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Post by davidf on Feb 28, 2023 2:42:02 GMT
I felt the same. I was almost two hours in, and there was just too much going on. I was convinced I’d missed some important lines, and felt I’d better understand it if I watch it when I’m in the right mood, so I turned it off.
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Post by davidf on Oct 28, 2018 9:56:27 GMT
Prediction: Vettel to make another mistake into the first corner, taking himself and Lewis out of the race.
Hamilton just needs to stay away from any contact and stroke the car home. Done deal.
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Post by davidf on Oct 7, 2018 14:13:54 GMT
I finally saw Blade Runner 2049 tonight. Very good and a little bit more cerebral than the original. The 3D was superb and ranks along with the best I've seen. One could almost describe it as unobtrusive. The best 3D shots for me were the message coming through when he was with Joi outside in the rain, and then the slow, hovering cityscape shot above the buildings that then turns and dips down towards the street below, with the large Atari logo on the side of the building.
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Post by davidf on Oct 3, 2018 13:12:35 GMT
I think I mentioned it before, but watched The Shape Of Water last week for the second time (in 4K - stunning picture). The first time I watched it, it wasn't quite what I expected, but enjoyed it much more this time round because I knew what it was all about and I could just get on and enjoy it.
I watched The Creature From The Black Lagoon beforehand just in case there were any nods/similarities, but other than the fact that TCFTBL is a monster falling for a woman, and TSOW was a woman falling for a monster - direct opposites - I found nothing. I actually found that TCFTBL had more in common with Jaws.
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Post by davidf on Sept 3, 2018 10:52:30 GMT
That was fantastic. Hamilton sticking it to the disrespectful Tifosi. Awesome.
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Post by davidf on Aug 10, 2018 11:01:05 GMT
Tinker Tailor is a slow paced film, but it’s not about action. It’s all about uncovering a mole - how exciting can you realistically make that?!
I’ve watched it many times, Great film, great cast.
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Post by davidf on Aug 1, 2018 7:43:14 GMT
I think it’ll come down to the remaining tracks. If that Ferrari is genuinely faster, then it’ll favour more open tracks like Silverstone and Monza, whereas tighter tracks with less reliance on ultimate speed like Monaco could go in favour of Mercedes. Pole position could be very important from this point onwards...
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Post by davidf on Jul 30, 2018 12:56:36 GMT
Dead Man’s Shoes is good, but wasn’t overly keen on Death Of Stalin, despite some funny scenes - I need to see it again really.
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Post by davidf on Jul 29, 2018 9:10:30 GMT
Bring on the rain!!
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Post by davidf on Jul 29, 2018 9:08:52 GMT
Cineworld in Cardiff is only £4.00 a go, aggressive pricing here due to a Premiere Cinema in the city. Matters not to me though, I pay a monthly subscription for unlimited viewings.
Me too. Quite tempted to go back and see it in the week in IMAX....
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Post by davidf on Jul 28, 2018 20:23:37 GMT
I’d watched the first four (parts 1,3,4, and 5) in 4K before going to see this, so had a good feel of how the franchise has evolved - hence my comment about it seeming to have matured with this one. This is what I posted up on Letterboxd:
“I fear for those that watch their films on laptops and “tiny” TVs at home. Through tinny little laptop speakers or some supposedly ‘super duper’ soundbar that the Currys salesman told them was like being at the Odeon. Those who have left behind such old fashioned pastimes as visiting a cinema. Those who choose to keep up to date with film via compressed streaming services or dodgy downloads. Those who, unless they change their ways, will never experience the real art of action movies - on the big screen. If too many choose the aforementioned route, we will ALL eventually lose the chance to experience such expertly crafted action sequences that have you holding your breath or gripping the arm of your chair until safety is reached, despite knowing the good guy will prevail.
That’s enough of me ranting.
I have great respect for Brad Bird’s MI movies, particularly the first (before they became blockbuster action movies), and nothing will take away how good they are. But this outing, in my opinion, stands head and shoulders above the rest not just in outdoing the action sequences of previous episodes, but also with how well crafted it is, how well it’s put together. It feels like the franchise has matured in something to take very seriously, into something that other action movies should look to for inspiration and guidance.
I sort of want to hate Cruise. He’s done some real shit during his career, and has that loud, sickly, OTT American “over confidence” about him which I despise. And then there’s the Scientology thing. But he’s had some good roles that he’s played well too, like Magnolia, War Of The Worlds, Jack Reacher, and yes, even Tropic Thunder. And it’s films like these that make it hard for me to do so. With action movies like MI: Fallout, Cruise puts himself not only up against the likes of Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham (or whoever you consider to be modern day action movie megastars), but leaves them trailing in his wake - Rampage and The Meg vs Fallout? The others are child’s play compared to Fallout, in every single respect.
But I digress. 2.5 hours without a dull moment. See it on the big screen. Well worth a tenner and an evening out.”
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Post by davidf on Jul 28, 2018 16:21:04 GMT
Just got back from seeing Mission Impossible: Fallout. I’ve always liked Brad Bird’s MI movies (and The Incredibles), particularly the first one, which was more spy/espionage orientated before it got into the big action sequences. And as good as the last couple have been - and they have been good - it really feels like the MI franchise has matured into something pretty serious now. The action sequences are extremely well crafted and executed, and really should be experienced on the big screen rather at home, in my opinion. Two and a half hours and not a single dull moment. Highly recommended.
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Post by davidf on Jul 27, 2018 14:14:17 GMT
The dog kennel scene was disturbing visually but also disturbing to me that someone even came up with that. Very imaginative there. Brutal scene. For me, the whole film is on a whole different level to most horror films due to the imagination put into the visual effects.
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Post by davidf on Jul 20, 2018 9:14:21 GMT
Alien is a masterpiece. Put it alongside The Thing (Carpenter's version) for lessons in how to do it right. There are one or two moments of horror in The Thing that are so disturbing visually, and not CGI I believe, that I don't think I've seen them topped yet. And you probably never will. I remember when I first watched it. Rented it on Betamax - can’t remember how old I was, maybe 14 - crept down one Sunday morning to watch it. Thought the opening was boring back then, seemed like half an hour of a dog being chased through the snow to me! Then all of a sudden, the dog/kennel scene happened. Up to this point, I’d been brought up on Dracula and Frankenstein etc, Ray Harryhausen monster movies, and the early 80s for me was filled with the likes of Friday The 13th, Evil Dead etc etc, so I wasn’t new to horror films - still remains my favourite genre. As I say, the dog/kennel scene happened. I was stunned at what I was seeing, as I’d seen nothing like it before, and wondered if this was how horrifying the first round of special effects were, how bad is it going to get?!! From that point it became my favourite ever horror film, and remains so to this day. There’s just so so much that makes the whole. Firstly, a great story, thanks to John W. Campbell, and a willingness by John Carpenter to stick to the story, rather than alter things and the monster like the 1951 version. A fantastic cast. A set that was built in the summer so that come winter, it would be snowed in and and look thoroughly convincing. A special effects team that were told to go crazy - and the fact that all the effects were going to be centre stage, HAD to be up to scratch and convincing - no corner cutting. An amazingly creepy score by Ennio Morricone. A great behind the scenes crew that Carpenter already had a good working relationship with. As mentioned earlier, it’s in the “well crafted” camp of film making, very much like Alien. Just without the budget Anybody with the newest Scream Factory or Arrow Bluray releases should really try out the 4.1 audio soundtrack based on the original Dolby Surround as it was released in cinemas - remastered in DTS Master Audio. Seems to sound better to me (if you have a surround system).
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Post by davidf on Jul 17, 2018 15:54:41 GMT
Assault on Precinct 13 is one of my favourite ever films. Haven't seen the recent remake but it will struggle to be better than Carpenter It’s not a bad remake. Worth a watch.
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Post by davidf on Jul 16, 2018 12:53:13 GMT
We love personal service, but we don't love paying for it. And that’s generally fine if people are willing to pay the asking price, but even that’s stretching things nowadays. Free personal service with discount seems to be expected.
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Post by davidf on Jul 16, 2018 10:50:04 GMT
So will we see fewer dealerships with a more positive attitude towards customers, or more dealerships moving into 'white goods' (Apple) and other product areas? The problem is, higher quality dealers are on a faster downward slope than boxshifters, through no fault of their own. People are now growing up with the likes of Amazon, who have made next day delivery the norm for literally anything you care to buy online, so people expect things in stock, and expect them to be delivered tomorrow, if ordered within office hours. But people will wait months for a three-piece suite, or a weeks for a new bathroom or kitchen, or even a car, but electronics they want now, otherwise they can go online and order something to be with them tomorrow. Boxshifters are trying to move with the times, to keep up (can they?), supply demand. This is more in line with the Amazon way of life, so is more of a norm, more acceptable to more people. I think from that that you can see which I think will prevail. The profit margin for the likes of Apple isn’t there for hi-fi dealers - which I heard was about 10%, much like games consoles (dealers have to earn money other ways with packages and/or contracts, in the case of phones. Who would seek out a hi-fi dealer for an iPad anyway? Most will go to an Apple store or John Lewis. Amazon is the modern day Argos catalogue.
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Post by davidf on Jul 16, 2018 10:03:58 GMT
“Hi-fi” may have been more of a way of life back in the 60s and 70s, when the only things you could own was a house, a car, a TV, and an audio system of some description. Nowadays, there’s more stuff we can buy to waste our time than we can humanly afford. Nowadays it is one of those hobbies that people rarely talk about, enjoyed by the few. Those wishing to buy a decent audio system are becoming more scarce as years go on, and when the current 40-60 year age group has departed this earth, how long will “hi-fi” have?
Over the last 20 years, footfall has decreased for a number of reasons. I do feel that one of those reasons are the small number of condescending dealers who look down their noses at anyone who walks through he door - except for regulars - pushing the impression that our industry is a very cliquey group that dislike outsiders and treats those who have no clue what they’re talking about as idiots. You could even trace this behaviour as far back as the infamous Not The Nine O’Clock News sketch...
Having worked at a few places previously, I know what the attitudes are like when the example in the first post walks in. This is one of those perfect opportunity to repair the image of this industry has created for itself, but most treat it as some time waster taking the pee. If we were living in the 80s, we can afford to do that, but the reality is that we’re currently reaping what we have sown. I appreciate that that may well not have been the fault of those dealers who have stuck with traditional methods of dealing with people face to face, spending the time getting to know them, building a relationship with them, but that’s the way it is.
High quality dealers out there have a choice of whether to join the masses in their social media spamming and faceless transactions, or do things differently, and show that there are dealers out there that have a sociable manner, and are approachable. Social media is a strong tool, even if you don’t use it, as helping someone out with something for 10 minutes may well get you a mention somewhere, and from that, you may get some extra followers, a sale or two, and some new customers for life. They may well do the same thing, with the possibility of things growing exponentially.
Can the better dealers in this industry turn things round and change the impression most people have about it? We can buy try.
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Post by davidf on Jul 11, 2018 8:28:22 GMT
Just saying - that possibility is there, and all the more common in all forms of sports nowadays.
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Post by davidf on Jul 10, 2018 13:12:52 GMT
I wonder what Hamilton meant by "interesting tactics"? Did he really think that Raikkonen taking him off was deliberate? Is it not beyond the realms of possibility that an agreement before the race could’ve taken place where if Raikkonen was anywhere near Hamilton at any point, he was to sacrifice himself for the benefit of his team mate, and for the team that’s going to be writing his job references in the near future...
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