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Re: So what are you watching tonight?
CV #387632 01/02/13 06:48 AM
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All I know is that I'm probably out $500; however, the only good thing is that it is not counted as an 'accident' against our record as the car was legally parked with no one in it.

Anyway - back to the topic of movies. Tonight we finished the last of the 6 SW movies - Episode III 'Revenge of the Sith'. Again the visual special effects were up another notch & were often stunning, especially in the galactic battle scenes. Audio wise, the opening scene shook the house with authority for what seemed to be forever. Interestingly, all of the BDs were coded in 6.1 surround.

Overall, this remastered 6 BD set is well worth owning if you are a sci-fi fan. It provided us with a ton of quality entertainment over the last week.

As for the future, it'll be interesting to see how Disney develops & presents the next 3 episodes that are due out starting in 2015...

TAM

Re: So what are you watching tonight?
CV #387784 01/05/13 12:39 AM
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Last night I watched the Blu-rays of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, Total Recall (2012) and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. I watched them in that order hoping I would work my way from worst to best thus keeping my attention. Though I can’t say I was right.

Here are the Blu-Ray.com reviews for those interested in the Video/Audio quantity since nothing in any of them really struck me as extremely good or bad to comment on.

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Halo-4-Forward-Unto-Dawn-Blu-ray/56435/#Review

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Total-Recall-Blu-ray/54080/#Review

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Sherlock-Holmes-A-Game-of-Shadows-Blu-ray/30266/#Review

As I watched Halo I got the impression it was a pilot for a TV show, later research indicated it was a Web series so I wasn’t too far off. Note this comment isn’t a criticism just an observation and in some ways a complement especially after reading it only had a budget of $10 million. The video and especially the audio quality belie its meager budget.

The TV pilot aspect of this movie derives from all the character development rather than any shortcomings. Since I generally prefer character driven stories or at least stories with characters I care about I ended up liking this one more than I expected. I also liked that the action sequences were just long enough to get the job done and nothing more.

I’m not a Halo game fan so I can’t say if there are any real strong tie-ins with the game except that the Master Chief does make a showing but isn’t the main character in any way, so don’t watch it expecting to see a series of his exploits.

All in all I like Halo. It was entertaining but nothing I would really watch again unless it was made into a longer series in which case I might go back to refresh my memory.

I can best describe Total Recall as forgettable. Not bad mind you just forgettable. I say that because when I started writing this post it took me quite a while to remember what the name of the third movie was (yes could be old age but I’m sticking with it just being forgettable).

In some ways the premise seemed more plausible than the original and certainly the special effects and audio are much better in this one but nothing much else sticks out. As with most action movies these days the “action” scenes just last too long. Ok maybe the first time I saw a non-stop action scene that lasted 10 minutes it was cool but more is not always better. Directors should take a hint from Joss Whedon in the Avengers and break up the never-ending-action with some witty dialogue or something.

If I was to watch a Total Recall again I would probably go for the first one since at least I can see my friend that got a speaking role in it.

I’m not saying that this movie sucked or anything, it was fairly entertaining just forgettable.

Sherlock Holmes was better than Total Recall but not IMO than Halo, though most people would likely disagree with me on that last part.

I like Downey’s version of Holmes despite it being nothing like the original. When this movie is at its best is when Holmes it talking with people. The Dialogue is witty and interesting but too sparse. IMO far too much of the movie is taken up with the seemingly now obligatory in Hollywood action scenes.

Again this movie isn’t bad but it’s not that great either, it more or less just is.

Ok, I’ve been griping for a while about too many/long action scenes in movies. Don’t’ get me wrong I love a good action scene but too often now they just seem obligatory and don’t really do anything I haven’t seen before done better. If like in Holmes you’re going to have bullets flying through the woods hitting trees around the characters how about noticeable splintering sounds all around you coming from the surrounds (Master and Commander anyone). I could enumerate all sorts of audio fails in most action scenes in the last few years. Perhaps I incorrectly hoped that as surround sound setups became more common more audio would be mastered to better take advantage of it, but that’s not what I’ve been noticing. I really haven’t discovered many new “demo-worthy” movies in a while. My standards are still things like Master and Commander, Appleseed (an anime of all things), Fellowship of the Ring (and not just for the audio in the action scenes even the quite ones can be awesome). About the only new movie I use for demos is Avatar which is masterful both in PQ and SQ.


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Re: So what are you watching tonight?
CV #387807 01/05/13 05:54 PM
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We were in Costco last night & on an impulse buy picked the 4 Blu-Ray Disc set of Indiana Jones - The Complete Adventures. We've always enjoyed this series in the past so we wanted to experience the remastered versions.

Watched the first one - Raiders of the Lost Ark - last night in starting another marathon since Star Wars last week. The remastering is excellent & the sound track is definitely upgraded - very satisfying.

Temple of Doom Tonight...

TAM

Re: So what are you watching tonight?
CV #387826 01/06/13 07:09 PM
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I just finished watching Wings, 1927 silent movie. Remastered in 2012 with sound added by Skywalker Sound. Movie not so silent anymore. Plenty of room shaking LFE explosions and a decent music sound track. Fun movie to watch. It'll be on my buy list.

Last edited by CatBrat; 01/06/13 07:09 PM.
Re: So what are you watching tonight?
CV #387913 01/08/13 03:36 AM
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Watching Tom cry over losing Wilson.

Re: So what are you watching tonight?
CV #388405 01/14/13 09:09 PM
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We finished watching the 4 remastered Indiana Jones Blu-Rays.

It remains a really entertaining set of movies. Overall the video remastering was very well done except for 1 glitch that carried over from the DVD (if I remember correctly). In 'The Last Crusade' where Indy is flying the bi-plane with his Dad in the back seat, when he gestures the 'clock positions' with his hand against the sky, it obvious that they are in front of a blue screen. I thought that they might have been able to fix that.

The higher end sound mix was most enjoyable as well...

TAM

Re: So what are you watching tonight?
CV #388447 01/15/13 04:27 PM
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I watched the 2005 version of King Kong yesterday. It contained an enormous amount of LFE. A very fun movie to watch, and the sound was amazing. Loved watching the huge bugs trying to eat the people.

Re: So what are you watching tonight?
CV #388456 01/15/13 06:09 PM
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Started watching Luther after getting tired of some folks at work talk about it. It's the usual troubled & obsessive cop with a secret vs. a plethora of bad guys but the interesting dynamic is his ongoing pseudo-relationship with a seemingly infallible, female sociopath.

The characters are more key to enjoyment than the stories. Actually, the stories are pretty good but the constant foreshadowing is way too obvious for anyone with half a brain. However, the behavior of the primary antagonist is enough to keep me interested to watch more. Ruth Wilson plays a Very convincing arch-nemesis. A female Joker,if you will, but without the makeup and the giggles.


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Re: So what are you watching tonight?
CV #388882 01/28/13 05:17 AM
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I went to see Django Unchained a while ago, but I guess I never posted about it. I liked it a lot. Tarantino is still great at keeping me stimulated. Such fun characters, such interesting situations they're put in. I can't wait to own it.

I finished watching Secret Garden, the Korean TV drama I may or may not have mentioned. It's a very oddly-told story. It starts out very normal, and then five episodes in, two of the characters swap bodies. I would have been totally surprised by that, only my sister read me the synopsis before I got to that episode. It was kind of impressive that they took the time to really develop the characters before springing that part of the story, though, and it made the whole show more interesting.

I still have a hard time recommending it, though, simply because at one point, several of the episodes have subtitle problems, where the characters are talking and talking with no subtitles, and then all of the subtitles for what was just spoken flash by. I thought I would have to stop watching because of it, but I suppose I was too drawn in. Eventually, the problem went away. Oh, and this is on Netflix. I'm not sure if the problem exists elsewhere. Anyway, weird but good story, and the female lead acts well and has some of the best expressions ever.

Which brings me to this other Korean TV drama, Dream High, which one of my online friends told me to watch. It's pretty great, too, and again, the female lead is entirely too good at her role.

She's a snobby, classically-trained singer who's going to be attending Juilliard. Only, her father turns out to be deeply in debt, and he goes into hiding, abandoning her and her young sister, to avoid his loan shark. The loan shark starts terrorizing them, and he realizes that her singing could be of value, so he pressures her to give up Juilliard and instead audition for admission into Kirin Art School, where talent agencies look for future pop stars. Of course, if she doesn't, then he'll take her younger sister away to work off the debt in some unmentioned way. She feels she's better than Kirin, doesn't think the students there have talent, but her friend (or, more accurately, follower) wants to attend, and they end up doing a joint audition.

She's always been the star, and her friend has always been in her shadow, so it's a jarring experience when the man running the audition gives her friend a pass and her a fail. She asks why, since she feels her greater talent is evident. He illustrates his reasoning by asking her to identify the pieces of music that he's blended together on the piano. She identifies the classical elements, but she fails to recognize what everyone else in the room knows is pop music. He explains that her musical prejudice makes her third-rate, and that's why she didn't pass. But she needs to get in, for her sister's sake, so she gets on her knees and begs to be let in, says she'll do anything. "Get up," the man tells her. "Begging is less than third-rate." She stands up immediately and tells him that she wasn't kneeling before him just then. "What was it I was just seeing, then?" he asks her. "I just..." she said. "I just... I just wanted to get a better look at your nostrils!"

That's the point that I knew I would keep watching. Ha ha. The show has had plenty of good moments since then. Oh, also in the first episode, they played "On the Radio" by Regina Spektor, so that was another plus.

Re: So what are you watching tonight?
CV #389294 02/06/13 07:46 AM
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Dolby ATMOS Q&A: 'Life of Pi' and the Evolution of Sound (High-Def Digest)

I didn't get to hear it in Atmos, but I was still impressed with the sound. I can't wait to hear and feel it at home. Anyway, it's an interesting read and watch.

I've also been trying yet another Korean TV show. Flower Boy Ramen Shop. Spoiled rich boys pursuing physically violent commoner girls seems to be a big thing in Korean TV. Boys Over Flowers and Secret Garden were along the same lines. Also, the actor who portrayed the female lead's dead father in Secret Garden also plays the female lead's dead father in this one. In any case, it's another entertaining show, and it's nice to step outside our geography and take in another culture, and I think it's interesting when a lot of the culture is based on entertainment from here.

I also went to see Warm Bodies last night. Overall, I didn't think they had enough meat for a full movie. It seemed to drag in parts. Still, it's neat to see the kid from About a Boy grown up (well, more than he was, anyway) and acting in other stuff. I'll be going to see him in Jack the Giant Slayer, too.

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