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.