Author Topic: Trap's Movie Thread  (Read 229461 times)

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Offline Weisshaupt

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #340 on: January 09, 2013, 01:47:53 PM »
Watched "Casablanca" last night on Roku (actually it was from Netflix) in HD. I have never seen it in HD before and I suppose that this is as close to being able to see it in the theater as you can get these days.

I actually enjoyed it much more in HD than I thought I would. The expressions on the faces were much sharper and because of that I appreciated the acting of the players that much more. It was really good. I am going to have to look into other classic movies that I have never seen in HD.

I am a Huge advocate for Home Theater projectors.  I bought my first one about 10 years ago for $5300 - plus another $800 for the screen, and I am not even going to begin on how much money I spent on sound equipment.  but   I soon learned that I enjoyed watching a movie at home on a 90 inch screen far more than I liked going out to a "real" theater.  No one talking, you can stop it whenever you want and take a break, and often the picture was much sharper.. even on that archaic medium called DVD ( My first projector had a built-in upsampling to 720p)   Now you can get a full HT projector package complete with 16x9  92" screen   for $1900 and the picture is 1000 times better than on my first projector, and I always thought that picture was stunning. ( want the 120" tensioned electric screen? Thats $2300)  Plus, if done right, the whole setup  becomes invisible to the wife when not in use.  Many projectors are bright enough now ( Cause of the 3D requirements)   that you don't even need the dark room anymore ( but you will still want one for the best picture)

I sold my equipment with the house ( it was a dedicated theater room.. built in 19 inch rack, Screen recessed into the wall with black velvet surround, )  and I find I miss it.  We watched LOTR on the 27 inch LCD- all well and good, but still not the same. If you  find you are in the market for a "Big Screen LCD"  definitely considered doing a projector instead.
I have dealt with visual apex  twice now, with excellent results, and the reviews at projector central have never lead me wrong. After we get this move over I am going to build some DIY AviaTrix speakers to replace my (missed) B&W P6 pair   ( as the first test of the CNC which will dirve me teotwawki business of course!)  and probably go with a Epson 5020UB model ( They offer a UBe modell too - built in wireless HD to the projector so you don't have to run cables to the ceiling or coffee table - you still get to do power though.. )   You know, providing I get spousal approval. Probably have to do some Teotwawki spending first. .


Another oldie you should check out  is "The Big Trail" - its an old John Wayne.. and one of the first ever shot in wide screen .
« Last Edit: January 09, 2013, 02:38:15 PM by Weisshaupt »

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #341 on: January 09, 2013, 01:58:21 PM »
I happened to catch a movie last night that I had never heard of, and I was pleasantly surprised.

It's called "The Station Agent", and stars Peter Dinklage - the dwarf dude on "Game of Thrones".

This is a purely character-driven movie. No action. No deep plot. Just intersting people dealing with life.

Dinklage is scarred, withdrawn and anti-social from living life as a dwarf. He finds solace in a fascination with trains and railroad history. His only friend dies, leaving him an abandoned train station in rural New Jersey, which he subsequently moves into, thinking that it is a good place to wallow in his self-imposed isolation.

Instead, he reluctantly encounters townspeople who treat him kindly. Before he even realizes it himself, he is involved in friendships that slowly draw him from his shell.

I found it to be a very simple and eloquent story, and beautifully acted as well.
"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."

- Thomas Jefferson

Offline John Florida

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #342 on: January 09, 2013, 08:05:30 PM »
I happened to catch a movie last night that I had never heard of, and I was pleasantly surprised.

It's called "The Station Agent", and stars Peter Dinklage - the dwarf dude on "Game of Thrones".

This is a purely character-driven movie. No action. No deep plot. Just intersting people dealing with life.

Dinklage is scarred, withdrawn and anti-social from living life as a dwarf. He finds solace in a fascination with trains and railroad history. His only friend dies, leaving him an abandoned train station in rural New Jersey, which he subsequently moves into, thinking that it is a good place to wallow in his self-imposed isolation.

Instead, he reluctantly encounters townspeople who treat him kindly. Before he even realizes it himself, he is involved in friendships that slowly draw him from his shell.

I found it to be a very simple and eloquent story, and beautifully acted as well.


 Saw it a couple of years ago and I have to agree with you.
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Offline trapeze

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #343 on: January 10, 2013, 12:47:19 AM »
We have that one on DVR. Should be watching it soon.
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Offline Weisshaupt

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #344 on: February 02, 2013, 10:06:36 PM »
So part two arrived this week. I waited to watch part one till it came...so..

The Dark Knight Returns . Review:  Good enough. (Yes, I mean that to mirror the ending line)

Yeah you can nit pick.  The animation isn't  top notch, but it reminds me of Akira-- certain scenes are amazing. Others are low grade. Others don't mesh well, being a combination of the two. Not sure if it isn't deliberate.  Just to seem a bit -off.  The story is a bit disutrbing, so why shouldn't  the video be? Voice Talent? Peter Weller as Batman?  Yeah, it sorta works. Not perfectly, but good enough. Much of it uses the comic as a story board. Art is true to Frank Miller's.  2nd part excerices a bit more artistic license, but all of it true to the original, and I found it welcome when it occured.  Didn't realize it, but the first part's adherence to the comic as storyy board was actually too much.  . Dialog? Almost entirely verbatum from the comic. Batman's internal dialog is gone.  Does it hurt? Somewhat, but not as much as you would think. Yes I miss it, but  the underlying sentiment is there- they don't loose the subtext.. its there, if you know to look for it- they just express it in some other way than a voice over- moving it to an appropriate place in the verbal script or showing it visually.

Bottom line, Yeah, I really found myself enjoying it. The nitpicky stuff doesn't end up detracting. Whoever was in charge of the production "got it"- they tried earnestly to bring it to the screen. I missed some of of the internal comments, but really, inserting them would almost be cheesy.  Like LOTR, your enjoyment will be enhanced by having experienced both the (graphic) novel  and the moving pictures.  ("Movie" isn't right, its more than reading a comic, less than watching a movie) - Not perfect, but "good enough.

 Good enough to join It's a wonderful life, To Kill a Mockingbird, LOTR, Firefy and Watchmen as part of the yearly ritual..


 




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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #345 on: February 02, 2013, 11:46:17 PM »
...Good enough to join It's a wonderful life, To Kill a Mockingbird, LOTR, Firefy and Watchmen as part of the yearly ritual..


You like Watchmen huh? That is one I haven't seen. I was so hyped to see it for about a year before its release, and then when it came out, the cacophony of bad reviews and disappointment was so unanimous that I never bothered.

Tell me why fans of the graphic novels were wrong to be so disappointed. I may check that one out.
"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."

- Thomas Jefferson

Offline AmericanPatriot

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #346 on: February 03, 2013, 12:52:23 AM »
I saw Skyfall last weekend.

Daniel Craig's Bond is a huge departure from traditional Bonds.

Of course Sean Connery was the only real Bond. The rest were imposters.
The thing I left the theater feeling was that Bond is now an action hero.

Daniel Craig's Bond  isn't the suave debonair 007 of the past.
He is a lot grittier
This movie didn't have a traditional Bond girl as we've grown to expect that Bond always conquers with his charm.

I didn't dislike the movie at all. It just wasn't what I've come to expect.

Offline trapeze

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #347 on: February 03, 2013, 01:44:04 AM »
I watched a couple of movies this weekend (so far).

The first was the latest installment in the Tom Cruise Mission Impossible franchise, "Ghost Protocol." I think that of all of the MI movies this one was the best (with the first one coming in at number 2). It was directed by Brad Bird (He first came to my attention when he helmed Pixar's "The Incredibles") and he did a very good job.

The story and action were, respectively, improbable and ridiculous but that's what you expect in a MI movie so that's not a problem. There was lots of goofy high tech gadgets and which one was the goofiest is debatable. I would cast my vote for the magnetic gloves used to climb around on the outside of the world's tallest building in Dubai. The thing that I found funny about the gloves was that, okay...the gloves can stick to glass or concrete and allow you to climb up walls but what keeps your hands from sliding out of them as you climb?

The guy who played "Sawyer" in "Lost" (Josh Holloway) had a throwaway role at the beginning of the movie and that kinda sucked. Seems to me he could have been interesting if they had let him live more than two minutes on screen.

Other than that, though, it was a great way to burn a couple of hours.

Also clocking in at a couple of hours was a black and white Otto Preminger film starring Jimmie Stewart, Ben Gazzara and a very young George C. Scott, "Anatomy of a Murder." This movie is as old as I am and it's largely a courtroom drama...sort of a Perry Mason for the big screen. I was trying to remember the other Otto Preminger movies I had seen and had to consult imdb.com It turns out that I had only seen one before this one, "In Harm's Way" which was kind of mediocre John Wayne WWII movie...more soap opera-ish than dramatic. "Anatomy of a Murder" is slightly better, in my opinion.

What makes it interesting for me, however, is the way that it documents the major changes in society that have occurred in the intervening years. The story is about an Army lieutenant (Gazzara) who kills a bar owner who had supposedly raped his wife. There are eye witnesses to the killing so the courtroom drama revolves around the defense attorney, played by Stewart. They decide to go for a temporary insanity defense but first they have to prove that his wife was, in fact, raped. The attitudes expressed about the wife being raped (how she was dressed and how she behaved...i.e. she was asking to be raped...plus the very casual attitude toward the crime of rape...the callousness displayed by pretty much everyone right in front of the victim) were startling to my 21st century mindset.

The case turns, just like a Perry Mason case, in the actual courtroom when the co-prosecuting attorney George C. Scott makes the obvious (to me, anyway) mistake of asking a witness a question that he does not already know the answer to. The audience is already set up and knows that he is making a colossal mistake and that really is a screw up in the making of the film...Preminger misses an opportunity to end the film in a surprise. It's a surprise for Scott but that's it.

So..."Anatomy of a Murder" was interesting for me as sort of a historical snap shot of they way things used to be. They try to play the courtroom procedure very, very straight and realistic which makes its historical significance all the more interesting. The story was anti-climatic and not particularly exciting so it will not be one I can recommend on that basis.
In a doomsday scenario, hippies will be among the first casualties. So not everything about doomsday will be bad.

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #348 on: February 03, 2013, 05:51:13 AM »
I was trying to remember the other Otto Preminger movies I had seen and had to consult imdb.com It turns out that I had only seen one before this one, "In Harm's Way" which was kind of mediocre John Wayne WWII movie...more soap opera-ish than dramatic. "Anatomy of a Murder" is slightly better, in my opinion.

Then by all means, watch this 1944 Preminger film:  Laura.

Gene Tierney, to put it mildly, is hot.

An earlier courtroom drama, from 1955, is The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell, from back when Hollywood was pro-Western Civilization, with its warts and all.

Offline Weisshaupt

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #349 on: February 03, 2013, 11:53:13 AM »
...Good enough to join It's a wonderful life, To Kill a Mockingbird, LOTR, Firefy and Watchmen as part of the yearly ritual..


You like Watchmen huh? That is one I haven't seen. I was so hyped to see it for about a year before its release, and then when it came out, the cacophony of bad reviews and disappointment was so unanimous that I never bothered.

Tell me why fans of the graphic novels were wrong to be so disappointed. I may check that one out.

I don't know if anyone "likes" the watchmen. The guy who originally sold me the Graphic Novel told me "I'm there for you" as he handed it to me.
Its disturbing on many levels. 

The theatrical release doesn't include the comic book side story - which really ties it all together, and they changed the ending in the movie from what was in the comic to something a bit more plausible, without really affecting the story materially. I personally found it an improvement,  but I suspect that is what got most of the fan-boys panties in a wad. Theres oter stuff to nit pick if you are so inclined.  Like the Dark Knight Returns  series I just watched.. they didn't "nail it"- but it was a good effort and I found it well done.  However I never saw the theatrical release. Knowing the black ship comic was being added into a drectors cut   made me wait to see it till that edition arrived on DVD.  And when you have a theater in your house, its nicer watching things there anyway.

Casting, dialog, everything were pretty much spot on for me.  If you weren't a fan of the comic, or had never read it, then I suspect that made it easier to hate - plus its just dark, violent, and a whole lot of no fun, because ultimately that is what Watchmen is.   

Offline Libertas

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #350 on: February 03, 2013, 12:09:10 PM »
I saw Skyfall last weekend.

Daniel Craig's Bond is a huge departure from traditional Bonds.

Of course Sean Connery was the only real Bond. The rest were imposters.
The thing I left the theater feeling was that Bond is now an action hero.

Daniel Craig's Bond  isn't the suave debonair 007 of the past.
He is a lot grittier
This movie didn't have a traditional Bond girl as we've grown to expect that Bond always conquers with his charm.

I didn't dislike the movie at all. It just wasn't what I've come to expect.

I agree, Connery is hands down the best Bond ever.  Given what followed him though I have to say I dislike Craig less than the others, but there is a gulf between first and second place.

PS - The Watchmen is dark but the characters are compelling, as for comic book genre I find it more entertaining than the usual fare that has been dished out.
« Last Edit: February 03, 2013, 12:14:49 PM by Libertas »
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Offline AmericanPatriot

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #351 on: February 03, 2013, 01:16:13 PM »
Roger Moore was decent. I never cared for Brosnan.

Lazenby and Dalton?
Where were there heads at?

With Craig, it's like seeing the label and opening the can to find something different inside.
As I said, I liked the movie well enough. It just wasn't a Bond formula.

Why make a Bond movie if you're going to change the recipe?

Offline Libertas

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #352 on: February 03, 2013, 01:27:58 PM »
The thing with Moore is that he was too clean and always blinked when he shot a gun (he even admits the latter), thus I found him less believable as a secret agent man.  I know the latter seems a bit unrealistic given the nature of the Bond fantasy, but the girls and clever innuendos and gadgets and easily fabricated escapes from overconfident villains aside, the acting should at least posses a modicum believability.

 ;D
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Offline ChrstnHsbndFthr

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #353 on: February 03, 2013, 03:20:27 PM »
http://voxvocispublicus.homestead.com/Battle-of-Athens.html

Have you all ever seen this? I was not aware of it til a friends sent it to me.

It appears to be very close to the truth of what happened, according to this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Athens_(1946)

I am not sure if this belongs here or the second amendment thread? Its a movie about why we need the second amendment.
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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #354 on: February 03, 2013, 06:27:53 PM »
http://voxvocispublicus.homestead.com/Battle-of-Athens.html

Have you all ever seen this? I was not aware of it til a friends sent it to me.

It appears to be very close to the truth of what happened, according to this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Athens_(1946)

I am not sure if this belongs here or the second amendment thread? Its a movie about why we need the second amendment.

We have a thread going somewhere about this, just recently.
"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."

- Thomas Jefferson

Online Pandora

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #355 on: February 03, 2013, 06:38:47 PM »
http://voxvocispublicus.homestead.com/Battle-of-Athens.html

Have you all ever seen this? I was not aware of it til a friends sent it to me.

It appears to be very close to the truth of what happened, according to this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Athens_(1946)

I am not sure if this belongs here or the second amendment thread? Its a movie about why we need the second amendment.

We have a thread going somewhere about this, just recently.

http://itsaboutliberty.com/index.php/topic,7491.0.html

http://itsaboutliberty.com/index.php/topic,5012.0.html
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Offline trapeze

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #356 on: February 03, 2013, 06:41:06 PM »
One of the occasionally reoccurring themes in H'wood movies is that of the corrupt authorities who are put down by the ordinary citizens with guns. "The Battle of Athens" was unique in that it also happened to be true, based on an actual historical event.

But what I find slightly interesting is that H'wood continues to make movies where there is corruption in high places and the good guys kill the corrupt authorities with guns. Usually lots of guns and usually a very high body count. So, H'wood has been selling this theme, this genre now for decades and the brain dead people who inhabit H'wood act all surprised when ordinary Americans believe that, yes, it is possible (likely even) that one of these days a gun will be needed to protect oneself from authority.

Typical example: And only because I just watched it for the umpteenth time before the SuperBowl started today (and because it's the only Costner movie that I have been able to stomach in recent years and that's only because Robert Duvall carries the film), "Open Range." In "Open Range" two cattle herders minding their own business are attacked by corrupt sheriff and his corrupt deputies. Cattle herders fight back, rally the timid citizens of the town to their side and basically kill each and every one of the bad guys who have been running roughshod over the cowardly townspeople. Moral of the story: If you run into an evil town boss and his evil mercenary sheriff you need to kill them them and their evil deputies right on main street in the middle of the day in front of the rest of the town so that you can be the heroes and get the girl.

Another typical example: War weary Vietnam veteran walks into town and is immediately assaulted by the town sheriff. This is, of course, "First Blood" starring anti-2nd Amendment actor Sylvester Stalone as John Rambo. Rambo uses lots and lots of guns against local law enforcement and even the National Guard in his quest for justice. Moral: Local law enforcement and pretty much most of the federal government is fabulously corrupt and they must all be killed with guns. Lots of guns.

But these movies and ones like them work (are successful) because they are believable. People know instinctively that there are other people out there who will hurt them unless they are able to fight back effectively. And that means guns. Because when it comes right down to it disputes are settled in one of two ways, reason or force. Disputes that are settled by reason make for very uninteresting cinema and thus we end up with high body count films. Another thing that doesn't sell movie tickets very well is a story where the underdog loses. And that brings about films where "law enforcement" or "the government" or "pick your own non-underdog authority type" has to be made to be the "bad guy" so that the underdog can win and the audience can cheer. Plus H'wood likes to showcase stories where little guys get to stick it to "the man."

So, I guess I am somewhat annoyed that, after decades of movies that firmly demonstrate that guns are the answer to nearly any dispute, I have to endure condescending and empty-headed anti-gun preaching by the H'wood left.
In a doomsday scenario, hippies will be among the first casualties. So not everything about doomsday will be bad.

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #357 on: February 03, 2013, 06:45:54 PM »
"Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer." - Mark Twain

"Let us assume for the moment everything you say about me is true. That just makes your problem bigger, doesn't it?"

Offline John Florida

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #358 on: February 03, 2013, 07:03:12 PM »
All men are created equal"
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Offline Predator Don

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Re: Trap's Movie Thread
« Reply #359 on: February 03, 2013, 11:43:55 PM »
Shooter


Yea....when he was told he was " free to go", he knew exactly the meaning.
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