What's on your Daily Viewing List? (1 Viewer)

[Keith Cobby]

I went for a Mary Lou Henner double feature of Johnny Dangerously and Rusters Rapsody..I hadn't seen those for a while, both still languishing in dvd land!! Both are in need of a BD facelift!!!

Yes, and Grand Larceny (1987) a frothy but entertaining film starring Marilu with Ian McShane, Omar Sharif and Louis Jourdan.

 

[Keith Cobby]

Over the weekend, three more Edgar Wallace krimi:

Die Tur mit den 7 Schlossern (1962, The Door with Seven Locks) - one of the better films in the series. This has been filmed several times; who has the key to the treasure?

Die Bande de Schreckens (1960, The Terrible People) - one of the best films in the series, a man is hanged for murder and carries out retribution on those he blames.

Das Indische Tuch (1963, The Indian Scarf) - again one of the best. Based on the Wallace play The Frightened Lady, the film has similarities with the Christie play And Then There Were None. I assume that some of Wallace's work influenced Christie.

 

[Mike Frezon]

For what it's worth, the people I was with all enjoyed it so perhaps I was just in the wrong headspace for it.

The older I get, the more I realize this as a "thing." I might see a movie one day, hate it and then give it another try sometime later and find out I kinda like it. And vice-versa.

 

[Mike Frezon]

The older I get, the more I realize this as a "thing." I might see a movie one day, hate it and then give it another try sometime later and find out I kinda like it. And vice-versa.

I'll take this a step further. I think maybe that part of the theater-going experience is that you plan the outing, travel to the theater, anticipate the experience, purchase snacks/drinks (at top dollar) and settle into the big seat in the big room with the big screen. And that all that combined help put us in the proper headspace for a film.

Whereas I think sometimes that pulling a disc off a shelf and settling-in in our home space makes it more of a hit/miss proposition. And its easier to be distracted at home: phones, laptops, bathroom breaks, snack breaks, etc.

I'm sure I'm not breaking any new ground with this...and I realize that there are MANY reasons people prefer their home spaces to theatrical exhibitions these days...but its just something that has been becoming more apparent to me.

 

[Dave Moritz]

I try not to know to much about a movie before going to the theater to see it. I feel knowing to much can ruin not only the movie but the experience. And also just going to the theater and buying the ticket and getting over priced food make the single movie an expensive ordeal. As far as watching a movie at home once I decide to watch a movie I do not watch it unless I have the time to watch the movie beginning to end no interruptions. I get what ever I am going to snack on and what ever beverage I will drink before the movie starts. I want to be lost in the story and that world that is being presented so I do not answer the phone or look up anything while the movie is on. And as far as movies go I now because of the high cost of going to the theater I save that for block busters and movies I really need to see on the big screen.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Code 8
Originally Released: 12/13/2019
Watched: 02/27/2024
1080P HD digital streaming on Netflix, upscaled to 4K via Roku Ultra

With a bigger budget Netflix sequel dropping tomorrow, I wanted to check out the crowdfunded original, which has production values that far exceed its roughly $4 million budget.

Recommended?

Why? This is basically an X-Men story without any superheroes like the X-Men; while it is undeniably derivative, and the world feels well-developed and grounded. In an alternate history, a little less than one in twenty people are born with some sort of superhuman ability. Their unique skills were used to build the great metropolises of North America, including Lincoln City. But now that automation has eliminated the need for much of their labor, they live predominantly in poverty as a persecuted minority. Instead of undocumented immigrants standing outside of the Home Depot looking for work, it's people with powers.

Connor Reed has spent his entire adult life as one such underpaid laborer. But when his mother begins to show symptoms of a terminal illness, he ventures into the criminal underworld and must decide what lines he is willing to cross to save her.

It's a solid heist film, with characters that are believably flawed and varying degrees of moral and immoral. The plot feels like it's driven by the characters' choices instead of plot contrivances, and Robbie Amell makes for a likable protagonist as Connor.

* * *​

Polite Society
Originally Released: 04/28/2023
Watched: 02/27/2024
1080P Blu-ray disc, upscaled to 4K via Panasonic DP-UB820

Ria Khan is an aspiring stuntwoman. Her older sister Lena is a tortured artist. But when a handsome young doctor from a wealthy and high-status family enters Lena's life, nothing for either sister will ever be the same.

Recommended?

Why? The title card for this movie features the title in English, Urdu, and Hindi, and the entire movie is powered by the clash and fusion of these disparate cultures for these two British young women from Pakistani families. What starts as a funny and boisterously heightened family melodrama takes a wild swerve halfway through that spins it out into something far wilder and more bonkers. I had a blast the whole way through, and the cast is great from top to bottom. Priya Kansara, in her feature film debut, is a revelation as Ria, embodying her with total and complete commitment. Ria is a loyal and loving sister, but she's also a bit of a feral force of nature, and Kansara embodies both sides to perfection.

Writer/director Nida Manzoor made the Muslim rock sitcom "We Are Lady Parts", which I'm told is a similarly ebullient mashup of different cultures and genre influences. If I ever sign up for Peacock, I'm definitely going to check it out.

I'll take this a step further. I think maybe that part of the theater-going experience is that you plan the outing, travel to the theater, anticipate the experience, purchase snacks/drinks (at top dollar) and settle into the big seat in the big room with the big screen. And that all that combined help put us in the proper headspace for a film.

Whereas I think sometimes that pulling a disc off a shelf and settling-in in our home space makes it more of a hit/miss proposition. And its easier to be distracted at home: phones, laptops, bathroom breaks, snack breaks, etc.

I think certain movies work better on the big screen with an audience, while others play better at home. Big budget spectacles, comedies, horror movies, those all work better with a crowd (for me). Intimate character dramas tend to play better at home where I can really focus in.

Which also I think helps explain why character dramas are more likely to have short theatrical windows or go direct to streaming than other genres.

 

[Noir Norn]

Kino Lorber's double Blu Ray edition of The Outside Man

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Code 8: Part II
Originally Released: 02/28/2024
Watched: 02/28/2024
1080P HD digital streaming on Netflix, upscaled to 4K via Roku Ultra

Recommended?

Why? If the first movie was about what the despair of poverty and prejudice can drive people to, this movie is about striving for something better. It explores how public institutions can become corrupted, and then explores how that corrupt can make those institutions fragile. The two-hander between Robbie and Stephen Amell has been expanded this time around into a trio, with Sirena Gulamgaus as a teenage girl whose rare abilities and make her both powerful and a threat. With the moral crisis of the film movie behind him, Robbie Amell's Connor Reed transitions from anti-hero to outright hero here, as young Pavani gives him something to fight for. Meanwhile, Stephen Amell's Garrett Kelton continues to operate in the grey as a gangster whose principles are constantly at odds with his ambition.

My one issue is that Connor Reed gets swept up into the conspiracy almost immediately after getting out of prison for the crimes committed in the first movie. If they do a Part III down the road, I'd like to see more time spent on the lives these people live now when the police aren't trying to murder them.

 

[Jake Lipson]

 

[Robin9]

Yesterday I watched Spy Hunt, a lightweight movie but entertaining and with an interesting cast. I always like Marta Toren, a flexible actress. Kino's Blu-ray disc is good.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Please, if you're interested in participating in this "Western Challenge" during the month of March, below is a direct link to the thread in which participants can post their movie/TV show opinions. Anyone is welcome and the Challenge rules are listed in the first post in that linked thread below. Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

***Official 1st HTF Western Movies/TV Shows Challenge 2024***

***Official 1st HTF Western Movies/TV Shows Challenge 2024*** 1. Watch Western-Movies/TV Shows from midnight March 1, 2024 through March 31, 2024 (use your own time zone to set the ending time). 2. Each Western-Movie/TV show can be viewed by physical media such as DVD, Blu-ray, 4K/UHD, etc...

www.hometheaterforum.com

 

[Keith Cobby]

The Age of Adaline (2015) - charming romantic fantasy with a great central performance from Blake Lively and good support from Harrison Ford and Ellen Burstyn.

 

[Noir Norn]

Crichton's The Terminal Man, written, produced and directed by Michael Hodges

via SHOUT!/Scream Factory's Blu Ray edition

 

[Keith Cobby]

Return of the Jedi (1983) - only my second viewing (I think).

 

[Dave Moritz]

March 2nd, 2024 Saturday

Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban
4K Blu-ray / HDR
DTS:X 7.1.4

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
4K Blu-ray / HDR
Dolby Atmos 7.1.4

Kong: Skull Island
4K Digital / HDR / Max
Dolby Atmos 7.1.4

 

[Noir Norn]

a Todd Haynes double bill:
Wonderstruck

and
Far From Heaven

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Drive-Away Dolls
Originally Released: 02/23/2024
Watched: 03/03/2024
In theaters: 7:40 PM showing on Screen 3 at Regal Colonie Center 13 & RPX

Ethan Coen's first feature without his brother operates in a similar tone (and time period) to "Raising Arizona" and "The Big Lebowski".

Recommended?

Why? This Y2K-era ode to sisterhood and sexual gratification is lean and far less densely plotted than "The Big Lebowski", but it's a fun little lark driven by Margaret Qualley's charismatic lesbian Southern belle.

 

[Toronto Argonauts]

Tonight:

 

[Toronto Argonauts]

Tonight:

 

[Noir Norn]

2 by David Cronenberg:
Dead Ringers

&
Naked Lunch