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

NorthStar

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No wonder I enjoyed both but of course Imitation Game is in entirely different class.

On discs, I was shocked to see thee discs in my package! I thought they had stopped releasing 3D discs.

If they stop releasing 3D BR discs, might as well put all that money in an ultra hi-end stereo sound system with the best audio cables money can buy. :b

* Sony is saving money on packaging by putting the three versions in one package?
You can watch the 4K disc with your wife, your friend Bob can watch the 3D BR disc, and your son the regular BR disc (1080p).
And, you can sell the digital code on eBay for fifty cents. :D
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It is a great psychological effect to have the power of controlling our own destiny. I say this because we live in an era where scientists are searching in space for other habitable planets. Some luminaries would like to have a tourist shuffle to visit other planets of the galaxy, to bring a bunch of passengers who can sleep for hundred years and wake up on the other side of our planetarium system (dark/pitch black spiraling hole).

In the movie business, sometimes (often too) with great ideas and lots of money comes great far fetched responsibilities impossible to fulfill for the better of humanity but to Hollywood industry's bank vaults for our pure entertainment. 'Passengers' is a space tapestry, un tableau, a painting, a TV OLED decoration, an shining ornament, a statue, a vase, a plant, an eye-catching moving imagery, a fun distraction, a different representation for different set of eyes, ears ... mind.

Question: How would you evaluate its fair replay value? On a technical sensory level, on a second entertaining expedition, on an imaginary level. 4K and 3D versions add.
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Me too I liked 'The Imitation Game'. 'Passengers' for the polished decor sets, the fun/romantic/humorous aspect, and ... it is what it is; a romantic love story in space. :b

P.S. I just finished reading Chuck's last post; 'Passengers' is a film for couples in love. I think. :b
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* Just for fun: http://www.metacritic.com/movie/passengers-2016
 
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amirm

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Question: How would you evaluate its fair replay value? On a technical sensory level, on a second entertaining expedition, on an imaginary level. 4K and 3D versions add.
Replay value for the story and movie itself is pretty low. Replay value for visuals is very high as Audioguy mentioned above.

The night before this we watched the original Matrix and it was still enjoyable after dozens of watching. So compared to that standard, it is hard to ranking these movies high. :)
 

NorthStar

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We all have a good point...regarding the replay value on the technical visuals (and audio) aspect versus film content (romance/humor).
Five years from now, with 8K, 'Passengers' won't be no 'Casablanca'. ...A loose way to put it.
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Films and music they animate us like children playing in the sand box when we were young, right besides the plastic inflatable swimming pool of the summer time. ...When we were 3-5-years old...like today's blowin' wind. :b

? Yesterday that picture from Aleppo; the older man listening to classical music on his turntable, smoking his pipe...



In only one frame there is an entire movie playing, and based on a true story. That's a powerful photograph; it made me research further, it made me step out of my routine, it opened another door on a sad reality, and on how we are so vulnerable us all.

The internet is the communication system with a view on the whole world. It inspires movie makers, in telling stories...true stories of the past and other stories of our future imagination. We all share our views; we don't always have the same expressed ones in our own words...and that's the challenging power of speaking a universal language...in films and in music. Some photographs without words can rip our hearts apart, others propel our soul to the heavens. Music playing from a modest to a sophisticated rigged system reaches us all right in the middle; in our emotional vibrating chords. ...Senses, sensitivities and sensibilities.

'Passengers' is a romance in space in travelling time...a light sci-fi vehicle for the two leads, young couple.

* The man above is also a time passenger/traveller, in space...Aleppo's space.
 

NorthStar

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It was posted one day before yesterday, on the fourteenth, in the Picture thread (no words) ? http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showt...ting-a-drawing&p=441367&viewfull=1#post441367

For that photograph, comments were made in words, and that was exceptional. Follow the replies; even I broke "silence" with two youtube videos of that man living in Aleppo. | Once in a while the rules can be broken and nobody gets hurt. It was still easy to find out its origin though, by right clicking on it.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...f-aleppos-destruction/?utm_term=.8366b18d7447

 

NorthStar

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Alright, we all love Italian food and Italian wine:


If some people prefer Greek food and Greek wine that's fine too.
Same for French food and French wine.

Lol, we feel closer to each other when we love similar food. :b
I feel better now than before.
 

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I really liked both films guite a bit.
 

NorthStar

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Films are like card or coin or butterfly or stamp collections; each snapshot contains a memory in time of its origin and meaning. And for each collector the meaning is his/her own.
The appraised value, the one that is true, varies with time. It is inconstant. If I say that one coin is worth that much it is only in the context of my own perspective. For someone else it could be devastatingly different. And therefore in no time should the value be an absolute. It's like a Picasso you bought from a museum. The auction will determine what people are ready to pay, what value they put from each bidding up to the final outcome...when the painting is ultimately purchased, and till next time it is sold by its new owner to its new buyer.
Paintings are in 2D, not in 3D. But some books I have @ home are in 3D...the graphic designs.

Last night I watched a 3D Blu-ray flick:



"In this "Harry Potter" spin-off set in 1926 New York, an author studying fantastic beasts gets involved in a conflict between wizards and No-Majs (i.e. those unable to use magic) when some of the creatures in his care are accidentally released."

Some scenes are superbly recreated, like 1926 New York. The opening scene with the boat passing by from left to right is awesome.
It is very brief moments like that that added all together and which form our memories of films...music. ...Which can tilt one way or another our mental state. ...Which can tick us in one direction or above/below.
The 3D effects are cool, the film overall feel is smooth, and with some enchantress scenes, lovely magical. The actors/actresses count for the bulk of that magic. The more charismatic and good solid delivery the more we enter their magical spell.
The actor Dan Fogler is a masterpiece to watch and interact with.
The actress Alison Sudol is ravishing to look @ and very relaxing and comforting.

Our two main characters, Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston are fine.
The music score by James Newton Howard is professionally 'composed'.

I don't know how to say this...I try. When I was collecting marbles as a kid I admired their design and flawless roundness. It was a passion of beauty; you can see through them, in them were shapes of colors and forms...like clouds in the midnight lighted satin sky...would change by rotation...like magic. ...Moonlight. I'm not talking about the small marbles here, those I used to earn the big ones, and those big ones are the ones I'm referring to.
'Fantastic Beasts...' in 3D is like a nice big marble pleasant to look @ and full of beautiful imagery and imagination. It's a collection of big marbles with their own uniqueness, from scene to scene, actor's impressions to the next and interacting when put all together next to each other. The way we organize our collections (memories, snapshots) is the way we construct our appraised values.

I'm not describing the film @ all, just what I feel, on my own personal level, and sharing it with anyone who's reading. That's the best and fairest appraisal I can give, just like what we feel when listening to music.

Overall (film, acting, 3D immersion, music, collection...): 80
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Last word: 3D


I've also read that in 4K/HDR it is excellent. If Warner Bros would have included the 3D version in their 4K package I would have chosen the complete/no bias/no non-sense expedition.

By the way, listen to this: WB put a Dolby Atmos audio soundtrack with both the 2D/4K Blu-ray version and the regular 2D/1080p BR one, but NOT with the 3D BR version. Ha!
I won't say no more, only that perhaps someone was sleeping when they did the audio transferring and omission. Or that they didn't have enough space? No way, because other 3D BR films are much longer, contain a Dolby Atmos audio soundtrack and the picture is pristine...in 3D. This is gross negligence, a travesty to the notoriety of cinema on Blu-ray in the year 2017.
It's atmos despicable? I would almost say so. We'll all live, but for how long?

A review? Not really. An opinion? In part certainly. An expression of a true feeling and memorized experience? That, definitely, and 3-dimensional..
Isn't it similar when we listen to say...Led Zeppelin...or The Doors...or Tangerine Dream...or Pink Floyd...or Yes? ...In analog tube stereo or in digital solid state multichannel (Auro-Matic 3D).
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NorthStar

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Some of you have a LG UHD OLED or Sony UHD LED TV. ...Or Samsung or Vizio UHD. ...Or a 4K front projector...BenQ, Optoma, Epson, JVC 4K e-shift, ...



I only have a low res plasma 1080p TV. So I cannot go for the 4K/UHD version...or I sure would. ...Eventually.

Anyway, on Blu-ray it is still impressive...the type of stuff all the families love and brings them all together closer to Earth. :b
I watched the first three episodes: Islands - Mountains - Jungles ... with three more to go (tonight) ... Deserts - Grasslands - Cities

"David Attenborough presents a documentary series exploring how animals meet the challenges of surviving in the most iconic habitats on earth."

http://bbcearth.ca/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_Earth_II

Music composer: Hans Zimmer
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Overall score (imagery, fascination, nature/beauty, enrapture): 93 (in 4K ... most likely 97); only for the first three episodes.

Last word: A Must See. ...The pink panther ? :b


? http://www.digitaljournal.com/enter...-good-as-planet-earth-ii-in-4k/article/489053

 

NorthStar

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Last night I watched the three remaining episodes; Deserts - Grasslands - Cities

Overall (all six episodes): 95 (a two-point rise). ...In 4K most likely 99

? Last word: This is the kind of wildlife (planet Earth and animal and human kingdoms) that makes all perfect good imagery sense.
It inspires us deeply in relaxing and in finding solace in our world of adversity and chaos.
There are 7.5 billion humans living on our planet today; 7.5 billion people should all see Planet Earth II in one form, shape and space, any which way possible.
 

NorthStar

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Rogue One: A Sky Wars Story



I watched the 3D Blu version last night. ...That was the first time ever I saw that flick from our galaxy.

"A ragtag band of freedom fighters—including a former soldier-turned-prisoner, a Rebel Alliance insider, a Jedi and a sentient robot—work together to steal the Death Star's secret blueprints. The first of several planned "Star Wars" spin-offs."

I sure was spinning @ times. ...Like spinning without no solid foundation.
It did very good financially ? Box office = $1.056 billion ...and that's without the sales on the various video formats and packaging and all the merchandise, figurines, miniature spaceships, coffee cups, t-shirts, lipstick, shopping bags, shoes, cereals, ...all that sky wars jazz.

1977 was the year we entered a new sci-fi dimension @ the cinema. In 2017 (40 years later) we still cash in on that sci-fi thing dimension. ...And this is not even the real thing!
But it sure brings "gold" to Disney's coffins and investors.
One more thing: Disney is not yet in the UHD (4K) bandwagon. So we're talking lo-res 1080p here. And thankfully they did a 3D BR version of it (only available @ Best Buy and Target stores as an exclusive...and nowhere else here in North America).

Ok, on with the show. I was bored often with the acting, the dialog, the interacting, the childish overall atmosphere. Even the adult's performances were forced without life.
Very true, the actors weren't into it, or when they tried to it was forced/fake. Sure, I understand everyone wants a good paycheck...but still.
No amount of CGI and sound effects can save Everest's face. A way of speech to say that the tallest mountain of cash cannot fight against the true elements of nature.

Felicity Jones she's pretty with a nice pair of lips and bunny's teeth. I like her eye's color too. But after a while, with the words spoken, and even when she says nothing, there is zero essence intellectually. And Diego Luna is even worst; he's simply not Harrison Ford or someone you connect with. The other actors all the same; a chaotic set of low performances. Even the robots didn't deliver.

My favorite parts were in space with the ships, and on land with the big CGI decors...in 3D.
The music score wasn't consistent; @ times it bordered on the superfluous and @ other times it added some substance.

The story? There was a big explosion @ one time...humongous...in slow motion. There was some fighting, some family values/principles, and that's what started it all up.
You can read it all here if you want to

If someone would ask me to rate the elements:
• Film: 60
• Picture quality on Blu-ray 3D: 77 (many dark scenes, many colors muted, and discretely executed...without distracting)
• Sound quality and satisfaction: 81 (it would have scored higher if it wasn't for the inconsistency)

? Overall: 66 (on the precipice of a recommended viewing, right on the edge)
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Last word: If I was in Indian territory I might get scalped. But I was in sci-fi 3D territory...@ the movies. :b

Put your 3D glasses on:


Or not:


Hey, a $1 billion flick didn't move mountains of emotional intellect in my purgatory sanctum. 'Blade Runner 2049' hopefully will.

P.S. I know; I deliberately wrote "sky" instead of "star".
 
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Viewed a couple of my favorite westerns again
' Man From Snowy River'
' Return of Man From Snowy River'
Australian and not typical of the genre. No gunshots in first one and one in 2nd but if one is into horses or horsemanship in general you won't be disappointed.
 

NorthStar

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Films they do that sometime; they infiltrate your trance best the second or triple time around.
Some music operates similarly. I think it has to do with interaction between human nature and artistic acquaintance.
________

Last night I revisited Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (2009 BR version):




The ? audio (Japanese) is the best.

Overall: 89
 

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Epic. Loren never looked more stunning.
 

NorthStar

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This week I watched those two:

------------


I liked them both, very. I like films that are based on true stories...they make you search and learn.

? Hidden Figures
"Three female African-American mathematicians provide crucial calculations for NASA's space race against the Soviets, all while dealing with the racist and sexist assumptions of their white co-workers."


Overall: 89 ? Very sweet, relaxing, enriching.
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? Lion
"In this adaptation of the memoir A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley, a five-year-old Indian boy is adopted by an Australian couple after he gets lost and ends up in Calcutta. Years later, he decides to search for his birth family. Dev Patel stars as the adult Brierley; Nicole Kidman, David Wenham, and Rooney Mara co-star."


Overall: 91 ? Well constructed, grabs you by the heart for the entire ride, with tears falling from the sky @ the end.

* Bonus:

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Last word: Both films are Must See. 'Lion' had more an emotional impact. 'Hidden Figure' is a high lesson on human values, equality, respect, fundamentals.
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Note: Regarding scores; some films have an emotional/human impact (internal)...those to me are in another completely different dimension. The message is more important than the technical aspects. Other films are more for the visual and auditory senses (external). The technical aspects are in another plane.
If 'Tron: Legacy' gets 93 and 'Ghost in the Shell 2.0' gets 89 and 'Hidden Figures' gets 89 and 'Lion' gets 91 and 'Rogue One' gets 66, and ... those are all relative to my own personal set of evaluations.
Some films I assess from the heart, others from the eyes and ears. Each film has its own uniqueness for its own impact intended by its director, and each viewer from the audience is his/her own receptacle. More important than scores (numbers) are the spoken words. It's like judging a classical music recording by the notes/chords/verses/tempo/rhythm versus the performance. ...Or a speaker by its measurements versus the music listener in his own comfort zone.

There is a balance in everything, a good common sense leading to the apotheosis of each unique soul on planet Earth.
There are just about 7.5 billion souls (most likely inaccurate) spread around the four corners of the globe, today...Good Friday 2017 (in Canada).
http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/
http://www.livescience.com/16493-people-planet-earth-support.html

[video=vimeo;93670368]https://vimeo.com/93670368[/video]
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P.S.
I am struggling with numbers. Numbers are for mathematicians, analysts, stockbrokers, bankers, drug dealers, cartel lords, scientists, all that counting jazz.
How many bankers our planet can hold? How many films were made since the beginning of cinema? ...Total worldwide?
What is the speed of light inside a black hole? How many stars are there up in the sky of the universe? Are there other dimensional universes...multiverse?
I might rethink this all addiction affair we have with numbers. And consequently reevaluate the human conditions in all parts of our galaxy. :b

Anyhow, I need a new toaster...mine just broke.
 

NorthStar

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I revisited Rogue One: A Star Wars Story last night, but this time around in 2D. It's a very pretty picture, mostly.
I prefer in 3D overall for the more immersive movie experience, except for the colors. The dark 3D glasses altered them slightly, making them lighter, less saturated. The film's verdict is still the same: 66
_______

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* Bonus (just for fun):

 

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