Sam's BluRay Reviews.....

[KonfuSed]

The only problem I had in this movie was the "science": a drop of this liquid creates blackhole sucking planets inside but the bad guy has gallons of this liquid stored in glass jar and carries around in a space ship? Did not sound logical to me. May be I need to know some background from some other Star Trek episode to understand this?
.

SPOILER's Ahead;-): The red matter was inside a ship (say A) which is inside the ship (say B) of the Bad guys (they captured that ship A with Old Spock). And Spock's ship (A) was supposed to be the most advanced ship of that time and so we might deduce from that that ship has that special container (not a glass jar but might look like one, but we all know that looks can be deceiving he he) which can carry the red matter without any fuss. And the red matter will be stable as long as it's inside that container. Think it this way, the nuclear bombs can consume Cities when detonated but are totally harmless while carrying on a Bomber. So that's the logic for you. Let's hope that now you may appreciate the movie a bit more.
Cheers..

 

[sam9s]

^^ Guys add Let plz add SPOILERS before these kind of explanations..... and Star Trek Review is off now man.........why aint anybody saying anything about This is it review...

 

[KonfuSed]

Done sam.. Well about This is it, as of myself I'm not that interested in "This is it" so was not much interested. But for Star Trek I'm always interested ;-)

 

[KonfuSed]

Hey thanks for the review of This is it. I think I'm gonna buy it soon unless someone can gift me this title ;-)

 

[sam9s]

^^ Hey what happened, a post above you were not interested in "This is it" and now you are ready to Buy.......

 

[santhosh]

Konfused, I have "This is it". I shall gift it to you soon. Will MS you.

 

[KonfuSed]

Hey Thanks Santhosh, That'll be awesome..

Sam, actually watched a part of "This is it" while auditioning a HTiB for a friend. I kinda liked it,specially those off the stage things and the songs sound really nice. So I thought I should buy some music Blu-rays. I was looking for any Pink Floyd stuff (Pulse or delicate sound of Thunder types) but couldn't find any in Blu-ray.

 

[thekinge]

Hi All,

Another Star Trek & Marvel comics fan here! Was hooked on to Star Trek ever since I heard for the first time "To boldly go where no man has gone before" in the Enterprise series

The only problem I had in this movie was the "science": a drop of this liquid creates blackhole sucking planets inside but the bad guy has gallons of this liquid stored in glass jar and carries around in a space ship? Did not sound logical to me. May be I need to know some background from some other Star Trek episode to understand this?

Hi Raj,

I agree that the science shown in Star Trek defies logic & science as we know it today. But then, that's the whole point of Star Trek isn't it? It's a science fantasy, which in the theme of space exploration also explores a lot of "what if" scenarios for humanity's future and the future of science itself. I always believe that dreams & imagination does not & should not follow science. If everyone dreamed within the boundaries of what we know, would there have been space flight or moon landings? What Star Trek did was to take imagination to new heights and in the process, inspired a whole generation of would-be doctors, scientists & engineers to try and make those Star Trek technologies & gadgets into a reality.

One example of how Star Trek has influenced real science: MRI scanning. The creator of MRI scanning was influenced by Dr. McCoy's diagnostic table. There's a discovery documentary about how many inventions of modern era where influenced by Star Trek. Will look it up and publish the links.

 

[sqvare]

There's a discovery documentary about how many inventions of modern era where influenced by Star Trek. Will look it up and publish the links.

Was that the one with the Motorola engineer who was inspired by the flip-style communicator on the original '60s series to invent the cellular phone, because his landline kept ringing inside his house while he was relaxing out on his patio?

Man, I loved watching the original series when they showed it on Doordarshan (in the 80s?). Saw every one, including reruns. I may still have some episodes on VHS tape stored away, probably all mouldy by now.

 

[thekinge]

Was that the one with the Motorola engineer who was inspired by the flip-style communicator on the original '60s series to invent the cellular phone, because his landline kept ringing inside his house while he was relaxing out on his patio?

Yep that one and few others. The only correction is that cellular tower technology was created by Finland & other Nordic countries. Martin Cooper created the first usable cellular phone. Will publish the links for other Star Trek inspired inventions for interested trekkies

Man, I loved watching the original series when they showed it on Doordarshan (in the 80s?). Saw every one, including reruns. I may still have some episodes on VHS tape stored away, probably all mouldy by now.

Hey, now I remember, even I watched it as a child! It was on Saturday evenings if I am not wrong. At that time, my favorite shows were Giant Robot and Star Trek Thanks for the nostalgic info

 

[sqvare]

Hey, now I remember, even I watched it as a child! It was on Saturday evenings if I am not wrong. At that time, my favorite shows were Giant Robot and Star Trek Thanks for the nostalgic info

Another thing I remember was that some of the episodes in the original series were written by some true SF biggies, including Harlan Ellison, Bill Bixby and Theodore Sturgeon (who wrote a double episode, if my fuzzy memory serves).

 

[sam9s]

NEXT.....

3. DEATH RACE

Death Race is one of those movies that truly live up to their title. Death Race is a brutal action oriented movie that focuses on nothing but pace and action.

DISCRIPTION

Death Race is based upon Paul Bartels 1975 Death Race 2000. Starring David Carradine as Frankenstein and Stallone as Machine Gun Joe, the movie did ok at that time given the technology, budget this film had.
Remake is much more gritty, fast and violent. Jason Statham seriously fits the role perfectly and the whole experience for me was far better than his Transporter Trilogy.

The plot of Death Race is fairly simple, year is 2012, American economy collapsed, Prisons are bought up across the country by private enterprises, and inmates become slaves for entertainment. The hottest new idea is the broadcasting of the death race, featuring fast drivers and cars loaded with amunations, survival kits and ofcourse NOS. All this brings one of the very gritty action movies of recent times

VIDEO

Video quality for Death Race BR was a let down if you ask me, I dont know for what reasons, full HD was looking more or less same as a good BR rip, Not that I mean the video was bad, but in comparision, it was week. I have BR rips as well, and I can say a good BR rips was looking almost the same as the original BR for Death race
The original BR has two versions .... 1. Theaterical Version 2. Unrated Version
Unrated version has 6,7 minutes of extra censored footage which for me was not anything to shout for. The BR also some with a Digital copy that you can view on your PC.

Aspect Ratio : 2.35:1

AUDIO

Audio was far more commendable than video in comparision, but seriously could have been better, there are enough heavy gun barrel shots to make any subwoofer grin, but in reality the sound track only made my woofer smile.....
You still enjoy though, but I had to push my woofer dB to couple of notches up to get the satisfaction, but that makes the bass bit boomy than punchy. Over all not bad I'd say, but could have been better.

Format :: DTS MAster Audio 5.1

EXTRAS :: Extras were mixed bag, they have tried to give you some innovative things like the U-Controll and PIP, but nothing works to provide any satisfaction. The U controll is suppose to bring some extra content while watching the movie, but what it just brings are the Profiles of the drivers, and PIP bring picture in picture interviews during the movie, but PIP should have actually brought the interviews discribing the scene that were actually running at the background, which it does not. Its just a random interview scene that has little or no reference to the actual scene going at the backgound........

To conclude you dont enjoy these features as much as one might expect.

Snaps.....

Theatrical trailer.....

YouTube - Jason Statham's "Death Race" Trailer 2008

VERDICT (keeping AVATAR A/V 10/10....as ref.)

Death Race as a Movie :: 6.8/10
Video :: 5.5/10
Audio :: 6.8/10

 

[allajunaki]

One more addition here :
Has anyone wondered why one of the space shuttle "Enterprise" was named after Original (and the next generation) Start Trek ship USS Enterprise. Check here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Enterprise#Service
Well, I admit I have not seen much of Star Trek 1 ( My Parents used to ).
I have watched a bit of star trek TNG, I have followed all of Star Trek Voyager series (all 7 seasons with me, still watch it time to time). I have seen a bit of Star Trek : Enterprise and yet to watch Deep Space 9.
I liked Voyager a lot simply because the ship is smaller faster and more agile. And it was never meant to do deep space mission, but gets pulled into one anyway. Of course "Seven Of Nine" could be the other reason

 

[borg]

One more addition here :
Has anyone wondered why one of the space shuttle "Enterprise" was named after Original (and the next generation) Start Trek ship USS Enterprise.

I saw somewhere that was because of a letter writing campaign by trek fans.not sure if this was a rumour

DS9 is very good,so is TNG

 

[sam9s]

Thanks for introducing me to DS9, I never heard of it before, but with some reviews seems like I would Love it ........ Grabbing it ....Thanks Again

 

[sam9s]

NEXT.....

4. Saving Private Ryan

SPR is as all know a depiction of events loosely based on true facts during the WW II, where a team is sent to rescue a soldier and bring him back home.

DESCRIPTION

SPR is probably one of the most anticipated and waited movies on BluRay along with LOTR trilogy ..... Most awaited because of the way the war scenes were shot, which had the most impeccable details in the history of war cinema. The movie begins with the most acclaimed scene of modern war cinema with US Corps capturing the Omha Beach. The picturization is a mix of camera angles that includes the soldier's eye view, which makes the entire first 30 minutes experience very gruesome. Its far too intense violent, visceral depiction of war I have ever witnessed. Spielberg makes sure to include as much detail as possible to depict the actual feel, of what could have happened at the beach back in 1944, and if you ask me succeeds with flying colors ....

Rest of the movie is kind of rescue mission, where Cap Miller (Tom hanks) is again selected to find and bring back a solider name Frances Ryan. The kind of hurdles the team has to face for this mission becomes the crux of the rest of the movie, with the climax falling down with another excellently shot battle sequence at the end.

VIDEO

Video for SPR is satisfyting, the quality remians very true to the actuall feel of the era that has been depicted in the movie. Spilberg deliberately maintains the toned down look and feel of the movie. The extras tell you that the lenses and filters were purposely used that were there in the documentaries of the 40ss. The lense flare that used to show in couple of shots was something I did not like. Also the movie has that matt finish (you know grainy appeal) which is something some people might not like, to me however it added to the feel of the movie.

Over all you enjoy the war details director intends to show on 1080p.

Aspect Ratio : 1.85:1 (16x9)

AUDIO

AUDIO is something that surpasses all previous records seriously THE BEST since AVATAR. I honestly believe that when we say best, does not necessarily mean loud or huge with thunderous bass, but quality that is maintained per the essence of the movie. If it thunders that is needed (Transformers, AVATAR) thunders is what it should give. With SPR it was the quality detailing that was needed and the BR excels in this department. Trust me every bullet shot, every bullet hit, every bullet zipping pass by, every reload, every falling shell, every explosion, every debris falling is captured with immense detail and so much clarity that you can feel it right there on your couch. In the opening scene of Omha Beach the waves of the oceans feel so real that if you close your eyes you can easily feel you are on any beach. After that the shear awesomeness of the battle sound track will immerse you right in to the battle itself. Surrounds are heavily used, to put you in the middle of the battle.

There is not much heavy use of the SUB except maybe during the tank explosions and its rumbleness, but that does not let you down as the detailing is immaculate .....

Format :: DTS MAster Audio 5.1

EXTRAS

Extras are enough and worth as well. The U-Controll and PIP is back (Death Race), but again not to the satisfaction level as one might exect.
Its the content that shines. Complete second disc dedicated to extras that includes, everything from the making SPR to boot camp, individual scenes during the movie to the re creation of the Omha Beach etc. For me extras were great and enough.

The best part were ...

1. Re-Creating Omha Beach ..... Seriously just go through this and you would realize how darn difficult it was to actually create the same environment that of a grueling battle. Technically it was magic that the special effect department managed to bring without CGI, and its absolutely worth ...

2. Making of the last climax battle sequence ...... You get to see a lot of behind the scenes work that had gone in creating the last battle. I was surprised to know they completely built the two cities on either side of a river. Effects were achieved by blowing things up, knocking buildings down, very interesting to see and learn

Rest of extras include

An Introduction
Looking Into the Past
Miller and His Platoon
Boot Camp
Making 'Saving Private Ryan
Re-Creating Omaha Beach
Music and Sound
Into the Breach: 'Saving Private Ryan
Parting Thoughts
Saving Private Ryan theatrical trailer
Re-Release trailer

Along with a "Shooting War" documentary that takes you into the history of how war was filmed in the early days.

Snaps.....

Theatrical trailer.....

YouTube - Saving Private Ryan Official Trailer

VERDICT (keeping AVATAR A/V 10/10....as ref.)

SPR as a Movie :: 8.5/10
Video :: 6.8/10
Audio :: 8.8/10

 

[svenkateshsmart]

Hi Sam,

That was a neat and detailed one! I was expecting that you would comment about the opening scene where the troops tried to capture the bunker for SFX!

I am sure the video may not look as good as other movie as the movie mostly has black and grey background throughout, except for a few scenes.

Cheers!

 

[sam9s]

Hi Sam,

That was a neat and detailed one! I was expecting that you would comment about the opening scene where the troops tried to capture the bunker for SFX!

I am sure the video may not look as good as other movie as the movie mostly has black and grey background throughout, except for a few scenes.

Cheers!

Yes I agree the opening sequence is one hell of a ride ... actually I usually try to keep the review more inclined towards how the BR is than the movie ..... though the description is included for that. As for the effects, the following line that I mentioned, more or less gives an idea, the kind of audio quality one can expect .......

"Trust me every bullet shot, every bullet hit, every bullet zipping pass by, every reload, every falling shell, every explosion, every debris falling is captured with immense detail and so much clarity that you can feel it right there on your couch"

But still to further express, I can say that no one will be disappointed by the level of quality the AUDIO this BR brings .... I can hardly imagine what a 1L+ elite system would bring out of the audio from this BR...... its THAT good. As I said only second to AVATAR and that statement speaks in itself (If you have read my AVATAR review as well)....

 

[sam9s]

NEXT.....

5. TRANSFORMERS : Revenge of the fallen

Revenge of the fallen starts off where the first one ends (obviously though), where Autobots under the leadership of Optimus Prime, take on Decepticons once again.

DESCRIPTION

Revenge of the fallen starts off where its been two years since Autobots defeated the decepticons and now their race lives and co exists with us hiding among us. When ever there is some unevenness from Decepticons the Autobots teams up with US army to take upon them. The story progress when Decepticons leader Megatron's Master finds a way to bring back Megatron and starts the hunt for an energy source that would not only consume our sun but in turn help reignite and start their own race. As obvious the Autobots along with the humans fight to save all this.

VIDEO

Video for Transformers 2 maintains that grainy apeal, Personally I would have prefered that Glossey finish which AVATAR BR had given the amount of color and sparks the movie has. The textural detailing is missing if you ask me. Colors dont look natural but a bit saturated. I am sure a decent rip can replicate the result. Overall decent but nothing exceptional.

Aspect Ratio : 2.40:1

AUDIO

AUDIO in Transformers 2 has set new standards AFA I can tell. They are loud and thunderous. You got to give this movie some serious woofer to actually match the level of sound magnitude it brings. You get the sense of what is coming right from when the paramount logo comes with the transformer patent effect plays. I already had that grin on my face expecting a roller coaster ride. Even Optimus Prime's gravelly voice rattles your chair/bed a little,......that deep is the LFE, and when the movie hits with its ever complicated battle action sequence... trust me... its pure audio porn, ripping/raping your woofer to the limits ... ..... featuring slamming, thunderous waves of intense bass down to the lowest registers. I am sure no matter how large your subwoofer is, this disc will push it to its limits. All this while, the surrounds complimenting this LFE feast with some dazzling effects zinging all around the soundstage. Immensely enjoyable.

Coming to the drawback, though the LFE effects are enormous, surrounds sufficient, the center channel lacks a comparable clarity, no that they are fuzzzy, but to effectively match the constant thunderstorms, the center had to be loud and clear, that is where AVATAR BR excels. I would rate both movie 10/10 AFA earth shattering effects are concerned, but would probably take out a point just for the fact that the center channel is not as effective as was with AVATAR.

Overall if you enjoy monster sound effects with dazzling surround effects this movie will be your top number one for a long time.


Format :: DTS Master Audio 5.1

EXTRAS

Extras are enough and worth as well very much like SPR. Complete second disc dedicated to extras that includes, everything from the making of the movie to interviews, set creations, deleted scenes etc. Following is the description of one of the most prominent features of the second disk

1. The Human Factor: Exacting Revenge of the Fallen ..... Interestingly this documentary runs almost as long as the movie itself. The documentry is all about the making of this movie, which includes everything from huge scale sets, design, editing, SFX and CGI implementation to blowing up everything they built. Interesting thing to notice is how the directors frantic work schedule is shown. Finally it shows how all the action sequences were staged. This is one of the very comprehensive extrats coming out on BluRay.

Rest of extras include

A Day with Bay: Tokyo
25 Years of Transformers
NEST: A Transformer Data-Hub
Deconstructing Visual Bayhem
Deleted/Alternate Scenes
Giant Effing Movie


Snaps.....

Theatrical trailer.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhtGnCa8x2k

VERDICT (keeping AVATAR A/V 10/10....as ref.)

Transformers 2 as a Movie :: 6.8/10
Video :: 6.5/10
Audio :: 9.0/10

 

[sam9s]

^^ Strange no comments on revenge of the fallen, has anyone seen this Bluray on a powerhouse of a system, as I am eager to know, what the sound track does if given a beefer sound setup ....