I didn't know about Sean Connery and those two movies. Very interesting. You are right, though, there are countless stories like that.

Must agree here, with the content out there. I am really waiting for Ice Age 2 to come out, since I never got to see it in theatres.

However, here's what I have viewed recently: 16 Blocks, The Man, Underclassman, Bandits, Syriana, Nanny McFee, Prime, and a few others. None of them were really LFE ridden...and none of them were all that great.

16 blocks -- I was disappointed by 16 blocks -- thought it would be better. Not much action, but the little bit that was there definately tickled the system. Interesting story, though, but just rather boring (to me at least).

The Man -- Actually, a funny movie, with a couple of interesting car scenes. Some shooting scenes, as well. At least it was interesting, and kept my attention.

Underclassman -- Decent movie, not too funny, or boring, but it could have been better. Some decent shooting scenes, which bring the surrounds alive. A few boat scenes which do the same. Interesting enough story line, but I figure it has been done before...somewhere.

Bandits -- Could have been a better movie, if they trimmed some time off of it. Otherwise, the story was alright, and certain scenes brought the system alive. The end was a bit of a suprise...and what I thought to be the best part of the movie.

Syriana -- It made sense, but it didn't make sense to watch it. Rather boring to me...but others may disagree.

Nanny McFee -- A rather humorous and interesting childrens movie. It had some decent effects, especially with the magic stick. Some decent LFE there too.

Prime -- Not much LFE or anything, but it was a good movie. Again, a little long, but the story was good, for the most part. They could have made it a little shorter...and it would have gotten the point across.

Next up, Ghost ship and The Village (neither of which I have seen before). I hope they are good...and keep me interested...otherwise, I may have to listen to more music...hehe.

NEED ICE AGE 2!!!

I thought Ghost Ship was a good movie - one we rented for the very reason this thread was started!!
The Village was also rented for this reason, and personally, I did not think it was worth the few dollars to rent....

Ice Age 2 was a very good movie. Cars was also a movie I really enjoyed.

I bought that one and I agree with you. It's a good'n. – Definitely not a movie for youngins though…….

We watched "The Matador" last night. The sound track and LFE were excellent! I was quite impressed with it. In the beginning, a car bomb resulted in my drink jumping out of my hand and onto my girlfriend’s lap when I wasn't paying attention to the movie while fiddling with the remote, which resulted in me getting whacked upside the head as she got the effect of the car bomb from the ep600 and 12 ounces of cold sticky liquid at the same time. The story line itself was one where I found myself disgusted that I was laughing my ass off at times. I reckon that makes a good story eh?

Watched Ultraviolet with my 12 YO a couple nights ago. Even he thought that it well, …. to use his words “this sucks dad”.

A friend brought over a copy of "Snatch." That is one funny movie - a Brit Pulp Fiction sort of effort. Terrific. I recommend it highly, although it did not have much in the way of audio virtue.

I'm going to get a copy of Matador and Running Scared ... never heard of them before - thanks.

Just glad that I have a never ending supply of movies. I signed up with Blockbuster online, and now, I get two movies at home, any time, and also a free movie coupon every week, for 52 weeks. I tell ya, I love watching movies...as I can't stand cable (until the school season starts, and all the new shows come out again). Summer TV is lame...

I will check out some of the other ones (I have to return one movie tonight and pick up another free one). Always great to be able to go to the store, as DVD's are in the mail.

For anyone who likes "Running Scared", I would also suggest "The Cooler" staring William H. Macy, Maria Bello, and Alec Baldwin. It was written & directed by Wayne Kramer, the same writer/director of "Running Scared".

Also, another poorly marketed move that really pays off is "A History of Violence" starring Viggo Mortensen. Just as violent as "Running Scarred" but with some really good character moments.

I liked "A History of Violence." You are right, though, it is more about character than plot and I think that dissaudes people from seeing it.

I thought A History of Violence was a pretty good show.

I think TV shows with a story are usually way better then most movies. Right now Stargate and Atlantis started back up and they are excelent shows. BattleStar Galactica is another, unfortunately since Sci-Fi channel is not in HDTV the quality of those sucks... downloading from the web the ones that air on the BBC are in HDTV and are excellent, esp BSG.

Alias was one of the very best sounding TV shows I know of, too bad it went downhill quality wise (story) in it's last season.

And no, I have no good movie recomendations... recently saw Munich which was excellent but it came out late last year. The few explosions in the film were pretty big LFE wise as well.

Also rented Jackie Chan's New Policy Story, excellent picture quality but the story wasn't anything special. Decent action for those that like these types of movies but nothing extrodinary.

I have started renting all the past seasons of Stargate SG1 through Netflix and I have to say that I'm really enjoying it! I would have never have watched it on TV (don't have the patience nor the time) so thanks to Netflix I'm able to watch so many good shows and weed out the bad ones. I can't wait to rent Battlestar Galactica!

A couple of other thoughts.

If you liked "Snatch", check out "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels". Guy Ritchie was responsible for both. Enjoy!

In a totally different vein, a movie I rented because I remembered good press, and my wife wanted something different was "Chocolat". This truly was an outstanding movie (though low on the LFE quotient!). If I tell you the plot is about a woman and her daughter opening up a chocolate shop in a small French town, you'd never go see it.

But in all seriousness, it is very well done: Beautiful camera work, excellent acting, sweet story without being cloying. Think of it as a really good bittersweet chocolate, and not a Hershey's bar. When it was over my wife felt it was one of her favorite movies, ever. Period.

Rich

Just thought of a really good movie that didn’t get much hype…….Flight Plan with Jodie Foster. I thought it was a real sleeper with some pretty kickass LFE’s.

We watched the Family Stone last night. Real good movie. Not much for LFE, but it was pretty funny.

I guess I'm the only one who's seen the Worlds Fastest Indian. Well if you like Anthony Hopkins it's a good flick, by the way it's about a motorcycle not a fast Native American

The World's Fastest Indian is on my Netflix queue, so you won't be the only one for long!

For some reason, Jodi Foster is like scraping finger nails on a chalk board for me ... except for her performance in Silence of the Lambs.

Thanks for the recommendations! I'm going to go looking for World's Fastest Indian and Lock, Stock and 2 Barrels.

I hate to admit that I like SG-1, but I think Harry Dean Stanton is the highest expression of Minnesota cool ever.

Battle Star Galactica - I lent my Season 1, have yet to see it again, but I watch Season 2 episodes. I think this may be the best sci fi series of all time - and if you put them all together it may be the longest and best sci fi movie of all time.

Nice avatar, Rich!

When you guys were talking about Running Scared, I was confused. I thought that one starred Gregory Hines and Billy Crystal

I saw Worlds Fastest Indian a week or so back, very good indeed.

For those interested (.....) Johnny Depp plays a major part in Chocolat. Also, the main character (the chocolate lady...) played Trinity in the Matrix. Interesting to see people in very different roles. Both actors did an excellent job, I thought.

Loved Chocolat!

I have World's Fastest Indian right in front of me and will be getting to it tonight or tomorrow probably. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is also in the house.

For some reason, I can't warm up to Jody Foster. I think she's wonderfully intelligent, and a fine actress, but I just can't seem to make an emotional connection with her. I thought the casting of her as Anna in Anna And The King was a huge casting gaff. Should've been Emma Thompson, who just happens to actually be British, as was Anna.

Just watched The Village, and I liked it. Not tons of LFE, but enough. The walk through the forest was definately 'hair-raising.' I enjoyed it...and look forward to seeing 'The Lady in the Water.' Also looking forward to watching 'Pirates of the Carrib.' part II. Looks like another one to go see in theatres.

Awating 'Ghost Ship.'

Watched End Game last night. I thought it just had to be good with Cuba Gooding Jr in it, and I reckon it was for the most part. Until the end that is. It had me guessing “who did it” the whole way. Then you find out in the end, and whole conclusion / ending sucked. I’m still pissed at it. Good sound, good all around movie…..with a crappy ending.

I know what you guys are saying about Jody Foster. I liked her in Contact and Flight Plan. Not much else. Don’t let her dissuade you from watching Flight Plan though; it really is a good movie. Especially if you have youngins and have ever “lost” one. I lost my boy for three hours when he was six. In Wal-Mart right after Thanksgiving of all places and it still gives me a gut ache thinking about it. Little fart thought it was funny seeing his parents and security officers frantically running around looking for him.

Other than the obvious blockbusters I'd have to recommend "The Skeleton Key" with Kate Hudson. This one has a good twist at the end and some good surround effects.

I want to build on a point Cam made earlier. I have been alternating between Netflix and Blockbuster with 3 at a time mail deliveries for a couple of years. The depth and breadth of selections with each are remarkable. I try and get movies I might not otherwise rent and also look for older classics that might not be available in a store (High Noon, Rio Bravo, etc.) The point is that this opens up a much broder array of subject matter.

I try and use Amazon to help me make selections. If you get into their DVD section and type in the name of a movie (or actor), the screen that comes up provides great info on the movie, but a little further down, they also provide 4-5 recommendations for other movies of a similar type. You can walk through quite a smorgasboard of selections you may not otherwise think of.

The other beauty of Netflix/Blockbuster is the broad selection of concert & music videos as well as TV series (I just finished the 3 seasons of the original Star Trek series). You normally don't see this selection at a B&M store.

A surprisingly good movie I watched a few days ago is End of the Spear; quite powerful movie, especially since it’s based on true events.
~Jaime

Geez, I've never had so many people agree with anything I've ever said (the "Chocolat" recommendation). I feel so validated.

2x6, you really will love "Lock, Stock, etc" if you liked "Snatch".

Tom, that picture was taken right after her birthday party, and you know why that party was such a hit -- it was the music!

VikingShips just one small correction. Carrie Ann Moss (Trinity) isn't the chocolatier. She plays a critical role as the mom of the young boy, and is estranged from her mother.

I didn't mention Johnny Depp because sometimes people construe different things when they hear that. But as I started thinking about it, he is somebody whom I really do like consistently from movie to movie. And there has been a wide range of movies! So I can definitely recommend going over to IMDB.com and perusing the movies he's done if you're looking for ideas.

On Netflix & Blockbuster. I just finished taking Blockbuster for a test spin, and am now doing the same with Netflix. Don't have any firm opinions yet on which one is "better", but I can definitely agree with whomever said they provide great depth and breadth of movies.

My wife is younger than I am, so I've been using these services as a way to queue up a bunch of classic movies that I got to experience in my youth, as well as a bunch of movies from the heyday of US Filmmaking, primarily in the late '60s through the '70s. My wife doesn't think of herself as much of a moviegoer, but the reality is that she's loving this experience, and doing it in the comfort of your own home (theater) has all of advantages/virtues we've extolled here so often.

Anyhow, enjoy.

Rich
PS I didn't find Jodie Foster all that more engaging in person than some of you do in movies. I still think she peaked with "Bad News Bears" and "Taxi Driver"! That was a looooong time ago.

Hey Ray. If you haven't already discovered it, the Internet Movie Database is a GREAT resource for info on movies. You'll find nothing about prices, etc., but you'll find a wealth of knowledge regarding the films themselves, and the actors in them. You'll even find info on movies that are merely in the development stage.

Good post, Rich. btw, I liked Chocolat, too. My wife usually is more successful at picking movies we both like than I am. Although we both select our share of films where you just look at each other at the end and wonder why you spent two hours of your life watching that.

I need to re-view Edward Scissorhands.

I had to check, because I always used to get them mixed up too, but it was Tatum O'Neal in Bad News Bears, not Jodie Foster. It was a long time ago!

Boy, there is a movie from my childhood that I saw on "Million Dollar Movie," that I just can't find ... David Lean's "Breaking the Sound Barrier." Saw it when I was a kid and loved it then ... would like to see how it plays now that I'm all grown up.

Some great recommendations out there - thanks! When I'm done with my current project, I'll have a bunch of movies to try out.

Thanks Jack. I wander into IMDB from time to time. I have had a jones for movies since I was a kid and I watch the ones I like several times.

When I see the title for an older movie I enjoyed, that usually triggers a Netflix request. Problem is, it''s tough going through years of a mental catalog to pull out a title. Especially as the room the catalog is in gets dimmer as the years march on.

Just watched "Ghost Ship" and "House of Sand and Fog" this past weekend. Ghost Ship was ok, and had its interesting moments. HoSaF wasn't 'action packed' but the end was really good. The movie itself was kinda slow, but the story line was definately something interesting. In the end, no one won (try saying that fast three times -- ).

Also saw PoTC: Dead Man's Chest...and it was OK. Kinda long, at 2.5 hours...and some material could have been left out...but I gather it will be used somewhere in the third movie. I did wait for all the credits to go by...and saw the 'last scene' of the movie...which explains nothing...but, shows what happened to one particular character, in the movie...so I would suggest waiting (in a theatre) to watch that little bit of info.

I also happened to watch the first episode of 'Lost' (don't know how I missed it...) on DVD. Nice, and action packed, good surround/LFE, and best of all, no commercials!

Now, waiting for Fantastic 4 and Derailed -- another set, that I have never watched before.

Looks like another lousy week for DVD releases, but next week V for Vendetta comes out and I haven't seen it

I bought this DVD a=on a whim ($7 at DeepDiscount DVD), but I think it is a must watch for any comic book fan: Daredevil - Director's Cut. VASTLY superior to the theatrical release. There is about 30 extra minutes that improves the pacing and expands on the characters.

SPOILER ALERT!!! In the theatrical version, while on the rooftop with Elektra (Jennifer Garner) Daredevil senses someone in trouble but forgoes saving the innocent and instead bangs Elektra. In the director's cut, Daredevil pushes Elektra's advances aside and saves the victim. Now, I like watching a Jennifer Garner love scene as much as anyone, but I felt the scene in the original was way out of character. The new version is more in line with the actual hero.

The "making of" extra is revealing as well, where the director passionatly talks about his love for the director's cut and the movie exec stoically talks about the theater version and why it is better. Definately worth a seond luck for those dissapointed in the theater cut.

From a comic book fan, thanks for the tip! I have not yet seen Daredevil due to mixed/poor reviews, but now I'll check out the director's cut. Cool!

Where's Craig (spiffnme)? He's an expert on this. You might even find pithy comments from him by searching the forum for Daredevil.

spiff has been rather absent.
Where has that boy gone? Sweden this time?

I think Mr. Bear has him hogtied and ball-gagged in the basement ...

My boy and I had a scary movie night last night. The lil lady doesn’t like them, but she was out of town, so we got our fill. Watched Final Destination 3 and The Hills Have Eyes.

I didn’t find either one to be very “scary”, but they weren’t “B” rated crap either. FD-3 in DTS 6.1 had some incredible surround and LFE’s throughout the movie. It was the first time I was catching myself looking behind me at the Q’s thinking “holy crap” those things put out some sound. There was about ten minutes when the soon to die teenagers were around, near and then on a roller coaster. It was way cool hearing it in good surround. I’m going to buy this movie just to keep around for demonstrations. Plus, I want to hear it again when I finally get the system in a dedicated room.

Even if you don’t like scary movies, you gotta rent FD-3 just to hear it. The Hills Have Eyes was OK, but didn’t really do it for me. It needed less gore and more suspense.

Watched the fantastic four last night, in DTS. Lemme tell ya, the movie was interesting for sure, but the sound effects in the movie were GREAT! I had a grin from ear to ear.

There is TONS of LFE, surround, etc. Dialogue was clear, and the bass was hitting hard, when The Thing was walking around or breaking the road or just plain 'ole crushing the truck. The scene that I liked most was them taking off in the spaceship....talk about shaking the room...the sound and vibration was AWESOME!

Need more movies like that...I do.

Just wathed 'Derailed' this evening. Must say, the movie had a nice twist. Acting wasn't all that great, but certain performances were ok, to say the least. The twist was good, though...I must admit.

Lots of dialogue in the movie, some LFE from the sub -- though this isn't really an 'action' movie, per se. Good plot, good story. They could have cut a few scenes from it...and it wouldn't harm the movie.

Recommended, nonetheless.

Watched The Matador last nite, very entertaining. Sound was pretty good too, LFE was pretty good for a non-LFE type movie.

I thought The Matador was pretty good. A good role for Brosnan.

I watched The Matador last week, as well. I've never been, particularly, a huge fan of Pierce Brosnan, dismissing him as just another pretty face. But, I have to admit that I've found his performances, in the last few movies in which I've seen him, notably The Matador, to be impressive. It's good to see him break the "handsome leading man" stereotype, and prove he is a far better actor than I thought.

I'll have to check out 'Matador' (if I ever get a working receiver back). I remember Brosnan best from watching him on TV in 'Remington Steele'.

Matador is light years ahead of Remington Steele, acting wise for Brosnan.

Just finished watching Inside Man and Brick, both were worth watching.