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Your BR Blind Purchases

#1
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4/9/09 at 9:43am
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And by "Blind Purchase" I mean movies or tv shows that you did not previously own on standard def, and also movies that you had never seen before at the theater or elsewhere. Just total blind purchases of films that caught your attention while shopping at Best Buy or wherever. I know as soon as I got my BR player I wanted to try it out as much as possible, and grabbed everything that looked the slightest bit interesting (if it was on sale). Here are some of my blind purchases; I've been Blu for about 6 months now...

Sleepy Hollow (Johnny Depp)
Better than people say; in fact, I couldn't find any problems with it. Now it's a favorite of mine!

Meet the Robinsons
I liked this also. Most people don't. So the heck with them; it was fun!

Casino Royale (2006 version)
Nicely shot, believable, non-gimmicky James Bond entry (and better than Quantum of Solace if you ask me)

Waiting
Over-rated "Clerks" wannabee. Why is there so much fuss about this boring movie? It was popular enough even to warrant a direct-to-dvd cheapquel. But...what's the big deal?

Can't Hardly Wait
Also over-rated, but somewhat enjoyable last day of high school flick. It's okay...

Underworld 1 & 2
The first one is good, the second somewhat lackluster.

Bolt!
Overlooked Disney entry; it has the charm, the great characters and animation...so why is no one talking about this film??



So...what are some BR blind purchases that you've made, and what did you think of the films?
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#2
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4/9/09 at 9:49am
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Re: Your BR Blind Purchases

Quote:
Meet the Robinsons
I liked this also. Most people don't. So the heck with them; it was fun!

Waiting
Over-rated "Clerks" wannabee. Why is there so much fuss about this boring movie? It was popular enough even to warrant a direct-to-dvd cheapquel. But...what's the big deal?

Can't Hardly Wait
Also over-rated, but somewhat enjoyable last day of high school flick. It's okay...

Bolt!
Overlooked Disney entry; it has the charm, the great characters and animation...so why is no one talking about this film??

Meet the Robinsons gets better with multiple viewings, and Bolt is a standout. Waiting was awful! I disagree on Can't Hardly Wait....A great film.

Some Other Dane Cook movies on my blind buy list:

Good Luck Chuck
Employee of the Month

Will have to update with non Dane Cook titles later. Almost everything is a blind buy since we don't go out to the theater that often. I count of the HTF reviewers to help me spend my BD dollars

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#3
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4/9/09 at 9:55am
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Re: Your BR Blind Purchases

Let's see... My BluRay collection is rather small still, but there's a couple sleepers in there:

Pineapple Express. One of my wife's favorites, I hadn't given it a second thought since seeing the trailer. Bought it for her, with no intention of watching it myself. Thank goodness she talked me into it. Clever, hilarious, and one hell of a good looking disc

Eagle Eye. Again, my wife's recommendation. I'm not in love with it, but it's a fun flick, and reaffirm's Shia LaBeouf as one of my new favorite actors.

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#4
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4/9/09 at 10:31am
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Re: Your BR Blind Purchases

I really try not to blind buy too much. I could see that changing if prices come down and more rental places close. I do have a few blind buys in my collection.

Blade Runner: hard to believe I didn't see it until it came out on Blu-ray.

Bolt: not up to the standards of my favorite Pixar films, but still quite good and my daughter likes it.

Cast Away: still haven't watched it.
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#5
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4/9/09 at 10:36am
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Re: Your BR Blind Purchases

Out of about 90 BD titles I own... not too many:

Iron Man -- I really enjoyed this one, and am glad I took a chance

From Dusk 'Til Dawn -- it was cheap, but I will probably never watch it again.

Pinocchio -- hard to believe I've never seen this film, but it's true

The Police: Certifiable -- does a concert BD count? It's hard to see these in advance, unless as a rental

Starship Troopers 3 -- not really a blind purchase, as it was a Christmas gift (and I had asked for the first film, but didn't have the heart to tell my parents they bought the wrong movie).


We have started renting again, which I never did with DVD's, so I will have very few blind purchases with this format unless the prices come down.
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#6
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4/9/09 at 10:50am
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Re: Your BR Blind Purchases

How the West was Won and Horton Hears a Who. Haven't watched HTWWW yet, but Horton has moments of inspired lunacy, and futhers the theory that the nerds are now running Hollywood, as evidenced by Watchmen, Monsters vs. Aliens and the films of Judd Apatow, just to name a few. Not that that's a bad thing.

\"My opinion is that (a) anyone who actually works in a video store and does not understand letterboxing has given up on life, and (b) any customer who prefers to have the sides of a movie hacked off should not be licensed to operate a video player.\"-- Roger Ebert

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#7
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4/9/09 at 11:34am
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Re: Your BR Blind Purchases

Baraka - because of the recent price break on Amazon. Haven't opened the package yet. Actually, I chickened out and put it at the top of my Netflix queue. It should arrive today.

Blade Runner - after all I've read about this film, the Final Cut didn't quite live up to all the hype for me, so I sold it. I've started to want to watch it again, so we'll see.

John Mayer: Where the Light Is - I enjoy his music, so this was a no-brainer for me. Plus the TrueHD 96/24 soundtrack looked especially tantalizing. It doesn't disappoint one bit.

When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions - got this last December for an excellent price, but still haven't watched it yet.

 

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#8
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4/9/09 at 5:23pm
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Re: Your BR Blind Purchases

About half the BDs I've bought have been blind buys.

I think these were all pretty good (of the ones I can remember):
Transformers, Iron Man, The Dark Knight, Wall-E, 3:10 to Yuma, No Country For Old Men, Dead Man's Chest, Pan's Labyrinth, Mad Men, Juno, I am Legend, How the West Was Won (pretty sure I never saw ALL of it before), From Dusk Till Dawn, Superbad, Death Proof, Eastern Promises, Apocalypto, American Gangster

My favorites of the blind buys:
Apocalypto, Superbad, Iron Man, The Dark Knight

Blind buys I didn't like:
Kung Fu Panda
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#9
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4/9/09 at 5:49pm
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Re: Your BR Blind Purchases

NetFlix has saved me from blind buys...mostly.

I did buy Quantum of Solace, and i like it.

When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions, was also a blind buy, and one of the best docs i have seen.

Justice League: New Frontier, and the anime Batman were blind buys. Now that i think of it, The Dark Knight was a blind buy. Never saw it in the theater. Of course i liked it very much!

Ethan, i didnt know people said Sleepy Hollow wasnt any good? I think its one of Tim Burtons best! But i hear the Blu-ray isnt anything to write home about.
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#10
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4/9/09 at 7:39pm
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Re: Your BR Blind Purchases

I don't really blind buy but I guess technically the two Futurama Blu-rays were blind buys for me since they were direct-to-video releases.

And I hadn't seen Blade Runner and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind in probably a decade when I bought them. I was pleasantly surprised by how much more I enjoyed them now than I did when I first saw them.
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#11
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4/9/09 at 8:17pm
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Re: Your BR Blind Purchases

I blind buy quite often since I don't go to the theaters anymore, except on rare occasions -- and buying a BD typically costs me less than the price of 2 movie tix in the NYC area anyway. Still, I don't do it quite as often as I used to w/ DVDs since prices are higher, and have gone w/ rentals (via Blockbuster) for cases where I suspect I might not want to own certain titles.

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#12
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4/9/09 at 9:18pm
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Re: Your BR Blind Purchases

Not too many blind buys for me. Iron Man, Transformers, The Mummy 3 (though I like the first two), The Rundown (in a set with two others I liked), Dark City. The last two Futurama direct-to-disc movies were ordered without seeing them, but I watched the leaks before Amazon actually shipped them.

Huh. More than I thought--that's probably a third of my HD collection.

Oh, and The Poseidon Adventure. But for $8, I couldn't pass it up, because Adam Baldwin is win.

"Niceness is the greatest human flaw, except for all the others."
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#13
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4/10/09 at 5:50am
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Re: Your BR Blind Purchases

The Host - Bought several BDs the day I got my player. This was interesting, but not worth all the hype. More of a rental.

Open Season - another bought the 1st day. Knew I had to check out animation on Blu-ray and this didn't disappoint. Fun film.

Tropic Thunder - Haven't watched it yet, but heard such good about it & its my kind of movie, I'm not worried.

Justice League: New Frontier and Batman: Gotham Knight. The first is fun; the 2nd is a mess & wished I had skipped it.

Baraka - great

Superbad - great

Planet Earth - great

Mad Men - Season 1 - Excellent

Lots of concerts - Queen, Rush, The Last Waltz

And there are many more. I probably buy 50% - 75% blind. I choose based on feedback here and what my tastes are.
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#14
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4/10/09 at 7:58am
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Re: Your BR Blind Purchases

A lot on HD DVD (at the prices I paid, it was often half the price of renting).

On Blu-ray: Mad Men, How the West Was Won, The Professionals, Band of Brothers, The Day the Earth Stood Still (because it has the "bonus" of the original, which I've not seen either), Police--Certifiable, Breaker Morant, Nutcracker ballet and, for the kids, Sleeping Beauty, Horton Hears a Who, Tinkerbell and Pinocchio (yes, I'd never seen it in its entirety either).

I don't blind buy too much but if the price is right and/or I've heard good things from people I trust--then I'll do it.

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#15
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4/10/09 at 12:42pm
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Re: Your BR Blind Purchases

Baraka - Liked the movie first time around. Probably will have to see it a second time. Stunning PQ of course

Blade Runner - I waited so long to buy this. First I wanted it on dvd, but then I waited for Blu-Ray. That took longer than expected but I finally bought the 5-disc. Finally watched it and I was blown away by it. It's rare that a film I hyped up so much in my head didn't disappoint on the first viewing. Great film.

The Departed - I haven't seen this yet.

How The West Was Won - Great film actually. The recommended version is of course the Smilebox option.

Justice League The New Frontier - I still have to watch this.

The Mist - Great film, I even liked the controversial ending. Great PQ too, especially on the black and white version.

No Country For Old Men - Amazing film. Definitely deserved all the Oscars it got. The second time watching it was even better. Roger Deakins' cinematography looks amazing on Blu as well.

Planet Earth - Great of course

TMNT - I didn't like this very much.

Wonder Woman - Another great DCAU film. I was amazed how far they could push a PG-13 rating. Even more than The Dark Knight, I think. Looked great as well. I can't wait for the Green Lantern film.

Wall-E - Every Pixar film is and looks amazing, especially in HD. It wasn't quite what I expected on the first viewing, but the second time it really touched me. Great film.

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#16
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4/11/09 at 3:03am
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Re: Your BR Blind Purchases

I don't blind buy much because BR's are just generally too expensive but once in awhile, I will go to Fry's and they will have one of their ridiculous sales where a whole bunch of movies are 10-12 bucks and it's a lot easier to take some chances, especially on stoopid action titles:

Maximum Risk - Suprisingly fun and frenetic Jean Claude Van Damme movie where he again plays a twin, only this time the other twin is dead (thank God!) I noticed right away that the mix of broad dramatic hoakum and relentless action reminded me of old Hong Kong actioners and was pleasantly suprised to find that this was directed by the great Ringo Lam. Also featuring a fair amount of nakedness from the chick from Species. Not a bad BR transfer either.

Collateral Damage - Not the most exciting BR transfer, but an oddly compelling late-period Ahnuld movie where he doesn't just go around killing everyone in sight and making dumb jokes. The suspense builds pretty steadily and the assumed reliance on action adventure cliche's makes the twists in the plot all the more effective. Definitely an entertining little sleeper.

Doomsday - This movie is stoooooopid and absolutely shameless in it's attempt to rip off every apocolyptic action film ever made. Maybe it's the sheer brazeness of it all. Maybe it's how hot Rhona Mitra looks in her skin tight suit. Whatever the case, it al ends up being an absolute hoot from start to finish and looks terrific (and terrifically gross) on BR.

The Marine - Honorable mention as my first ever BR blind buy, this is my favorite WWF actioner so far, about an ex-special forces marine and his single minded pursuit of the bad guys who kidnapped his wife. Robert Patrick is hilarious as the leader of a band of bickering hoods and the action is well paced and exciting. This is a surpisingly good BR transfer also. Gratuitous exploions never looked so good.
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#17
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4/11/09 at 6:49am
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Re: Your BR Blind Purchases

I will occasionally blind-buy a new release movie here and there as I don't get to the theater nearly as much as I'd like these past few years. As such I like to treat myself once in a while and there's a certain thrill with buying blind as long as it turns out positive. So far there's only one blind-buy I regret, which quickly went up on Ebay.

While I buy way more catalogs compared to new movies, I never had the need to blind-buy catalog titles on BD. Most that get released I've already seen and the ones I haven't are most likely because I wasn't interested in the first place.
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