The Invention of Lying - In a world where everyone says exactly what's on their mind and never tells a lie or manufactures a fiction, Ricky Gervais is not coping too well. He's about to lose his job as a screenwriter for boring historical films, he can't get the girl of his dreams, who happens to be Jennifer Garner, and his mother is dying. But when he manufactures a fib about a beautiful afterlife to comfort his frightened mother, he discovers his life could change for the better with selective lying. Of course, his little lie takes on a life of his own, spinning Ricky on a path he didn't quite expect.
A few cute moments can't save this romantic comedy from folding in on itself pretty quickly. After a while the only entertainment is looking for the cameos from Gervais' Extras days.
PQ is fine, AQ nothing spectacular.

^ I thought the basic concept of the movie was a spin-off of the behavior of the Maggie character from Extras. I think Gervais has a VERY short attention span too, and wouldn't be surprised if he had long moved on to other stuff before this movie was finished, such that he wasn't totally "in" it. It should have been better...

and wouldn't be surprised if he had long moved on to other stuff before this movie was finished,

does that count the script too? :)

Bakara
Awesome, nuff said.

Bakara
Awesome, nuff said.
Did you mean Baraka? It is awesome in HD/BD!

Finally rented Quantum of Solace after seeing the opening on Movie Central, and being so disappointed with the audio and video.

Great A/V candy; but the story / plot was even more lacklustre than the A/V quality on Movie (Compression) Central.
45 minutes I wish I had back (that's right - I didn't even bother to finish it).

Awesome ! PQ is great,SQ amazing ! I just watched all three movies,and I will watch all three again over the next fews days. :cool:

Surrogates - I can almost hear the pitch to the studio; take one part I, Robot, one part Terminator, one part Minority Report, add Bruce Willis, and you'll have... 89 minutes of Hollywood crap. At least that's how long the movie is supposed to be; I could only last 35 minutes before deciding my time would be better spent scrubbing my kitchen sink.
AQ was loud. PQ had an overprocessed look to emphasize the robot characters in the movie.

Re-watched this on our new LCD the other night and was very impressed with most of the PQ. While it was inconsistent and some flying scenes had "noise" , for the most part it was very good especially for a 30 year old flick.
AQ is dated, but engine sounds were accurate, dialogue was always easy to follow and there is some surround use in fighting/fly over scenes. There is even a hint of depth from the sub during explosions.
Overall my most enjoyable viewing of this under rated (IMO) war film.
A bridge to far cued up next.

^ You mean closer to 40 years old. I still have my big Premiere brochure from the day...and I remember almost every one of those last 40-odd years. :)

The BD sure is a big improvement over the DVD. But as you sort of inferred, and for reasons I'm not sure of (IIRC it's the type of filmstock used, an unfortunate type commonly used in the era that didn't age well) this will never look as good as some much older films, besides that they probably will never do a full-on restoration like for some more "classic" films. I think this movie got a less than stellar rep for some of the same reasons Pearl Harbor did: too much extraneous plot stuff. But if you like battling planes in movies, doing it old-style from close range, this is the one. Edit: one other interesting thing is lots of the pilots who flew in the BoB were still alive and flying when the movie was made, and there were still tons of flyable planes available...no CGI crap here like in Flyboys (largely a Blue Max ripoff IMO).

Another Boxing Day (BD) purchase for cheap...I think this one is always quite cheap anyway. It's a long movie, such that the extras are on a second DVD disc.

Good movie, only covers a small portion of the Patton story. And not even perhaps the most controversial stuff (his death). Not an action pic, though the action/battle scenes are very nicely done.

PQ is very good. I know there is lots of noise out there because they wiped almost all the grain. But that's mostly all they wiped, they did not over-DNR it so people get that waxy look. Acceptable though not ideal, many people would even prefer it this way. Audio is decent too, but nothing really for LFE freaks. Stomps all over the DVDs. This movie was actually made/ready in '69 like BoB, but wasn't released until the next year for whatever reason (Oscars??). George C. Scott is the reason this one is so highly rated, he owns the role forever.

Extract - as one of the only people on the planet who didn't enjoy Office Space, I wasn't sure what to expect from this film. Great cast: Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck, Kristen Wiig, J.K. Simmons, Mila Kunis, the crazy PE teacher from Donnie Darko...but the performances are all pretty stale. Even Affleck's role - which looked hilarious in the trailer - was dull.

The trailer contains most of the funniest scenes, so if it doesn't appeal to you after watching that, I'd suggest you skip it. My gf & I both enjoyed it more than Office Space, but it's easily forgettable. I'm probably making it sound worse than it is, but there's just nothing special about it. 6/10

PQ & AQ aren't anything to write home about. Marginally better than the DVD I'm guessing.

^ You mean closer to 40 years old. I still have my big Premiere brochure from the day...and I remember almost every one of those last 40-odd years.

The BD sure is a big improvement over the DVD. But as you sort of inferred, and for reasons I'm not sure of (IIRC it's the type of filmstock used, an unfortunate type commonly used in the era that didn't age well) this will never look as good as some much older films, besides that they probably will never do a full-on restoration like for some more "classic" films. I think this movie got a less than stellar rep for some of the same reasons Pearl Harbor did: too much extraneous plot stuff. But if you like battling planes in movies, doing it old-style from close range, this is the one. Edit: one other interesting thing is lots of the pilots who flew in the BoB were still alive and flying when the movie was made, and there were still tons of flyable planes available...no CGI crap here like in Flyboys (largely a Blue Max ripoff IMO).

True, it is almost 40, my mind wants to keep me in my 30's...:cool:

The usage of the acutal planes is one of the reasons I love this flick, but yes the terrible love story is a real drain on the pacing.
I enjoy Flyboys for what it is, but accurate with the planes it's NOT. Blue Max is a fantastic movie, great story with colourful characters and some frantic air battles and flying scenes, although other than the era I don't see the similarites.
To bad my DVD of Blue Max looks like crap, a full restoration of this film for BD would be awesome! But I doubt it has the mass appeal to happen.
I will be re-watching Patton as well soon, waxy faces and all it still trumps the DVD.

I also have the U.K. version of the Red Baron coming on BD, this has not hit theatres this side of the pond yet. I have high hopes for a more accurate feel than Flyboys and all reviews I have read rave about the PQ and AQ.

^ I watched The Blue Max DVD right after I watched the Flyboys BD, because the Flyboys story seemed "familiar". The difference that's meant to fool you :) is one has the main guy on the Allies side, the other on the German side. And one is poor, one is wealthy/privileged. I mean Hollywood likes to recycle plots, that's no news, but this one seemed awfully close to me, without calling it a U.S.-oriented remake of The Blue Max. I like Flyboys too, and it's a decent BD available cheap, but there's no mistake the planes are mostly all CGI...well, I'm sure everybody expected that, but in a bigger budget movie they'd have built/used replicas as there are plenty available and they'd make the flying/battle scenes look better IMO.

I'll have to check out that UK Red Baron BD, add it to my UK amazon list for the next order...edit: think I'll wait until it's a bit cheaper LOL, I'm a BD-price bottom-feeder. Have "WWII in HD" in the mail already, will report on it if somebody else doesn't.

The more I think about it the more I agree, they both have the improbable farmboy rise to prominence through their aerial exploits, both have ball busting senior officers. I will have to try a back to back comparison.

I'll have to check out that UK Red Baron BD, add it to my UK amazon list for the next order...edit: think I'll wait until it's a bit cheaper LOL, I'm a BD-price bottom-feeder. Have "WWII in HD" in the mail already, will report on it if somebody else doesn't.

I don't blame you, I paid $30CDN on ebay including delivery, which I find to be high, but I jumped in anyway knowing it won't be available here until next fall. I'll throw up my thoughts once I view it.

Ok, PQ and AQ are very good! The DTS-HD-MA has great surround use and good depth from the sub. PQ is soild and sometimes spectacular. The use of more authentic planes(than say Flyboys) is great and the flying circus in HD glory is awsome.
On the other hand, acting, dialogue, storyline are a mess! This has a cheap "made for tv" movie feel to it. Not much else to add...

The Red Baron(U.K. import)... On the other hand, acting, dialogue, storyline are a mess! This has a cheap "made for tv" movie feel to it. Not much else to add...
I still want to see this though. Too bad as there aren't a lot of really great WW1 movies (Passchendaele anyone?). Even so, glad that this one is at least more realistic. There's still so much to tap into for the WW1 theatre, especially given that we're just over four years shy of the beginning of its its 100th anniversary. Until something better comes along, guess we'll have to stick with Lawrence of Arabia, Paths of Glory and the classic All Quiet on the Western Front.

Gremlins

Classic comedy-horror film that led to the introduction of the PG-13 rating! When I was a kid, my mom taped this movie off the TV and it gave me serious nightmares. Revisiting it for the first time in its entirety since then, I can't believe how graphic some of it is! Sure, it's probably tame by today's standard, but considering this was a Spielberg movie with elements of comedy, a Christmastime setting, and a cute 'n' cuddly creature, I can see why the PG-13 rating came along shortly after its release.

PQ & AQ were pretty good, not much happening in the LFE channel. Watching Phoebe Cates in high-def made me want to watch Fast Times at Ridgemont High again. Keep your ears open for Howie Mandel's contribution to the film!

Side note: possibly one of the worst trailer editing I've ever seen. I would have zero interest in going to see this movie if I'd seen the trailer!

The Hurt Locker - After losing their team leader to a remotely-detonated IED, Sergeant Sanborn and Specialist Eldridge - members of an explosives disposal unit in Iraq - find themselves under the command of Sergeant James, a capable but somewhat rash veteran for whom the risk of death is an adrenaline rush. Will James be able to lead his team safely to the conclusion of their tour of duty just over a month away, or will his need for a death-defying fix spell their doom?

The story is minimal and pleasingly neutral (no American chest-thumping, no "evil Arab" bad guys), the pacing is effectively slow and deliberate, there's good tension and dialogue, and the cast is relatively unknown. Aside from a few scenes that test one's credulity, this is a decent war flick.

PQ was very good. AQ was big and immersive, with solid LFE as required and with plenty of activity in the surrounds.