RocknRolla: (BD) 3.5 out of 5 - Another Guy Ritchie film that falls into the same genre as Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. This film has all of the same qualities as the others - funky cinematography, sprawling ensemble cast, interweaving storyline, catchy nicknamed gangsters, etc. And even though this outing is the weakest of the three, I still found it pretty enjoyable.
A teaser at the end of the film hints at a sequel (which is also mentioned on Wikipedia and in the audio commentary), but considering the mixed reviews RocknRolla got, I doubt it will get made any time soon.

eta: Almost forgot to mention... Thandie Newton is stunning in this film.

...Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: Man what a great family movie. Good clean fun...

My family seen this a couple of months ago when it was on TV. My daughter, who is 14, loved it and wanted to see it again. But for myself, it brought back my phobia of that "Childcatcher" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childcatcher) from back when I watched this in the theater when it came out oh so long ago...
Funny how this character was "...voted #5 on the Nostalgia Critic's list of the Top 11 Scariest Nostalgic moments." (from wikipedia)...

Finally got around to watching Speed Racer and The Bucket List over the weekend.

Being a Speed Racer fan in my youth, it was a kick watching and spotting the little details from the episodes. I think the Speed Racer actor in particular was cast well, but he was missing the neck doo-rag...

The Bucket List - I actually dozed off a little during it. But I think that may because I had been out in the sun all day with no shade earlier in the day (brought my family to the Warp Tour - got free tickets - just happy I made the right choice about not drinking any booze and sticking with H2O). Interesting attempt at some characters with depth. I was struggling with Jack N.'s character believability - maybe seeing the real Jack too much, and the character not so much (but I guess this would be the case in some of his other latest movies too, IMHO). Morgan Freeman portrayed his character well though. His whole body language, facial expressions and eyes showed his attention to detail as an actor. One thing I noticed immediately was that the Taj Majal scene was blue-screened. I probably wouldn't have known so easily if I had watched it on a 27" tv, but it was readily apparent via my pj screen.

Classic Children movie night..

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: Man what a great family movie. Good clean fun, my almost 4 year old absolutely loved this movie. He was signing, dancing, and jumping up and down through the whole movie. I just forgot how incredibly long this movie was.
I have fond memories watching that both as a child myself and then later with my kids ... countless times! Some great characters and lines, some that we use all the time in our warped family, especially with my now adult son. Two favorites that spring to mind:

Whenever one of my kids acts crazy I like to repeat the line from Grandpa Potts, the looney, talking to a stranger about his son: "Bit of an eccentric. Can't imagine where he gets it from!"

Or when they're late, I like the line that Lord Scrumptuous used when he gave Dick Van Dyke (Caracacus Potts) 30 seconds to make his pitch, and time ran out: "Too late. Had your chance. Muffed it!"

And my son still likes to use this line when he's on his way to use the bathroom: "Tally ho! - I'm off to India!"

Those old classics had some great lines in them! :D

Classic Children movie night..

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: Man what a great family movie. Good clean fun, my almost 4 year old absolutely loved this movie. He was signing, dancing, and jumping up and down through the whole movie. I just forgot how incredibly long this movie was.

My memory of that movie was I got to watch it after I had slammed the door of our 1970s vintage Chrysler on my thumb after everyone else had gone into the house. I stood outside screaming for what seemed like ten minutes but was probably only one. I couldn't reach to open the door by myself.

Afterwards, it was me, my thumb in a bucket of ice, and CCBB. As the youngest, in a then one tv house, I remember my siblings being annoyed. Must have been on tv since this was pre-VCR (for us anyways). I remember liking it.

We watched:

Spiderman 3 - I had low expecations of this, which accounts for why I'm finally getting around to see this. I wasn't impressed with it, it's the worst of the 3 films. I can't stand Harry in the shows, poor acting?? poor writing?? I'm not sure which, but his character bugs me. The first spiderman was the best. It felt like 2 and 3 came around just because 1 was successful. They felt too forced.

She's not that into you - I actually liked this show more than I thought I would. I offer no real personal insights into the movie. Lots of beautiful women, which helped make it a chick flik that I could stand.

Watched "Eagle Eye" on SD-DVD...

Suspend all belief with this one. Guess it's good as a pop-corn movie but Wow!, how could a land-lady not notice barrels of chemicals and boxes of guns and ammo coming into an apartment building?

Mission Impossible: 3/5 stars - This 10+ yr old big-screen adaptation of the famous TV series starring Tome Cruise and Jon Voigt was entertaining, if a tad dated looking.

Ghost Busters: 4/5 stars - This movie is perfect for what it is, a don't-take-yourself-seriously vehicle for Bill Murray and Dan Akroyd to deliver great lines. A classic.

Ghostbusters 2 > 1

Must have been on tv since this was pre-VCR (for us anyways). I remember liking it.

OLD FART RAMBLING WARNING!!

Those VCRs sure did change they way we watch TV, eh? These young whipper-snappers just don't understand. I'm thinking of splurging and getting me a brandy new programmable VCR just as soon as my HT build is finished (circa 2150)! :cool:

I watched the Bluray version of The Man who fell to Earth. The quality of the film transfer was better than I remember seeing in the theater. The Bluray contains the original directors cut which was shown in Europe. The film released in the US was hacked to pieces.

The difference is better continuity of the story line. Heads up that this version is an example of the sexploitation that took place in the 70's with as much nudity and sex that was allowed without the film's distributer being sent to jail. Put the kids to bed it you decide to watch this one.

I rented from Netflix and enjoyed the extra interview with Rip Torn and Candy Clark as they reminisced about making the movie.

OLD FART RAMBLING WARNING!!
I remember watching this on a 19" black-and-white television, and loving every minute of it. I wanted to build that car -- just a model.
I didn't know that Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was written by Ian Flemming of 007 fame.
I saw Chitty Chitty Bang Bang again about 8 years ago, and found it very slow paced.
If you order this on DVD, ensure that you get a widescreen edition (such as the 2003 DVD).

Watched Knowing (BluRay) (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001GCUNZI)

3/5 (maybe 2.9/5, several good plot ideas that were well realized on film, but many unsatisfying plot points that don't quite ring)
Lots of subwoofer.
Very clear picture.
The plane crash is wow. The next event is eye opening too (but less wow).
The special features say "Nick Cage is perfect for this role because he's a father." uh, perhaps there were alternatives then.
I didn't notice the grandaughter played the grandmother. The grandmother pulled off several expressions extremely well.

Nicolas Cage stars in this largely unsatisfying science-fiction tale that begins as a taut and spooky story concerning psychic legacies and ends up falling back on Steven Spielberg's old, cosmic playbook for default explanations about weird phenomena. Cage stars as astrophysicist and widower John Koestler, whose young son attends a school where a 50-year-old time capsule is dug up and opened. Koestler's son, Caleb (Chandler Canterbury), is given an envelope from the capsule containing a sheet of paper inscribed with seemingly-random numbers. Koestler interprets groupings of the numbers as prophesies (made in 1959) of disasters leading up to a globally catastrophic event late in 2009. Moreover, some of the later tragedies involve him or members of his family, suggesting the paper was meant to fall into his and Caleb's hands. That’s not the only freaky thing drawing father and son in a direction they really don't want to go. Among other things, a quartet of mute strangers keeps showing up with a powerful interest in Caleb's whereabouts, and the daughter and granddaughter of the little girl who originally scribbled those numbers in 1959 are under the shadow of a separate prediction of doom. Everything goes swimmingly until it's time for director Alex Proyas (The Crow) to begin tying up all the strings, and [religious, spiritual, philisophical] cliches start falling like rain. On the plus side, Knowing includes a couple of breathtaking scenes of calamity, the most horrifying (and realistic) of which is a jet crash the likes of which has never been committed to film.

"Underworld-Rise of the Lycons" Better than expected and the special effects were top notch. If the story would have ended stronger, it would have been highly recommended.

Went to the "Big screen" with the family to see Transformers 2. I am rating the film 3.5/5.0 because I like the idea of the film but in reality I was disappointed because I was hoping for something new and Mr Bay just delivered an overdose of a rehash of the first film. I certainly liked the first film better than the second. There were too many characters (robots) for any "relationship" building and the secondary stars in this film are not as memorable as the secondary characters in the first film. This goes to anyone who has seen the film.....did you find the "twins" annoying as I did or am I the only one. I got tired of them as the movie wore on. Sorry for the semi-rant.

Regards,

RTROSE

Ghostbusters 2 > 1

Incorrect.

I just finished:

Ghostbusters II: 3/5 stares - While entertaining, this one doesn't have the comedy chops of the original. Slime only gets you so far. Honorable mention for a good Bobby Brown song and cameo in his pre-Whitney days.

Watched My Bloody Valentine (BR)...great audio!

Watched three movies in the last few days.

Paul Blart Mall Cop - YUCK! Horrendous. 1/2 star because it was short.

What Happens in Vegas - Excellent flick. Wife and I laughed throughout the movie. You can really relate to the characters and it was a good, lighthearted movie.

P.S. I Love You - Classic chick flick. Well done and a good story.

CJ

Went to the $5.00 bin and came away with 26 movies for $15.00.

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h61/willygib/movies.jpg

I have watched 6 of the war movies. Some OK some not so grate. Watched both midnight movies. Not bad, both B/W in 2.35 scope. I haven’t opened the Fantasy Adventure Collectors Set.
I like these old movies.

Blood Diamond: 4/5 stars - Great performances by Leonardo DiCaprio & cast and stunning photography back up a compelling story line that deals with some truly horrible atrocity. Good movie.

Finding Nemo (SD) 5 out of 5 - My brother-in-law is in town with his daughters, so we needed a movie that would appeal to a 3 year old, yet still showcase the home theater. (It was his first time seeing our dedicated theater room). I can't think of one negative thing to say about this film. Brilliant colors, great sound, and a fantastic story. One of Pixar's best. I hope they release this on Bluray soon.

Casino Royale (BD) 3.5 out of 5 - Full disclosure: I am fairly ignorant of the James Bond franchise. That being said, this film was definately enjoyable. I felt that the movie dragged a bit towards the end and made it a bit overlong, but the action sequences were incredible. I'm looking forward to seeing Quantum of Solace.

Watched "The Invisible" with my daughter. Very good movie and would recommend. 4 out of 5. The movie was not quite what I expected from the pre-views. In the end, it was better.

21: 3.5/5 stars - This was a repeat viewing for me... while the screenplay deviated from the facts significantly (for dramatic effect), I enjoyed the underlying story, and I likes me some Kevin Spacey. I actually liked the documentary "Bringing Down the House" (Discovery channel?) just about as much.

Had some friends over Fri night........someone brought over an older movie, "Reign of Fire" with Christian Bale, Matthew "I can't leave my shirt on" Mcconaughey.

I'd seen it before, not my favorite movie. I'm not really into dragons, but the people who came over enjoyed it. My 5 yr old loved it, and it looked pretty good for being a 10 year old movie and on regular dvd. PS3 upscaled it pretty well, Special FX were pretty decent.

2/5 for me. Probably 3-4/5 for eveyone else who watched it with me.

Watched Defiance this weekend. Very good story about true heroism and character during one of the worst times in history. Highly recommend this movie. Make sure to watch the bonus features where they interview the families and give you more incite into their lives following WW2.

Also watched Traitor. Not what I expected, but a very good movie as well. Not quite the action packed movie I thought it would be, but a very compelling spy drama with yet another great performance by Don Cheadle.

Tonight I'm going in a little different direction...The Life of Brian in BR.

Finally got around to "Apocalypto". I hated it and loved it all in the same breath. Overall I'm glad I watched it, but it had a lump in my gut the whole time.

The Machinist (BD) 2.5 out of 5: I had heard good things about this film, but I was left pretty dissappointed. Like all movies in this particular genre, it's hard to say anything about the actual plot without giving too much away, but this type of film has been done before - and it has been done better.

In many psychological thrillers, you're rewarded for paying attention and picking up details, and the moment that the reveal comes you get that sense of "aha!". But "The Machinist" kind of crawled along leading up to an uneventful ending that left the "clues" from the previous hour-and-a-half seem needless. I've included some of the questions that the movie fails to address (and some other gripes) below. (I've used spoiler tags, but I've still done my best to not give too much away)

What is the significance of Ivan's deformed hand? Since we know his origin, what does the hand have to do with anything?

Why didn't Trevor open the fridge at the first sign of blood?

When Trevor is following Ivan, he recites Ivan's lisence plate number out loud. Eagle-eyed viewers are rewarded with a quick shot of Trevor's plate, which is the reverse of Ivan's, yet we are never told of this significance. Since we know Ivan's plate is Trevor's old plate number, why would Trevor have a new plate number that is identical to his old one reversed?

Why wouldn't Trevor recognize his own car?

Movies like The Sixth Sense and Fight Club have scenes that still make sense when they are viewed again under the new light of a twist ending. The Machinist seems to fall apart on a repeat vieiwing. (For instance, what was really happening during Trevor's date with Maria?)

On a positive note, Bale's performance was very good, and his commitment to his character is borderline insane - he reportedly dropped from 180 to 120 pounds for this role!

Watched Defiance this weekend. Very good story about true heroism and character during one of the worst times in history. Highly recommend this movie. Make sure to watch the bonus features where they interview the families and give you more incite into their lives following WW2.

I've watched it twice in the past few weeks. Excellent movie. Easily 4.5/5.

I would also highly recommend checking out Defiance.

Kingdom of Heaven: 2/5 stars - Ridley Scott directed this tale of a blacksmith (Orlando Bloom) who tries to save Jerusalem form an attack by Muslims 1000 years after Christ. Lots of fighting and swords and horses and stuff. Oh, and a pretty girl for the hero. And a bad guy leader,who of course needed vnaquishing. Unfortunatley the whole thing seemed to move like sludge. I was waiting for it to be over half way thru.

friday night - The wife and I settle in for a viewing of Red Dragon on HD-DVD. Silence of the Lambs has been one of my favorite movies for a long time, and after a VERY disappointing sequel, this prequel was Fantastic. Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel, Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman.... They did a very good job of keeping this movie in the feel of SotL, not over the top and cheap 4.5/5


Sunday afternoon - V for Vendetta on DvD

What can I say, I love this movie. 4.5/5

Watched "DARK CITY" on Blu-ray again..... 3.5/5 too much DNR, but that's another discussion to be had :(

The "Theater" is out of commission since window installation will be going on in there right now..... can't wait to have a more air-tight, and sound-tight movie room soon.
(they knocked down, and broke a speaker too.... so that's another issue)

I also watched ID4 on Blu-ray..... 2.5/5

Watched the new RAMBO on Blu-ray again too..... holds up pretty well for a 4th installment.... 3.5/5 The audio on this one just rocks.

May watch "The Day the Earth Stood Still" or "The Third Man" again tonight..... since the center channel is still in place.... I'll have to see what else I have in Mono that I want to watch..... but I'll have to wait until it's completely dark outside since I have no window treatments up.....

I'll have to wait until it's completely dark outside since I have no window treatments up.....
I know a fellow who built a 13' subwoofer.
One of his neighbours a mile away called the cops on him.

I know a fellow who built a 13' subwoofer.
One of his neighbours a mile away called the cops on him.

either I'm not picking up on the joke....... or..... I'm just totally lost here!

13' eh? what was the driver...... a trampoline?

either I'm not picking up on the joke....... or..... I'm just totally lost here!Silly me. You were talking speakers so I was thinking soundproofing, and itimated that your plan to avoid neighbour complaints was to watch films at 3am when they were asleep. In retrospect when you wrote 'window treatments' you're probably talking about black out shades, and not soundproofing window plugs.

13' eh? what was the driver...... a trampoline?
21" Beyma driver in a 13' enclosure.
So the joke was, whatever your soundproofing problems, there's always someone with bigger problems.

Watched The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh (1963, Walt Disney, parts 1 2 and 3, limited pressing DVD) (http://www.ultimatedisney.com/drsyn.html)

3/5

"On the southern coast of England/There’s a legend people tell/Of days long ago when the great Scarecrow/Would ride from the jaws of hell/And laugh with a fiendish yell." Okay, it may not be as catchy as "The Ballad of Davy Crockett," but anyone who was glued to their TV sets in 1964 to watch the continuing adventures and heroic exploits of Dr. Syn on the Disney anthology series, The Wonderful World of Color, should feel a shiver of excitement that goes beyond mere nostalgia at hearing this theme song again. Old-fashioned to be sure, but The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh is still a ripping yarn and rousing family entertainment with its unforgettable hero, despicable villain, galloping chases and breathless escapes. Grandly produced in England, this three-part miniseries is "a story of high adventure and heart," as Walt Disney states in his folksy and avuncular episode introductions. Patrick McGoohan (known at the time for his iconic role as John Drake on Danger Man) stars as Dr. Syn, who leads a double life as a mild-mannered village vicar by day, and a fearsome avenger known as the Scarecrow by night. The haunting burlap-masked Scarecrow is a folk hero to the villagers, who are overtaxed by King George III, and brutalized by his press-gangs, who violently shanghai men into Navy service. Only two know the Scarecrow’s true identity, his sexton Mipps (George Cole), and the local Justice of the Peace’s son, John (Sean Scully, from Disney’s The Prince and the Pauper). There is a love story between John’s older sister and conflicted and compassionate English soldier Lt. Brackenbury (Eric Flynn), but it doesn’t slow things down or get too yucky. Over the course of three near-hour-long episodes, the Scarecrow foils attempts by his nemesis, General Pugh (Geoffrey Keen) to capture him, or intimidate villagers into giving him up.

Watched Defiance this weekend. Very good story about true heroism and character during one of the worst times in history. Highly recommend this movie. Make sure to watch the bonus features where they interview the families and give you more incite into their lives following WW2.

Also watched Traitor. Not what I expected, but a very good movie as well. Not quite the action packed movie I thought it would be, but a very compelling spy drama with yet another great performance by Don Cheadle.

Tonight I'm going in a little different direction...The Life of Brian in BR.

I've watched it twice in the past few weeks. Excellent movie. Easily 4.5/5.

I would also highly recommend checking out Defiance.

I also liked Defiance (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1034303/) very much. 3.5 out of 5.

I watched Marley & Me (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0822832/) over the weekend. It's much like every other dog movie I've seen. Not quite Old Yeller (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050798/) but it's done pretty well. 3 out of 5.

Speaking of Old Yeller. I think I need to watch that movie again. It's been a long time.

I have 2 girls 9 & 11 and they just finished watching the whole Star Wars saga with me for the first time and they LOVED it! I had more fun watching them get excited about the movies and getting so into it that I completely relived my early movie year allover again through their excitement.

Now I’m thinking we need to hit up the Indiana Jones series next!

I hope others have had a similar experience because it was really cool!

I'm with you. Watching my 5 yr old see Star wars (4,5,6) and Indy 1 & 3 was cool. Makes you realize how some of these movies truly are classics when 30-40 years later they stand up both story wise and special effects wise.

My demented 11yr old daughter just finished watching Death Race for about the 5th time....

My demented 11yr old daughter just finished watching Death Race for about the 5th time....

Ha, I know what you mean my 2 have watched SW (2, 4 & 6) at least 3 times and maybe 4 times each. They are so interested in the characters and their relationships that they have been barraging me with a ton of questions as if they are real. I love it but my wife is about done with the obsessiveness over SW.

I'm with you. Watching my 5 yr old see Star wars (4,5,6) and Indy 1 & 3 was cool. Makes you realize how some of these movies truly are classics when 30-40 years later they stand up both story wise and special effects wise.

You are absolutely right in that they do stand the test of time. As far as my 2 are concerned there is no difference between the movies even though there is 20 plus years between them.

Watched Push (BluRay) (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001OQCVII)
Better than I dared hoped for.
3.95/5

"PUSH tantalizes you with its premise and its central characters, hooks you in with that promising movie trailer, and then jerks you around like a hot but very mean girlfriend. Given, there's enough of what's cool here to nerd out on, but, ultimately, this paranormal thriller is lacking " the humanity and just a little more depth which would have brought it to 4 stars for me. The story is full of backstory, but that does not slow down the almost nonstop action. I'd imagine there are lots of critics of this film, but I had a good ol time. I forgot to make popcorn -- and that's usually a good sign.

Nonetheless, I eagerly await the obviousy anticipated sequel. :)

There are nine types of psychics in Push:

Movers: Movers manipulate inanimate objects at varying distances. The actual technique is known as kinetic signature control, where the Mover is trained to hear and identify the specific atomic frequency of any given material and alter the gravity wave around it, usually producing the nearby air to appear warped. Advanced Movers can work at the molecular level creating protective shields in the air around them.

Pushers: Pushers push specific thoughts, memories, and even emotions into their targets. This technique can be used to gain a subject's trust or to have them perform any action, thinking it was their own agenda.

Watchers: Watchers are trained to self-induce visions of the future, very much like a prolonged sense of déjà vu. The technique of following the future, either of a person or object, is called subject tracking. A Watcher's skill is primarily rated by how far they can see into the future.

Bleeders: Bleeders have the ability to emit high-pitched sonic vibrations that cause ruptures in a target's blood vessels. Known to some fans as Screechers.

Sniffs: Sniffs are highly developed psychometrics who can track the location of either people or objects over varying distances. Like psychic bloodhounds, their tracking ability is increased if they have tactile access to an object that has been in direct contact with the subject. Sniffs receive information based on images, not specific addresses, which is why identifiable landmarks help increase their effectiveness.

Shifters: Shifters can temporarily shift patterns of light on any object to create illusions to the naked eye. They work mostly on a touch basis, but once the illusion is established, it remains with the object for short periods of time. For example, a Shifter could momentarily touch a one dollar bill, altering its light pattern to appear as a one hundred dollar bill for hours until the effect expires. The length of the shift is based on experience and ability.

Wipers: Wipers are skilled at either temporary or permanent memory erasure, an invaluable asset in espionage. Experience will dictate the accuracy of their wipes, though the danger is always present that they will eliminate a desired memory.

Shadows: Shadows are trained to block the vision of other clairvoyants such as Sniffs, making any subject within their target radius appear "dark". Experience will enhance the size of the area they can shadow and the intensity of their shielding effect. Shadows need to be awake to perform their ability, and it is common for a detail of two Shadows to operate in shifts while protecting a person or object for extended periods.

Stitchers: Stitchers are psychic surgeons trained to quickly reconstruct cells to their previous or healthy state. Using only their hands, they can heal and even "unheal" whatever they have done. For more detailed work, Stitches use a silver based cream on their hands which acts as a conductor to their ability.

There is a tenth type of psychic that appears only in the prequel comic book series, called Phasers. They have the power to pass through any solid object with almost complete ease.

from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Push_(2009_film) <-- complete spoiler plot is laid out here. Don't.

I'm with you. Watching my 5 yr old see Star wars (4,5,6) and Indy 1 & 3 was cool. Makes you realize how some of these movies truly are classics when 30-40 years later they stand up both story wise and special effects wise.

Indeed.... you've finally said something intelligent.

Now if only Lucas would give us un-altered originals on BLu Ray.

Not holding my breath... :(

Heh, at this point I'd be happy with any version of BluRay. I want to buy the set, but at this point don't want to buy it on DVD... Hurry up Lucas!!

21" Beyma driver in a 13' enclosure.
So the joke was, whatever your soundproofing problems, there's always someone with bigger problems.

wow! That's massive.....

He must live near Cleveland.... that'd explain our brown-outs!


I watched "In the Realm of the Senses" on Blu-ray last night.... but had to watch it in the bedroom since the window guys still have the movie-room in disarray.... The wife didn't see the artistic nature of the film.... and decided to go downstairs and watch HGTV

3.5/5 (I think I rated it otherwise a number of pages back) but either way, I enjoy the film, and the audio is really chilling at points.

Watched some of Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic, 325 minutes (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001QFYLKS), a few months back.
I couldn't make it through it. Stopped it around 100 minutes in.
Seemed too dark and depressing, without reward.


Watched Watchmen (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001FB55H6)
Pretty good. 3.5/5
It feels complete. Apparently the ending is different than the comic, and it works. Many feel it's a better ending than the comic.

While there are some formulaic superhero parts, they're irrelevant. If you want a superhero movie, and loved the 1950's Superman and the first X-Men movie, Watchmen isn't what you're thinking of. The real story, in my mind at least, is the comparison of the unwavering philosophies of Rorschach and Ozymandias, as they apply to that world.

Rorschach’s actions and journal writings display a belief in moral absolutism and moral objectivism, where good and evil are clearly defined and evil must be violently punished. He's a driven, vengeance-fueled vigilante. Rorschach has no super powers. He merely has his will and technical abilities, and brother has he got a lot of will. Rorschach uses any and all weapons that are available at the time. Despite his mental instability, Rorschach is described as tactically brilliant, and unpredictable.

"You don't understand... I'M not locked in here with you... YOU'RE locked in here with ME."

Simon & Garfunkel's 'Sound Of Silence' at 00:34:51 (hh:mm:ss) is better than any other mix I've ever heard of this song. 99 Luftballoons was pleasant, even if it was only 20 seconds long.

Songs in Watchmen

1) Take a Bow - Muse*
2) The Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning - Smashing Pumpkins*
3) Unforgettable - Nat King Cole
4) The Times They Are a-Changin - Bob Dylan
5) 99 Luftballons - Nena*
6) The Sound Of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel
7) Me And Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin
8) I'm Your Boogie Man - KC & The Sunshine Band
9) You're My Thrill - Billie Holiday
10) Pruit Igoe & Prophecies - Philip Glass
11) Everybody Wants To Rule The World - Tears for Fears*
12) Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen
13) Clyde - Waylon Jennings*
14) All Along The Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
15) Desolation Row - My Chemical Romance
16) First We Take Manhattan - Leonard Cohen*
17) Pirate Jenny - Nina Simone

* indicates the titles not on the soundtrack CD

Watched "Get Smart" on SD-DVD last night.

Was never a big fan of the TV series but the wife was so we watched it.
Not as bad as I thought it would be.

Anne Hathaway has great legs!! Made it worth watching for me. ;)

-t

The Day the Earth Stood Still remake

Not bad....not good either. I didnt mind watching it but wouldnt go out of my way to see it again.

I am amazed at Keanu Reeves acting ability tho. No one can play a emotionless robot/alien/being like him tho.

It needed some more explosions and stuff nlowing up. Im a simple guy. When aliens visit our earth, I expect to see death rays, lasers, general mayhem and destruction. Perhaps Michaoel Bay could direct a 3rd iteration of it? :D

Ha, I know what you mean my 2 have watched SW (2, 4 & 6) at least 3 times and maybe 4 times each. They are so interested in the characters and their relationships that they have been barraging me with a ton of questions as if they are real. I love it but my wife is about done with the obsessiveness over SW.

I would be so lucky to have only seen some of theose 3-4 times each. I would venture to say my 5 yr old has watched the SW.....sextology (whats 6 in -ology terms?) and transformers among other movies somewhere in the 50-75 times range. Thats a conservative estimate.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: 3.5/5 stars - Interesting, If somewhat too long, David Fincher directed movie. The story kept my interest the whole time, but could have been a little snappier in pace. The visual effects were seamless, I can see why it won awards. Good acting by Brad Pitt. Great cinematography by Claudio Miranda.

(Speaking of Brad Pitt, I think he bears much resemblance to Robert Redofrd in both his looks, and style. They played father and son in "A River Runs Through It", and they looked that part. In "Button", Pitt iz made to look old via via special effects, and he again bears uncanny resemblence to the now-aged Redford. Additionally, in Pitt's "middle-aged" scenes in thsi movie, he has some reactions and facial expressions that reminded very stongly of Redford in "The Natural".)

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: 3/5 - Kevin Spacey and John Cusack in this Clint Eastwood story of a southern politician indicted for murder. I likes me some Kevin Spacey, and his protrayal and the intriguing story kept me interested.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: 3.5/5 stars - Interesting, If somewhat too long, David Fincher directed movie. The story kept my interest the whole time, but could have been a little snappier in pace. The visual effects were seamless, I can see why it won awards. Good acting by Brad Pitt. Great cinematography by Claudio Miranda.

(Speaking of Brad Pitt, I think he bears much resemblance to Robert Redofrd in both his looks, and style. They played father and son in "A River Runs Through It", and they looked that part. In "Button", Pitt iz made to look old via via special effects, and he again bears uncanny resemblence to the now-aged Redford. Additionally, in Pitt's "middle-aged" scenes in thsi movie, he has some reactions and facial expressions that reminded very stongly of Redford in "The Natural".)

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: 3/5 - Kevin Spacey and John Cusack in this Clint Eastwood story of a southern politician indicted for murder. I likes me some Kevin Spacey, and his protrayal and the intriguing story kept me interested.

Bro, thats at least the 2nd time in the last couple pages you have made the statement " I likes me some kevin Spacey"

Mancrush?

Watched "The Dutchess" on Blu-ray last night with the wife..... 3/5

I had very low expectations, and it wasn't my style movie, but it was very well made. I won't be watching it again however.

Valkyre, and Woodstock both arrived from Netflix..... deciding which to watch first will be a challenge...... I could really use some music right now!

Bro, thats at least the 2nd time in the last couple pages you have made the statement " I likes me some kevin Spacey"

Mancrush?

I did then... and I still do.

I'm consistent.

Transformers: 4/5 stars - I have a buddy who never saw the first movie from a couple years back. Watched it at reference volume levels last night. Allowing for the premise (Aliens robots from outer space that fold in to cars), it's a great action flick. Always good for a re-watch. Buddy thought it was a blast....

True to my word.... I've now watched Valkyre and Woodstock on Blu-ray.....

Valkyre 3.5/5 better than I thought, too bad Tom Cruise was in it though. Enjoyed the concept, and ending very much.

Woodstock, 4/5 Always liked this one, and the Blu-ray is a pretty solid transfer, but the audio had quite a few hisses/pops that I thought may have been corrected, but apparently the master isn't that great.

One gripe.... the menu..... I wish It listed song names so you could jump directly to your favorites.... I wanted to re-watch a few afterwards, and had a heck of a time finding the songs, and fast forwarding through interviews!

The Getaway: 2/5 stars - Alec Baldwin and Kim Bassinger (when he was still skinny and they were still married, I think). Meh.

Great review, huh?

"Notorious". Started out interesting, very well acted, the actor that plays Chris (BIG) had charm in spades. But to me, the story had nowhere to go and just fell flat for the second half. "8 mile" (the other rapper movie) had a more interesting story and was a better movie.

The picture was a treat though. Very crisp.

The Getaway: 2/5 stars - Alec Baldwin and Kim Bassinger (when he was still skinny and they were still married, I think). Meh.

Great review, huh?

Keep the day job. :D
-t

Keep the day job. :D
-t

I spent a lot of effort on that... and I think you'll agree it shows.

i spent a lot of effort on that... And i think you'll agree it shows.

:d

The kid and I watched "Rush Hour" with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker while my wife worked late tonight. Great banter, good humor, awesome action. Nothing deep, just good solid fun. Perfect for a Friday night with pizza and (insert favorite beverage http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Button_beer.png here). God, was it really from '98??? :eek: Time flies.

My 16 year old daughter and I got out to see the new Harry Potter movie - we both enjoyed it. You've got to be a fan, though.

Randy

Watched Quarantine today. Didn't realize it was a "Cloverfield" like filming otherwise I would have probably passed. I had made it what felt like 1 hour into the movie and the counter only showed 35 minutes....seemed way to slow and too jerky for me (especially on the 100" screen).

Watched "Gran Torino" on SD-DVD last night...

Really liked it. Even the wife liked it and she doesn't usually like movies with language and violence.

The DVD had previews of the new re-mastered versions of Clint's earlier films from Dirty Harry on up Which are being readied for DVD and BR release.

Will watch "Gran Torino" again.

-t

Watched "Gran Torino" on SD-DVD last night...

Really liked it. Even the wife liked it and she doesn't usually like movies with language and violence.

The DVD had previews of the new re-mastered versions of Clint's earlier films from Dirty Harry on up Which are being readied for DVD and BR release.

Will watch "Gran Torino" again.

-t

For some reason I found this movie very funny...almost a comedy...what that what was intended?

For some reason I found this movie very funny...almost a comedy...what that what was intended?

Don't think it was meant as a comedy but the wife and I laughed at a lot of it too! Mostly at Eastwood's character dialogue...
The scene where he's trying to teach Tho how to talk as a "Man" in the barber shop was great.

-t

Family watched "Push" over the weekend (personally didnt care for it) other then that the wife & I have been going thru a few shows each day from all the Lost boxsets (we never watched it on tv) now on season 3 already.

Watched "Milk" with the wife and older daughter last night. Terrific film.

Randy

My 16 year old daughter and I got out to see the new Harry Potter movie - we both enjoyed it. You've got to be a fan, though.

Randy

I think you nailed it Randy. The family and I went today and although I liked it, it just to me did not have the "magic" the other Potter films have had, especially after the Order film (which is my personal favorite). I have read the series and thought to myself if one did not read the book I would have left the film with a lot of questions. Not the best Potter film IMO but good and sets up the next two films quite nicely. If I were to rate it I would give 3.25/5.


At home today I watched the HD-DVD Batman Begins. Always enjoy watching the film.

Regards,

RTROSE

Been watching Mad Men 1-2 via AMC-HD on demand; Weeds 1-4 on blu ray; and Farscape on DVD (well just me for that one). We like serialized content. All are recommended, especially Weeds Season 2.

Watched the first half-ish of transporter 3. Its pretty much what i expected.

I hate the cinematography (im pretty sure thats spelled wrong). The constant cutting to different angles, along with the use of time lapse irritates me greatly.

but i need to finish it so i can send back to netflix.


also showed some of the planet earth hd-dvd's to my brother in law. he had never seen and was blown away by them.

that is such an awesome set of discs.

Watchmen (BD) 4 out of 5 - I wasn't expecting much from this film going in, so I was definately surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The film won me over in the first few minutes alone with "The Times They are a-Changing" playing over a series of clips establishing the alternate past that the movie resides in. Very, very well done.
Although the film has some great action sequences and a lot of gratuitous violence, this is definately not a typical superhero flick. I agree with BasementBob's review - the story is about the characters' different philosophies regarding "good" and "evil" and human nature.

The soundtrack is pretty amazing, too: Dylan, Hendrix, Simon & Garfunkel, Janis Joplin.

Iron Man: 4/5 stars - A re-watch for the MiL who had never seen it before. Good flick, and a great workout for the subs (or so my wife who was trying to sleep). Hope the sequel is decent.

Borat: 3/5 stars - Saw this on TV... some funny, if uncomfortable, moments. Wife wasn't a big fan.

Troy: 1.5/5 stars - This movie really wanted to be an epic feature, but simply failed on many fronts. Pitt's perfromance was wooden, the overall storyline seemed fractured, and it simply drug on in too many places. Some good location/set shots though.

^^^^needs moar Kevin Spacey huh? :D

Wife wanted to watch "National Treasure 2". Couldn't stay awake.

Randy

Went with wife and 16 yr old daughter down to the Ohio Theater for the CAPA summer movie series showing of "Showboat", complete with the might Wurlitzer organ lifted out of the pit.

Next week, the original King Kong!

Randy

Went with wife and 16 yr old daughter down to the Ohio Theater for the CAPA summer movie series showing of "Showboat", complete with the might Wurlitzer organ lifted out of the pit.

Next week, the original King Kong!

Randy

That sounds awsome! I remember as a kid going to Indianapolis to the Paramount's Pizza Palace to eat pizza and listen to the mightly Wurlitzer organ. Those were great times.

Regards,

RTROSE

Watched "Chak De India" in SD with my daughter, 4.5/5. Chak De India is the semi-fictional story of India's Woman's World Cup Field Hockey Team. My daughter is getting more involved in the sport and it was great to see a comeuppance movie that can be related too. Great story line and the excitement of the World cup games is very catchy. I put this movie on par with Hoosiers, Miracle, and one of my favorite good0time movies, The Replacements.

Dead Calm: 3.5/5 stars - Sam Neil, Nicole Kidman and Billy Zane in a thriller about a boat hi-jack on the open seas. Billy plays a convincing nutjob. Good older flick. Even without Kevin Spacey.

Watched "Bride Wars" with the wife last night. Not too bad, pretty funny in spots. Who doesn't mind watching Kate Hudson? :D

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: 3.5/5 stars - Interesting, If somewhat too long, David Fincher directed movie. The story kept my interest the whole time, but could have been a little snappier in pace. The visual effects were seamless, I can see why it won awards. Good acting by Brad Pitt. Great cinematography by Claudio Miranda.

(Speaking of Brad Pitt, I think he bears much resemblance to Robert Redofrd in both his looks, and style. They played father and son in "A River Runs Through It", and they looked that part. In "Button", Pitt iz made to look old via via special effects, and he again bears uncanny resemblence to the now-aged Redford. Additionally, in Pitt's "middle-aged" scenes in thsi movie, he has some reactions and facial expressions that reminded very stongly of Redford in "The Natural".)

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: 3/5 - Kevin Spacey and John Cusack in this Clint Eastwood story of a southern politician indicted for murder. I likes me some Kevin Spacey, and his protrayal and the intriguing story kept me interested.
Actually Tom Skerritt (aka Viper in Top Gun) plays Brad Pitt's father in A River Runs Through It, not Robert Redford. Redford was the director though.

Actually Tom Skerritt (aka Viper in Top Gun) plays Brad Pitt's father in A River Runs Through It, not Robert Redford. Redford was the director though.

Wow.. you are sure right. Man, I must have projected that. My bad.

[quick look at IMDB]

Hmm, Redford narrated it in addition to directing it though, so I'll blame that for my blunder. :o

I did seem to remember them in a movie though... turns out it was Spy Game. I don't recall thinking they had so much a resemblance there as in these other movies though.

Thanks for setting the record straight...

geez n00b.

pretty common knowledge you messed up on there.



I watched my xbox360 get 3 red rings last night. Does that count as listing what I watched?



*waits for scaesare to say something about my being scared to play him online so i made up story about 360 cooking*

Watched the movie Yes Man last night. I have to say it was better than I thought it would be- not his best, but still enjoyable to watch. 3/5

Watched the movie Yes Man last night. I have to say it was better than I thought it would be- not his best, but still enjoyable to watch. 3/5

Watched yes man for a couples night we did a few weeks ago. Four couples with varying interests. A movie I would never watch on my own but a safe bet for couples.

With the meticulous planning and attention to detail you've demonstrated in your most recent purchase and project, I've come to naturally assume that you just managed to break your 360 somehow.

Watched V for Vendetta again tonight with the girlfriend. 4/5 due to a cheesy ending. It's no Casablanca but I'm a sucker for it.

Watched Green Lantern: First Flight (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0021AENIM)
3.5/5
Not bad. I had two Green Lantern couple of comic books of this years ago, one of which was 3/8 of an inch thick.
"In brightest day, in blackest night, No evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might, Beware my power... Green Lantern's light!"


Watched Race to Witch Mountain 2009 (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002935GNC)
2.9/5
A remake of the original "Escape to Witch Mountain 1975 / Return from Witch Mountain 1978" movies.
This new one contains more nefarious characters, and violence than necessary, and the kids reminded me more of Children Of The Corn -- both surprising considering it's Disney. It isn't a kids film anymore, although teenagers and adults will probably enjoy it.
Perhaps it isn't actually a remake.
I spotted the cameo of Iake Eissinmann (who played Tony in the original) and the winnebago pretty quick, but missed the cameo Kim Richards (who played Tia in the original)


Watched Dollhouse (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0024FAR6G)
2/5
I wasn't impressed with the episodes that I'd seen on television, but something possessed me to buy the BluRay so that I could watch the two episodes that had not been aired:
1) Original Unaired Pilot - "Echo"
2) Epitaph One (with Felicia Day)
There wasn't anything really new in the unaired pilot, except for one line "We are not men" which seemed accurate to me.
Epitaph One would have been an interesting end to the series, although perhaps it will still be when the series gets cancelled at the end of season 2.

Watched Push on BR. Not as bad as I thought it would be. I rather enjoyed it.

Gotta catch up.... watched a bunch....

Blu-ray.....Watched "Knowing" 3.75/5 I really don't like Nicholas Cage, yet found this movie pretty enjoyable.

Blu-ray......Watched "Repulsion" 4.75/5 what a fantastic movie. Catherine Deneuve is fantastic!

DVD...... Watched "Platoon" 4.5/5 It's amazing that it's been so long since I've viewed this one..... it's a great movie, albeit a little too heavy with the propaganda.

Blu-ray..... Ghostbusters 3.75/5 Seen it so many times, yet it still has parts that make me scratch my head, and others that leave me holding my stomach as I laugh

Blu-ray..... Kickboxer 3/5 has some great action, and some acting that has a lot of explaining to do for itself!!!

Last night we watched In Bruges (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780536/). A very good film - I guess you could call it a dark comedy, or a drama perhaps. Just very well done.

Randy

All The Right Moves: 2.5/5 stars - I had never seen this 1983 Tom Cruise movie. The small-town-boy-makes-good was a bit on the sappy/predictable side for me. And the actiing performances were a bit wooden. Glad I simply caught it on Tee Vee.

Jewel Of The Nile was last nights' fare......

3/5


Some pretty funny stuff in this movie that I didn't remember..... but I think poor casting kept this, and Romancing the Stone from being truly great..... that and the fact that they couldn't decide if they wanted to make it completely serious.... completely humorous, or a good mix...... because the mix they used feels very forced and awkward.

Watched Fifth Element off Showtime HD.

Good flick as usual. My wifes favorite movie she says. I would prefer it on BR. I think the audio would be much better.

Watched Fifth Element off Showtime HD.

Good flick as usual. My wifes favorite movie she says. I would prefer it on BR. I think the audio would be much better.

I have it on Blu-ray..... there are two releases of it I believe, but either way, the audio is quite phenomenal on it.

yeah. i could tell it was quite stifled (sp?)

As I was watching it, I also thought it stood up pretty well for being 12 years old. the special effects dont look bad at all.

have to keep my eye open for it on sale I guess.

You say there 2 versions - is one any better then the other?

You say there 2 versions - is one any better then the other?

The original blu-ray version was pretty widely panned as being of poor picture quality. This was red meat for the format war since the DVD was a reference disc. Sony then remastered it with a better process, and the new disc was welcomed back as a high quality disc (Sony even did an exchange program). If memory serves, the re-release has the Dolby TrueHD label on the back, otherwise the packaging is the same. Unless you are picking it up at a second hand shop, I am guessing most places you will only find the "good" version.

I REALLY don't miss the bad old format war days.

My wife and I watched "The Notebook" last night. Very good movie. A little predictable in parts, but otherwise a winner. 4.5/5 stars!

The Departed: 4.5/5 stars - Scoresese fianlly won his Oscar for thei star-filled mob flick. Great perfomances by Nicholson, Damon, DiCaprio, and Walberg.. as well as having Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin in it. Gripping story and not a predictable ending.

Caddyshack: 3/5 stars - I had never seen this classic comedy. Funny stuff with Chevy Chase, and I think this put Bill Murray on the map. Directed by Harold Ramis (of Ghostbusters fame).

Caddyshack: 3/5 stars - I had never seen this classic comedy. Funny stuff with Chevy Chase, and I think this put Bill Murray on the map. Directed by Harold Ramis (of Ghostbusters fame).

Most of Bill Murray's scenes were shot after the fact. He was getting big at the time and they decided they needed more of him in the film. The scene with Chevy Chase and Bill Murray in the shack was almost all improv by them, just to have a scene with them both in it. Fun Fact for today.

Back when chevy chase was the man! he was a great comedic actor imo.

Back when chevy chase was the man! he was a great comedic actor imo.

As much as it pains me to do so: I agree.

He had a simialar style in Caddyshack as in Fletch... my favorite CC movie.

Most of Bill Murray's scenes were shot after the fact. He was getting big at the time and they decided they needed more of him in the film. The scene with Chevy Chase and Bill Murray in the shack was almost all improv by them, just to have a scene with them both in it. Fun Fact for today.

Cool...

Caddyshack is one of the best comedies of all time IMO,in fact, I can't think of any better.

Last night I watched Synecdoche, New York with Phillip Seymour Hoffman. After seeing him in Capote and in Doubt I believe he is one of the greatest actors of all time. This is, however, the strangest film I've ever seen, there is simply no describing it.

Art

I Love You Man (BR)..3/5

Well, I love you too man!

but i would like to think im more then a 3.5/5. I'm at least a 4

Well, I love you too man!

but i would like to think im more then a 3.5/5. I'm at least a 4

1.5 tops.

1.5 tops.

Look man, i don't know who you are, but I'd like to ask why you always seem to search out my posts and make some disparaging comment. Frankly its getting a little tiresome and I will report you to the mods if you don't stop.

labrynth (4.5/5). Would be a 5 if main star got nude. And I'm not talking about David Bowie. I'm talking about Huggle

labrynth (4.5/5). Would be a 5 if main star got nude. And I'm not talking about David Bowie. I'm talking about Huggle

well....in the 70's bowie looked like a woman.....

"Spiderwick Chronicles" last night with our two 4 years olds. I enjoyed it, an imaginative story. But it was too scary for kids that young.

Tonight was "Race to Witch Mountain" (the new one). Just below average. I'll forget about it in a day or two.....kids will too.

Ocean's 11 for about the 100th time. :)

Probably going to see District 9 today at a local cinema.

"Defiance" - starring Daniel Craig in SD-DVD.
Powerful movie. Excellent image and audio quality.

Watched it twice within 3 days.

-t

Been a good week for movies.

Underworld Rise of the Lycans - 4/5 Like the first two the storyline is awesome! The fight scenes are rather good, although this one lacked some of the punch in the first two. Lighting is superb for the mood!

We Are Marshall - 4/5 Terrible tragedy! Great movie! Very inspiring. I loved McConaughey's character in this.

Jumper - 3.5/5 Sweet special effects! Decent storyline, just lacked some depth. Left open for a sequel, but not sure if it deserves it.

Took my 16 year old daughter and a friend of hers to see "Ponyo" yesterday. Terrific, dreamlike film.

Babylon AD (BR) - 3.5 or 4 out of 5 - Good flick, very entertaining, good story. I plan on watching this again once my HT is complete...for now the 50" DLP had to make do. Some very cool action scenes and the extras were interesting to watch as well.

Saturday night watched Taken on BD with thein laws and a few friends. Not ever boring but the acting was marginal at best.

Last night watched There Will Be Blood also BD. A very very good movie incredible acting powerful story, quite long.

Art

Btw - We did end up seeing District 9 at the local theater.

It was very good!

Though its the kind of movie i couldn't watch often (we probably won't buy it though might get it through VOD/netflix eventually). There have been a few of that class of movie for me lately... movies that I enjoyed but for one reason or another I wouldn't want to watch over and over again (too emotional, too depressing, too deep, too strange, etc).

Watched the first 45 minutes or so of The Rocketeer with my 5 year old. He liked the part with the rocket pack, I liked the part with Jennifer Connally, my wife liked the part with whoever the main actor is. Fun for the whole family!

However, its letterboxed inside a 4:3 AR, so I'm watching a ~50: picture on a 93" screen. Oh well.



After the kids were put to bed, we watched the first half of The Mummy 3. Its pretty bad. bad acting, bad special effects. But I'm sure well finish it anyway.

Watched E.T. last night (again) with my 4 year old daughter. Still a fantastic movie even after all these years (and times watching it ;) ). It is a good thing we have it on DVD. A VHS tape would have been worn out already! :p

Watched Seven Pounds with Will Smith. The first half of the movie or so was pretty confusing as far as jumping in time and not being able to tell where you were. After that it got pretty interesting and overall was a good movie.

Coraline (BD) 3 out of 5: Watched this one with my wife and my sister. I have always enjoyed stop-motion animation (from the cheesy Rankin-Bass Christmas specials in the 70s to Wallace & Grommit and The Nightmare Before Christmas), and on a technical level, Coraline's animation and attention to detail is top-notch.

Although the movie is beautiful to look at, the pacing is very slow, and it never seems to gain any speed. The creepy, quirky mood is great, but there doesn't seem to be much of a story underneath to hold it together.

As a side note, the 3d was very well done. When we first popped in the movie, we opted to watch the 2d version over the 3d version - choosing vivid colors over a 3d effect. Afterwards, we tried the glasses on a few scenes and we were all pleasantly surprised. From the first moment, the 3d was pretty good (not nearly as good as polarized theater lenses, but definately good for home 3d). The colors seemed off at first, as they usually are with anaglyph glasses, but we all noticed that after a few minutes our eyes adjusted and color seemed to appear even with the glasses on.

Quantum of Solace(BD) - 3.5/5.0

Great standalone Bond movie; even though it wasn't supposed to be. Non-stop action, Daniel Craig is a great Bond. Plot isn't as developed as Casino Royale but wasn't completely lacking. I enjoyed the audio and visual experience!

Watched E.T. last night (again) with my 4 year old daughter. Still a fantastic movie even after all these years (and times watching it ;) ). It is a good thing we have it on DVD. A VHS tape would have been worn out already! :p

E.T. and Wizard of Oz are two movies I love to watch, but my son is too young to watch them still (he'll get scared, he turns 2 in Oct.)

Speaking of..... and I'm sure you guys may know (didn't look for a thread about it)

The Wizard of Oz is coming back to the big-screen

http://www.ncm.com/Fathom/Premiere/WizardofOz_Exclusive.aspx?utm_source=WarnerBros&utm_medium=exclusiveblast&utm_campaign=WizardofOz

E.T. and Wizard of Oz are two movies I love to watch, but my son is too young to watch them still (he'll get scared, he turns 2 in Oct.)

Speaking of..... and I'm sure you guys may know (didn't look for a thread about it)

The Wizard of Oz is coming back to the big-screen

http://www.ncm.com/Fathom/Premiere/WizardofOz_Exclusive.aspx?utm_source=WarnerBros&utm_medium=exclusiveblast&utm_campaign=WizardofOz

Well I heard it was being re-released for it's 70th birthday or something like that with 12 hours of Bonus material.

Also heard that they're going to re-make "Yellow Submarine" for 2012.
Robert Zemekis is talking of it with Disney.

-t

Well I heard it was being re-released for it's 70th birthday or something like that with 12 hours of Bonus material.

Also heard that they're going to re-make "Yellow Submarine" for 2012.
Robert Zemekis is talking of it with Disney.

-t

I didn't think you were into the talkies, teknoguy... :D



Just watched The Matrix on bluray. It's been a while. Gotta love the lobby scene.

Watched Kung Fu Panda with the family tonight. 3/5. Good audio and video, but the story lacked a little. Not as much humor as in other Dreamworks stuff either. Not bad, but not great.

Watched State of Play 2009 (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002DU39H6).
3.8/5
I hadn't heard of this film, but it had Russell Crowe, Helen Mirren, Jeff Daniels, Ben Affleck, and Jason Bateman so I figured it was a political drama with a budget -- which I think it was.
There are no 'good guys' or 'bad guys' in this -- just guys and gals who may or may not be trying to do good but have done bad. It was easy to predict when a 'bad past' was about to be exposed, but harder to predict what that bad past was going to be -- and members of my little audience were calling out what they expected to happen and were usually wrong although their suggestions would have made quite the satisfying movie.

Fictional PowerCorp is obviously Blackwater.
Fictional MediaCorp might be a reference to companies like Time Warner (the largest media controling company in the USA).

It's an americanized remake of the State of Play BBC Miniseries 2008 (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000YRY8BG) One of the BBC's best, this six-part thriller wastes no time building intrigue. It begins like an entry in the fast-paced Bourne series with a foot chase through London, followed by two execution-style hits. Moments later, MP Stephen Collins (David Morrissey) finds out his research assistant, Sonia, was killed in an accident. Newspaper editor Cameron Foster (Bill Nighy) and reporters Della (Kelly Macdonald) and Cal (John Simm), Stephen's former campaign manager, intend to establish whether the events are related. When they realize he's following identical leads for a competing paper, Foster drafts his son, Dan (James McAvoy), to join their investigation. Before long, the team discovers Stephen was having an affair with Sonia. When the news becomes public, his wife, Ann (Polly Walker), leaves him. Then Della finds that the murder victim, a 15-year-old "bag snatcher" from the wrong side of the tracks, contacted Sonia the day she died. He swiped her briefcase, hoping for cash, but found incriminating photos instead--Sonia's death may not have been accidental. From that point forward, it's a free-for-all between the politicians, the press, the police, and big business. An ill-timed affair will complicate matters further. State of Play embodies British television at its finest. It's also a particularly pulse-pounding portrayal of the journalistic life, a small-screen successor to fact-based films like All the Presidents Men

Watched Donnie Brasco last night alone. This is a very good film. I kept thinking though with these wise guys wouldn't it just be easier to have a regular job.:D The transfer on BD was excellent.

Art

I didn't think you were into the talkies, teknoguy... :D



Just watched The Matrix on bluray. It's been a while. Gotta love the lobby scene.

Only when the Wurlitzer is on the fritz...:D

-t

Watched "Mimic" Saturday night on my own. Still holds up as a great thriller.

Randy

Look man, i don't know who you are, but I'd like to ask why you always seem to search out my posts and make some disparaging comment. Frankly its getting a little tiresome and I will report you to the mods if you don't stop.

If it's the truth, it's not disparaging.

How's that latest weekend project workin' out for ya?

Alien Resurrection: 2.5/5 stars - The weakest of the Alien films IMO. Entertaining, but not in the same leage as the first 3. Not helped by the fact that I caught in on TV and it was only in 4x3 format...

Seven Pounds - Will Smith and Rosario Dawson

Started out OK but it got a bit unbelievable by the end.
I think it's time for Will Smith to stop the tear-jerking movies roles.

-t

After the kids were put to bed, we watched the first half of The Mummy 3. Its pretty bad. bad acting, bad special effects. But I'm sure well finish it anyway.

I've had this for a long time. Finally got around to watching it.
Yep, bad. Bad story, bad acting, the Rachel Weisz replacement (Maria Bello) was awful.
But I thought the special effects, which are abundant, were pretty.

"Watchmen"....don't watch with the kids. If I had looked at big blue man parts one more time I was going to vomit! You'd have to be a true fan to find much enjoyment in this one (of comics, or man parts :) )

"New in Town" with Renee Z. and Harry Conick, Jr. Really funny. It had one or two cheesy parts, but otherwise was pretty well done.

I've had this for a long time. Finally got around to watching it.
Yep, bad. Bad story, bad acting, the Rachel Weisz replacement (Maria Bello) was awful.
But I thought the special effects, which are abundant, were pretty.

+2. Just watched that one last night and I was disappointed too. I thought the acting was horrible as well as the new 'wife'. The one redeeming factor was the visual backdrop.

"Watchmen"....don't watch with the kids. If I had looked at big blue man parts one more time I was going to vomit! You'd have to be a true fan to find much enjoyment in this one (of comics, or man parts :) )



Yes! Someone please get that man a permanent speedo. Did not enjoy that movie at all.

Bad Boys: 2/5 stars - The Will Smith &Mmartin Lawrence cop buddy comedy that felt like it wanted to be a hip Lethal Weapon, but didn't quite make it. While it was OK, I consider it more proof that good Michael Bay films are the exception rather than the rule...

^^^^ Bad Boys 2 >

Watched seven pounds......I don't know. Overall its kind of a depressing movie. And the look on Will Smith's face just made me angry after a bit. He just has the same expression the whole time. I understand he's trying to look pained, but he kinda just looks constipated. Its an ok movie, but I would never watch it again.

Watched the first half of Fletch on HD DVD with my wife last night. One of our favorite movies. Good transfer, audio wasnt great for me, but thats due to my having an AVR that doesn't do HDMI audio, so i was stuck with 2.1 since i use the 360 HDDVD addon with optical. But I don't think Fletch is know exactly for the whiz bang surround sound effects. My favorite line? "I'm a shepard"

^^^^ Bad Boys 2 >

Watched seven pounds......I don't know. Overall its kind of a depressing movie. And the look on Will Smith's face just made me angry after a bit. He just has the same expression the whole time. I understand he's trying to look pained, but he kinda just looks constipated. Its an ok movie, but I would never watch it again.

Watched the first half of Fletch on HD DVD with my wife last night. One of our favorite movies. Good transfer, audio wasnt great for me, but thats due to my having an AVR that doesn't do HDMI audio, so i was stuck with 2.1 since i use the 360 HDDVD addon with optical. But I don't think Fletch is know exactly for the whiz bang surround sound effects. My favorite line? "I'm a shepard"

I HATE that line.

I HATE that line.
Your act is getting tired.

[QUOTE=scaesare;17068251...I consider it more proof that good Michael Bay films are the exception rather than the rule...[/QUOTE]

Truer words...

Watched Gladiator Extended Cut BluRay (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NU2CY4)
I don't know how I watched this movie last, but I don't remember the video being this incredibly sharp. A little grain now and then, but mostly spectacular clarity.

Sunshine Cleaning (BD) 2.5/5: Considering that this film was marketed and billed as a comedy/drama from the producers of Little Miss Sunshine, I expected a few laughs. I was wrong. The movie was actually quite depressing. When it ended, my wife said, "I thought you said it was a comedy?".
(As a quick aside, this is a big pet peeve of mine; I always feel like I've been scammed when I see a film that has been marketed as a comedy, only to discover that it was actually a drama/thriller/etc.)

The acting was fine (Amy Adams, Alan Arkin), but the characters they portrayed just weren't all that likeable to me. For most of the movie Adams' character is having an affair with a married man. Arkin's character is a bit of a screwball, but not funny, just weird.

For me, the movie was just "ok".

Last night we watched "Gran Torino". Terrific film - highly recommended.

Randy

Watched Gladiator Extended Cut BluRay (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NU2CY4)
I don't know how I watched this movie last, but I don't remember the video being this incredibly sharp. A little grain now and then, but mostly spectacular clarity.

Maybe because they used edge enhancement?

Edit: Oh I think you are levelling me

Contact: 3/5 stars - Jodie Foster & Matthew McConaughey vehicle about being contacted by beings from outerspace. Altho' now that I watch it again a decade+ later, I realize it's just as much about a person's feeling regarding what defines faith. Seemes a little drawn out this time around as well.

Meet Dave, BR. The first amusing Eddie Murphy movie in a loooooooong time. Saw a bit of it on tv the other day so i added it to my netflix que. My wife and I liked it, my son thought it was great as well.

not bad at all. 3/5

Vote for TimeCrimes and others at the SCREAM AWARDS 2009

spike.com/event/scream2009

Voting ends 10/16, so don't wait.

Tune in 10/27 @ 10pm to see if your favorite won.

Also, check out the audience. They will be dressed in costumes according to their favorite movie.

Gran Turino (BR): 3.5/5 - Finally got around to watching this. It was interesting. A little slower than I expected, more story to it than Clint kicking a$$. Some good extras about the Gran Turino they used...but a very different/interesting menu (it doesn't have a main menu).

Revolutionary Road (BR): 1/5 - I only give it a 1 for decent acting, but this is just a funky depressing movie. Way too much drama for me...even the wife didn't like it (and she's the one that put it in the queue). We turned it off halfway. We just aren't interested in movies bringing us this far down...would prefer more entertainment. It's not even thought provoking or anything, just a downer. I haven't looked yet, but it's probably the type of movie that won a crap load of awards.

Scent of a Woman: 3/5 stars - Al Pacino and Chros O'Donnell movie about a blind ex-army colonial and a college student tossed together and how it affects their lives. Pacino did a pretty good job at portraying a blind person, but his personality in hte movie was jst a tad too quirky for me. And it was a bit on hte long side.

16 Candles: 4.5/5 stars - Classic 80's flick with Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, and John & Joan Cusack. One of the brat pack movies that manages to capture the essence of being a teeneagr in the 80s as only John Hughes managed to do. What a loss his passing was. I'm going to watch every one of his movies as I come across them until I've seen the entire catalog (again).

Speaking of John Hughes....watched the first half of the great outdoors off of Netflix on my 360. Never actually seen it. I like it so far.

Dan Akroyd is great.

Inglourious Basterds (Theater): 4.5/5 - and it's a good thing to because, $11 a ticket, $7 for a drink, and $30 for a babysitter, to watch something I could wait a few months for and watch on 93 inches in the comfort of my own home for free (blockbuster.com subscription), is a little crazy.

However, this was one of the best Tarantino films I have seen and great to see in the theater. Great characters, great lines, story was great, everything was great. I actually am not sure why I don't give it a 5, I'm not sure how it could have been better.

Last weekend we had a triple feature here at the house.

The Day The Earth Stood Still (New one) 2.5/5 Had the potential to be a good movie, but fell flat. Goes to show you that just because you have all kinds of special effects doesn't necessarily mean your remake will be better than the original.

Knowing 2/5 Was not impressed with Knowing at all. Very weak all around except for one of the disaster sequences if just for the LFE track. I like Nicholas Cage, but he just could not pull it off in this movie.

Race to Witch Mountain 3.5/5 After watching the other two this one should have been a "5" but just could not do that in good conscience. I remember the original as a kid but I just could not get into the kids characters. Fun for the family and mindless entertainment and was much better than the other two movies over the weekend.

Regards,

RTROSE

Last night the wife and I went out to see District 9 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1136608/). An amazing, disturbing movie. Highly recommended.

Randy

Watched Gladiator Extended Cut BluRay (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NU2CY4)
I don't know how I watched this movie last, but I don't remember the video being this incredibly sharp. A little grain now and then, but mostly spectacular clarity.

Well this is the complete opposite of what I was reading earlier on bluray.com. I picked up the Bluray myself yesterday at BB with their sale. I havent watched yet, but reading the reviews, most everyone is slamming the quality of this bluray. they say some spots are really good but others are horrible. They are talking to the extent that they should remaster and re-author the disc because it is so bad. I dont know one way or another as I have nt watched it yet, but seeing you say it was awesome, I wanted to note how I was reading the complete opposite earlier...:confused:

Well this is the complete opposite of what I was reading earlier on bluray.com.
I mentioned how good I thought Gladiator's video was to the owner of a big DVD store near me, and he told me he's read the same complaints you have (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?id=4735&show=review) and Amazon's one star ratings (http://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/B000NU2CY4/filterBy=addOneStar) and several threads here at AVS like this one (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1173155), but he added that everyone who has bought them from his store is very impressed. I don't know what's going on. My observation was there were parts that were spectacular, and parts that were so so. The extra content scenes changed the story a bit, and were interesting.

EDIT: I just did the "Germania" test (2 minutes 42 seconds in) and yep, it's as jaggedy as everyone's complaining about. I didn't notice the missing arrows, and neither have I gone looking for them, because I always compare arrow scenes to the theatre film release of "Henry V" which had the best overhead arrows I can remember, and all movies including Gladiator pale by comparison to "Henry V"s.

I'm viewing it on
a) Pioneer BDP-HD1 bluray player, to
b) Pioneer FHD1 plasma -- professionally calibrated

I have in the past seen some truely awful bluray -- anyone remember the first bluray release of "house of flying daggers" (blech).

Knowing 2/5 Was not impressed with Knowing at all. Very weak all around except for one of the disaster sequences if just for the LFE track. I like Nicholas Cage, but he just could not pull it off in this movie.

I watched Knowing with a bible thumper -- and she kept telling me interesting details about what I was watching that I wouldn't otherwise have noticed. Really helped the film.

I remember watching Top Secret! (1984) when it first came to VHS and wasn't all that impressed, but then I saw it again with a fellow who was from the region then, who translated all the jokes that were in languages I didn't understand and gave me the hysterical history behind some of them, and my goodness was like a whole other film!

Yea, that disaster sequence in Knowing was just wow. The other one would have been really good, except that you've seen greatness a half hour before.

Watched "Crank 2 [blueray]"
Awful, and filthy (filthy language, disgusting characters, unenjoyable nakedness).

Saw Crank 2 and I love you man (BD) The latter was very funny.

Went to walmart and they had Ninth Gate for sale for $10 so I picked it up and watched it. It's been a while since I've seen it, pretty enjoyable movie if you are a Depp fan.

Knowing 2/5 Was not impressed with Knowing at all. Very weak all around except for one of the disaster sequences if just for the LFE track. I like Nicholas Cage, but he just could not pull it off in this movie.

Race to Witch Mountain 3.5/5 After watching the other two this one should have been a "5" but just could not do that in good conscience. I remember the original as a kid but I just could not get into the kids characters. Fun for the family and mindless entertainment and was much better than the other two movies over the weekend.

Weird...we saw these 2 movies this weekend as well. I had about the same impression, but I think 3.5 is VERY generous for RtWM. I would have put that and Knowing in the 2.5 range.

I know everyone always posts about movies they've watched. However, since the title of the thread is "Now Showing - What We Watched" I sat on the edge of my seat for 4 hours watching a true instant classic College Football Game. Miami v FSU a perfect ending to opening weekend of College Football. It was an amazing game with 6 lead changes which came down to 3 pass attempts from the goal line with just a few seconds on the game clock.

I'm just happy my alma mater won, but both teams played great and have good things to take away from this battle royal! I took me over an hour to calm down and get to sleep. Today's going to be rough....

GO CANES!!!!!

Forces of Nature: 3/5 stars - Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock as opposites forced to travel together while obstacles are thrown in their way. Better than I expected it to be. Good watch with the wifey.

Defiance- Probably the best I've seen in the last 50 or more movies!

The last several movies we watched were standard DVD, so this one was giving me the WOW factor for video quality on BR. Can I just say, WOW! Too bad it wasn't 2.35.

Also watched "Shaggy DA" with the kids earlier in the weekend. Terrible.

Weird...we saw these 2 movies this weekend as well. I had about the same impression, but I think 3.5 is VERY generous for RtWM. I would have put that and Knowing in the 2.5 range.

Yup,

Probably did rate RtWM a little high, but after having watched the two stinkers right in a row I guess I was just happy it was not a complete stinker too.

This past weekend we watched Taken 4/5. Predictable at certain points, but I really liked the movie and lots of good action sequences.

Push 3/5 I had seen previews of this movie and was really looking forward to seeing it but was slightly disappointed. Was not as good as I thought it could have been, but was entertaining in parts. For what ever reason it was hard for me to get involved with the characters. Not much in the way of character development IMO. It probably doesn't help matters that I really don't care for Dakota Fanning as an actress her character really fell flat.

Regards,

RTROSE

Silent Hill tonight. Terrible. Watched half of it in fast forward. Once in awhile we enjoy one from the Horror genre. This wasn't it. Two that come to mind that we enjoyed were The Others and The Skeleton Key. But in all fairness, we only choose this genre 3 or 4 times a year.

The Last Starfighter: 2.5/5 stars - Primarily for nostalgia. Watched it with my boy... the 25 yr old movie has a hard time holding up. It was the first feature length movie to use rendered graphics, but capability has moved on...

Watched Knowing last night. 3/5 This one had me really confused on how to rate it. On one hand the movie kept me intrigued so it had to have something good in it. But, on the other hand, it was not what I imagined at all. I was expecting something more along the lines of a National Treasure/Indiana Jones type of movie. Instead it was a cross between Signs and The DaVinci Code or something. I didn't expect "whisperers" and kids zoning out listening to voices. I certainly didn't expect the ending. It was a movie I likely would not watch again, but as I said I was intrigued the entire movie.

Went to walmart and they had Ninth Gate for sale for $10 so I picked it up and watched it. It's been a while since I've seen it, pretty enjoyable movie if you are a Depp fan.
I enjoyed that one too...course it could have been that I watched it on vacation. It was a cruise thru the Inside Passage and they also showed (appropriately) The Legend of 1900 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_1900). The trip was great and the movies were just as good.

Disney's Earth (BD) : 4/5

This is the first film from the new DisneyNature label which is focusing on bringing nature movies to the big screen. When this movie was released earlier this summer, I recognized a lot of the footage in the trailers from the BBC "Planet Earth" series. But rather than a collection of nature footage, this film was marketed as the tale of 3 animal families. Here's a small excerpt from the product description on Amazon:

James Earl Jones narrates this US version of the 96-minute documentary film which follows families of arctic polar bears, African elephants, and humpback whales for an entire year. The film tracks the animals' migrations across the globe and through some of the harshest terrains and climates on earth, pointing out in a factual and remarkably non-political way the negative effects of global warming and habitat destruction on these animals and the planet as a whole. Selected from the over 4,000 days of cinematography that went into the making of Planet Earth, every image is breathtakingly spectacular (especially the first-ever aerial footage of Mount Everest) and Jones' concise narration is engaging and packed with information. What makes this film different from Planet Earth, besides the obvious shorter run-time, is the sense of story that permeates this film. While children and others disinclined toward factual documentaries or nature films might find Planet Earth overly long and somewhat dry, Earth views more like an entertainingly touching story about several animal families.

Even the Blu-Ray case shows three families of animals, but the problem is that this film has very little narrative at all. The film does spend some time with three different animal groups - a polar bear family, a herd of elephants, and a whale and her baby - but these clips make up less than half of the movie. Scattered throughout the film are dozens of other unrelated clips that having nothging to do with these families: ducklings taking their first plunge out of a tree, great whites flying out of the ocean, birds of paradise dancing, majestic waterfalls, etc.

There's nothing wrong with the way the nature footage was presented, but I feel that the marketing of this movie was extremely misleading. These simple stories were glossed over on the BBC series, and I assumed that the Disney movie would explore their journeys in more detail, however their was no new footage, and claiming that their migration was "tracked across the globe" is a stunning bit of hyperbole.

A blurb on the Blu-Ray case says "Better Than March Of The Penguins", but this movie is completely unlike the detailed documentary/narrative style of MOTP - it is simply a hodge-podge of amazing nature footage.

I also wrongly assumed that the footage that Disney used would have differed from the footage used by the BBC, since they had "4,000 days of cinematography" to select from. But instead, this film plays like a "best of" from the BBC series "Planet Earth". Almost none of the footage seemed fresh to me. I'd estimate that more than 90% of the footage is the exact same footage used in "Planet Earth".

And if you've seen "Planet Earth", you'll also notice a dramatic difference in the narration. Where "Planet Earth" has a matter-of-fact narration by actors like Richard Attenborough, "Earth" tends to be a bit more cutesy/folksy, tossing in some nods to other Disney films (James Earl Jones mentions the "circle of life", and also talks about a group of ducklings who take their first flight as not actually flying, but "falling with style", from "Toy Story")

I still give this movie a 4 out of 5 rating for the breathtaking footage alone. If you've already seen "Planet Earth", you can skip this one - there's nothing new to see here. But if you haven't seen "Planet Earth" (and you don't want to sit through eleven 50 minute episodes) or you have children who enjoy animal/nature footage, "Earth" is a very good second choice.

Disney's Earth (BD) : 4/5

This is the first film from the new DisneyNature label which is focusing on bringing nature movies to the big screen. When this movie was released earlier this summer, I recognized a lot of the footage in the trailers from the BBC "Planet Earth" series. But rather than a collection of nature footage, this film was marketed as the tale of 3 animal families. Here's a small excerpt from the product description on Amazon:



Even the Blu-Ray case shows three families of animals, but the problem is that this film has very little narrative at all. The film does spend some time with three different animal groups - a polar bear family, a herd of elephants, and a whale and her baby - but these clips make up less than half of the movie. Scattered throughout the film are dozens of other unrelated clips that having nothging to do with these families: ducklings taking their first plunge out of a tree, great whites flying out of the ocean, birds of paradise dancing, majestic waterfalls, etc.

There's nothing wrong with the way the nature footage was presented, but I feel that the marketing of this movie was extremely misleading. These simple stories were glossed over on the BBC series, and I assumed that the Disney movie would explore their journeys in more detail, however their was no new footage, and claiming that their migration was "tracked across the globe" is a stunning bit of hyperbole.

A blurb on the Blu-Ray case says "Better Than March Of The Penguins", but this movie is completely unlike the detailed documentary/narrative style of MOTP - it is simply a hodge-podge of amazing nature footage.

I also wrongly assumed that the footage that Disney used would have differed from the footage used by the BBC, since they had "4,000 days of cinematography" to select from. But instead, this film plays like a "best of" from the BBC series "Planet Earth". Almost none of the footage seemed fresh to me. I'd estimate that more than 90% of the footage is the exact same footage used in "Planet Earth".

And if you've seen "Planet Earth", you'll also notice a dramatic difference in the narration. Where "Planet Earth" has a matter-of-fact narration by actors like Richard Attenborough, "Earth" tends to be a bit more cutesy/folksy, tossing in some nods to other Disney films (James Earl Jones mentions the "circle of life", and also talks about a group of ducklings who take their first flight as not actually flying, but "falling with style", from "Toy Story")

I still give this movie a 4 out of 5 rating for the breathtaking footage alone. If you've already seen "Planet Earth", you can skip this one - there's nothing new to see here. But if you haven't seen "Planet Earth" (and you don't want to sit through eleven 50 minute episodes) or you have children who enjoy animal/nature footage, "Earth" is a very good second choice.

I have to say that from the first time I saw the ads on TV, I thought "Planet Earth" rip-off...

-t

I have to say that from the first time I saw the ads on TV, I thought "Planet Earth" rip-off...

-t

Well, "rip off" isn't exactly correct, since both the movie and the series were crated by BBC Natural History Unit. It's more like a repackaging.

The original film was produced by BBC Worldwide and internationally released in 2007. It was then re-narrated (original narration was by Patrick Stewart; US release was by James Earl Jones) and redistributed by Disney in the US this year under their Disneynature label.

My problem is with Disney's marketing, which I feel was very misleading. Disney has tried to sell this as a narrative documentary similar to "March of the Penguins", when it is clear after viewing that this was originally released as a slimmed-down, movie version of the "Planet Earth" series. This movie is about the journey of three animal families in the same way that the "Pole to Pole" BBC episode was an episode about birds of paradise. In other words, it isn't.

(Just for the hell of it, I rewatched the trailer to see if maybe I am misremembering this. Nope. "Join Three Families On An Amazing Journey Across Our Planet".)

Disney's Earth (BD) : 4/5

If you've already seen "Planet Earth", you can skip this one - there's nothing new to see here. But if you haven't seen "Planet Earth" (and you don't want to sit through eleven 50 minute episodes) or you have children who enjoy animal/nature footage, "Earth" is a very good second choice.

Thanks for the detailed review. I own Planet Earth and was looking at this but will now pass.

Watched the first 3 episodes of The Wire - Season 1 this past week. The wife was initially uninterested, but I think she may be warming up to it.

Randy

Watched World's Greatest Dad on HDNET on Demand. 4.5/5.

I would recommend to anyone.

Not an uncommon role for Robin Wiliams, but still very good.

Watched "Open Water" on SD-DVD.
Independent film based on True Story of 2 divers who are forgotten at the dive site.
Done pretty well for a indie.

-t

Finally got around to the "Tranporter". The first half of the movie gets a much higher rating than the second half. If the second half would have kept pace, it would have been a highly recommended movie.

Also watched the first half of "Dave Mathews and Tim Reynolds". So far, it's been one of my favorite concerts.

Watched World's Greatest Dad on HDNET on Demand. 4.5/5.

I would recommend to anyone.

Not an uncommon role for Robin Wiliams, but still very good.

For some reason, Blockbuster doesn't offer this online. :confused:

Finally got around to the "Tranporter". The first half of the movie gets a much higher rating than the second half. If the second half would have kept pace, it would have been a highly recommended movie.

It might just be my man-crush on Jason Statham, but I love these movies. Definitely entertaining. No surprises, of course, you know what you are going to get, but it does a fine job of delivering that.

Watched "City of Ember (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0970411/)" on my own. A good film for pre-teens.

Randy

Friday night was family movie night and we watched Ratatouille. 4/5 stars. Great video quality! The story is pretty well done although it does get a little slow in the middle. The folks at Pixar did a wonderful job. This will likely be a movie that we purchase instead of just watching from Netflix.

I've been home sick today so I watched a couple of movies.

Iron Man 4.5/5 stars. Much better than I expected as far as the story goes. Picture and sound were incredible. What else is there to say?

Step Brothers 3/5 stars. Funny, really funny in parts. But it was a dumb movie too. ;) I only watch these movies for a laugh and it was good for that!

Defending Your Life 4.5/5 stars. This movie is an oldie, but a goodie. One of my favorites, it is clever, has some good actors and a great, although sappy, storyline. Albert Brooks is very witty and good for a few laughs.

We watched Body of Lies Ridley Scott, with Russel Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio. Several twists and turns which we enjoyed via cable in HD. Intense action mixed with fine acting. A bit over two hours and it went very quickly.

Watched Mutant Chronicles (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00277Q2TW).
3/5 (Not as bad as it could have been, not as good as it could have been although it never would have made it much past 4)
With Ron Perlman, Thomas Jane, Devon Aoki, Sean Pertwee, and John Malkovich.
The first half of the film gives an unexpected amount of back-story (WW1 like trenches with unusual and somewhat large weapons that resemble things that are familiar, steam power and rocket flight, four corporations control the world and are at war, religion about a several centuries back machine that turns men into mutants, complete with mysterious seemingly incomplete (but not actually incomplete) instructions on how to end the machine but for some reason they didn't do that before but instead chose instead to seal the machine up).
The second half of the film is formulaic (recruitment of the team, team instruction, team insertion, a running battle against mutants, get to the heart of the evil machine, desperate struggle, unexpected but not earth shattering solution (obvious in retrospect), hero prevails alone as the sole survivor).
There's room for a bad sequel.

Watched Mirrormask. Nothing has transported me into another world quite like it in a long time. Very immersive - I liked it.

Another day at home sick so watched a few more movies.

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry - 3/5 stars. Pretty funny movie, enjoyed it even though I had seen it before. I am a big fan of Sandler. The typical cast of characters from his movies are very evident in this film. And well, Jessica Biel, need I say more?

Collateral - 4/5 stars. Good thriller, great cast. On the edge of my seat the whole time!

Next - 3.5/5 stars. It would have been higher but the ending completely sucked! They make it seem as though a sequel is in the possible future, but I doubt it. I hate cliffhangers! Jessica Biel is smokin hot as usual!

National Treasure Book of Secrets - 4/5 stars. Almost as good as the first, just lacked a little depth to the story.

Kalifornia: 3/5 stars - Caught this Brad Pitt, David Duchovny & Juliette Lewis little-known movie on TV a bit back. A bit intense, the story of an author aunwittingly giving a cross-country ride to a murderer. Good acting job by Pitt and Lewis, but only so-so by Duchovny.

Had one more sick day on Wednesday and watched a couple more movies.

Righteous Kill - 4.5ish/5 stars. It was not what I expected but was still very good. The ending completely threw me! I didn't see it coming at all. DeNiro and Pacino are amazing and when you put them together WOW!

Bliss - 3.5/5 stars. A riveting story about newlyweds and their struggle. This is not your typical struggle though. The wife was abused as a child and has trouble "being" with her husband (trying to keep this PG, the movie is nowhere near PG).

Deja Vu - 3.5/5. A very confusing movie, make sure you pay attention! Interesting plot and well, time travel makes any movie good! Denzel really sells this one. His character is very passionate about saving a young girl (and a few hundred other people) and goes back in time to do so.

Man On Wire (DVD): 3.5/5 -

Man On Wire is a documentary about Philippe Petit, the man who (illegally) tightroped between the World Trade Center twin towers in 1974. The movie plays out more like a caper (similar to attempting a bank robbery), since what Petit and his accomplices were attempting was illegal. There's plenty of actual footage and photos (including the WTC tower construction) with a few reenactments added in to add a bit of drama to moments not captured on film. The film is a combination of Petit's WTC story with flashbacks to Petit's life and the events and planning leading up to the walk in 1974.

The movie itself is very well done, however it feels a bit long - there just isn't enough storyline to fill an hour-and-a-half. Also, the ending is a bit anti-climatic; the entire story is narrated by Petit (and his accomplices), so there really isn't any question as to the outcome. What should have felt like tense moments (are they going to get caught!? can they fasten the wire before sunrise?!) didn't carry any real sense of suspense or urgency.

That being said, there was a lot of real footage (and beautiful photography) of Petit and the events leading up to the WTC in 1974. And plenty of photos that backed up the otherwise unbelievable anecdotes that Petit and his accomplices shared (such as posing as a French news team to get access to the rooftops of the towers).

This is a docmentary that was on par with others like "Grizzly Man" which simply follows an eccentric personality and his sole personal quest.

Introduced my 10year old to Sagan's COSMOS last night. Episode #1

I forgot how much I had missed that show. I was feeling pretty nostalgic listening to the score by Vangelis, watching that dandelion seed floating about, and Carl's unique speech patterns. I was positively misty eyed :o

Introduced my 10year old to Sagan's COSMOS last night. Episode #1

I liked those too.
I liked Connections with James Burke (http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=JamesBurkeWeb&view=videos&start=260) more. I have them on DVD somewhere.

Introduced my 10year old to Sagan's COSMOS last night. Episode #1

:o


The more important question is how did your 10 year old like it?

The more important question is how did your 10 year old like it?

He thought it was cool, but he's a pretty well rounded, open minded kid. He'd definitely watch more of them.

However, I wouldn't expect many of his peers...like all the hyperactive, over-sugared, short attention span boys in his Scout den...to sit though more than 30 seconds before they risked an actual thought.

Oops, did I say that out loud?

Waterworld: 3/5 stars - This got panned when released at the theater, and I never saw it. Just caught it in HD off Sat. While entertaining, it felt a bit like Mad Max on the water. If they just eliminated the little girl's "He'll find you anywhere" speech, I'd have given it at least anoth half a star. His boat was way cool tho'.

First half of The omega man off of Netflix/360. Its cool, but the filming style is very 70's abviously. Im a younger guy so never saw it before. I think seeing I am Legend first made me not appreciate this one as much. Im sure many consider this one better for reasons. But so far its pretty good. One thing I did notice was that in parts where I was sure the suspense was building up to someting jumping out at you, nothing happened. I guess the ADHD style of movies had made me expect that.

First half of The omega man off of Netflix/360. Its cool, but the filming style is very 70's abviously. Im a younger guy so never saw it before. I think seeing I am Legend first made me not appreciate this one as much. Im sure many consider this one better for reasons. But so far its pretty good. One thing I did notice was that in parts where I was sure the suspense was building up to someting jumping out at you, nothing happened. I guess the ADHD style of movies had made me expect that.

Or too much Silent Hill on game consoles.

Just watched "Silent Hill"....don't know what I was expecting, but this was terrible!

And "Doubt"......Fantasticly written and acted!

Just watched "Silent Hill"....don't know what I was expecting, but this was terrible!

And "Doubt"......Fantasticly written and acted!

+1 on "Doubt"...watched that the other night. Great performances!

-t

+1 on "Doubt"...watched that the other night. Great performances!

-t

+2 on "Doubt" fantastic performances indeed!

I have some catching up to do.... so here it is :D

I watched "Body Heat" on BD last night. I didn't own this one on DVD although I have seen it in the past. I forgot how enjoyable this movie was! 4/5

Before that, there were MANY

"He's Just Not That Into You" on SDVD. Well, I've been forced to watch worse Romantic Comedies I guess..... There were some pretty humorous "interview" scenes, as well as the ending credits etc.... but all in all, for "What it was" I'll give it a 3.75/5

"Quo Vadis" BD 4.5/5 I love this movie, and it always lends itself to repeat viewings from me.... a little "campy" for some, but I enjoy it.

"Transformers" BD finally got around to watching this since moving and setting up my equipment etc. 2/5 "fun" over-shadowed by terrible acting.

"Purple Rain" BD 3.5/5 Not a big Prince fan, but for some reason I can really get into the music while watching this.

"Man On Wire" SDVD 4.5/5 Great documentary about the man who walked a tightrope between the twin-towers...... Highly recommend it. (the movie that is)


"Let The Right One In" BD 4.0/5 I really enjoy this take on the Vampire genre..... I just wish I had the corrected subtitles :(

"Mongol" BD 4.5/5 Great movie.... see it if you haven't. Apparently it's part "1" of 3...... I can't wait for the rest! Story of Ghengis Khan for those who are unaware.


"Bird With The Crystal Plumage" BD 4/5 Another solid title.... Netflixed it, and have since ordered it. Great "Suspense" murder-mystery.


Looking back, I'm sure I've seen some real stinkers.... but I guess I've forgotten what they are!!!!!

+2 on "Doubt" fantastic performances indeed!

I have some catching up to do.... so here it is :D


"Let The Right One In" BD 4.0/5 I really enjoy this take on the Vampire genre..... I just wish I had the corrected subtitles :(



I've heard about that problem. Any word on how to get a version with corrected subtitles?

Randy

I've heard about that problem. Any word on how to get a version with corrected subtitles?

Randy

I'm told it's hit-or-miss at this point, and very rare to find the correct subtitles.....


The version with the correct subs says "Theatrical Subtitles" on the back.

The incorrect version says "English Subtitles" on the back.


But like I said, finding the correct one is apparently rare.

EDIT:

I should point out that this is mostly a problem for the BD.
The DVD with "Theatrical Subtitles" is pretty easy to find at Best-Buy.

The UK region free version can be purchased from Amazon.uk or whatever it is, and has the correct subtitles, and also a commentary that the US Blu-ray doesn't have..... but I'm guessing it comes at a higher cost :(


EDIT AGAIN..... didn't realize you were in Ohio..... I was looking at your site.... GREAT JOB on the theater build..... I haven't gotten past the "idea" stage yet :(

The more important question is how did your 10 year old like it?

He asked to see Episode #2 Saturday night :)

After Dark my Sweet: 2.5/5 stars - this wanted to be a suspense thriller with a gritty-portrayal of an ex-boxer (Jason Patric) suffering the effects of being debilitated by his career, but it failed. The story line rambled and failed to generate any real suspense.

so did that review

burn! :D

Watched Pierrot Le Fou the other night..... (it was either that, which I received in the mail the week before, or Role Models, which I got from Netflix :D )

Great BD! I hope Criterion puts out much more Godard for me.... 4.5/5


Also watched the Jimi/Otis discs of the BD "The Complete Monterey Pop" I need to watch the other disc still, but I was hearin' some Jimi! 4/5


I guess I'll watch Role-Models with some friends who are coming in from out-of-town tonight....... Should be interesting, considering my movie-room consists of a Futon 9' or so away from the screen, with little room for other seating..... Four Adults, me, wife, him, his wife....... Damn I need to build my new theater!

Six Degrees of Seperation: 3/5 stars - Intersting flick about Will Smith as a high-society con man. His break-out role I understand. Entertaining, but not a repeat candidate

Away We Go (BD): 3/5 - Decent little flick about an expectant couple's journey to find a place to settle down and raise a family. It was similar to a typical road movie with the plot moving from location to location introducing new characters along the way. My one major gripe was that most of the supporting characters they met along the way were stereotypically two-dimensional ("the hippie couple", "the bad parents"). Although most of the jokes worked, some characters seemed a bit extreme for what was not a ham-fisted comedy.
The movie was funny in parts, and touching in others. Good flick, with a great job by the two leads, but as a whole it was nothing extraordinary.

Watched the first 3 episodes of The Wire - Season 1 this past week. The wife was initially uninterested, but I think she may be warming up to it.

Randy

What an outstanding series! I've been considering going back and re-watching the whole thing. It may tough to get into for some, but the payoff is really great once you get to know the characters.

Watched State of Play (BBC Miniseries) (2003) (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000YRY8BG)
Watched The State Within(BBC Miniseries) (2006) (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000YRY8BG)

Each is 6 hours.

Both are good. Dozens of characters interwoven into a plot.

Watched "Observe and Report"
Blech.

Smokey and the Bandit on HDDVD

god i love that movie. dont know rather i want to drive the rig more, or be the blocker and drive that trans-am.

Watched the first 2 episodes of Mad Men - Season 1. Terrific!

Randy

Been watching the 16-DVD set of Monty Python's Flying Circus.
What a riot! Sure I've seen them all before but getting to see them in chronological order puts the talent these guys had into perspective of how they changed and pushed the envelope.

Lots of fun. nudge-nudge, wink-wink...
-t

Watched Monsters vs. Aliens with my youngest and the wife. 3.5/5 stars.

Was very pleasantly surprised with the movie. There was a lot of references to ideas and concepts of other movies thrown in along the way for good measure. I found myself laughing at somethings and my wife and son looking at me strangely. Of course I watch far more movies than they do. This movie was very surprising with the LFE channel too. A good family movie.

Regards,

RTROSE

Watched the first 2 episodes of Mad Men - Season 1. Terrific!

Randy


Not only a great show. But also one of the best looking shows you will see on Blu-Ray.

Rafael

Watched the first 2 episodes of Mad Men - Season 1. Terrific!

Randy


Not only a great show. But also one of the best looking shows you will see on Blu-Ray.

Rafael

Agreed - Blu-Ray looks terrific. I also like that the discs keep track of which episodes you've watched!

Randy

Watched "Role Models" on Blu-ray last night...... 1.5/5 (that may be too generous) I was told the movie wasn't great, but had some "Fall out of your chair" hilarious moments..... well... I guess I blinked during those because I don't recall them. I think the premise was....

Get kids to curse, and people will laugh.....

Didn't work on that level for me (and I have dirty sense of humor, love Howard Stern, love Richard Pryor etc.... )

It looks like the "First 100 Episodes" of Spongebob is making its way to DVD.....so I have a feeling my kid will be wearing that one out!

Watched Monsters vs. Aliens with my youngest and the wife.

I don't have children at the house but appreciate animation and too enjoyed this , as RTROSE said there were enough references to pop culture to keep me entertained and was really surprised at the the judicious use of LFE and surrounds. I'll revisit for these reasons.

Year One - 3.5/5

Dumb-funny movie that was practically kept under 100 minutes. Had a few laugh out loud moments for me (and a Monty Python-type bit) but mostly found it amusing. One star added for the eye candy.

Got to the end of what I think was episode 10 of Mad Men - Season 1 "The Long Weekend" when the sound dropped out and the player froze up. I restarted a couple of times, cleaned the disc, tried any number of things, but it kept freezing up.

BTW - it's a the Sony BDP-S550

So, following their recommendation, I tried a firmware upgrade. Made a CD from the download file. The system recognized it, started the upgrade, then completely bricked. It's now on its way to Laredo, Texas for repair. :(

Randy

Farscape, Season 1 Episodes 1 & 2.

I so miss that show. I've never forgiven SciFi (SyFy:rolleyes: ) for dropping it the way they did.

Watched 12 Rounds again with the wife and the youngest. Good action flick albeit predictable in places, but still a good movie. 3.5/5

Then watched Bride Wars with the wife (chick flick) which had (for me) several laugh out loud moments. I must admit though usually the chick flick doesn't throw much to the hubby in the way of entertainment, however the scene were Anne Hathaway has a dance off with Kate Hudson was very entertaining. Anne has some very hot dance moves and recommend this movie for the guys just for this scene alone. Hey if you are going to have to suffer through a chick flick then at least we should get something out of it right? 3.5/5 just for the dance off scene alone.

Regards,

RTROSE

Watched "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" on BD a few nights ago..... 2/5

I think this film missed the boat completely. It got great reviews by many, and in particular, there was high praise for RDJ (who I thought was absolutely terrible in it) I guess the fan-boys were out in force because of his role in "Iron Man"

It was a "Who-Done-It" that was terribly predictable. I would avoid this film.


Also watched "Snow White" on BD the other day. 4/5 Not the strongest of the Disney classics by far, but Dwarfs hold their charm to this day. Probably due to source material limitations, but the PQ didn't compare to Pinocchio or Sleeping Beauty, but the audio was marvelous.

After a thoroughly disappointing Saturday with Boston sports, our gathering decided to watch Independence Day at near ear splitting levels.

Hangover Sunday was a double feature of T2 and The Dark Knight with a few Jeff Dunham skits in between for levity.

After watching House, watched part of Earthquake with Charleton Heston on Cinemax HD.

I like the part where they simply twisted the actual film to make it look like the buildings were swaying as the ground moved.

cool disaster movies are fun!

Watched "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" on BD a few nights ago..... 2/5

I think this film missed the boat completely. It got great reviews by many, and in particular, there was high praise for RDJ (who I thought was absolutely terrible in it) I guess the fan-boys were out in force because of his role in "Iron Man"

It was a "Who-Done-It" that was terribly predictable. I would avoid this film.

Wow...sorry you didn't like that one. That is up there among my favorites. Very funny and dark. RDJ was hilarious in it as was Val Kilmer. Oh well....can't please everyone I guess.

Anvil: The Story of Anvil (DVD) 4/5 - Well done documentary about an 80s metal band that never got a big break like others in their genre, yet continued touring and making albums for the past 30 years. The movie follows the band as they tour Europe (with problems that seem almost Spinal Tap worthy) and return to the States to make a new album.
The movie is definately more emotional than I had expected, and the lead singer, Lips, wears his heart on his sleeve. The story itself is poignant and moving, with a not-so-subtle message about doing what you love and never giving up.
One of the better documentaries I've seen in a while.

Watched "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" on BD a few nights ago..... 2/5

I think this film missed the boat completely.

Wow...sorry you didn't like that one. That is up there among my favorites. Very funny and dark. RDJ was hilarious in it as was Val Kilmer. Oh well....can't please everyone I guess.

I am with Beta on this one. Just didn't work for me.

I am with Beta on this one. Just didn't work for me.

I have to agree with jandawil. This is one of my favorite movies. RDJ just kept me laughing and Val Kilmer's acting was his best.

Just watched it for the 3rd time last Saturday.

-t

After watching House, watched part of Earthquake with Charleton Heston on Cinemax HD.

I like the part where they simply twisted the actual film to make it look like the buildings were swaying as the ground moved.

cool disaster movies are fun!

That was a great movie... all the "Airport" movies too!

On edit: and Towering Inferno!

Who Killed the Electric Car: 4/5 Stars - Good documentary on the short-lived GM EV1 and all of the behind the scenes wrangling that ultimately led to it's desmise.

Amongst my recent viewings......

Straw Dogs on DVD. 4.5/5 I really enjoy this movie, and it's another one of those films that just keeps getting better every time I watch it.

The Princess Bride on BD. 3/5 I think it's funny, I like it, but it hasn't held up over time for rewatchability for me.

Role Models BD 1.5/5 "Ha-Ha" moments were few and far between for me. I may just be a harsh critic when it comes to comedy though.... my wife always wants to watch a comedy, and going over my collection (1,300 or so movies, not small, but not huge) it's quite apparent that I don't own a lot of comedies in comparison to other genres (this was a rental thankfully) Also, most of the comedies I have aren't the "Side-Splitting" types..... many are dark/witty/etc. like Hudsucker Proxy etc. Anyways.... I guess I love comedies, but have a hard time finding ones I like.... what a conundrum!

(I just realized I already gave my impressions of "Role Models" on a previous post....... I still think 1.5 may be too generous!)

Talk Radio DVD 1/5 I really didn't like this..... I couldn't help to think it was a cheap "Howard-Stern-Exploitation" flick.... Just didn't care for anything about this film.

Being There BD 4.5/5 Great film. Peter Sellers was phenomenal, and the film has never looked so good. My wife thought the premise was a little absurd, but she also enjoyed it.

Le Femme Nikita BD 3/5 I love "Leon" but unlike Leon, this one just doesn't hold up over time for me..... seems dated, and too "Corny" in too many places....... blasphemy to many, I know!

The Complete Monterey Pop BD. 4.5/5 The "Shake Otis" performance was worth the cost of the box-set itself. Great stuff for fans of the music.

I got an order of 8 WB Digibook Blu-rays so I watched a decent number of them recently, including:

Shawshank Redemption. 5/5 I just love what this film accomplishes. You certainly get drawn in, and have feelings about each and every character (whether positive or negative) The transfer was solid.

Amadeus 4/5 I think I prefer the theatrical cut, but alas the Blu-ray only offered up the Director's cut. Other than that, the audio is sublime, and is worth the price alone.

Midnight Express 4/5 This is one that I had not previously owned on DVD, and I didn't recall much of the film. It's a very powerful "psychological" work, that I greatly enjoyed.

Natural Born Killers 3.75/5 I think I find aspects that I enjoy more with each viewing, but I also find certain parts a little too forced, and I still think the premise and story was good, along with the message it conveyed about media etc..... but I thought before, and to this day, that Oliver Stone was the film's biggest downfall.

Poltergeist 4.75/5 Great transfer, and a movie I've always enjoyed. I think thrillers/horror/suspense films benefit the most from the new audio codecs..... the popcorn action flicks may have very "Active" audio tracks, but these are types of movies that benefit the most because the audio truly pulls you into the scenes.



That's about it...... Due-up, in no particular order.....

Willy Wonka
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
300
Best of Jammy's Vol 2

Dr. Strangelove: 3/5 stars - One of those "all time best" movies that I had never seen and figured I should when I got the chance. Satirical look at teh cold war arms race, with great tongue-in-cheek protrayals by Peter Sellers and George C. Scott. Pretty entertaining. B&W.

Say Anything: 3/5 stars - John Cusack in this 80's teen romance flick. Not as good as the Hughes movies, but entertaining. I like Cusack, and it had some cool 80's tunes in it as well.

Who Killed the Electric Car: 4/5 Stars - Good documentary on the short-lived GM EV1 and all of the behind the scenes wrangling that ultimately led to it's desmise.

I too really liked this documentary. Very interesting learning all of the associated "politics" involved with this little GM "gem".


Amongst my recent viewings......
Shawshank Redemption. 5/5 I just love what this film accomplishes. You certainly get drawn in, and have feelings about each and every character (whether positive or negative) The transfer was solid.

That's about it...... Due-up, in no particular order.....

Willy Wonka
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
300
Best of Jammy's Vol 2

I agree with you on Shawshank Redemption, it is a fantastic film and you do get very entwined with the characters. Of course I like Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman and they do pull off top notch performances.

I also really like Willy Wonka, both versions, but I do give the edge to the older version just for nostalgia reasons.

300 is also a great flick, in fact I have not watched it for a while so I may add it to my view pile here in the next couple of days.

Regards,

RTROSE

Just started Season 2 of Mad Men.

Terrific show.

Randy

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (BD) 1.5/5:

Sure, I'd heard all of the negative reviews, but I'd also heard that it looked and sounded fantastic. I figured I'd turn off my brain and give it a whirl in my new home theater. It couldn't be that bad, right? Boy was I wrong. Here's what I came up with.

The Good:
Big shiny robots
Lots of explody things
Megan Fox
Megan Fox running
Megan Fox running in slow motion

The Bad:
Everything else.

Yup this movie was a mess from start to finish. Horrible writing, horrible acting, a by-the-numbers plot, deux ex machina, and cliches, cliches, cliches.
Even the fighting scenes that I had looked forward to tended to be nothing more than a big whirlwind of shiny metal and sparks. Thanks to Bay's redesign of the classic Transformers, when they are in their robot form they are fairly indistinguishable from each other, especially during the choppy edited fight sequences.

Here's just a few things that I learned from this waste of film with:

- Even though they are machines, robots inexplicably cry, speak with accents, have reproductive organs, breathe, gasp for air when choked, and fart.
- The only thing less funny than farting robots, ball jokes, and dogs humping are racist, jive-talking robots.
- Michael Bay really, really, really, really likes lens flare.
- Michael Bay thinks that marijuana makes people act drunk.

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (BD) 1.5/5:

Sure, I'd heard all of the negative reviews, but I'd also heard that it looked and sounded fantastic. I figured I'd turn off my brain and give it a whirl in my new home theater. It couldn't be that bad, right? Boy was I wrong. Here's what I came up with.

The Good:
Big shiny robots
Lots of explody things
Megan Fox
Megan Fox running
Megan Fox running in slow motion

The Bad:
Everything else.

Yup this movie was a mess from start to finish. Horrible writing, horrible acting, a by-the-numbers plot, deux ex machina, and cliches, cliches, cliches.
Even the fighting scenes that I had looked forward to tended to be nothing more than a big whirlwind of shiny metal and sparks. Thanks to Bay's redesign of the classic Transformers, when they are in their robot form they are fairly indistinguishable from each other, especially during the choppy edited fight sequences.

Here's just a few things that I learned from this waste of film with:

- Even though they are machines, robots inexplicably cry, speak with accents, have reproductive organs, breathe, gasp for air when choked, and fart.
- The only thing less funny than farting robots, ball jokes, and dogs humping are racist, jive-talking robots.
- Michael Bay really, really, really, really likes lens flare.
- Michael Bay thinks that marijuana makes people act drunk.

So what did you really think?

Just kidding, but this is how I felt about the movie after I saw it in the theater. I'm not even sure if I will purchase it or just do the redbox thing to see what kind of LFE gets pumped out to my little system.

Regards,

RTROSE

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (BD) 1.5/5:
But ... :eek:
But ...
But the television commercial said it was the best film of the year! :confused:
:rolleyes:

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (BD) 1.5/5:

Sure, I'd heard all of the negative reviews, but I'd also heard that it looked and sounded fantastic. I figured I'd turn off my brain and give it a whirl in my new home theater. It couldn't be that bad, right? Boy was I wrong. Here's what I came up with.

The Good:
Big shiny robots
Lots of explody things
Megan Fox
Megan Fox running
Megan Fox running in slow motion

The Bad:
Everything else.

Yup this movie was a mess from start to finish. Horrible writing, horrible acting, a by-the-numbers plot, deux ex machina, and cliches, cliches, cliches.
Even the fighting scenes that I had looked forward to tended to be nothing more than a big whirlwind of shiny metal and sparks. Thanks to Bay's redesign of the classic Transformers, when they are in their robot form they are fairly indistinguishable from each other, especially during the choppy edited fight sequences.

Here's just a few things that I learned from this waste of film with:

- Even though they are machines, robots inexplicably cry, speak with accents, have reproductive organs, breathe, gasp for air when choked, and fart.
- The only thing less funny than farting robots, ball jokes, and dogs humping are racist, jive-talking robots.
- Michael Bay really, really, really, really likes lens flare.
- Michael Bay thinks that marijuana makes people act drunk.

Agreed. It was HORRIBLE. I saw it at midnite opening showing. I'll never rent it to watch in my theater.

-sc

Cable Guy: 2.5/5 stars - Dark "comedy" starriing Jm Carrey and Matthew Broderick. Not terribly funny, but good perfomance by Carrey. hadn't seen it in years, so it was a good catch on tee vee.

-sc

Agreed. It was HORRIBLE. I saw it at midnite opening showing. I'll never rent it to watch in my theater.

-sc

You guys are more tolerant of crap than I am! :D

After watching the first, that was enough for me!

Randy

You guys are more tolerant of crap than I am! :D

After watching the first, that was enough for me!

Randy

I actually liked the first one. Of course it was really geared to 14-20 year old boys, so according to what my wife says about my mental development that is why I liked it!

Like others have said the second was terrible.

As far as movies go I did catch Shoot 'Em Up on HBO HD. 2/5 I thought the movie was actually laughable in parts where it was not supposed to be laughable. I actually liked Paul Giamatti's character. I don't see myself going out of the way to watch this train wreck again though.

Regards,

RTROSE

I thought one was a decent popcorn action flick. ifey liked it too, as did the kiddies.

All of us hated 2...

-sc

i watched TF2 again last night. it was not as wretched as before.

I went into it the first time very excited and to say I was let down was an understatement. This time, I knew it was crap, so I enjoyed it more.

Sound was awesome. At one point we stopped the movie...couldnt figure out what a sound was. Couldnt hear or feel any bass. realized it was the 10 pound metal grate of my floor heater moving. raising up off the floor. even with my wife standing on it, it would lift off the floor.

i was so happy.

Watched Monters vs. Aliens last night with a sick little one. 3.5/5 - Cute movie. Laughed out loud a couple times. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it had me pleasantly surprised. I wasn't locked in on it like I was other movies (like Ratatouille, or Kung Fu Panda), but that may have been due to keeping my eye on the sick youngin.

i watched TF2 again last night. it was not as wretched as before.

I went into it the first time very excited and to say I was let down was an understatement. This time, I knew it was crap, so I enjoyed it more.

Sound was awesome. Atone point we stopped to movie because we thought we stopped it...couldnt figure out what a sound was. Couldnt hear it, or feel it. realized it was the 10 pound metal grate of my floor heater moving. raising up off the floor. even with my wife standing on it, it would lift off the floor.

i was so happy.

You have incredibly low standards.

-sc

Frost Nixon: 3.5/5 stars - Ron Howard docu-dram of the Frost/Nixon interviews, which i honestly knew nothing about. Very interesting detail on the story, and excellent perfomances.

Not enough LFE to move any house furnshings, though.

-sc

You have incredibly low standards.

-sc

so does my sister in law.:eek::D

Watched Lies and Illusions [Blu-ray] (2009) (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002G32ACU)

"Fantastic, Riveting, Best Movie of the Year, Compelling Plot and Dialog, Great Acting, Amazing Video and LFE, Outstanding, Breathtaking, Hilarious, Thrilling, Monumental, Oscar Worthy!", are all words that have no justification being in any review of this film.
1/5

Watched the Golden Compass last night. 3.5/5 Interesting movie! Picture was outstanding! I would have liked a little more "intro" into the movie. Not knowing anything about it going in it was a little difficult to figure out what is going on. My wife hated the ending. No final word yet on a sequel either.

Watched the Golden Compass last night. 3.5/5 Interesting movie! Picture was outstanding! I would have liked a little more "intro" into the movie. Not knowing anything about it going in it was a little difficult to figure out what is going on. My wife hated the ending. No final word yet on a sequel either.

Watched it last weekend myself...I thought it was good. I agree on the pq.
Wife and kids who read the book, thought the movie was terrible.
To them, a lot of the story was missing. I never read the book(s).

-t

Watched the new "Transformers" movie on SD-DVD...
Looked and sounded great. Special effects are better than the last installment.
Story and acting are worse.

As a friend told me, it would have been better if they had more shots of Megan Fox running in slow-motion. ;)

I hear a sequel is in the works...
-t