The film thread.

[Freddy]

Shrek on 4k - great fun. My favourite animated film I think, with Toy Story 2 and Up hard on its heels. Definitely a worthwhile step up from blu ray, though I doubt I'll be bothering with any of the sequels - Shek 2 is passable, but the returns were diminishing already.

Still, Pulp Fiction has a UK 4k release date for December - that'll be on my Christmas list.

I like Shrek 1 and 2. Pulp Fiction is a classic.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

It was fairly low budget for what it was really. It’s just a shame that loads of footage that was cut was lost, otherwise it would’ve been reinstated for the Shout Factory release last year, and likely the new 4K release.

The 4K release looks very good when the film allows - like many older films, there’s some scenes that look a rough compared to the better looking scenes, but it looks as good as it is likely to now.

Watched Event Horizon on 4k last night - the gravity drive looks very menacing.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

The Last Jedi - better than I'd been led to believe, and cameos aplenty, presumably from actors who wanted to be able to say they'd been in a Star Wars film. Can't blame them.

Star Trek - First Contact. Great in parts, just a pity all the acting talent is found in Patrick Stewart and Alfre Woodard.

 

[John Duncan]

Just watched the original Hellraiser for the first time (after seeing the new one over the weekend). It’s…of it’s time isn’t it?

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Just watched the original Hellraiser for the first time (after seeing the new one over the weekend). It’s…of it’s time isn’t it?

It's certainly not aged that well, and the acting leaves much to be desired. The Cenobites are still pretty convincing, though.

 

[davidf]

Just watched the original Hellraiser for the first time (after seeing the new one over the weekend). It’s…of it’s time isn’t it?

You can’t argue with Frank‘s regeneration scene, and the general idea behind the film - people who seek excess.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Blade Runner on 4k. I was just a little underwhelmed when I saw it at the cinema originally, but I've got more from it with each viewing. I find the analogy of Tyrell as God/police+blade runners as the church/replicants as humans very interesting.

 

[WayneKerr]

Blade Runner on 4k. I was just a little underwhelmed when I saw it at the cinema originally, but I've got more from it with each viewing. I find the analogy of Tyrell as God/police+blade runners as the church/replicants as humans very interesting.

One of my all-time favourite films.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

This is Spinal Tap on blu ray - still fantastic, and way ahead of its time in many ways.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

2001 - A Space Odyssey on 4k. I really want to like this more than I do - clever, well-executed SF is my main cinematic love. But whilst it's interesting and very well-done in parts (and the effects are still, in places, utterly convincing), I just can't warm to it overall. Too long (even though by modern standards it's not that long), a soundtrack that veers from the sublime to the ridiculous, and overall I think it slightly collapses under weight of ambition. Not a popular view, I suspect.

Ginger Snaps on humble DVD - entertaining low budget Canadian werewolf film. Splendidly black humour.

 

[davidf]

Just watched Terri (2011) on Mubi - nice little quirky, feel good comedy with John C. Reilly.

 

[Arron]

2001 - A Space Odyssey on 4k. I really want to like this more than I do - clever, well-executed SF is my main cinematic love. But whilst it's interesting and very well-done in parts (and the effects are still, in places, utterly convincing), I just can't warm to it overall. Too long (even though by modern standards it's not that long), a soundtrack that veers from the sublime to the ridiculous, and overall I think it slightly collapses under weight of ambition. Not a popular view, I suspect.

To me, it pays to forgive a lot of stuff in 2001. Did it get things wrong in places? Sure. But it was a pioneer, the first of its kind for so many things. Look at pretty much any sci-fi movie that came before 2001 to see it in its proper context.

Stargate -- Bluray -- a mediocre film on release but has aged pretty well because the most recent decade of sci-fi has steadily dipped in quality :\

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

He went on to make Se7en

Watched last night on blu ray - an absolute classic. I cannot think of a single way in which it could be improved. I gather that the odd moments of levity were criticised by some as being out of keeping, which seems daft. Films, like life, can have different textures at different times.

 

[davidf]

Watched last night on blu ray - an absolute classic. I cannot think of a single way in which it could be improved. I gather that the odd moments of levity were criticised by some as being out of keeping, which seems daft. Films, like life, can have different textures at different times.

I can think of one way - an hour longer! I could watch my if Fincher’s films if they were twice as long, they’re just so dense with dialogue that many of them take a good few viewings to take it all in - you will never hear every single line of dialogue from The Social Network on first viewing. I’ve seen it 14 times and every now and again I still hear something new!

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Planes, Train and Automobiles on 4k. Still love the film, but it's probably the first 4k disc where I'm not sure the gains warrant upgrading from blu ray.

 

[davidf]

Planes, Train and Automobiles on 4k. Still love the film, but it's probably the first 4k disc where I'm not sure the gains warrant upgrading from blu ray.

Watched this last night, on the end of a mini-fest of four John Hughes films. I’ve still yet to buy it on HD physical - I’ve got the DVD, but watched it on streaming, which I’m guessing was the new master as it looked pretty good for streaming. I’ve heard there’s excessive DNR in places, but apparently the previous Bluray had that as well. I’ll just wait for the UHD to appear on a deal.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Moulin Rouge! on blu ray. We love it, but I can see why others would not (it's pretty manic in places). Not generally a fan of musicals - the only others I rate are Grease and Little Shop of Horrors.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Cool Runnings on blu ray - John Candy's finest hour (just), and almost manipulatively feelgood, but love it nonetheless.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Nightcrawler - Jake Gyllenaal as a decidedly dodgy freelance news cameraman. If you haven't seen it, I'd recommend it.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Interstellar - liked it better than at first viewing, though I think Nolan's films are longer than they need be (with the exception of Memento). The wormhole sequence definitely needs a bigger screen than I have!

That said, even on passable AV gear like mine, the soundtrack varies in acceptability - there's a fair amount of mumbling, occasionally necessitating a quick rewind and subtitles, but turning the volume up means that next time we get to a loud scene the dogs are vibrated off the furniture...

 

[davidf]

Watched Guillermo Del Toro’s new version of Pinocchio the other night. As he’s a Ray Harryhausen fan, he did it using stop motion, and it looks stunning. If you watch the half hour ‘making of’ featurette (also on Netflix) he said that one of the longer scenes took 3 months to make.

He’s reportedly interested in making In The Mountains Of Madness as a stop-motion movie too.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Watched Guillermo Del Toro’s new version of Pinocchio

Hadn't heard about that. Pan's Labyrinth and The Devil's Backbone are nailed-on classics.

Lone Star last night, only available on DVD - pah! Undeservedly obscure despite being critically well-received. A tale about a murder committed many years previously, amid characters with complicated parental relationships in a Texas border town. Great acting from a good cast, including Chris Cooper, Kris Kristofferson, Elizabeth Pena, Joe Morton and Matthew McConaughey.

It feels curiously old-fashioned in some ways (which I mean as a compliment in terms of pacing), but with an enlightened worldview and a simple but highly unusual and elegant way of dealing with flashback scenes. Great film.

 

[plastic penguin]

Regeneration. The 1997 WW1 film based on Pat Barkers novel of the same name. It's fantastically moving.

Dr. Rivers, beautifully played by Jonathan Pryce, treats shell-shock victims -- the brutal consequences of trench warfare.

Siegfried Sassoon who renounced the war is sent to Rivers as alternative punishment. While there he befriends Wilfred Owen, which helps Owen's recovery.

There's no Hollywood stars and no Hollywood money, instead it's stark in its realism.

There's a very early role for James McAvoy.

Edinburgh hospital currently has a separate wing for severely traumatised patients. It's called the Rivers Centre.

View: https://youtu.be/NO7AEvpKtAg

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Nomadland on blu ray - I think it'll take another watch to really decide what I think, but McDormand is a genuinely great actor.

 

[davidf]

Nomadland on blu ray - I think it'll take another watch to really decide what I think, but McDormand is a genuinely great actor.

I enjoyed Nomadland. I don’t think I’ve seen her in a film yet that I haven’t liked.