* Did you watch a film last night (on Blu or DVD), and what was it? *

NorthStar · Dec 1, 2016

Ronm1 said:
Love the score too!
If I remember correctly it was criticized for the use of the synthesizer on release.

You have a link to that effect Ron? I didn't find any, only this brief mention:

"Unlike the unfortunate synthesizer music in 'Gallipoli' (the only dated element in that movie), Maurice Jarre's hypnotic 'Witness' score fuses with Seale's tactile imagery, particularly in a memorable scene at a police station where the boy fingers the killer. (Gene Siskel opined that Hitchcock could not have staged it better.)"
_______

Last night, Don't Breathe

Three kids trying to rob a blind man, just the wrong guy; they were blinded by their own blindness. :b
That's a pretty cool little "Eeeeeeeeeeee" flick. Doors open up and close. Things happen in the dark, in the black of the night.
Don't play with the mystery man (blind). He's on his own agenda, and it won't suit yours.

The scoop: "Three friends (Dylan Minnette, Jane Levy, and Daniel Zovatto) plot to end their money woes by burglarizing the home of a blind recluse (Stephen Lang), but the heist quickly goes awry when they discover that their target is concealing a horrifying secret -- and that he isn't as harmless as they had thought. Directed by Fede Alvarez (the 2013 Evil Dead remake)."

Well constructed suspense wise, with good support from the actors and sound effects. This is a sound driven film, with special visual effects...of the horror type. Some young boys will enjoy it more than mature women. Why do I say that? Just a hunch.

Good paste overall: 76.5 ...Not for everyone.

Last word: If you like little thrills from low budget movies; a good way to unleash life's frustrations and day-to-day stress from dark and unknown territories of the human brain in full action from everyday news on the TV channels...CNN & all. It won't win any Academy Awards @ the Oscars, and neither CNN.

NorthStar · Dec 5, 2016

Within the last 96 hours I have been viewing/watching/listening/experiencing this fellow, and his gang; Kubo and the Two Strings in both 3D and 2D.

It's a great animation film with fabulous and friendly/cool characters. I love the story and the sets. This is top notch art animation, among the best.
The picture is amazing, with a slight preference for the 2D version here. Something wasn't right all the way in 3D and in sound. But still very good nonetheless with tremors hitting @ the right moments. Dialog clarity is up there. The music score complements with aplomb.
Brief it was a magic adventure engulfing me visually, aurally and storytelling wise. ...Colorful all the way, immensely satisfying and entertaining.
- Director: Travis Knight
- Music by: Dario Marianelli
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_Knight_(animator)

Overall (everything, 2D): 93 (3D ? 83)
______

The scoop: "A young Japanese boy named Kubo embarks on a journey to learn the truth about his missing father. Along the way, he battles the vengeful Moon King and two evil twin sisters with his shamisen, a magical stringed instrument."
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kubo_and_the_Two_Strings

Last word: It's a Must See, highest recommendation.

Ronm1 · Dec 6, 2016

Dune - the extended sci-fi chan version.
Ian is a delight as the Baron but not light

YashN · Dec 6, 2016

NorthStar said:
One, the Blu-ray is in 2K (1080p), two, like I said the picture (colors, natural light, choices of lenses, cameras, etc.) is superb.
And last, the film is highly worth your time.

They won't change the filters for the 4K version if there's one. And if there's one, I can guarantee I will never buy it. I will never buy the Blu-Ray either.

You can't tell me the colours are great and the light is natural and the PQ is superb if there's the same yellow digital filter applied throughout the film.

We resolutely do not have the same view on PQ.

NorthStar · Dec 7, 2016

Yash, the film is truly awful (NOT), the picture quality is miserable (NOT), the colors are all tinted and washout (NOT), it looks worse than VHS tape (NOT).

Don't consider it, don't even talk about it; go see Moana @ your local theater instead:

______

My comments on Hell or High Water (Blu-ray, 2K), were from my weak and inferior eyes, from an un-calibrated professionally plasma TV, blah-blah-blah

Films are like music; not everyone likes the same style/genre. Me I loved it, I highly recommend it; I'm 100% sure. :b
You don't have to watch it, your mind is already made, and I sure won't try to change it.

* Did you like Sicario? Did you find the colors natural? ...Like live in real life?
______

- - - - - - - - - The version on the right ? tonight.
{On the left it's the teal/orange (2D) version, on the right the black&chrome one.}

NorthStar · Dec 7, 2016

Ronm1 said:
Dune - the extended sci-fi chan version.
Ian is a delight as the Baron but not light

This one Ron?

Ronm1 · Dec 7, 2016

Yes Bob

YashN · Dec 7, 2016

NorthStar said:
Yash, the film is truly awful (NOT), the picture quality is miserable (NOT), the colors are all tinted and washout (NOT), it looks worse than VHS tape (NOT).

The PQ is quite evidently yellow-tinted throughout.

NorthStar said:
Films are like music; not everyone likes the same style/genre.

Wrong analogy - liking those digital filters when they're overused, overdone is like saying an album with a lot of overly compressed tracks has great SQ, it doesn't.

NorthStar said:
* Did you like Sicario? Did you find the colors natural? ...Like live in real life?

You can read my review of Sicario in the 4K thread, the filters didn't bother me as much as in other movies, but they are still there.

Like live in real life? Well, is that a real question for a start? Do you mean, if I go out and walk around whether I see light as if it's filtered and skewed all the time? Not at all...

Furthermore, I like Mad Max: Fury Road, BUT the Teal and Orange is still a cinematic PLAGUE (with its fellow diseases: monochrome scenes, or washed-out colours), it is a disease that people should get rid of, but unless the consumers wake up, you'll get more of the same.

Everyone should spend the 30 mins or 45 mins or more than an hour to do minimal calibration on their screens (using a DVD or Blu-Ray or files of test patterns). The care taken to hone and tune an audiophile setup to be as neutral as possible is the same spirit that should be invoked when setting up a cinematic experience.

This won't change producers minds in a jiffy, but at least it will heighten people's sensitivity to what great PQ is, just as what great SQ is can be learned.

With greater consciousness, hopefully people will stop adulating or turning a blind eye to the fact that we are now in a Dark Age of Cinema, then demand better SQ and no overly done digital filters, and call spades 'spades', that is crappy SQ is crappy SQ, then vote with their abstention of further financing the spread of that tremendous disease.

NorthStar · Dec 7, 2016

_______________

______

Overall (Black & Chrome Edition): 91

Last word: Cinema and music are art forms. The director/conductor are in charge of their vision. Us we're only there for the ride.
And the ride we're on is the ride that we like or don't. We're in charge @ our own end, as the audience.
I already have Mad Max: Fury Road the Orange/Teal (((3D))) version, but I'm a sucker for black and white photography, and it was a no-brainer for me to get the Director's preferred vision. In respect for my growing up @ the school art, and in respect to George Miller's personal BEST version.
If you fall near my philosophy's zone in real visual form, you'd be happy too with this new best director's preferred version.
It's like one of John Coltrane's best album, 'Blue Train', but in black in white this time...'Black&Chrome Train'.

Bonus (free reading links):
• http://www.indiewire.com/2016/10/ma...ion-george-miller-black-and-white-1201738113/
• https://www.inverse.com/article/21138-mad-max-fury-road-black-and-white-and-chrome-george-miller
• http://moviemansguide.com/main/2016/11/review-madmaxfuryroad-blackandchrome-bd/

I would have LOVE to have the Black & Chrome Edition in (((3D))). That would have made my day.
_______

The Black&Chrome Danube. :b

PeterA · Dec 7, 2016

NorthStar said:
You have a link to that effect Ron? I didn't find any, only this brief mention:

"Unlike the unfortunate synthesizer music in 'Gallipoli' (the only dated element in that movie), Maurice Jarre's hypnotic 'Witness' score fuses with Seale's tactile imagery, particularly in a memorable scene at a police station where the boy fingers the killer. (Gene Siskel opined that Hitchcock could not have staged it better.)"
_______

Last night, Don't Breathe

Three kids trying to rob a blind man, just the wrong guy; they were blinded by their own blindness. :b
That's a pretty cool little "Eeeeeeeeeeee" flick. Doors open up and close. Things happen in the dark, in the black of the night.
Don't play with the mystery man (blind). He's on his own agenda, and it won't suit yours.

The scoop: "Three friends (Dylan Minnette, Jane Levy, and Daniel Zovatto) plot to end their money woes by burglarizing the home of a blind recluse (Stephen Lang), but the heist quickly goes awry when they discover that their target is concealing a horrifying secret -- and that he isn't as harmless as they had thought. Directed by Fede Alvarez (the 2013 Evil Dead remake)."

Well constructed suspense wise, with good support from the actors and sound effects. This is a sound driven film, with special visual effects...of the horror type. Some young boys will enjoy it more than mature women. Why do I say that? Just a hunch.

Good paste overall: 76.5 ...Not for everyone.

Last word: If you like little thrills from low budget movies; a good way to unleash life's frustrations and day-to-day stress from dark and unknown territories of the human brain in full action from everyday news on the TV channels...CNN & all. It won't win any Academy Awards @ the Oscars, and neither CNN.

Bob, I saw this last night too. My wife went to bed early. I loved it and the basement was full of surprises. Great ending too.

NorthStar · Dec 7, 2016

'Don't Breathe'

Bob, I saw this last night too. My wife went to bed early. I loved it and the basement was full of surprises. Great ending too.

Peter, did you find those colors in the basement "natural"?

Just kidding; it was dark, green tinted, and @ one point with all the lights shut down...looking black and white from the camera's (viewer, us) perspective. ..To create that "aural" atmosphere only. Advantage: blind man.

* Yes, it's a cool little horrifying/macabre film. It grabs you by its mysterious/disturbing tension.

PeterA · Dec 7, 2016

NorthStar said:
Peter, did you find those colors in the basement "natural"? Just kidding; it was dark, green tinted, and @ one point with all the lights shut down...looking black and white from the camera's (viewer, us) perspective. ..To create that "aural" atmosphere only. Advantage: blind man.

* Yes, it's a cool little horrifying/macabre film. It grabs you by its mysterious/disturbing tension.

Yes, and I found both the man and the girl to be quite ambiguous characters. The good/bad line was pretty blurry. I can related to wanting to protect your HOME from uninvited invaders, but the basement corner was pretty macabre and dark, literally, and figuratively. Straw Dogs meets Saw.

NorthStar · Dec 7, 2016

'Hell or High Water'

YashN, I just stumbled across this ten minutes ago: http://www.avsforum.com/forum/187-o...ay-spotlight-hell-highwater.html#post48777513

I thought it might interest you.

NorthStar · Dec 8, 2016

A film about a big friendly giant (BFG) deserves a big front cover picture.
But he is not the biggest giant; there are others much bigger than him, but not friendly.

I watched the 3D version, available from overseas as Disney is no more interested in 3D here in North America; it's a real bummer.
Alright, the 3D has some very nice moments; it screams 3D all over, all around the world for all the children, and us.
I like the young girl, I like the language (ouch, real tough in English), the accents, the fun story, the fantasy dream.
Technically it's @ the top. And for entertainment it's right there behind, alongside, atop.

This animated feature film (most of it) was directed by someone some of you might be familiar with perhaps; Steven Spielberg
Yes, the E.T. guy, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Jurassic Park and War of the Worlds and many others.

The short: "A little girl recruits a friendly giant and the Queen of England to defeat a hungry race of man-eating behemoths. Adapted from the beloved children's book by Roald Dahl."

- Music by John Williams
- Cinematography by Janusz Kami?ski

This is a great animated adventure film, full of stuff, things, giants, gadgets, fun rides all over.
It shines on Blu, enlightening the screen with a rainbow of colors and sounds and music.

Overall (everything): 85

For the curious type: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_BFG_(2016_film)

Last word: In a world of Disney Digital 3-D, RealD 3D, IMAX 3D, it rings un-magical, unbelievable and unimaginable that the Disney world is only in Blu-ray 2D here in North America. It's like the magic here is gone but not overseas. And that, is a real shame and it makes Disney the underworld of financial investments. But the film is there across the oceans, for our homes. It's here too, in 2K/2D for the movie lovers. I recommend, very. One day we'll be forever happy after; till then dream on.

Ronm1 · Dec 9, 2016

A Civil Action
A Few Good Men
Silverado

NorthStar · Dec 9, 2016

Some films they attach hooks to your soul, chrome metal hooks that you can't remove, ever.
You get inside them and to never come back out. I was trapped and will probably remain trapped forever.
And one of those films, Julieta, took me by the eyes and never let go of them.
Directed by Pedro Almodóvar, cinematography by Jean-Claude Larrieu and music by Alberto Iglesias.

It fractured my routine.
The characters/actors are charismatic, beautiful, hypnotic, charming, delicious, marvelous.
The cinematography is extremely comfortably smooth, gorgeous, stupendous, sensual, simple, natural, deceptively bouleversant, figuratively enchanting, mesmerizing. The music is discrete, superbly smooth, filled with delicacies and caresses.

This film is an experience, so no words can describe it, even trying your best.

The Short: "After a chance meeting, middle-aged Julieta (Emma Suarez) learns that her long-lost daughter has resurfaced in Madrid. This begins a painful reflection by Julieta into her checkered past, flashing back to the moments of pain that defined her current life. This drama is directed by Spanish master Pedro Almodovar."

And yes, in my book, Pedro Almodóvar is a master.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Almodóvar

For cinema lovers he is @ the top of the director's crop. This is a journey that needs to be explored as much as Miles Davis and John Coltrane are for jazz music. ...The filmography of Pedro Almodóvar, including 'Julieta' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julieta_(film)

Film career:
1 Pepi, Luci, Bom (1980)
2 Labyrinth of Passion (1982)
3 Dark Habits (1983)
4 Matador (1986)
5 Law of Desire (1987)
6 Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
7 Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990)
8 High Heels (1991)
9 Kika (1993)
10 The Flower of My Secret (1995)
11 Live Flesh (1997)
12 All About My Mother (1999)
13 Talk to Her (2002)
14 Bad Education (2004)
15 Volver (2006)
16 Broken Embraces (2009)
17 The Skin I Live In (2011)
18 I'm So Excited (2013)
19 Julieta (2016)

Julieta is a beautiful film, highly recommended.
Overall: 92.5 (for the experience, plus technical merits; music and visuals).

Last word: It could be a little sad emotionally, and you might not be able to return to your regular reality as fast as you might think... :b
It depends, of the control you exercise over what you believe is real in the true reality of day-to-day's love affair with life and the people in it.
Check that scene on the train when they are both looking through the window @ the male deer running alongside in the snow; movie magic!
High class audiophiles deserve high class films, not just high class music recordings.
Do what you have to do to watch Julieta and other films from this master film director.

Ronm1 · Dec 10, 2016

The Mission

NorthStar · Dec 10, 2016

Film score: Ennio Morricone
Director: Roland Joffé ? The Killing Fields (1984): "The film is a masterful achievement on all the technical levels—it does an especially good job of convincing us with its Asian locations—but the best moments are the human ones, the conversations, the exchanges of trust, the waiting around, the sudden fear, the quick bursts of violence, the desperation."

I mentioned The Killing Fields because it is a very powerful film from the same director.
Both films, The Mission (1986) and The Killing Fields (1984) are cinematic experiences, with a strong emphasis on visuals and the music themes.
But the later's music score is from Mike Oldfield.
_______

Oliver Stone directed this film (1993):

It too is an experience, a moving one visually and in atmosphere with the actors giving the sense of surreal.
Those all are important films as they reflect the human condition through heart wrenching surroundings (visuals and music scores).

** Just commenting on films Ron; on what The Mission brought to my mind.
_______

Last night:

Overall: 31.5

Last word: Ignore it. :b ...Or you are in a world of suffering.

Ronm1 · Dec 10, 2016

No issue here Bob, as usual it's a pleasure to read your thoughts.

NorthStar · Dec 10, 2016

:b Thanks Ron, thoughts I have indeed. ...And about everything; films, music, news we can use, life, nature, planets, universe, family, friends, ...all that jazz.

We're 7.35 billion people; that's a lot of thoughts.

* Did you watch a film last night (on Blu or DVD), and what was it? *

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