What are you watching on Blu-ray? (and discussion of said titles)

[Tezster]

The Tourist - An American tourist inadvertently finds himself caught in a web of intrigue involving a beautiful British spy.

I found the execution of the story to be quite flat - but who cares about that, really. This movie is all about the pretty visuals and cinematography

Worth it as a discount title to use as a demo disc

[eljay]

Originally Posted by Tezster

This movie is all about the pretty visuals and cinematography

I agree.

[Nels Stewart]

Winter in Wartime - A young Dutch boy's misadventure at a crashed British warplane leads to painful lessons about the inhumanity of war, loyalty and betrayal in Nazi-occupied Holland.
An effective melodrama that occasionally dips into familiar WWII clichés, but the story is redeemed by an unexpected twist at the end.
PQ is sharp and detailed but very monochrome to go with the wintry setting.
AQ is good.

[Neild]

The Blues-Brothers, released for the first time on blu-ray this year

It's still a classic, and it has never looked better. Maybe not as crisp as some like today's modern CGI wonders, but it's great to see the successful preservation and transfer of this film to the blu-ray format.

Compare picture quality with some of the low def extra features if you want to instantly see how far home video has come in the last few years.

Both the shorter theatrical and the extended cuts are included on the single disc. A handful of bonus features look to be simply duped from the old DVD.

One negative is the inclusion of only low def audio (low density 768K DTS 5.1 is used). For a film in which the music is so important, choosing such an outdated audio format is controversial.

For some viewers it will be a trip back in time to an important turning point in history and the mainstream popularization of soul and R&B in America.

Film buffs may enjoy seeing the old days of film when stunts were all practical and real cars were really crashed into real scenery.

[dm_4u]

Very disappointing audio on Blues Brothers.

[Neild]

Originally Posted by dm_4u

Very disappointing audio on Blues Brothers.

Although the Blues Brothers audio is listenable, it is a slap to the fans.

I guess it's like so many things though where corporate interests assume (correctly) that consumers are lemmings who don't care about quality.

CD's are mixed now with garbage audio quality through jacked up compression. Every singer is run through extreme autotune for the T-Pain effect. Every ISP uses traffic shaping, every TV provider lowers quality through extreme compression.

Occasionally we get a quality improvement of some kind, but typically only when it also brings extra profit.

[Nels Stewart]

Arthur - Arthur Bach is the sole heir to his mother's vast fortune, but with no need to work, his every whim fulfilled, and his every need tended to by his nanny, he fritters away his days and nights goofing off, partying, wenching and drinking.
But as Arthur's antics become a liability to the family business, his mother tries to instil some responsibility by insisting he get married. Alas, the woman she's chosen for him is not the woman he loves.
Pretty much a connect-the-dots rom-com, Arthur lives and dies on the roguish charms of Russell Brand, which are considerable. Not a bad time-waster.
PQ is bright, colourful, vibrant.
AQ is what we've come to expect from a rom-com film.

[eljay]

Sucker Punch - Committed to an insane asylum for accidentally killing her younger sister, Baby Doll withdraws into an imaginary world in which she plots a daring escape with the help of her sisters-in-captivity. Will the imaginary plot prove to be of any value in the real world and, if so, will Baby Doll and her friends make it out alive?

Although it was somewhat different from what I was expecting, I actually enjoyed this movie. It was sort of like a surreal quasi-musical, with a half-decent story, cool CGI "dream sequences" (in which the fighting, unfortunately, went on a bit too long), a surprisingly enjoyable soundtrack and some lovely young ladies.

PQ was excellent. AQ was also excellent (dynamic, well-balanced, etc.), although there wasn't as much punch to the LFE as I thought there should be (and hoped there would be).

[eljay]

Rio - Taken from Minnesota to an aviary in Rio by his owner, Linda, so that he can mate with a female of his kind and save his species, Blu - the last male blue macaw - and his mate, Jewel, are kidnapped by a group of exotic-bird smugglers who intend to sell them for great profit. With the help of a number of sympathetic local animals, Blu and Jewel struggle to escape from the smugglers, return to the safety of the aviary and, just maybe, fall in love along the way.

Another charmless, non-Pixar animated movie with irritating characters, bad dialogue, and humour that is often more lame or crass than it is funny. Terrific animation, though, including some astounding cinematography and scenery of Rio de Janeiro.

PQ and AQ were excellent.

[eljay]

Source Code - A terrorist has blown up a Chicago-bound train and is expected to detonate another bomb within the city itself. In order to identify him so that the subsequent attack can be averted - and as part of a highly-classified and experimental military project - U.S. Army Captain Colter Stevens is required to repeatedly re-live the final eight minutes of the life of one of the train bombing's victims. With every frantic episode and every frustrating death, Stevens becomes increasingly determined not only to identify the terrorist, but also to save the people on the train...and to save himself from becoming a permanent and unwilling asset of the military's "Source Code" project.

This was a fairly entertaining - if occasionally hokey - action-drama, with a decent story, acceptable acting and a nice twist ending. (This article offers a good explanation/clarification of the plot.)

PQ and AQ were both very good.

[eljay]

Insidious - Soon after their son, Dalton, falls mysteriously into a coma, strange things begin happening in the Lambert household. When a move to a new home doesn't resolve their crisis, the Lamberts call in a "paranormalist", who determines that their son - an astral projection "traveller" - has become lost in "the Further", a sort of spiritual netherworld, leaving his empty body ripe for possession by malicious spirits. With time running out for Dalton, the Lamberts - with the help of their paranormal advisor - fight to recall their son back to his body...but will they be able to reach him in time to save him from eternal darkness?

This is the first movie by the tag-team of James Wan and Leigh Whannell I've seen since the surprisingly-good original instalment of the "Saw" franchise. While the first half was pretty solid - plenty of creep and scare - the second half, despite a nice, sharp ending, was a little too clunky and was marred by too much (unintentional?) goofiness. Pity.

PQ and AQ were very good. I particularly liked the way LFE was used to underscore tension.

[Baslim]

The MGM Blu-Ray release of "For a Few Dollars More" (FAFDM) fixes one of the most annoying features of the DVD release, the poor audio/video synchronization of the (dubbed) English with lip movements. (Since the original film was in Italian, perfect synchronization with the non-English speakers is not possible.) The release of "A Fi****l of Dollars" (AFOD) is visually much superior to the crummy two-sided DVD that presents the 1:35 picture in a 4:3 frame and will not upconvert with the correct aspect ratio at 1080p (Sony S570); you have to drop to 480p and use the TV zoom. Both Blu-Rays dispense with the extra unwanted previews at the beginning and even remember the playback position when the player is turned off. Although AFOD is not as good a movie as FAFDM, which is itself not quite up to "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly", there are worse ways to spend a Sunday afternoon.

[Nels Stewart]

Jane Eyre - Sent off to a cruel school by her aunt, the orphaned Jane Eyre prevails to become a beloved governess in a British lord's estate. But when the lord falls for her, it's only a matter of time before his dark secret is revealed, and Jane is once again forced to find her own way. This is a heart-wrenching adaptation of Charlotte Bronté's classic tragic romance.
Mia Wasikowska is mesmerizing as Jane Eyre, full of pain, strength and resilience, a modern woman in Victorian times.
PQ is mostly excellent in a dark movie, holding the image together in low light where dvd resolution would likely falter.
AQ is also excellent, with some nice use of surrounds as Jane hears voices.

[Blackloz]

Conan The Barbarain: A village is attacked by the evil ruler of the Snake Cult, Thulsa Doom and his evil warriors, when Thulsa Doom and his warriors kills his parents, a young boy named Conan is enslaved. Years later, Conan grows up and becomes a mighty warrior and is trained as a fighter. After years as a slave and as a gladiator, Conan is set free. Conan sets out on a quest as he vows to avenge his parents and solve the riddle of steel. Joined by a archer named Subotai, a beautiful thief who falls in love with Conan, Valeria and a Chinese wizard, Conan and his companions sets out to rescue Princess Yasmina, daughter of King Osric, from the Snake Cult, and get his revenge on Thulsa Doom and avenge his parents. After years of seeing this on AMC-HD its nice to have an uncut Blu-Ray.


P/Q: 7/10 quite well done and for the price its certainly many times better than the DVD.


A/Q: Great as well 7/10 - DTS HD



Conan The Distroyer: Another evil threatens to conquer the world, as Conan journeys on a search to find a magic crystal before the sorcerer Toth Amon can use it. He is also required to rescue the Princess Jehnna from the treacherous Queen Taramis who plans to betray Conan and rule the world.


P/Q: There are a few trouble spots but its easily forgiven 7/10


A/Q: Also quite good DTS-HD 7/10



Fast Times At Ridgemont High: I have been waiting for this one since my HD DVD player quit on me. The story Follows a group of high school students growing up in southern California,Stacy Hamilton and Mark Ratner are looking for a love interest, and are helped along by their older classmates, Linda Barrett and Mike Damone, respectively. The center of the film is held by Jeff Spicoli, a perpetually stoned surfer dude who faces off with the resolute Mr. Hand, who is convinced that everyone is on dope.


P/Q: Its about the same as my HD DVD copy. 6/10


A/Q: Not much going on to make the sound system pop here 5/10



Dexter Season 5: America's favorite serial killer is back for another thrill ride that is season 5.


P/Q: 9/10 looks great just like previous seasons


A/Q: great as well Dolby True HD - 8/10

[Tezster]

Narrated by Pierce Brosnan, this 'documentary' about the world's oceans is light on information, but heavy on breathtaking visuals and just plain beautiful cinematography. For the most part, the narration is little more than a few descriptive phrases, giving way to Fantasia-like sequences, complete with an orchestral soundtrack.

This film works well as a demo disc to wow viewers with stunning images, but doesn't offer much substance beyond that.