Which HD Cinema Movies have you seen?Would you like to post your review of the movie?

[timjf]

Cat Ballou - 3.5 stars. I really enjoyed the movie - kept smiling all the way through. Sort of like a western comedy/parody, had a lot of funny moments. I thought the banjo playing singing narrative of Nat King Cool set the tone for the movie well. Not quite "Blazing Saddles" but still a bit of a hoot. Don't look for deep drama or intense gunfights here. Also, appropriate for families - no language/sex/nudity, just some mild violence.

 

[Sean Mota]

Essex Boys 3.0 stars A movie with a lot of gun shots and an a lo of lies and evil guys. The most atractive part of the movie is the character "Lisa". She is hot.

Onibaba 3.0 stars nice movie with a different twist. Cinematography is really good and the characters played their parts in an excellent way. Lots of nudity for a PG movie but OAR made it fantastic.

Switchblade gilrs 2.0 a bunch of gang girls. There is no storie in the movie if you think about it.

 

[TheTimm]

Tale of the Mummy - 2 stars : Some decent effects (& some pretty lame ones as well!) and pretty good sound. The story? -- so nonsensical I lost interest in even trying to follow it closely. But the ending was actually kinda cool. Not a good movie, but not a total waste of time either.

 

[rang1995]

Cat Ballou - 2.5 stars : Disappointing. Program guide gave it four stars -- very generous. It never really decided if it was a western comedy, romance, or shoot-em-up-you-done-me-wrong revenge movie -- so it ended up doing a little bit of each, and badly. Oh, it wasn't horrible -- it did hold my interest for an hour and a half or so -- it just wasn't good. Jane Fonda was as cute as can be, but not very convincing. Lee Marvin played two juicy roles, but only one of them well. PQ was hit-and-miss and the sound was disappointing, even with a few catchy tunes by Nat King Cole and some other dude.

--a great movie(dated from the 60's but great)

"A lark from beginningito end." -NEW YORKER

The sleeper hit of 1965, Cat Ballou was declared an instant classic when its sly blend of Western parody andirapid-fire action hit theiscreen.

Lee Marvin won an Oscarifor Best Actorifor his dual roleias noseless ("it got bit off inia fight") gunslinger Tim Strawn andias Kid Shelleen, theiwoozy, boozy has been who goes up against him. Jane Fonda co-starsias Catherine "Cat" Ballou, theischoolmarm-turned-outlaw who teams up with Kid. Singer Nat King Cole andicomedian Stubby Kaye also appear, singing theititle song, "The Ballad of Cat Ballou."

This wild andiwooly adventure isi"the ultimate American spoof of theiAmerican Western." (Judith Crist)

 

[TheTimm]

Ya have some sort of point, rang?

Are you suggesting that I actually loved Cat Ballou and just didn't realize it? Or are you suggesting that I'm supposed to change my opinion to match popular opinion of the 60's? Or that professional reviewers have a better idea of whether or not I like a movie than I do? Did you make Cat Ballou and I somehow hurt your feelings by not finding it clever or amusing? I'm awfully sorry if you're wounded emotionally by this, but I simply didn't love your movie. Like I said, it's not horrible -- it simply isn't good.

You can quote every critic who ever reviewed a movie and it will have no effect whatsoever on my opinion of the movie (or any other movie for that matter). I'm simply giving my opinions on movies -- that is the purpose of this thread. I find the opinion of real everyday Joe Six-Pack type folks much more interesting (and certainly less bought and paid for) than professional reviewers. Instead of trying a point-by-point rebuttal of my review by using the words of others (some of which were I practically agreed with -- Lee Marvin's performance, Nat King Cole's songs), why not post your review of the movie? What the New Yorker thinks means nothing to me. Seriously, aren't there a million movies out there that reviewers loved, that you can't imagine sitting through (think The Hours, The English Patient, etc...)? And the opposite, too -- just because popular professional opinion of a movie isn't very high, doesn't mean the movie doesn't rock.

Decide for yourself whether or not you like a movie, rang. It's not a friggin' election or poll. Listing the opinions of others just leads me back to the beginning...do you have some sort of point?

 

[rang1995]

hey cool it i am not arguing just i think it was great, and the reviewers(it was not really mainstream at first was a cult became mainstream)loved it..of COURSE you can and should have your OWN opinion..thats what makes film

 

[TheTimm]

hey cool it i am not arguing just i think it was great, and the reviewers(it was not really mainstream at first was a cult became mainstream)loved it..of COURSE you can and should have your OWN opinion..thats what makes film

Consider it cooled.

Sorry if I came on too strong in my rebuttal. It just appeared to me that instead of posting your own review of a movie you obviously enjoy, you just quoted my review and picked it apart. If your comments were simply meant to reflect your opinion and had nothing to do with my review, I guess I'm a little confused as to why you quoted it. But it's not a big deal, really. We can agree to a disagree. At least we agree that we should each have our own opinion.

 

[rang1995]

i would say that's why one of the reasons i like VOOM the most--a chance to see "OLD" (NOT SUCH GREAT TRANSFERS) but still HD Movies that were your favorites growing up, that hardly are a good transfer on DVD(except for the re masters)p.s i now see jane fonda wasn't the greatest thing on 2 legs that i thought when i was a kid and saw this film for the first time

 

[rang1995]

i would say that's why one of the reasons i like VOOM the most--a chance to see "OLD" (NOT SUCH GREAT TRANSFERS) but still HD Movies that were your favorites growing up, that hardly are a good transfer on DVD(except for the re masters)p.s i now see jane fonda wasn't the greatest thing on 2 legs that i thought when i was a kid and saw this film for the first time---would love to see some old TV shows on HD (as best they can)

 

[TheTimm]

China Strike Force - 1 star : Bad. But...some decent action scenes, some hot chicks, good sound, bangin' soundtrack. The acting was just awful -- as in Coolio was the most believable actor in this mess. Everyone else was so bad it was actually amusing. And the dialogue was ridiculous -- again, worth a laugh or two by just being so darn bad (not to mention that in most cases it was delivered so poorly!).

 

[TheTimm]

Live Nude Girls, Unite! - 3 stars : Pretty darned good documentary, mostly about unionization/worker's rights, feminism & sex workers, and a woman's relationship with her mother. Best scene may be when the filmmaker tells her mother that she's a stripper. Also enjoyed the talk about the changes in stripping over the years, the shift from teasing to lapdancing. Did a good job of following the negotiations that would lead to the first exotic dancer union. PQ not so good, sound not so good.

 

[deeann]

Salome's Last Dance (1988) - 3.5 stars (genre- cult/midnight movie)

An often overlooked film from the Ken Russel library, Salome's Last Dance is a fictional telling of the illegal "premier" of Oscar Wilde's banned play Salome as performed by prostitues and work staff of a brothel, with the only member of the audience being Wilde himself.

***

Picture: It looks like this was remastered from one or more theatrical prints, but done extremely well. The colors (and this is a *very* colorful movie) look as lush and vibrant as I remember when I first saw it at the movie theater. There is a bit of scratchiness and what appear to be print splices scattered thoughout, but not enough to distract.

Audio: The soundfield actually feels a bit narrower than I remember, with some of the music falling into the center channel, which can happen with 2 channel stereo to 5.1 conversions, but the dialog is nice and clear.

***

Final thoughts- this film is not for everyone, and probably more appreciated by Ken Russel fans than audiences with more mainstream tastes, and style of shifting back and forth from the play to the 'real world' may put off some, but if you're looking for something off the beaten path it's definately worth checking out.

 

[deeann]

Great Expectations (1974) 2.5 stars (genre- family, drama)

Based on the classic novel by Charles Dickens we follow the adventures of the orphaned "Pip" on his quest to escape the working class life and become a "gentleman" in 1800's England with the help from an unknown benefactor.

***

Picture: Daytime and lighter scenes look good, dark and night scenes have flicker (at times severe) to them. This was originally made for TV so it might have always looked this way. Colors tends towards a sepia palette which seems intentional.

Audio: It's a mono movie and sounds like it was mostly kept that way, with most of the sounds coming from the center channel, dialog is clear and it's a serviceable soundtrack. No complaints.


***

Final thoughts- it was *almost* good but something seemed to be missing. The cast of characters "Pip" meets along the way tend towards kookieness which should have made for a pretty interesting movie but still feels a bit flat. No complaints either about Michael York working in the blacksmiths shop...

 

[TheTimm]

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman - 2.5 stars : Interesting, if less than spectacular, drama showing the trials and triumphs of a 110-year-old woman during her life. Spans time from the Civil War to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's. I especially liked the ending. And the sound was pretty good, but the strain in Miss Jane's voice made my throat sore.

 

[TheTimm]

Moscow On The Hudson - 3 stars : I like Robin Williams here, as I do in most of his dramatic roles. I find him underrated as a dramatic actor, overrated as a comedian. Now on with the review: pretty cool movie. I enjoyed spending a little time getting to know this character. And Maria Conchita Alonso was a true pleasure to watch. From the department of blast-from-the-past comedians, look for Yakov Smirnoff as a coworker of Robin Williams' character. The story didn't exactly grip me, but I found it interesting enough. PQ and sound were both pretty cool.

 

[Sean Mota]

Moscow on the Hudson 3.5 I stars. I have seen the movies lots of times. My first viewing was on VHS. I liked the story and it does make you laugh at times in a good way. Maria Conchita Alonzo was in this one and I think it was one her bigger roll in hollywood (if I am not mistaken). In the Spanish community, she took a lot of critism all the nude scenes. She played her roll well and liked the character. Nice PQ. Don't remember seeing as good HD transfers as this one.

 

[TheTimm]

Maria Conchita Alonzo was in this one and I think it was one her bigger roll in hollywood (if I am not mistaken). In the Spanish community, she took a lot of critism all the nude scenes.

I'm surprised she was criticized for the nudity (was there more than the bathtub scene?). I thought it was an important scene, showing how familiar and comfortable the characters had become with each other. The only other scene I can think of off the top of my head that had anything resembling nudity (from Maria anyway) was the scene in the boat at her citizenship after-party, when the wind blew her skirt up. I don't think that was intended -- just a happy accident that a pro like Alonso just played through.

 

[Sean Mota]

I'm surprised she was criticized for the nudity (was there more than the bathtub scene?). I thought it was an important scene, showing how familiar and comfortable the characters had become with each other. The only other scene I can think of off the top of my head that had anything resembling nudity (from Maria anyway) was the scene in the boat at her citizenship after-party, when the wind blew her skirt up. I don't think that was intended -- just a happy accident that a pro like Alonso just played through.

Maria Conchita Alonso had done various spanish soap operas before this movie. None which include her nude in the bathtub with Robin Williams. That was the scene that drew the most critism. I think it was the first time that a spanish soap opera actress was seeing in the nude on a hollywood film. At least the conservatives were upset. I do not care as she looked fine with me in the nude

 

[Sean Mota]

Duel at Diablo (1966) 3.5 stars. Good Western movie. James Garner and Sidney Poitier star on this one. It's about a small troop trying to deliver a amunition wagons. They have to go through Apache territory and all hell brakes loose. Another story within the story is the revenge of a man's wife who was killed because she was indian. It was a good movie. The PQ was very good but there were moments in the film that it did not look so good. Maybe the master was not that great to begin with but overall it looked very good. The sound is not that great.

 

[bookwalk]

PIT AND THE PENDULUM - 3.5 stars--not so much for the plot, but for VIncent Price and the visual feast enhanced by HD.