The WHF Film Club

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BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW

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Thanks to Richard for his input on 'The White Ribbon'. It seems I was the only one that enjoyed the film, but I've no problem with that.

I've now got access to quite a lot of films, so the criteria I was using of just choosing from my DVD collection will change with my next 3 choices. What I'll probably do, is propose about 5 to see if anyone has seen them before, then whittle it down to 3 or 4 depending on the replies.

Anyway, I've got 'Ex Machina' lined up for viewing this month, and I'm just about to start watching 'Marathon Man', so I'll sign off for tonight
 
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BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW

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Enjoyed 'Marathon Man' the other night.

I was a bit bored last night, my wife had gone to a gig, so I couldn't watch the final 2 episodes of 'The Bridge', as we've been watching it together, so having signed up for a free month with Amazon Prime to get a parcel delivered quickly, I decided to have a look at what they had to offer. The answer, not very much, but I did find 'Birdman', a film I'd heard was worth watching, so I did. Was it worth watching? Yes, I guess so, but I wouldn't be in a mad rush to watch it again.
 

expat_mike

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BBB,

This post is vaguely film related.

I have recently come to the conclusion that my Yamaha RX-A1020 is lacking something in the bass department, when watching music DVDs - so i have started to think about getting a sub-woofer. From your experience with the Yamaha RX-A2020, do you have any interesting feedback about sub-woofers?
 
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BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW

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I'm probably not the best person to talk to about subs, as I rarely turn mine on, and I'm not at all convinced that I have it set up properly either.

I'm a bit surprised that your 1020 isn't giving out enough bass, though. Have you checked all your settings? Are your speakers set to large?

Just about to watch 'The Bridge', but I'll pop my nose back in here in about an hour or so.
 

expat_mike

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BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW said:
I'm probably not the best person to talk to about subs, as I rarely turn mine on, and I'm not at all convinced that I have it set up properly either.

I'm a bit surprised that your 1020 isn't giving out enough bass, though. Have you checked all your settings? Are your speakers set to large?

Just about to watch 'The Bridge', but I'll pop my nose back in here in about an hour or so.

Thanks for replying. At the moment the 1020 is set up with just two speakers in a stereo configuration. Normally I am quite happy with things, but when recently watching a Diana Krall DVD, I began to sense that I was missing part of the low notes from the bass instruments.
 
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BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW

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expat_mike said:
Thanks for replying. At the moment the 1020 is set up with just two speakers in a stereo configuration. Normally I am quite happy with things, but when recently watching a Diana Krall DVD, I began to sense that I was missing part of the low notes from the bass instruments.

There could be several reasons for the lack of bass.

1. Your speakers

2. Settings on the receiver

3. Output settings on the DVD/Blu Ray player

If you were playing a 5.1 soundtrack through a stereo set up, it would certainly sound odd, if not a little thin. Is it just that particular DVD, or do you have problems with other DVDs?

My thoughts are, if your speakers are up to the job, then it has to be in the settings somewhere, as the 1020 would be up to the job IMO.

One final point. I have a 9.1 set up for films and tv, but for listening to music, I just use 4 speakers (main fronts and main rears) with the multi channel stereo setting on the receiver, and IMO, this gives me a much fuller sound than just using the fronts alone. I very rarely use the sub for anything, but virtually never with music.
 

expat_mike

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Thanks BBB, you have given me a few things to investigate.

I will try the Rattle That Lock BluRay, because there are some sections of some of the songs, where the double bass is quite prominent, and that should test the bass response.
 
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BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW

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expat_mike said:
Thanks BBB, you have given me a few things to investigate.

I will try the Rattle That Lock BluRay, because there are some sections of some of the songs, where the double bass is quite prominent, and that should test the bass response.

Any news, Mike?
 

expat_mike

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BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW said:
expat_mike said:
Thanks BBB, you have given me a few things to investigate.

I will try the Rattle That Lock BluRay, because there are some sections of some of the songs, where the double bass is quite prominent, and that should test the bass response.

Any news, Mike?

Sorry not yet.

I have been watching your other thread about sub-woofers with interest.

I will try and remember to watch that Bluray later today.
 
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BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW

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expat_mike said:
I have been watching your other thread about sub-woofers with interest.

It was your question that made me think about my own system, and I had a bit too much time on my hands. *biggrin*
 
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BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW

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Just to let you know Mike, I've now turned the sub off for music and changed the speakers back to large, and prefer it.

I may do this for movies/tv too, but I'll have to see how I get on with it over the next day or so.
 

expat_mike

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I managed to watch the Rattle that Lock BluRay this morning.

I listened to the stereo PCM tracks (96khz/24bit).

Generally the tracks are well recorded, with the music from each of the instruments being clearly identifiable, and their location on the soundstage being easy to identify. The only misgivings that i had were on the two tracks The Girl in the Yellow Dress, and Dancing Right in Front of Me, where the music from the bass, seemed a bit vague and made me think that maybe I could hear localised resonance.

So I checked the receiver settings, and noticed that I was using the 4 speaker stereo setting. I changed this to the 2 speaker stereo setting, and immediately noticed that the music in the two tracks seemed to tighten up and gained focus. The bass notes had lost the element of vagueness, and most of the suggestion of resonance had disappeared - down to the level that if there is any resonance, it may be the instrument itself, rather than added in later by the receiver.

I think that I can live with the sound now, but I will try and find additional tracks to test the bass response - just in case they reveal anything new.

Thanks for your suggestions BBB, because they pointed me in the direction of checking the receiver settings.
 
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BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW

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That's good news, Mike.

There should be other settings within the menus to have a look at, so can I just check a few more things?

1. Have you ever done the 'YPAO' microphone speaker setup, or did you do it manually?

2. If you did do the 'YPAO', did you run it in several seating positions, or just the one?

3. Presumably you just have one 'Pattern', in 'Configuration', are the speakers set to 'Large'?

4. Also, if you did the 'YPAO', have you checked the 'Distance' settings manually to see if they are accurate?

5. What is your 'Parametric EQ' set to?#

There's also a firmware update available if you haven't done one this year.

http://download.yamaha.com/search/product/?site=uk.yamaha.com&language=en&category_id1=16445&category_id2=16446&category_id3=&product_id=1672305
 
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BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW

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Presuming your 1020 has very similar features to my 2020, there's an 'Option' button on the remote, press once, and you get a 'Tone Control' feature, where you can increase the bass should you wish.
 
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BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW

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Back to the Film Club, I watched 'Ex Machina' tonight.

I also watched a film called 'Whiplash', which despite the title, wasn't at all kinky. A great film for Jazz fans, and definitely still worth watching if you're not.
 
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BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW

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After recently discovering that the Penrith scenes in 'Withnail & I' were actually filmed close to me in Stony Stratford, we decided once the pubs closed last night, to visit the 'tea room' (now a pharmacy) and the 'The King Henry' pub (actually called 'The Crown').

Then this morning, we just had to watch 'Withnail & I'.
 

Frank Harvey

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BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW said:
After recently discovering that the Penrith scenes in 'Withnail & I' were actually filmed close to me in Stony Stratford, we decided once the pubs closed last night, to visit the 'tea room' (now a pharmacy) and the 'The King Henry' pub (actually called 'The Crown').

Then this morning, we just had to watch 'Withnail & I'.
This is on my list to rewatch. I was recommended to watch it by a friend years and years ago, because I liked the TV series Bottom. It didn't grab me. But it seems to still be quite popular with people, so I purchased the Bluray a few years ago, but I haven't got round to watching it again yet.
 

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BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW said:
Back to the Film Club, I watched 'Ex Machina' tonight.

I also watched a film called 'Whiplash', which despite the title, wasn't at all kinky. A great film for Jazz fans, and definitely still worth watching if you're not.
Whiplash is another I have on my list to rewatch, as I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite putting off its viewing because it was jazz based. Seems to split opinion amongst viewers...

Watched Ex Machina again before Christmas - ever since seeing Oscar Isaac in Suckerpunch, he's done some great stuff, and I don't think I've seen him in a bad film.
 
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BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW

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David@FrankHarvey said:
BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW said:
After recently discovering that the Penrith scenes in 'Withnail & I' were actually filmed close to me in Stony Stratford, we decided once the pubs closed last night, to visit the 'tea room' (now a pharmacy) and the 'The King Henry' pub (actually called 'The Crown').

Then this morning, we just had to watch 'Withnail & I'.
This is on my list to rewatch. I was recommended to watch it by a friend years and years ago, because I liked the TV series Bottom. It didn't grab me. But it seems to still be quite popular with people, so I purchased the Bluray a few years ago, but I haven't got round to watching it again yet.

I think the first half is one of the funniest ever on film, though that obviously depends on your sense of humour. It's much more subtle than Bottom.
 
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BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW

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strapped for cash said:
thescarletpronster said:
Did you demand the finest wines known to humanity?

Did they have a jukebox ?

Pub was closed, and the tea room (pharmacy) was too, so no 'finest wines', and no jukebox, though we did play music and drink until 4 in the morning once we returned to my house. *biggrin*
 
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BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW

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David@FrankHarvey said:
Whiplash is another I have on my list to rewatch, as I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite putting off its viewing because it was jazz based. Seems to split opinion amongst viewers...

I liked it, then the more I thought about the story, the less I liked it. I saw an online review which said something like "Rocky for Jazz fans", and that just about sums it up.

It's very overrated, but worth watching for the music alone if you're a Jazz fan.
 

strapped for cash

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BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW said:
It's very overrated, but worth watching for the music alone if you're a Jazz fan.

Whiplash was engaging enough. I'm no jazz aficionado, which possibly helped.

The film asks fascinating questions:

1) What price might one pay to achieve true excellence and is this trade worth it?

2) How far is it reasonable to push someone (and who ultimately benefits)?

I thought there were some issues with narrative and pacing. Fletcher was so clearly abusive from the outset that this left nowhere much to go.

As observation on the psychology of perfectionism the film felt pretty insightful. As commentary on student-mentor relationships, however, Whiplash felt like fantasy.
 
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Watched 'Rita, Sue & Bob Too' and a French film called '11.6'.

RS&BT is what it is, 11.6 wasn't half as good as it could've been.
 
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