Topic: The Movie Thread

@RogerRoger Fassbender is another X alumnus whose accent vaccilated wildly. Is he Irish? Is he German? Perhaps we'll never know. The scene where he terrorises the fugitive Nazis in the South American bar in "First Class" is terrific. That actor tends to do well in bar scenes featuring Nazis, now I come to think of it.

@LN78 Ha for sure, but in fairness I really do think Patrick Stewart brings 'his all' to the role - certainly not a phone-in by any means! (I must confess I really really like McAvoy in the role as well though)

@RogerRoger Yes and I think Kelsey Grammar's casting is often largely ignored, probably because Beast is certainly nobody's favorite X-Man (!) You're right on McKellen also, and Magneto is probably my favorite character in the X-series. Love the scene/s where they've got him locked up in the plastic prison so he can't undertake any of his metal-moving hijinks lol

@LN78 I did like that scene a lot, even with Mr. Fassbender in it. No disrespect to him, I'm sure he's talented and well-suited to other roles; I just never believed him as Magneto.

@CJD87 I distinctly remember walking away from seeing X2 at the cinema with friends and saying, "Great movie, but needed way more Magneto!" The scene where he breaks out of the plastic prison, and then the bit near the end where he rips off all the soldiers' grenade pins, were my favourite parts!

ive been doing my horror movie watch a thon recently.

This past weekend and today ive watched Deadtime Stories, Nightmare on Elm Street 1-4 and Rob Zombie Halloween II.

i just got the new 4K blu ray of Return of the Living Dead 1 today so Ill be doing a Return of the Living Dead 1 and 2 mini marathon later this week or this coming weekend. Plus rewatching Malignant and The Vigil and the Poltegeist Trilogy for DVD

I was surprised to find that the one of the discs (that I'd assumed was for bonus features) in the "Doctor Sleep" 4K blu-ray set from a while back actually contained the Director's Cut of the film (on a standard blu-ray, alas).and so watched that instead of the intended 4K version of the theatrical cut. It's a significant improvement (and I'm a big fan of the original version and most things Mike Flanagan) with a completely different structure that's more akin to "The Shining" (so divided into titled chapters) and a boat load (nearly half an hour!) of additional and extended or re-edited scenes that makes one wonder why the theatrical cut was the version given the 4K HDR treatment for this release, especially given the film's underwhelming performance in its theatrical run. I don't think I'll watch any version other than this in the future and I'll certainly be paying much closer attention to the contents of my blu-ray sets from now on! An unexpected treat.

@LN78 I liked Dr Sleep way more than I thought I would, as people who I normally have similar tastes in these things, hated it.

Mike Flanagan's new series, The Midnight Club is on Netflix I believe. I know next to nothing about it though.

@JohnnyShoulder Flanagan's other Netflix series (and his other King adaptation "Gerald's Game") were all terrific but this new show is apparently a major misstep, at least judging by the reviews. It's on my watch list for Halloween weekend. I'd definitely recommend you seeking out the Director's Cut of "Doctor Sleep" - it's the significantly better incarnation of the film.

@LN78 Yeah, I really loved the director’s cut of that movie and felt it was a big improvement on the theatrical cut. A shame it isn’t in 4K and a bit bizarre given the much more favourable reception it received.

@nessisonett I'm just kicking myself that I've had the superior version sitting on my shelf for so long without even realising it. Typical doofus move from yours truly.

I'm one of those "oddballs" that still owns a large physical collection of movies and one I still add to. Stopped using streaming services a few years back. That being said, I'm considering grabbing Netflix for a month over the Christmas period.

Last film I watched was a classic from 1998. The Faculty.

@Sable I'm a physical media junkie too - I've just ordered the "Reservoir Dogs" 4K steelbook.

@Sable @LN78 4K has definitely brought me back to physical media as it gives more of an incentive. I’ve bought physical music for years but mostly used streaming for movies until the PS5 gave me a reason to buy 4K Blu-Rays.

@nessisonett For a person who grew up smack dab in the middle of the VHS revolution, the current state of affordable high quality home cinema tech is nothing shy of miraculous- I absolutely love it. 4K blu-ray is a brilliant format but I have a suspicion that it will probably be the last (8K disc compression versus diminished returns on all but the biggest screens being what it is) so I'm stocking up while the getting is good. It's not exactly space (or cost) efficient but it beats spending half an hour every evening trawling through various menus on various streaming services only to end up watching "Parks and Rec" again.

@Sable @LN78 @nessisonett Same here, I've got a nice little 4K Blu Ray collection. Mainly older films that I grew up watching, which are almost like watching them for the first time again.

@JohnnyShoulder I’m definitely going to get the 4K restoration of Singin In The Rain for my mum for Christmas, it looks jaw dropping even just in trailers. I do appreciate the effort they’ve been putting into these releases, it’s less hit and miss than the Blu-Ray rollout.

@nessisonett Oooooh, that would look good in 4K! I do want get something from that era, as the earliest I've got is from the late 70's onwards. The Ten Commandments is supposed to be a good transfer but not sure if it my bag these days.

@JohnnyShoulder From what I’ve heard from older relatives, The Ten Commandments, Spartacus or Ben-Hur used to be on the TV practically every other Sunday so I don’t think I’d be allowed to even contemplate watching those again 😂

@JohnnyShoulder @nessisonett Any of the movies that were shot on large film stock formats like VistaVision (for example) such as "The Ten Commandments" or "Lawrence of Arabia" (two of the best 4K blu-rays of classic older movies currently available, along with "2001: A Space Odyssey" - a movie I've never really got the hang of but keep watching anyway in the hope that it will click) tend to fair best in 4K restorations because there's so much latent information (way above 4K resolution) present in the recorded image to begin with. The "Lawrence" transfer in particular is thoroughly exemplary - that's the one I'd go for if you can find a standalone copy for a reasonable price. It helps that it's also one of the greatest movies ever made!

@nessisonett Yeah another reason that I'm wary about buying them, as I've seen them so many times over the years!

There is a channel I always watch on YouTube called Films at Home. It is just some dude with a beard talking about films, but he mainly talks about 4K blu ray releases and news, and clearly knows his stuff.

Anyway, whenever he does his top 10 lists for 4K blu rays , he often includes older films like the ones you mentioned over recent films as he prefers the moves filmed on 35mm.

You know, I don't think I've ever watched 2001: A Space Odyssey and Lawrence of Arabia all the way through. Now would be a good time to rectify that!

Another horror Director's Cut for me this evening - the Arrow Video release of "Legion" which is the restored (and reportedly much scarier) version of "The Exorcist 3" - itself a very underrated movie that I generally have a lot of time for. I hope it's as good as Mark Kermode (who was instrumental in getting this edition released) says it is.