Transcendence. I can hear the pitch for this movie in my head. Let's put Johnny Depp in a loose remake of The Lawnmower Man and make him the HAL 9000 from 2001. It turns out as okay popcorn fare and not much more.

http://www.doblu.com/2014/07/22/tran...lu-ray-review/

A Heaven & Hell Double Feature


Umbrellas Of Cherbourg from

Exquisitely crafted musical romance about two young lovers that is truly unlike any other film I can think of. The end didn't pack quite as big a punch for me this time around, but it's still quietly devastating.
The film has never had a satisfying translation on disc till now. Fine detail is a bit lacking under a somewhat noticeable patina of grain- but the colors are true and robust.
Cinematic Heaven



...which leads to Cinematic Hell.


Streisand's indulgent paean to her own magnificence. I like 70's pop culture. I like behind the scenes show biz stories. And I like Kris Kristofferson. And none of those qualities make up for the insufferable slog that this movie is- a whopping 2 hrs and 20 minutes of really terrible fake hit rock music (KK's character spends the entire movie belting out the same two songs over and over), and the two leads making goo goo eyes at each other. When I finished the Garland/Mason version a few months back, I though there was no way this version could be any more tedious or full of shit than that one. I was wrong.
Image looked and sounded great FWIW.

Under the Skin...unique and strangely transfixing.

In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)

Indy and the Last Crusade

Antichrist (2009)

Another case, like Raise The Titanic, where going in with diminished expectations yielded a much more enjoyable re-watch. I think when I saw this for the first time about 12 years ago, I was still under the impression this was some kind of horror movie- or at least I was expecting a parade of scenes like the exploding head. I was quite bored and disappointed with what relatively little actually transpired back then.
This time, however I was completely on board and was able to sit back and enjoy the ride. In hindsight this is more like an X-Men movie with some gore effects than anything else. Two powerful mutants in conflict and the rest of the humans trying to contain them.
Very happy I gave this one another shot.
As far as the PQ goes, this is yet another case of the screenshots for the most part being deceptive. While the gamma has clearly been tweaked (resulting in mid tones that are flatter and milkier in some scenes) the majority of the film looked more dynamic than any of the screenshots. I don't know how accurate this is to the original release, but there's nothing wildly anachronistic looking to me here.

The Last Vow from


Third and final ep of this third season. As usual quite funny, but as a 'mystery' not up to the standards set by past eps. The weakest season finale yet.



First time seeing this classic. An absolute gem that I feel stupid for having avoided all this time. Although one aspect of the ending kind of left a sour taste in my mouth. Otherwise, the one big thing I walked away with was how much more impressive of a breakout star turn this was for Monty Clift, compared to Stagecoach for Wayne. I think I'm more familiar with Clift's post accident films so to see him young, handsome, and rugged here is kind of startling.
The source looks to have issues. Half the film looks great and some of it pretty ropey. If this had a Kino label on the package, people on the forums would be berating them up and down.


Got this from the Library, but I'll definitely be buying a copy. A great, inspiring doc for artists or anyone with a spark of creativity. Jodorowsky's enthusiasm is infectious and the assemblage of talent for the project is a who's who of seventies era comic/sci-fi culture.

The Naked Gun. Needed me some Enrico Pallazo!

The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme, 1991)

Blue Ruin...just small, gritty and excellent.

The Bourne Identity (HD-DVD.) This weekend, maybe a Bourne Marathon.

Winter's Tale

First version of the material I ever saw and still probably my favorite (though well behind Phantom/Paradise). The Hammer version combines the sympathetic rendering of the Phantom's backstory from the Rain's re-make, with a little more gore and a little less opera singing. It has some weak third act issues, but the positives still outweigh the negatives for me.
Very problematic source that I find close to unwatchable now on the 2005 R1 DVD set. The new Bd has a few fleeting passages that are either very soft, out of register, or suffer from a little more noticeable than usual compression- but the vast majority of the disc offers a solid upgrade- albeit a very grainy one ala Brides Of Dracula. Not perfect, but barring an expensive restoration/ further remastering this is going to be the best this will look for a while. As a fan, I'm happy with it for the time being.

("Cobra Woman")
Saturday Matinee south seas hokum with a exotic Maria Montez playing dual roles as the evil High Priestess of a Cobra Cult and her good, twin sister spirited back to the island to save her people. Stalwart drip Jon Hall plays the romantic lead with fun, antic support from Sabu and Lon Chaney Jr. Pretty cheesy stuff, but something I've been wanting to see again for decades.
No issues whatsoever with the Bd release. One of the best looking Golden Age movies I've ever seen on disc. From the quality of the print to encode, this is top shelf work full of gorgeous technicolor hues.

Trippy and mind-bending. I bought it at the B&N sale last year and finally got around to watching it. One of the best blind-buys I've ever made. I think it ranks up there as one of Fincher's best and Michael Douglas knocks it out of the park.

Terror in the Aisles

Sabotage...sucked!

300: Rise of An Empire

Killer Elite

Avengers again

Finally watched "Rush" yesterday (Ron Howard film). I was quite impressed. Excellent casting, very well edited, and the racing scenes were incredibly well-done. This makes me want to fast-track my home theater improvement so I can truly enjoy this in HD audio.

Howard said in an interview that one of the key things he knew he had to get right in the film was the sound. I saw a DCP at a local multiplex, it rattled the walls. I'm disappointed the film didn't get any award nominations in technical categories. The digital cinematography alone was genuinely stunning.