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Post by ZapRowsdower on May 29, 2007 0:53:25 GMT -5
Hook - Regardless of whether or not this is Spielberg's weakest film, it's still underrated and very well-made. Dustin Hoffman was an excellent Captain Hook, and Bob Hoskins a great Smee. 8/10
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Post by Termination on May 29, 2007 2:41:32 GMT -5
Oh, why would you do that to yourself? Yeah, the film ain't so great. This is the first title ever released on either format to include 2 seperate lossless soundtracks. A true apples to apples comparison. After testing the crap out of this disc for 30+ minutes trying to distinguish wether or not there is an audible difference at all, I found one. The Dolby TrueHD track has the Acoustic level tweaked more than the LPCM which makes trebile sound more dynamic & speech slightly more crisp without distortion. You didn't hear this from me. I also ain't posting these thoughts anywhere else either. Its a secret.. shhh  Battle of the Bulge (1965) (Blu-Ray) HD Video - 9/10 HD Audio Dolby Digital - 8/10 |
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Post by frankenjohn on May 29, 2007 5:47:30 GMT -5
A Soldier's Story- A good flick from the 80s about a black seargeant murdered on a base in Louisiana. What let me down a little bit is that (for a best picture nominee) it lacked a sense of purpose, like I was just watching it because I could, because to me, the story didn't have much going on. But with what they had, they made the best possible. B+.
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Post by ZapRowsdower on May 29, 2007 12:09:32 GMT -5
Back to the Future - One of the most intelligent films ever made. Zemeckis and Spielberg are responsible for a real 80's classic. This is at the very least on my top 20. 10/10
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Post by Termination on May 30, 2007 4:17:38 GMT -5
Re-watched The Matrix with TrueHD
Also bumped up the rating a notch in the PQ area. More thoughts about the TrueHD track & video added,
The Matrix (1999) (HD DVD)
HD Video - 9/10
HD Audio Dolby Digital Plus - 10/10
HD Audio Dolby TrueHD - Reference
There are minor compression artifacts & the PQ wasn't as consistent as I would have thought it to be. Image is soft in some areas. It also looks dated. Its def a step up on the Re-Mastered SD DvD. That said, everything else about the video is positive. Color is more vivid & skintones more natural even with the film's intentional green push. Detail is surreal making clothing, guns & background objects life-like with minimal noise & next to no grain. I thought the increase in resolution may hurt some of the heavy CGI/film scenes but it doesn't at all. Overall, I am satisfied with this transfer even though I think there is minor room for improvement. Never did I feel like I wasn't watching a film in HD throughout. The DD+ track is something else. WoW. A major overhaul must have been done. The DD+ track sounded just as good as most LPCM or TrueHD tracks. Re-watching the film with Dolby TrueHD, I noticed the surrounds are more active with channels seamlessly branching to one another during all action & musical tracks. Faint sound is clearly more present which adds more depth to the already impressive DD+ mix.
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Post by ZapRowsdower on May 30, 2007 11:41:25 GMT -5
Back to the Future Part II - Colliding timelines, chaos within the space-time continuum... This took some thought to write, and it paid off in the end. 10/10
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Post by Termination on May 30, 2007 23:14:52 GMT -5
The Matrix Reloaded (2003) (HD DVD)
HD Video - Reference
HD Audio Dolby Digital Plus - 10/10
HD Audio Dolby TrueHD - Reference
The Matrix Reloaded is pure eye & sound candy. The picture is free of any artifacts, vivid & clear & color leaps off the screen. What I'm noticing while watching these films is the sound more so. I didn't expect much in the audio department from the Dolby Digital Plus tracks. After listening to the Dolby TrueHD track, I am even more pleased with the results of this disc. Clearly this disc is a show stopper, every area where I thought there could be improvement on, there was & than some.
The Matrix Revolutions (2003) (HD DVD)
HD Video - 10/10
HD Audio Dolby Digital Plus - 9/10
HD Audio Dolby TrueHD - 10/10
Revolutions rates as another fine demo disc to show off HD. I didn't particularly care for the artistic style in this film hence, why I didn't give it a "R" rating. Despite how I feel about the film, the transfer is on par with Reloaded & so it should be. Both films were shot simultaneously & released in the same year. The Dolby Digital Plus mix doesn't seem to have been re-mixed like the first two films. It is limited to the source. Not a bad thing. Vocals are crisp & clear throughout, musical numbers rock the HT & surrounds are well balanced giving this track a solid 9/10 imo. The DolbyTrueHD track is yet again a step up. Most of the track's highlights though are unfortunately limited to intense musical scores & action scenes. I felt dialog could have been raised a bit during mixing but this is a personal complaint & nothing more.
The Road Warrior (1981) (Blu-Ray)
HD Video - 7/10
HD Audio Dolby Digital - 7/10
Ouch, this was painful on the eyes. Sound isn't that great either. For a catalog title I was impressed with the level of detail for a film 26 years old. Too bad the intro to the film is more of a tease than anything else. Throughout the course of the 95 minute film, artifacts start to show off their ugly side. Contrast is pumped up making darker scenes blurry & in one scene, blacks have a blue haze. Most of the film has a flat appearance & in some cases look worse than standard-def. I know this must sounds harsh, but I do give a little lenience for older films because of the source. The positives, grain & noise are not bad & are not too distracting. Color is great throughout even during them nasty shots. Some scenes exibit reference type PQ quality. The standard Dolby Digital track (Cough BS) isn't much to shout out about. Maybe if your an analog sound guy who loves 2.0 stereo re-mixed into 6 channels. Dialog is mixed lower than the other channels, yet this track is mostly front heavy. The explosions which occur during the battle scenes sound flat with no real sense of dynamic range. For the most part, this track sounded like a made for tv film. I give Warner 2/5 stars for the sound effort as well as the picture. Maybe this film will receive a proper restoration down the road, so I can only recommend this to die-hard fans.
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Post by Pulpmariachi on May 31, 2007 12:23:07 GMT -5
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Sergio Leone) -- this is Leone's magnus opus. One of those few movies whose running length hits three hours but it just doesn't feel like that. Behold the masterful control of the camera! A+.
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Post by Pulpmariachi on May 31, 2007 19:45:45 GMT -5
GoodFellas (Martin Scorsese) -- Scorsese's magnus opus masterpiece. Not to mention THE greatest gangster movie of all time. Seriously, it's the epitome of what you'd expect from Scorsese. The biggest problem is the continuity but you're so engrossed in the picture that you don't realize that in one shot he's holding the phone and the next he isn't. You could watch it again and again and never get bored. A+.
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Post by ZapRowsdower on May 31, 2007 23:27:28 GMT -5
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - Second AND Third Viewing
Took my grandmother to see it, as she's into the whole "swashbuckling" action movie, then the next day took a buddy to go see it. And not once did I get bored. It still felt like a 90-minute movie, Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush were still fresh... I love these movies. Really, I do. 10/10
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Post by Pulpmariachi on Jun 1, 2007 10:38:29 GMT -5
The Road Warrior (George Miller) -- okay, so it's basically a prolonged version of the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" car chase, but this really ups the ante from the first one, which had a great beginning and end but sorta boring middle. There's maybe ten pages of dialouge in total and the rest are car chases and escapes and little cavemen boys with boomarangs. B+.
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Post by ZapRowsdower on Jun 1, 2007 15:46:39 GMT -5
Little Children - Finally got a chance to see this flick, and I gotta say I was impressed. Jackie Earle Haley gave a nice, subtle performance, all the characters were intriguing, and it kept my interest. Its style is reminiscent of American Beauty, which is one of my all-time favorites. Definitely a must-see. 10/10
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Post by frankenjohn on Jun 1, 2007 22:25:46 GMT -5
Knocked Up- I was surprised. I was a little dissapointed at the humor level in this film. I mean there were a few hilarious gags but otherwise it was almost like your average rom-com. Definately not near as good as "Virgin" but still worth seeing. B+.
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Post by Pulpmariachi on Jun 2, 2007 11:13:45 GMT -5
Notes on a Scandal (Richard Eyre) -- Now, I'm not the biggest fan of Judi Dench, but I do love Cate Blanchett and Bill Nighy and as always, everyone gives incredible, intense performances all around. The subject of solitude, (better word: loneliness, describes the situations better) can be quite frightening. B+.
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Post by Pulpmariachi on Jun 2, 2007 15:22:56 GMT -5
Benny & Joon (Jeremiah Chelchik) -- charming story that really takes off whenever Depp's on screen. Sometimes, particularly with some of the Aidan Quinn scenes, it tended to drag, but there were enough moments to make up for it. B.
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