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

I know... hard to believe she married a Wonderlin.

-sc

Watched The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 [Blu-ray] (2009) (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002LMV7Q6)
3.5/5
Not as good as the original 1974 film (Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw), but for a remake not bad. The details/history of the plot were sufficiently different to keep curiosity afloat.

Travolta was better in Swordfish, where he hijacked a bus and demanded millions of dollars and played cat and mouse with the cops;
than he was in Pelham, where he hijacked a subway car and demanded millions of dollars and played cat and mouse with the cops.

I prefer him in Broken Arrow where he hijacked a nuclear warhead and demanded millions of dollars and played cat and mouse with the cops

As opposed to him in Face off, where he hijacks somebody's face, and plays cat and mouse with a cop for millions of lives?

Glad to hear he's not type-cast!

-t

What about the punisher, where he played cat and mouse with a former cop after killing his family with millions of bullets?

Watched a couple more with the wife while she was getting her "rest" in..... but based on the above posts, I thought I'd throw in my $0.02


Wife had our daughter at 3:07 this morning....... after 30 hours of no-sleep, I decided to run home, get a hot meal, and some shut-eye..... well.... sure enough, Netflix had delivered the BD of "Transformers 2, Revenge of the Michael Mann"

Holy crap this was long..... and when I say a film is long, it doesn't mean it measures high in terms of total minutes of run-time, I'm talking about how long the movie FEELS like it is..... as if it's never going to end!!!!!!...... Barry Lyndon is a "Quick Flick" compared to this, because despite having a long run-time, Barry Lyndon is a great film!

Anyways.... I'm getting off-track....

I was falling asleep (I was, and still am, very sleep deprived right now..... so that could explain some of it...... imagine watching a World-Series game from start to finish, and then finding yourself watching the next one (currently the top of the 5th) and you've yet to go to sleep..... yeah.... that's where I am!) anyways, yeah, for good reason I was falling asleep, but nonetheless, no amount of of explosions could keep me from CONSTANTLY picking up the remote to find out how much time I had left in this one.....

At one point, I felt like the movie was "Wrapping up" and picked up the remote only to find out I was only 1 hour into the movie, with 1.5 hours remaining..... WHAT!!!!! Isn't this a mindless action movie...... give my eyes a rest, and cut this piece of junk down please!

I didn't like the first one, so I guess I deserved the pain and anguish of watching this one since I was dumb enough to Netflix it......

(I heard so many people defending this one, I felt the need to judge it for myself..... I should really learn to stick to my instincts)

In all honesty.... I wouldn't say the acting and plot were any worse than the first one...... JUST MUCH LONGER! They were equally bad In my opinion.

Watched a couple more with the wife while she was getting her "rest" in..... but based on the above posts, I thought I'd throw in my $0.02


Wife had our daughter at 3:07 this morning....... after 30 hours of no-sleep, I decided to run home, get a hot meal, and some shut-eye..... well.... sure enough, Netflix had delivered the BD of "Transformers 2, Revenge of the Michael Mann"

Holy crap this was long..... and when I say a film is long, it doesn't mean it measures high in terms of total minutes of run-time, I'm talking about how long the movie FEELS like it is..... as if it's never going to end!!!!!!...... Barry Lyndon is a "Quick Flick" compared to this, because despite having a long run-time, Barry Lyndon is a great film!

Anyways.... I'm getting off-track....

I was falling asleep (I was, and still am, very sleep deprived right now..... so that could explain some of it...... imagine watching a World-Series game from start to finish, and then finding yourself watching the next one (currently the top of the 5th) and you've yet to go to sleep..... yeah.... that's where I am!) anyways, yeah, for good reason I was falling asleep, but nonetheless, no amount of of explosions could keep me from CONSTANTLY picking up the remote to find out how much time I had left in this one.....

At one point, I felt like the movie was "Wrapping up" and picked up the remote only to find out I was only 1 hour into the movie, with 1.5 hours remaining..... WHAT!!!!! Isn't this a mindless action movie...... give my eyes a rest, and cut this piece of junk down please!

I didn't like the first one, so I guess I deserved the pain and anguish of watching this one since I was dumb enough to Netflix it......

(I heard so many people defending this one, I felt the need to judge it for myself..... I should really learn to stick to my instincts)

In all honesty.... I wouldn't say the acting and plot were any worse than the first one...... JUST MUCH LONGER! They were equally bad In my opinion.

Congratulations on your delivery! The daughter, not the movie...

At least you know how to get her to sleep if she's crying!

-t

Congratulations on your delivery! The daughter, not the movie...

At least you know how to get her to sleep if she's crying!

-t

Ditto!

Watched Ice Age - Dawn of the Dinosaurs last night with the family. Great movie! 4/5. These movies are so well done. Each one is as good as another. The storyline is great. The characters are terrific. I laugh my rear off all the time and they pull at your heart strings! PQ wasn't amazing, Pixar movies are much better in that department, but that shortfall is easily made up by all the other aspects of the movie.

As a side note, I love that Studios have decided to pair SD DVDs with BDs. We only have one Blu-Ray player in the house, but several DVD players. It is nice to be able to watch the BD as a family, but then still be able to stick the kids in the playroom with the SD DVD when we don't want to watch it over and over!

Watched a couple more with the wife while she was getting her "rest" in..... but based on the above posts, I thought I'd throw in my $0.02


Wife had our daughter at 3:07 this morning....... after 30 hours of no-sleep, I decided to run home, get a hot meal, and some shut-eye..... well.... sure enough, Netflix had delivered the BD of "Transformers 2, Revenge of the Michael Mann"

Holy crap this was long..... and when I say a film is long, it doesn't mean it measures high in terms of total minutes of run-time, I'm talking about how long the movie FEELS like it is..... as if it's never going to end!!!!!!...... Barry Lyndon is a "Quick Flick" compared to this, because despite having a long run-time, Barry Lyndon is a great film!

Anyways.... I'm getting off-track....

I was falling asleep (I was, and still am, very sleep deprived right now..... so that could explain some of it...... imagine watching a World-Series game from start to finish, and then finding yourself watching the next one (currently the top of the 5th) and you've yet to go to sleep..... yeah.... that's where I am!) anyways, yeah, for good reason I was falling asleep, but nonetheless, no amount of of explosions could keep me from CONSTANTLY picking up the remote to find out how much time I had left in this one.....

At one point, I felt like the movie was "Wrapping up" and picked up the remote only to find out I was only 1 hour into the movie, with 1.5 hours remaining..... WHAT!!!!! Isn't this a mindless action movie...... give my eyes a rest, and cut this piece of junk down please!

I didn't like the first one, so I guess I deserved the pain and anguish of watching this one since I was dumb enough to Netflix it......

(I heard so many people defending this one, I felt the need to judge it for myself..... I should really learn to stick to my instincts)

In all honesty.... I wouldn't say the acting and plot were any worse than the first one...... JUST MUCH LONGER! They were equally bad In my opinion.

Congrats, Beta Man, but you must really be sleep deprived or you might have resorted to that sure-fire way of avoiding bad movies: the "Off" button on your remote. :rolleyes:

The older I get, the less patient I get with letting a bad movie waste a couple hours of my life. Or the Yankees, for that matter. :cool:

Indeed congrats on hte new addition!

I tried to watch "Alice's Restaurant". Couldn't do it. Turned it iff 15 minutes in.

Scratch another "Classic I feel I should watch for the sake of having watched it" movie off the list...

-sc

well at least you're trying to be well rounded in your movie watching

Watched G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra [Blu-ray] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002NXSRX4)
4/5. I see the amazon reviews are pretty much all over the map.
I never read the comic book nor saw the 1980 series.
The film is basically one CGI-laced battle after another. Gerry Anderson (http://homepages.tesco.net/d.sisson/tbirdpics/tb2hangar.jpg) would have been proud. Unimpressive script and No character development. Lots of faces you'll recognize, even in short bits. You'll recognize scenes from other movies: Black Hawk Down, Star Wars (jedi vs sith), Back To The Future (final fly out), Firefox (the Eastwood movie), etc. I see it's nicknamed "C.G.I. Joe".

You missed one. If you're going to shoot at something, kill it. Otherwise take up knitting.

Indeed congrats on hte new addition!

I tried to watch "Alice's Restaurant". Couldn't do it. Turned it iff 15 minutes in.


-sc

Thanks all...

I happen to love "Alice's Restaurant" I find it heart-felt, and funny at different times..... It might help to be a "Folk" fan too.


With the baby at home now, the wife and I watched "Brick Lane" a Hindi flick about a woman "Stuck" in an arranged marriage, in London.

4/5 My wife kept saying "this isn't your type of movie" but I found the story very strong.


Watched "Night Shift" for the 100th time too..... Needless to say, I enjoy it greatly!


My wife read something in a magazine, and said "Do you have a movie called Salo?" so I said.... "Yeah" now she wants to see it...... I tried to talk her out of it, but whatever she read has her very curious about it...... and this is the woman who said "A Clockwork Orange is a good movie, but it's too disturbing, and I can never watch it again"

I am betting she doesn't make it through the first 20 minutes!

Finally caught up on Mad Men. The wife is completely hooked and we haven't been able to watch anything else the last 3 weeks!

Randy

Wolf creek. Now I understand why it was only $1 at a local overstock store. Not good at all.

Watched Smokey and The Bandit on HD-DVD a couple of nights ago. It had been years since I had watched the movie. I had forgotten how funny the movie was. Jackie Gleason as Buford T. Justice makes the entire movie. There are so many "one liners" in this movie it is hard to remember them all. 4/5 for sheer humor and a trip down memory lane.

Regards,

RTROSE

Home sick yesterday so I watched a couple of movies.

21 - 4/5 stars - I really liked this movie. Perhaps it is just the card lover in me, but I thought it was pretty good (I really like Rounders too!). Cool storyline, some violence, some sex, and some partying. Oh yeah and they played cards too! I figured out the ending before it happened, but it was probably just a lucky guess.

Nature's Calling: Without a Paddle - 1.5/5 stars - Not a great movie. I laughed a little, but that was about all this movie did for me.

Transformers - 4/5 stars - This is the original one. I wanted to watch it again before I watch the second one (even after you guys all say it sucks :( ). I think I have tweaked my system some (I know I re-calibrated) since I last watched it because it sounded amazing, even better than before. If the second one is as bad as you guys say then I will be really disappointed because the first got my motor going again.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - 4/5 stars - Another good one! Had to watch it again after watching Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs last week. Buck reminded me of Johnny Depp for some reason. :) Other than a few goofy lines and scenes in the movie this has it all. A long movie, but it flows so well that you don't really notice the length.

Watched G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra [Blu-ray] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002NXSRX4)
4/5. I see the amazon reviews are pretty much all over the map.
I never read the comic book nor saw the 1980 series.
The film is basically one CGI-laced battle after another. Gerry Anderson (http://homepages.tesco.net/d.sisson/tbirdpics/tb2hangar.jpg) would have been proud. Unimpressive script and No character development. Lots of faces you'll recognize, even in short bits. You'll recognize scenes from other movies: Black Hawk Down, Star Wars (jedi vs sith), Back To The Future (final fly out), Firefox (the Eastwood movie), etc. I see it's nicknamed "C.G.I. Joe".

You missed one. If you're going to shoot at something, kill it. Otherwise take up knitting.


Was that supposed to be ".4/5"??

Was that supposed to be "4/5"??
That's 4 out of 5 stars. My vote on the movie G.I. Joe watched on BluRay. Your mileage may vary.
Although it won't win any Oscars, and can easily be complained about on a variety of scales that a film critic frequently falls back upon, the non-stop action and abundance of super machines were enough to make the adventure geek in me like it.

EDIT: Did you mean .4/5 (as in 0.4 out of 5) -- that you hated it? :)
That would definately be your mileage may vary. :)

--

Amazon.com ratings
5 star: (16)
4 star: (21)
3 star: (15)
2 star: (7)
1 star: (10)

Finally caught up on Mad Men. The wife is completely hooked and we haven't been able to watch anything else the last 3 weeks!

Randy

My wife and I added it to our rotation via on-demand over the summer for S1&2, and we've watched current for S3. Looking forward to the finale next week. Great show.

EDIT: Did you mean .4/5 (as in 0.4 out of 5) -- that you hated it? :)
That would definately be your mileage may vary. :)



You got it the second time around. ;)

-sc

(The large font sizes make a period look like a square....)

Jerry McGuire: 4/5 stars - Re-watch of a great Cruse/Gooding Jr./Zellwiger flick. All the cast turned in excellent performances, and a great story to back it up. Another plus is that it was filmed when Cruise was sane.

-sc

My girls have been DVRing Superman and Batman the animated series from the 90’s and really getting into. Well they have been home sick all week so I thought I would rent Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (animated) and the original Superman movie with Christopher Reeve both on Blu-ray. My girls and I loved both. With S&B PE it was great to see or hear that the voice actors Tim Daly as Superman, Kevin Conroy as Batman and Clancy Brown as Lex Luthor reprise their roles for the movie. The only problem I had was it was too short a movie at 67 min. As far as Superman the movie goes what can I say about a classic that has not already been said. Also, I had no idea what the girls would think having grown up on top-notch special FX, but they LOVED it! I enjoy seeing that a well made movie from any decade can have an audience from any generation.

I've watched quite a few movies this past week... and I just realized that they were all kids movies! Yikes!

Nightmare Before Christmas (BD) - 3.5/5
Haven't watched this in ages, my wife had never seen it, and I heard great things about the blu-ray. We popped it in a few days before Halloween and enjoyed it. It's not the most amazing movie, but at less than 90 minutes it's a quick fun ride through a Tim Burton funhouse. Looked and sounded really good.

Where the Wild Things Are (Imax) - 4/5
As a big fan of Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers, I was curious to see how they'd interpret the childrens' classic. In my opinion, they did a fantastic job. The movie was extremely well made. Beautiful cinematography and a good story as well. I also loved the childlike soundtrack by Karen O (of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs).

Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaur (BD) - 3/5
Babysitting for a freind who let us borrow this to watch in our theater room. Not a bad flick for a third-go-round - a typical, goofy, predictable kids movie. (The child we were babysitting seemed to enjoy it alot.)
I was impressed with the video (stunning animation, vivid colors) and the audio (good use of LFE and surround)

Monsters Vs Aliens (BD) - 3.5/5
Another typical kids movie - cute, but nothing spectacular storywise. However, the audio on this was just amazing. Fantastic use of LFE and surround. This was a rental, but I may purchase it just to use as demo material.

Watched "Taken" last night.

Pretty decent action flick.

Randy

Watched a "mixed bag" if you will......

The Bucket List (BD) 3/5 worth a view....had it's moments........ wife liked it. Nothing to write home about, and no major beefs with it.... better than I had expected, that's for sure! (It should get bonus points for narration by Freeman)


Monster's Inc (DVD) it's "on loan" from the neighbors.... Blu-ray has been ordered, as my kid keeps saying "Monster movie! Monster Movie! Monster Movie" 4/5 I think I prefer Ratatouili and some of the other Pixar fare..... but it's a good one.... I love the Harry Haussen reference too........


Madagascar (DVD) it's also "on loan" and also has been ordered on Blu-ray for the same reasons as above!!!! 3.75/5 Has some duller moments.... I keep hearing "The Penguins this...... The Penguins that...." blah blah blah.... the monkeys make the movie! The "Throwing Poop at Tom Wolfe" dialogue is worth the price of the movie alone! All though the "Oh Honey Sugar Iced Tea" was strange to say the least...... I'll have to put this one away when junior starts spelling!


Salo' (DVD) yeah.... I broke out my copy of Salo yet again...... I don't rate this one, because I still don't know what I think of it despite seeing it 8 or 9 times now....... I think it could have been toned down and been just as poignant...... but if it were, would I have discovered it........ who know.... hmmmm


I watched "Protagonist" recently...... and it's a 2.5/5 and as Forrest would say.... "That's all I have to say about that"

carry on!

GI Joe on BR

zomg at redhead in movie. her and Sienna Miller as a brunette are worth watching the movie for.

Its better then TF2 (i know, thats not saying much) and actually pretty decent. basically non stop action. I enjoyed it.

Well its a little late for horror, but i saw Trick r treat, really good and I hope to get the bluray soon.

Haven't watched these ones, but put them on and list a hope to see/buy them soon.
-Let The Right One In
-Martyrs
-Hardware
-Orphan.
BTW not a hororr weirdo, just trying to expand that genre in my movie watching and collecting, and the just passing holiday really got me in the mood.:rolleyes:

Well its a little late for horror, but i saw Trick r treat, really good and I hope to get the bluray soon.

Haven't watched these ones, but put them on and list a hope to see/buy them soon.
-Let The Right One In
-Martyrs
-Hardware
-Orphan.
BTW not a hororr weirdo, just trying to expand that genre in my movie watching and collecting, and the just passing holiday really got me in the mood.:rolleyes:

I wouldn't consider myself a huge horror buff......but I loved Let The Right One In, and bought it on Blu-ray (bad subtitles and all)

Well to surprise me my wife bought Transformers 2 for me. Thanks Honey! 8-) I waded through the film last night. I have suffered twice, once at the theater and now once at home. I still think the film is about an hour too long and the whole movie is much weaker than the first, but I did not find it as butt numbing here at home as I did in the theater. I also think the second is lacking in the "totally awesome" LFE, however this could be due to comparing the SD of TF2 against the HD-DVD of TF1. Any thoughts???? RTROSE rating 2.5/5

Regards,

RTROSE

Just watched Traffic (2000) for the first time. It was the HD DVD version...needed filler for Amazon and it was less than $4. While the transfer could have been better, the movie was very good.

I especially liked the use of filters (orange, blue) based on the location that you were watching. The ending left it open for a sequel and could have been better, but the overall tone of the movie was great. Great buy for $4.

I saw a pretty funny thing the other night. Many here are familiar with the movie Serenity and the excellent Firefly series it's based on. The lead actor, Nathan Fillion, has a current running crime drama series called Castle. My wife and I have been watching DVR'd episodes of this lately and at the very beginning of the Halloween episode, Nathan comes out of a bedroom sporting his Firefly/Serenity wardrobe that I instantly recognized. His daughter asks what he's supposed to be and his reply was "I'm a space cowboy", and you hear that little signature guitar twang from the Firefly series. His daughter says "you haven't worn that thing in at least 5 years." He says, "I like it." I busted a gut and tried to explain how funny that was to my wife, who didn't understand/appreciate the reference.

I just found this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q3pdj9p6yI

I saw a pretty funny thing the other night. Many here are familiar with the movie Serenity and the excellent Firefly series it's based on. The lead actor, Nathan Fillion, has a current running crime drama series called Castle. My wife and I have been watching DVR'd episodes of this lately and at the very beginning of the Halloween episode, Nathan comes out of a bedroom sporting his Firefly/Serenity wardrobe that I instantly recognized. His daughter asks what he's supposed to be and his reply was "I'm a space cowboy", and you hear that little signature guitar twang from the Firefly series. His daughter says "you haven't worn that thing in at least 5 years." He says, "I like it." I busted a gut and tried to explain how funny that was to my wife, who didn't understand/appreciate the reference.

I just found this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q3pdj9p6yI


That's a pretty cool little nod to Firefly fans...

I saw a pretty funny thing the other night. Many here are familiar with the movie Serenity and the excellent Firefly series it's based on. The lead actor, Nathan Fillion, has a current running crime drama series called Castle. My wife and I have been watching DVR'd episodes of this lately and at the very beginning of the Halloween episode, Nathan comes out of a bedroom sporting his Firefly/Serenity wardrobe that I instantly recognized. His daughter asks what he's supposed to be and his reply was "I'm a space cowboy", and you hear that little signature guitar twang from the Firefly series. His daughter says "you haven't worn that thing in at least 5 years." He says, "I like it." I busted a gut and tried to explain how funny that was to my wife, who didn't understand/appreciate the reference.

I just found this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q3pdj9p6yI

While I miss FireFly, Castle is a great show in it's own right. Very clever and funny, yet has almost as much suspense as CSI. Great cast and some memorable one-liners.

Watched Star Trek (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001AVCFK6)
3.5/5
From all the hype, I was expecting more from this.
I didn't like "nemesis 2002" either, and this seems to be based a little on that.

Constitution class starships are the most powerful single mobile platform in the galaxy, capable of laying waste to the surface of whole planets with phasers only (not including the 400+ photon torpedoes), and pretty much undefeatable. So, in this film, Kirk, fresh out of the academy, stows away on board, and then instead of the official officers, eventually there's a moment where he basically says "well, if no one else wants to be captain, I'll do it" in much the same way that a plebe from Annapolis might sky dive onto the Nimitz and declare "I'll be captain if no one else wants it. We'll just ignore that whole experience, line of succession thing."

"Red matter". Enough said.

Watched Angels & Demons (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002O5M4SU)
4/5
I didn't read the book -- and apparently that helps.
The real star of the film is Rome, and its High Church gorgeousness.
The concrete in the Vatican Archive seemed unlikely to me, as was the conservation of energy ratio between the Large Hadron Collider at CERN and the bomb/storage-container. It would take millions of years to produce that much antimatter. Lots of amusement at the non-physics at CERN. Apparently the author didn't read a physics book, so we're even. Nonetheless the images of CERN were inspiring -- more so I expect if you know a little of what you're looking at.

Watched GI Joe with my 8 yr old son yesterday. If you have the ability to suspend disbelief to some extent, this is a really fun movie. Spoiler alert....they make ice sink!! Like I said....suspend your disbelief. This move visually and audibly is great. Great LFE as well. It was pretty much non-stop action all that way through. We both enjoyed it a lot and I'll be adding this one to my Blu-Ray collection I believe.

Watched New In Town with my wife the other night. 4/5 stars. It was actually a very good movie! Romantic comedies are not always funny, but we laughed our tails off! Renee Zellweger looks kinda old in this movie. I think her days of gaining weight for a role have taken its toll. Harry Conick Jr is an underrated actor, he does a great job.

The wife and I watched "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Friday night. Or most of it. I think I drifted off there somewhere in the last five or ten minutes or so.

Randy

The wife and I watched "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Friday night. Or most of it. I think I drifted off there somewhere in the last five or ten minutes or so.

Randy

...or did you drift off during the first 5 or 10 minutes...guess it depends on which character they were following at the time :p

Tonight I watched "Moving McAllister" with Jon Heder and Mila Kunis, my wife and I enjoyed it. Light hearted comedy about a square guy falling in love with a eccentric girl.

They take an unwilling trip across country and laughs ensue.

Watched Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen last night. 3.5/5 stars. I will go against the naysayers here and say that I enjoyed the movie. After all of the bad reviews here I was very leery about spending the 2 1/2 hours watching it. I thought the storyline was interesting and I was always wondering what was coming next. There were a few quirky lines that didn't add anything to the movie and "The Twins" were kind of annoying, but otherwise I was glad I spent the time. I didn't think the sound was as good as the first one though. It may have been that I just didn't have it loud enough (I watched it after the kids went to bed and I don't have a dedicated, isolated theater), but while dialogue sounded fine all the chaos and destruction seemed muted. I don't have any dynamic range compression or Dolby Volume turned on so not sure what is going on there.

Watched Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen last night. 3.5/5 stars. I will go against the naysayers here and say that I enjoyed the movie. After all of the bad reviews here I was very leery about spending the 2 1/2 hours watching it. I thought the storyline was interesting and I was always wondering what was coming next. There were a few quirky lines that didn't add anything to the movie and "The Twins" were kind of annoying, but otherwise I was glad I spent the time. I didn't think the sound was as good as the first one though. It may have been that I just didn't have it loud enough (I watched it after the kids went to bed and I don't have a dedicated, isolated theater), but while dialogue sounded fine all the chaos and destruction seemed muted. I don't have any dynamic range compression or Dolby Volume turned on so not sure what is going on there.

I agree with you on a couple of points. I found the "twins" more annoying than funny/entertaining and that the sound/LFE was not on par with the original. I was comparing the HD-DVD to the DVD so I was not sure it was accurate comparison, but seems to be a theme....No? I did enjoy the movie more the second time I watched it and it did not seem as long. When I watched it in the theater it sure seemed a lot longer.

Regards,

RTROSE

Watched another "grab-bag"

Absurtania (sp?) SDVD. 3.5/5 Village has no really "rule" over it, consists of 12 families.... Women are the ones really doing the work and keeping the village "going" and they have a water pipe going through the mountains that eventually "Dries up" so the women with-hold sex until the village has water again. Has some pretty funny moments. I'd give it a rent...

Wings of Desire BD 5/5 Lovely Wim Wender's classic.... can't wait for Paris, Texas.


UP BD 3.75/5 I'll have to watch it a few more times..... very depressing for a Pixar flick.

North By Northwest BD 4.5/5 Not my favorite Hitchcock film, but there aren't many Hitchcock films that I would give less than 4/5 :D

Watched Brothers Bloom (http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B002JT6AEA)
2/5 Lots of people give higher ratings than me though.
I'm a big Rachel Weisz fan, but she didn't save this one.
It has a plot, but it wasn't enough to pull me through.


Watched Rocket Robin Hood (http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B002OHROO2)
Yes, the classic cartoon is finally available!
I've been waiting for this for years.
4/5 -- all nostalgia and the two songs. I hadn't seen the pilot episode before.
They didn't bother to clean up the image -- too bright then too dark, film scratches all over the place, hairs stuck in the projector ...
Audio's pretty good.

Watched Terminator Salvation Extended Cut (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001FB55I0)
4/5 (your mileage may vary)
I enjoyed it, more than Terminator 3, less than 1 and 2.
The plot seemed a little off canon, and Reese was a little too skilled before he was rescued, and the rescue was wrong -- of course we've had a few time paradoxes but still ("No fate but what we make").

From Terminator 1:
Kyle Reese said "This is burned in by laser scan. Some of us were kept alive... to work... loading bodies. The disposal units ran night and day. We were that close to going out forever. But there was one man who taught us to fight, to storm the wire of the camps, to smash those metal mother****ers into junk. He turned it around. He brought us back from the brink. His name is Connor. John Connor. Your son, Sarah, your unborn son."

BTW, see the density of information in that quote. The imagery. The history. The character. The passion.
None of that in T-Salvation.

When the opening credits said directed by McG, I thought "Oh no."
Then the credits said written by John Brancato & Michael Ferris and I thought "didn't they write Catwoman with Halle Barry? Oh no"

I hear that McG promised the directors cut would have the 40 minutes of edited out stuff -- no such luck, just 3 minutes, apparently mostly a topless woman. The special features don't have the deleted scenes either.

The rebels have a lot of working aircraft with parts and fuel and ammunition and logistics and support -- seemed wrong without a civilization to build/support the stuff. The T600's miss a lot. Some of the terminators reminded me of Transformers. The Harvesters reminded me of War Of The Worlds 2005 ships. The Hydrobots reminded me of Screamers.

The action was good. Nice to see Arnold back (ILM CGI of course).
The film is definitely deserving of popcorn, and the subwoofers turned on.
This is one of those films you build a home theatre for (aka Man Cave).
When it was over, my first thought was "I could watch that again, right now."

Star Trek (BD) - 4/5

Full disclosure - I am not a Trekkie (Trekky? Trekker?), nor have I watched any of the Star Trek motion pictures with the exception of bits and pieces here and there. I had heard the glowing reviews, but went into the film with no expectations.

I was pleasantly surprised. The movie itself was well done. There were just so many things that I liked about the film: The young cocky Kirk; the Spock/Kirk conflicting personalities, the clever technique they used to avoid stepping all over the existing Star Trek canon.

I was definately impressed with the actors - Bones and Spock especially - for how much they resembled a younger version of the character.

Even as a casual viewer I was able to pick up several of the nods to the die-hard fans, but I'm sure that I missed plenty. Even some of the most obvious callbacks to the original show ("I'm giving her all she's got Captain!" ; "I'm a doctor, not a phycist!"), were only sprinkled about lightly and didn't seem as forced as I've seen in other "prequels" (I'm looking at you, George Lucas).

As for the movie quality, I was very impressed. My surround and subwoofer got a great workout. I did notice that overall volume levels seemed a bit low, as my volume was higher than it is for most movies that I watch.

This weekend was a grab bag of movies.

UP. An excellent movie and different than the traditional Pixar stuff, had a touch of real life, living, dreams, and sacrifices and that sometimes things don't turn out how we planned but that's ok life does go on. Loved Doug. If my Golden Retriever could have talked to me I would have guessed him to talk just like Doug. 4.5/5.

G.I Joe. A good popcorn flick for sure. Lots of action, not a lot of substance, but "mindless entertainment" for sure and not necessarily. 3.5/5.

Star Trek. Went to the theater first time and now at home. Actually enjoyed it more at home than I did in the theater. Good action movie with some nods to the classic original series. Opening sequences seemed rather chopped up and I personally wanted to see a little more of Kirks character development, but there is only so much time in a movie. The scene where Kirk was chased by the "cop" really did not fit except for maybe showing his disdain for authority, but what a waste of a beautiful vette. Also how many times can the whole "space time continuum" theme be done redone, used and reused? There is something in me though that wells with pride when I hear or see a ship, space shuttle, or starship named the "Enterprise". Good stuff. 4/5.

Thanks for letting me ramble.

Regards,

RTROSE

Watched Exit Speed (2008) (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001D264U4)
3/5, "B" movie, with Fred Ward (Remo Williams, Tremors, Cast a Deadly Spell)
Surprisingly entertaining -- but I wasn't expecting much.

On Christmas Eve, ten strangers board a bus traveling across Texas and are forced off the road by a nomad motorcycle gang. The passengers then take refuge in an abandoned scrap yard. When their defense against the gang weakens and their numbers dwindle.

The mexican handyman is indeed handy.
But my favourite is Alice Greczyn (http://thumbs.filmstarts.de/wallpaper/ExitSpeed_scene_14.jpg) as the "12th teer dark elf ranger".

Exit Speed opens with a female AWOL Army soldier being caught up with by Sergeant Archie Sparks (an underused Fred Ward, star of Tremors, one of my favorite b- movies ever), whose job it is to go after errant soldiers. It seems that this particular soldier, Meredith Cole, has a history of going AWOL, and that the Army has some pretty lax punishment procedures involving unexcused absences. I always thought this was a fairly serious offense, but maybe not. Back in the good old days of Mao Tse-tung's Red Army, they would just execute defecting soldiers on the spot. Sometimes in advance, for effect.

But wouldn't you know it, as soon as Sparks turns his head, that darn Private Cole is off and running again, hopping onto a Greyhound bus on its way across Texas. Unaware of the dangers of such a trip because of lessons not learned from everything from the Texas Chainsaws to the moronic Jeepers Creepers (or The Fast and the Furious, as it turns out), the bus is soon surrounded by a group of lunatic street bikers, who do wheelies all around the bus at freeway speeds and offer the passengers a series of alarming scowls. Before long, one of the idiot bikers makes a mistake and ends up under the wheels of the bus, and the rest of them take it personally.

I'm reminded of the fascinating contents of that passenger airliner that crashed at the beginning of Lost. Man, they had everything, didn't they? The same thing is going on here. There's the AWOL soldier, a girl who once dated a biker and so is an encyclopedia of knowledge about everything they all need to know about their new enemies, a girl who is rated a "Dark Elf" in archery, for crying out loud, a football coach with anger issues, even a bus driver who once drove the six miles into Baghdad airport, reportedly the most dangerous stretch of road in the world. With my luck, I would have been in a bus full of Japanese tourists and adventurous grandparents were we to be ambushed by a biker gang.

Luckily at some point we are informed that bikers such as these guys have a history of being loaded to the eyeballs on crystal meth, because there is no explanation whatsoever of where they come from or why they attacked the bus in the first place. They are faceless villains with no motivation, and so are nothing but fodder for our heroes to dig deep inside themselves to summon up the courage needed to off them in spectacular fashion.

And the movie does have that going for it, at least. It is awesomely stupid, but those of you looking for an action movie that makes up for the total absence of cleverness with an few extra levels of violence, this is your movie. But those of you who might be driven to smack your forehead when you hear a girl say she can't shoot an arrow at one of the men trying to kill her and all the other passengers because she's VEGAN, then you might be better advised to run for the hills, bikers or not.

But at least there's some comedy is outlandishly bad characterization, right? I don't know why this girl thought she might have to eat the man that she killed, but even better was the guy who mentioned that he once tried to get a job singing in a wedding chapel but was afraid he might screw it up. My thoughts are that if you can screw up a job like that then you had plenty of problems even before the bikers attacked your tour bus. But now you present a bigger problem for your female co-passengers, who can expect little to no help from you in avoiding a violent death at the hands of a bunch of meth-heads.

There is something to be enjoyed here for people who really aren't looking for much, but the truth is that the biker that got run over is all we're ever given as far as a reason for why the whole movie is happening in the first place, which makes it feel like a pointless exercise in showing random people killing random bikers. If there was something real driving the movie it could easily have been much better, or at least if the protagonists weren't facing a group of faceless villains. As it is, it comes across like a tour bus barreling across the Texas countryside with no driver, and us stuck in the front seat looking through the windshield.

Watched Logan's Run BluRay.
I've actually seen this movie a couple of times in the past two months on television, but I picked up the BluRay disk the other day.
I found the video to be incredibly sharp -- but I'm probably comparing it to the television. In BluRay you can see the wires they suspended people from in carousel, and the models look more like models than they ever did before. Overall I'm happy with it.

"It's also a surprisingly dirty print with some film elements that are a complete disasater, such as the 15:40 mark where Jessica 6 rebukes Logan's sexual advances. It looks as though someone's cat scratched the hell out of the negative. Not much cleanup effort on the part of the Warner Bros. team for this release. As for the TrueHD audio, I'm not a fan. It's a front heavy mix with very little soundscape activity, save for Jerry Goldsmith's score, whose electro-synth within the city walls is far more annoying than the sweeping orchestral segments once Logan and Jessica move outdoors."

"Warner Bros. offer the MGM film in its original aspect ratio of 2.40:1 widescreen Todd-AO, using a VC-1 encode and a single-layer BD25 for the high-definition Blu-ray transfer. The picture quality is OK, the showy costumes and cityscapes standing out distinctly, if not always as vividly as one would like. The fact is, even in high-def the image varies from smooth and clean to slightly gritty and noisy. The photography is soft-focused and the hues mostly pastels, so don't expect much more than subdued, sometimes washed-out looking colors despite the solid black levels. This soft-pastel look was the effect the filmmakers must have been going for, and that's what we get. Yet once you get away from the city sets and the colored lights, many of the outdoor shots look crystal clear."

[as an audio comparison, I was watching Hollow Man the other day, and when the fly started flying around when I wasn't paying attention to the movie, I started swatting the air. Really good surround effects]

I watched The International last night on Blu-Ray. I had wanted to see it for a while, but just never got around to it, so finally last night I gave it a spin. I actually quite liked it, despite some of the mediocre reviews it got. Clive Owen is fantastic, I really wish he was in more movies. As for the BD, wow! It was definitely one of the sharpest looking BDs I have seen. The look of the film reminded me a bit of my old Shooter HD-DVD; it has a very clear, super sharp, contrasy picture without looking over-exposed or stylisticly sharp (if that makes any sense at all, lol). It was an entertaining 118 minutes for sure...

Watched a movie called "Derailed" on SDVD

One of those young ladies from "Friends" was in it.... not sure of the name.... Either way, it became two things, almost simultaneously.....

1) Predictable.

2) Preposterous.

2.75/5 because I know what the film was trying to achieve..... but it never really succeeded.

Oh... "Rza" and "Xzibit" were in it..... a movie HAS to lose points for that right??????

Watched a movie called "Derailed" on SDVD

One of those young ladies from "Friends" was in it.... not sure of the name.... Either way, it became two things, almost simultaneously.....

1) Predictable.

2) Preposterous.

2.75/5 because I know what the film was trying to achieve..... but it never really succeeded.

Oh... "Rza" and "Xzibit" were in it..... a movie HAS to lose points for that right??????

I'll agree it was predictable, but I didn't guess it in the first 15 minutes, so I enjoyed it. Enough to pay $3 for the HD DVD version :)

I watched The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford on Blu-Ray tonight. Mouthful of a title, to be sure... I enjoyed the film. I thought it was slowly paced, but the cinematography was fantastic, as well as the acting. It was simultaneously fascinating and boring, if that is possible, but I am glad to have seen it.

Watched Yes Man with Jim Carrey. I was actually surprised by this film...pleasantly so. I was just expecting stupid humor and typical Jim Carrey (which is not all bad, I typically like his stuff) but this film had a lot more substance than I thought it would. 3.5/5 Worth a rent IMHO

Went to the "big screen" on Friday to watch Blind Side. This is a GREAT movie. I went in without a lot of expectations or preconceptions and was rewarded with a enjoyable movie experience. Go see it. 4.5/5

Regards,

RTROSE

Went to the "big screen" on Friday to watch Blind Side. This is a GREAT movie. I went in without a lot of expectations or preconceptions and was rewarded with a enjoyable movie experience. Go see it. 4.5/5


Can a Browns' fan enjoy this one????? can a Browns' fan enjoy anything right now though?????

I watsched Chinatown with Faye Dunaway and Jack Nicholson last night for the first time. I am from a bit younger generation (i.e. not born until 4 years after it came out).

I see why this film remained a classic. Acting was over the top but still convincing. Roman Polaski's directing was top notch too.

If anyone has a list of must see movies from the 50's, 60's, and 70's that they would suggest, shoot me a PM. I have a HUGE movie collection and I think I have exhausted all of the greats from the 80, 90's, and current.

-Ken

Can a Browns' fan enjoy this one????? can a Browns' fan enjoy anything right now though?????

Very funny! Yes EVEN a Browns fan can enjoy this one! Mostly because it follows a WINNER! OH, OUCH! Sorry about that. I must admit though I am floored by all of the Browns fans who weather season after season and still stick with their team. Faithful fans for sure!

Regards,

RTROSE

Can a Browns' fan enjoy this one?????

I'm a Browns fan and did enjoy The Blind Side over the weekend. I agree with the 4.5/5. Coincidentally, I think 4.5 is somewhere around the Browns combined passer rating this season. :rolleyes:

I somehow managed to make it all these years without seeing or hearing much about Fight Club, so I added it to my Netflix list recently. Not quite what I expected. I usually love dark movies, and maybe I would have enjoyed this one a little more if I had seen it coming. Only 3/5 for me.

Also watched An American Affair over the weekend, streaming from Netflix through the PS3. Gretchen Mol is delicious as always and gets a 5/5. The movie had some slow moments and was a little predictable in spots, but this kind of film is right up my alley. I give it 4/5.

We took 10 to see the Blind Side Thanksgiving night - enjoyed by all ages!

Randy

We did an action/comedy weekend. First it was Big Trouble in Little China, then Land of the Lost.

I'm noticing a number of BluRays that have D-Box motion control codes. I think I'm going to have to upgrade my room. ;)

I love Big Trouble - it's a hoot!

Randy

Don't feel like doing formal reviews so...

Had a Star Trek movie & martini nite back on the 21st... it's a great Blu Ray transfer, altho I'm not sure if everybody liked the movie or martini's more :).

Since then the wife and I have gotten in to Mad Men and just finished season #1... they do a good job capturing the 60's feel.

I've been watching WWII in HD. Amazing footage and great depiction of the sheer massiveness of the efforts to fight that war.

-sc

Batman (89) on BR

my favorite comic book mover ever.

needs more LFE though.

Big Trouble in Little China

A favorite here. Watched it a couple weeks ago with the neighbors.

Tonight my son's choices (for a good report card) was Rush Hour, and then Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ("What's this thing coming towards me very fast....")

Last night I watched The Proposal with my wife. 3.5/5 Decent flick. Funny in parts. Betty White was hilarious. Ryan Reynolds does an outstanding job and Sandra Bullock is, well, very nice to look at. ;)

Tonight we had family movie night and watched Bee Movie. 2/5 They should have named it Dee Movie. With the cast in this animated flick it should have been outstanding. Instead I kept wondering when it would end. Sure there were a couple of funny parts, but otherwise I was just bored. We got the DVD version and I was pleasantly surprised by the PQ played back on my Panasonic BD55, but the audio was extremely lacking. It sounded flat and the rear effects were almost non existent. Not sure if the BD would have been better in this regard, but it couldn't have been worse.

Batman (89) on BR

my favorite comic book mover ever.

needs more LFE though.

"Where does he get all those wonderful toys"

I like that version of Batman as well. Jack Nicholson is excellent as the Joker. A much different take on the Joker vs. Heath Ledger's Joker. Both are excellent, just different.

Regards,

RTROSE

Friday night: the start of the Christmas Movies

The wife, youngest daughter and I watched "Holiday Inn". The wife and I stuck around for the excellent (and long!) extra, "A couple of song and dance men."

Saturday night the girl had her boyfriend over and they watched, "Jingle All The Way" - I've always enjoyed that one.

Randy

"Where does he get all those wonderful toys"

I like that version of Batman as well. Jack Nicholson is excellent as the Joker. A much different take on the Joker vs. Heath Ledger's Joker. Both are excellent, just different.

Regards,

RTROSE

Not to mention I thought Keaton was a great Batman.

-sc

Watched Crank at the advice of a friend. I like Jason Statham in most of his movies. Crank had potential to be Pulp Fictionesque but fell well short. This movie just never got off the ground for me. 2.5/5

Figured I may as well check out the sequal just for kicks. Crank 2 might be one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Nothing like the original. Not good at all. 0.5/5

We've been catching up on a lot of HD TV viewing, but tonight it's time for another Christmas movie - I'm voting for "Elf", but I'm often overruled.

Randy

We've been catching up on a lot of HD TV viewing, but tonight it's time for another Christmas movie - I'm voting for "Elf", but I'm often overruled.

Randy


Can you back your vote up with AVS forum opinion? If so I vote for "Elf" too. Great Christmas movie for sure.

Whoever doesn't want to watch must be "an angry elf".

Regards,

RTROSE

If my vote doesn't count, do you think they'd listen to you guys? :D

Randy

If my vote doesn't count, do you think they'd listen to you guys? :D

Randy

Good point! Now your house sounds like my house!:D

Regards,

RTROSE

watched a bug's life in 14ft wide scope, what a pleasure.

Friday night was family movie night. We watched Night at the Museum 2. 3.5/5 stars. My daughter recently saw the first one so we picked up the second one from Netflix. She is a huge fan of animals and especially Dinosaurs. At 4 years old she keeps asking to watch Jurassic Park with me. Not yet little one! :D So naturally she loves Rexy! I don't think this film was as good as the first, but it still held its own. There are times when things seem to drag on just a little too long. When Ben Stiller has the run in with the security guard they could have cut that scene in half and it still would have been funny, but at its current length you start to lose interest. Luckily these occurrences are few and far between. The movie is filled with laughs, a little romance, and surprisingly, wasn't predictable. "Boom...Boom...Fiya Powah!" :D

Last night the wife and I settled down for a little romantic comedy. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (4/5) puts a spin on holiday classic. There is plenty of eye candy in this movie for the guys and plenty of mushy stuff for the girls. ;) Actually the movie is very well done. Matthew McConaughey is great! He is the perfect "player". He is funny and suave, yet enough of a jerk to make you mad. Somehow though; maybe it is the fact that you know how the holiday classic works; he keeps you pulling for him to figure out that his methods are flawed and he hurts a lot of people. Jennifer Garner plays the perfect role opposite him as well. She is smart and her quick witted comebacks are really good. But you can tell she has feelings for him and as the movie goes by you can see why. So if your significant other is looking for a feel good, romantic comedy check this one out.

Last night the wife and I settled down for a little romantic comedy. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (4/5) puts a spin on holiday classic. There is plenty of eye candy in this movie for the guys and plenty of mushy stuff for the girls. ;) Actually the movie is very well done. Matthew McConaughey is great! He is the perfect "player". He is funny and suave, yet enough of a jerk to make you mad. Somehow though; maybe it is the fact that you know how the holiday classic works; he keeps you pulling for him to figure out that his methods are flawed and he hurts a lot of people. Jennifer Garner plays the perfect role opposite him as well. She is smart and her quick witted comebacks are really good. But you can tell she has feelings for him and as the movie goes by you can see why. So if your significant other is looking for a feel good, romantic comedy check this one out.


Surprisingly this is one of the few "chick flicks" I liked BETTER than my wife, but I'll agree with you that it is a good spin on a holiday classic. I really did like Jennifer Garner in this film and I typically like Matthew McConaughey and this film was no different. This is one film I don't think you can go wrong with. Unless you watch it with my wife. :rolleyes:

Regards,

RTROSE

Good point! Now your house sounds like my house!:D

Regards,

RTROSE

Well, we compromised. We got to watch "Elf", but because my daughter had her boyfriend over, my wife insisted we watch it on the living room TV (so we could "pop" in on them at random.)

I know I'm getting spoiled, but when it comes to watching movies, if I can't see it in my theater, I'd rather pass.

Randy

Last night the wife and I settled down for a little romantic comedy. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (4/5) puts a spin on holiday classic. There is plenty of eye candy in this movie for the guys and plenty of mushy stuff for the girls. ;) Actually the movie is very well done. Matthew McConaughey is great! He is the perfect "player". He is funny and suave, yet enough of a jerk to make you mad. Somehow though; maybe it is the fact that you know how the holiday classic works; he keeps you pulling for him to figure out that his methods are flawed and he hurts a lot of people. Jennifer Garner plays the perfect role opposite him as well. She is smart and her quick witted comebacks are really good. But you can tell she has feelings for him and as the movie goes by you can see why. So if your significant other is looking for a feel good, romantic comedy check this one out.

We saw it in the theater first run. I thought Michael Douglas was a scream.

Randy

I just watched Inglourious Basterds followed immediately by The Hangover (both on Blu). I missed both of these in the theatres, and was VERY excited to see both. I am happy to report that I thought Basterds was genious Tarantino, and I loved every minute of it, however, I was very dissapointed in The Hangover, especially all the rave reviews about how hilarious it was and so on. Honestly, I 'got it' and totally understand how people with certain senses of humour would adore it (read: my friends, lol), but I thought it was unfunny and mediocre. Ah well.

Watched War of the Worlds last night. 3.5/5 This may not be a fair assessment as is was recorded from TV (TNT HD a few weeks ago), but I thought it was pretty good. It seemed to be non-stop action from start to finish. Similar storyline to Independence Day, with more gore and less comedy. I thought the movie seemed a little too dark, but realize that was intended. The audio was decent, but having to watch it late after the kids went to bed I couldn't crank it up to hear the LFE I have read about. I'll have to get the DVD at some point and watch it again to see if it makes a difference.

I just watched Inglourious Basterds followed immediately by The Hangover (both on Blu). I missed both of these in the theatres, and was VERY excited to see both. I am happy to report that I thought Basterds was genious Tarantino, and I loved every minute of it, however, I was very dissapointed in The Hangover, especially all the rave reviews about how hilarious it was and so on. Honestly, I 'got it' and totally understand how people with certain senses of humour would adore it (read: my friends, lol), but I thought it was unfunny and mediocre. Ah well.

Agree with you on Basterds - we saw it in the theater and I was happy we did. It was every bit worth the crazy ticket prices and paying for a babysitter.

Disagree on The Hangover - I was actually coming on here to post about seeing it last night. I thought it was exactly what it was meant to be and it did a fine job at it. Definitely a funny guy humor flick. I'm glad I saw it on video, but it was still a good funny movie in the same genre of Old School, Dodgeball, or any of those types of movies.

Wife decided she wanted to check out Mad Men... so since Thanksgiving weekend we have watched a season and a half. Pretty good series.

Will probably finish up thru season 3 sometime soon after the new year... I guess I'll have to figure out when season 4 comes on the air...

-sc

Ronin (BR)

Wife decided she wanted to check out Mad Men... so since Thanksgiving weekend we have watched a season and a half. Pretty good series.

Will probably finish up thru season 3 sometime soon after the new year... I guess I'll have to figure out when season 4 comes on the air...

-sc

It typically starts in the summer and runs into the early fall.

Cool, thanx...

-sc

Anybody here seen "Public Enemy" yet?
I want to catch it this weekend.

Just wondering if the rating or violence is too much for a 14 yr old?

Anybody here seen "Public Enemy" yet?
I want to catch it this weekend.

Just wondering if the rating or violence is too much for a 14 yr old?

I'm curious too. Have not heard very much about this film and has my interest piqued.

Regards,

RTROSE

Anybody here seen "Public Enemy" yet?
I want to catch it this weekend.

Just wondering if the rating or violence is too much for a 14 yr old?

I've seen it (3.2/5), and it would depend on the 14 year old, but my guess/opinion is you would be pushing it hard for that age.
For a more detailed description, perhaps see these:
http://www.screenit.com/movies/2009/public_enemies.html
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/public-enemies

Took a pass on Public Enemy - instead we watched "Angels & Demons"

Despite having read the book was still a VERY engaging movie; No sex, a bit of gore. Adequate LFE, great video! For me a 3.0/4.0 a reccomended rent, not quite a buy.

Just saw Avatar last nite.

You need to see this. In 3D.

Visually spectacular.

-sc

Just saw Avatar last nite.

You need to see this. In 3D.

Visually spectacular.

-sc

Saw it Sunday night in Imax 3D - outstanding. One of the most immersive movie experience ever.

Randy

Avatar was definately amazing, the most beautiful movie I've ever seen.

watched all the "good" parts of Cloverfield on BR. Hadnt seen it on my setup yet and wanted to try out the LFE.

Had to watch it a little quiter then usual due to my kids being asleep in the next room, but even at about 12 below referance it was thunderous. The audio in general didnt blow me away like in Terminator Salvation, but the LFE was very well done. But this lack of audio may have been due to my playing it quieter then usual.

and again, i really wish they would re-make this movie, with JJ again from the viewpoint of a professional news crew / military cameras. Something a little more steady and that focuses more on the destruction and the efforts to stop the beast.

Watched Inglorious Basterds last night. 3.5/5 Movie was quite entertaining.

Christmas Day we watched "Up" - a terrific, gentle movie.

And that night we watched "Stardust". Very much in the flavor of "The Princess Bride."

Randy

So last night we actually went to a commercial theater (yuk) to see Avatar in 3D, not Imax.

The 3d effects, characters, and special effects were awesome. Story was decent but IMO the movie was 30~45 minutes too long.

I haven't seen a 3D movie since Polar express - I have to admit that this time around I am convinced that 3D is here to stay

Last night we had a house full of guests and a capacity crowd for the theater. They selected "Words and Music", a lightly funny romantic comedy.

My wife and I watched My Sister's Keeper last week. 4.5/5 stars. While this was a terribly sad movie, it was simply fantastic! Cameron Diaz was outstanding! She truly played a great role in the movie, something I don't recall seeing from her before. Normally she plays the cute and funny roles. If you are looking for a heart wrenching, tear jerking, yet a somehow feel good movie, this is a good one.

Watched Star Trek last night. 3/5 I thought it was decent, but not great. I was not a fan of the show before so I likely missed a lot of the references. Action was good, storyline was good, but I thought some of the "comedy" was off target, like they tried too hard to make something funny.

Last night with both the girls home they decided to watch "A Song Is Born (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040820/)". A 1948 comedy with Danny Kaye and featuring a load of jazz musicians. A simple comedy, but funny and with a very good picture on a recent rerelease.

Randy

Last night my 17 year old daughter picked "Disney's Hercules" - still fun.

Randy

We watched PE last night. I give it 3/5. There are a couple bloody scenes (i.e. showing someone's insides when shot and seeing heads get blown to bits) but I actually thought it was less violent and very little cursing compared with other shoot em up type movies. It can be quite slow at times. I like Johnny Depp a lot but I thought something was missing from the movie. Worth a rent but that's it. I already told my sister not to open hers so she can just borrow mine.


Anybody here seen "Public Enemy" yet?
I want to catch it this weekend.

Just wondering if the rating or violence is too much for a 14 yr old?

I'm curious too. Have not heard very much about this film and has my interest piqued.

Regards,

RTROSE

Queen - Thanks for the comments on PE. I think the wife and i will rent and watch this one without our son

Watched Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince last night. 3.5/5 stars. I am a little undecided about how much I like the movie. The picture and sound are top rate! All of these movies are great for surround and this one was no different. But there was just something about the movie that left me wanting more. I think it had to do with the ending. It seemed so anti-climatic. It just didn't have the gusto that the previous movies did, even though it was 2 1/2 hours long!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (BD) 3.5/5: Enjoyable, but not my favorite of the Harry Potter movies. The story itself was okay, and the sound was great, but I really found the picture and colors distracting. A huge percentage of the movie was murky and dark and even the daylight scenes seemed muted and washed out. I understand that this was the (emotionally) darkest episode in the series, but I kept feeling like I needed to pump up the brightness of my projector with so many dark scenes.

Jesus Camp (SD) 3/5: A very "matter-of-fact" (and a bit scary) documentary about the extreme religious right in the U.S and the indoctrination of their children.
Although not as overtly biased as other documentaries in this genre (Bill Maher's "Religulous"), I felt that the images and words of the main subjects were powerful enough on their own and didn't require an opposing viewpoint. The sole voice of opposition, Mike Papantonio, a left-wing radio personality, only made a few appearances but it was enought to create a tinge of "us vs. them" that I felt was unnecessary in an otherwise good documentary.

Queen - Thanks for the comments on PE. I think the wife and i will rent and watch this one without our son

I have had two co-workers tell me as well that is is not "family friendly" too. Both also commented that while they liked the movie, it was very slow in parts. Sounds like a rental for me.

Watched Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince last night. 3.5/5 stars. I am a little undecided about how much I like the movie. The picture and sound are top rate! All of these movies are great for surround and this one was no different. But there was just something about the movie that left me wanting more. I think it had to do with the ending. It seemed so anti-climatic. It just didn't have the gusto that the previous movies did, even though it was 2 1/2 hours long!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (BD) 3.5/5: Enjoyable, but not my favorite of the Harry Potter movies. The story itself was okay, and the sound was great, but I really found the picture and colors distracting. A huge percentage of the movie was murky and dark and even the daylight scenes seemed muted and washed out. I understand that this was the (emotionally) darkest episode in the series, but I kept feeling like I needed to pump up the brightness of my projector with so many dark scenes.

I have now watched this film twice. I'll agree with the fact that the movie was enjoyable, but definitely not my favorite for sure. The "tone" of the movie was dark so the visuals matched that for sure, it was dark visually too. I too at the end of the film was wanting more. I hoping that the two movies to finish off the franchise are "off the charts". My favorite "Potter" film has to be Phoenix.

Last night as part of the family celebration of the New Year we watched Paul Blart Mall Cop. I really like this movie. Far fetched? Yup. Cheesy humor? Yup. Hopeless or is that helpless romantics? Yup. What does this add up too????? In RTROSE's opinion a pretty good family movie with some love, action, humor, and a dose of the importance of family (to feed you pie when your self esteem is in the toilet of course!) well worth a watch, and much better movie than what you think your in for.

Regards,

RTROSE

Yesterday we finished watching "The Buccaneers" a 1995 BBC 5 hour mini series.

That's what I get with house full of women.

Time for something more "explodee." :D

Randy

Our Latest Viewings - In the basement:

"UP"
a nice easy watching family movie, a good rental

"Apaloosa"
If you are into Western's a good movie, and a nice break from the spaghetti westerns of years ago. Even had a bit of romance for the "chick flick" factor. Scenery shots were very good, surround effects were subtle but well done, LFE were a bit disappointing. Overall a good rental. 3.5/5.0

At the Theater:
Went to see "Sherlock Holmes"
If you are into SH, then IMO this is a great movie. The story line, action & background music were very good. The amount and intensity of LFE took me by surprise. This would be a contender for LFE demo material. I'll be purchasing when it comes out on BR. For me 4.5/5.0

Our holiday viewing:

The Hangover: it was good. Would have been more fun to watch with other couples. Funny at times but not the most hilarious movie as some put it.

Julie & Julia: it was ok. I was tired and actually fell asleep, but thought it was good. Streep does an excellent job and there is something about Amy Adams that just makes her so watchable. My wife liked it.

Angels and Demons: I loved this. The blu-ray PQ and AQ are top notch. I was thoroughly entertained.

G-force: watched this with the kids. This move is cute and the kids liked it. I was entertained as well, esp at only 88 minutes ;)

Terminator: Salvation: this movie (like others here on this forum) is hard hit by critics, but I really liked this movie and would recommend it to anyone who likes this franchise.

And today I am going to see Avatar with my son...my first going to a movie theater experience since finishing my room. This movie was made for the big screen and hopefull will be made for demo material at home!

Wife and I watched What Happens in Vegas last night. 4/5 stars. A romantic comedy that does a great job with the laughs. I liked it better than my wife. Ashton Kutcher was hilarious and Cameron Diaz played in her typical role very well.

watched Role Models last night with my little brother. pretty funny stuff. it was kind of a test run for my HTPC. its streaming from my USB HD on my main computer, so it hiccupped here and there, but I bet if I put it into the computer and not run it USB it'll fix that problem.

Girls choice again Saturday night. "The Five Pennys" with Danny Kay. Not bad.

Randy

Watched Number 23 and Sunshine Cleaning on sat. night. Both very good flicks, but #23 was better.

"The Five Pennys" with Danny Kay.
I haven't seen that in ages. That's the polio film.

I haven't seen that in ages. That's the polio film.

I'd have called it the Jazz film, but that's the one! :D

Randy

Neighbors' played "Momma Mia" (again!) Christmas Eve. Good fun sing along stuff. Makes the girls all giddy so they are in a good mood when you go home :D

On Christmas Day we really bumped up the DVD collection as gifts: Iron Man, Transformers 2, Alien Trilogy, 1408, Twilight, Firefly Series, Young Frankenstein, Spaceballs, Paycheck (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338337/) (I know nothing about this one) and Quantum of Solace.

Watched Iron Man twice. Great movie. Even my wife really got into it. A lot of fun. Loved RD Jr.'s one liners and sarcasm. Lots of action of course.

Post Christmas trip up to NH, and saw Avatar in 2D. When we got home my son and I took my wife to see it in 3D. I'm actually glad to have done it this way. The 3D effect is amazing, but for a first viewing I felt like I would have missed a lot of the movie while coming to grips with the 3D effect. Seeing it 2D first let me relax more. Amazing movie no matter how you see it. An emotional roller coaster.

Finally, I watched 1408 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450385/) by myself the other day. I like John Cusack's work quite a bit (with some exceptions), which I realize may put me in a minority. Anyway, while it was a bit derivative and some of the unexpected gotchas were...well...expected...I thoroughly enjoyed it. My blood pressure was up for sure, something I seldom get out of a PG-13 thriller. My son wandered through the theater during one "holy cr@p what was that thing!!" :eek: scene, and he ended up obsessing on it all day. He didn't return to the theater until I was done.

Watched Serinity friday night...pretty good sci fi movie.

then we had people over saturday night. the girls decided to rent "All About Steve" with Sandra Bullock. Wow. What a horribly bad movie. The acting, dialogue and just about everything else in the movie was painfull to watch. We shut it off about 30 minutes into it. It was baaaaaaaaad.

my bro-in-law and his wife had never seen gi joe so we popped that in. stupid movie, but fun to watch. good eye candy for the mens and the wimmins :D

We watched ALL the Harry potter movies over the holiday... Then finished it off with the new one that just came out. It was awesome... The thunder is so amazing in pro logic surround sound!

Then we went to the library to get the final book. I was so disappointed on how the last book ended that I skipped the final, but after watching all the films I've got to find out how the story ends...

Too bad I'll have to wait for my daughter to read it first, course after one day she was already 1/3 of the way thru it, so I probably will get it this weekend.


Heros starts tonight! Woo Hoo!

I picked up several movies cheap from a Blockbuster going under, one of them being "Batman Begins". I had seen it previously at work on a small cheapo set a few years ago. Good movie, good action, film quality was good as was the sound. The other Batman flicks were too corny but this one was not.

Also watched "UP" for the kids. Another good film from Pixar. Awesome picture and sound. Story was pretty good, kind of sad at first. Now my 3 year old runs around the house turning her head and saying, "Squirrel!" We always try to find John Ratzenbergers voice in the Pixar flicks and sure enough, he was a construction worker.

Last night was "We Were Soldiers" (another cheap one from BB) for the spouse and I. Awesome flick, one of the best was movies made, IMO. Being based on a true event really added to the emotion of the film. The story line added the personal/family side to war that most films do not show. Good, good stuff.

Watched Four Christmases last night with my wife. 3.5/5 stars. This has been in our Netflix queue for quite some time, but only just now became available. The first 40 minutes or so had me laughing very hard! Unfortunately, the rest of the movie wasn't quite as funny, but was still decent.

This past weekend was two kid friendly films. G-Force and Bedtime Stories.

G-Force Meh. A couple of laughs but nothing spectacular, interesting concept though. 2.5/5. Glad it was just a rental.

Bedtime Stories. I was pleasantly surprised with this movie. I laughed so hard in parts I had tears. I had not really even heard anything about this movie, a sleeper for sure. 3.5/5 worth a rent at least.

Regards,

RTROSE

im showing star crash & the stranger and the gunfighter on friday

After many hours of estrogen soaking pics, I insisted on picking one. We watched "300".

Testosterone levels restored!

Randy

I saw two movies over the past few days. In my opinion, both were over-hyped, which may have been why I didn't enjoy them as much as I had hoped.

The Hangover (BD) 3.5/5 - I've been hearing about how "hilarious" this movie is for months. Although it was entertaining and had a few laugh out loud moments, I didn't find it nearly as riotous as I have heard (and I normally enjoy this type of humor).
To be fair, I felt that many of the funny moments may have been spoiled by the previews (which I felt gave away too much) and from coworkers/freinds who talked about the film.
Overall, it was silly and fun, but I didn't feel it held up to the hype surrounding it.

Avatar (IMAX) 2.5/5 - Let's get this much out of the way - the special effects and CGI were simply amazing. The 3d really was clean and not distracting in the way that many movies use 3d. The fantasy world created by Cameron was beautifully drawn and amazing to look at.
That being said, the story was unoriginal, flat, and predictable, and the characters were 1-dimensional and cliched. I'm positive I would have enjoyed this if I was a child, but there wasn't a single element of this movie that hasn't been explored better elsewhere.

After many hours of estrogen soaking pics, I insisted on picking one. We watched "300".

Testosterone levels restored!

Randy

http://www.skinners.us/skinners/sparta.jpg

Watched A Perfect Getaway last night. I'd give it 3.5/5 stars. Visually stunning with all the Hawaii scenery. Decent story and certainly enough eye candy.

Well the family and I went to the big screen this weekend to see Avatar. We had initially wanted to see it in IMAX 3D but it was sold out so we "settled" for regular 3D. A couple of observations. One I am still not impressed with 3D. I find it actually distracting and in certain scenes the image looked out of focus. I asked my wife if she thought the same thing and she agreed. There seemed to be a certain fuzziness at times to film. May have been the theater (Showplace 16 & IMAX on the south side of Indy) but since I have not seen the film before I don't know for sure. I was not impressed with the theater either, but that is not why I'm actually posting. Now on to the review.

AVATAR - Let me start by saying I really liked the film. This movie is visually stunning, and is a top notch film with regards to CGI, special effects etc. Like another poster I did find the actual storyline lacking and predictable almost to a fault. While I did find the actual storyline "old hat" I kept smiling through the entire film for all of the beautiful visuals. This film is very rich in colors and textures. I think the film scores a homerun in this area alone. 4/5 stars.

Regards,

RTROSE

Friday night I watched Meet The Robinsons with my daughter. 3/5 stars. Not one of the better animated flicks I have watched. It was decent, but not great. Thankful that my daughter didn't ask to watch it over and over like she does with other movies!

After that was over and the kids were in bed I watched G.I. Joe - The Rise of Cobra. 3.5/5 stars. Seemed like a mis mash of several other movies. How many times are we going to see a white and black guy military combo, a convoy that gets ambushed, people enter the "polar ice cap" with regular clothes and not freeze to death, and completely outlandish military weapons that are a bad idea? :p

Had friend over and watched "Star Trek" - it really is a very well made movie - loads of fun.

Randy

After that was over and the kids were in bed I watched G.I. Joe - The Rise of Cobra. 3.5/5 stars. Seemed like a mis mash of several other movies. How many times are we going to see a white and black guy military combo, a convoy that gets ambushed, people enter the "polar ice cap" with regular clothes and not freeze to death, and completely outlandish military weapons that are a bad idea? :p

How many times? Probably as many times as people pay to watch it! This is GI Joe, for cryin' out loud! :rolleyes:

I did my part to not watch it ... how about you? :p

A few updates:

The Big Lebowski (Netflix Streaming) - Definitely worth seeing. Can't believe it took this long. Netflix streaming to my new BD player was very good.

Sherlock Holmes (Local cinaplex) - I think a sequel would be better. It was entertaining, but nothing special.

The Hangover (Netflix Bluray) - Amusing, but overall kind of slow. Not nearly as good as I was expecting. I was expecting more belly laughs when all I got was fairly consistent chuckles.

Dexter: Season 1 and 2 (Netflix streaming) - Very entertaining. We have the 3rd season queued up.

Extract (Netflix Bluray) - A similar assessment to 'The Hangover'... amusing at times, but nothing special. I wouldn't watch it again.

A couple weeks ago I popped into Walmart for some windshield washer fluid, and as I passed the $7.50 rack of DVDs, I saw out of the corner of my eye "Heavy Metal (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082509/)".

Had to have it.

With an older...well let's say "more mature"...view than when I first saw it, it did seem to lose some of the punch it had when I was a teenager.

Might also be related to my level of sobriety. :D

That said, I still enjoyed the revisit immensely. I've also heard rumors that a new Heavy Metal may be in the works, with James Cameron attached to at least part of it.

Last night I watched District 9. 3.5/5 stars. I didn't really know much about the movie going in, but the whole time I kept thinking to myself that the movie wasn't what I expected. Still I was intrigued and kept watching. In fact I was so amassed in the movie that I couldn't tell you if the audio was any good or not. I was concentrating too much on what was going on. The PQ was good though! There is room for a sequel and I hate when movies don't have an "ending", especially when they lead you into thinking that something is coming. So if District 10 happens, I'll watch it, not because I thought this movie was really good, but to have some closure of sorts.

last night i watched hurt locker great picture and sound and a great movie,i would give five star.i hope they come back soon(military).

Watched a couple of movies in the past couple of days.

Inglorious Bastards - Did not like this movie much at all. I have liked other movies by Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction) but not this one. It did have a couple of redeeming aspects though. I really liked Brad Pitts character and I really enjoyed the basement bar scene. Much past those two aspects and IMO not much there. 2/5

Public Enemies - I actually really liked the film better than I thought I would. I had heard mixed reviews from co-workers and went in with an open mind. I found the film a bit long but good. Was slower in some parts than it needed to be too, but over all I liked it. 3.5/5

Regards,

RTROSE

Family movie night. We watched G-Force. 2.5/5 stars. It was OK. The best part of the movie was in the pet shop. Otherwise it was just average flick. The whole wannabe Transformers thing was terrible.

Last night we watched "The Zero Effect". Very enjoyable- recommended.

Randy

Last night we watched "The Zero Effect".
A must see - once.

Daryl Zero: "A few words here about following people. People know they're being followed when they turn around and see someone following them. They can't tell they're being followed if you get there first."

Watched Surrogates (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002UZCJP2)

4/5
I enjoyed it, apparently more than most.
I had the subwoofers turned way down, and they still thumped.

From a story point of view, I thought it was a nice immersion into the premise, with some interesting details. I was prepared for this film to be really bad.

It reminded me of iRobot more in the feel of the visuals than the story, although if you google "surrogates irobot" lots of people felt the story was similar. I didn't see anyone who worked on both (not the writer, not the director), other than James Cromwell (http://images.google.com/images?q=James+Cromwell).

A must see - once.

Daryl Zero: "A few words here about following people. People know they're being followed when they turn around and see someone following them. They can't tell they're being followed if you get there first."

That was the second time for us, but enough years had passed that my wife didn't remember watching it at all.

Last night we watched "Mission Impossible." I thought it held up pretty well. We might make it an IMF weekend and screen the other two as well.

Randy

Last night I watched

disturbia - I thought it was a really a pretty good movie. My only complaint is that it starts really slow and is pretty predictable as suspense thrillers go but a good watch anyway. 3/5. It was a good way to wind down after the Colts stomped the Ravens!

Regards,

RTROSE

Last night I watched The Taking of Pelham 123. 4/5 stars. Denzel and Travolta were awesome in this movie. They played the roles so well. Lots of action, lots of foul language, and a steady story to keep you engrossed.

The Hurt Locker (BR)...best movie I have seen in a long time

Frequency in HD. I had seen it years ago and rememered it being good. Nothing stunning audio/video wise, just a cool story line.

Quantum of Solace Great action, good story line, more along the lines of the "true" 007; sort of a rogue agent that bends the rules as necessary. Definitely opened it up for another movie.

Spaceballs, Transformers 2 (what a disappointment except for the last 30 or 40 minutes), episodes 1-3 of Firefly.

The Hurt Locker (BR)...best movie I have seen in a long time

I keep hearing this........ I need to netflix this one (adding to the queue.....NOW!)


I've been WAY behind on the movies...... mostly been streaming "Thomas the Tank Engine" for the 2 year old :D

Our second child arrived the day before our son's 2nd birthday, so we've been busier than normal..... but I managed to watch "most" of "Fight Club" on Blu-ray last night........ can't rate it until I finish watching it..... it's been years since I've seen it..... but so far, it's better than I recalled it being (I still fell asleep though.... but that's not the movie's fault!)


The wife and I also sat down to watch "Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs" with our son.... also on Blu-ray...... Sony pictures just doesn't have the "magic" of Disney/Pixar...... although it was still pretty funny at times..... 3/5 I'd say..... but I'd also say that I'm glad my son doesn't ask for it..... (he's on a Meet-The-Robinsons, and "Cars" kick right now....... I thought the endless viewings of "Monster's Inc." were going to continue forever!)

where am I going with this post??? yikes........ carry on!

Spaceballs, Transformers 2 (what a disappointment except for the last 30 or 40 minutes), episodes 1-3 of Firefly.

For a second I thought you were disappointed in Spaceballs........and I was really going to question your character. After re-reading it I know you mean Transformers and I now understand completely. Except I was disappointed more than the last 30-40 minutes. I will admit that it does get better the more times you watch it, don't know why that is, numbing, boredom, apathy, something, but it does get better.

Regards,

RTROSE

Paranormal Activity (BD) 3.5/5 - Like other movies in this genre (Blair Witch, Cloverfield) I completely understand why this movie was so polarizing. If you "buy into" the concept it can be extrememly creepy and suspenseful, but if you're looking for a hollywood slasher/gore-fest or you're watching the movie on a 26" screen, you'll most-likely be disappointed.
Thankfully, I was sucked right in early into the movie. My wife thought that the acting was horrible, but I felt that the two leads did a great job capturing actions of a young couple playing around with a video camera. When the couple began experiencing the paranormal events, I was right along for the ride.
That being said, this is definately a one-and-done type of movie for me. There is zero rewatchability - the fun of this movie is in the suspense and unknown.

For a second I thought you were disappointed in Spaceballs........and I was really going to question your character. After re-reading it I know you mean Transformers and I now understand completely. Except I was disappointed more than the last 30-40 minutes. I will admit that it does get better the more times you watch it, don't know why that is, numbing, boredom, apathy, something, but it does get better.

Regards,

RTROSE

LOL :)

The action at the end of Transformers2 was for me the best part of the movie. The rest of it was annoying. I wanted to tell the humans and robots alike to just STFU. They sure went for crude on this one.

Streamed "Trailer Park Boys" from Netflix....... 4/5 HELLAIREYOUS...........

It's not the fact that it's full of foul language (because it is) but the humor in it is just so snarky and sarcastic....

I'm really glad I stumbled onto this one, and I plan on buying all 7 seasons (since I found out it was a show) on DVD from Best-Buy in Canada.......

Last night I watched Terminator: Salvation. 4/5 stars. I was a little surprised by the movie. I don't recall seeing much good or bad on this one compared to movies like Transformers 2. I thought the audio was spectacular! My living room setup doesn't allow for great placement of surrounds, but I heard plenty in this movie. I was surprised at the storyline as well. I thought this was going to be all about John Connor. Luckily they worked in some other characters and made it really interesting. This is a movie I will definitely watch again.

Watched Gamer (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002SG7Z8Y)
2.5/5
I don't know, just didn't seem all that interesting.

Watched The Hurt Locker last night. Excellent movie. I thought this movie was very well done. Will make you think about all the "stuff" our men and women in uniform go through to keep us safe here at home. This one is definitely worth a watch for sure. 4/5.

Regards,

RTROSE

Wednesday: Romper Stomper w/Russell Crowe. A very gripping and twisted portrayal of neo-nazi's in austrailia in the 1990's. Seems very realistic it was sick at times but movies can be. I have seen it before, and enjoy it w/good acting and excellent ambiance. Suggested purchase (or rental) but not for the easily offended

Watched Zombieland (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002WY65W4)
3.5/5
But don't let the low score fool you -- this movie was fun (not scarry).
It doesn't have the depth, polish and breadth of a literary work -- but it's not supposed to, and I'd say it's easily one of the better Zombie movies on a par with Shaun Of The Dead.

I almost forgot to mention: there's a fairly nice Home Theatre in this film!

Total Spoiler: 32 rules of Zombieland (http://www.horror-movies.ca/horror_16631.html)

Watched Howard The Duck 1986 (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001MWUWU8)
You've seen it. You don't need me telling you about it.
Perhaps one of the most talked-about movies of all time.

Watched Howard The Duck 1986 (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001MWUWU8)
You've seen it. You don't need me telling you about it.
Perhaps one of the most talked-about movies of all time.

Yes your right....great movie and was there not a hit sound track that went with that movie? Thanks for the jog down memory lane.

Regards,

RTROSE

Watched Pandorum
3/5
One of the better Sci-Fi/Space films of recent memory, although Im not sure Dennis Quaid was the right choice for his charactor.. worthy of adding to the collection IMHO

Brad

Watched Phase IV (1974) (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1606730266)
3/5
I only knocked it down to 3 because it's a b-movie production quality -- it's hard science fiction, and a good if sedately paced story. The amazon.com rating of 4.5 isn't unreasonable for fans.
Why on earth I watched this before going to bed is beyond me. I spent a lot of time scratching my shoulders, hair, feet, arms (ants on my body? Just checking!).
I'm going to have to watch something light and airy like Saw VI to get any sleep.
For those of you who haven't seen this thing, due to a cosmological influence, the various species of ants become extremely intelligent, and a 'battle of wits' between two well prepared scientists and the ants ensues -- what will happen, becomes who will win. Phase IV is a terrifying glimpse at nature run amok, with amazing ant footage that makes my skin crawl.

Watched The Hurt Locker last night. Excellent movie.

Good to hear..... it's sitting on the table right now..... gonna probably watch it tonight....

Last night the wife and I watched "Lymelife" on Blu-ray.

4.5/5 Reviews likened it to "American Beauty" and it has the same feel...... not as good, but still a great film.... My wife preferred it to American Beauty however....

Big movie watching weekend.

FLYBOYS IMHO an under rated and under appreciated movie of pilots flying from France against the Germans during WWI. Worth a rent for sure. 3.75/5

Catch Me if You Can Based on a true story of a "paper hanger" out running and for a while out smarting the FBI. DiCaprio playing opposite of Tom Hanks. I love Hanks character. He portrays how I would guess a FBI agent form the 60's would carry himself. Very well done and entertaining. 4/5

We are Marshall Another film based on a true story. A very good movie with a good message. I did find it a little slow in the middle, but finished strong but it was predictable, still enjoyable though. 3.5/5

Friday Night Lights I thought I would like this movie and I still have some mixed feelings about it but I did like it. Not your typical "feel good sports movie" but it does send a message that the good guys don't always win, but it is your heart and attitude that is what is important at the end of the day. 3/5

Ghost Busters A classic...need I say more???? I had not watched this film for a very long time and there were parts I had forgotten. Watching this film reminds me how far special effects have come. A classic does not need a rating. Classic Murray, Aykroyd.

Regards,

RTROSE

9 on BR....as others have said, good visuals, good sound with tons of LFE but the story was lacking. Had some new people over who had not seen the setup and i found myself wishing I had chosen something else to show it off. Oh well. 2/5 or if I was feeling generous...4/10

Also watched the second half of the Saints game. And i am reminded again how great football in HD on a big screen looks.

Couldn't agree more with RT's comments about FLYBOYS - IMO this movie does not get he credit it deserves!

Our youngest was away for a sleepover so we watched a couple of Moody Blues concerts (on DVD) followed by "The Hangover" (BR) - crude at times but a VERY funny movie for the adults.

Our youngest was away for a sleepover so we watched a couple of Moody Blues concerts (on DVD)

That might explain the funny aroma and smoke emanating from your house this weekend, Craig. :cool:

Wife's choice was Twilight. Meh. Teen angst with a stone faced female lead. Kristen Stewart didn't look any different than she did in Zathura, but at least in Zathura she was frozen most of the movie so that explained the stone face.

Son's choice was Monsters vs Aliens. Certainly not at the same level as Nemo, Incredibles, and Cars but a thoroughly enjoyable movie nonetheless. Lots of LOL moments sprinkled with the usual zingers aimed at adults. Other than Seth Rogan playing Bob, I didn't know who voiced the rest of the characters. I was surprised to find out that Gallaxhar was Rainn Wilson...I thought for sure it was Malcom McDowell. Will definitely watch again.

Fell asleep during Ant Bully for family movie night Friday. Can't really give it a rating, but don't plan on watching it again. ;)

That might explain the funny aroma and smoke emanating from your house this weekend, Craig. :cool:

:o

Friday night girl's choice: The House of Mirth. Great acting, but a glacially paced, depressing movie. Not recommended.

Saturday night: MI:2 - the weakest of the 3 by my reckoning.

I also slipped The Incredible Hulk in, watched in pieces. Just OK.

Oh, and the pilot of Caprica - looks like it will be very interesting.

Randy

Finally got back into watching some movies again after spending way too much timing gaming..:o

Friday - 500 Days of Summer - 4 out of 5 from me. I am a big fan of Zooey Deschanel and I enjoy just about anything she is in. Thought the movie was well worth the time to watch it.

Saturday - The Proposal - 4 out of 5. Had fun watching this and really thought Ryan Reynolds was cast well in this. He is fun to watch and the matching with Sandra Bullock was great. Could have been better somehow, just not sure what I thought was missing, but something was..

Last night - Gran Torino - 4.5 out of 5. Finally got around to watching this one after having it unopened on my shelf for months. Great movie. Others have said everything needed about this one, so I will just say I agree. This one will get another viewing from me in the near future. Really liked it..

Watched The Delta Force (1986) (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0792846850)
3/5
This is the one where a plane is hijacked to the Middle East by Palestinian terrorists, and the delta force is sent to rescue the hostages. Based loosly on TWA Flight 847.
For some reason I thought this was the 1982 film MegaForce (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megaforce) which might have been fun too, and both films have missles fired from motorcycles and they use dune buggies as assault vehicles, nonetheless without a doubt The Delta Force with Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin (his last film) is the better of the two.

Watched the Blu-Ray of Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds live from Radio City Music Hall. I'm impressed with the video of the Blu-Ray but the sound is what makes this incredible. Not to mention the talents of these two musicians. The audio on this is lossless 5.1 24-bit/96kHz Dolby TrueHD so set back and enjoy the show. 5/5

Watched Saw VI (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00275EHGE)
3/5
I thought it was better than Saw V.
Video and gore are well-done-evil. The targets/victims are politically current, but this time round I don't know if anyone learns anything (which was a major theme in Saw 1).
BTW, like Young Sherlock Holmes (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001LMU1L4) the film is not over until 2 minutes after the credits finish.

Top three movies ever to watch in home theatre are: TRANSFORMERS, 300, and GLADIATOR. And this is coming from a girl... ;)

Watched the Blu-Ray of Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds live from Radio City Music Hall. I'm impressed with the video of the Blu-Ray but the sound is what makes this incredible. Not to mention the talents of these two musicians. The audio on this is lossless 5.1 24-bit/96kHz Dolby TrueHD so set back and enjoy the show. 5/5

Agreed, I've been wearing this disc out! It's got to be one of the top few audio experiences I've ever had.

Top three movies ever to watch in home theatre are: TRANSFORMERS, 300, and GLADIATOR. And this is coming from a girl... ;)

I think you mean "2001, The Godfather, and Spartacus" ;)



I watched "The Hurt Locker" on Blu-ray the other night..... A lot better than I expected, I'd give it a solid 3.75/5 The audio was a highlight for me. Glad the message wasn't what I feared it may be.....

I also watched "Moscow On The Hudson" on DVD..... parts are hysterical, other parts kinda drag a little...... has some cheesy acting, but good over-all 3/5


Watched "World's Greatest Dad" with Robin Williams..... very dark comedy, and like the previous Robin Williams flick, I would say this one had a great 1st half, then fell off..... another 3/5

OK I'll play. The latest two:
The Hurt Locker 4/5 The acting is excellent and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. BD PQ and AQ are great. One caveat for those who might have served; they take huge liberties with military methods and protocol. If you're a stickler for reality, this might be really annoying.

Inglorious Basterds 1.5/5 Before watching this, I'd never seen a Quentin Tarantino movie all the way through. I now wish I could still claim that. This film is hugely insulting to the memory of both the Jews who died at the hands of the Third Reich and the brave women and men who fought the Third Reich. Read this, it says it better than I can: [Edit] I don't have enough posts to allow a link. Google Liel Leibovitz or "Inglorious Indeed"

Watched The Uninvited at the parents house. Had it figured out within the first 20 minutes...not much suspense and the scares were not that great. 2.5/5 at the most.

While waiting for my house to dry out I managed to get one movie watched.

Surrogates - This movie really had a lot of potential and a interesting concept of where we are possible heading as a society. However this movie IMO fell flat. Not horrible but not stellar either. 2.5/5

Regards,

RTROSE

Terminator Salvation courtesy of a free CinemaNow download.

Not too shabby. Good thrills, some interesting twists, and more than a few scenes mirrored previous installments. I'm not ranking it above, or on par with, the previous two Terminators, but a good ride nonetheless.

I had ditched CinemaNow a while back since it wasn't streaming, and requires a (sometimes) lengthy wait for enough of it to queue up to begin viewing. However I've not found Netflix streaming quality to my liking. Frankly it usually sucks. CN isn't DVD quality mind you, but it's not so far away as to be overly annoying. The free download has spurred me to revisit it.

Watched McCloud (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005JNHU)
In the opening credits they had a fly over New York City and I thought, hey that looks like the first ten floors of the World Trade Center being built. Low and behold both were made in 1970 (McCloud, World Trade Center).
I've seen several of these movies, but I don't think I'd ever seen the pilot before.
"There ya go!"

Bourne Identity was on cable last night, but rather than watch commercials I decided to fire up the HTPC and watch it from there. It has been a while since I watched it last but I thoroughly enjoyed it. 4/5 stars. There is a lot of material in the surround channels and several scenes had me jump a little. Thinking I might watch the other two tonight!

Watched McCloud (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005JNHU)
In the opening credits they had a fly over New York City and I thought, hey that looks like the first ten floors of the World Trade Center being built. Low and behold both were made in 1970 (McCloud, World Trade Center).
I've seen several of these movies, but I don't think I'd ever seen the pilot before.
"There ya go!"

If you enjoyed McCloud (I did as a kid), then you'll also like the movie that it was based on Coogan's Bluff (http://www.amazon.com/Coogans-Bluff/dp/B0001FVDJQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1264868517&sr=1-1).

Randy

Last night we finished up on the MI movies with Mission Impossible III.

I had to smile to note the set pieces Abrams reused in Star Trek - showing up for the dawn flight on a motorcycle and a frantic parachute jump.

Randy

Terminator Salvation courtesy of a free CinemaNow download.

Not too shabby. Good thrills, some interesting twists, and more than a few scenes mirrored previous installments. I'm not ranking it above, or on par with, the previous two Terminators, but a good ride nonetheless.

I watched this as well yesterday on BR. I had it from Netflix for about 3 weeks now. I went in with medium/low expectations due to some peer reviews, but I really enjoyed it. It was MUCH better then T3.

I think that previously I had only watched one of the Terminator movies, and that was long ago, and just a "so-so" experience.

Watched Salvation on BR, and was pleasantly surprised, much better than I expected. For me; not good enough to buy, but IMO it is a good rental. And comes with a bonus >> some very impressive LFE. Had to get up and turn down my butt kicker amp.

I watched this as well yesterday on BR. I had it from Netflix for about 3 weeks now. I went in with medium/low expectations due to some peer reviews, but I really enjoyed it. It was MUCH better then T3.

LOL, I completely forgot about T3 when I was writing up my review. Tells you what I thought of THAT one. My comment about the previous two referenced Terminator and T2

If you enjoyed McCloud (I did as a kid), then you'll also like the movie that it was based on Coogan's Bluff.Yes, I have that one too.

Watched Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977) (http://www.amazon.com/Twilights-Last-Gleaming-Robert-Aldrich/dp/B000YKQWFI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1265104419&sr=8-1)
4/5
Classic.
A renegade USAF general, Lawrence Dell, escapes from a military prison and takes over an ICBM silo near Montana and threatens to provoke World War 3 unless the President reveals details of a secret meeting held just after the start of the Vietnam War between Dell and the then President's most trusted advisors.

OK I'll play. The latest two:
The Hurt Locker 4/5 The acting is excellent and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. BD PQ and AQ are great. One caveat for those who might have served; they take huge liberties with military methods and protocol. If you're a stickler for reality, this might be really annoying.

Inglorious Basterds 1.5/5 Before watching this, I'd never seen a Quentin Tarantino movie all the way through. I now wish I could still claim that. This film is hugely insulting to the memory of both the Jews who died at the hands of the Third Reich and the brave women and men who fought the Third Reich. Read this, it says it better than I can: [Edit] I don't have enough posts to allow a link. Google Liel Leibovitz or "Inglorious Indeed"

Hmmm I thought Hurt Locker was pretty good also..... but for your assessment of "inglorious Basterds" I will have to "wait and see" because I have it on the Netflix Queue.... I guess I'm not easily offended, (see my recently viewed :D ) so I may be able to see the entertainment through the haze of innappropriate portrayals.....

Yes, I have that one too.

Watched Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977) (http://www.amazon.com/Twilights-Last-Gleaming-Robert-Aldrich/dp/B000YKQWFI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1265104419&sr=8-1)
4/5
Classic.
A renegade USAF general, Lawrence Dell, escapes from a military prison and takes over an ICBM silo near Montana and threatens to provoke World War 3 unless the President reveals details of a secret meeting held just after the start of the Vietnam War between Dell and the then President's most trusted advisors.


That sounds like it's right up my alley...... gonna add that one to the queue right now.... can't believe I haven't seen it actually..... errr.... can't find it on Netflix :(


O.K.

Lots of catching up.....

Got a "care package" from Amazon, so I watched the following Blu-rays in a four day span :eek:

A Christmas Tale:

A little slow, but it has it's moments of fantastic dialogue..... the cinematography is great, but I think I need to give it further viewings before locking in a rating, but I'll give it a probationary "3.5/5"

CHE:

Well, I was told the 2nd half was a bore.... this wasn't the case AT ALL.... Highly entertaining..... I guess if you like historical accounts, then you'd like this...... on the other hand, I was told it was a fairly accurate portrayal of this ANIMAL, and I didn't think it painted him nearly as heinous as he was..... 4/5 still very good!

8 1/2:

I love Fellini, you love him or hate him apparently... 4.5/5 I enjoy this film more than La Dolce Vita..... so that's my highest praise for this one!


Rolling Stones, Gimme Shelter:

I'm not a huge fan of the Rolling Stones, but found this amazingly entertaining..... liking their music helps a lot, so I can only imagine if you are a "big fan" this one would be a must see 3.5/5

Paris, Texas:

Again.... I'm a big fan of Wim Wenders, and this film is probably his finest work..... It's THE BEST film that showcases the "midwest" and seeing it again prompted me to watch another "Midwest" movie (listed later)
This is just a great film all around, and a must see character study.... 5/5


Gomorrah:

Several short stories pieced together to form an Italian "mafia" film.... well executed.... good pacing, and violence sprinkled throughout.... 4/5


The other "Midwest" movie I watched was David Byrne's "True Stories" Front man of The Talking Heads quirky comedy/introspective/musical.... heck... it's just funny..... Never saw it before, and I loved it.... Jon Goodman's role in it was hysterical to say the least..... 4.5/5


I have a friend flying into town to stay with us for a week....... so I'll probably be showing a lot of new popcorn flicks, and summer blockbusters, so hopefully Netflix ships "inglorious" by then..... and I think I'll buy the new "Star Trek" which was a big hit with the wife when we watched it.


That's the updates! Happy Viewing!

Last night I watched Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - 3.5/5 stars. Overall I thought the movie was very good, on par with some of the others. Early on in the movie something about the set and lighting looked really fake, but after that I was hooked on the plot. Some of the stunts and effects were a little over the top IMO, but otherwise I enjoyed it. The audio was good, although I had to turn it up much louder than other films.

BTW I loved the THX intro for this movie!

Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)
...
That sounds like it's right up my alley...... gonna add that one to the queue .... can't believe I haven't seen it actually..... errr.... can't find it on Netflix
As I recall, the DVD I got from Amazon, actually comes from South America. The primary language on the DVD is Portuguese. The title on the case is "O Ultimo Briliio No Crepuscul".
Since you haven't seen it, I'll mention that it's probably a better film if you're born pre 1967, since you'll have lived through a decade of Vietnam stuff. Even still, there's a lot of interesting strategy in this, which I won't spoil with spoilers. :)
If you google for it, you'll find conspiracy therorists who suggest that it's being suppressed by the current american government!

maybe I will just blind buy it......... I love the historical/political/war stuff.


I watched "District 9" on BD with the very understanding wife last night :D

3/5 I don't think I could watch it repeatedly, but it was a "fun" movie......very different take on Aliens.... it reminded me of "Starship Troopers" but obviously it was a completely different movie.

Watched Zombieland BD last night. Lots of fun, shooting and beating of zombies. 3.5/5 Maybe 4/5 depending on your mood and appreciation of this type of film. Video quality was good and the audio was decent. Not scary but there is a little bit of suspense.

Watched the invention of Lying BD on Tuesday. Good idea for a film, lots of humerous dialogue. Video and audio is acceptable not really an issue with this type of movie. 3/5

Does anyone remember a movie from the 1970s, sort of a spy chase with the hero/main-character being one fellow trying to avoid being caught, that every 20 minutes the action stops and there's a couple more lines of a poem, where the poem reflects the story?
I had thought it was Alistair MaClean's "The Satan Bug", but I just watched that and nope that's not it.

Zombieland (BR) 3/5

Watched: Return of the Swamp Thing (1989)
1/5
Heather Locklear was prettier than I remember.
The only way it's possible to watch this film, and the only reason it didn't get a 0/5, is to realize that the director is deliberately trying to make a bad b-movie and then somehow to appreciate how badly it was done.

Watched: Gathering of Eagles (1963)
3.8/5

A little bit of trivia.
General Curtis LeMay USAF (former head of the Strategic Air Command and serving at the time as Air Force Chief of Staff) used his considerable influence to allow Producer Sy Bartlett and Director Delbert Mann unprecedented access to various SAC facilities, in the belief that this film would play a vital role in reminding Americans that the Air Force did indeed have its weapons of mass destruction under tight control in sharp contrast to the impressions that the books/movies Dr. Strangelove and Fail-Safe gave. The film was made at Beale Air Force Base, California, using the facilities, aircraft, Titan I missile sites, and personnel of the 456th Strategic Aerospace Wing.



Watched: Ice Station Zebra (1968)
4/5
Another Rock Hudson movie.
More trivia. Because his TV series The Prisoner was in production during principal photography in Ice Station Zebra, Patrick McGoohan had the episode "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling" re-written to have the mind of his character Number Six transferred into the body of another character.

Watched The Informant! (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001PR0YGC)
1.5/5
Blech.
The trailers made it look like it would be funny. It wasn't. Mostly pointless.
At the end, my instinct was to throw the dvd as far as I could, rather than shelving it for future repeat watching.
Some of the colour on the golf course was nice.

I've actually watched quite a few movies here lately.

Gran Torino - Very good movie, and I really thought this was a pretty good movie. Not the happiest of endings, but then again not EVERYTHING can end happily. Clint Eastwood was IMO very good in this movie. 3.5/5

Zombieland - I typically not a horror flick kind of guy, but then again this really doesn't classify as a horror flick so I was actually pretty well entertained and there are several laugh out loud moments with Woody Harrelson. I really liked his character. SNOWBALLS????? 3/5

Swordfish - Had not heard much about this one. I liked this one too. Had a couple of interesting moments and liked the ending. 3/5

Fun with Dick and Jane - The newer one (2005). I really like this one too. Very enjoyable movie that you can just sit there and be (pretty much) mindlessly entertained. 3.5/5

I Spy - Very good movie with a couple of good one liners. Enjoyed both Eddie Murphy's and Owen Wilson's characters and again was easily mindlessly entertained. 3/5

Obviously I have not watched as many movies as BasementBob, but I'm close on his heels! 8-)

Regards,

RTROSE

Ok,

BasementBob just enlightened me and I am NOWHERE close to watching as many movies as he has! But, there is no time like right now to start catching up.

Regards,

RTROSE

I watched (by myself) tonight: Paranormal Activity

As a horror fan, I found this movie uninspiring, looking over at the player to see how far into the 1h 26m the film had progressed. It felt like an eternity. No surprise "scares" as the sound gave a warning before it happened every time.

While I liked that it didn't have shaky cam the whole movie, you could tell a professional filmed it by looking at the framing in scenes. Intentionally good, intentionally bad.

Probably not worth another watch.

In an attempt to find something the wife might like, we rented The invention of lying and both had a hard time staying awake through it. Decent concept for a movie but it felt very bland. 1/5

Watched: Black Dynamite 2009 (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002BWP3WA)
3/5 (amazon.com rating 5/5)
I had no idea what to expect about this one, but actually it was a lot of fun. With tongue-firmly-in-cheek the director pulled off a really good 1970's b-movie. The humor and action are both over the top and at the same time it fits.


Watched: Temple Grandin (http://store.hbo.com/detail.php?p=257628) (on HBO television)
3/5
Quite interesting. She's autistic, thinks/connects in images, and has a bunch of good observations that lead to good ideas in cattle management.

"9" last night....quite interesting visually, but in the end, the story just didn't develop for me.

Elton John's 60th at Madison Square Garden- One of the top5 concerts I've seen.

The Transporter 2- Half the movie the first one was, but still entertaining. Is the third any better?

I've been busy working on my shed so haven't had much time to watch any movies, but did manage to qqeeze a couple in last week.

Friday night was family movie night and we watched Cloudy, With a Chance of Meatballs - 3.5/5. Clever and funny, but still not up to par with the Pixar stuff. I'd watch it again (and I'm sure my daughter will make me ;)).

Saturday night my wife and I watched Yes Man - 3.5/5. Jim Carrey was good and I was laughing my tail off. Not quite as "out there" as some of his earlier stuff, which is a good thing. This was a more serious comedy and we enjoyed it.

Watched: Temple Grandin (http://store.hbo.com/detail.php?p=257628) (on HBO television)
3/5
Quite interesting. She's autistic, thinks/connects in images, and has a bunch of good observations that lead to good ideas in cattle management.

We liked this one - I suspect that Clair Danes will win awards for this performance.

Saturday night, wife's pick. We watched "Marley and Me." I think I'd seen most of it on a couple of plane trips.

Randy

Saturday night my wife and I watched Yes Man - 3.5/5. Jim Carrey was good and I was laughing my tail off. Not quite as "out there" as some of his earlier stuff, which is a good thing. This was a more serious comedy and we enjoyed it.

I too really liked Yes Man, in fact I think I gave it the same rating you did.

Watched Yes Man with Jim Carrey. I was actually surprised by this film...pleasantly so. I was just expecting stupid humor and typical Jim Carrey (which is not all bad, I typically like his stuff) but this film had a lot more substance than I thought it would. 3.5/5 Worth a rent IMHO.

I did give it the same rating you did! Great minds and all!

The wife and I (at her request) rented off of Dish pay per view The Time Travelers Wife.. A chick flick for sure. Meh. I usually can find something redeeming out of most chick flicks but this one just did not do much for me. A little strange and choppy (IMO) in its presentation and execution. I did manage to stay awake though. 2/5

Regards,

RTROSE

Five minutes of action from Alluda Majaka (1995)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K9AxO5t4BE

I too really liked Yes Man, in fact I think I gave it the same rating you did.



I did give it the same rating you did! Great minds and all!

The wife and I (at her request) rented off of Dish pay per view The Time Travelers Wife.. A chick flick for sure. Meh. I usually can find something redeeming out of most chick flicks but this one just did not do much for me. A little strange and choppy (IMO) in its presentation and execution. I did manage to stay awake though. 2/5

Regards,

RTROSE

We seem to have similar taste in movies! I guess that means I shouldn't get The Time Travelers Wife for us to watch then! :p

Couples Retreat- watched last night, much better then the commercial let on. 3.4/5 (extra points for use of projectors in the movie for the Guitar Hero scene).

OK; Now that I see confessions of Chick Flicks, I'll chime in:

With it being Valentines weekend; my sensitive side came out and we watched 2 Chick Flicks:

All About Steve;
Sandra Bullock is the star - so this was NOT painful too watch, actually rather funny. 3.0/5.0

Julia and Julie:
I did NOT have high expectations, but this one did have some comedy, and a bit of history as a bonus
2.5/5.0

I picked up the Michael Jackson Tribute This is It based on the recommendation of a co-worker and thinking that the wife would really like it. Well I lost the wife about 45 minutes in, I don't think she was all that impressed :rolleyes:. I actually would not consider myself a big MJ fan, but I thought the Tribute was actually pretty good and better than what I was expecting. MJ is a polarizing figure for sure and love him or hate him I think the film is worth a watch. 3.0/5. What I watched was DVD and the audio was pretty good, so I imagine the BR audio would be great. Pleasantly surprised.

Regards,

RTROSE

"The Hangover" I must be getting old, cuz I was actually offended by some of the smut. Had a few genuinely funny moments, but the rest was cheap thrills.

I have a few movies in the unwatched pile, but I elected to go with an old one I really enjoy.
Watched Tank (1984) (http://www.amazon.com/dp/630513720X)
4/5
This enjoyable nonsense stars James Garner as a career military man (and private owner of a Sherman tank) who ends up on the wrong side of a redneck sheriff (G.D. Spradlin) by interfering in a bullying deputy's treatment of a prostitute. The corrupt lawman gets his revenge by arresting Garner's teenage son (C. Thomas Howell) on a phony drug charge and locking him away on a brutal prison farm. After taking some lumps there, the poor kid's dad decides to haul out his prized tank and do a little rearranging of the terrain while on a flight to justice.

"Dan in Real Life" This one slipped by us back in 07 when the kiddos were taking all our attention. We enjoyed it as much as anything we've watched in the last several years! Great movie!

With the kid skiing in NH with his cousins, and my wife in CT visiting her dad, I decided it was the right time to experiment with some movies.


Donnie Darko (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246578/): 8/10 (maybe higher later) - "Holy cr@p, what did I just witness?" I happened to DVR DD off cable a couple weeks back. I had heard of it and its cult status, but didn't know anything about it (and resisted researching it) so I took a chance. After seeing the broadcast version (theatrical release heavily edited) I was left so intrigued that I had to hunt down the DVD. Thanks to the local library, I was able to get the Director's Cut version.

I'm not going to get into discussing the merits of which version is better, but I was pleased I had see the theatrical release first (which leaves you to think and wonder), and then the Director's Cut.
Most definitely not your typical Friday night movie. What it's not: it's not a slasher flick, a chick flick, an action flick or mindless drivel. What it is: thought provoking, dark, thought provoking (yes, I said that twice) and more than a bit of a brain scrambler.
I can see that this movie is going to require many more viewings in order to appreciate its depth, and to pick up on all the subtle clues sprinkled throughout.

Highly, highly recommend, but be in the mood for it.
After such heady fare, I felt the need to switch gears. While picking up DD from the 'brary, I happen to glance off to the side of the rows of DVD and caught site of another cult favorite I had yet to see:



Killer Klowns from Outer Space (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095444/): For everything Donnie Darko is, KKOS is the the polar opposite. Not a brain scrambler but a mind number. An excellent b-movie scifi flick with about as much nutritive value as the copious amounts of cotton candy that are flung about during its run. Cheesey, schlocky and eye rolling. A definite child of the 80s :D Watching this after DD, I felt like my brain was being pulled out through my nose.

If you take it for what it is, and what it's supposed to be then I rate it a 7.5/10

If you don't...well, then there's no number low enough :rolleyes:

Last night while my wife and daughter were watching ice skating, I watched, "Glengarry, Glen Ross". Still stunningly good. Almost 20 years old now.

Randy

Watched Men In Black on BD. 3.75/5. First BD movie I have seen. (Just updated to theater to a JVC DLA-RS10U and Oppo BDP-80.) While watching I realized that I had never seen the entire movie before. It is one of those films to have the the shelf to watch when friends are over and you don't know what you want to watch.

Watched Men In Black on BD. 3.75/5. First BD movie I have seen. (Just updated to theater to a JVC DLA-RS10U and Oppo BDP-80.) While watching I realized that I had never seen the entire movie before. It is one of those films to have the the shelf to watch when friends are over and you don't know what you want to watch.

Good movie, but not the top Blu-ray transfer. You'll be much more impressed with picture quality of other Blu-ray movies. If you like Will Smith, I, Robot is a very good transfer, and good movie, too.

Watched Couples Retreat:

2.5/5.0
Was expecting a funnier movie, it had it's moments. But when finished the wife says to me: Sure glad we didn't spend money at the the theaters for this one..

Watched 2012 (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001OQCV2O)
3/5
Amazing CGI. Irwin Allen would be proud. If you know anything about Roland Emmerich, you know that he likes his CGI... and lots of it, and consistantly at the expense of believability and good storytelling sense.
The catastrophic special effects are absolutely amazing. I was either laughing or exclaiming with surprise at the disasters the whole way through this movie. I wasn't expecting it to be a comedy from 47 minutes to 60 minutes.
An hour and a half in I checked to see how long until it ended -- too long.
Neutrinos that heat up the earths core? The writer should be beaten to death with a physics book.
I did finally get lost in the movie (good thing, when I'm not aware of my couch) around 100 minutes in for about 15 minutes.
"Nature will choose by itself, for itself, what will survive."
Extremely predictable both in content and timing.
Did I mention the CGI?

[edit: There's an alternate ending]

My son killed my laptop with a cup of juice...... so I've been without one for 2 weeks.... but here are the films I can recall watching, that I don't 'believe' I've mentioned yet.....

Che BD Film was excellently done, it was the first time I had seen it, and found it really good, but Che was portrayed a little too positively for my liking. 4/5

Gomorrah BD I loved this film, and if you like "Mafia" style movies, then this one is a must-see. The character development and cinematography are what sets this apart from the usual Hollywood fare.... 4.5/5

Beer Wars Streamed this from netflix.... I enjoy good craft beers, so this was a documentary that I really enjoyed. Your level of enjoyment would be dependent on your interest in the subject matter I guess.....

Also streamed some documentary about Macintosh (while mine lay there dead :( ) and found it pretty good..... same as above.... if you like documentaries about computer companies, this one is good ;)

Wise Guys DVD

Pulled on oldie from my collection.... haven't seen it in awhile, and it wasn't as "fun" as I remembered it being..... but still good for a laugh here and there 2.5/5

Indiana Jones ...Crystal Skull BD

ZERO POINT ZERO

When you have to crowbar in "age" jokes, and awkward references to prequels (the ones that were GOOD!) to keep the audience's interest (unsuccessfully in this case) then you know you've made a movie you shouldn't have attempted.......

Reminds me of Rocky Balboa..... Show two large turtles, and they're "Cuff and Link" we get it.... time passed..... we remember them from the first movie..... throw in a clip of Burgess Meredith from the first movie, but add some soft-focus.... and you've got gold..... right?????

Back on topic.... Indy the Crystal dumpage..... I will give it a 1/5


Howard the Duck DVD

I know... I know... I trash Indy, and then watch Howard the Duck.... here's my take.... Tim Robbins was actually pretty good in this (his character was funny/eccentric :shrug: ) and I thought I would introduce my son to this (he's only 2, but it's only a PG rating... so it gives me an excuse to watch it again :D )

so I enjoy it for what it is..... for a movie where everyone either loves, or hates, I give it a 2.5/5

Film Geek Streamed/Netflix

Almost forgot this one!!! Streamed this, and thought it was HYSTERICAL.... it's a mockumentary about a 'Film Geek' and I for one (not a self proclaimed film-geek, or even that knowledgeable) found the references very spot on...... it's a funny film, and if you enjoy and defend Cassevettes, Lynch, Goddard, etc.... this one will hit pretty close to home!

3.5/5


9 BD

Tim Burton doesn't do it for me..... yet I continually see films he puts out, and say "Oh it's Tim Burton.... I need to see that" 9 was no exception. I guess I just couldn't get into the story of it at all..... I sometimes wonder who Burton's target audience is, because my kids can't watch this one, and my wife and I wondered who it was geared to the whole time..... VERY DARK, but watered down violence/language/action at the same time....

either way, 2/5 for being an original idea I guess..... it just didn't keep my interest.

Watched Operation Crossbow (1965) (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005JP3T)
3.5/5
Really good sets.
I'd never heard of this film until a few weeks ago. I'm glad I got it.
It's perhaps more of a technical piece than a character development story, although it has a plot.

Operation Crossbow was one among many '60s films aiming, in the wake of The Guns of Navarone, to cash in on nostalgia for "the Good War" of 20 years earlier, plus snag a share of the spy-movie market stoked by James Bond. A decent-enough stiff-upper-lip thriller in its day, it's yet more enjoyable now. The nostalgia has deepened to include affectionate enjoyment of a fine, big cast now mostly departed, dependably hitting their marks in a jolly good yarn.

The tale begins around the midpoint of the war, with Hitler aspiring to hurl a second Blitz against London using "flying bombs" and rockets. The British War Office starts recruiting officers fluent in the necessary technical fields, as well as German, Dutch, and/or French--the languages of the Nazi-occupied countries from which the Germans are recruiting technical personnel. The screenplay follows two tracks: the Germans' progress with their new aerial weaponry, and the progress of the Allied infiltrators--chiefly Yank George Peppard, chirpy Englishman Jeremy Kemp, and Dutchman Tom Courtenay--sent to penetrate the V2 project.

Despite the resemblance between the Navarone caves and the underground V2 launch center, Crossbow is something of an anti-Navarone. Its heroes are resolutely small-scale, and the mission is fraught with more opportunities for horrible miscues and moral-ethical murkiness than commando derring-do. The most memorable, indeed disturbing, part of the film involves Sophia Loren as the apolitical wife of a collaborator she doesn't know has been killed (and his identity assumed by Peppard). John Mills and Trevor Howard are deliciously deadpan trading war-council flapdoodle at the highest echelon, and Anthony Quayle (the spiritual leader of the Navarone mission) does yeoman service in a tricky role. Time--or rather, the transfer to video--has also been kind to the film's thin, overlit Metrocolor and last-reel special effects, which looked feebler on theater screens. The writers include Michael Powell's longtime partner Emeric Pressburger (under the pseudonym Richard Imrie). --Richard T. Jameson


Product Description
A fearsome rumor reaches Britain's World War II command. The Nazis are developing rocket technology that could rain death on London and, then, New York. Quickly, England develops a plan to send saboteurs into the sites manufacturing the rockets. Just moments after the carefully chosen commandos parachute into the drop zone, their pilot receives an urgent message. The mission may be compromised. Abort. Operation Crossbow is the partly fact-based tale of how that team succeeded against daunting odds. Michael Anderson (The Dam Busters, Logan's Run) directs, guiding a huge cast in a film that builds to a spectacular finale, yet never neglects war's unsparing personal costs. As a record of a wartime espionage incursion and as an intrigue-filled thriller, Operation Crossbow is on both counts Operation Accomplished.

The opening 30 minutes of this movie is pretty interesting. It reveals the Nazi struggle to launch the V-1 rocket and the British effort to figure out what the Germans are up to. The story of Hanna Reitsch, a top FEMALE Nazi test pilot is a movie in of itself. Her scenes are very good. [test pilot Hann Reitsch's piloting of a Feiseler 103 is correct, though Reitsch and her fellow test pilots were never launched from a Walther ramp. The piloted V-1s were air launched and the heavy attrition rate was not due to the airframe, but due to the test pilot's unfamiliarity in landing the craft at 200 mph. Reitsch, who had test piloted the rocket powered ME-163 Komet had experience in landing at such speeds.]
Sophia Lauren on the other hand is underwelming here.

It's been forever since I replied in this thread, and I've watched a boatload of stuff....

The most recent was National Lampoon's Vacation - I had managed to never see this movie that just about everybody else has it seems. Dated, but pretty funny... a role that Chase was born to play. Well, that and Fletch. Good mindless-comedy flick.

-sc

Last night I watched Surrogates - 3.5/5. Interesting movie, but I felt it was a copy of I-Robot. Hell, even the guy that created the robots was the same guy. Just swap Bruce Willis for Will Smith! I still liked it, I liked I Robot so why not. The nonchalant acting of the surrogates was kind of strange to watch, but otherwise the movie had a good flow overall.

Watched Up Periscope (1959) (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005JN9P)
3/5
audio: mono
video quality: little soft, but pretty good for a dvd
James Garner plays the role of a demolition/diving expert sent on a secret mission in Japanese held territory during WWII. His method of transport to his mission target is a U.S. submarine whose commander is feeling insecure having just returned to port with an injured seaman who dies in hospital. The film has two main plots: one deals with Garner attempting to successfully complete his mission, and the other centres around how far the submarine commander is willing to go to assist Garner in completing his mission, without putting at risk the submarine and its crew. Garner is going in - alone - and unsure whether or not O'Brien is going to wait for him past his deadline.

The acting was fine but I found the storyline fairly routine and this review is from someone who enjoys a good war movie, action or not.

A Serious Man (BD) 4/5 -
What can I say about this film? It's a very interesting story about a Job-like character whose life is crumbling around him. This is the type of film that leaves plenty of unanswered questions (but opens up some great post-movie dialogue about what everything meant) Fair warning: if you like closure in your movies, do not watch this; you'll be very disappointed. If you're a fan of the Coen brothers you'll definately enjoy this, just expect a bit more Barton Fink than Fargo.

District 9 (BD) 3/5 -
Another movie that lends itself to some decent post-movie discussions (xenophobia, etc). I thought the first half was a bit more thought-provoking, while the second half devolved into a typical action movie (Explosions! Guns! Disintegrating bodies!). It was entertaining, but nothing spectacular.
I enjoyed it for what it was, but I never fully connected to the aliens.
We are supposed to believe that they are intelligent enough to create a far superior technology, yet they behave like uncivilized beasts. I had difficulty with these two seemingly opposing traits. I know that there's a quick explaination to this by a claim that this group of aliens were the "workers", however I still had a problem believing that any intelligent race of beings would be so feral.

Watched Armored (2009) (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0021L8UWQ)
3.7/5
Not a bad little action flick.
Nothing spectacular, but entertaining if predictable/cliché.
Certainly something to watch when nothing else is on.
The "you're not going to get away with this no matter what you do" point came a lot earlier than I was expecting.
In some ways I'm surprised this wasn't made in the 1950s.
A crew of guards at an armored transport security firm risk their lives when they embark on the ultimate heist against their own company. Armed with a seemingly fool-proof plan, the men plan on making off with a fortune with harm to none. But when an unexpected witness interferes, the plan quickly unravels and all bets are off.

Watched 2012 last night.

Pretty good movie. Predictable to a fault. Special effects that were first rate, but you need to disconnect the reality meter big time, especially for the flying sequences, ok, actually for pretty much the entire movie, but anyway a good popcorn, disaster flick, with a smattering of morals, religious overtones, and the best and worst of the human range of conditions. 3.5/5
Regards,

RTROSE

Last night we watched, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". Still beautiful and magical.

Randy

This weekend: (couldn't watch much...had to bring work home)
Shawshank Redemption over Netflix on my Roku HD. Never get tired of that movie...still need to add it to my collection...but I can only afford so much.

Recently:
Zombieland - Ripped BD via my HTPC. Love this movie (especially the opening title sequence and the presentation of "the rules").
Star Trek (2009) (to break in my newly setup 5.1 system) - Ripped BD via my HTPC. I've been a trekkie as long as I can remember...and although it has plot holes and doesn't sync up with the rest of Star Trek nice and neatly...it's still an excellent movie.

Whenever I can get a bigger TV I'll be testing it out with some of my other favorites.


We are supposed to believe that they are intelligent enough to create a far superior technology, yet they behave like uncivilized beasts. I had difficulty with these two seemingly opposing traits. I know that there's a quick explaination to this by a claim that this group of aliens were the "workers", however I still had a problem believing that any intelligent race of beings would be so feral.

I think the explanation for that lies more in the difference between classes in society. Different sections of any society will behave differently. Even more so when exposed to conditions like they were living in. It becomes less about their technology and intelligence and more about pure survival.

Rewatched;
Master and Commander, watched it years ago on standard DVD. but this was the first time on BR in the HT. What a difference the new audio codecs make. Even the 2nd time around >> I rate this as a 4.5/5.0

Watched
The invention of lying
Quirky funny, a 3.0/5.0

Watched "The Hangover" on BD (finally) 4.5/5 Wife and I thought it was hilarious.....


Also watched "Seven Pounds" BD

I'm not big on Will Smith, and I think this movie had a good concept..... but think it could have been executed a lot better 2.75/5

Last night we watched, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". Still beautiful and magical.

Randy

Two thumbs up.

Tomorrow I am screening Down and Derby (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0398971/) for my son's Cub Scout Pack. If you don't have a scout, or haven't been a scout, it probably won't do anything for you. If it's the opposite however, and you've participated in Pinewood Derbies, it's a must see. No doubt you'll have run into dads like these...or perhaps are one yourself :D

http://pack24.net/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/downderby_thumb.jpg

Watched The Hurt Locker Tonight on BD...I liked it...4/5

Not sure it was "best picture" worthy...but it was good.

Two thumbs up.
Tomorrow I am screening Down and Derby (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0398971/) for my son's Cub Scout Pack. If you don't have a scout, or haven't been a scout, it probably won't do anything for you. If it's the opposite however, and you've participated in Pinewood Derbies, it's a must see. No doubt you'll have run into dads like these...or perhaps are one yourself :D


Sounds fun...found it on Netflix...no watch instantly but you can get the DVD mailed...got mine on the way (don't use my DVD queue at all, usually watch instantly via my Roku HD).

I think I remember taking first or second in my pinewood derby (bit of a blur at this point)...my dad (an engineer) definitely helped with whatever I won. He wasn't so much ultra-competitive....but he definitely wanted to make it as perfect and as fast as possible.

Haven't been active in like 20 years though...which was the last time I lived in Indianapolis for any length of time. After that we moved around a lot...so I never got back into it. Still have some good memories from those days though. My dad still has my Boy Scout uniform in one of his closets...

"Law Abiding Citizen" This one surprised me! Really enjoyed it. Jamie Fox did not do his usual "magic", but Gerard Butler and the story were strong. Some intense graphic scenes.

Last night the whole family watched "Old Dogs", it was a great family movie!! Good laughs for both the kids and adults. I highly recomend it.

"The Last King of Scotland"- The acting across the entire cast was pretty special. Not a must watch, but not a waste of time either.

Ok,

It is rare when I can actually claim that after watching a movie I can make a "I just don't get it" type of comment, but I had one of those moments last night. The movie was Watchmen.

Could have been a combination of factors, but I could not ever get into the movie and lost interest pretty early on, is there something I'm missing here????? I did stick with it till the end, but was left flat at the end. The character I most enjoyed in this film was Rorschach which surprises me as I am more of a "white hat" hero kind of guy. Obviously the film is dark, I get that, but I guess it just was not for me. 2/5

Regards,

RTROSE

Watched True Romance (BR) the other night. I forgot just how many great actor are in this movie besides the obvious leads. Excellent movie.

4/5 - I also thought it was visually great on BR considering how gritty the original looked.

Luke

The character I most enjoyed in this film was Rorschach

Have you seen the television series Human Target yet? Not a great show, probably won't last, but certainly white-hat-ish, or at least light-grey-hat-ish.
The same actor plays a somewhat similar character, Guerrero. A pretty good investigator, unknown morality, very threatening, no super powers and yet deadly in somewhat strange ways.

Human Target, pilot

When he's threatened by two muscley goons who want to take him out back and beat him, Guerrero replies, "I'll take the beating, because that's all you two amateurs are cleared to do. And then one night soon, I'm going to break into your houses and kill each of you in your sleep. I'll probably start with you, Alfredo. That way Steven here can have a few extra days with Marla and the girls. It's only fair." The goons are understandably worried by the way Guerrero knows their names, and he explains that their employer's records are nearly secure enough, and he's been watching. They leave.

I love Human Target thus far.. the quote you mentioned, Bob, is my favorite in the show thus far..

Watched MacGyver 1985 television show pilot (in box set). Directed by Alan Smithee! 2/5

Watched Hogan's Heroes pilot (in box set). Still fun. 3/5
I guess I can't say "I see nothing! Nothing!"

Watched Dead Snow [bluray] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002VKB0K6) 2.5/5. Nazi zombies. Hitler's gold. Oh, and as Nazi's go, these were bad and greedy nazi's, before they became acursed zombies. It's about on par for a film of this type. Interesting that it was russian with english subtitles.

Watched Capitalism a love story [bluray -- for no particularly good reason] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0030Y11O2) 1.5/5 Michael Moore is back. He said one thing that was interesting: the good times of the 1950's were because America had bombed Europe and Japan into nothing and it took a couple decades 1960s for them to get their industrial infrastructure rebuilt, and then establish a market. A lack of competition is a profitable thing?

Watched Clash of the Titans 1981 [bluray] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000Q7ZOL2). 3/5 I bought this mistakingly believing it was the new one -- but it turns out that's not even in theatres yet.

Finally broke down and watched Transformers Rise of the Fallen WOW, could there have been more sexual innuendos?? The robot humping Fox's leg:eek: Yea, I would too, but not in a movie that my kids are going to watch. Hard to figure out what age this one is geared to. Weak story line as well. Good action/battles and soundtrack. 1.5-2/5.

Thin Red Line Utter boredom followed by O.K. action/war scenes followed by more boredom. Then more O.K. action followed by more boredom and then.........., yes more boring story line. Should have ended an hour earlier than it did, at least. I even fast forwarded through the last hour or so. This one will accompany me to my next skeet shoot:D

The Kingdom Becoming one of my favs. Great action, great story line. Kept me wavering between hating the Saudis or feeling they were with the U.S. Not a Foxx fan but, he was pretty good in this. The final kidnap scene, very intense. 5/5

Nightmare Before Christmas First time seeing this one. Fun story and musical line. Had no idea it was a musical. Soundtrack is great. PQ good as well. The characters were fun to watch. This one is a great family movie that is worth watching over and over. 5/5

Let my wife have a turn tonight....."Confessions of a Shopaholic" Junk, just junk. :(

Alice in Wonderland (IMAX 3D) 3/5 - A decent interpretation of the classic tale, with Burton-esque designs, music, and art direction. I found the 3D to be very well done, and the CGI was top-notch (The March Hare and White Rabbit in particular looked stunning.)
My wife and I did notice that it was extremely difficult to understand portions of the movie - mostly when Depp was speaking. I'm not sure if the sound was bad in the theater, or if it was a combination of Depp's mumbling, nonsense words, and silly accent, but my wife and I were constantly looking at each other with a shrug that said, "What did he just say?"
And one more minor nit to pick - in a movie that can make a walking, talking rabbit almost indistinguishable from the real actors/scenery, why did the Mad Hatter's tooth-gap look like a piece of left-over food wedged between his front teeth? I mean really, millions of dollars spent on special effects and makeup and the gap between the teeth is obviously painted on? I found it horribly distracting.

The Hurt Locker (BD) 4.5/5 - Wow. Just wow. I went into this movie with very limited knowledge about the plot. I expected a typical Hollywood "war movie", but instead I was treated to an amazing, suspenseful, tension-filled film. Everything about this movie was stunning - the acting, the cinematography, the audio (my system got a workout).
This was a "blind buy" for me based solely on recommendations and the recent Oscar win. I'm extremely glad I own it know and I'm happy to have it in my collection.

Watched The Heroes of Telemark (1965) (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000GJ287I)
3/5
Worst video and audio quality on a DVD I've seen in a long time.
Good story though.
And a true story.
Their mission: Stop the Nazis from developing the Atom Bomb.
This is the one where at the end ... but that would be telling.

Speaking of true stories, or as the opening credits said "More of this is true than you would believe."
Watched The Men Who Stare At Goats [bluray] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002VECMAO)
4/5
I loved it.
(Your mileage may vary -- i.e. lots of people HATE this film)
"In this comedic look at real life events that are almost too bizarre to believe, reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) discovers an experimental top-secret wing of the U.S. military called The New Earth Army, trained to change the ways wars are fought through New Age psychic power. In search of his next big story, Wilton tracks down Lyn Cassady (Academy Award winner George Clooney), a shadowy figure who claims to be a member of this legion of “Warrior Monks” with unparalleled psychic powers who can read the enemy’s thoughts, pass through walls, and even kill a goat simply by staring at"
Might be worth watching the three-part TV series broadcast on Channel 4 in Britain, Crazy Rulers of the World. The three parts were titled "The Men Who Stare at Goats", "Funny Torture" and "Psychic Footsoldiers" respectively. The idea of the project was to explore "the apparent madness at the heart of U.S. military intelligence." The series discusses and includes members of Psychological operations, First Earth Battalion, and also discusses Project MKULTRA and Frank Olson.

Watched Next - with Nicholas Cage, Jessica Biel, and Julianne Moore. I have had this movie for quite a while and never watched it. I was very pleasantly surprised. Starts slow but gains momentum and finishes pretty well. Really a sleeper in my book and worth a watch. 3.5/5

Regards,

RTROSE

Freedom Writers- good movie!

Rewatched; The Prestige (this time on BR)
Special effects and LFE; slightly above average.

The story 4.0/5.0

Vespaguy-

Sqw Alice last weekend, and we had the same experience... understanding Depp's character was difficult..