Topic: The Movie Thread

@MB81 I haven't seen that one actually, I'll have to give it a go at some point! Cheers for the recommendation.

Nah I'm just on standard, I cycled through cinema and filmmaker modes but I didn't really like them. They looked too "yellow" for me if that makes sense, I wasn't really a fan. Maybe I could try them and mess with the colour settings but I feel like it might be too much of a faff.

@LN78 cheers anyway, and cheers for pointing me in the direction of the settings. I got Interstellar looking good even if Space still isn't truly black in it (lots of light sources brighten it up in a cinematic way even if it's not necessarily realistic)

Doesn't seem like I can set a User setting to click back on to but if it's not too bad if I have to change only two settings before I watch a movie.

Unfortunately I can't trust my eyes because I don't know what every film is supposed to look like as I don't have a reference point.

@ralphdibny That's why nature docs like the one I mentioned are a good jumping off point for your settings because you do know what trees,grass and the sky ought to look like!

@LN78 uhhh, you'd think! 😅

I've only got Planet Earth and Life on Blu ray (not 4K) and I was planning to get rid of them anyway because I will probably never watch them again.

Had a look and there is a 4K set of Planet Earth 2 and Blue Planet 2 for £37. I'll look into getting that set when I have some spare money/it's on sale so I can use them for reference. I've not seen either so hopefully both have some good day time and night time shots that can be used

@ralphdibny There are a few nature docs in 4K on BBC iplayer. I reccomend Seven Worlds, One Planet. I much prefer 4K blu rays and try to avoid streaming services when it comes to 4K when possible, but the quality on those is incredible. Failing that there will be a load of 4K reference vids on YouTube if you wanna take a look.

Really recommend filmmaker mode or at least replicating its settings! It was made in conjunction with filmmakers to ensure their films look right. Basically it turns off all post processing.

@JudgeDredd cheers for the heads up… I still have to watch season 2 but i plan on getting to it 👊

What on earth is this?! 🤣

@JohnnyShoulder News of this popped up a little while back. The copyright has expired on the characters so anyone can do whatever they want with them. They are definitely trying to milk the shock value of using childrens characters this way.

Watched Starter For 10 again. Takes one hell of a film for me to be able to stomach watching James Corden but thankfully he’s barely in it. It’s a pretty good movie though, Cumberbatch is brilliant as the most insufferable Tory ever spawned in the birthing pods and James McAvoy does a decent Saaaathend accent.

Really sorry for the late replies peeps

@Abarth_71 I really appreciate that breakdown of your settings. I will replicate them and see how they look in the conditions of my living room.

@JohnnyShoulder ahh sweet. I'll check em out. I think my partner has paid the TV license this year so might as well make the most out of it! 😅 Cheers mate

@MB81 Cheers, I will give it more of a look then. I think I was immediately put off by the yellow but I will see if I can tweak the settings and make it look a bit more neutral.

I watched 1917 (FreeVee) this morning & thought it was pretty great.

Absolutely killer set & costume design that really brought you into the trenches, with plenty of environments that managed to managed awe, whether it be the brutality of no man's land, a striking journey through a wartorn city at night, and even a few moments that were hauntingly beautiful in a way. The illusion of the "single take" camera work also played a crucial role in really immersing you in it.

I definitely teared up a few times as well. It definitely does a good job making you feel the fear & horror the soldiers had to deal with.

Dave (1993) is the definition of a "they don't make 'em like they used to" movie. Can't believe I didn't even know it existed 'til earlier this week. One of those hits from the early 90s that seems to have faded further and further into obscurity ever since, which is a real shame. Utterly lovely from start to finish, I had a big smile on my face 98% of the time. Why wasn't Kevin Kline ever a bigger star?

@RogerRoger I really like Dave as well. I've had it since it first came out on DVD. Definitely a heart warmer, I'm glad you discovered it. I recall you have mentioned being a fellow West Wing fan so I'm assuming you seen The American President? The film that most likely birthed the idea of West Wing.

@BearsEatBeets Yes, that's another great movie, although I hadn't seen that until recently either, and I think I prefer the innocence and charm of Dave on balance. Thanks for the thought, though! Am gonna try tracking down a physical release of Dave, as I watched a digital purchase via streaming, and it's definitely a movie I wanna have on a shelf somewhere.

@RogerRoger Oh yeah it's a quite a different type of film, just popped in my head though. One film that pops to mind with similar warmth and charm is The Dish. I imagine it's not widely known but it's a great little film about Australia's part in the moon landing.

@BearsEatBeets That stars Sam Neill, doesn't it? I think I've got that on a watchlist somewhere, so I'm glad to see a positive endorsement. Cheers!

@RogerRoger That’s the one. Good to know it’s available to watch somewhere.

Couple of movies for me tonight.

Swamp Thing (Tubi) - I'm not at all familiar with the comics it's based on & I wouldn't say it's a particularly good film, but I did enjoy my time with it. Seems mostly held back by the budget & VFX of the time, but the overall setup was decent & there was at least one entertainingly disturbing transformation sequence (be aware there is some nudity despite being rated PG). There looks to be a sequel, which I'll give a go.

Lupin the 3rd: Goemon's Bloodspray (Blu-Ray) - Goemon centric Lupin film that plays out like an ultra violent modern day samurai film where he finds himself up against a nigh indestructible American assassin with killer axe skills. Very bloody, with lots of excitingly fun action.

the Return of Swamp Thing (Tubi) - Takes a bit more of a comedic tone than the original, & paired with noticeably improved VFX & costuming it's a much more fun watch at that. I assumed it was more of a reboot than a sequel (and in some ways that's still true), but along the way it infers the original is still canon, but handwaves the idea that the villain died at the end.

Ghost in the Shell ARISE 3 & 4 (Blu-Ray) - Last two OVAs in this GitS series. Maybe I just wasn't in the right headspace for it but I thought they were narratively more dense than the first two & I left with some questions. If you liked the first two these are worth a look though.

National Lampoon's Movie Madness (Tubi) - Anthology of parody films (the first a spoof of a family drama, the second a revenge flick, & finally a buddy cop film) that is absolutely terribly dull. While the final one seemed maybe a bit funnier than the first two, I had largely tuned out by then, and all of them feel like they go on much longer than they do (while it certainly has it's duds as well, I think the Kentucky Fried Movie is a much more enjoyable film of this type overall). That, & it seems like a direct to VHS film that got a lazy digital transfer (it's not in widescreen, & there's a very noticeable "screen tearing" effect that happens nearly everytime the camera pans, and sometimes even when a character is just moving).

Deadpool 2 (Disney+) - Still working my way through Fox's X-Men catalogue. Kinda more of the same after the first one, but that's not a bad thing. Being just a bit more versed in comic lore/culture than I was the first time I watched it, more of the jokes/references landed for me even, & just like the first film, in spite of how crass & crude it is, it even managed to make me tear up a time or two.

Finished watching The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring for the first time. Excellent movie! I'm really lucky that Prime Video added all the LOTR and Hobbit movies in preparation for the new show as I already had a subscription to the service so I could start watching them now.

It's really nice to finally meet all these characters I've heard about from the franchise, like Gandalf, Legolas and Aragorn. Not to mention hearing all the famous quotes like "You shall not pass".

The movie was seriously so long and it was fairly slow at start but then it ramped up the pacing towards the middle part. There were lots of exciting stuff going on. Maybe a bit too much going on due to how the camera was cutting away all the time and the movie was constantly introducing new characters. If it weren't for how popular some of the characters are, I probably wouldn't remember any of their names.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the first movie and I can't wait to watch the second one, possibly next weekend when I have some time to spare for these super long movies lol.