I have not watched the last hour yet

Blackhat

Richard Johnson is Bulldog Drummond (but no Sean Connery) as the character gets retro-fitted to cash in on the mid 60's Bond/spy craze. While the lead suffers greatly from comparisons to Connery, he was actually OK, though it's Elke Sommer that makes the biggest impression as one of the masterminds expert hit girls. The film as a whole was even more entertaining than I was hoping, given it's weak reputation. A lot of little flashes of wit and charm sprinkled into the performances that had me honestly chuckling out loud. It may not be as good as the better Bonds, but I'll take it over at least 1/3 of them any day.
Networks disc is, like Ipcress File, relatively inexpensive but nothing spectacular in terms of A/V. definitely better than DVD can achieve, but limited by its generational distance from the original elements.


Epically long (3 hr) Thomas Hardy tale of a young woman who inherits a large farm and the three men that encircle her life. Needless to say, being Hardy, it's a romantic tragedy.
Though this is the third time I've bought the film on disc, last night was the first time I've ever actually watched it. My takeaway was that it ultimately felt like a little less than the sum of it parts. Those parts though (performances, atmosphere, cinematography, period detail, scoring, etc) are all outstanding- so take that as you will.
I'd thought I had cancelled my order of the Warner Archive Bd, but Amazon sent it anyway while I was on the road and it was too late to send it back so I kept it. If you've seen the screencap comparisons on caps-a-holic here, you know how underwhelming that Bd looks. The underwhelming visuals were one reason I've been reluctant to invest the time in watching it.
The restoration on the UK disc (produced with input from Nic Roeg) OTOH, is insanely great. There are images here that are among the most exquisite I've ever seen in a movie, capturing qualities of light that are simply breath-taking. And while the Warner disc features colors that are bright and over saturated (almost to the point of fluorescing), the UK's more subdued and organic looking disc has a range of hues that is as expansive and drool inducing as I've ever seen.
The transfer here is nothing short of a knockout.
And if there were ever any doubt than Nicholas Roeg was one of the greatest D.P.s of all time, this film alone would wipe that away.

Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers- while the first film is enjoyable and not as campy as the sequels I would say that the sequels are way more fun to watch. The kills are over the top and ridiculous and Pamela Springsteen as Angela plays the part of a killer so non-chalantly. The extras were good too, the only thing I didn't check out was the commentary track. Good Blu-Ray overall.

Maps to the Stars

This was a satire? I thought it was reality lol.

I wanted to punch that kid actor.

Enjoyed it, except for the color grading which felt suffocating at times.



Old school 'knights holding the castle' film with Charlton Heston rocking an 11th century bowl cut. He becomes derelict in his duties of governing a marsh land of pagan peasants because of his infatuation with a local virgin. Not an especially deep film, despite all the attention paid to period detail. The one other film it reminded me of the most was The Vikings. Though this ones love story elements are much more full of angst and Hestons teeth gnashing. Fun, in a Sunday matinee type of way.
The Eureka disc looks great and after Edge Of Tomorrow, it was like breaking the surface of the water and filling my lungs with oxygen after being submerged for two hours. A beautiful range of bright, clear, and natural colors in every scene.

48 Hrs.

Wild Tales. It was fucking excellent.

But jesus, $25 for the bd?

Watched Elysium this evening.

Watched Interstellar this evening.

Still enjoy it though I don't think it's quite as solid as it's rep has been. Definitely has it's share of strong elements and fun set pieces- but the connective tissue to it all still boils down to contrived, comic book style simplicity.


Read the book in art school almost 30 years ago and fell in love with Hardy's romantic fatalism. Despite being a Nastassja Kinski fan, this is the first time I've ever seen this version. I remember having a lot of sympathy for the title character after reading the book, but watching the film I was left feeling a whole lot of antipathy for what is essentially a frustrating, psycho, bitch. Interesting to see the rake coming off the most sympathetic out of anyone . It's probably not a surprise that Polanski, fugitive anal rapist, would have a grasp on that character and be able to flesh him in a way that seems more substantial than the self deluded Angel or the infatuated with her own suffering, Tess.
In the days after watching "...Madding Crowd", I found myself musing on it more and more and came to the conclusion that I liked it a lot more than I had initially thought. Now having seen this, I also think FFTMC is the better all around film, in every way.


Weak crime drama (I wouldn't even call it a Noir) about amnesiac O'Brien chased after by his old gang, the cops, and an insurance dick hoping to locate the $130,000 he stole that was never recovered before he got sent up. There's a nifty climax at the end involving a foot chase atop a functioning roller coaster, otherwise there's not much else to distinguish it story or performance wise.
What it does have though is a remarkably clear print and some solid 3D staging. In terms of absence of ghosting and crosstalk, this was one of the best films I've seen so far.


AIP musical tragedy with Buster Keaton debasing himself by competing for attention with a troop of special needs twenty-somethings led by Frankie and Annette. The comedy hi-jinks are dire all around, though I did have to laugh when Don Rickles seems to break character (and the fourth wall) by doing an abbreviated version of his club routine and proceeded to skewer the two leads in a startlingly caustic way. Timothy Carey is also on hand to keep things truly bizarre, and female eye candy is provided by a cute as a button Linda Evans, and Marta (Lost in Space) Kristen as a mermaid.
Hard to hate it too much as it is a piece of pop culture archeology now, and it's inanities came in handy after the doggedly downbeat Tess.
The majority of the film looks excellent on the Bd, though about 30% suffers from anomalies like slugs, scratches, dupey looking grain, etc. When it's good though, it's startling good.

After seeing Jurassic World yesterday, I had to check out the original again.

And by the way, I still have some good movies on HD DVD that I watch on occasion

Peter Greenaway's The Pillow Book. Yes, there is a lot of graphic nudity in it. It's one of the few times I've seen it actually serve the film well since the nudity is so integral to the story's concept. Screenshots from the Blu-ray as usual. They probably did go overboard showing Ewan McGregor.

http://www.doblu.com/2015/06/17/the-...lu-ray-review/

Alien from


When I upgraded my pj last year it was primarily to get 3D capability. But is has another feature that has turned out to be just as significant for me- a robust, if imperfect, color management system.
The original Alien has always been an important film for me. I've posted ad nauseum here about how much the revisionist color grading on the Bd bugs me. The resolution and print quality are sensational. But the changes to the colors had killed any enthusiasm I've had to watch it again.
Until now.
The CMS controls finally allowed me to dial back a lot of the changes Scott made; like the video game blue atmosphere on Acheron, shifting the greens out of the blues, and just generally making the images look more natural, and workaday industrial (a look the film was originally famous for) and less like a hyper stylized, comic book space adventure.
Couldn't get it 100% as some of these new color relationships are baked in. But I definitely got close enough to point where I was able to once again enjoy so much of what makes the film great- the production design, the performances and conflicts between characters, the scoring... without ever being jarred out of my reverie by aggressively artificial looking digital sweetening.
Since this film is not likely to get another loving remaster going back to the original theatrical grading, being able to finally address this was a BIG deal for me. I ended up enjoying last night's viewing more than I have in a very long time. It's great to finally feel like I have the film I've loved back in my collection again.

Creature From The Black Lagoon (3D) from

Unfortunately the 3D on this, at least on my set up, is the worst for any classic, native stereoscopic film. Xtalk was near omnipresent during the entire run time. This, along with Inferno, House Of Wax, and Dial M were a big reason I decided to get a 3D display.
Oh well.
You win some...

Is that the movie where , it sounds vaguely familiar. But I remember falling asleep on the couch when I was younger, and that was on (HBO) when I woke up.

Was hoping for something in the vein of Carnival Of Souls. It did have some low budget, early 60's charm, but it's fantasy/supernatural elements turned out to be mostly window dressing. Interesting to see Dennis Hooper play a quiet, earnest young man in love though.


While Stern and So Beautiful So Dangerous still put a smile on my face, the film mostly just skates by on nostalgic goodwill for me. That, and my affection for all things associated with Percy Rodriguez. Still enjoyed it, but it's always been a movie I wished was actually as strong as the mystique it had (bolstered for the longest time because music licensing kept it from being released on VHS for most of that formats existence)

Hot Tub Time Machine 2

When was the last time a comedy had a good sequel? The Vacation movies?

Sucker Punch. Supposedly it was the extended cut but I forgot what was different from the original cut.

Chappie. I don't understand all the hate for this movie. I thought it was good.

Wild (Reese Witherspoon)

Yep, there is a lot of nude calligraphy in it.

Very odd, I think CFTBL is great looking in 3D. This was the first one I watched when I picked up the Universal Monster Collection and I really enjoyed its 3D aspect. Same with House of Wax. Dial M, not so much.

I assume it's my PJ, though I I'm not sure why Man In The Dark, another B&W 3D from the same era exhibited significantly less xtalk a few nights earlier. The times it wasn't ghosting, it looked great. I'd seen it in anaglyph 3D back in the early 80's at a museum screening, and the sense of dimension was substantially better here. No contest really.

Last nights double feature-
Bonnie's Kids from

God bless the 70's! One of my favorite drive-in/exploitation flicks gets a solid HD upgrade from Gorgon and the result looks like it was filmed last week. Tiffany Bolling and a seriously young Robin Mattson high tail it from home after blowing away their lecherous stepfather, only to go further down the rabbit hole. Great characters, tasty un-PC situations and dialogue, and a twisting, turning plot out of Jim Thompson or Elmore Leonard make this exploitation nirvana. All that and Max Showalter to boot!


Well, a more interesting set up than the original film (IMO) and some nicely macabre set pieces and atmosphere- but I'm still finding myself not very impressed with Lee's take on the Count. Actually Lee himself is fine, it's just that he's not allowed to do anything interesting as the character beyond hiss and bare his fangs. We've progressed from two paragraphs of dialogue in the original film to no dialogue for Dracula whatsoever in this sequel.
The Millenium disc looks pretty good for the most part. It needed major restoration and the results generally look much better than the original film on UK disc.

American Sniper

Spirited Away
Legend of Korra Book 3, 4

Project Almanac -- Pretty cool time traveling found footage movie. Surprised there wasn't a thread for this in Movie Talk. I guess this movie fell under the radar.





Run All Night -- Decent but forgettable Liam Neeson action-drama. I like Neeson for the most part, but I think he's really mailing it in and just collecting checks that the studios are sending him.



The Lazarus Effect -- Decent, but forgettable science fiction-horror with some Frankenstein influences.



The Duff -- Loved this movie. Funny and sweet. Mae Whitman was adorable. Liked Robbie Amell as the jock in it, even though he's way too old like her to be playing a high school student. One of the better teen comedies I've seen recently.

Laura - needed a bit of noir.

The Loft

It was a free Redbox rental is my excuse.