I Just Watched (Films)

[Achtung Englander]

squeezed another Halloween film - saw Halloween II on Halloween night. Enjoyed it of the 3 Halloween films I have seen. Its essentially The Terminator before that film was made.

As a direct sequel to the first film, it works a lot better than the 2018 direct sequel. OK now I am really done with this franchise now as I feel no desire to see anymore.

7/10

[Achtung Englander]

And that leads me on to a bit of a sad realisation - I just don't enjoy going to the cinema anymore. It used to be that I wanted to see the really big films on the big screen, but I don't think that's the case any more. Now that I have a decent home-theatre audio setup (and don't get me wrong, I know I'm privileged to be able to afford the £1500 it cost me), I just don't see the advantage of going to a cinema. The audience in that showing were perfectly polite; I maybe heard the odd utterance from the person sat in the seat directly next to me, but it's not as if people were checking their phones or throwing popcorn all the way through. But the rustling of a sweet packet in the quiet bits, the ear-piercing volume in the not-quiet bits, the visible marks on the projection screen that are distracting in brightly lit shots, the fact that it's now a 40 minute walk for me to get there... it just doesn't feel worth the effort any more. I think if streaming services bring their premier pricing down to below £20 or so, I'll just watch new releases at home instead.

yep pretty much sums up me as well. I think I am done with the whole cinema experience. Covid was the final nail in the coffin. Its simply not worth the money. You might as well buy these movies on UHD and sell them on eBay if you don't like them as the discs retain their value on the used market.

I subscribe to Cinema Paradiso which is the old skool of renting discs, so renting UHD or Blu Rays and watching them on my OLED cinema living room set up is good enough for me. At least I can pause and go for a slash and not miss anything. £20 per month for 3 discs at any time, unlimited rents. Its worth it in my books.

Saying that I am planning to see Dune on Wednesday morning as this film is getting press that it should be seen on the biggest screen - so I go I will let you know how I feel then.

[Wrathbone]

It was ahead of its time but it has been overshadowed by other court room dramas like A few Good Men

I can’t disagree with that as A Few Good Men happens to be my favourite film. But then I am a sucker for Aaron Sorkin’s writing.

On the cinema front, I’m in a similar position. My office is quite close to the cinema so it was convenient for heading there if I wanted to straight after work (usually quiet at that time too), but now that I work from home it’s just not worth the effort of going. I do want to see Dune, but the other factor that stopped me going last week was my back, and the sad fact is that I’m not sure it will handle 3 hours on an uncomfortable seat without some painful consequences. Even the VIP seats at my local Vue get uncomfortable after a while.

[Rossell]

I've made the decision to go and see Dune tomorrow but I'm doing it on the 1pm showing so hopefully there won't be many people.

[Rusty]

Saw Dune at my local Vue cinema and was enthralled for the whole run time. I thought the seats seemed very nice (they even recline!).

I enjoyed it so much that I'm going to try to rewatch it at a newer cinema that has an Imax. Anyone done Imax before? I'm a virgin at it. Is it worth the extra money? It's twice as much as the Vue.

[Raid]

Yeah, the Vue that (I assume) Wrath and I both go to is getting on a bit, I don't think the seats have been changed since they built it about 15 years ago (and I don't think it was originally going to be a Vue, it was another brand that was sold before completion so it's not a standard Vue setup). The seats are alright for me (although I can understand why someone with back trouble would have an issue with them, they don't offer particularly good support), but it's legroom that kills it. There's only one row I can sit in, and that's the first row of the second section so I can extend my legs into the aisle, but there are steps directly in front of the seat so I end up with my ankles perched uncomfortably on a point.

I hadn't considered that Blu-Ray rental was even a thing anymore, so I might consider that Achtung. I really don't want a physical media collection anymore, but with what Wrath said in the UHD thread I don't think it's something I can ignore.

[Achtung Englander]

just get your favourites. I do not see my UHD collection passing 30 movies.

[Mantis]

I keep a small collection of maybe 20 or so Blu Rays of all my favourites. It really irks me that there's the pressure to buy them again every time a slightly higher quality format comes out. I hate the idea of all that waste from older formats just being discarded. I don't think any of my collection are of the 4k variety.

[Wrathbone]

It really irks me that there's the pressure to buy them again every time a slightly higher quality format comes out. I hate the idea of all that waste from older formats just being discarded.

Not all films are worth upgrading to 4k (or even from DVD to blu ray), but buying media on new formats is an inevitability of technological progress. The same argument was thrown around when people complained about going from VHS to DVD, and to me the answer is always the same - if you're happy with your current format, nobody's saying you have to upgrade.

As for the waste of older formats, I tend to offer my older formats to friends and family for free. In some cases I keep them (e.g. if they're a different cut or offer a substantially different experience), and sometimes I donate them to charity. I don't just bin them. Does anyone actually do that? It's incredible how much the DVD market still thrives - it absolutely dwarfs blu ray and 4K sales combined, despite the move to streaming. Until that stops being the case, I don't really see the waste of old formats being a major issue anytime soon.

In terms of environmental impact, it'd be interesting to see the overall cost of physical media compared to the server demands of streaming. Frankly, though, I don't run a car so I'm fairly comfortable that I've offset my carbon footprint for owning discs.

[Achtung Englander]

I tried selling my old DVDs for 50p with a a quid thrown in for posting on eBay. Only sold 3 discs. I stopped all the other sales and will now give them to charity. They are almost next to worthless now.

Time and technology moves on. Upon watching DVDs I am shocked by how bad it looks. SD just sucks balls when default is now HD (even that is beginning to look fuzzy)

[Wrathbone]

I'm concerned that you don't like the original Blade Runner, though! Definitely give it another chance, and report your thoughts back here, please.

Well, I watched it again in 4k. It's never looked better, but the audio is what really stood out - it's a big improvement from my old DVD version, as you'd expect.

As for the film... I mostly enjoyed it this time! I think it's partly because 2049 made me look at it in new ways which drew me into the film more, but I also think it's because I've identified what bothers me about the film. It's the scenes with Sebastian in his gigantic, dingy house with all his toys. It's all too bloody weird and grim. I get that it's supposed to be like that and shows that Sebastian, strange as he is, does care for his creations and seems somewhat oblivious to how Tyrell exploits replicants. I just strongly dislike those scenes from an aesthetic perspective, and I'm not entirely convinced that they're vital to the plot.

Up until that point I think it's a great film, and once Roy pays his visit to Tyrell it picks up again. It's that section in the middle that irks me.

With all my negativity, it's worth saying that I love the ending of the final cut - Deckard's terse nod of acknowledgement to Gaff's unicorn is (to me) confirmation that he's accepted he's a replicant. Bizarrely I think it's Harrison Ford's best bit of acting in the film, for something that he actively refutes (i.e. he doesn't accept that Deckard is a replicant). And the end credits theme... yeah, for all my troubles with Blade Runner, it does have a perfect ending.

[Achtung Englander]

Dune (2021)

Just stunning. I do not think I have seen a film this impressive in its visualisation, set design, music and imagination since Fellowship of the Ring. Unlike the Lynch version I finally understood the plot but I did have one question:

Spoiler

Why was the Emperor so afraid of the House of Atreides ?

Amazing production. I am definitely in the market for buying the box set when the second (and I presume final) film comes out. Its a shame Villeneuve never got around to making the Star Wars sequels because I love the fact he adds so much gravitas to his projects and he grounds them in "reality" even though his science fiction films dabbles in the fantastic. This production just smacked of adults in the room from the script, acting, editing and direction. I came away extremely impressed.

My only critique is that I think the film would have benefited from a 15 rating as all the violence is sucked out of it and with a lot off screen. A directors cut which added in the violence would be better.

As for the cinema experience - its shit. I had to move seats because a mother brought a baby and 2 young kids (who should be at school given it was a 11am showing). I mean seriously how fucking idiotic is that - bringing a baby to a cinema showing. Yeah - so at £9 a pop, cinema and me are calling it a day. I will only go for the spectacular like Dune. Give me a big telly and noise cancellation 5.1 headset and I am good to go.

Favourite film of the year.

9/10

[Raid]

Its a shame Villeneuve never got around to making the Star Wars sequels

Wait, was that an option? I can't imagine a film I'd want to see more than that.

[Hatredsheart]

Dune (2021)

Spoiler

Why was the Emperor so afraid of the House of Atreides ?

Spoiler

Leto had become very popular, and I think the Emperor was afraid that he would either be overtaken politically or that House Atriedes would stage a coup and the other Houses would do nothing to stop them.

[Snowy]

Spoiler

Why was the Emperor so afraid of the House of Atreides ?

Spoiler

IIRC it was because the Atreides had created a military force that was almost to the level of the Imperial Sardaukar, at the same time as enjoying a rapid rise in popularity. The emperor viewed the Atreides as a potential threat.

I have read the book entirely too often