Well the Pirates movies are drop dead gorgeous as everyone knows, but I was pretty damn impressed with 40 Year-old Virgin.

I may have noticed some slight EE (could have been my imagination), but overall thought it looked very good.

Since several of you asked about Apocalypto, here's the full review:
http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=28311

I would have gotten to it sooner, but The Matrix got in the way. :)

Next up: The Road Warrior (and don't worry, I'm going to be much nicer to it than I was to Apocalypto).

Wow....I loved that movie, cant believe you gave it no stars. Normally, I agree with your reviews. ;)

Adam gave more stars to Norbit!!

I agree with no stars, but still think it was better than the Passion.

Yeah, in my defense, I probably would have given Norbit negative stars, which means Eddie Murphy would have owed me stars. ;)

Ouch! Come over to the Apocalypto thread in the DVD Review forum, you'll make me look like a moderate. :lol:

'Ccording to our pals at The Man Room:

Damn it. Figures Zodiac is delayed the most. I hope it's for good reason.

I just watched Lost in Translation HD DVD and overall the image quality is good to very good. The outside and well-lit scenes all looked great. Some of the interior hotel scenes looked just ok though.

Anyone check out The Frighteners yet? I'm wondering how the pic quality is, given the fact that the big 3 hour documentary is on the disc.

I just posted my hundredth HD DVD review, and that's kind of a terrifying milestone.

The Frighteners is in the review hopper, Mr. Cinema. I'll try to have something posted in the next few days, if I can.

Cool, I'll look for it. I hope it's a big improvement over the dvd.

I just picked up a few movies after work today.

HD DVD
Accepted (combo)
Breach (combo)
The Hitcher (Combo)

Blu Ray
Ghost Rider
Primeval

I'll post impressions of them all this weekend, but I will say I really enjoyed Accepted (just watched it last night).

When doing reviews for movies that have been released on both Bluray/HD, can we review them both at the same time, comparing the differences between the two?

Not sure if this has been asked already.

Here is a review for Freedom Vol. 1 HD DVD:
http://www.animeonhd-dvd.com/reviews...views/6337.php

After an initial shaky start, these days titles released on both formats are pretty much guaranteed to look identical to one another. Warner Bros uses the exact same encode despite format. Although Paramount is still experimenting with different compression codecs on each format, there really haven't been any recent examples where the two had appreciable differences from one another.

It was important at the start of the format war to directly compare the two formats, but I honestly don't believe that's necessary anymore. Assigning both discs to the same reviewer puts an extra burden on that reviewer, and deprives someone else who may be interested in writing a review of the movie from doing so.

Although I mostly agree with you, the recent Coming to America HD releases had variable quality between formats. But still, the formats are virtually identical 99% of the time...perhaps in the event of such a difference, there could be separate reviews, but otherwise, I agree that one review seems to suffice.

How would you know about the difference, without reviewing them though?

Catch 22.

You could query the individual reviewers if you feel the reviews are disparate enough that the discs may in fact be of varying quality. Also, I don't know about everyone here, but if I'm reviewing a disc on one format that I know has features or differences than the same movie on the other, I'll try and mention it in my review.

Just finished watching The Patriot and the remastered Fifth Element. Both AVC transfers. Patriot is the extended edition and looks great. When they're fighting the redcoats in the woods (about 40 minutes into the movie), all the foliage is sharp and clear, all the mulch and sticks on the ground, everything is sharp. There is some grain in certain scenes, which makes sense, as it is a Super35 film, but it makes it a film-like presentation. The textures are quite nice, as well, such as the green collar on Jason Isaac's coat...seemed silky. There was only one scene where the fleshtones veered a little red, but beyond that, excellent.

As for The Fifth Element, it's amazing. It's just how you would assume The Fifth Element should look in HD. The packaging is slightly darker than the original version, more "foil-y." And yes, there is a Dolby TrueHD track. The number on the spine is also different, for those of you looking for it in stores when it comes out. Great picture, very sharp, amazing colors.

Oh, and perhaps most exciting for some of you: The Fifth Element also has actual disc art.

^ :eek: I'm buying it just for that.

Just watched Mallrats :thumbsup:

Big Lebowski looks just like the SD.

I watched The Big Lebowski yesterday and it is definitely an improvement over the standard DVD.

Not sure what you were watching, but The Big Lebowski was excellent, and ONE HELL of an improvement over the SD.

I thought Daniel's zero star review of Apocalypto would forever be my favorite at DVD Talk, but Josh may have topped it with Darkman. I've never had anyone hit my thoughts on a movie so exactly. My friend worships that film and I have had to sit through it twice and just pray for death. That review made me feel much better about my experience.

We just got the BD of A Few Good Men in on Friday and, I have to say, the movie looks spectacular. It's also true to the HD master, which I've reviewed. Absolutely worth a purchase if you like this film.

Bluray review of 'Surf's Up' is up ( ;) ) at High Def Digest:

Surf's Up

and I have to say I thought this film ,while not overtly deep in narrative structure, was still alot of fun. Curious to see that the reviewer was not that keen on the video aspect of the BR, given the filmmaker's intent to make the film look like it was actually shot on film is all the more appropriate. The disc's supplement material also looks great with the extra added surprise of this inclusion:

Finally, the two included animated shorts, "Chubbchubbs" (which won the 2002 Oscar for Best Animated Short Film) and its sequel "Chubbchubbs Save Xmas" are a hoot. Since it is so rare for most of us to get a chance to see Oscar-winning shorts (let alone in HD video), this is an especially welcome addition.

looking forward to this release!

The Wild Bunch on HD DVD
 

Wow!!! Just a stunning transfer...of the Sam Peckinpah classic
The original directors cut brings to life as never seen before
the last ride of aging outlaws desperate to make one last haul.
I still have a problem with the audio....had to make a few adjustments
to bring it to life....This film rivals The good the bad and the ugly
as best western....IMHO. CHEERS!

I watched the BD of Fantastic Four 2 last night. I must say it looked and sounded great! With a 6 month absence, it is nice to see Fox back to releasing again and they kick things off with a great demo disc. This one is a BD-50 with AVC. The original, sadly, was a BD-25 using MPEG 2 encoding and I can tell a big difference between the 2. I didn't think FF 1 looked all that great on BD, but the sequel is much better. More detail and more life to the colors. I thought FF 1 looked a bit flat at times. My local Circuit City received 10 copies, priced at $29.99. It also includes the 30 minute bonus disc that was also packed with the dvd set.

Extras are in HD. It also has trailers, including a spiffy looking one for Die Hard 4.

Has anyone seen a review for the HD-DVD of A Room with a View? Can't find one anywhere. :(

I've got that one to review but with big name titles with massive running times like Alexander and Troy I haven't had a chance to look at it yet.

I popped in The Day After Tomorrow last night and it's another fantastic transfer by Fox. The opening shot is simply gorgeous. I was pissed at them as much as anyone for not releasing anything since April, but they are certainly making up for it with some very high quality titles.

I just finished watching Alexander. I liked it better than most people apperently. The picture looks stunning in HD. Really beautiful outdoor scenes and what can I say about Angelina Jolie she's even more breathtaking in hd :thumbsup:

PS Also a really great documentary about the production shot by Stone's son Sean

I'm sure it's already been discussed before but I finally decided to double dip on Planet Earth for HD-DVD as I already had it on DVD. Man, incredibly worth the upgrade. I'm just watching it staring at it in amazement. I saw bits and pieces of it when I could on Discovery HD but now I'll be able to see the entire series in all of its HD glory. Seeing it at 64.99 at the local Wal-Mart (yes, Wal-Mart), I decided to finally go for it.

Yes, it's a very well made documentary. I'm interested to see if Sean Stone does any more film work.

What are couple HD-DVD movies you'd recommend picking up at Best Buy? Looking for a couple that are much better than their DVD counterparts to kind of "wow" me. Just getting into the HD DVD era now.

I recommend King Kong, I think its one of the nicest, if not the best, transfers available.

Even if the movie is so-so, for a full-blown look at the capabilites of HD DVD (not to mention a fine A/V transfer), pick up TRANSFORMERS.

Batman Begins, Hot Fuzz

Thanks for the rec's. I can get 2 HD DVDs $34.99 or less from Best Buy for free.

How is The Departed SE?