Now Watching, Films/ movies discussion Options

[SubRosa]

I just finished Star Trek: Nemesis. This time out I instantly recognized the big bad Shinzon as Tom Hardy. This must have been one of his first movies.

Which one is Nemesis? Is that the one where the Enterprise fights the Bjorn Borg?

Just binge watched season two of Daredevil on Netflix. Overall it is a worthy follow up to the amazing first season, but it misses the gravitas that Vincent D'Onofrio brought to Wilson Fisk imho (though he does make an incredibly satisfying appearance later in the season). Jon Bernthal makes an effective Frank Castle and Elodie Yung kicks Jennifer Garner's you-know-what as Elektra, but both characters seem a little too one note for my taste. Scott Glenn returns as Stick and steals every scene he's in just like he did last year.

Definitely worth watching!

Nope, the Swedish Tennis Cyborg was First Contact. Nemesis was the final Trek movie, at least until the JJ Abrams reboots. It had Tom Hardy playing a young clone of Picard. The first time I saw it I could not understand why all the characters were acting so shocked the first time they saw him. It was only in the next scene I realized he's supposed to look like Picard. Well, he does not. He just looks like a bald Tom Hardy. But I still enjoyed it. I think of the Next Gen films, it was second best, after First Contact.

I still have not worked up the gumption to take another crack at Daredevil. The Punisher is the main thing making me thinking of trying again. I have always liked him. I didn't know Scott Glenn was in it. He's always fun to watch.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Mar 31 2016, 08:44 PM

[Kiln]

Watching The 100 again all the way up to the present episode. I gotta admit the show is slow to kick off but becomes awesome after a few episodes. Definitely worth checking out.

The premise is interesting and the young actors playing the teens who land planetside are decent. The storyline is great too with lots of character development and they mix it up enough to keep it from dragging.

[hazmick]

Watching The 100 again all the way up to the present episode. I gotta admit the show is slow to kick off but becomes awesome after a few episodes. Definitely worth checking out.

The premise is interesting and the young actors playing the teens who land planetside are decent. The storyline is great too with lots of character development and they mix it up enough to keep it from dragging.

I second this. Been watching the show since it first aired a couple of years ago, and it has come such a long way in pretty much every respect. The most recent episode in particular was very good, and the current story arc is really well done with all the twists and whatnot.

[Decrepit]

I just finished watching my newly arrived Nosferatu DVD. Yes, I ordered it despite having said I didn't consider it a 'must have' movie. After seeing it at YouTube I knew I'd add it to my collection eventually, so decided to track down exactly which restoration I viewed. I assumed it to be the one appearing as a recently published Kino blu ray. Only, excerpts from that disc show significantly more vertical scratches and other anomalies than the YouTube upload. I spent a couple of days trying to figure out why this might be so, at last stumbling on the reason at Amazon UK. There, a reviewer mentions that there are two modern restorations, the one used on the Kino blu ray and one from 2007. The blu ray restoration is significantly sharper with more detail. The 2007 has more anomalies removed. Both utilize the excellent original music score. I saw the 2007 restoration.

Even so I did not plan to order a copy right way. But . . . the old Kino Ultimate DVD Edition, which uses the 2007 restoration, is out of print. I found two on Amazon for $13US, then a jump to circa $50 and above. I decided to strike while the iron was hot. It was a good thing I did so. Several hours later both mine and the other cheap copy were gone.

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As for today's viewing, I picked up on more of the story than I did first time, which makes the experience even more enjoyable. Some of my initial nick-picks have faded into nothingness. I still wish a couple of the outdoor night scenes were more convincingly dark. Otherwise I can't really fault the film.

I suspect that those with blu ray players might be more content purchasing the more recent restoration, with its decidedly crisper image. (The 2007 is admittedly soft, though this varies somewhat depending on source material.)

@subRosa Do I remember correctly that you now have the Samsung 8500 UHD player? How's it working out? Do conventional blu rays and DVD look better upscaled to 4k than they did at 1080p?

[SubRosa]

@subRosa Do I remember correctly that you now have the Samsung 8500 UHD player? How's it working out? Do conventional blu rays and DVD look better upscaled to 4k than they did at 1080p?

I do have the Samsung 8500. For the most part regular blu-rays and dvds do look much better than with a 'normal' HD tv. But it has the same issue of sometimes being too high definition. Just like when playing some dvds on a regular blu-ray player, sometimes sfx and things like matte paintings that looked seamless on a dvd player, stand out as looking really fake on the blu-ray. But now it is sometimes things on dvd or even blu-ray looking fake on the Ultra Hd player. Sometimes even really minor visual issues you would never notice before become dramatically magnified.

Usually this kind of thing only pops up with older movies. For example, I was watching one of my Sharpe's Rifles movies (originally made back in the 90s, and now they are on blu-ray), and there was a scene where a man stands up and turns. For just a second the back of his coat became a sea of pixels. Then it all cleared up. I had similar problems with pixelation trying to watch Sicario. The disc had some scratches, which I think caused a lot of visual blurring and pixelation.

My 4KTV has a bunch of different viewing modes, including two custom modes you can set up. Changing modes can sometimes fix all the problems, sometimes not. The Sports and Game modes do the best with quick-motions like you get in action movies. For example, I was watching a preview of the final Hungry Games movie and there is a scene where an aircraft comes down to land. There is a line of mountains in the background, and the camera pans down to follow the plane across the mountains as it lands. On the Vivid and Cinema settings the mountains just dissolved into a blur every time I watched it. I set it to Game, and it looked perfect. I eventually set up the custom modes how I like them. But I still sometimes get issues on older discs.

OTOH, more recent movies like the Avengers ones look absolutely fantastic. Everest was just eye-popping on standard blu-ray. Obviously though, it is the non-effect shots that look best. Even Masterpiece Theater - shot on videotape - looks like you have a bunch of British people standing right in your living room.

The curved screen also works well I think. At least for me. At first I thought it would be disorienting, or that the curvature would warp or distort the image. But that is not the case at all. I think it looks better than a flat screen. That is especially when you are viewing from the side. The screen also seems to handle sunlight on it pretty well. I can watch with the windows open and sunlight coming through the windows just fine.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Apr 1 2016, 08:14 PM

[Decrepit]

I've watched no feature length movies thus far this week. The last seen was yet another airing of my new Nosteratu DVD. I get more out of that film each time I view it. It's gone from being something I purchases more or less on a lark (though I knew I eventually wanted it in my collection) to possibly my favorite acquisition in some time. (The Sienkiewicz novels rank high on the list too.) Oh yeah, I bought a used copy of Master and Commander: Far Side of the World locally for a song. I've done nothing with it other than insure it loads and plays.

At YouTube I watched a video on film history titled Paul Merton's Weird and Wonderful World of Early Cinema. It's a mixture of hall presentation, skits by the presenter, and of course movie clips. It places a lot of emphasis on the 'very' early years, and details the work of some pioneers I was not familiar with.

I am also re-watching Gopher's Minecraft series. He begins as a total noob with no real interest in the game, and ends up utterly addicted. Here's episode one, in which he runs around totally clueless and accomplishes little beyond entertaining us with his naivety.

I do have the Samsung 8500. For the most part . . . <snip>

Thanks for the detailed report. Me, I remain undecided, chiefly because I have no plans to purchase either a 4k TV or A/V receiver that handles 4k or the new audio formats, not unless my current units go belly up. On the other hand, a UHD blu ray player might at some point allow me to buy movies on disc that are available only in 4k. On the other other hand, the vast majority of films I am interested in collecting tend to be niche products not likely to fall into that catagoy for some time to come, if ever. Heck, even now I see a fair number of silents available on DVD but not blu-ray. In any case it's not something I have to decide right away. Besides, funds for the next some months are committed to upcoming medical bills and a new lawn mower.

[SubRosa]

Thanks for the detailed report. Me, I remain undecided, chiefly because I have no plans to purchase either a 4k TV or A/V receiver that handles 4k or the new audio formats, not unless my current units go belly up. On the other hand, a UHD blu ray player might at some point allow me to buy movies on disc that are available only in 4k. On the other other hand, the vast majority of films I am interested in collecting tend to be niche products not likely to fall into that catagoy for some time to come, if ever. Heck, even now I see a fair number of silents available on DVD but not blu-ray. In any case it's not something I have to decide right away. Besides, funds for the next some months are committed to upcoming medical bills and a new lawn mower.

I keep forgetting to reply to this. Something that surprises me is the resilience of dvds. In spite of it now being 2 generations behind the times, there is no sign of any company stopping making dvds. In fact, season 2 of Turn: Washington's Spies just came out on disc. It is only on dvd. This is in spite of season 1 being on both blu-ray and dvd. So WTF? All I can guess is that dvds must be cheaper to make. Plus of course that blu-ray and 4k players are backwards compatible and can play dvds. Where the reverse is not possible.

Also forgot to mention. I have Master and Commander (sounds like a Porn from the title doesn't it!) on blu-ray. I have watched it almost half a dozen times, and liked it immensely. There are not too many films set in the Age of Sail. (I don't count the Pirates of the Caribbean films because they are more fantasy than reality). Plus it has Paul Bettany. An interesting thing about Master though is that the enemy ship was originally American in the novel, and they changed it to French for the movie. Obviously for the primarily American audience.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Apr 11 2016, 08:45 PM

[Decrepit]

After supper last night I watched my newly acquired Criterion Collection DVD of Charlie Chaplin's The Kid. I ought to have held out and bought it on blu ray, but since I've no idea when I can afford to make the jump . . .

I'd not seen the film in years. Truth be told, I'm not 100% sure I ever watched it in its entirety. I only got to see it at all thanks to the 'fortunate' circumstance of being in hospital during a TCM Chaplin marathon. I caught most of the talking Chaplins, but missed almost all the silents. I did catch The Kid, but recall little of that viewing. I suspect I either tuned in partway through or, more likely, had to abandon the film for a test or procedure. I might simply have fallen asleep.

Being a Criterion produce, visuals are excellent. The original Chaplin composed music score, played by orchestra, accompanies the film. It's quite fine. The one caveat, it's a 1972 mono recording that, in my case, utilizes only the front center speaker. It's not bad mono sound, but I wish it would take advantage of my other two front speakers, which are full towers with better bass. The film is short, under an hour, but comes with lots of extras on disc to sweeten the deal.

My Chaplin exposure is decidedly odd. I own many of his very early shorts on laserdisc. I've seen (and remember) most of his 'talkies'. But I've missed out on his prime silents, the films for which he most renown. I saw Modern Times at a military outdoor theater in the Philippines circa 1973, but recall little of it. I own Gold Rush on VHS, but its quality is so bad I can't watch it. And now The Kid.

At YouTube I watched a fine, if a bit sugar-coated, bio of Mary Pickford, another silent biggie whose films have thus far eluded me.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Apr 14 2016, 10:13 AM

[Callidus Thorn]

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

I've been doing a bit of a western thing of late

[mALX]

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

I've been doing a bit of a western thing of late

I'm not big on westerns, but did Love this one - and there were a couple more westerns he did that I liked. Sharon Stone did one western that I liked, "he Quick and the Dead."

Other than those and possibly Blazing Saddles, I'm not big on westerns.

[Callidus Thorn]

I don't have many: Tombstone, Once Upon a Time in the West, Wyatt Earp, and a boxset of Clint Eastwood ones; A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, and [/i]Hang 'Em High[/i]

This post has been edited by Callidus Thorn: Apr 14 2016, 04:37 PM

[Decrepit]

This morning I watched my Kino DVD of Douglas Fairbanks' silent Robin Hood. I've had this disc for some years and keep hoping I'll grow more fond of it. I doubt that's gonna happen. Of the four Fairbanks films I own, this is easily my least favorite. I just don't find much of interest in the movie, though it has its moments . . . all too few of them to suit me. Part of the problem is its music accompaniment. The disc jacket states that the film's original 1922 score is heard. That for me is normally ideal. In this case, much of the music seems uninspired, though I rather like the peppy opening theme. Nor does it always fit the mood and/or actions of what we see on screen. Possibly worse from my perspective, it is performed by a small ensemble playing mostly synthesizers or something similar. Whatever they are, the sound just isn't right for the Robin Hood score, which cries out for full symphonic orchestra. I shouldn't gripe too hard on this. At least an effort was made to use the original music, which is all too often ignored (assuming it survives). In any case, this is 'not' a film I recommend with any enthusiasm. The 1938 Errol Flynn Adventures of Robin Hood is, in my opinion, a whole order of magnitude better.

Westerns aren't one of my prime genres of interest either. But a fine film is a fine film. Westerns I rather enjoy include: Once Open a Time in the West, Shane, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Rio Bravo (silly but fun), and possibly my pick of the litter, High Noon.

[mALX]

I don't have many: Tombstone, Once Upon a Time in the West, Wyatt Earp, and a boxset of Clint Eastwood ones; A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, and Hang 'Em High

"Hang 'Em High" is another great one!

[SubRosa]

I don't have many: Tombstone, Once Upon a Time in the West, Wyatt Earp, and a boxset of Clint Eastwood ones; A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, and [/i]Hang 'Em High[/i]

I have a box set of the three Man With No Name movies on blu-ray. It makes for a cool Eastwood marathon.

I like me some Westerns. I love the one mALX mentioned - The Quick And The Dead, which is also a Sam Raimi movie. It has tons of people in it. Gene Hackman, Leo DeCapricorn, Russel Crowe, Lance Henrikson, and more. I thought Sharon Stone was excellent in it as The Mysterious Stranger/The Woman With No Name.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Apr 14 2016, 07:04 PM

[Lopov]

I like those you mention, SubRosa, especially the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. One of the best movies IMO. I've watched a lot of westerns but really liked only a few.

The Quick and the Dead is probably the only modern western which I find really good. Though there's another with Ed Harris, Renee Zellweger and Jeremy Irons, which would be okay if it weren't for Zellweger which I just can't stand.

[Decrepit]

Having recently seen the silent Douglas Fairbanks' Robin Hood, today I watched the 1938 Errol Flynn Adventures of Robin Hood on DVD. While I no longer think as highly of it as I once it, I still find it a fine film, with much to enjoy including its masterful music score. Other than in broad generalities, the two Robin Hoods are quite different films, sharing few specific scenes in common. The Flynn, btw, was at one stage intended to open with a tournament, which is how the Fairbanks begins.

[SubRosa]

I have Captain Blood coming in the mail from Netflix tomorrow, and The Seahawk is next in my queue.

I watched Master and Commander: The Far Side Of The World today. Still a fun Age of Sail/War movie, even after half a dozen viewings. It looked good on the 4K, except for one shot of the doctor standing on one of the Galapagos Islands, with a view of an inlet and more islands and ocean behind him. I could clearly see a difference between the ground he was standing on, and the rest of the scenery. So my guess is they shot him in the studio and then pasted that over footage of the real islands (since the Galapagos was one of the locations they actually filmed at). That is something I never noticed on my old "regular" hd tv.

[SubRosa]

I just learned that Toho is coming out with a new Godzilla movie in Japan this summer. Not sure when it will be in the States. He looks different from normal, and I have to say, pretty darn creepy.

He's definitely a bad guy in this one

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Apr 18 2016, 02:47 AM

[Decrepit]

Watched Nosferatu again last night. It gets better each viewing. I'm so glad I acquired the 2007 Kino release before prices went up. (The release that officially replaces it is now cheaper, but uses a different restoration.)

I watched Master and Commander: The Far Side Of The World today. Still a fun Age of Sail/War movie, even after half a dozen viewings. It looked good on the 4K, except for one shot of the doctor standing on one of the Galapagos Islands, with a view of an inlet and more islands and ocean behind him. I could clearly see a difference between the ground he was standing on, and the rest of the scenery. So my guess is they shot him in the studio and then pasted that over footage of the real islands (since the Galapagos was one of the locations they actually filmed at). That is something I never noticed on my old "regular" hd tv.

I meant to watch Master and Commander in its entirety over the weekend, but me being me totally forgot about it until reading your post. Think I'll watch it via computer rather than my living room AV system. I need to crank up the volume fairly high to hear a sufficient amount of softer noises. Doing so on my AV system makes low-frequency portion of the combat scenes too overwhelmingly loud, as I discovered during my brief test at the time of purchase. (I had headaches four days in a row from just the first canon salvo.) My computer audio system lacks to power to produce that sort of dynamic power, or so I hope for my ears' sake. Sort of ironic. Throughout my home listening career I've ranted against dynamic-range suppression, which occurs on all too often with both music and films. Now that discs like M&C provide decent dynamics my hearing is too shot to appreciate it. Such is life.

I just learned that Toho is coming out with a new Godzilla movie in Japan this summer. Not sure when it will be in the States. He looks different from normal, and I have to say, pretty darn creepy.

He's definitely a bad guy in this one

Interesting trailer. Other than showcasing technological advances, it did nothing to make me want to see the film.

[SubRosa]

One thing I find I actually like about the new Japanese Godzilla is the fact that they are actually showing us Godzilla. In the latest American reboot from a few years ago Godzilla is only in 8 minutes of the movie. Call me crazy, but when I go to see a giant monster movie, I want to see a giant monster. It was like the director was ashamed to show him to us. But this Japanese version is giving us a good long look at Red-zilla (or Daedric Godzilla) right off the bat, so I suspect that he will be in more than 8 minutes of the film.

Today I finished season two of Turn. It has been good, just as good as season one. They took some interesting twists and turns, all while remaining faithful to history overall. Or maybe I should say faithful to history as it is publicly known.

One example is how the series has portrayed General Lee (no, not that Gen'l Lee, there was another, far more dubious fellow by the same name in the Revolutionary War) as a traitor, while in history we know him simply as an incompetent. I have always thought that one of the main reasons Washington attacked the British at Monmouth was to destroy Lee, his only rival for command of the army. That is not something you see people admit, but when I look at how Washington gave Lee half his army to attack the British, while holding the other half back so far that it was impossible to support Lee, he was setting Lee up to fail. Of course Lee being utterly incapable of commanding the troops he did have insured his defeat when the entire British army turned around to attack him. Turn takes things further than that, and shows Lee having ulterior motives for his failure in battle, beyond simply being out of his depth.

Likewise, the whole subplot of Andre and Peggy Shippen has been really cool. It not only gives us a whole new insight into Andre, and Peggy, but also puts a whole new spin on the most famous betrayal in American history. I really like Andre in this show, and by the end of the season I could not help but feel sorry for him. I am going to be sad to see him meet his fate. Even before this show I always thought it was sad that he paid the price for Arnold's treason. In fact, I am liking the actor so much that I think JJ Feild would make for an excellent Ungarion in a live-action Aela show. Make those ears a little more pointy, and he's a perfect elf.

I did come across one issue with the dvds that anyone who buys season two on disc should be aware of. On the second dvd two episodes are mixed up. The second episode on the disc says it is Houses Divided, but clicking on it actually sends you to the next episode - Valley Forge. Likewise, the third episode on the disc says it is Valley Forge, but it is actually Houses Divided. So keep that in mind so you can watch them in the correct order.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Apr 18 2016, 11:21 PM