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Post by The Mad Norseman on Dec 19, 2012 22:23:36 GMT -5
Watched "The Polar Express", (A creepy looking animated film from 2004) last night on Blu-ray. Tom Hanks plays (and resembles many of the animated characters!). A little background for this seasonal film: Its about children who have reached that age (8 to 10 or so) where they're starting not to believe in Santa Claus anymore, (Blasphemy! ). The Polar Express (a big 'ol locomotive pulling a coal car and five or six passenger cars) comes through town on Christmas Eve night and spirits away all the fresh disbelievers to the North Pole. Some real weirdness along the way with strange 'roof dwelling hobos', and conductors dragging kids along the trains roof through the blowing snow seems to confirm (to me anyway!) that this is the stuff nightmares are made from! And the creepy style of animation doesn't help... (But Mrs. Mad Norseman didn't fall asleep during this one though, so that says something I suppose,...). It ends predictably (this is a movie for kids afterall...), and that's where I'll stop in case you want to see this one. Okay, here are my ratings: Movie story interest: 3.5 out of 5.0 stars. A decent kid's holiday movie, but some of the scenes and are just a bit too odd and scary. Video quality: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars, (1080p, Aspect ratio 1.85:1). The video is very good - but not razor sharp and hyper-detailed like the best of animated fare put out today. But the animated style? I'll say it again - CREEPY looking! Audio quality: 3.0 out of 5.0 stars, (Dolby Digital 5.1). Yeah, that's right - no loss-less codec! This is UNFORGIVABLE in a Blu-ray release, but the sound was good/acceptable anyway. Could have been a lot better though... There are some good train sounds and lots of use of the LFE track, but not a lot of surround action except here and there. Overall rating – 3.5 out of 5.0 stars, recommended as a good holiday movie for older kids, but might frighten younger ones. I'll sum it up and say its 'okay' holiday/topical entertainment for an 1 hour and 40 minutes! Attachments:
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Post by SticknStones on Dec 20, 2012 22:19:20 GMT -5
The Centurion - 2010 And tonight Ironclad - 2011 Both of these movies are quite grisly but I did enjoy them.
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Post by SticknStones on Dec 21, 2012 22:25:24 GMT -5
Hide Away "A Year in Mooring" - 2011 Sometimes I do not understand critics but so what. This movie is about the soul, how to take time and recover from something that profoundly affects you in your current time. Easy for me to identify with a movie where a man takes on the task of repairing a dilapidated sailboat and repairs it along with himself. Great cast! This is a movie that moves slowly with not so much dialogue as there is instinct about what is being said with out actually saying it. I did like this movie a lot. If you are a sailor you understand patience if not you will probably have a difficult time with this one. The bagpipes and music were nice.
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Post by RichGuy on Dec 23, 2012 22:12:16 GMT -5
Picked this one up at Redbox last night, enjoyed it.
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Post by savjac on Dec 24, 2012 11:10:41 GMT -5
Killer Joe
Awesome movie, hard to not close your eyes on occasion and NOT for the faint of heart . But excellent performances by everyone involved
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Post by The Mad Norseman on Dec 25, 2012 17:32:47 GMT -5
Watched "A Christmas Carol" with Jim Carrey last night on Blu-ray. VERY well produced and animated! Taking this classic old Dickens story and updating the animation to 2009 standards (though oddly there is NO DATE on this Blu-ray, so I had to get the release date from Rotten Tomatoes web site!), makes for a wonderful movie. One note of warning though, is that some scenes had some liberties taken with them, resulting in some pretty frightening chapters that will give little kids nightmares - so be forewarned! Everyone knows this wonderful story of the old tightwad Ebenezer Scrooge and the the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, so I won't go into that here... (Mrs. Mad Norseman and the rest of the family really enjoyed this one too). Okay, here are my ratings: Movie story interest: 4.5 out of 5 stars. Classic Dickens, and follows the original quite closely, dialog and all, but beware some embellished scary scenes. Video quality: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars, (1080p, Aspect ratio 2.40:1). The video is as good as it can get on Blu-ray. Stunning detail, clarity and vibrant color from start to finish. Audio quality: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars, (DTS HD Master Audio 5.1). Also excellent, clear, impressive dynamic swings, and with generous use of the surrounds in most scenes, clear dialog. Perfect. Overall rating – 5.0 out of 5.0 stars, HIGHLY recommended as an excellent (older) family Christmas movie. You'll be blown away by the video & audio quality that's used to great effect in delivering this old Dickens Classic to modern day Blu-ray! A fun, and topical way to spend an hour and 36 minutes! Attachments:
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Post by SticknStones on Dec 25, 2012 22:25:04 GMT -5
Valhalla Rising - 2010 Independent film with 4 awards and 9 nominations. A very period piece with violence from the primordial world. All of my posts in this thread are hyper-linked to Rotten Tomatoes.
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Post by RightinLA on Dec 25, 2012 22:34:58 GMT -5
Celebration Day - Led Zeppelin One of my favorite bands. I really enjoyed watching and listening to them on Blu-ray.
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Post by The Mad Norseman on Dec 26, 2012 19:12:52 GMT -5
We watched "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", a classic from 1969 last night on Blu-ray. I remembered this movie being a lot better,...than it was on re-watching after 40+ years... This is the only release on Blu-ray that I'm aware of (from 2010), and 20th century Fox did an AWFUL job with it! Taking place around the Spanish/American war at the tail end of the old West, Butch & Sundance are of course robbers - 'with a heart and a sense of humor',...the story doesn't hold up too well. The acting is pedestrian, and the story predictable, the second tier acting is far worse. I remembered this movie fondly, but aside from a few humorous scenes, it just tries too hard. (Mrs. Mad Norseman loved it though, but I'd bough it for her, as its one of her favorites - and on Blu-ray, it must be great, right?). Okay, here are my specific ratings: Movie story interest: 3.5 out of 5.0 stars. My rating is mostly based on nostalgia, and Mrs. Mad Norseman's partisan blinders... Video quality: 3.0 out of 5.0 stars, (1080p, purportedly,...and an aspect ratio 2.35:1). The video is a big disappointment. Was any clean up done on this transfer at all? Grain, dirt ans scratches are evident. The colors look washed out, and everything (save a few scenes) is somewhat soft. A real lost opportunity for 20th Century Fox. Audio quality: 1.0 out of 5.0 stars, (DTS HD Master Audio 5.1). What's to say about this part? Absolutely HORRIBLE! I don't expect a lot from a 1969 movie, but an older loved classic like this I DID expect to be above average. But no. Even the songs the movie was partly famous for are terrible. Who mastered the bass on 'Raindrops keep falling on my head'?! OMG - the bass line OVERPOWERS the weak lyrics, and other instruments! They could have just lifted the songs at least from an original master recording, as they are the same as from the LP of the era! but no... Dialog is thin and reedy. The surround channels are hardly used at all, and even big explosions (remember the train car with the safe?) sound like they were recorded in a closet. Just awful audio on this one. There are no explosions, gunfire or breaking glass here - all just nicely reproduced dialog with some sound effects in the rear channels for situational effect. Really, its all you need and perfectly suits this film. Overall rating – 2.5 out of 5.0 stars, reservedly recommended for die hard fans only. Maybe someday, someone will restore this movie to something worth watching? But avoid THIS "40th Anniversary Limited Edition" Blu-ray! An hour and 50 minutes of marginal video and awful audio wrapped around an older classic that deserved better. Attachments:
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USAFRetired
Sensei
New Receiver onboard Denon RIP
Posts: 651
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Post by USAFRetired on Dec 26, 2012 20:28:37 GMT -5
Rush 2112 on Blu Ray. Not sure what to expect, just put it in since we survived the end of the world. Sound - excellent certainly better than the CD, not sure if there's a SADC but I doubt it would improve the sound quality.
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USAFRetired
Sensei
New Receiver onboard Denon RIP
Posts: 651
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Post by USAFRetired on Dec 26, 2012 21:00:30 GMT -5
Celebration Day - Led Zeppelin One of my favorite bands. I really enjoyed watching and listening to them on Blu-ray. Were there actually video footage of the bands? If so, how was the overall quality? I think engineers can do wonders with sound but video, especially from that era has to be tough to fix.
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Post by The Mad Norseman on Dec 26, 2012 22:33:48 GMT -5
Celebration Day - Led Zeppelin One of my favorite bands. I really enjoyed watching and listening to them on Blu-ray. Were there actually video footage of the bands? If so, how was the overall quality? I think engineers can do wonders with sound but video, especially from that era has to be tough to fix. I believe this set ("Celebration day") was actually from Led Zepp's 2007 reunion concert in London...so video & audio should be excellent! This is on my list to get too.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Dec 26, 2012 23:52:03 GMT -5
Picked this one up at Redbox last night, enjoyed it. Just watched this tonight. A decent enough flick, though I HATED how Kate's character would just instantly show up where ever Colin's was. That kind of ruined the movie for me, especially near the end. That was just plain stupid. On the plus side, there was still a 3 boobed chick!!
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Bruce
Emo VIPs
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Post by Bruce on Dec 27, 2012 5:01:23 GMT -5
Were there actually video footage of the bands? If so, how was the overall quality? I think engineers can do wonders with sound but video, especially from that era has to be tough to fix. I believe this set ("Celebration day") was actually from Led Zepp's 2007 reunion concert in London...so video & audio should be excellent! This is on my list to get too. Yes it is taken from that concert.The Video and Audio is fantastic.They sound great for 3 old guys and one younger drummer taking his fathers place.
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Post by SticknStones on Dec 27, 2012 23:11:27 GMT -5
All Good Things - 2010 True unsolved murder mystery picked back up after 20 years.
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Post by monkumonku on Dec 29, 2012 21:45:03 GMT -5
Watched it this afternoon. A Korean movie, very, very well done. A bit like a Hitchcock movie.
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Post by RichGuy on Dec 30, 2012 2:14:16 GMT -5
Rented this one from Redbox tonite. I liked it, much better than I first expected, I decided to give it a try after reading quite a few good reviews and I'm glad I did.
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Post by mrmeng430 on Dec 30, 2012 9:40:52 GMT -5
Picked this one up at Redbox last night, enjoyed it. Just watched this tonight. A decent enough flick, though I HATED how Kate's character would just instantly show up where ever Colin's was. That kind of ruined the movie for me, especially near the end. That was just plain stupid. On the plus side, there was still a 3 boobed chick!! So so movie story line, dazzling special effects. 2.5/5 stars
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Post by mrmeng430 on Dec 30, 2012 9:45:39 GMT -5
Good drama/thriller about dictator Idi Amin. Forest Whitaker gives a convincing performance. 4/5 stars.
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Post by mrmeng430 on Dec 30, 2012 9:52:30 GMT -5
special effects quiet good but story Agreed.
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