Topic: The Movie Thread

@BearsEatBeets Yeah, it took me by surprise, too. Whatever their reasoning, it does not come from a place of being consumer friendly, that much is certain. In the case of one "The Batman", Apple had paid for exclusivity on the commentary track with Matt Reeves, apparently (the article didn't specifically say that Apple paid for it, but it said it was exclusive to Apple and don't expect that to have been free).

Think I will be careful when ordering physical going forward; I refuse to reward this kind of anti-consumer behaviour with my money.

@FuriousMachine It's certainly something I never thought to check out when getting 4k films but I'll be more diligent with any future purchases.

@FuriousMachine that seems genuinely mad. I know to some extent physical media is far more niche now, but I kind of thought VOD purchases were just as niche, if not moreso, with streaming/rental and piracy being the far more prevalent and depressing way people consume media now. Maybe I'm out of touch with how I see things.

Is it genuinely mainstream to actually buy digital movies rather than rent/stream/avast ye? I thought everyone just sat in front of Netflix like a zombie for an hour deciding what to watch before going to bed without watching anything/just sticking on a rerun a show they like instead.

@Ravix No, I think you're absolutely right in your assumptions on how media is primarily consumed these days. The zombie model is very prevalent among people here; slaves to the Netflix recommendation algorithm.
Buying digital has got to be the least used option out there, nothing else would make any kind of sense. It is a rare beast who cannot be arsed to go the cinema, yet also simply cannot wait for the movie to come out on free streaming. I think, with the exception of two, maybe three, people in the entire universe, that the only time a movie is bought digitally is either a) when there is no option to stream it for free or rent it for a lower price or b) by mistake.
Might be why they're pulling this stupid stunt; an attempt to get the digital sales to go up.

For anyone else who may be interested, I just discovered a 4k release of Scott Cooper’s “Hostiles” (2018?). An excellent western, with Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike, and Wes Studi.

German import, but with English language audio. Seems readily available on amazon. Already out, and not even a pre-order.

@Matthewnh I have never heard of this movie. Now, I'm typically not all that interested in westerns, but I am always interested in Rosamund Pike, so I will try to track this one down. Thanks for the tip

@Ravix @FuriousMachine I've been making a concerted effort recently to try and stop endless searching for something I'm in the mood for and take a chance on things I haven't seen. It's what led to me finally watching 12 Angry Men and I plan to finally see The Godfather soon.

Also, I actually do have some digital film purchases. Two of them are Asterix animated films. I used to own the VHS tapes years ago but hadn't seen them in years and they were cheap. The only problem is I failed to notice they were in their native French. Good job I don't mind subtitles 😄
The other is Airplane 2. I've got the first on Bluray and felt like watching the sequel and when it's only a pound more to own rather than rent I did that.
But like you mention these are rare circumstances that led to these purchases.

@BearsEatBeets Yeah and I think that this is true in most cases. There may be a handful of individuals out there building a "digital movie collection", but I don't think it's very many (and they will undoubtedly be very despondent one day when their collection vanishes into thin air).

I've been checking out some older movies for a while now myself, most recently Frank Capra's Mister Smith Goes to Washington. I saw it around 20 years ago and remember loving it. I still loved it, but in the current political climate over there, it just felt very, very sad.

It is also around 20 years or so when I last saw 12 Angry Men, but I remember liking it. What did you think?

@FuriousMachine I watched the Frank Capra & James Stewart duo of It's a Wonderful Life and Mister Smith Goes to Washington a long time ago as well and remember thinking they were both great. I get what you mean with that final comment, I've held off watching the recent film Civil War as the premise just seems all too possible right now. I'm tempted to rewatch 13 days though as I remember thinking that was an outstanding film.

I was going to refer you to one of my previous comments with my opinion on 12 Angry Men but when I looked for it over the last couple of pages I realised I hadn't posted one. I've posted about a few recent films I have watched/rewatched and thought I had done this one but must have only thought about it.
Anyway, I really enjoyed 12 Angry Men. I thought it was thoughtfully written and expertly performed. You know you need a decent script if 95% of your film occurs in a single room. I've noticed there is also a remake on Prime with Jack Lemon. I think I will also give that a go sometime soon to see what they changed for that one to warrant a remake and how it compares to the original.

I watched a bit more of Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival and I thought that the "bathhouse" scene was amazing, no spoilers for those who haven't seen it, but if you do watch it, you'll discover why that part is so special. Looking forward to finishing the movie off, hopefully in the coming days.

@BearsEatBeets I am so happy to see that I am not alone in being convinced he's posted something only to find he only thought about it!

Your thoughts on 12 Angry Men align well with my recollection of it. I also remember coming away impressed with Fonda, whom I hadn't seen in anything prior, despite his high profile as a lauded actor.

I also remember 13 Days as being a tight and well told political drama. Due for a rewatch here as well, I think.

I saw Civil War in the theatres, back in the golden days when all of it was purely theoretical and meant as a warning of what division could lead to. It is a very good and very powerful movie and I do highly recommend it. It wisely stays away from real world party divides and it also avoids drawing comparisons to the current POTUS (though the movie does depict an autocrat in the White House, so the comparisons make themselves, at times). It's an uncomfortable watch, for sure, but I also think it is a very important movie.

I'm going to continue digging up old classics, seen and unseen, and plan to watch a lot of Hitchcock, but I think I may start with Ben Hur (though all of that will come after my exploration of the magnificent Arrow 4K release of Dark City, which I am currently undertaking)

Watching Duck you sucker - A fistful of dynamite on Freevee/Amazon.
The last Western film to be directed by Sergio Leone and stars James Coburn and Rod Steiger, good to see Steiger in a role which is not a priest (I kid of course).
Good Western with lots of explosions hence the title although a poor title imo hence the Fistful subtitle.

whats up with Netflix not letting you be able to watch John Carpenter's Vampires movie if you have the subscription with ads?

@FuriousMachine Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Civil War. Ben Hur is a good shout for an old classic I should look up, and it immediately made me think of Sparticus, another from that era I haven't seen.

@BearsEatBeets Ah, another one I haven't seen that I should add to my list

@FuriousMachine

I am just surprised that you have never seen Spartacus before.

Sure, Ben-Hur is great for the sheer spectacle, and has these amazing set pieces. But isn’t the chariot racing the only part anybody really remembers now?

The story in Spartacus carries far more weight. I usually shed a tear over the final ten minutes, no matter how often I have seen the movie.

Absolutely add that one to your list, somewhere near the top.

Can confirm that the Dune (2021) 4k disc that everybody knows is fantastic... is indeed fantastic. Nearly got jump scared by the chant (don't know how to best describe that noise) that plays at the very start before the titles, but IYKYK 😂

Of course it looks fantastic, too. Shot digitally, printed on 35mm and then scanned in 4k. I don't know the reason for the method behind the madness, but it works. And the disc has birate for days, which helps the experience!

@Matthewnh Yup, the chariot races and the lepers (which gave me nightmares as a kid). Been meaning to see it again for a long time now, to see if it holds up, but then the mental image of Heston standing on the NRA podium with the "cold, dead hands" speech appears and I'm sort of put off it.
Will absolutely check out Spartacus, though

@Ravix

I know.

It was disconcerting to say the least, but also quite effective. I am still not sure what that all means.

I think that very first minute is weird and intimidating, almost intended to unsettle the viewer, and it works too. My sympathies.

I should naturally point out that I first saw the movie in the cinema, so my experience was likely ten times worse than yours.

I find that Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival is truly the best of the films in the series that I've seen so far. I've ordered the 26th and final film in the series, a sort of epilogue, as it were, to add-on to the previous 25. I thought it was excellent, and the action was truly top-notch. Perfect viewing for a BlAcK $w0rD$mAn.

@FuriousMachine I would recommend this one if you only feel like viewing one, because it truly captures the essence of the series, and what Zatoichi the blind $w0rD$mAn is really all about. Seen any good movies yourself recently? When are you getting around to Lone Wolf & Cub?

Kind regards,

BlAcK $w0rD$mAn.