Topic: The Movie Thread

Nice one, @JohnnyShoulder hopefully i'm not influencing that 4K buying trigger-finger too much 😅

The Lighthouse is bats*** crazy, it's a film I really enjoyed but I don't know if I want to see it again. I probably will at some point, but its one of those in a category of it's own

This is my 4k collection so far:

*apologies to anyone with OCD. I take great pleasure in organising in as far from alphabetical order as possible 😈

I went for the Nolan box set to bulk it up a bit, even if some are not as good as others in terms of transfer or whatever, the Batman trilogy will definitely get some use regardless of whether it's totally worth it being 4K or not, for example. So 16 movies in total, Drive is on its way, as well, and that is apparently a boutique release by an independent company? All I know is Drive was one that was pretty high on my list as I've never owned it in any form 😱 it's just such a chill movie and pretty nostalgic. I've even seen the BBC/Zane Lowe remix version, that I assume isn't available in physical, although I think maybe it was available digitally on amazon.

I think my overall plan now is to get as many from my shortlist as possible in the short term, and then I won't have to think about adding to them beyond the odd release I forget about or stuff that wasn't available at the time/new releases. And maybe replace some old DVDs with some Blu Rays if it's worth the effort.

Not too worry @Ravix, I was always going take advantage of the Black Friday sales, whilst also avoiding the shops today.

Yes I started to froth at the mouth that your collection isn't in alphabetical order. 😂

I hear they corrected Batman Begins when they did the 4K transfer, as the blu ray was quite poor. The other two films were good even on Blu Ray though, so should be even better. I cheated slightly and gave my blu ray Trilogy away so I can buy it on 4k.😂

@JustCameHereToSay I like to support it when possible, and alway check there before using Amazon.

@Bob_Salat

I started doing what I can only assume is "the thing" last night. The thing being looking at blu-ray .com at the difference between their blu-ray and 4K ratings for certain movies whilst adding and deleting items from an online basket and trying to justify spending x amount more right now even if the bloody thing won't get watched for 14 months 😅

I managed to resist in the end and just added 'The Guest' to my 'Drive' order, as they are both 'Second Sight' releases

But you can make a list of say: Scarface, Gladiator and 2001 ASO for £30 on, I think, Zavvi rn, which seemed pretty decent. Amazon's sale equivalent was about £38/40. I might still bite 😬

Ah, the Batman movies can be an extra bonus then, as I wasn't expecting much from them quality wise, but tbf the last iteration I owned were DVD's anyway so it's going to be a big step up, regardless.

Oh, and just to emphasise a point, @JohnnyShoulder just below I have American Psycho one space to the left of American Beauty 😱 "it's so close" they cried, "why wouldn't they just put it in order" 😈😈😈

@Ravix I've never done "the thing", but I do use the site to track my collection. I religiously follow The Digital Bits as they are, to my mind, the best online resource for physical reviews and release news. The people reviewing titles there are thorough and knows their stuff.
For example, I've been holding off upgrading "Seven Samurai" from my old DVD for a while and I was ready to pull the trigger on the Criterion Collection 4K when I read their review of the BFI edition, which turned out to be the, as of now, the best version released in 4K (though only marginally, so the Criterion one is still a good buy).
(Side note: I'm still angry at Zavvi for no longer shipping to Norway; been happily shopping there for years and then all of sudden they pushed us Scandinavians out into the cold)

@Ravix I used to do 'The Thing' but stopped for some reason, along with paying so much attention to what the experts say. I used to read a lot of the reviews on AV Forums which I did find useful for a time, but was finding I was not noticing half the stuff they (and other sites) would highlight. If I hear about a bad transfer (such as Terminator 2) I will still avoid them though.

@FuriousMachine @JohnnyShoulder

Yeeahh. I did start deep diving and rabbit holing at one point, but quickly reigned myself in to simply checking the number score, and if it seemed to stand out as very high or very low, I'll make a mental note to check which version if it's one I'm considering or whether it'd be worth saving £ by just getting the Blu-Ray if that is known to be good anyway.

I have my copies of Drive and The Guest now, so I'm happy enough. The last major definite I want to add ASAP is 1917, and the rest on the list I've compiled can probably wait.

Stuff like:

Gladiator
Total Recall (I think the Studio Canal version in the UK, but conflicting reports 😅)
The Fifth Element (Studio Canal)
Scarface Golden Edition
The Revenant
2001 ASO
Ran (which I saw mentioned on here by you guys, I think. I"m going to probably binge the sh** out of all kinds of Feudal Japanese content in the wake of Shogun, AC Shadows, and during the build up to Yotei)
Blow Out (Criterion)

I was also hoping to get some other Roger Deakins shot films on 4K, but there isn't any releases for things like The Assassination of Jesse James, True Grit or Jarhead. 1917 will be acquired, Bladerunner 2049 I got first anyway. And I do have the remastered Fargo Blu-Ray which is superb, so I doubt I'll get that in 4k. Also already have No Country for Old Men on Blu-Ray.

I suppose I could get Skyfall in 4K. I just wish there were a few more options, as Roger Deakins is a true master.

@Jimmer-jammer good shout, ill keep that one in mind. I think it's criminal that some haven't gotten a 4K transfer yet. Jarhead is perhaps the most underrated of them all, I feel Sicario got some coverage when it was out. And Jesse James has the most iconic train robbery scene and not sure why there isn't a 4K version.

In fact, it could even be a side topic of its own, as this is a gaming forum, and I think any game that looks half decent in the last however many years has directly borrowed from Roger Deakins shot scenes in some way 😅

@Jimmer-jammer ah, fair point. I think I just mean in general as the film as a whole, it's kind of never mentioned any more in any way, or thought of as a must watch.

There Will be Blood would be absolutely insane. If there's a good quality Blu-Ray I might just get that for the OLED, in fact. As it's still going to be some sight.

@Ravix Yeah I can vouch for Sicario in 4K, a solid transfer and a cracking film too. Probably the most tense traffic jam scene I can think of committed to film.

Edit: And I have the first three films on your list, which I can also recommend.

For some random reason, Disney/Fox have released Alien Romulus... on VHS?! For 60 dollars lol. Not sure exactly who it is for, collectors maybe? It would be not something I would think of buying to watch. And scalpers have got their dirty mitts on it too, so i think it was going something like 100 dollars on ebay.

VHS 😅 there are still people who collect tube tvs and old tech though, so maybe a niche.

Picked up 1917 and Joker, and I'm going to hopefully call it a day now and not snatch up anything else for a while, at least 😬

@JohnnyShoulder VHS releases are for collectors and speculators. Which is fairly annoying because these two groups are in competition with one another but for vastly different reasons. You can even get VHS graded now which adds a whole slimy new layer to it all. God forbid anyone just get some enjoyment out of a hobby without other people coming along and asking "wait how can we make money off that?"

@zupertramp It happens to everything. I love analog media because of its flaws and the unique product compared to what you’d get off a CD or DVD, I’ll happily buy tapes both cassette and VHS because it’s a fun hobby and they’re cheap. But then when I saw Taylor Swift selling tapes for nonsense prices, I knew the writing was on the wall. People ruin absolutely everything looking for a profit, even stupid hobbies like buying objectively worse quality tapes because I like the format.

Wicked was… unexceptional, if I had to describe it. It was fine, but eh, I’m probably not the target audience. It does some interesting things and has some talented singers but it’s hurt by being a ‘Part 1’ of 2. Too much bloat and pomp. Could have been edited down to 2 hours fairly easily and been better for it.

Genuinely cannot think of a worse movie to watch with your son, especially at that age. I’d rather show a child Cannibal Holocaust to be honest. Happiness is one hell of a movie though!

1917 4K Dolby Vision

And as I gawped at all the Roger Deakins goodness once more. I just kept thinking... I think Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is going to be the 1917 of games 😅 Definitely similar vibes during the more serious elements in previews so far, for sure. And the premise "deliver a letter to try and stop even more pointless death"

Couldn't help myself. Great film, anyway, as we all probably know.

@PeaceSalad Looks like you are early with your quartely name change, eh?

Think he also lost weight for Oppenheimer, so has a bit of history for doing it for roles.

As I was finishing up the rather sublime novel "James" by Percival Everett, I was struck by how brilliant a good adaptation of it could be, so I had to check if one was in the works.
And, sure enough, Universal have bought the rights and it is being developed by Spielberg himself at Amblin Entertainment, with an eye to Taika Waititi to direct. Now, while I'm not sure if they are the best people to adapt this, I am sure that they are far from the worst.
Time will show what comes of this, though, but as I started to wonder who might fit the title role, I realised I was a bit unsure of how old the protagonist is in this book (it may have been stated there or in one of Twain's novels, but, if so, I missed it). I'm guessing Huck is maybe in the range of 10-15 (I'm thinking 12), which would probably make James somewhere in his thirties.
I guess Michael B. Jordan would easily be able to do the character justice, but I think I would prefer an actor with a somewhat lower profile, like William Catlett (skewing older) and Jordan Calloway (skewing younger). I think I would prefer Catlett, but I'm just not sure. Anyone else having thoughts on this?

Die Another Day being on the telly and not being as overwhelmingly terrible as I remember is 100% because modern blockbusters are typically even worse. Like it’s obviously a rubbish movie and none of it makes sense, and it’s incredibly cheesy, but I’ll take silly schlock over No Time To Die, Quantum of Solace or Spectre any day. That Madonna song is awful though.

@LN78 It’s very very silly. But I’ll take terrible 00s drivel over washed out, £400 million budget CGI fests filmed against a green screen.