anyone happen to get a copy of Rambo (blu-ray) early? looking for reviews on it before i order it

"tonight we're going to have an orgy...an orgy of music, of course!" -- I'm going to be scarred forever after that Manilow quote. I think that review right there is the definition of a wingman. Thanks for taking that one for the rest of us Adam :) .

Damian! It's all for you, Damian!

Is it weird that I never knew he was gay? :shrug:

I guess i just never saw him at any of the meetings.

Millions of dumpy, menopausal women the world over have convinced themselves that Manilow will one day be stiffly swaying his hips into their hunky-fireman-calendar-adorned bedrooms.

I'm debating picking up some of the newer HD/BD releases, do you guys have anything in process right now that should be reviewed soon?

In progress (not all of these have been mailed off to the reviewers, though):

HD DVD
Babel
Beerfest
Brokeback Mountain
Discovery Atlas: Australia Revealed
Discovery Atlas: Italy Revealed
Poseidon
The Wicker Man

Blu-ray
Babel
Black Rain
Broken Arrow
Casanova
Chain Reaction
Enron - The Smartest Guys in the Room
Entrapment
The Guardian
HDNet World Report - Shuttle Discovery's Historic Mission
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis - Showcase
The Marine
Pat Metheny Group The Way Up: Live
Open Season
Phone Booth
Planet of the Apes
Resident Evil - Apocalypse
Rocky
The Sentinel
Tailor of Panama
The Usual Suspects

:thumbsup: Fantastic. I guess the only thing I like about HD/BD not being discounted their first week is that it gives me more time to figure out if the discs are good. Amazon occasionally bumps up the prices after the first week, but not often enough for me to care. I'll be waiting for Usual Suspects, Rocky, Resident Evil, Enron, and Phone Booth reviews.

DVDBeaver has finally started reviewing HD discs, I was wondering when Gary would get around to doing this... :thumbsup:
Casablanca is up.

I finally got a chance to see The Searchers (HD DVD) via Netflix. Wow! That's what High Definition is for! I can well understand why that title has drawn such great reviews in this forum.

I received in The Departed (HD) early and let me tell you this one has an amazing transfer, audio, features, film, everything!

So does it have Scorsese on Scorsese?

Just finished watching The Usual Suspects. The MPEG-2 transfer looks pretty great. I didn't see this in theaters, but it looked natural and like it's probably supposed to. The scene when Kobayashi comes to them for the first time is rather grainy, but it's probably supposed to be (Super35, low light, etc.). Noticed some very minor pixelation on the shadow area on the CU of Gabriel Byrne's face near the beginning when he's getting "arrested" in the restaurant, but nothing else (and it was really minor).

The sound is also quite good. Nothing amazingly remarkable, but everything was audible and seemed well mixed.

As for special features, well, they're disappointing: just the trailer and various other trailers (Fantastic Four, Flyboys, Rocky, etc.). Blah...but then again, after going through all the special features on the SD version a few years ago, they weren't so amazing that I need to hear/see them again (though that's not an excuse for leaving them off). I mean, really, commentaries can't take up much room at all...a shame. But otherwise, a good-looking and sounding disc.

Unfortunately no. I've written the review and its up on my review site.

Wow...okay, now I'm disappointed.

I felt the same way. Even though the included features were interesting, the Scorsese on Scorsese was a big disappointment. The Feature section was the only low point on the review as everything else (visual, film, audio) got 4.5/5 (features got 3.0/5).

Damn it...I was hoping that Scorsese on Scorsese would be on there...I haven't seen it but am really intrigued to check it out...maybe I'll have to track down a sd dvd copy as well. Frick.

I just finished up my review of The Prestige. This is a must-own. Honestly, it's worth buying a player for.

Nice review there Daniel. I read Peter's review yesterday and I got excited for this one. Christopher Nolan is a simply a visionary.

Thanks! And I agree, Nolan has become one of the most exciting filmmakers working today.

After taking a HD DVD break, I'm back to buying a few discs. Picked up the Mummy Returns yesterday using BB's deal this week. Damn, that's a niiiiice looking disc. Audio is awesome as well. This one is a step above the first one. Super bright colors.

This is one of the best DD+ mixes I've heard. I had to turn the volume down 10 db to avoid pissing off my apt neighbors. Usually I can keep the db level near 20, but this movie's audio has a lot of extra oomph.

Cool.
Thank you for sharing this. I've been thinking about picking this up.

What is BB's deal this week for this movie?

If you buy 2 HD DVD or BD titles, you save $10. If you buy 3, you save $20. If you buy titles that are $24.99, it works out to being almost the same as Amazon's pricing. Amazon is probably still a few dollars cheaper, but you don't have to wait for shipping. I picked up 3 titles, including Mummy Returns and the total before tax was about $54, so $18 per disc is a decent deal.

Mummy Returns is definitely one of the best audio/video presentations I've seen since the format launched last April. I was overly impressed.

Ok you've talked me into the Mummy Returns. I love those movies and I've got the first one, but I've been REALLY trying not to double dip. Can't pass up that high of a recommendation though, I'm just too weak.

Thank you.
Assuming they've got it in stock, I'll swing by today to pick up The Mummy Returns, Babel, and one other.