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

[NorthStar]

Sorry to hear that, Bob.

My sympathies Bob.
Stay strong and remember the good times with them

You guys are sweet, luv you.

 

[NorthStar]

Last night, The Light Between Oceans (2016)

"An Australian World War I veteran (Michael Fassbender) and his wife (Alicia Vikander) move to a lighthouse, where they raise a child they find on a lifeboat. Rachel Weisz co-stars in this adaptation of M.L. Stedman's novel, which was written and directed by Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine, The Place Beyond the Pines)."

- Music by: Alexandre Desplat

Michael Fassbender is an actor that I like. ...Rachel Weisz also. And Alicia Vikander is pretty, very. ...Sweet and innocence are all over her aura, it's her charisma/karma.
This is a good film, a love story, with a tough decision. To tell would be touchingly devastating/spoling.
Best is to see it, because I think most members here are going to like it, with their wives, and children. I'm sure some of you have already saw it; if not, do.

The picture and audio quality on this Blu are impeccable. The cinematography is splendid, the music score follows.
And the natural sounds of waves, winds, ...are naturally enveloping, like the story.
The acting is ... penetrating. ...Déchirant/poignant @ times.

Overall (film): 78

IMO this film is a little underrated.

Last word: See it (in 2D). :b

P.S. Sorry for the short review; I'm still recuperating emotionally, plus it's the type of film that is best to say less and see more on your screen @ home in the company of your loved one(s).

 

[audioguy]

I am recovering from the lost of some good friends. ...Car crash.

So sorry to hear that. Loosing loved one or good friends is pretty sucky. I pray that your emotional wounds heal quickly and that you can remember them by the good times you had with them.

 

[NorthStar]

So sorry to hear that. Loosing loved one or good friends is pretty sucky. I pray that your emotional wounds heal quickly and that you can remember them by the good times you had with them.

Thanks Chuck.
Losing friends or family members or lovers or pets is like living life more empty.
The best memories of them are like living life more full.

 

[audioguy]

Alicia Vikander is one very busy actress.

Tomb Raider Reboot (2018)
Euphoria (2017)
Submergence (2017)
Jason Bourne (2016)
Tulip Fever (2016)
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
Seventh Son (2015)
Ex Machina (2015) (2015)
Testament of Youth (2015)
The Light Between Oceans (2015)
The Danish Girl (2015)
Burnt (2015) aka "Adam Jones"
Ingrid Bergman in Her Own Words (2015)
Son of a Gun (2014)
Hotell (2013)
The Fifth Estate (2013)
Anna Karenina (2012)
A Royal Affair (2012) aka "En kongelig affaere"
The Crown Jewels (2011) aka "Kronjuvelerna"
Susans Langtan (2009)
Pure (2009) aka "Till det som ar vackert" (sweden)
My Name Is Love (2008) aka 'Love'
Hook (2008) TV
Levande Foda (2007) TV
Second Avenue (2007) TV
Darkness of Truth (2007)
The Rain (2007)
En decemberdrom (2005) TV
Min balsamerade mor (2002) TV

 

[NorthStar]

'Ex Machina' here you go.

She was very charismatic/hypnotic in that flick.

 

[audioguy]

'Ex Machina' here you go. She was very charismatic/hypnotic in that flick.

Agreed. Very. I usually watch most of these kinds of movies prior to my wife seeing them because she is not much into many of the things that don't bother me. I loved it - and when she watched it, she loved it as well. And the message it conveyed was spot on. I will watch again once my SSP gets DTS-X running!

 

[NorthStar]

Late last night, before the early snow this morning (it's absolutely beautiful outside right now, even in the dark all that white blanket still shines; it's peaceful too, very), I revisited this older favorite but from a new remastered picture and sound. I've read that the 4K version is superb, even better, when all the setups and calibrations are fine tuned. See, with 4K it's a new apprentissage; everything has to be well sync together (synergy)...the display, the player, the pre/pro (or receiver), and the cabling (HDMI).

Anyway, that newer regular Blu-ray 15th Anniversary Edition (mastered in 4K with improved audio) was superb and the film's poetic artistry kept its full powerful essence.

I don't know if some of you saw 'Sword of Destiny' (2016 - Netflix exclusive), the sequel of the one above; it was on a different plane...with lesser poignancy/vibrancy story wise but still with some beautiful imagery.

The original from 2000 (picture cover above), in its new presentation (very inexpensive too), overall: 89
______

 

[NorthStar]

I last revisited this flick, in 3DDD >>>

"Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is a 2016 dark fantasy film directed by Tim Burton and written by Jane Goldman, based on the 2011 novel of the same name by Ransom Riggs. The film stars Eva Green, Asa Butterfield, Chris O'Dowd, Allison Janney, Rupert Everett, Terence Stamp, Ella Purnell, Judi Dench and Samuel L. Jackson."

Tim Burton is one of my favorite fantasy/animated artist filmmakers. His films (masterpieces) gain value by re-watching them. ...Peculiarly in 3D.
Eva Green is a beautiful actress; she's in it, resplendissante.

The more familiar we get with the film director and his direction (actors), the more magical our movie territory becomes.
It's like entering a door that we don't see until later on when on the other side. Movie magic? You betcha! And in the most peculiar way.
Some music recordings work in a verisimilitude. It also has to do with our own adaptation; an emotional comfort's zone (notice the apostrophe here) that we inhabit. I call this 'cinema evolution'. ...Just like in music.

Look; over the years we learn to love the things we used to hate, and vice versa. ...Sometimes. ...It all depends of our 'evolution'.

The film is a garden, an entertaining one with the actors/actresses and the decors. We go along for the ride/adventure/storyline, and we let the music gently rockin' us. That is how @ least I felt. YMMV, all that Coltrane jazz.

The picture quality of this 3D Blu is ravishing. The audio complements it perfectly.

Overall (everything): 78

Last word: Life is a fantasy, a real one, in the flesh.
_____

Bonus:

 

[NorthStar]

I watched those guys in 3D last night:

I liked it. They were cute drawings and funny/lovely moving/animated pets. I was peacefully entertained 3D immersion/entertainment speaking; job well done.
The colors were vibrant and the sounds active and the various adventures of the characters in synchronicity.
I think 3D is the way to go (I might revisit it in the future in 2D for curiosity and check how far I can make it till I come back to 3D).
Overall (fun, 3D picture & audio): 76

Last word: Go there, it's safe for you and for the entire family. Ya man!
I know girls who love pets so much that they are true Snow Whites, with all the pets loving them back for their gentle nature.
This animated film reminded me of that, some of it. Pets are important, like humans.
______

______

Special note: Earlier today I've learned the passing of another friend, a nature lover and artist/poet...a good man, pure.
His name's Robert (French Canadian / 1948-2017).
He passed away @ the hospital (Quebec), devastated by a general cancer.
Robert lived in paradise country, between Montreal and Quebec, in the mountains.
He built a nice two-story house and he was talented with his hands and brain. He is a friend, a peaceful gentle soul. ...A tree/forest/mountain lover.
R.I.P. Robert

"Fleurette passe et l’âge dépasse
la jeunesse : il est ainsi des fleurs
à chaque pas de la vie, de la sagesse, de la vertu ;
chacune a sa saison, nulle l’éternité.
Cœur, quand la vie t’appelle,
sois paré à partir et à recommencer,
cours, vaillant, sans regret,
te plier à des jougs nouveaux et différents.
En tout commencement un charme a sa demeure,
C’est lui qui nous protège et qui nous aide à vivre.

Franchissons donc, sereins, espace après espace ;
n’acceptons en aucun les liens d’une patrie,
pour nous l’esprit du monde n’a ni chaînes, ni murs ;
par degrés il veut nous hausser, nous grandir.
À peine acclimatés en un cercle de vie,
intimes en son logis, la torpeur nous menace.
Seul, prêt à lever l’ancre et à gagner le large,
tu pourras t’arracher aux glus des habitudes.

Peut-être aussi l’heure de la mort nous lancera-t-elle,
jeunes, vers de nouveaux espaces.
L’appel de la vie jamais ne prendra fin…
Allons, mon cœur, dis adieu et guéris."

(Hermann Hesse, Le jeu des perles de verre
Paris, Calmann-Lévy, 1955, pp. 429-430)

 

[NorthStar]

I revisited The Shallows last night:

I was generous the fisrt time: http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showt...-what-was-it-*&p=415000&viewfull=1#post415000

I included everything in my overall score, including artistic merits...sound and picture.
This time; only the film (replay value): 70

 

[NorthStar]

I watched Arrival last night (in 2D BR):

It's the kind of film that keeps playing even after the very end of the rolling credits (good music too). That's my kind of film.
There is a lot to ingest and digest here; I'm not sure that the English vocabulary contains all the essential and sufficient words to communicate all my thoughts.

Also, I don't want to influence the people who are going to see it in the future. So with that said it's better to say nothing and stay quiet.
You simply cannot review a film when most readers haven't seen it yet. Sure, others have seen it, but how many haven't?

I would stick to technical merits. It has to be intentional that darker picture unpolished atmosphere, plus of course the CGI effects.
And it has also to be intentional the music score and sound effects. To me, the musical score is the essence in this film, the solid communication's anchor to everything happening onscreen in front of our very eyes and brain. Even the spaceships look like some kind of gently black curved space brain, on its side.
So, technically the BR picture quality is superior to 'Suicide Squad' in 2D Blu-ray, and not up to the level of 'The Life of Pi' in 2D Blu-ray.
The audio does an excellent job of grabbing you by the ear's canals and transferring that energy to your skull and your entire body's skeleton.
It even resonates through my subconscious...I think.

The acting is very convincing from Amy Adams who carries the bulk of the film on her shoulders. The rest of the actors are supporters, and they give her that extra weight. In particular I found that Forest Whitaker's exchanges with Amy Adams added considerably to the overall film's extra believability.

I feel very sad that I cannot review this great film in deeper depth. But that wouldn't be fair to others who haven't seen it. It would be truly inconceivable.
And even if we would have a feature here, I have no complete assurance of its true potential actual use (potency). Not that I don't trust the extreme maturity of the adult audience here (guests and members), not @ all; it's just that kind of film where it would be best for me to write the review in French, honest to good.
And besides, even in the French vocabulary they need to add few new words plus reinstate some of the ones they previously cancelled. IMO
Plus, I'm not sure there is enough space (data) to handle my "full" review in French. I wouldn't want to crash WBF's website.

Anyway, my overall score (everything, including film's value): 91

Last word: We are not there yet till we arrive.
_______

_______

• There is a reciprocity between various world's languages and miscommunication/misinterpretation among advanced classes from space. It can alter the future as already predicted. The film is an exploration into the world of destiny and how we can survive when already knowing the outcome. It is as profound as they don't make that kind of films. It made me think beyond the walls of our universe, into the multiverse...

Dr. Louise saved humanity with a simple phone call. Her ability to see into the future came @ the rescue of universal communication.
{Amy carried the torch with aplomb, convincingly. Actually it was "her" emotionally charged shining film.}

That is only one aspect I retained from it, among a multitude of others. I will share more on time, and in space...in our own dimension as life, love and the blues as we know them.

 

[audioguy]

Cool movie. I watched it last night. It won't win any audio awards for bomb explosions, gun shots or car crashes but I loved the premise. I was trying to figure out where it would go and finally it became (semi) clear. Very fascinating movie. And, yes, it would be unfair to say anything for those who have yet to watch it.

I've got it in 4K but watched in 1080P. It was a dark movie for most of the scenes and 4K on projectors leaves something to be desired some of the time. I am having my PJ calibrated in a few weeks and will re-check the video then.

If you are a Sci Fi buff, at least give it a go from Redbox.

 

[NorthStar]

Last night:

Wow, what a wonderful film! Simple and charming and fun.
The cast is perfect, the young actress, Hailee Steinfeld, she's a pleasant delight to watch.

"A precocious, narcissistic high schooler named Nadine (Hailee Steinfeld) is horrified when her best friend (Haley Lu Richardson) starts dating her impossibly perfect brother (Blake Jenner). Soon, she falls into a downward spiral that forces her to reflect on her cruel, self-centered behavior. Kyra Sedgwick and Woody Harrelson co-star. Written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig."

I enjoyed that one, very much so. A nice entertaining diversion/spin among all today's fake news and issues in the world.
This is a fresh rehabilitation/rejuvenation. Very cute to get out in the forest, and reflect in our teenager years.
Watch that film, shave before you do (or not), invite the family over, have some tacos with chicken and swiss cheese. Lol it don't matter who's with you, but you.
______

It's not the type of flick with a big Hollywood block buster budget ($9 million, that's all), and it's not the type of movie that will reap large financial profits @ the box office (less than $20 million); it's a romance, a love story, it's a comedy, a fun drama, [strike]it's a tragedy, a true story, it's a mix, it's a treat, it's a mix and treats, it's a Christmas flick without snow, it's a Valentine' date[/strike], ...it's a simple comedy that captures the naturalness of life with the ups and downs from when we were @ that age. Hailee Steinfeld and the rest of the gang gave us an entertaining/fun hundred minutes. Where were you @ 17, and with who?

Film: 90 ... about that!

 

[NorthStar]

Last night I re-watched Arrival but fell asleep about mid-way.
The replay value was invalidated. Another time perhaps. C'est la vie, voilà.
_______

But couple nights ago I watched an underrated flick; Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

"After a video of him saving his sergeant's life during a battle in Iraq goes viral, a 19-year-old U.S. soldier named Billy Lynn (Joe Alwyn) is invited, along with his squad mates, to return to the States for a promotional tour involving a military celebration during a Thanksgiving football game. However, the experience only makes Lynn feel more alienated from a society that doesn't truly understand or appreciate the sacrifices of its soldiers. Kristen Stewart, Vin Diesel, Garrett Hedlund, Steve Martin, Tim Blake Nelson, and Chris Tucker co-star. Directed by Ang Lee, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk is based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Ben Fountain."

It's the first 4K package I bought. I'm ready for the future...
I've watched the 3D BR version.
It started very casually, nothing extraordinary, even almost bordering on the boring.
But I went along for the ride, and I started to get comfy inside the limousine, with Billy and the gang and Albert.
From that moment on I just kept climbing the stairs to cinema emotion heaven.

Some films you can't really explain why so many people don't like them and very few, like I, loved them. ...Vice versa, c'est la vie, la nature humaine.

Technically the 3D picture is very satisfying, and so is the audio. I bet 4K @ 60fps looks magnificent, on a well calibrated projector.

But it's the power of the film itself that has heart and soul. There is a powerful life experience in the screen in front of our very eyes with the excellent performance of the entire cast of actors/actresses. We are invisible to them and they are there in all more real to us. It's a great storyline that represents one of the most profound aspects of America.
The camera work is simply extraordinary; we follow the actors as if we were with them, and with the emotions too that they feel, we feel with them too.

This is one very moving experience I witnessed recently; unique and very real.
I commented @ other sites; what I'm writing here is different. I mean I'm using different words; I go along as I write them in the moment, reliving what I felt two nights ago, now.
It's not a prepared text, it's a living description, freely improvised as I fully understand the impact of the film's poignant and human deep message.
It's important, it's an important film to fully realize the reality of all the young men and women like Billy and his buddy friends. ...When returning home from where they've been and being tossed around like puppets manipulated on a fake stage of life by a society lost in oblivion into their own annihilation.
There are many scenes, and some of them, one of them...has the impact of ten million tanks driving on your lawn just after you mowed it by hand.

Overall (film value and acting performances and technical merits - 3D BR): 91

Last word: It's right there in 3D, all of it in front of me. ...You
________

* Bonus: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/09/movies/ang-lee-interview-billy-lynns-long-halftime-walk.html?_r=0

 

[NorthStar]

I previously mentioned the music score of Arrival as one of the main driving forces, if not that.

The more I listen to the score the closer I get to the core.

 

[cjfrbw]

I finally saw "The Revenant" on DVD from the library. I watched it with my "pseudo 35mm" effect on the Samsung Bluray player through my 4k projector.

It's strange, the movie cinematography was absolutely brilliant and gorgeous, and it begged to be seen in the highest def. However, it was also on HBO in 1080p. The DVD has flawless motion and panning, whereas the HBO feed's compression produced pixellation and posterizing that were a real distraction during scene shifts, because the movie relies so heavily on panning shots. The sound was also brilliant.

It was hard to watch sometimes, and there were several "impossible" scenes i.e. impossible to know how they made them look so completely authentic aka the bear attack, battle scenes and many others.

I read the bear "raped" DiCaprio's character, but that wasn't the case. It was a mother bear protecting her young. Male bears routinely kill unfamiliar cubs if they are around to bring the mother back in heat, so the mother bear chases the males away, too.

I don't think I have seen such meticulous, elaborate scene choreography in a movie since Kubrick's films. In fact, it was very "Kubrick-esque" in it's solemnity and, at times, stark, slow beauty. Whatever lenses they used were amazing, to get those almost fish eye panoramas of the gorgeous winter scenery. I can't believe that in the cold the actors didn't have their balls in their throats the whole time.

Movie is sad, clearly comparing the depredations of man amidst the awesome shell of cold, spiritual nature. It tracks reasonably closely with diary accounts I have read about the unsettled West. The greatest hazard to man was man, followed in succession by illness, accident, injury, and animal predation. Indians killing trappers, trappers killing Indians, Indians killing Indians, soldiers killing Indians, animals killing whoever they can, man killing animals, incredible survival tales, all with the added lethality of revenge and retaliation. How did anybody manage to survive past ten years old in this beautiful asylum of tears?

Excellent movie, but clearly not for everybody.

 

[NorthStar]

I really like your 'Revenant's comments Carl. It is a unique film as it was shot with natural light (in harsh conditions, and people quit or were fired from the film crew), and with some beautiful scenery too. Great music score, right on that too.
The same guy that directed it, Alejandro González Iñárritu (Mexican artist of the moving pictures and sound compositions, and writer), also directed Birdman and Babel. Those are not for everybody, but they are for me. ...You probably saw 'Birdman' with Michael Keaton, and Emma Stone, and the "drummer"?

'Babel' (2006) is powerful.

Also, from the same director again:
- '21 Grams' (2004)
- 'Amores Perros' (2000)
- 'Biutiful' (2010)
_______

Last night I simply revisited Interstellar on Blu. Great enveloping music score of powerful caliber. ...Synthesizer/organ music.
There were some scenes so powerful sound wise that you were literally taking off from your chair, couple feet or more above, and to land somewhere inside and outside some black hole where trapped inside another dimension looking @ the one you just came back from.

You probably saw 'Interstellar' right? That one was shot in space, with natural light too. I like it, of course, for me to revisit. It's like putting one of your favorite Opera albums on your platter, and align the cart with the start of the first groove, and let if fall (needle drop). Then enjoy the ride. Very similar. The low passages you don't want to miss, so you raise the master volume on the preamp (number 9), and when the louder passages hit from that very dynamic album, ...it's like a hurricane travelling straight through your listening room, and cutting your body and brain in two equal parts, falling from each side of your chair, with your guts fully exposed and languishing in red chaos. The only option remaining and to silently observe from above, on the other side of our own dimension.

Do you experience some of that sometimes when listening to some music albums of higher caliber? Me too, and with film music scores the same. ...'Interstellar'.

 

[Ronm1]

Ive seen 'Revenant' twice now. Good film but for some reason I still like
'Man in the Wilderness' better. When I first saw the story of Zack Bass back in the early 70's I never forgot it.

 

[NorthStar]

Deja vu Ron. ...With Richard Harris.