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

[NorthStar]

I watched this last night ::

Black and white (2012), a light comedy about romance, with words.
Not for everyone; has its own moments. ...Fell asleep last time...so it was redeeming time.

Overall (film): 74

________

________

* Only ten days till Christmas.

 

[NorthStar]

Less than nine days till Christmas, and there is so much beautiful music created in the world and so little time.

________

Last night I watched Tom (Cruise) and Rebecca (Ferguson)::

Rebecca has beautiful eyes, I was transfixed by them each time she was on my screen. ...Five out of five for her eyes. ...Nice lips too, intelligent pair of lips.
The opening scene when the big plane takes off; a good dose of vibrations coming from the couch.
The main vilain, I like him; he has ... style, and the right voice intonation.
The secondary vilain ('the Bone man'); he is a man a few words, I liked him too, and he has a nice set of shiny chrome tools. ...But he didn't have the chance to use them, including his very sweet little saw and gorgeous hammer.

I don't want to spoil/spill the film, so @ the end the good guy won and the vilain died. ...And of course the mission was impossible, but not for Tom.

* Overall: 79 ...And that's generous. Still I was entertained...by those beautiful eyes...alone worth the price of admission and raises the overall score.

- It's in Atmos sound but I'm not there yet, so I had to "endure" with the core audio, Dolby TrueHD 7.1 surround sound (hi res lossless audio).
- Picture was pretty, those eyes particularly.
- Long moments of inactivity with superfluous dialog (Alec Baldwin, in my book, was a disaster among several others).
- Some action scenes; car/motorcycle chase was unreal, with bad camera work (way too fast, so you see nothing up close and personal - shaky camera work - I just hate it).

Last word: Rebecca's eyes.

 

[MadFloyd]

Less than nine days till Christmas, and there is so much beautiful music created in the world and so little time.

________

Last night I watched Tom (Cruise) and Rebecca (Ferguson)::

Rebecca has beautiful eyes, I was transfixed by them each time she was on my screen. ...Five out of five for her eyes. ...Nice lips too, intelligent pair of lips.
The opening scene when the big plane takes off; a good dose of vibrations coming from the couch.
The main vilain, I like him; he has ... style, and the right voice intonation.
The secondary vilain ('the Bone man'); he is a man a few words, I liked him too, and he has a nice set of shiny chrome tools. ...But he didn't have the chance to use them, including his very sweet little saw and gorgeous hammer.

I don't want to spoil/spill the film, so @ the end the good guy won and the vilain died. ...And of course the mission was impossible, but not for Tom.

* Overall: 79 ...And that's generous. Still I was entertained...by those beautiful eyes...alone worth the price of admission and raises the overall score.

- It's in Atmos sound but I'm not there yet, so I had to "endure" with the core audio, Dolby TrueHD 7.1 surround sound (hi res lossless audio).
- Picture was pretty, those eyes particularly.
- Long moments of inactivity with superfluous dialog (Alec Baldwin, in my book, was a disaster among several others).
- Some action scenes; car/motorcycle chase was unreal, with bad camera work (way too fast, so you see nothing up close and personal - shaky camera work - I just hate it).

Last word: Rebecca's eyes.

In that case I highly recommend this!

 

[NorthStar]

In that case I highly recommend this!
View attachment 24215

A British TV Mini-Series, with Rebecca Ferguson's beautiful set of eyes and smart pair of lips.

++++++++++

 

[NorthStar]

It's Ludwig's birthday today (245th one). ...Ludwig van Beethoven.

________

Revisited (last night) ::

Overall: 71 (film) ...And that's generous. ...So many plot holes in that flick that it looks like a wall full of bullet holes. ...You can see through it as you would from your motorcycle looking @ the pavement under your front wheel. ....There is no floor to block the view.

 

[Hi-FiGuy]

Watched To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time ever. I had no idea what the movie was even about. Not a clue.
Very much ahead of its time.
Good movie, I liked it, a gets ya think in movie.
Watching it biased on today's climate, I had a very different mental direction of the story Atticus was telling about how Tom fled (did he really, my conjecture,or was he just murdered) during the jailhouse transfer and was shot.
That right there was a subject for a other movies in more current times.

 

[amirm]

Watched Jupiter Ascending. It was what everyone said. Superb special effects, lousy story with cliche scenes. I also thought Mila Kunis acting was very subpar.

 

[NorthStar]

Watched Jupiter Ascending. It was what everyone said. Superb special effects, lousy story with cliche scenes. I also thought Mila Kunis acting was very subpar.

The opening was promising; with the first two scenes...
1. The astronomer
2. Mila the cleaning lady

Then, soon as we departed Earth, all went downhill into the stratosphere.

Yes, nice makeups, beautiful popping colors, sumptuous set decors, costumes, reasonable music score, music ambiance, and then total mayhem sound wise...too 'cacaphonic' and busy to get a good handle on it. It was like the worst nightmare coming from nowhere land/space.

* In 3D it fared better...IMO. Picture wise of course...more 3-dimensional, and that I'm a sucker for.

__________________

? Last night I revisited ::

I wanted to compare again with John Wick.

* Overall (film): 67

** Last word: Best --> Car chase. If not for that my rating score would have been 54.

*** Next week (seven days): Christmas.

 

[NorthStar]

John Wick, Jack Reacher, ...last night I revisited this guy ::

I slightly prefer it to the two aforementioned above.

Overall: 73.5

Last word: If you haven't seen it, give it a viewing; I think you'll find it redeeming.

 

[NorthStar]

...And for a change (last night) ::

? Overall: 98*

* The two missing points, to make it 100, are for future movie medium...UHD Blu-ray (1% more) with DTS:X audio encoding (that last 1% missing).
And if ever they remaster it in 8K (or 16K) and in 3D (or 4D) that'll make it 102%. :b

? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4D_film

 

[MadFloyd]

One of these days I have to see that movie...!

 

[NorthStar]

One of these days I have to see that movie...!

Wow! /// @ least you have a nice hi-fi stereo sound system, and you must have some real sweet music to play on it, Ian.

* Any mountains that you can see from your window where you live?

P.S. Few more hours to go: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/sci...day-of-the-year-the-winter-solstice-2015.html

 

[NorthStar]

Winter's Solstice right now...it's beautiful out...pitch dark black and raining.

_____________

I watched this last night (revisit) ::

* Overall (everything; film, picture and sound on Blu): 84.5

Last word: Only less than three days to Christmas. :b

 

[NorthStar]

I revisited a personal favorite of mine ::

________

________

It's a very simple film with nothing exciting and only nothing...but I like its simplistic construction with peaceful characters. ...No extravaganza here, no fancy nothing.

? Overall (film and actors and decors and music score): 83
{Way underrated.}

 

[DaveyF]

Couple of interesting movies...Ex Machina and Insurgent.
Both were pretty good ( no ratings from me as that is Bob's forte and not mine) But, I enjoyed both.
The 'billionaire' character in Ex Machina is scarily realistic to so very many real characters that I have been exposed to. Although, a lot of them were not 'billionaires'...just incredibly wealthy.

 

[NorthStar]

Davey, I've never been into numbers (ratings, scores, $$$, post count, ...) ... I only get used to it. ...It is part of our heritage, environment, social evolution, natural human distinction, ...we keep scores with everything; from the Internet to Alaska. ...It's all for fun. :b

* 'Ex_machina' is cool sci-fi flick, different than the norm, and with good premises (characters and ideas and the nice natural surroundings).
They did a very good job with it all. And the actors went all for it.

_______

If you look @ the start of this thread you'll realize that the rating score came way way after that. ...It was suggested to me, and with time I got used to it; it is part of the subjective/objective equilateral triangulation. ...Check Bobby Long, have a drink, and relax. :b

_______

<> The Wolf of Wall Street.

 

[NorthStar]

All year round we cook and ate the best food, drink the best wines, smoke the finest cigars, listen to the best classical music, watch great movies, and it's no exception during the Christmas holidays and New year's celebrations...with fireworks. We play music too, we dance and we laugh aplenty with love in our hearts. We tell true stories of our youth and of yesterday with the best memories.

Instead of sharing it all here, I will remain focused and stay on topic, like a German soldier under the command of his superior.
Last night, late, I watched a "warm" flick...'Pan' in 3D on Blu-ray. ..."Warm" because it exuded that spirit of warmth during these times, our times, my time.

It's the 3D film's visuals with accompanying audio that is the true movie ride here.
If you're looking for John Wick @ The Red Circle discotheque you won't find him.
If you're looking for that child inside you you have a much better chance of discovering him/her...in 3D.

It's not a Quentin Tarantino's construction film in deconstructing time.
It's not a 'Sicario' film's genre either. ...From Denis Villeneuve...French Quebecois filmmaker.

'Pan' - overall rating (film plus technical aspects, including 3D picture effects, and overall 'sound' ride): 78.5
Way underrated because most critics cannot put themselves in a real entertainment chair @ the 3D movies. ...Plus nobody who write film critics is younger than twelve. But! I am, ha! :b

Anyway, Mad Max it ain't, but the 3D ride is still fun nonetheless. Be true, be an adult inside your favorite child. ...Eat good, sleep well, live with verve and feverish tenacity.
Enjoy the Holidays 360° around. ...Warm holidays with films that exhibit "warmth". ...Short of living in the dinosaur's age.

? Last word: Pan & Scan 'Pan' in 3D. Look above in the sky for that shining star, ...Peter Pan, in a new 3-Dimensional magic ride.

 

[TBone]

North, got to admit I've not liked prior PP flicks, so I didn't even consider this attempt. However, over the years, I'm down to only 2 reviewers I follow, one stated ...

Re-imagining the classics is about the closest thing we get to creativity in Hollywood these days, so it's not the idea of the project that so bothers, but rather the approach. Where is the fun? Where is the sense of wonderment? In fact, young Peter's destiny seems to be an urgency to assume more responsibility as a leader … not live the carefree days of fun and games that Mr. Barre had set out.

Newcomer Levi, who plays Peter, ranks right there with director Joe Wright's previous discovery of Saoirse Ronan, as child actors with big time screen presence. Young Mr. Miller has a grasp of the script and character and is the best part of the film. Hugh Jackman plays Blackbeard, but can never really reach the necessary level of intimidation or theatricality. For some reason Garrett Hedlund plays Hook as if he is imitating Christian Slater who is imitating Jack Nicholson playing Indiana Jones. It's so over-the-top that we must assume Hedlund was directed to bring some comic relief to the bleak environment. Much has already been written about the casting of ultra-Caucasian Rooney Mara in the role of Tiger Lilly, though she performs the role quite well (avoiding the screeching of her lines in the manner of Jackman and Hedlund). Rounding out the cast is Adeel Axhtar as Smiegel/Smee.

Some of Wright's action sequences and CGI are quite impressive, though it's difficult to overlook the obvious influences of Terry Gilliam, Baz Luhrman, and even George Lucas and James Cameron. Particularly painful and out of place are the Luhrman-influenced musical interludes of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and The Ramone's "Blitkrieg Bop". Even the pixie dust effect reminds of Dorian Gray, though Jackman only gets one brief scene in which to capitalize.

Devotees of the J.M. Barre source material will be no doubt disappointed and confused, but the theatre was filled with youngsters who couldn't seem to care less that Joe Wright had taken a classic story in the opposite direction. They enjoyed the visual effects as evidenced by the numerous "oohs" and "ahhs". So let's allow that reaction to speak for itself, rather than saying this version just didn't pan out.

BTW, I consider Saoirse Ronan to be one of the very best young actresses today, thankfully she's no Jennifer Lawrence. :b Therefore, I'll watch Levi's performance when the time presents itself.

 

[NorthStar]

? Saoirse Ronan - 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' and ::



____________

? Peter Pan (1924) ::

____________

? Pan (((3D))) - 2015 ::

____________

? There is enough in 'Pan' (2015) in (((3D))) to sink your teeth in depth that it'll lift you up of your chair and beyond the magic world of Peter Pan and gang. ...The flying ship, the decor sets, the mermaid, ...in grand style...into the night of flying bright stars.

 

[NorthStar]

Only less than 56 hours (55:22) till the New 2016 Year in brand new clothing. ...With champagne about to be floating.
Every single day new babies are being born, and every single day children are dying.

In the jungles of the Equator new species are discovered almost every day...flowers, plants, insects, birds, ...
In the oceans of the Earth new fish species are discovered @ different and deeper depths.

Life is death, and death is life. Life without music is like life without soul.

__________

Last night I revisited MI5, just because ::

Some people never see a film more than once, some people never see a film @ all, and some people see the same film a dozen times, or more.
If you happen to be part of the third category, you might find stuff that you didn't see the first time around, and it can bring your appreciation on a higher level, or it can bring it too to a lower level. ...With repetitive viewing experience @ different times and stance of mind, we adapt to new revelations on a higher plateau or to accentuated deceptions. That's what humans feel emotionally...all depending of time, space and circumstances...more or less joy, and pain and between.

This time around my overall rating went from 79 to 70. ...But it's more on the film level itself, and not on its technicalities. ...That, might be for another day.
With art, films, music, wines, paintings, sculptures, ...there is nothing definitive @ all times. The value is not in the object, or its financial appraisal; it's in the emotional reception.
...And only @ a certain time when we were in touch. What we lost somewhere we gain elsewhere. ...Life and death is just part of the universe.

Tom Cruise is having a good run with Mission: Impossible movie franchise. ...And The Man from U.N.C.L.E. might not survive. ... C'est la vie.
And scores change with time, like wines that aged more or less into one direction than another.

Last word: It's still worth it, and tomorrow you never know. I still prefer MI4 personally. ...And I am not affected by movie critics; I consider myself movie critic influence-free.
...And like with any other form of creative/artistic expression. ...Films are reflections of our culture; we can see through them how man evolved.
And next week, exactly seven days from now, I am looking big time forward to 'Sicario' and its musical imprint with emotional footprint. Denis Villeneuve is a filmmaker that I am a little familiar with, and I appreciate everything that I've seen so far from him. ...It's a mix of cinema verite interceded with supportive atmosphere (visually and auditory). ...It has substance, philosophy, reality and conclusion. ...And unlike Mission: Impossible. ...One to five. ...Just different type of entertainment...for different senses.