get in more than 1 movie a week. We love entertaining - and when we do have people over, we spend most of the time in the lobby/bar. It's a great family activity. I could count the number of times I've watched a movie by myself over the last 4 years without resorting to taking off my socks and shoes. :D

Thanks for the kind words, Coach!

Randy

I have two busy orthodontic practices with thirteen employees and six children ( four living at home). When you say you have no time to watch movies do you really mean that ? I can find time on Friday and Saturday night and Sunday afternoons almost every week.
Art

I do mean it right now. I'm trying to finish my basement while having a full time and part time job right now. It's been quite time consuming. As I alluded to, once the theater is done (about the half way point of finishing the basement) things will slow done a bit and I will be able to sit back and enjoy a handful of movies each week.

As for being an orthodontist, I know understand how you can afford your awesome theater!

Gridiron Blues - Very cliched but it was watchable only because it was based on a true story.

SherryBaby - Incredible performance by Maggie Gyllenhaal albeit a little difficult to watch at times.

T

Tnilsson - when you look at this tread it may seem like all we do is watch movies, but take a look at the dates. We're lucky if we get in more than 1 movie a week. We love entertaining - and when we do have people over, we spend most of the time in the lobby/bar. It's a great family activity. I could count the number of times I've watched a movie by myself over the last 4 years without resorting to taking off my socks and shoes. :D

Thanks for the kind words, Coach!

Randy

Anytime Randy! You deserve the credit because you have the theater that several members of this forum would love to have... Hopefully you will have another meet in the near future!

I do mean it right now. I'm trying to finish my basement while having a full time and part time job right now. It's been quite time consuming. As I alluded to, once the theater is done (about the half way point of finishing the basement) things will slow done a bit and I will be able to sit back and enjoy a handful of movies each week.

As for being an orthodontist, I know understand how you can afford your awesome theater!

I have only seen pictures of his house on his webpage, but it looks like he has an incredible home as well....

My sister-in-law is an opthomologist(i hope i am spelling this right..lol) and she was in school for a long time and worked hard to get where she is now...My brother and her just put in an unbelievable home theater.

I posted earlier and I failed to mention that my wife, her best friend and I saw "Shooter" on Friday night.

My wife couldn't stand it but her friend and I thought it was awesome. The movie has its flaws and several things were unbelievable, but it was entertaining.

I had a question for anybody who saw the movie. Does anybody know if Danny Glover has been ill or had an accident? Throughout the whole movie he talked like he had a mouth full of food and it was kind of annoying...lol If he has a problem, then I understand.. :)

I wasn't the person asking how everyone finds time to watch so many movies. I was trying to respond to that question from someone else by explaining my own situation and my feeling that I don't watch all that many movies, despite any appearances to the contrary. While Randy makes a valid point, it was not my question and I was not trying to denigrate anyone for watching more movies than I do.

Recent movies:

Superman Returns HDDVD: More of the same as the original, but still entertaining. I thought the casting on the original Superman was better though (particularly Lex Luthor and his sidekicks). Had some hiccups w/ my Xbox HDDVD player so had to switch to the SD layer half way through, which was a bummer.

Babel: Great all-around movie. Definitely deserved it's Best Picture nomination. Had a similar multiple-but-intertwined storylines like Crash, but I preferred Babel overall.

I dozed off three times last night trying to watch 'A Good Shepherd'.

I dozed off three times last night trying to watch 'A Good Shepherd'.

I thought it was just me, I couldn't finish watching it. It was very boring to me. I turned it off about half way through. Had a great cast though.

I heard Good Shepherd was boring. It looked boring to me so I passed.

Watched "Inside Man" 2 days ago. Clive Owen/Denzel Washington Bank Robbery movie.
Very good. I wanted to rob a bank when the movie ended!

I thought it was just me, I couldn't finish watching it. It was very boring to me. I turned it off about half way through. Had a great cast though.

That is a bummer. I picked it up to watch this weekend and I did notice that it was three hours long...

Since I used my free rental card from my Panasonic projector purchase.... it will not be a big deal if i don't make it through it all.

I also picked up the Battlestar Galactica mini series that SCIFI had on a couple years ago. I really like the original show from the 70's so I am hoping I will like this one. Once I watch this and if I like it, I will pick up the season series....

We watched the "Phantom of the Opera" the other night (the musical). We missed the many live theater productions but thought the movie might be a good way to finally see it. All I can say is that I hope the live version had a different script because the movie was one of the dumbest things we have ever seen. What a waste of time. Even very good performances by Mimi Driver and the leading lady did not help this turkey!

MI 3 and Casino Royale are the first two moveis I watched in my theater.

MI 3 and Casino Royale are the first two moveis I watched in my theater.

Congrats on the new theater! Did you view the two above titles on HD-DVD or Blu-Ray by any chance? What kind of display are you using?

Most recently: Babel, Rocky Balboa, Superman Returns and Little Miss Sunshine.

I liked Babel a lot and Rocky was pretty good too actually. I was a little disappointed by Superman though. It wasn't horrible but I was hoping for more. There were a few memorable scenes but that was about it. Little Miss Sunshine was just great. Excellent performances by all and a funny, dark, good ol' dysfunctional family good time.

Dan

Last night the wife and I watched "The House of Sand and Fog."

Afterward I turned to her and said, "well, that was depressing."

This morning we talked about it. The movie has many terrific performances, including Ben Kingsly (That's Sir Ben to you!) and Jennifer Connely. But there was something missing, either in the screen play or the editing, that left the experience unsatisfying in some way. As my wife said, "I'm glad we watched it", but it lacked something that could have made it into a really good movie.

Randy

Last night the wife and I watched "The House of Sand and Fog."

Afterward I turned to her and said, "well, that was depressing."

This morning we talked about it. The movie has many terrific performances, including Ben Kingsly (That's Sir Ben to you!) and Jennifer Connely. But there was something missing, either in the screen play or the editing, that left the experience unsatisfying in some way. As my wife said, "I'm glad we watched it", but it lacked something that could have made it into a really good movie.

Randy

I have my own rating system of the movies I have seen over the past 3 years and this is one of about 5 movies I have given a perfect 10. I do agree Randy it wasn't the most uplifting movie. :rolleyes: The performances and mood were right on. What made you watch this??? I believe it came out in like 2003....

T

What made you watch this??? I believe it came out in like 2003....

T

One of the benefits of having a movie library with over 750 titles. :)

We buy movies as they come on sale. That one has been on my shelf for some time. But I can't describe how nice it is on a Saturday night for my wife and I to pour ourselves a drink, put some popcorn on to pop, and go the the movie library.

We usually take 5 minutes of back and forth until we land on one we're both interested in seeing.

Randy

That is a bummer. I picked it up to watch this weekend and I did notice that it was three hours long...

Since I used my free rental card from my Panasonic projector purchase.... it will not be a big deal if i don't make it through it all.

I also picked up the Battlestar Galactica mini series that SCIFI had on a couple years ago. I really like the original show from the 70's so I am hoping I will like this one. Once I watch this and if I like it, I will pick up the season series....

I hope you do like it. I got hooked randomly watching the season 1 season finale on UHD one night, and immediately went out to start from the beginning. It's a bit uneven at times, especially in the third season, but overall I believe it is one of the best shows on tv.

My wife let my son and I go to the video rental store without her. We got Godzilla: Final Wars. Our only complaint was that...

... it only took about two seconds for Godzilla to defeat the American-version Godzilla.

Other than that, we had good loud fun, and the eight-year-old was cheering throughout the movie.

Payback Straight Up (HD DVD) - This version represents the original director's intent. It's different enough to be different but it's basically still the same movie. I put it on an equal footing with the theatrical version. I like both of them. 3 out of 5 stars.

Covenant (DVD) - What a load of... Actually, it's a little better than I expected. This movie has few, if any, redeeming qualities but it's not too difficult to watch. For some reason I just don't feel the contemp I sometimes have for bad movies. For me, it seems, this movie wasn't bad, it's just not any good. If you're a teenage girl you might like it, other wise... 2 out of 5 stars.

Saturday night double feature -
The Holiday - Cute love story.
The Devil Wears Prada - Not bad, reminded me of my own career.. :rolleyes:

Sunday -
Charlotte's Web - O.k. Our 3 year old got bored.

Monday -
Newsies - We are running out of kid friendly shows, so we were going to watch Field of Dreams. I soon realized that we don't even have it on DVD. (gave the vhs version away) We settled on Newsies. My son liked it, we even caught him dancing a few times.

Monday - Inside Man. Very good. Better than I was expecting. Suprised to see it was a Spike Lee joint. That usually turns out to be a good thing anyways.

Just in case some of you didn't know, Denzel and Clive Owen apparently are pretty good actors. :)

After seeing Inside Man (2 thumbs up) I decided I liked bank robber movies.

Saw Firewall this weekend (Harrison Ford). By the end of the movie I was surfing on the internet waiting for the movie to end.

ugh.

V for Vendetta (HD DVD): Was ok I think. Saw it in pieces over 4 nights, so had a hard time keeping the flow of the story going. Otherwise, probably would've liked it.

Watching Flight 93 on HBOHD. Have seen it before. What a great, intense, believable movie.

"Smokin Aces" last night for a late night diversion... Was an impulse rental and was glad I picked it up. A little odd...I believe the reason I liked it is because there are some curve balls in it that made it refreshing. I have grown very tired the boiler plate plot templates that seem to be regurgitated on a regular basis by the studios. I am pleasantly surprised when a director takes a different approach.

Planning on watching FLIGHTPLAN this weekend. Before I watch it, if anyone thinks I shouldn't let me know.

Planning on watching FLIGHTPLAN this weekend. Before I watch it, if anyone thinks I shouldn't let me know.

Good suspense with some nice twists & turns.

An American Werewolf In London HD-DVD - video (grainy, bouncy, soft focus), audio (some minor surround channel effects). No skips or pauses with Toshiba HD-XA1. The transformation scene still holds up.

Hulk HD-DVD - video (minor grain, mostly excellent). audio (didn't notice anything special). One short pause with Toshiba HD-XA1.