Movie Roll Call: What have you seen lately?

[mechman]

Finally got around to watching Gemini Man. There were parts of this that I thought were just plain cheesy. And then there were parts of this that were awesome. I think I needed more minigun scenes! I could watch that for hours on end. Some day soon I’ll probably watch it again in 24fps for reference.

 

[mechman]

Outside of the Christmas classic - Die Hard, I watched two new movies recently.

The Midnight Sky - Netflix movie starring George Clooney. My recommendation is a hard pass. There were a few interesting scenes but it was mostly a sleeper.

Wonder Woman 1984 - I was kind of looking forward to this one since it was the first of several ‘co-release’ movies that will be put in theaters and home at the same time. I’d give this one a hard pass as well. It was 140+ minutes long. They probably should have left about 70 minutes or more of it on the cutting room floor. Hard to see the Mandalorian in this but I guess he’s got to put bread on the table.

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

We enjoyed WW1984 more than you, apparently, but it was relatively disappointing. But you obviously think more of the Mandalorian than I ().
We caught the lion’s share of the FX Christmas Carol with Guy Ritchie yesterday. Very dark, but I enjoyed it immensely. Not your mother’s Christmas Carol, that’s for sure. But a very interesting twist on the story and characters.

 

[mechman]

Of the two, WW84 was the better. But that doesn’t say much.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

I watched The Midnight Sky and it was definitely a yawner. I kept waiting for something to happen and when I woke up the movie was over.

Directed by George Clooney... imagine that.

 

[phillihp23]

Outside of the Christmas classic - Die Hard, I watched two new movies recently.

The Midnight Sky - Netflix movie starring George Clooney. My recommendation is a hard pass. There were a few interesting scenes but it was mostly a sleeper.

Wonder Woman 1984 - I was kind of looking forward to this one since it was the first of several ‘co-release’ movies that will be put in theaters and home at the same time. I’d give this one a hard pass as well. It was 140+ minutes long. They probably should have left about 70 minutes or more of it on the cutting room floor. Hard to see the Mandalorian in this but I guess he’s got to put bread on the table.

My opinion of WW84 was about the same. Pretty slow flick, too long. Worth a watch but that’s about it, probably wouldn’t revisit it again.

 

[Mark C Flick]

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Another well crafted Tarantino film. Kept me engaged throughout. Next up in my Netflix queue is Ford v Ferrari.

 

[NBPK402]

I just got done watching "The Report" on Amazon Prime...excellent drama IMO.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

Watched Love and Monsters last night... ehhh... okay, but not one I'd care to watch again.

 

[JBrax]

We rented Promising Young Woman from iTunes last night. Let me preface this by saying I wouldn’t normally pay $19.99 for a rental but these are different times. I figure it’s both safer and cheaper than going to the movies. Great movie and highly recommended!

 

[Todd Anderson]

Watched Pulp Fiction and Apocalypto... revisiting some classic flicks with my soon to be 19 yr old daughter while she's home on break.

Pulp is such a sweet film... although a little strange watching with your kid (at times) ;-). Apocalypto, IMO, is brilliant. A dazzling film with non-stop edge-of-your-seat moments.

We also watched Ford v Ferrari a few weeks ago. That's one of my favorites from the last year (and reference audio!)

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

We watched the UHD remaster of Vertigo last night and it’s gorgeous. Also watched Locked Down on HBOMax, which was disappointing.

Last weekend we watched Johnny Mnemonic, which, as fate will have it, we watched it a week early, as the movie takes place on January 15, 2021, we watched on January 8th. Found an import Blu-ray with an Atmos track, which was pretty solid.

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

Last night we watched Love and Monsters. It was fun, enjoyable, a solid popcorn flick. I was shocked, however, at the 92% Fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes. Doesn't seem like that kind of a movie.

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

Yesterday I spent a couple hours recalibrating my JVC projector. The colors were still spot on, but I was able to accommodate for the gamma droop over the past 1000 hours or so on the bulb.
Fired it up for The Lord of the Rings in UHD last night. I’ve never seen any of these, or the Hobbit, so have been looking forward to spending some time with the new remasters. The first installment looked and sounded amazing. Really hard to believe it is 20 years old already.

 

[Grayson Dere]

I've been watching the newly released 'Wanda Vision' on Disney+. It's pretty interesting so far...not at all like the other conventional Marvel shows.

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

Tonight we watched Synchronic. I actually really liked it. Interesting. Great low end.

 

[mechman]

***Not a movie***
I just watched the New York Times Presents Framing Britney Spears. Feel bad for that poor girl/woman having been hounded her whole life. And since I’ve been also watching The Crown, it kind of gives some perspective into Lady Diana I suppose. I just can’t imagine being hounded day and night by people looking to cash in on you. Sad.

 

[Bassaholic]

Lucy 4K. Wow! Fun, short run time, and audio/video nirvana.

 

[phillihp23]

The Little Things. Solid Denzel Washington flick .

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

Interesting, we were disappointed with The Little Things.

We've been watching a lot lately with the subzero temps:

• Really enjoyed Palmer.
• Followed up Synchronic with the producers' first film, The Endless, which was a good indie film.
• Parallel wasn't terrible, but the disc was authored as letterboxed 16:9 in a 4:3 frame, so annoying.
• Come Play was great.
• Young Adult was not what we expected, but we liked it.
• Breach was terrible.
• The Change-Up was juvenile but funny.
• Spell wasn't great.
• The Undoing (series on HBOMax) was really good - our recent favorite.
• Warrior (also a series on HBOMax) is very well-done.

 

[Mark C Flick]

Mulan.
I did enjoy it but seems like Disney films are missing something these days. Can't quite put my finger on what it is though.

 

[Todd Anderson]

We watched The Lighthouse.

I'm not even sure where to start with this film. It's setting, filming style (including aspect ratio), and actors were great. The first act had me riveted. The second act lost me.

I think the film got too complex for its own good.

 

[JBrax]

Rented Greenland on ITunes. Solid film starring Gerard Butler. Seems it’s been a minute since he’s been in a quality movie. We were pleasantly surprised and I highly recommend checking it out.

 

[mechman]

I’ve watched both The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition UHD and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition UHD. The third one will probably be on tap for Friday. Awesome!

 

[Todd Anderson]

Just finished watching all 8 seasons of Game of Thrones 4K box set.

First time I’d watched the show. Loved every minute of it. Very enjoyable.
Video quality was excellent... Atmos was middling for the first 5 seasons, then really sprung to life for the last three. I thought the audio mix in a few of the last episodes was reference quality.

Anyhow, I know I’m late to the game (no pun intended)... but if you can stand some blood, weird sexual situations, clever lying and deceit, and excellent character development/story writing... this is a great box set to bring into your home theater.

I watched a handful of episodes outside my theater (on phone streaming via HBO MAX)...the presence and the emotion was definitely minimized. The big screen/immersive sound presentation definitely amplifies the story.