We finished the Firefly series, only 14-15 episodes. It wasn't bad, just not great. Barrowed alot from many other sci-fi/westerns. The acting was getting better which is to be expected. Effects were OK.

We also saw White Noise and National Treasure. I like Michael Keaton, WN was so-so.

We had seen NT at the theater but it was nice to see it again at home. Not a bad adventure flick that does not need much thought.

Cy

Watched Darkness tonight. yawn.

Cy

The wife and I watched "The Terminal" last night. Not bad, a small story in a really big movie set!

Today after yard work all morning I showered off and watched episode 3 of "Band of Brothers."

Randy

The wife and I watched "The Terminal" last night. Not bad, a small story in a really big movie set!

Today after yard work all morning I showered off and watched episode 3 of "Band of Brothers."

Randy

Oh my word! WE saw The Terminal last night as well! We really enjoyed it. BTW, I purchased one of the American Flags that hung in the terminal. Great minds....

Oh my word! WE saw The Terminal last night as well! We really enjoyed it. BTW, I purchased one of the American Flags that hung in the terminal. Great minds....


:)

There was some very nice camera work in the movie, too. There was an extreme pull back from a close up on Hanks back and up another level across the entire terminal - I'm not sure how they pulled that off.

Randy

Last night I watched In Good Company on my week old Samsung HL-R6167W.

This was a surprisingly good movie. The humor was fresh and not forced, the acting was very good (especially Topher Grace from The 70's show.). For me the movie took a current topic facing all of us and did a good job in presenting an entertaining message.

Did this movie make any money? This had to be the most boring non suspenseful film I have seen in along time. The only suspense possible (do not want to give away for those lucky enough to not have seen this) they did not develop at all. The acting was not very good as well.

From sound and picture point of view, the picture was pretty good, little dark in some scenes. THe sound I think was not very well done. Volume was really low and surround sound never seemed to be performing.

Any just my opinion

Friday Night we watched Hostage with Bruce Willis.
I am a big fan of his movies...okay flick but felt is was "lacking".

Saturday Night we watched Miss Congeniality II with Sandra Bullock. Enjoyed the original much more because it was..."original" and different.

Last night we Watched The 4400 Series, I have to admit I am getting hooked.

Daniel

Finally sat down an watched Team American: World Police Saturday night.

Not bad, but not nearly as good as I had hoped, especially from the South Park guys.

The sex scene though was unbelievable. I laughed hard during that one.

After only starting to watch 24 at the start of this past season (4), I ended up getting the previous three seasons. My wife and I are currently on the 5th episode of the 1st season. My parents had borrowed it (started too late to see season 4), and ended up finishing it in a weekend... which is extremely unlike them. That was pretty funny to hear, though. Needless to say, they were hooked.

I have to say I liked Season 4 better than Season 1 thus far (of course we're only 17% of the way through it).

Keep watching Tim,

My wife and I thought the same thing when we started watching 24 Season 1 after we had already seen Season 2, but once it gets going, it is the best season IMO.

Greg

We watched Hostage and Miss Congeniality II also. Hostage was OK, kind of a rerun sort of thing. MCII was OK, I think they could have done better even for a sequal.

Was I the only one who waited the whole movie for the GvG fight?

Cy

Friday night we skipped through the Ren and Stimpy DVD. Good times - not as funny as when they were fresh, but it was fun all the same.

MrsSquid was gone for the weekend, so I had a buddy over for movies Saturday night. We like overly-bad "horror" movies for the simple entertainment/laugh factor behind them, so we watched "Alone In The Dark". This is a wonderful steaming pile of poo - and if you know that going into it, it's fun to watch. (when they walk away from the dead woman who's killed by the critter in the sand, watch for her to literally lift her head just as the scene cuts)

My friend had never seen "Chronicles of Riddick", so we watched that too. I enjoyed it even more the 2nd time around because I picked up a lot more detail.

Last night the Mrs and I watched Hostage. It's a good popcorn movie, and I'm OK with that.

Okay, we continued watching 24... an entire DVD (4 eps) worth last night... and I have to say it's getting better. I'm excited to know that I still have 64 unwatched episodes just waiting for me/us... :)

MrsSquid was gone for the weekend, so I had a buddy over for movies Saturday night. We like overly-bad "horror" movies for the simple entertainment/laugh factor behind them, so we watched "Alone In The Dark". This is a wonderful steaming pile of poo - and if you know that going into it, it's fun to watch. (when they walk away from the dead woman who's killed by the critter in the sand, watch for her to literally lift her head just as the scene cuts)


That was a horrible movie. I was tempted time and time again to just fast forward through it, but I forced myself to watch it all the way through. I wondered afterward what Slater, Dorff and Reid must have thought when they finally saw it.

The Director, Uwe Boll, has apparently become the one Hollywood is turning to to butcher game franchises on screen. He did "House of the Dead," which is 10 times worse than Alone, and he's got Bloodrayne in Post-production, Dungeon Siege in Pre-production, and Far Cry, Fear Effect, Hunter: The Reckoning and Night Claws all "announced."

The Director, Uwe Boll, has apparently become the one Hollywood is turning to to butcher game franchises on screen. He did "House of the Dead," which is 10 times worse than Alone..."
Yup - they're so bad that they're fun to watch. "House of the Dead" was 10 times worse, and 10 times more fun to watch! :D (zombies holding their breath under water, seeing springboards flinging people through the air, etc...)

You just can't go into them with even a HOPE that they'll be good - or scary! ;)

Trying to clear up the back log of films to watch we saw "House of Flying Daggers"... loved it, all aspects of it! Colors, Sound, Action...can't go wrong.
Then we watched "Open Water"....not a wise choice before going on vacation (cruise) It just made me think it is not impossible that this could happen to anyone, being left behind that is. Head count would have gone a long way. Sticking around waiting as long as they did to be rescued is another matter entirely!

Last night we watched The Notebook.
Sure honey...another chick flick I'm thinking

Surprisingly enjoyable!

Daniel

We finished our dedicated HT last weekend and have watched a few this past week, Notebook - as Daniel said "another chickflick” but wow great movie.
Hostage - I liked it, there was almost too much happening.
Cursed - I really expected it to be a bit more serious, but felt like "Scary Movie".
Equilibrium - I stumbled across this older movie, and love it! Imagine if Orwell was writing while influenced by society today.
Requiem for a Dream - I previously avoided this movie because of my past, but now I am secure enough to have watched it, I was bitter about it, so my opinion may be skewed. It was for suck.

Had the family over last nght and we watched The Pacifier.

Over all the movie was cute for a whole family to watch, but the movie pretty much was garbage. Highly predictable and jokes were not funny at all.

Rented this movie not expecting much and as usual with those type of movies it was a wonderful surprise.

The movie really got me into rooting for the characters and did a good job of exposing the problems with our education system and sports programs. Very solid performance from Samual Jackson as Mr Carter.

Well worth renting

Got some catching up to do.

Friday night I had a little time to myself, so I watched episode 4 of Band of Brothers - Replacements.

Saturday night we watched "Yankee Doodle Dandy", one of my favorites.

Sunday night my daughter had a friend over and watched "Men In Black" I ended up sitting down and watching it with them.

And Monday afternoon I had time to fit in another episode of Band of Brothers. "Crossroads". Directed by Tom Hanks and one of the best in a terrific miniseries.

Randy

I've been rewatching BoB as well. "Crossroads" is up for this evening. I love the extras on the boxed set.

I watched the old "Battle of the Bulge" this weekend. What a contrast to BoB. Both are excellent, but the times were certainly different when the subject matter was interpreted.

Sunday night we had planned for a full house, and two-by-two we received cancellations for one reason or another. That's OK though because it turned out to be the few spare hours of the long weekend where my wife and I were able to sit together and relax. We watced "Be Cool" (after seeing "Get Shorty" for the first time late last week - my wife was bored by both, but I liked them) and "The Breakfast Club" - which I'd never seen but ended up enjoying.

Tonight is Coach Carter - tomorrow night is The Pacifier. (trust me... The Pacifier will be better than my wife's first choice, which was Miss Congeniality 2 - ugh....)

MrSquid

Between The Pacifier and Ms Congeniality 2, you might find your wife may have been right.

I will be interested to hear your take on The Pacifier

I have just started watching "The World at War (30th Anniversary Edition)." While I wish the makers of this amazing documentary had structured it so that each episode deals with a specific time period, rather than with a specific theme, it is an amazing series. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes Band of Brothers. Just realize that the series was made in the UK and focuses on the war from that perspective.

I remember the first time I saw "The Breakfast Club" - I was 23 or so, and I remember that I really felt like I understood what the kids were going through.

Then, I watched it again at about 35, and all I could think was "Man, oh man - was I such a whiner at that age as they are?"

I guess time and experience really does change one's outlook on life...

Dwight

Quick edit - sorry, I was thinking of "St Elmo's Fire"... but, much of the same commentary fits, I guess!

Last night in a rare mid-week movie opportunity, my daughter and I watched "Catch 22".

She'd just finished reading the novel and I'd bought the movie when I learned it was part of her summer reading. A very funny, very dark movie with a terrific cast.

I also love the novel, but strongly recommend you read nothing else by Heller. The book "Catch 22" was a fluke - a true one hit. The followup novel "Closing Time" is one of the worst things I've ever read.

Last night in a rare mid-week movie opportunity, my daughter and I watched "Catch 22".

She'd just finished reading the novel and I'd bought the movie when I learned it was part of her summer reading. A very funny, very dark movie with a terrific cast.

I also love the novel, but strongly recommend you read nothing else by Heller. The book "Catch 22" was a fluke - a true one hit. The followup novel "Closing Time" is one of the worst things I've ever read.

The book is very good. I remember being very disappointed by the movie after reading the book.

But the one image that sticks in my mind is the poor guy in the body cast with the IV and catheter. When the bottle from the catheter line filled up and the IV bottle was empty, the nurse would just switch the bottles. Awesome.

MrSquid

Between The Pacifier and Ms Congeniality 2, you might find your wife may have been right.

I will be interested to hear your take on The Pacifier

We got started late last night and watched The Pacifier because it was shorter than Coach Carter. The duck cracked me up - other than that, it was what it is, and it is what I expected. When he was doing the Peter Panda Dance I screamed "C'mon man! You're freaking RIDDICK!!!" and scared my wife half to death. :eek:

Vin Diesel isn't a banner actor, but I'd kill to have his voice, and I'd sit through anything he's in just because of that. (and my wife would kill for me to have his muscles :p )

Watched this movie last night.

This was a major disappoinment to be and seemed to waste a lot of talent in the film. While the movie was to be a thriller and suspenseful, the movie was not even close to having you wondering anything within the plot.

DeNiro must be short on cash as I can not think of any other reason he wanted this role.

Real Stinker!

Highly recommend Coach Carter

OK if you have some kids and wanna watch a good entertaining movie for the whole family this is a winner.

Got to finally see War of the Worlds while I was in England last week (I love having assigned seats at a theater), which I thought was pretty good. Not Private Ryan great, but fun none the less.

Watched Electra. Not horrible, but not all that good.

Also watched Hotel Rwanda. Without a doubt a great powerful movie.

One of my favorites and this time in HD , Forbidden Planet ! :) :cool:

Art

Last night we watched "Gone in 60 Seconds" with Nicholas Cage.

It has been a while since we last viewed this picture. I have tweaked my setup quite a bit since then and was blown away by the picture. "See honey all that tinkering is beginning to pay off"

I guess I am going to have watch all of my favorites again!

Daniel

Watched "We Were Soldiers" the other night. Not bad, but a little too many war movie cliches. A handful of good scenes and lines scattered throughout but it was no Private Ryan.

Dan

I like variety! These are my last three days of viewing... :D

Troy
King Arthur
Fletch
Liam
Chocolat

Getting caught up on Empire. OK so far.
Rewatched Battle Star Galactica recorded in HD from NBC last weekend. I seem to enjoy this more everytime I watch it.

We watching Finding Nemo again on Sunday however this time it was with my new Velodyne VPR1000 subwoofer. The "Darla Tapping" scene rattled my ceiling tiles!

Last night we watched King Arthur.
I didn't think I would enjoy the movie when I first saw the trailers.
Consequently, we avoided the flick at the local cinema.

I am happy to admit it was very enjoyable. Reminded me of the big production movies from the past.

Daniel

I enjoyed it more the second time than when it originally came out. Still a good study on what is illusion and what is real. My teenager thought it didn't make sense.

Been on vacation, so after a 13 hour drive back home, we watched "Under the Tuscan Sun".

Definitely a chick flick, but beautifully shot - very colorful.

We did have one rainy day at the beach and went to see "War of the Worlds" - pretty good, and the best of Speilburg's recent scifi lot (much better than A.I. or Minority Report).

Randy

My wife and I finished the 5th season of The Sopranos last night (watched the last 3 episodes). Looks like it will be a long wait till season 6 though. Maybe I'll put in King Arthur one of these nights since a couple of people said it was OK. I've had it for a long time but never watched it since some friends said it wasn't very good....

Dan

What a great movie! Excellent character development and made you care for the characters.

This is a must see movie

Bizzare and never fully understand/explained how major point in the movie was happening.

Kind of a disappoinment

Grab the family togheter and enjoy this movie.

Spoof of the Great Escape done with chickens. Very funny and fun movie

Watched "Miracle" two nights ago... some cool history there, and lots of it was set in my neck of the woods. I always like exciting stories that actually happened.

Target had a good deal on "Saving Private Ryan" this weekend, so we decided to make it a Tom Hanks festival!

Saving Private Ryan
Forrest Gump
The Terminal
You've Got Mail
Sleepless in Seattle
and
Big (I love this movie, cracks me up every time I watch it!)

I was the only one who watched Saving Private Ryan, wife and girls couldn't handle the D-Day Beach Assault...chilling...

Daniel

Caught Coach Carter Saturday night. We really liked it. Great story.

We have seen a few things recently. Can't remember them all but a partial list includes:

The Jacket: A strange psychological suspense who-dunnit. OK but the whole time I kept thinking of The Butterfly Effect.

Hitch: Liked this one more than I thought I would as did the wife. Its what you would expect it to be and more. Some good laughs.

The Pacifier: Just like the movie Hulk Hogan? made? Better than I thought it would be but mostly a family film.

There have been a couple of others but I'll have to try and remember what they were. Obviously great films. :-)

Cy

The Pacifier and Miss Congeniality2: I fell asleep but the kids liked them both.

The Brotherhood of War: Excellent Korean War flick in the style of saving Private Ryan.

Crimsom Rivers 1 and 2: Very entertaining French action/mystery flicks starring Jean Reno as the detective called in to solve bizarre cases.

Lightning in a Bottle: A must for any fan of the Blues.

I saw "Under the Tuscan Sun" as well. And yes, it is a chick flick. But I thought it had the most realistic dialogue of any movie I have seen in a while. The protagonist was actually smart, witty, and well read. And the movie does make you want to retire to a Tuscan villa for the rest of your life.

I enjoyed it more the second time than when it originally came out. Still a good study on what is illusion and what is real. My teenager thought it didn't make sense.

Are you saying it DID make sense?

Now that I officially made the jump from my Hitachi 57t500 to my Optoma H31 on a 92" screen, I am going to finally sit down and watch Gladiator from start to finish. I have seen parts of it as demos, but never the whole movie. I am sure I am going to revisit several other movies I haven't seen in awhile....

We finished Miss Congeniality 2 last night and it was a HUGE let down if you ask me.

Are you saying it DID make sense?

No I'm saying my teenager thought it didn't make sense and you're creating the illusion that I said it made sense in a tangent universe. :D

Watched Hostage last night. Pretty good flic. Sad opening, and my wife got all into it towards the end.

Been catching Lance's 7th go at the yellow jersey - quality has been so-so - I so hope they offer HD next time!

Last Friday - Tim Burton/Johnny Depp's take on the twisted yet intriguing behind-the-scenes goings on at a manufacturing plant - pretty good actually!

Last night the wife and I watched Ridley Scott's "Someone To Watch Over Me."

Just OK.

Randy

War of the Worlds. Pretty weak story line, but probably the most dynamic sounding film I've ever heard. I can't wait for it to come out on DVD, so I can challenge my system a bit. Not many movies make me want to cover my ears, but a couple of times during this flick I almost did.

Scott

Watched first half (5 chapters) of Band of Brothers with a few friends this afternoon, taking advantage of a very rainy day. It gave me a chance to compare two different PJ screens I've been considering. I had previously seen the first 4 chapters, so I'm anxious for us to finish with the 2nd "1/2 marathon". Great history, and great series in general, as I'm sure most here know.

Jane and I stayed in from the heat yesterday, and I broke open Firefly which had been sitting waiting for just such an occasion. We enjoyed the pilot, and went on to watch six more episodes. Probably finish it today. :)

Mojo

Shallow Ground...
For you horror fans out there, a must see!
What a gem of a little indie film shot on DV. Given the budget these guys had to work with(72K), great stuff; wonderful 70's slasher feel!
Smart concept, beautiful(gory) make-up work and simple special FX techniques(NO CG), exceptional audio considering budget and decent acting (pretty much donated).
A keeper for horror fans, IMO. -j

Watched a real horror movie last night, Hotel Rwanda...very scary and very sad. Should have won more awards.

We've spent a lot of time in the HT lately - it's been way too hot and humid here to be outside. Over the last few days...

Dodgeball
Million Dollar Baby
Hitch
Diary of a Mad Black Woman
Blast
Constantine

Wow - you can really tell which if those were my wife's picks and which were mine. :D

Diary of a Mad Black Woman was sort of interesting. I never thought I'd find a movie that had elements of both Misery AND Big Momma's House...

Watched The Italian Job finally... The first movie of that type (professional "bad guys" against each other) that made them very down to earth. Caring about each other, and not the typical "the big boss tells everyone what to do", etc. Very interesting character development and pretty interesting plot.

Last night we watched "The Upside of Anger".

If you like Kevin Costner, Joan Allen and a movie that develops slowly...you will enjoy this flick.

The movie does have some interesting scenes where the characters surprise you...enjoy!

Note: This is not an action flick or a Kevin Costner sports movie.

Daniel

Batman Begins is probably the best Batman movie thus far, or at least the least campy, and I'd rate it good.

Fantastic Four was a bit weak in several spots, perhaps aimed at 10 year olds -- but if you liked watching the cartoon in the 1960's it's ok. It was kind of funny when I went in and asked for a ticket I said "What's playing that's fantastic?" and the reply from the ticket guy was "Batman Begins is pretty good."

The Island, wow, great movie. The best thing I've seen in the past several months. A bit of sci-fi, a lot of action. The woman sitting next to me hardly took her hands away from her lower face the entire film.

I watched Babbett's Feast last night for the first time. This classic from the 70's has stood the test of time as one of the best family movies ever. I prefer it in the original Danish with subtitles. My only criticism is why the general did not ask for the chef at the end.

Started watching the new XXX lastnight, the one with Ice Cube.

Turned it off half way, and I very very rarely EVER turn off a movie half way, no matter how bad it is.

Having had my home theater packed up for a couple of weeks now to re-run some natural gas lines, I got it back together and watched three DVDs last night.

Alexander (Director's Cut): video/colours were fantastic. The plot and suspense are non existant. The pacing is dreadfully slow (2hours 39 minutes of tedium -- longer if you sit through the credits). And the sleepily bad and boring writing is combined with overacting. I stopped the movie twice to go upstairs and watch television, but returned to see it all. Anthony Hopkins was good. Everything else was awful. You will be reminded that ancient male Greeks were somewhat bisexual (that's probably too a simplistic a word for the multiple definitions of love going on between men), and it's the first film that I know of that uses skin tight togas on the women.

XXX2 State Of the Union: The introductory two minute trailer about the new movie Stealth was very nice -- probably the same as the television commercials but much better video quality. Actually the first half hour of XXX2 was in the tradition of XXX. But then it became not so good. This is what happens when the holywood formula of make the remake as a PG13 movie by removing the sex and violence and energy is used. For example "I want what every man who's been locked up in prison for four years wants when he gets out -- a hamberger and fries." is a running gag that's used instead of sex. I'm not sure, but I think all of Ice Cube's attempts to kiss the girl were thwarted by comic relief.

7 Seconds: As near as I can guess it was shot in Rumania during the grey season on surplus WWII film stock (i.e. the video colour quality wasn't anywhere near what I became used to yesterday). No real surprises or suspense in the plot, at least not after the first 20 minutes. Reasonable action (a bit too much of things that shouldn't blow up blowing up; more police cars being totaled than in Smokey And The Bandit but less than in Blues Brothers). I think I'd rate this movie as OK. Sort of a low budget, low direction, low skill, Wesley Snipes movie. Better than Steven Seagal's recent movies, if that helps. :)

I watched Constantine last night. Not as bad as I was expecting, actually. Keanu got lots of bad reviews in this one but I don't think it was as bad as most say. Sure, his character was a flake, but I thought he did an OK job. Although, he has the worst acted cough I've ever seen. All in all, pretty decent effects and a few creepy moments.

3 stars from me....(out of 5)

Dan

That night the wife and I watched "The Long Kiss Goodnight" with Gena Davis and Samuel Jackson. Surprisingly funny and action packed!

Randy

DKaps:
When we watched Constantine, we also watched Chain Reaction the same night. Both star Keano and Rachael Weisz. There are parallels to their characters between the two films.
Weisz plays a cop or a physisist - well accredited but ultimately needs help.
Keano plays an desuicided urban warrior hero or a builder urban warrior hero - seemingly able to stand up to whatever major forces are arrayed against him.

Last night went to local megaplex to see The Wedding Crashers. The movie is so dang funny and well written that it didn't really bother me that much that the picture sucked! The picture kept flickering with tons of dirty specs throughout. Not sure what the problem was, but what a hilarious flick. Go see it!

Scott

Yesterday we traveled to "The Wilds" - a 10,000 acre endangered animal park and breeding center. They roam wild while you take an open bus ride.

So when we came home we had no choice but to watch a Jurassic Park movie! It hadn't been that long since we saw 1, so we watched "The Lost World".

Randy

Last night went to local megaplex to see The Wedding Crashers. The movie is so dang funny and well written that it didn't really bother me that much that the picture sucked! The picture kept flickering with tons of dirty specs throughout. Not sure what the problem was, but what a hilarious flick. Go see it!

Scott
Amen to "The Wedding Crashers"! Very well written, and funny as all - get - out!

The Upside of Anger

Not a complete chick-flick. If you have to watch one, this is one I would recommend. There are a few pieces of information missing from some of the sub plots. In the end they don't affect anything, but I found myself wondering about a couple things in the middle of the movie - so they are slightly distracting. It seems they had to remove some of the sub plots to shorten it up. It has a good pace and I never got bored.

So when we came home we had no choice but to watch a Jurassic Park movie! It hadn't been that long since we saw 1, so we watched "The Lost World".

Thanks for the idea. Watched the 3rd last night. I had forgotten that this one was actually pretty decent.

Dan

Watched Constatine last night. Not a bad flic at all. Pretty enjoyable for a Keanu movie.

Phantom of the Opera last night.

Just something that I could not get into. Found myself surfing AVS during the movie... and whats with all the singing? :p

I agree... watched the first half hour or so since my wife really likes it (she's practically memorized the soundtrack), and we were testing out the projector/setup. I found myself laughing every time they started singing.

The kids hadn't seen it yet, so we pulled out Time Bandits last night and introduced them to concentrated evil. :D

Watched Constatine last night. Not a bad flic at all. Pretty enjoyable for a Keanu movie.

Keanu seems like the worst actor on the planet to me. Not sure if it's just me but I've seen better acting in local plays. I'm amazed he is so popular although he's in some great movies where i think any B grade actor would have succeeded.

Keanu seems like the worst actor on the planet to me. Not sure if it's just me but I've seen better acting in local plays. I'm amazed he is so popular although he's in some great movies where i think any B grade actor would have succeeded.

He's popular for that very reason. Your average Joe can relate to him.

I think that the only actor who is less expressive than Keanu, and who has a more "wooden" delivery of lines is Kevin Costner. Just my opinion, but I find him to be the worst actor in the galaxy...

Dwight

The Upside of Anger

Not a complete chick-flick. If you have to watch one, this is one I would recommend. There are a few pieces of information missing from some of the sub plots. In the end they don't affect anything, but I found myself wondering about a couple things in the middle of the movie - so they are slightly distracting. It seems they had to remove some of the sub plots to shorten it up. It has a good pace and I never got bored.


You must be kidding. The 6 of us who watched it last night found it the most boring, slow, uninteresting movie I had seen in a long time. If it had just been my wife and I, we would have turned it off after about 10 minutes. Complete waste of bulb time. We were looking for a moderate Chick flick and this failed miserably on every level

Last night the wife and I started watching "Troy" (she was tired and we'll probably finish it tonight). I'd been putting this one off till now - I'm a big fan of the Iliad and the reported story changes made me leery.

Well, I was right. There are too many crucial story changes. The action scenes are OK, but please, Brad Pitt as the greatest warrior ever to walk the face of the Earth?

Randy

I watched "Helen of Troy 1955" the night before watching "Troy 2004".
I think the old one helped me understand the history and the characters when watching the new.

I watched The Machinist Friday night and Submerged tonight...

The Machinist was definitely a dark movie and a movie you need to be well alert when watching. It was very painful to watch him walk around try to run weighing only 120 lbs. I would love to know if he filmed this movie first or Batman Begins. If did film the Machinist before Batman Begins, I would love to know what he did to gain all the weight and muscle back because he was well built and defined in Batman Begins. The movie had a rather interesting ending in my opinion and it is worth watching just to see how skinny Bale looked and to see Jennifer Jason Leigh topless..:) :)

I have been a Steven Seagal fan since I first saw Above the law 15 years ago. The only problem with Seagal is that Above the law was probably one of his best movies. Many of you know that 8 of Seagals last 10 movies have all been direct to video releases. The only two that weren't were Exit Wounds and Half Past Dead. Most of those direct video releases were pretty bad. Mostly because Seagal can't move like he used to so you don't get to much of the "classic" Seagal fight sequences that made him famous early in his career. I will have to admit that in my opinion this was probably his best direct to video movie he has done. Now, like in many of his most recent direct release videos, you get plenty of poorly placed and unproportional stuntmen and REALLY bad voiceover work for Seagal. I would rather listen to his raspy voice than somebody else doing a horrible job of talking for him. This movie has a pretty good plot for a direct to video release, a good supporting cast, good fight sequences and even ends with a cliffhanger that might spawn a sequel... The video transfer is decent, but nothing to use for reference. If you are a fan of Seagal's early work and have a nice surround setup, then this movie might make a good rental for you. I picked it up along with Coach Carter and Blade Trinity as part of the 3 for 25 blockbuster has going on, and it was a good blind buy.

In Lubbock TX over last week. went to the Omnimax theatre and saw Fighter Pilot - incredible (except for the occasional curved jets caused by the domed screen)!
http://www.fighterpilotfilm.com/

I just got my Coaster recliners in Friday and yesterday afternoon was my first chance to enjoy them along with a little solitude. Watched Ladder 49 for the second time. Not as good as Backdraft but decent. I like most anything John Travolta puts out. I was glad to see him play a "good guy" for a change. He's slips into those crazed bad guy roles so often in recent years. I can live without Joaquin Phoenix but I think that is a carry over from my dislike of his sniveling Commodus role in Gladiator. IMHO the movie does a great job of showing just how dangerous firefighting really is, and gives me a new found appreciation the guys that run into burning buildings for a living...

I borrowed a stack of DVDs from my neighbor of stuff that I'd never bothered renting...

I watched "The Italian Job" tonight.

I noticed this scene (Ch 12, at 1:20:21)

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/3062/ohllywood6cr.jpg

But I didn't find a mention of this in the AVS search. Lots of hits for "ohllywood" on Google though.

OK, and I just saw Spiderman at 1:29:11... kinda silly.

Upside of Anger. Great flick exploring the interrelationships among a mother and her daughters as the family deals with their abandonment by Husband/father. Suberb acting with a surprise performance by Kevin Costner, one of my least favourite stars.

Closer. Explores the inticacies of affairs/marriages between Londoners and New Yorkers. With the all star cast I expected more. Plot was weak and hard to believe.

Watched Return of the Mummy last night. I forgot how much fun this movie was and some really great bass.

Closer.... With the all star cast I expected more. Plot was weak and hard to believe.I concur. Halfway into Closer, I despised all characters and didn't care who ended up with who. However, at the other extreme, I enjoyed and would recommend Portman in "Garden State".

Yes. She provided a tremendous performance in Garden State.

Last night, after a long overdue cleaning of the theater and the rest of the basement we watched "Fifty First Dates". Funny, but not a great movie, although at a couple of times there were some pretty good laughs.

"I SUCK at this job!"

Randy

Sin City - pretty much as expected. Three short unrelentingly brutal and lude stories, done well if you can take the ambiance and the neo-noir ambiguous morality and sin mostly in the city or the farm.

BTW, if they don't have the Sin City DVD Cover that you want, would you wait for it?

Tonight by myself The Letter. A very powerful film starring Bette Davis. Very sad and makes one think even today about life a little. By the way ,an absolutely incredible video transfer, sharp as it gets, clean , blacks just stunning with no EE. Once again all DVD should look this good. :)

Art

Finally got around to watching "The Ring." It was one of the better horror movies that I've seen in a long while. I would recommend it. It's 1000 times better then "the grudge" for those of you who have seen that one.

Last night while my younger daughter and 2 friends had a sleep-over and watched "end of the world movies" - Reign of Fire and Independence day, my wife, 16 year old daughter and I watched "The Green Mile".

What a remarkable piece of story telling. And one of the closest adaptations of a novel I've ever seen.

Randy

We watched Million Dollar Baby last night and liked it. I pretty much knew the story going in but still enjoyed it. Hillary's a really great actress and Morgan's just about the most likable character actor out there.

I'm headin' on down for Hostage in about 30 minutes....

Dan

We were just watching Animal Police on Discovery Animal planet on the new 61" LCD RPTV, and our middle cat, Pilchard, took notice of the kittens on the screen when they were crying. He sat there on "his" pillow on the love seat, mesmorized by the TV. Never did that before.

Tonight, we tested the setup including the new Samsung HDMI DVD player with Finding Nemo. VERY NICE picture.

We watched "Million Dollar Baby" last night as well. It reminded me of the fact that I hate it when I hear or see the plot of a movie before I get a chance to view it. Fortunately, I am pretty good at avoiding previews and trailers. It was nice to see this movie and not know where it was going before I sat down.

Finished Hostage....Some of it was very good, and some not so good. I thought the bad guy older brother was over-selling his role. All in all, some pretty good tense moments and others that made me laugh (when I wasn't supposed to).

Dan

Last night I watched "The Thin Man". A rather ordinary mystery, but William Powell and Myrna Loy are brilliant.

Randy

Last night I watched "The Thin Man". A rather ordinary mystery, but William Powell and Myrna Loy are brilliant.

Randy

So true, real fun film because of their interaction.

Art

Watched Envy last week. Okay humor.

Also watched Alexander over the weekend. The Directors cut that was supposedly scaled down some. It was so LONG. Not bad, but not what I expected.

Watched "The Jacket". Not a bad movie, definitely worth the rental price...nice concept as well. Always attracted to movies where time is manipulated.

Watched "The Great Escape" (1963) last night, and it was a great movie. Classic one that really showed how plot and acting was the focus in that era, and not "beating up the bad guy" and mow 'em down action flicks.

I'm definitely an action movie fan, but I found it interesting when I was thinking to myself, "why not just beat up that guy, or take his gun, or...", etc.. It made the movie much better without it.

Watched the Superbit version of Underworld last night with DTS. Wow, what a great picture and great sound! Even the plot was good. It was much more fun and had much more style than any of the recent American Werewolf or Matrix movies.

UFC 54 tonight! -j

Watched Julia Fordam's "That's Live" concert. I was disappointed in the video, but the DTS audio was excellent. Her commentary is fun and informative in the extras.

Superbit Underworld is one of those rare AV treats. It and Das Boot Superbit are right up there in terms of my top favourite movies for sheer entertainment and showing off my HT.

Speaking of concert flicks, I am in the middle of Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival and it too is very entertainig with a nice sounding dts soundtrack. I especially like Clapton playing rythmn guitar to JJ Cale as the now 65 year old Cale takes back ownership of his "After Midnight". Incredible performance. I haven't finished the dvd because I keep replaying Cale's 2 song set.

Watched Kung Fu Hustle last night. Not what I expected. I was expecting it to be more of a campy parody like an "Airplane" movie. IMO, It wasn't until half way through it, that it started getting good. Some pretty good effects and fight sequences.

Dan

We have not watched much lately but did rent Constantine. OK movie but really quite similar to all the other religious horror movies we have seen. I thought that the Seventh Sign was much better.

Cy

Watched the PPV UFC thing on Saturday at a friend's house, very painful to watch (no pun intended) - I guess I'm just not into that kind of violence anymore (must be mellowing out as I get older).

Just as painful was watching this on a 27" composite-fed TV with two speakers - this wasn't even 2.1, more like 2.0 analog - aargh!

I must make a note to myself to educate this guy, we gotta help the uninformed whenever we can about the benefits of a HT!

I shoulda stayed at home...

Watched Hide and Seek last night. A rehash of several other movies just like this story. To long and drawn out with not enought attention to the thriller aspect of the movie.

Cy

Watched "Once Upon A Time In Mexico." While it had some good scenes and some interesting characters, it lacked a cohesive plot and was not nearly as good as its namesake, "Once Upon A Time In The West." But the Superbit version of the movie looks and sounds great.

Finally got around to watching "The Ring." It was one of the better horror movies that I've seen in a long while. I would recommend it. It's 1000 times better then "the grudge" for those of you who have seen that one.

I watched that lately as well, for the second time, at the behest of our friends' son, who hadn't seen it. I was especially amused to see him curled up next to his mama with his head under a blanket, and was glad to find that I am not the only person who found that movie almost disturbing.

Watched "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" yesterday on HBO. Came in about 1/3 of the way through and couldn't stop watching.

Gerald

Last night we finally cracked the plastic on Grosse Point Blank. I love that movie - or any movie about going home. (Beautiful Girls is another one like that) I was disappointed by the horrible PQ, but I survived.

Watched "the Pacifier" last night. Not a bad flick, got some chuckles out of it. Afterwards, caught the last hour of "Highlander". I hadn't seen that since my undergrad days. I always liked it, but probably wouldn't watch it again for long time.

Bud

Gumball Rally (DVD).
Video good transfer, not a lot of saturated colour.
Audio is mono (center channel only).

Watched Sin City with a friend last night. Liked it. Dynamite cast with some smokin hot ladies. Some of the movie was just great and the rest was good. Very violent but detached from reality enough to not be overly disturbing. The DVD transfer is absolutely fantastic - reference quality video IMO.

Dan

Last night we sat down to watch Jurassic Park III, but quickly discovered that the idiot vendor I bought it used from (through amazon.com) had once again screwed me. With the enclosed invoice clearly marked WIDESCREEN edition, the package and DVD were clearly marked FULLSCREEN. I complained and they sent another - this one the case was marked FULLSCREEN, but when I popped the DVD in the player I quickly found out it wasn't. Examining the DVD I found, once again, it was marked FULLSCREEN.

My wife was a little disgruntled when I proclaimed that we "absolutely could not watch it."

But we selected "The Day After Tomorrow" - another fun disaster flick - and all enjoyed it.

Randy

Watched Sahara. Really good video quality -- the perfect brightness for my projector.
Discovered it was a 'Dirk Pitt' story by Clive Cussler -- and I know a gal who think's his books are fantastic, so I'll probably end up seeing it again in a week.
If you've read a couple of Cussler's books, you'll get a kick out of the 3rd scene where most of his books have newspaper articles on the wall.
If you miss the 'James Bond' moments, the director has thoughtfully put in musical score and instruments very reminicent of the 1960's Bond films to remind you.

CptnRandy:
FULLSCREEN ... absolutely could not watch it
About a month ago I bought a DVD from a local store ($20), opened it up when I got home, and there was NO DVD in the case. So I took it back (this store has a 'good for customer' return policy), and said there was a problem with it. The owner opened the case and said "Ah, yes, I see the problem. We don't have any more of this DVD, I'll have to refund it." I wondered around the store and bought a few other DVDs, but when I returned to the cash register the stock boy was maning it. I inquired if he had heard from the owner about my situation and the stock boy described it exactly, and I bought my new DVDs and went home. I started typing into my index of movies that day's purcases from the receipt, when I noticed that the stock boy had billed me again (another $20) for the DVD that I now no longer had even an empty case for. The store was closed by this time of night but I left a phone message explaining what had happened. I went back a week later, and this time they successfully refunded me the $40.

I took a chance and just purchased Sin city. E and I watched it last night, very interesting presentation and a great compilation cast. The stories were a little hard to follow, we've never read any of the print material. It actually reminded me a little, just a little, of Heavy Metal with its adult themed stories that revolve around a central point.

Also found Hell Boy special edition for $10 so picked it up as well. Prolly watch it today.

Cy

Last night we went over to a friends with another couple and had an outdoor movie night on their deck, projecting against their stucco back wall. We watched a DVD they had put together out of video shot on a tour my daughter went on with the local youth jazz band across Italy.

Lots of fun. A real bonus of outdoor theater is you can smoke cigars!

Randy

I'd also like to note that as of today (August 28, 2005) this thread is over 2 years old, has over 2,100 posts, and has been viewed over 65,000 times!

Randy

I tried to get my wife to watch Kung Fu Hustle last night. She didn't get into it.

I thought it was hilarious.

I finally got around to watching "Kill Bill" on Saturday. I had some friends over for it, and we'd hoped to make it a double feature with Kill Bill Vol. 2, but we ended up getting hungry and didn't watch #2 yet.

Also found Hell Boy special edition for $10 so picked it up as well. Prolly watch it today.
Cy

I bought that when it first came out for slightly over $20. Seems like these days you can find many very good titles for around $10 if they've been out for a while.

I recently rented "The Bourne Identity" from a Blockbuster store, making sure I picked up a widescreen copy. But when I tried to play it, I discovered it was fullscreen despite being marked as widescreen on the box. Since it was not one of those disks that has widescreen on one side and fullscreen on the other, we watched something else we had on hand. My wife was peeved with me for refusing to watch the movie in fullscreen, but I simply can't make myself do it.

I started watching the Superbit version of XXX last night, and the FBI warnings, etc, were in 4:3 format and I started second guessing it, thinking, "you've gotta be kidding me! superbit in fullscreen?". Of course, it switched to cinemascope and I was happy.

I can't stand watching fullscreen if there's a widescreen version, either, and won't do it (and my wife knows it...)

I bought that when it first came out for slightly over $20. Seems like these days you can find many very good titles for around $10 if they've been out for a while.

You think DVD prices are low now? Just wait until HD/Blu Ray DVD comes out! :D

I'd also like to note that as of today (August 28, 2005) this thread is over 2 years old, has over 2,100 posts, and has been viewed over 65,000 times!

Randy

Yea Randy, I was thinking about it when I posted in it again this has to be one of the most enduring threads. :)

Art

Art & Randy,

You guys got me thinking so I went back and looked up some numbers. I think the Local HDTV Info threads take the prize for longevity. Denver has the best numbers for a single thread at 11K replies and 450K views going back to August 2001. But I went and looked at the DC/Baltimore threads since that's where I am. There have been three threads counting the current one, the first two being closed and a new one started when they got too long. Combined there are over 12,790 replies and 621,011 views since March 2002.

Time to go watch "Prison Break"!

My wife came home with "A Lot Like Love" yesterday. It was better than I thought it would be, and better than the typical "chick flick" which I typically revolt against.

Well this is my first post here in this thread, but it's provided me some great ideas so I shall share my weekend viewing on my new 4805.

First I watched Donnie Darko, pretty interesting movie IMO, Especially if you liked the butterfly effect.

Then Alfie. Pretty pointless movie I thought. Some of the stories were interesting but they all lead to nothing, which was sort of the point but still I won't be seeing it again.

Then Waynes world. I had to, wasn't as good as it used to be though.

Last I watched The lost world. I like the first and second movies. The third is really hard to watch for me. Probably won't ever see the third again.

I'm going to watch the pianist right now. Hope it's good.

Deleted. I think I misunderstood a previous post....

'Throne of Blood', (1958) Kurosawa's version of 'MacBeth'. Starring Toshiro Mifune and Isuzu Yamada (possibly the best "Lady MacBeth" ever). I've seen it before, but this time I wanted to spend some time with the commentary track.

Last night, 'Topper', (1937). Roland Young, Constance Bennett, Cary Grant on TMC. Lots of fun.

I've got Kurosawa's 'Hidden Fortress' and 'Dersu Uzala' in the queue. Then 'Sin CIty'.

We watched "Layer Cake" -not bad....and then I watched "OLDBOY" by myself since the wife has no interest in Korean cinema.

Last night we watched "Flight Of The Phoenix". Gotta love the bass in that plane crash scene! It was a long semi-boring movie, full of semi-boring, incredibly stupid characters, but the bass in the crash made it all worthwhile!

Tried to watch Sin City last night. Turned it off about half way. Not many redeeming qualities except for the excellent transfer.
A low point for Tarantino. Switched to Warriors of Heaven and Earth, another in a long series of very entertaining films coming out of China.

Last night we watched "Flight Of The Phoenix". Gotta love the bass in that plane crash scene! It was a long semi-boring movie, full of semi-boring, incredibly stupid characters, but the bass in the crash made it all worthwhile!

Was this the new or the old one (with Jimmy Stewart)?

Tried to watch Sin City last night. Turned it off about half way. Not many redeeming qualities except for the excellent transfer.
A low point for Tarantino.
'Sin City' is directed by Frank Miller (author and artist on the graphic novels) and Robert Rodriguez (the Mariachi trilogy, et al.).

Tarantino? He may have been in there somewhere - he and Rodriguez are tight. But the story and the visuals are all Miller.

Tarantino "co-directed" a scene in the film. The scene in the car with Del Toro's neck sliced open. I'm not sure how much he was involved, but he was to some degree.

Was this the new or the old one (with Jimmy Stewart)?

The new one.

Yes Millar directed but Tarantino's influence is pervasive. Look and listen closely and it is there in every scene. Way over the top . I am a big fan of tarantino and expected more than this series of overwrought disconnected gory vignettes. Sin City stinks.

Well, it will be here tomorrow so I'll know shortly. :)

Btw, 'Hidden Fortress' was a lot of fun. A comedy-drama.

Sin City was pretty good. Very much like the comix books. I couldn't tell the part Taranito directed. Notice how many times Rodriguez was creditted in the closing credits? And Frank Miller as a priest. Too ironic. :D

Last night I watched "Sahara" and "Beauty Shop". I found both movies to be a disappointment and would have to give them thumbs down!

It has been some time since I last posted here, so I thought I would list a few of the movies I have watched lately:

“Beverly Hills Cop” I forgot just how good this one was. Big thumbs up!

“See No Evil, Hear No Evil” A very funny movie with Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder. Pairing up as one blind and the other deaf.

“The Golden Child” No big blockbuster here, but enjoyable enough to give it a slight thumbs up!

“Simon Birch” First time I saw this one and thought that it was an Excellent family movie. Big thumbs up!

“King's Ransom” This has got to been the very worst movie I have seen this year.

“xXx: State of the Union” This is probably the second worst movie I saw this year. Ice Cube was far from believable as a tough guy.

“Are We There Yet?” This is got to be right up there with the two prior listings as being the worst of the year movies. At least this role was more suited for Ice Cube then the tough guy he tried to portray in “xXx: State of the Union”.

“Man of the House” This one my wife and I both found to be very enjoyable and funny!

“Hitch” Another winner, big thumbs up!

“Hide and Seek” Another loser, Big thumbs down! Come on DeNiro, you can do better then this!

“Flight of the Phoenix” I enjoyed this one more then most that have posted here. However I still think it was just average entertainment and earns from me a slight thumbs up.

“Silver Streak” Another Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder movie. I think these guys interact great together and just wish they would have done a lot more movies together then what they did. Big thumbs up!

“The Medallion” Another Jackie Chan movie that may not be one of his better ones, but still very watchable. A slight thumbs up.

“Greenfingers” this is a British movie that I highly recommend. Big thumbs up!

“The Bad News Bears” This movie still holds up after all these years. Big thumbs up!

Don

Last night we finally got around to watching "The Aviator."

Really a terrific film. Some amazing sequences - especially thrilling flying. And most amazing of all, they managed to make Hughes human, not just a crazy freak.

Randy

Watched Noises Off (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000DZTOM/qid=1125849843/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-6304089-0935015?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846)
A little known (two million dollar box office), extremely hillarious film. We had to pause to enable breathing several times from laughing so hard.
Picture was a little grainy on a 10'x6' screen, but no one seemed to care.
Audio had a neat effect - when were listening as the director from the "back of the play theatre", the voices were deliberately harder to understand.

Had to go back to my childhood this weekend. I picked up a couple of DVD's I haven't seen in their OAR since I seen them in the theater in the 50's. The first was "Journey to the Center of the Earth" (1959 - 2.35:1 anamorphic) and the other was "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" (1954 - 2.55:1 anamorphic.) I enjoyed watching them and I think my grandchildren will enjoy them also. I have a constant hight 2.35 setup so these wide AR films look very good on my screen. :D

This weekend my 13 year old son is with me so we tend to watch different movies together as opposed to what I might watch by myself :).....

Friday night took in Transporter 2 at the cinema.....big fun!

At home this weekend so far it's been-

Total Recall
Sin City
Terminator 2
Anchorman
Napoleon Dynamite

With more to be watched. My son is going to his mom's (we do the 50-50 thing, joint custody since he was 6 months old so I'm a single dad from WAAAY back) this evening so I'll still have tonight and tomorrow for other fare. Picked up the 25 Anniversary Edition of The Blues Brothers friday and that NEEDS to be made room for in my 3 day weekend!

Have to give another thumbs down to Sahara....just finished watching it and feels like I just wasted 2 hours of my life.

Avoid this one.

The new one.
Go back and watch the original. ALOT of concentration on the characters and a twist in the plot with the plane designer that is very interesting.

I didn't see the remake as I heard is was more like an action flick than the original.

Last night film noire Nightmare Alley. A 1947 film with Tyrone power as a very smart con man. It chronicles his rise as a professional mind reader through the carnival then in big clubs and into some very interesting interactions with gullible wealthy people.

Art

Friday night we had a full house for Blazing Saddles. Only two of us had ever seen it before, and our hysterical laughing kept everyone else awake. :D

Sunday night we watched "Going The Distance". It's a new National Lampoon movie, and it looks like NL finally got themselves out of the rut that they fell into with movies like Gold Diggers and Blackball. If you like American Pie-style humor, check this one out.

Sin City was pretty good. Very much like the comix books. I couldn't tell the part Taranito directed. Notice how many times Rodriguez was creditted in the closing credits? And Frank Miller as a priest. Too ironic. :D

Tarantino only directed a scene in the movie and was paid a dollar by Rodriguez. He wanted to try out the HD cameras.

Tarantino only directed a scene in the movie and was paid a dollar by Rodriguez. He wanted to try out the HD cameras.

Oh yeah... Which scene?

I posted this earlier...but....

Tarantino directed the scene with Benicio Del Toro in the car talking to Clive Owen after his throat was slit.

Thanks Allen. Missed your earlier post. Yes I can see that as more typical of Tarantino. Still I don't think the film hangs together as well as it could have. And while this is conjecture on my part I find it hard to believe that Miller and Tarantino didn't chat quite a bit about the film concept and plot development.

Yeah it's kind of a weird film. I'm a fan of Frank Miller and Tarantino. Not so much Rodrigues though....however, the film plays really well (for me) the first time you see it. So visual and so "comic book" like. I was totally into it. Especially Marv's story.

Upon a second viewing though the film really doesn't mesh all that well. I don't see it as a repeat viewing kind of movie. Unlike "sky captain" which I think actually gets better everytime you see it. It also was another style over substance flick, but they really didn't try to hide that fact from the audience.

I turned off the film at the start of the third story having tired of the repetitive gore which added little to the plot line. This reviewer sums it up well for me.

" The major problem is that after about 10 minutes, you've seen all the movie's tricks. The look is hypnotic yet never changes. Repetition is the order of the day. And the cartoon savagery grows tiresome. Where films by Quentin Tarantino -- who reportedly was paid a dollar to oversee one sequence here as a "special guest director" -- attain, arguably, the status of cinematic literature, "Sin City" remains mired in pulp. Certainly, pessimism, even nihilism, runs throughout literature and cinema. But here the attitude feels inauthentic, more a pose of ersatz hipness than sincere conviction.

Rodriguez cherry-picks from three "Sin City" stories plus an opening scene between Josh Hartnett and Marley Shelton that sets the film's tone and tenor. The stories are told in order, but there is slight interplay among the three."

Just returned home from Washington (Fort Lewis), son is deploying to Iraq.

Watched all of his favorites + newer DVD's:

Replacement Killers
Blast from the Past
Chronicles of Riddick
LA Confidential
Seabiscuit
School of Rock
Monster-in-Law
Meet the Fokkers
Sahara

Gave him a small portable player to take with him and will keep him in DVD's while he is there.

Daniel

Good luck to you and your son, Daniel.

Randy

Same good wishes here for your son, Daniel.

Did you get a chance to walk around in the boonies of Ft. Lewis? Those evergreens are great! I flew in there to do some training when I was stationed up in AK. I'll have to get back there sometime.

Get the following to send to your son:
1) one of those portable solar rechargers;
2) one of those "battery extenders" for your son's dvd player
3) dvd cleaners

What unit is he in?

Thread Topic Insert (for those who grumble that posts aren't relevant to the thread): ;)

Got one of those Target two-packs - both Bourne films. Only saw the 1st one, but it's been a while since my adrenalin kicked in during a movie. Had to keep turning down the volume during fight scenes! Will see the 2nd one this weekend.

Missed out on the US Open match last night - I'm not much of a tennis fan, but I heard that this was a killer match, so I'm hoping that there'll be a replay of this on some HD channel soon!

Tonight: Raiders vs. Pats on the big screen - I hope this one'll have HD cameras onsite!

We've been watching 24 season 1 on DVD. Never really watched the show when it was on TV. Netflix suggested it, so we gave it a try. (I think all my wife's CSI rentals kicked it in). It's a good series.

I think it's made better by the fact that we don't have to wait a week or more to see the next episode. We've been watching about a show a night. We're 3 hours in now, and the story is starting to shape up.

Doug

We've been watching 24 season 1 on DVD.
We've been watching about a show a night. We're 3 hours in now, and the story is starting to shape up.

Doug

When you get down towards the end you'll be watching a whole DVD every night!

My wife convinced me to watch Monser In Law last night. I'm not a big fan of Lopez or Fonda, but the movie was still okay.

Hope to finally get to watch Sahara tonight.

Belcherwm:

I didn't watch '24' when it was running on television normally.
But this weekend A&E ran 24 hours of '24', and I got hooked.
I bought Seasons 2 and 3 (7 DVD's in each season, four 43 minute episodes per DVD, 2100 minutes).
I watched the first 4 DVDs (16 episodes) yesterday, on a little television, just off to the right and inbehind my job workspace. More 'work' to do today. Can't say I was amazingly productive yesterday, considering the hours, so I'll probably have to cut back on the '24' a bit today.

I think I would have OD'd on that much 24 in one day!

Watched 'Noises Off' tonight. It is hilarious! The Cleveland show had me lying in the chair gasping for breath!

My wife and I became 24 junkies last year. As an episode ends, it is sooooo difficult to shut the PJ down and head to bed. To those just getting into the series, it keeps getting better and better. BUT...this past season was absolutely the best yet.

Friday night the wife and I watched "The Last Castle." Not bad, and some amazing bass!

Randy

Highly recommend "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Guns" directed by Guy Ritchie. This is one clever funny English ganster flick that grabs you by the lapels until the very end. Better than "Layer Cake" which is also very good.

Also viewed "Warriors of Heaven and Earth" an OK Chinese western and M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village" which had many of his Sixth Sense trademarks.

Just finished the LOTR extended edition marathon. Just about 12 hours or so. Had a couple friends over, and a few meals on the ready. Good time had by all.

For serious film buffs only. Adapted from the Fyodor Dostoyevsky short story, director Luchino Visconti’s Le Notti Bianche - in an excellent black and white dvd transfer -is a romantic, shattering tale of the restlessness of dreamers. Drama takes place on a canal bridge in Venice 1957 where a chance encounter results in a series of twilight rendezvous between a lonely city transplant (Marcello Mastroianni) and a sheltered woman (Maria Schell) haunted by a lover’s promise.

Hmmm. The Netflix description makes it sound like Last Tango in Paris. Nevertheless, I moved it up toward the top of the queue.

Netflix film reviews?...Last Tango?.... ummm....no comment.

To understand why this movie caused such heated debates and fistfights in coffeehouses one has to understand some of the cultural and political trends affecting European art in the late 50's. This film was released one year after the Hungarian Revolution with Europe caught between two competing ideologies in the midst of the Cold War. While you could view this movie as a simple love story, Visconti's Maria is an allegory for a confused Europe and he drives home that message at the brilliant ending.

Watched Sahara this weekend. Not as great as I hoped it would be. Fun, but not quite what I expected. I was extremely tired though the night I watched it, and actually started dozing off towards the end.

Same here. Watched Sahara the other night and was disappointed.

On another note....seen it before, but Ocean's Eleven sure looked great in HD on CBS last night.

Dan

Had a bunch of friends over for This is Spinal Tap. I had never seen it. It was very good but the picture quality and sound left a lot to be desired. Still very much worth watching though if there is anyone else out there who has never seen it either.

Saw Walk the Line at the film festival. Story of Johnny
Cash's early career leading up to his seminal concert at Folsom prison. Didn't think Joachim Phoenix could pull it off as Cash and Witherspoon as June Carter but they did it well. Rave reviews after the premier.

Just saw Crash and thought it was an awesome movie. Recommended!!!

watched bladerunner last night. just as good as it was the first time. maybe seven tonight

Watch Hitchiker's Guide a few nights ago. Didn't like it. It started off pretty good but that was it. I've heard some good things about Crash lately, so that'll likely be next. It's been a little while since I've seen something good, and new.

Dan

I preferred the BBC series from a few years back. I think it was better than the movie.

Of course, that's just my opinion.....

My wife and I just finished watching Crash. We both thought it was decent but not great.

Interesting thing...the widescreen version says 1.85 aspect on the back of the case, yet it's actually 2.35.

Dan

Yesterday, my older daughter, recovering from having her wisdom teeth removed, spent the day doped up and watched Kill Bill I & II.

And last night the rest of us watched Jurassic Park III.

Randy

i recently did jurrassic 1 and 2 also, wow! the bass shakers got a work-out with those movies. i'm gonna try shawn of the dead next.

Lets see we've had to poor sequals this weekend. Triple X, poor Samuel L. caught in a really weak movie. Ring Two, what can I say about Ring Two...it sucked.

Cy

People vs. Lary Flint, Pirates of Silicon Valley, and The Girl Next Door...........uhhhhhhhhh.......so hot

Robots...even my kids found it boring.

Wife and I sat down last night and watched Guess Who with Bernie Mac and Kutcher.

Pretty funny movie. Though I find Mac pretty much funny in everything he does.

I broke down and got all the premium channels for my HD DVR. I thought blockbuster.com would be sufficient, but there was a free HBO weekend over Labor Day and I got hooked on HD, especially with firewire to my HTPC.

So I'm watching Napoleon Dynamite again. Gets funnier every time.

Kill Bill 2 last night. One of my favorites. Great PQ.

I DVR'd The Incredibles this afternoon and scanned through it, but the DVD already looked HD.

DVR'd I Robot too. Nice.

I got HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax (in addition to INHD, INHD2, HDNET, HDMOV), but Cinemax isn't in HD here on Adelphia :(

Watched Alien Vs Predator over the weekend for the first time with DTS sound. If you can forget about aliens and just have fun it with it's a pretty good watch. After that I watched Death Wish II and Death Wish III, guilty pleasures both- how can ya not enjoy Bronson with a gun in hand? :)

Watching Wesley Snipes in The Marksman. A straight to DVD movie. Impulse buy at a DVD store. It's awful. Felt compelled to turn on the computers while it plays in order to have something to do. The army pilot who is flying a navy F14 off the aircraft carrier 'SSN Eriske', is crosseyed. BTW, an 'SSN' is a submarine.

Watched ffolks (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00009AOBJ/qid=1127884402/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-6557182-0679111?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846) yesterday with Roger Moore. Really good film.

Finally got around to watching I, Robot last night (HBO HD).

I'd put it off because it was clear that the only thing the story had to do with Asimov was that yes, there were robots and they paid lip service to the 3 laws.

Nothing to strongly recommend it, but it was OK for Tuesday night.

Randy

I'm a Family Guy addict, so yesterday I picked up the new "story of Stewie" DVD - I'm not sure of the actual name, but I had several friends over for it, and we were sore from laughing when it was done. It's about 90 minutes, and it's broken into two episodes. I think the box said "uncensored" - and while not completely true (they bleeped out the F-bombs), it's definitely more raunchy than the regular TV show. It's just 4:3, but for 90 minutes with Stewie... I can deal with that! :D

Oh - and I'll second the comments on The Marksman and Hitchhiker's Guide. The only thing that kept me watching Hitchhiker was the fact that Marvin's voice was painfully familiar and I figured if I watched long enough I'd figure it out before I hit the credits. I didn't, so I'm glad I didn't forget to look at who did his voice. (I forget his name, but it's the same actor that played Gabriel in Dogma, and Snape in Harry Potter)

The Marksman was just stupid - especially since Wesley Snipe's character ISN'T A $%&@#!*% MARKSMAN!!! But a military movie called "The Painter" probably would just go straight to DVD.... :rolleyes:

Also caught I, Robot. It was okay. Now I'm re-reading the books.

Netflixxed 'Citizen Ruth'. A clever satire of extremists on both sides of the abortion battle. Laura Dern is superb (yech) as a good candidate for abortion if ever there was one. Not often that you find yourself laughing on that battleground.

Last night we finished watching "Kinsey". Very interesting movie - really opens my semi-young eyes as to why lots of older people (60+) have the viewpoints about bedroom activities that they have.

My daugther and I watched Robots yesterday. While the sound and animation was great, the characters and story were flat. I had to hold back the Zzzzs towards the end. While it wasn't nearly as bad as Valiant (may be the worst animated movie I've ever seen), the people at Pixar have no equal when it comes to this genre.

Dan

I'm watching "Contact" in HD from the DVR.
Great transfer.

The wife and I watched "Almost Famous" last night. We liked it a lot - much funnier than I had expected.

Randy

I had a bunch of friends over for Sin City last night. We could not decide whether we liked it or wanted our 2 hours back. But it looked great and images from the movie sure do stay with you.

Recent remake of The Amityville Horror... I was happily shocked with this piece and I am huge fan of horror.

Recently one of the finest horror works was Rob Zombies House of 1000 Corpses

DVD features are hysterical and the movie itself is a beautiful throwback to 70's horror film even down to the grainy filming it is a ride through dementia....

Not something I need to watch again anytime soon... so magnificently directed.

We attended Art's HT meet on Saturday. I saw one amazing home theater demo!

And I've absolutely got to go out and get a copy of "House of Flying Daggers" now!

Randy

Really enjoyed "A Very Long Engagement". Great plot , strong acting, good twists and action. Mystery and love story set in post- WWI France.

Also tried to watch Fight Club again but couldn't make it through more than halfway. Pitt was really bad in this one.

Watch Hitchiker's Guide a few nights ago. Didn't like it. It started off pretty good but that was it.

Dan

Normally I would think this type of movie as stupid, but I guess I had fun watching it b/c it had been a very long time ago that I read the books. Found it humorous at times.

Robots was ok. Laughed at Robin Williams character and some of the hidden jokes, but that was about it. Can't believe some of the words & images they include. Even though it's rated PG, there will still be a lot of younger kids who will watch it. I've always like & trust Disney & Pixar. They can be really funny without stretching the limits of decency. I don't have to preview their movies to see if it's appropriate for my kids.

I had a bunch of friends over for Sin City last night. We could not decide whether we liked it or wanted our 2 hours back. But it looked great and images from the movie sure do stay with you.

The imagery was awesome, but my wife and I stopped it after 20 minutes. We couldn't take anymore of it.

I watched Green Street Hooligans (http://imdb.com/title/tt0385002/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnx0dD0xfGZiPXV8cG49MHxrdz0xfHE9Z3JlZW4gc3RyZWV0 IGhvb2xpZ2Fuc3xmdD0xfG14PTIwfGxtPTUwMHxjbz0xfGh0bWw9MXxubT0x ;fc=1;ft=4) with Elijah Wood on Sunday night, and it was totally bad ass. There was only one 'Hobbit Moment'; at one point he was like "I don't even know where my home is anymore!" and I yelled out "It's in the Shire. Frodo, the Shire!" but other than that, a really great film.

Not sure if this is out on retail discs anymore, I had a screener copy. Worth seeing either way.

Watched Hitchhiker's Guide last night.

I thought it was okay, definitely a rental for me though. Had it's moments that I found really funny, and some that just didn't land.

If you like martial arts type flicks then check out Ong-Bak: Thai Warrior. Tony Jaa is as good as the young Bruce Lee. Incerdible stunts with no wires or aids.

Elijah Wood plays a psycho killer in 'Sin City'. It might disabuse you of the hobbit connection. :)

Ouch. I'm planning to watch the LOTR trilogy with my young daughter.

How young? It's pretty intense in spots. (Have you seen it yourself?)

Yes I have seen it (LOTR). She's my youngest, 10yrs. Hmmm...Maybe we'll watch Grease instead. Though its risque in parts too.

we watched gladiator last night...the bass on that movie is unbelievable

Ohhhhhhh what a great thread.... :)

I have grown really bored with the majority of American made movies. I have seen about 130 movies through Netlfix in the last year and a lot of good foreign ones.

In the last week I saw "Bad Education" Spanish subtitled.Bad Education at IMDB (http://imdb.com/title/tt0275491/) Watch this one carefully. Great twisty plot.

and "Saving Grace" Saving Grace at IMDB (http://imdb.com/title/tt0195234/) (a little older). Brenda Blethyn is enjoyable to watch in this movie about a widow who needs money and decides to raise marijuana.

T

A couple of months ago I watched "The Thin Man" and didn't really enjoy it. It was merely ok. Didn't see what all the fuss was about.

Tonight I watched "After the Thin Man" (1936), The humor still works.
And where does one find a marriage like this? Wonderful.
Much better movie IMO than the original.

Saturday night the wife and I decided on a Halloween theme movie. We watched "End of Days".

Not a bad Gabriel Byrne movie, especially after a glass of bourbon and soda!

Randy

Watched Lords of Dogtown with my son. Neat stunts. Rebels on boards. A love story. Tragic hero. I can see why its so popular with teenagers.

Last week we watched Cellular - ugh.... I hate movies like this where you just want to scream at the screen "WHY ARE YOU SO STUPID???" to the main character.

Saturday night we watched Crash - very interesting movie. We had absolutely no idea of what to expect, and we really liked it.

Last night we had a full house for Robots. I just can't get enough of the animated movies! :D

Speaking of animated movies. Last week we watched Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch has a Glitch. This movie was actually in some parts better than the origonal.

Last week we watched Cellular - ugh.... I hate movies like this where you just want to scream at the screen "WHY ARE YOU SO STUPID???" to the main character.

Saturday night we watched Crash - very interesting movie. We had absolutely no idea of what to expect, and we really liked it.

Last night we had a full house for Robots. I just can't get enough of the animated movies! :D

To each their own, but I gotta say crash was one of the steamiest peices of cr*p that my wife and I have seen in a long time.

Way too heavy handed, littered with every cliche in the book and largely pointless.

arrrgh

:)

Watched Spaceballs last night. What a classic!

"Not Ludicrus speed!"

My wife and I actually thought Crash was a pretty good movie.
I like movies where everything comes together at the end and where everyone is connected to the other without really knowing it.

We also got Robots, but haven't watched it yet.

Watched Kindom of Heaven on Sunday night. Good movie. I give it 3 out of 5 stars. Great picture and sound. I'm a Ridley Scott fan so...

watched bladerunner last night. just as good as it was the first time. maybe seven tonight

Wouldn't it be nice if they would release Ridley Scott's Blade Runner special edition? I can't believe that this has been shelved...

On the topic of martial arts films I say Kungfu Hustle on the weekend. Kinda silly, but alot of genuine laughs in that movie, definitely raises the bar for HK martial arts flicks....

We're towards the end of 'Kingdom of Heaven'. With a 8-month old & a new one on the way, we're getting frustrated that we have to watch movies in sections over a couple of days :( We are really lost with what is going on in this movie. The sound effects are very dynamic and the dialogue is very soft and hard to understand at times. We are constantly rewinding & turning up the volume to try and make out what the characters are talking about. The visuals are stunning! High contrasting like in the 'Gladiator' and dynamic color accents. I would watch this again simply for the visuals and to hopefully understand it but the story leaves you lacking.

We attended Art's HT meet on Saturday. I saw one amazing home theater demo!

And I've absolutely got to go out and get a copy of "House of Flying Daggers" now!

Randy

Great seeing you guys even for that brief time. That Flying Daggers Demo was added at the last minute but very cool I thought( Ken Whitcomb's idea). I'm such a videophile that, although I love the LFE , it just doesn't excite me like the video.

I know there were complaints about the volume from some of the wives downstairs after the demos( I heared later) but in fact it was set at three points below reference.

To show you how much I love LFE I watched Top Hat with Fred Astaire and Gingewr Rogers and The Great Ziegfeld with William Powell ( both 1930's films) over the weekend ( mono). :D

I'm with you, Art. It's fun doing demos, but I'm in it for the movies. I do not select my movies on their aspect ratio, sound format, or visual effects.

Which reminds me - gotta go pick up my copy of "Batman Begins"!

Randy

Randy-
Watched that(Batman) last night. Monica and I enjoyed it very much. -j

I picked up Batman Begins too but haven't watched it yet. I also impulse-purchased a few that I'm ashamed to admit, as a movie lover, I've never seen: The Godfather I and II.

I'm expecting my drought of seeing a really good movie, that's new to me, is about to come to an end....

Dan

I picked up Batman Begins too but haven't watched it yet. I also impulse-purchased a few that I'm ashamed to admit, as a movie lover, I've never seen: The Godfather I and II.

I'm expecting my drought of seeing a really good movie, that's new to me, is about to come to an end....

Dan


OMG. Sit down this weekend and watch both back to back. As a movie lover, it should make for a great weekend. :)

Wouldn't it be nice if they would release Ridley Scott's Blade Runner special edition? I can't believe that this has been shelved...

On the topic of martial arts films I say Kungfu Hustle on the weekend. Kinda silly, but alot of genuine laughs in that movie, definitely raises the bar for HK martial arts flicks....

Hey Goth

I just saw the Director's cut of Blade Runner a couple of weeks ago on HDNet movies. What a yawner. 8-( This one does not stand the test of time. I couldn't even get through it. I admit the look was great but a movie needs more than that.

T

Blade Runner is in my top 10 movies of all time.

Hey Goth

I just saw the Director's cut of Blade Runner a couple of weeks ago on HDNet movies. What a yawner. 8-( This one does not stand the test of time. I couldn't even get through it. I admit the look was great but a movie needs more than that.

T

Blade Runner was always a slow paced movie, that hasn't changed. Back when it was released you either loved it or hated it. I consider it one of the best sci fi's of all time. And I repectfully disagree. I believe Blade Runner holds up very well, it's mood and storyline are timeless. Special effects become dated no matter what, but consider that Blade Runner still looks better than ANYTHING in Star Wars-Attack of the Clones/Phantom Menace (apologies to Star Wars fans-or at least to the ones who like the new movies). :P

Rutger Hauer has never been cooler

Preach it brotha!

I'm going to be doing an outdoor showing of Young Frankenstein on Halloween. It should be interesting :D

Blade Runner was always a slow paced movie, that hasn't changed. Back when it was released you either loved it or hated it. I consider it one of the best sci fi's of all time. And I repectfully disagree. I believe Blade Runner holds up very well, it's mood and storyline are timeless. Special effects become dated no matter what, but consider that Blade Runner still looks better than ANYTHING in Star Wars-Attack of the Clones/Phantom Menace (apologies to Star Wars fans-or at least to the ones who like the new movies). :P

Rutger Hauer has never been cooler

Agree. Like any film you kind of must let go. This is a slow film no doubt. If you like the frenetic pace, like a TV commercial where no single thing stays on for more than one second( not exaggerating), you will sleep with Blade Runner) If a pace that one can savor things appeals ,( as it does more for me) you will love what I think is a great film. By the way I never saw BR until I bought the really bad DVD eight years ago. I now have the Japanese HD version and the HD Net one.

Art

Last night it was girl's pick - we watched "In Good Company." Not bad, not great.

Tonight, my youngest daughter is having her Halloween party - lots of 13 year old girls watching "The Amityville Horror", "Carrie" or "Misery" (they haven't decided yet).

Randy

I watched Batman Begins last night. The first half was just excellent. Overall, I liked it. There were a few silly parts later on, but it was mostly pretty good. 3 out of 4 stars.

Dan

I watched "My Summer of Love (http://imdb.com/title/tt0382189/) ".

very Good British on drama on 2 girls who fall in love. Great ending....

T

Lets see lately we have watched:

Batman Begins: Saw it in the theaters, much better presentation of that story than the overly kiddish versions Tim Burton did (and I like a lot of TB work).

Sideways: What you have heard about this movie is all true. ;-) Some people love it and some people hate it. For me it was OK at best.

Cy