* Did you watch a film last night (on Blu or DVD), and what was it? *

• Matt Damon ? Jason Charles Bourne (David Webb) ... CIA agent ... twelve novels ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Bourne
• Tom Cruise ? Jack Reacher ... ex-military investigator ... several novels ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Reacher
• Keanu Reeves ? John Wick ... ex-hitman ... more John Wick to come ... series ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wick
• Ben Affleck ? Christian Wolff ... accountant well trained by his Dad, a decorated military officer ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Accountant_(2016_film)

What these four characters have in common; very efficient physically, fast, quick mind, quick reflexes, killing machines in their fields, excellent marksmen.

Jason Bourne is using a quick "shake camera" style. It makes me dizzy, and the last entry lost some of its luster...originality. Plus it's dark, very. IMO
But it's ok, it's all fun entertainment if people like it and if the studio (Universal) is making money.

I've yet to see The Accountant

Back to kids movies; last night I watched Pete's Dragon (2016)



It reminded me a little of The Jungle Book
Those are all Disney animation films originally.

Should I put myself in my own shoes when I was between 6 and 9 years old, or should I put myself in today's shoes between 60 and 90 years old?
I go with yesterday, what I felt watching this BR on my TV screen.

I liked it; it was sweet, easy to love the characters, nice place in the forest.

The short: "After his parents are killed in a car accident, a young boy named Pete (Oakes Fegley) finds an unlikely caregiver in the form of a dragon (whom he dubs "Elliot") living in a forest in the Pacific Northwest. Years later, a forest ranger (Bryce Dallas Howard, from 'Jurassic World') discovers Pete and takes him in, but his attempts to adjust to a normal life are complicated by a man (Karl Urban) who wants to hunt down Elliot. Wes Bentley, Oona Laurence, and Robert Redford co-star. Directed by David Lowery (Ain't Them Bodies Saints), Pete's Dragon is a remake of the 1977 children's movie of the same name."


It contains some excellent photography, aerials, in the forests of New Zealand.
It's a great family movie well done and photographed and musically scored. It peacefully flows with warmth, hitting some good chords.

Overall (everything): 75.5

* "The film was shot in live-action using Panavision Panaflex cameras. The dragon, Elliot, was entirely animated by Weta Digital in CGI, instead of the original hand-drawn animation.

Pete's Dragon' premiered at the El Capitan Theatre on August 8, 2016 and was theatrically released by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States in 2D, Disney Digital 3-D, and RealD 3D formats on August 12, 2016."

Disney studios in North America with their Blu-ray have decided a while back to not give us the 3D Blu-rays for many titles.
Some are available only from overseas. Other times we might have a later re-release, for maximizing Disney's financial profits.
And Disney has yet to join UHD/HDR (4K) and immersive audio for the home. Again, this is a good business plan for maximizing profits later on, with double and triple dipping. If you don't play Disney's game, the kids @ home in North America have a lesser Christmas spirit and experience, in my very calculated and honest opinion.

Still, last word: Recommended.

I've been thinking, but just a little; we are here @ WBF...looking for the best in everything; music recordings, audio gear, speakers, cables, movies, projectors, Blu-ray (4K), computers, tablets, phones, cars, boats, trucks, homes, watches, vacations, pictures, photographs, people, actors, actresses, models, etc.

It occurred to me that some of the things we share aren't the best, but it's best to still share them only if to alert others; you follow my drift ///

Alright, I feel better now, I feel better than James Brown.
_______

Last night I watched Suicide Squad in (((3D))):



I have never read the comic books, so I didn't know how low it was till I saw this film. Maybe for some kids it's high adrenaline entertainment, and when you have Margot Robbie in it with a baseball bat that she can swing full charge with devastating impact, and a boyfriend to match...but is this real acting of characters from real comic books or is there a higher more better spiritual message somewhere hiding underneath it all?
Of course it's only a movie and it supposed to be fun right. And there are zillions of movie forums out there with tons of kids loving flicks containing cute girls with an attitude.
Here @ WBF high class society we stay away from this violent and degenerated low type of entertainment @ the movies.
So, why did I watch it then, why did I invest time and money towards this crap! Because I want to help you, I want to alert you what's coming up to you if you go there, in the dark underground of visionaries from broken life's territories. It's like violent gaming for kids in search of fake thrills to make their life more miserable and fat.

You have to forgive me for my honesty; it's only a film and I tell it like it is...no offence, no fence, no wall.

The picture is dark, in many scenes, the 3D effects are not in their top elements, the acting makes you wonder who wrote it and who directed it so that you can stay far away from them. The music? I don't remember a thing, so it must have gone over my brain and into infinite oblivion.

I'm in no mode of giving you the scoop because it is simply too ... I don't know ... like we see in real life during the elections?
Oh what the heck:
"A superteam of vicious criminals including The Joker, Harley Quinn and Deadshot are recruited to embark on a suicide mission for the benefit of a government agency."

A trailer? You want to see a trailer, here's a trailer:


Some people only watch the best, nothing else, same with music; but most of us we aren't "some", we are handsome. :b
I was mildly distracted, overall: minus 40 (-40) ... that's right, below zero, and by a large margin too.

Last word: You didn't read this post; it doesn't exist...you just thought you did but it was all in your imagination. ;-)

Last word after last: Yes, I exaggerated a little but not by much, trust me. We don't have to hate everything out there, some stuff is worth to be aware of.
This is violence all over, not one ounce of good positive life's aspect. Not good for the children, not good for the teenagers, not good for the adults, not good for the senior citizens, not good for anyone except for the trash bin, the dump, the garbage can, the incineration oven, the ...
And remember, you didn't read those words, this post doesn't exist. It's a fake post, like all the fake news we read everyday.

I'm just kidding; feel free to share your own impression on the film if you saw it too.
It wasn't all that bad, but my rating score still remains (-40). By the way, the audience @ Rotten Tomatoes gave it a passing grade (65).
Anything @ and above 60 over there and you get a bag of popcorn. Ya right...

Ronm1 said:

The Color Purple
Good Will Hunting

Click to expand...

Those are good movies Ron, good for the soul, from the heart.

Ronm1 said:

Cold Mountain
Malcom X

Click to expand...

Hey, Ron you only watch good movies. :b

Revisited:

Revisited: '1492: Conquest of Paradise' (1991)



"The expedition of Christopher Columbus that resulted in the discovery of the New World is the subject of this large-budget historical epic. Featuring notable cinematography, this drama spans events from Columbus' attempts to raise royal support for the mission to the subsequent exploitation of the natives by the European colonists."

- Directed by: Ridley Scott
- Music by: Vangelis
- Starring: Gérard Depardieu | Armand Assante | Sigourney Weaver
_______

Only 500+ years ago, and look @ us where we're now! Unbelievable! We stole the Indian's land (American natives), and we enslaved the ones we didn't kill!
What a bunch of pirates and outlaws we all are! Can't leave the other tribes from other countries have their own fight, we have to start our own new ones with people we have no business interjecting with. We even brought them "brainwashing"!

The film itself has its moments, some nice cinematography, costumes, free reign on history from the history books.
The cast is impressive, some scenes powerful, but it's the re-plunging back to 524 years ago and up till this weekend that made me madly insane. How could you not! :b

Overall: 72 for the atmosphere...the winds, the waters, the fires, the vegetation, the vegetables (people; sailors, queens and kings, bishops and dukes, ...), the attitudes, the flatness of the mind, the great sense of lost, the perpetual times of ignorance, the majesty of the music reflecting the New World...yesterday, and today, and tomorrow no doubt, no illusion.

The music is the most important character, the main principal actress, the one who dictates the tonal timbre of the disembarkment, and everything else that follows with it.
Wait, it'll come back to haunt us all real real soon...then we'll all sail away.

Last word: To conquer is to deprive ourselves of our own freedom in the name of devolution and dissolution.
Before Christopher Columbus, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus , there was Marco Polo...who inspired Columbus.

About Christ-offer Colombe-us:
"Christopher Columbus (Italian: Cristoforo Colombo;[a] c.?1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italian explorer, navigator, colonizer, and citizen of the Republic of Genoa. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean. Those voyages and his efforts to establish permanent settlements on the island of Hispaniola initiated the European colonization of the New World.

Western imperialism and economic competition were emerging among European kingdoms through the establishment of trade routes and colonies. Columbus proposed to reach the East Indies by sailing westward, and this eventually received the support of the Spanish Crown, which saw a chance to enter the spice trade with Asia through a new westward route. During his first voyage in 1492, he reached the New World instead of arriving at Japan as he had intended, landing on an island in the Bahamas archipelago that he named "San Salvador". Over the course of three more voyages, he visited the Greater and Lesser Antilles, as well as the Caribbean coast of Venezuela and Central America, claiming all of it for the Crown of Castile.

Columbus was not the first European explorer to reach the Americas, having been preceded by the Viking expedition led by Leif Erikson in the 11th century, but his voyages led to the first lasting European contact with the Americas, inaugurating a period of European exploration, conquest, and colonization that lasted several centuries. These voyages had, therefore, an enormous impact in the historical development of the modern Western world. He spearheaded the transatlantic slave trade and has been accused by several historians of initiating the genocide of the Hispaniola natives. Columbus himself saw his accomplishments primarily in the light of spreading the Christian religion.

Columbus never admitted that he had reached a continent previously unknown to Europeans, rather than the East Indies for which he had set course. He called the inhabitants of the lands that he visited indios (Spanish for "Indians"). His strained relationship with the Spanish crown and its appointed colonial administrators in America led to his arrest and dismissal as governor of the settlements on the island of Hispaniola in 1500, and later to protracted litigation over the benefits that he and his heirs claimed were owed to them by the crown."

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I like films, like 1492; they make you explore more our origins and history (who are we, who are they):
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_colonization_of_the_Americas
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_colonization_of_the_Americas
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_European_colonization_of_North_America

_____


Some of the best movie Christmas comic moments... two good films watching during the holidays. Hard to not laugh still after all the multiple viewings.
Thx Keith, good suggestions.

Revisited:



- Director: David Fincher (2010)
- Music by: Trent Reznor · Atticus Ross
_____

"Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg expressed his dissatisfaction with a film being made about him and noted that much of the film's plot was not factual."
_____

Overall (as a sci-fi/drama flick): 76

Last night:



Remake of the classic 1960 oater of the same name (itself a Western remake of "The Seven Samurai"), with seven gunslingers hired to defend a Mexican village from bandits.

- Director: Antoine Fuqua ('The Replacement Killers', 'Training Day', 'Tears of the Sun', 'Shooter', 'Olympus has Fallen, 'The Equalizer', 'Southpaw')
- Music by: James Horner · Simon Franglen
______

It's a funny western flick with funny acting. The real stars here are the bad guys, and their guns, ...one big one. It's noisy and big bullets fly all over.
Picture and bullets noise quality is first rate. Strong punch in the chest from the shotgun's blasts. It's in 2D.

If you want a more immersive movie experience get the 4K version, because Blu-ray is dead; it looks DVD compared to 4K.
Blu-ray is dead, caput, history, old program, dinosaur, VHS tape, round tube TVs from the early 50s, all that painful jazz. :b
Why do I say that? Because Sony Pictures (the movie studio here), and other studios too, like FOX, they don't include Dolby Atmos on their regular Blu-rays, only as an exclusivity to their 4K Blus. So for a guy like me still living in the ice age with regular Blu-ray 2D and 3D, it's just too bad; Dolby Atmos wasn't meant for me, or only unless I get on with the program. Sure I will, I know what just to do. I won't mention here because we all know that best is to get a 4K front projector, or a 4K large OLED TV, a 4K Oppo BR player, a 4K pre/pro, a 4K screen, some 4K HDMI cables, and pay extra for the 4K Blu-ray discs, with 4K immersive sound (above our head).

So this review is for the inferior picture and sound; the old and dead technology that is getting less and less support from many movie studios.
And same with 3D, from Disney movie studios.

Alright, the picture and sound like I already said is pretty good to my eyes and ears for an old movie format.
The film itself doesn't fare as equal; there is a missed opportunity here, IMO. Or unless the intention was to make a comedy. But I don't think so, only up to a certain point.
Actually, it is a comedy/western film. And it hides all the flaws and fake performances by the actors who surely were directed that way.
It's a great cast (Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Byung-hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Haley Bennett, Peter Sarsgaard), but not a great combination, IMO, and not the best direction either...reminds me of 'Olympus has Fallen'.

I've seen better days from the director, Antoine Fuqua. Anyway, it is what it is; in no way up to the level of its two caballeros...(1960 & 1954).

The cinematography I liked; by Mauro Fiore.

"It is the final film of composer James Horner, who died the previous year after composing a part of the score; his friend Simon Franglen completed the music."

Overall (everything): 68
_____


Last word: Time to get on with the program...4K...the only way to access HDR, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.
Anything less is nowhere near the best. Might as well take the direction of the dodo.
Some movie theaters are not bad, others are very very bad. And because of that the choice we make sometimes doesn't coincide with all Hollywood movie studios on their movie releases in the world...large public venues and smaller ones like @ home from their BR discs.

So, do I recommend the film? Yes, it is above 65; it's worth checking it out, in my own personal and very profound opinion.
Some will find no solace in it, others might redeem whatever was lost last Christmas. ...It's a way of speech.

It is a comedy. ...With fake bullets, and fake killings. The bad guy's master chief; he's from another planet. And somehow a bunch of no good bozos are under his spell (money), and they all work for him like a bad bunch of slaves. Funny though; he's just a small guy, and needs his Mama.
They look impressive all riding together with their long coats. ...Like outlaws from the far west. And I saw only one Indian with a bow and arrows, a good guy.
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* Bonus:

1. http://www.avsforum.com/forum/465-h...r-titles-will-updated-often.html#post38853641
2. http://www.mesalliance.org/2016/12/20/oppo-cto-strong-demand-for-first-ultra-hd-blu-ray-player/

It's been three weeks, exactly, since the last post in this thread. I just mention it; it means nothing...I (we) still love watching movies @ home.
{I did watch few movies, a dozen and more; I simply didn't take the time to talk about.}
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I watched Deepwater Horizon last night, on Blu-ray:



It is based on a true story of the April 20th, 2010 oil-rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico that resulted in the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.
Remember...BP? Eleven men lost their lives. It was an ecological disaster. It was also a deep reflection of our system of responsibilities.
Best is to read in depth about the real facts from the court documents. The film is only a glimpse to human nature collapsing; because of money of course.

The film was directed by Peter Berg and starred Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, John Malkovich, Gina Rodriguez, Dylan O'Brien, Kate Hudson, Ethan Suplee.
So, a great film director with a great cast of actors.

Music by Steve Jablonsky and Cinematography by Enrique Chediak.

The movie starts casually, introducing us to the main character's lives, slowly. ...Almost like a TV show. That was my first impression.
But it still keeps you riveted, because the interest of finding the cause of this great human tragedy and ecological disaster that killed many many wildlife animals and affected many many people's ways of living from the ocean, fishes, all industries related near by and farther as the spill covered a vast area of the Gulf coast and ocean's floor. Today, almost seven years later the repercussions are hard to evaluate accurately; an almost impossible human task. You have to pay a lot of scientists to do all the studies, and the people with the largest pockets they bought everyone around, and I mean everyone.

The director couldn't get help from anyone because money has corrupted them all. So he had to rely on official court documents.
He couldn't get support from BP to film in one of the oil rigs so the film crew has to build their own; a towering 85 percent scale model of the real Deepwater Horizon oil rig, easily among the biggest and most impressive set pieces ever built for a Louisiana-shot film.
• http://www.nola.com/movies/index.ssf/2016/08/deepwater_horizon_oil_rig_set.html

It's a good film, well done, with great performances and amazing special effects. It puts you in that rig with the workers who fought for their lives in a situation out-of-control, radically. Picture and sound from the Blu-ray are from first order; we are engulfed in the mayhem visually and auditory.


It's the type of movie that makes you search for all the facts under the surface of the ocean; and under that ocean's surface (about a mile deep) is exactly where the problem started. Best is to read about it; you'll learn that in order to save few dollars proper procedures were not conducted...important tests weren't performed (related to cement) ...
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill
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Film overall rating score (mine): 81 ... coincidentally pretty much in line with the general consensus.

Last word: A very very sad true tragedy; a must sea. - To the memory of the 11 men who lost their lives...and everything else that went with them.
This is an important film; an immense human lesson.

Cool, anyone with a VCR machine? ...Or a Laser Disc player; it can play DVDs too...some...and CDs.

We're back to movies watching; be it DVD, Blu-ray, 3D, 4K BR, IMAX, ...it's all entertainment.
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Just a thought: The true analog (TT & R-2-R) stereo music people, what analog movie medium? I loved it when I was a projectionist outside school hours @ night in the early seventies. I was installing those big film reels (analog film pellicules); there was something very addictive to it...the noise of the reels turning, the smell when it was jamming, all that jazz. During the traveling years in the 70s, we had analog cameras, with film pellicule (Fuji, Kodak). You had to crank the main shaft to engage the next ready picture to take.

Today, I always forget that my phone is my camera. Ah the romance of those Leica years with black and white photographs. ...8mm and 16mm films.
When thinking about yesteryear's visuals, I have the utmost respect for yesteryears today's spinning records.
Some cinemaphiles spin 35mm films in their own home theater rooms.