Topic: RossRoy's Random Viewings

[Dragonfire]

I saw Watchmen before reading the comic and I liked the movie.  I ended up getting the comic after that.

[RossRoy]

Started watching Bones the other day.

I love it! I know it's not a comedy show, but I get almost the same vibe as Big Bang Theory. Dr Brennan and her assistant Zack are particularly funny in their total ineptitude at understanding basic human emotions. It is quite funny! Love the writing on the show. Some the side banter/dialog is really great!

And both leading ladies, Emily Deschanel and Michaela Conlin? 

[Jimmy]

Can we expect that you will watch some Corman's films soon since I can't wait to read your toughts on them or the Eduardo Cemano's films since you have bought this set because of me?

Comic book films aren't really my cup of tea

[RossRoy]

Back to the Future

WHAT THEY SAY

Experience one of the most popular movie series of all time like never before with the Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Trilogy! Join Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) and a time traveling DeLorean for the adventure of a lifetime as they travel to the past, present and future, setting off a time-shattering chain reaction that disrupts the space time continuum! From filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, these timeless films feature all-new 25th Anniversary restorations for perfect picture and the purest digital sound available, plus hours of exciting bonus features.

MY THOUGHTS

Does this movie really need presentation?  And yeah, I watched it on Blu-ray. The movie itself? Just as good as ever. I love it. Loved it the first time i saw it (though I have a slight preference for Part II, mostly because of how it integrates itself with this one), and I still love it, 25 years later. Not much more to say about the film itself. Blu-ray? Ha! ... Ok, it looked AWESOME. Best quality I've ever seen this movie in. Now I know what Jon means about Blu-ray probably being more of a boon for older movies than for recent ones. It's incredible how much background detail come back to life here on Blu-ray! I even had to take out my DVD version to compare and.. yeah, Blu-ray brings out details that DVD misses. One particular moment that jumped at me is when the time machine reappears at the beginning of the movie after Einstein's 1-minutes time leap. The camera is behind the DeLorean with Marty and Doc behind it, maybe 25-30 feet behind, and in the the background are trees, scrubs and the mall further back. You can easily make it all out. It looks clean and sharp. You can see difference in the greens for the leaves and stuff, the street lights (well, technically parking lights) are sharp and clean on screen, I wouldn't be surprised if I had a bigger TV that I could make out the sign of the store that there. On the DVD, it all looks somewhat muddled in comparison. (Can't wait to see Part III - I don't know why, but I have a feeling the "western" look will lend itself to Blu-ray quite well!) The DTS-HD audio track sounds awesome! I think it's the first time I can say that I liked the sound of DTS over DD. I always felt DTS (on DVD) to be artificially boosted to make it appear to sound better than DD. Here it's all really well mixed and the level of sound details is amazing. Really, I never thought it could be that big of a step up. And keep in mind, I'm still listening with t he same 5.1 setup from DVD. Sure, my 5.1 decoder and speakers are THX certified and all, but DTS-HD wasn't even available when I bought them! That the codec is backward compatible AND manages to still sound better on older equipment? More power to them! I sounded great! Now, I know, this all sounds overly enthusiastic and I can see a few of you jumping around saying "yeah! another convert"... but don't jump too fast. Sure the picture is, I have to admit, leaps and bounds above DVD. Sure, it sounds much better. But did it really improve my enjoyment of the movie? Hard to say, but I don't think I would enjoy the movie less on DVD than I do on Blu. So I keep my previous stance. For the same price? Blu all the way. Is Blu worth a 10$ premium (which seems to be the average here in Canada)... No. Am I glad I got Black to the Future with "PERFECT PICTURE + PERFECT SOUND"? You betcha! But I got it at a ridiculous price (especially if you factor in the fact that it was paid by a gift certificate I received at Xmas  )

RATING

[RossRoy]

Well, first movie watched for 2011 is

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

WHAT THEY SAY

Game on! Scott Pilgrim just met the girl of his dreams.....literally. But in order for them to date, he must defeat her seven evil exes – a rogues' gallery – including an infamous skateboarder, a vegan rock star and fearsome identical twins! From the genre-smashing director of Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead comes "a true original" (Entertainment Weekly) powered up by wit, action and groundbreaking visuals that you will want to watch again as soon as it's over!

MY THOUGHTS

Man I don't know if I'm just getting old or if maybe I wasn't in the right mood but.. this movie was so loud! Not only volume wise. It was like a full on assault on the senses. At the beginning, I loved it. From the 8-bit Universal logo and music, to the comic book/gaming look. The fights are great and completely over the top, in a good way. The humour the action it's all good. But clocking in at 2 hours, with not a single moment of rest? It becomes an unstoppable locomotive of overly loud sounds, overly bright images. I feel it's way overdone. This movie would've been absolutely perfect... if I was still in my late teens / early 20s. Now? There was a time during the movie i was hoping to get the need to pee just so I could pause it for few a minutes to take a breath..

RATING

[goodguy]

This movie would've been absolutely perfect... if I was still in my late teens / early 20s.

Well, I guess I'm young at heart.   I wouldn't call it perfect (some of the fights just dragged on a little too long and the ending is kinda muddled), but found it to be a very delightful surprise. And that's although I'm not even a gamer myself.

[Najemikon]

  Coincidence! Literally just finished wanting this myself. I know exactly what you mean, Sébastien, but despite all logic telling me it shouldn't work, I thought it was incredible. Very much a one-off and I doubt there are many directors who could pull it off. Embrace it and watch it again!  

This movie would've been absolutely perfect... if I was still in my late teens / early 20s.

Well, I guess I'm young at heart.  I wouldn't call it perfect (some of the fights just dragged on a little too long and the ending is kinda muddled), but found it to be a very delightful surprise. And that's although I'm not even a gamer myself.

I'm glad you liked it, Matthias, but I can sort of see why. It's really very clever.

[RossRoy]

Embrace it and watch it again! 

Oh I most definitely will. And maybe watching it after a normal week of sleep, instead of a full week of flu induced sleep deprivation will help my receptiveness.

Now that I had a few hours to "reflect" on it, I may have still been a little too out of breath when I wrote that above

[Jimmy]

Sebastien you must watch Vixen soon for me because Pete made me sad yesterday with his bad review

Of course you can watch Supervixen and Good Morning and Goodbye! also

[RossRoy]

Vixen

WHAT THEY SAY

"Russ Meyer's Vixen will jar your senses...jerk your emotions...straddle your soul. The mind-boggling Erica Gavin...the standard by which all "'voluptua'" must be measured. Vixen...is she woman...or animal?" Says Roger Ebert, of the Chicago Sun Times, of Vixen: "Meyer's best...a merciless put-on...Erica Gavin...electrifying!"

MY THOUGHTS

Jimmy asked me to watch and review Vixen!. So I did. Despite everything? I truly liked it! I love the flow of the movie, going seemlessly from one scene to another. Erica Gavin pierces the screen. She's gorgeous! Let me say that again - she is G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S! I love how the sex scenes are presented. They are portrayed as people having fun with each other, and not as boring "grinding-and-panting" that we usually see in movies. Yeah, nice, fun escapism. Isn't that what film is all about?

RATING

[Jimmy]

Great review Sebastien

Really like the fact that you have appreciated the Russ Meyer's way of editing a movie, you don't get one second of boredom with the way he does it.

It's one of the rare film where the girl have the power and the control of her life (Vixen does what she wants when she wants). When you'll dive in the set you will see that most of the Meyer's film are like that

Next time try Supervixen or Faster Pussycat...Kill! Kill! I'm sure you'll like them too. Good Morning ...and Goodbye! is my favourite of his film and star Alaina Capri (the best acting performance in a Meyer's film), but it's a different syle.

[RossRoy]

Ok, now for a complete change of pace, yet we're still in gorgeous lady territory.

As you may know, I recently watched Doctor Who A Christmas Carol (Xmas 2010 Special).. and you may have read me saying I really liked Katherine Jenkins... well it may be more than that. I think I'm building up an infatuation with her!

I've bought all of her albums I could find. And I just can't stop listening. She has such a gorgeous and angelic voice! It's amazing! I keep getting goosebumps. And just now, she completely blew me away! Ok, it's gonna be a bit cliché but the song Nessun Dorma never fails to get to me. First it was Pavarotti's version. Then came Britain's Got Talent's Paul Potts.

And now Katherine Jenkins. I've always heard that song being sung by men. But to hear it, by Katherine. I could just melt. Right there.

Here's what it sounds like (keep in mind this is live and outside - the album is much more powerful)


 

[RossRoy]

[Dragonfire]

I really like her too.  I was ready to start looking for her CDs after I saw her on that talk show from England. 
Her singing in the Doctor Who Christmas Carol gave me goosebumps..seriously. 

[Najemikon]

Do I need to start filling in some paperwork to make you two honourary Brits? You'll have to learn how to spell though...