I've been watching a lot of Japanese movies lately in particular Samurai movies of 60s and early 70s.

Last week I watched Akira Kurosawa - 4 Samurai Classics (Seven Samurai / The Hidden Fortress / Yojimbo / Sanjuro) - Criterion Collection. I'm sure everyone is familiar with most of these movies but if you haven't seen them in a while, it's time to re-visit them. Such beautful movies. While Seven Samurai is my favorite, Yojimbo and Sanjuro were fun, very enjoyable movies.

I also just watched The Twilight Samurai. This is a recent movie, circa 2002. I fell in love with this movie! What is really interesting is most Samurai movies are about the mechanisms of the ruling families/lords. This story is about a low ranking Samurai and how he tries to live a quiet, peaceful life. Very touching. The region 1 DVD is unfortunately, non anamorphic.

I rented "Pulp Fiction SE" even though I have the original non-anamorphic first release.

The PQ improvement is outstanding and a dts track is nice too.

One of those flicks you can watch over and over again.

That one is part of my DVD collection.

Rambo: First Blood -- got the 'Ultimate Edition' set some time ago, thought it was time to finally break the seal. Some 'cool' Rambo action on a sunny and warm, outside 'and' inside, the apartment day. Along with some very cool scenary, shot in and around Hope, BC.

They Came Back -- A French take on the old zombie movie in which 13,000 recently dead people return, throwing a small French city into bureaucratic and emotional chaos as the living try to cope with reintegrating the dead into their lives and community. More of an intellectual exercise than a horror film, it is a little slow, but it does raise some interesting questions about the process of grieving and the acceptance of death.

Watched a few movies over the past few days:

Constantine - was an OK film. Little disjointed at times and pretty dark. B-

French Connection - was a pretty entertaining film but the ending sort of leaves you flat. Gene Hackman is great though. Tough as nails. B

A Dirty Shame - now this film was twisted to say the least. Sex comedy (I use that term loosely, more like shock) that really stretches the limits of taste and entertainment. Characters are just so over the top. Despite that, my wife and I laughed quite a bit and other times just stared at the screen dumbfounded. Won't ever feel the need to watch it again but enjoyed it the first time around. B

The Aviator - Leo is a great actor, despite what others on this board may think. Scorsese is also one of the best directors around. I lvoed this movie. Even harder to believe it was a true story. PQ is flawless, SQ is also great.

Bobby Jones, Stroke of Genius - If you like golf, or sports, watch this movie. What a story. The best golfer, behind Tiger and the Golden Bear, never went pro! Amazing story, and amazing footage. Say it on MCHD, so needless to say it was spectacular.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show - This outrageously campy cult film gets better with every viewing. Tim Curry's wonderful, over-the-top performance is always great fun to watch. Favourite songs: "Sweet Transvestite" and "I'm Going Home". ("Time Warp" is a very close third.)

Constantine : mildly entertaining with great visuals of demons and hell. Not one character that you could identify with. A renter.

Firefly: I have only one episode left and now consider myself that latest BrownCoat recruitment. Not a Buffy and Angel fan but this series is great. Sad that I only have one episode left. Happy that I will be well positioned for the upcoming Serenity movie.

M$B: saw this again at home. Great flick. A definite keeper.

Justed finished watching Constantine. Not too impressed. Definitely a renter.

Cellular - Interesting concept, and considering the horrible script, I think the actors pulled it off. Not the best, and Im glad I got it for free on MCHD. Not the most beautiful in terms of PQ on MCHD. 5.1 was nice. Overall unimpressive, but had a few funny parts, and a few twists.

The Upside of Anger - with Joan Allen and Kevin Costner - directed by Mike Binder. Good movie, with fine acting by all. A nice change of material and pace from what we've been watching of late -- evening well-spent. But you have to like a little emotional weight with your comedy.
www.hometheaterspot.com/html/reviews/review.php?sequence=1180

The Terminal - Tom Hanks (a versatile actor who, as usual, does a good job with his role) plays a foreigner stranded at a New York airport, unable either to enter the U.S. or to return home. The movie had some entertaining moments but, overall, it was just a little too "precious".

Dear Frankie -- A sweet little Scottish movie about a young mom who protects her deaf son, Frankie, from the truth about his absent abusive father by concocting a fiction that he sails the world on a freighter, playing out the ruse by intercepting his letters to his dad and writing replies of her own. But her elaborate ploy threatens to come undone when a real freighter with the same name as the one upon which Frankie's father supposedly works sails into port.

The Terminal -

People seem to have a love/hate opinion of this movie. I liked it.

The Station Agent - I liked this movie. Funny as hell. Received critical acclaim, and it was well deserved. PQ on MCHD wasn't great. SQ was basic surround.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow - When famous scientists begin to mysteriously disappear and cities around the world fall siege to giant robots, an intrepid journalist (Gwyneth Paltrow) and her ex-boyfriend (Jude Law) - the captain of a legion of mercenary pilots - set off to find the madman responsible for these events and to put a stop to his evil schemes.

The story was an "old-fashioned adventure", straightforward and fun. I really enjoyed the movie's retro-futuristic stylization, from the almost propaganda-like images of squadrons and soldiers to the Art Deco architecture to the sepia-coloured footage. Cool CGI and great audio, too.

All in all, well worth a look

The Upside of Anger...

I remember when I saw it at AMC, I was the only one in it... :)

Picked up the DVD and been watching it lately several times...great writing by Mike Binder and the entire cast/Joan Allen (my favorite actress) is amazing...!!!

Sky Captain - I was very impressed with this movie. Great action, great stylization, great concept. It's been rare to find a 'different' movie. If you're upset with the usual Hollywood fare, this may be the movie for you.
MCHD: PQ was great. Flawless transfer, great coloration, and use of dark/light contrast.
Audio was simply fun. What a great workout for the surrounds and the sub. 5.1 was almost perfect!

The Upside of Anger...

I remember when I saw it at AMC, I was the only one in it... :)

Picked up the DVD and been watching it lately several times...great writing by Mike Binder and the entire cast/Joan Allen (my favorite actress) is amazing...!!!

Joan Allen is one of my favourites too. I watched The Contender the other night. Joan plays the part of the vice-presidential nominee who has to go before a congressional committee to be raked over the coals about her suspect past. Makes the recent Bolten hearings look like a walk in the park. Jeff Bridges as the President (another personal fave), Sam Elliot as close advisor to the president (yet another fave), and Gary Oldman in one of his finest acting roles, IMHO. Great movie. Oh, and Christian Slater as well - not his most memorable performance but a good actor, nonetheless.

Just finished a Canadian triple bill of movies.
Cypher: This is about a man who becomes an industrial spy, but soon finds out that his job may not be what it seems to be. It had a very promising start, but I didn't care for the ending as it had a different tone to it than the rest of the show. It started as a mystery/sci-fi movie and ended as a James Bond type movie.

Nothing: Very different movie. It is about these two guys who have a very bad day and then suddenly everything but their home disappears. There is literally nothing outside their house. I really like the ideas behind this show, but it is very quirky and will definitely not appeal to everyone.

Rock & Rule: I have been a fan of this movie since I saw it on late night CBC television when I was a kid. I definitely prefer the CBC version of the movie to the American version. The animation is hit and miss, but the 80s music makes this movie work. I wish that there was a soundtrack cd available for it.