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By: Capt. Spastic
Date: 6/9/01 7:16:07 PM
# Replies: 152
This movie truly offers John Travolta one of the best roles he's played since Pulp Fiction and Face Off. Originaly, he was slated for the Hugh Jackman role in this movie, but wanted to play the bad guy...and does so quite well. Some good action scenes, good visuals. Truthfully though, his performance is really good.
Response #1
By: Homer The Brave
Date: 6/10/01 2:13:30 PM
Yet another blow-shit up, lots-of-computer-special-effects movie. The reviewer on Fresh Air (you listen to NPR, right??) said something to the effect of: Directors today are so busy choreographing the digital camera effects that they've forgotten how to direct two actors having a conversation on screen.
I'll pass, thanks. :-)
Response #2
By: Capt. Spastic
Date: 6/10/01 8:40:29 PM
Actually, that was kind of the point.
The scenes with Travolta and Hugh Jackman were very good.
Yeah, there was a lot of "blow-sht up", but there were some reall good scenes of interaction as well.
Response #3
By: sooz
Date: 6/10/01 10:50:24 PM
Homer, did you just 'dis a movie without seeing it?
Response #4
By: Capt. Spastic
Date: 6/11/01 11:07:16 AM
Ooo, I can see this one coming!
:)
Response #5
By: Homer The Brave
Date: 6/12/01 9:57:41 PM
Yes, in fact I did. I was quoting a movie reviewer who dissed the movie.
I've seen enough action movies to last for the rest of my life. I only want to see ones that actually show promise. Swordfish is not in that set. Gimme Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh, and I'm happy. In fact, I wanted to rent Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon tonight, but the video place was closed before I got there. American action flicks are just lame nowadays.
Response #6
By: sooz
Date: 6/12/01 11:11:02 PM
Sigh. I forgot, Homer... you're one of those people who are absolutely too cool to like anything that's popular to the mainstream, whether or not it's any good.
(I'm so fickle... I'm a Homer fan in a previous post, and an un-fan in this post... wimmin, I swear...)
Response #7
By: Gowan McGland
Date: 6/12/01 11:48:53 PM
Hey, the best way to rent DVDs is on www.dvdovernight.com!
Sure, you gotta plan ahead, but it's $3 each for WEEK and that includes shipping to and from.
Quite the deal.
Response #8
By: Homer The Brave
Date: 6/13/01 6:42:14 PM
sooz: I want to go see Pearl Harbor and Moulin Rouge (it helps that they're both showing at the fabled and oft-mentioned Majestic Bay theater). I went to see Shrek. I saw Evolution on opening day (it seemed more attractive than sitting in traffic on the 520 bridge). I *own* a copy of South Park because it's absolutely brilliant. I went to see Charlie's Angels *twice* (Lucy Liu...).
I'm a movie slut; I'll watch just about anything. But I've reached my limit on action movies. In fact, it was Charlie's Angels that did it. I reached the conclusion that most action movies are for young naive people, and I'm neither.
And $3 for a week of DVD including shipping? How do they do that and stay in biznez?
Response #9
By: Gowan McGland
Date: 6/13/01 8:26:34 PM
No clue, but they do. I love it. They have a really good selection, too, although, like your local video store, they're often out of the newest releases.
There is a maximum of 4 rentals at a time, but you can have 2 different sets out at once.
Like I said, I love using them.
Oh, and for buying DVDs, check out http://www.dvdpricesearch.com
and http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com.
Response #10
By: Homer The Brave
Date: 6/15/01 2:03:01 PM
I'll just have to get a DVD player one of these days. (It'll probably be in the form of the new iBook.)
Response #11
By: Capt. Spastic
Date: 6/17/01 7:47:03 PM
Did you like Moulin Rouge Homey?
Response #12
By: Roxanne
Date: 6/18/01 11:06:58 AM
I saw "Swordfish". It had some cool f/x, but other than that, I can't say that it was a really good movie.
And as for Halle Berry's breasts....how much more gratuitous could *that* scene have been? "Hey, Halle, show us your tits!" "Um, okay!"
Response #13
By: rorschach
Date: 6/19/01 11:25:04 AM
WHAT tits? Hell, *I* have tits at least as big as hers.... and Rox, you can see them any time you want...
Response #14
By: Capt. Spastic
Date: 6/19/01 7:24:26 PM
That was really TOO much information.
Response #15
By: Homer The Brave
Date: 6/20/01 1:35:57 AM
Haven't seen Moulin Rouge yet. I've been busy tying up loose ends before I drive my van to Colorado for the weekend.
Response #16
By: Capt. Spastic
Date: 6/20/01 7:19:19 PM
Colorado?
Response #17
By: Homer The Brave
Date: 6/25/01 8:07:50 AM
Yeah, Colorado. Big square state in the middle of the country. Plains and mountains.
In fact, I'm there now. I'm in a friend's basement typing on their computer. They threw a big party for net.people from across the country. I think I was the westernmost, from Seattle, and the easternmost was from New Hampshire.
I learned to appreciate good scotch. And now I get to drive home, unless, perhaps, I make my way to Texas for a few days ("...dot dot dot...")
Response #18
By: sooz
Date: 6/25/01 12:13:56 PM
Texas! Woo hoo! Got our # still?
Response #19
By: Capt. Spastic
Date: 6/25/01 5:26:03 PM
Homey!!
Hope ya make it to Austin.
We would definitely like to see ya!
Response #20
By: Roxanne
Date: 6/25/01 8:35:35 PM
When are you coming to Alabama, Homey?
*pout*
Response #21
By: Xtopher
Date: 6/28/01 1:37:21 PM
Oddly enough, my Mycroft and his friend JayHova are headed up to Colorado this weekend... you'll probably pass each other on the road.
Response #22
By: Homer The Brave
Date: 6/29/01 3:43:59 PM
Durn. No Bear or Jay. I made it to Houston, BTW. I'd say let's meet at a central location, but the central location has vanished. (Did the Ale House flood just after it switched hands?)
I might make it to Austin, too. Who knows?
Response #23
By: sooz
Date: 6/29/01 4:49:49 PM
Austin awaits you, my friend.
Response #24
By: Homer The Brave
Date: 6/29/01 7:49:31 PM
So, like, I'm not sure how long I'll be around here. I may end up going to Tennessee for the weekend of the 7th, or I might end up leaving in a few days from now. At this point I don't have any evening obligations, so someone propose something.
Let us snerd.
Oh, and I think I'm going to head out the door about now for No Tsu Oh. Hopefully it wasn't flooded (not that you'd really be able to tell if it was). Someone show up. :-)
Response #25
By: bob
Date: 7/2/01 10:50:09 PM
hey i drove through houston this weekend. didn't stop anywhere, just cruised straight down i-45.
Response #26
By: Capt. Spastic
Date: 7/3/01 12:34:15 PM
That's the best way to visit Houston!
:)
Response #27
By: Xtopher
Date: 7/3/01 2:58:22 PM
Nah, the best way is to kayak down the 59 river... I need to scan in some of the pictures I have from the flood...
Response #28
By: Homer The Brave
Date: 7/3/01 4:49:36 PM
Well, I leave Thursday for TN. I might come back next week, or I might just leave from there to go home.
I saw that they were hawking flood videos on TV. Tasteless.
Response #29
By: Da Sissop
Date: 7/4/01 3:51:16 PM
Gah! My number is 713-526-5024, gimme a call if you're up for any last-minute poorly-planned beer.
Response #30
By: Capt. Spastic
Date: 7/4/01 8:39:05 PM
Homer, can you possibly make it to Austin?
Response #31
By: sooz
Date: 7/4/01 11:46:46 PM
I live at work, which is 512-891-1911 (or 8-911-911, which is a cool way to look at it).
Response #32
By: Homer The Brave
Date: 7/5/01 7:55:51 PM
I could possibly make it to Austin, if I make it back to Texas. At the moment, I'm in Baton Rouge, LA. Tomorrow I drive up the Natchez Trace National Parkway towards Gnashville. Over the weekend I party down with my more-than-slightly-repressed extended family. After that, I have to decide: back to Texas, or home to Seattle?
Texas looks doubtful at the moment.
And I just thought I'd mention, I did my very first drag-clipping under MacOS X to get sooz' number. IE 5.1 for X created a SimpleText document! Opening it meant launching Classic! Hah! Which caused IE to crash when I tried to scroll up the page! (I know, I know, it's Mac stuff. Just pretend I derided a Microsoft product, because that's what I did.)
Response #33
By: Capt. Spastic
Date: 7/5/01 8:20:52 PM
If you can, please let us know.
Geesh, how long has it been since I've seen you? 8-9 years?
Response #34
By: sooz
Date: 7/5/01 9:43:09 PM
Shoot, I just saw him, like, 2-3 years ago. It was like yesterday. Or maybe not.
I feel so honored that I was drug around, Homey!
Response #35
By: Capt. Spastic
Date: 7/9/01 7:44:20 PM
You were drugged around Homer?
Response #36
By: Homer The Brave
Date: 7/10/01 1:20:17 AM
I have a narcotic effect on people.
Response #37
By: Gowan McGland
Date: 7/10/01 9:06:11 AM
That's a narcoLEPTIC effect, pal.
Response #38
By: Capt. Spastic
Date: 7/10/01 9:31:10 PM
A kleptomaniac effect on people?
Response #39
By: Homer The Brave
Date: 7/11/01 2:15:10 AM
Speaking of John Travolta, I'm stuck in Nashville while my van gets a continuouslyvariablejointectomy. I've watched lots of cable movies. And I have to say that Battlefield: Earth wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It's plenty bad, yes, but it was amusing enough to keep my interest.
Response #40
By: Capt. Spastic
Date: 7/12/01 8:09:45 PM
Ok, the worst movie of all time...
Rhinestone.
`Nuff said?
Response #41
By: Roxanne
Date: 7/19/01 10:03:05 PM
Homer: I big swat on your bum for not letting me know you were going to be in the Tennessee area. I am only an hour from Nashville! Hmm, perhaps it was intentional...
:(
Response #42
By: Homer The Brave
Date: 7/20/01 1:43:11 PM
If my trip to Gnashville had been any better, I might have considered swinging by and visiting all my friends and relatives in the south, but I was mightily eager to get the fuck home.
So it was sort of intentional, but not the way you mean. :-)
Response #43
By: Roxanne
Date: 7/23/01 8:55:54 PM
Some people will do anything for a big swat on the bum!
Response #44
By: sooz
Date: 7/23/01 10:48:33 PM
I know I will!
Response #45
By: Homer The Brave
Date: 7/24/01 12:55:07 AM
Rox, the irony is that you'll have to come here to give me the swat.
Response #46
By: Capt. Spastic
Date: 7/24/01 1:48:00 PM
Is this the right thread for a foreplay discussion?
Response #47
By: rorschach
Date: 7/24/01 7:42:31 PM
what is this about swatting homeless people? I think that was a different thread....
Response #48
By: Roxanne
Date: 7/24/01 7:43:44 PM
I will be in Houston in October. So anyone wishing a big swat on the bum should start clearing their schedules now!
Response #49
By: sooz
Date: 7/25/01 6:43:25 AM
Let's not go to Houston. It 'tis a silly place.
Response #50
By: bob
Date: 7/25/01 11:57:13 AM
rox: i will be in houston in oct. too. sometime towards the end of it.
Response #51
By: Capt. Spastic
Date: 7/25/01 1:46:37 PM
Rox, if you are going to be THAT close, come to Austin!
Sooz, bob, and I are here.
bob...ixnay on the oustonhay riptay.
(We might just get her to come to Austin)
Response #52
By: Roxanne
Date: 7/26/01 8:50:23 PM
My parental units are in Houston, alas and alack-ack-ack!
I must play the dutiful family member as this is a milestone year for some of my kin. My baby brother is turning 30 in September; my grandfather is turning 80 in August and my grandmother is turning 90 in November. So I decided to kill all with one shot; um, er, three birds with one stone, so to speak and visit them in October to bring glad tidings, baskets of goodies, birthday wishes, etc. etc.
Response #53
By: Da Sissop
Date: 7/27/01 6:27:54 PM
Well we could all meet up at the site of the former Ale House and pass around a flask.
Response #54
By: sooz
Date: 7/28/01 10:57:40 AM
I owe Fang a beer AND a CD AND a t-shirt, now. Pretty soon I"ll just sign over the deed to my house.
Response #55
By: bob
Date: 7/28/01 11:47:38 AM
sorry capt, but austin doesn't have the "wings over houston" airshow. i have to go, and if i can geat a spanking from rox....well, hell make it a weekend.
sorry rox, i am bob, it is nice to meat you. hahahaha
Response #56
By: Capt. Spastic
Date: 7/28/01 11:32:52 PM
Damn!
Response #57
By: sooz
Date: 7/29/01 10:48:58 AM
Oh wait, Rox is in charge of spankings. Oops.
Response #58
By: rorschach
Date: 7/31/01 6:01:43 PM
Bob, you can have sooz, I'll take rox if it's ok with the aforementioned ladies....
Response #59
By: Roxanne
Date: 7/31/01 9:20:18 PM
Line 'em up and I'll swat 'em all!
(How on earth did I end up with the reputation of a dominatrix?)
Response #60
By: sooz
Date: 7/31/01 11:17:29 PM
Hey! Bob's my neighbor, I can't spank him!!
Response #61
By: Roxanne
Date: 8/2/01 8:43:29 PM
In a perfect world, we'd all feel comfortable enough to spank our neighbors.
Response #62
By: Homer The Brave
Date: 8/2/01 9:09:37 PM
"Spank thy neighbor as thyself."
--Jesus Christ
Response #63
By: Roxanne
Date: 8/3/01 12:51:54 PM
"Spare the rod and spoil the neighbor"
-da Bible
Response #64
By: Capt. Spastic
Date: 8/3/01 11:22:01 PM
I am so glad the sexual innuendoes have come home to roost.
Response #65
By: sooz
Date: 8/4/01 12:56:01 PM
"Spank unto others as you would have them spank unto you."
Response #66
By: Capt. Spastic
Date: 8/5/01 8:12:37 PM
I love the feel of a good spanking in the morning.
Response #67
By: Emil Lang
Date: 9/5/01 5:48:26 AM
"What we have here, is a failure to spank."
Response #68
By: Da Sissop
Date: 9/5/01 5:59:06 AM
Strother Lang! Good to seeya agin'!
Response #69
By: WitchHazel
Date: 9/5/01 8:29:09 AM
Dang. All this spanking for FREE. I'm in the right place!
Regarding the original thread... John Travolta has only grabbed me in Face Off. Other than that, the guy just doesn't do it for me. (Gary Oldman, or Johnny Depp, on the other hand...)
Anybody seen the re-released version of Apocalypse Now? I'm curious about that one, and whether it's worth seein'.
--Haze
Response #70
By: Cleotis
Date: 10/3/01 7:10:14 PM
I've become a complete movie nut lately. I'll watch any movie - good bad, or painful. Lately, I've found Morpheus to be very kind to me. Here's a few on my latest viewings (none of which came courtesy of the theater because I'm too cheap to actually go SEE a film unless it's done by PT Anderson). Some of these were downloaded, some were rented, and some came on cable. I'll just name a few that come to mind:
(0 to 4 star rating system)
---------------------------
Pi: 3.5 stars
Requiem of a Dream: 3 stars
Bring it On: 1.5 stars
"Six Feet Under" (HBO series): 5 stars out of four!!!
Rock Star: 2.5 stars
Josie and the Pussycats: 2.5 stars
American Pie 2: 3 stars
O Brother Where Art Thou: 3 stars
Smokey and the Bandit: 3.5 stars (what a great freakin' movie!)
Magnolia: 4 stars
Nashville (1975 Robert Altman): 3.5 stars
Dinner with Friends (HBO movie): 0.5 stars
Freddy Got Fingered: 2.5 stars (if you love Tom Green like I do - otherwise, it's more like a 0.5)
Gone in 60 Seconds: 0.5 stars
Boiler Room: 2 stars
A.I.: 0.0 stars - possibly the worst movie I've ever seen
Eyes Wide Shut: 3 stars
Pay it forward: 2.5 stars
Twin Falls Idaho: 4 stars
I'm also looking forward to a couple of forthcoming movies... Bubba Ho-Tep is a movie in which a 70 year old Elvis (the real Elvis, not an impersonator) teams up with an elderly black man who think's he's JFK to fight a zombie who's stealing the life and souls of people in a Texas nursing home through their buttholes. Hell yeah!
Response #71
By: WitchHazel
Date: 10/4/01 11:51:30 AM
Yup. "Pi" ROCKS. And so does "Magnolia". But "Eyes Wide Shut"?? You LIKED that one? REALLY?
Response #72
By: Cleotis
Date: 10/4/01 8:40:25 PM
I'm not a huge Kubrick fan, but Eyes Wide Shut entertained me for a couple of hours, yes. Not so much that I'd want to own the DVD, but I enjoyed it.
I dig indie films, too. I should see more of them. We're getting Sundance free now on our digital cable, so I plan to blow many a weekend in front of the tube in the near future.
Response #73
By: Homer The Brave
Date: 10/6/01 2:24:35 PM
You gave 'Smokey And The Bandit' a higher rating than 'O Brother Where Art Thou'??
You're right about A.I., though.
Response #74
By: WitchHazel
Date: 10/6/01 8:11:21 PM
I actually thought O Brother Where Art Thou was a disappointment. It wasn't BAD, but it wasn't EXCELLENT, either. But everyone has a different opinion of that movie.
Response #75
By: sooz
Date: 10/7/01 8:32:30 AM
I sat laughing my butt off and enjoying the unusual dialogue. Bob stared at the screen without cracking a smile, and later said it was too "predictable." Well of course we all knew where it was going, but damn, it was fun anyway.
Response #76
By: Gowan McGland
Date: 10/7/01 9:01:51 AM
I have now disowned WitchHazel and Bob.
Response #77
By: bob
Date: 10/7/01 11:41:29 AM
whew hooo, see sooz, i am not the only one......yeah.
witch: she actually told me that my sense of homour must be broken since i didn't find it funny. apparently, things are either funny or not, and if you don't find them so, you must be wrong.
Response #78
By: sooz
Date: 10/7/01 12:00:46 PM
Everyone must be like ME.
Response #79
By: bob
Date: 10/8/01 1:09:45 AM
sooz is the borg quenn that showed up in the movie
Response #80
By: sooz
Date: 10/8/01 7:00:43 AM
I wish I at least knew if she was cute, so I could decide whether I'm flattered or insulted.
Response #81
By: Gowan McGland
Date: 10/8/01 8:04:09 AM
I'll send you a picture.
I don't think it was so much her looks as her desire to assimilate everyone to be just like her.
Response #82
By: WitchHazel
Date: 10/8/01 8:22:21 AM
Gowan, I demand that you own me back!
Thank you, Bob, for validating that there was little humor in that movie! (another high-five!)
Response #83
By: bob
Date: 10/8/01 12:59:36 PM
the borg queen was beautiful. i love women that you can take pieces off of when required. tired of listening to her bitch, just pull the head and shoulders off and put them in the corner.....ok, nevermind, i am sure i am going to get beraded for this.
Response #84
By: sooz
Date: 10/8/01 5:35:33 PM
No, but you might get berated 'cuz you can't spell.
Response #85
By: Cleotis
Date: 10/8/01 6:42:58 PM
Homer: I didn't intentionally rate "O Brother" lower than "Smokey". It's just that "Smokey and the Bandit" is SO EFFING GREAT!
I saw it on cable a few weekends ago - twice.
All I can compare it to is eating a Twinkie. You know, when you're a kid, you loved to eat Twinkines, but then you grow up and you never eat Twinkies anymore, even though your mom isn't there to tell you that you can't.
Then, one day as an adult by chance, you DO eat a Twinkie, and say to yourself "damn, these are good! I should eat these every day."
It was a pleasant surprise. And Jerry Reed rocks.
Response #86
By: Gowan McGland
Date: 10/8/01 9:22:01 PM
I love Fred. He's one super co-star.
Response #87
By: bob
Date: 10/8/01 10:50:56 PM
twinkies are good, why don't i eat them anymore?
Response #88
By: WitchHazel
Date: 10/9/01 8:24:14 AM
Twinkies SUCK!!!!!!
Response #89
By: sooz
Date: 10/9/01 9:08:26 AM
With, let's not combine oral sex discussions with Twinkie discussions.
Response #90
By: Gowan McGland
Date: 10/9/01 9:41:57 AM
I suppose one could practice on Twinkies. It's got the cre..no, nevermind. I'm not gonna finish that thought.
Response #91
By: bob
Date: 10/9/01 2:05:59 PM
hahahahahahaha
Response #92
By: Homer The Brave
Date: 10/9/01 5:21:46 PM
There are these ice cream things you can get here. I never saw them when I lived in Texas. They're tubular, about 8 inches long, and I guess an inch and a half across. It's the same cone waffle material as in a Drumstick, but not conical except in the mathematical sense. The 'cone' is filled with vanilla ice cream. The outside is coated with nasty nasty NASTY industrial-grade chocolate.
Yes, it's the chocolate schlong. Indulge your sweet tooth *and* your jungle fever at the same time!
I think it's time to visit the convenience store.
Response #93
By: WitchHazel
Date: 10/9/01 5:54:18 PM
Mmmmmm. I love those! 8 inches of pleasure!
Pick some up for me too, Homer.
Response #94
By: bob
Date: 10/9/01 10:21:23 PM
wow, so many responses must be flying through homer's head about now.
Response #95
By: Roxanne
Date: 10/10/01 10:56:42 AM
"O Brother Where Art Thou" was fantastic!
And I like Twinkies too.
Response #96
By: sooz
Date: 10/10/01 11:49:57 AM
"I'm a Dapper Dan man!"
Response #97
By: Cleotis
Date: 10/10/01 6:39:30 PM
"Chocolate Schlong" would be a killer name for a band.
Response #98
By: Da Sissop
Date: 10/10/01 7:36:31 PM
Cleo: Burt Reynolds KICKED ASS back in his heyday. Might I also recommend The Cannonball Run, The End, and The Longest Yard.
You will enjoy these movies, although after having seen them all, he will begin to seem like a caricature of himself, which makes his performance in Boogie Nights all the more pleasantly surprising.
Response #99
By: WitchHazel
Date: 10/15/01 1:30:34 PM
Yeah, Burt Reynolds rocks. But I hated Boogie Nights. That film just topped my "This is ridiculous" meter.
Response #100
By: Gowan McGland
Date: 10/15/01 4:14:13 PM
Disowned AGAIN!
Response #101
By: Seventh of Seven
Date: 10/15/01 6:15:25 PM
witch hazel! :(
Response #102
By: bob
Date: 10/15/01 11:55:27 PM
witch: i think if you say something about being in the shower gowan will reown you
Response #103
By: WitchHazel
Date: 10/16/01 10:52:29 AM
Well jeez, if he's so fickle, I don't want him anyway!
Actually, I did shave my legs in the shower this morning and made sure to keep my breasts out of the way of the razor.
Response #104
By: bob
Date: 10/16/01 11:28:14 AM
i see another infomercial in here.....tired of nicking your nipple while shaving your legs in the shower....for just 19.99 you too can own, nipple guard....
Response #105
By: Roxanne
Date: 10/16/01 3:13:04 PM
I'll pose for the "Before" pictures!
Response #106
By: WitchHazel
Date: 10/16/01 3:47:19 PM
Don't tell Gowan or he'll demand to be the photographer, or the model's assistant.
Response #107
By: Gowan McGland
Date: 10/16/01 8:41:56 PM
Both!
Response #108
By: Seventh of Seven
Date: 10/17/01 5:01:40 AM
he can be the stunt double!
Response #109
By: WitchHazel
Date: 10/17/01 11:34:24 AM
Uh, I don't think that would work. Unless he can hide his thingie in the shots.
Response #110
By: Seventh of Seven
Date: 10/17/01 12:40:38 PM
noooooooo i was referring to the 'nipple' stunt.
Response #111
By: bob
Date: 10/17/01 1:51:30 PM
who wants to do her makeup?
Response #112
By: WitchHazel
Date: 10/17/01 11:07:23 PM
Not me!
Response #113
By: Roxanne
Date: 10/18/01 12:08:17 PM
I'm so glad that my personal tragedy has brought so much entertainment to everyone!
Response #114
By: WitchHazel
Date: 10/18/01 12:30:52 PM
You allllways have to look at the GOOD SIDE of a BAD SITUATION. We're just helping you out here.
Response #115
By: bob
Date: 10/18/01 2:25:10 PM
well roxy, you asked for it, you don't hear any guys talking about zipper experiences, do you?
Response #116
By: Da Sissop
Date: 10/18/01 4:51:23 PM
I've never had a zipper incident. But then again I do wear underwear.
Well shortly after my last message I went to Amazon dot com and ordered the Burt Reynolds / Dom DeLouise classic "The End" on DVD. Pleasantly surprised to discover that this long-lost treasure was available, I decided to press my luck and search for the other long-out-of-print classic I've been wanting, Marty Feldman's "In God We Trust." It exists!
I'm one happy, nostalgic guy.
Response #117
By: WitchHazel
Date: 10/18/01 5:09:41 PM
I just bought the 30th Anniversary Edition of "Charlie and Chocolate Factory".
What?!?!?!?
Response #118
By: WitchHazel
Date: 10/18/01 5:11:08 PM
Oh! And "Tombstone"!
Response #119
By: sooz
Date: 10/18/01 9:58:00 PM
Now, Tombstone just RULES. Val Kilmer can be my huckleberry ANY time.
Response #120
By: bob
Date: 10/18/01 10:32:10 PM
what what, witch?
Response #121
By: Gowan McGland
Date: 10/18/01 10:58:33 PM
You may want to return that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
The one you have is in full-screen. The widescreen, letterboxed edition will be out next month.
Have I mentioned the really good DVD resources I use on the net?
There's www.dvdpricesearch.com so you can find the best prices on the DVDs you want. There's www.deepdiscountdvd.com which is the site that you'll most likely be sent to by the first site. Lastly, there's www.dvdovernight.com where you can rent DVDs for a week for $4 each including all postage to and from.
Enjoy!
Response #122
By: WitchHazel
Date: 10/19/01 10:19:27 AM
Kewl.
Response #123
By: Roxanne
Date: 10/19/01 2:14:05 PM
Gene Wilder...hmmmm...
Response #124
By: WitchHazel
Date: 10/19/01 2:20:45 PM
He's an acquired taste, but I happen to think he's fabulous.
Response #125
By: sooz
Date: 10/19/01 7:55:56 PM
I liked Gene Rayburn on Match Game. Does that count?
Response #126
By: Homer The Brave
Date: 10/20/01 3:04:20 AM
I always felt a certain solidarity with Marty Feldman, even though my cockeye isn't really a cockeye and is properly described as 'A-vision.'
The chocolate factory is one tripped-out movie. That boat ride alone, with the psychedelic freak-out effects, complete with insect close-ups and a chicken head being chopped off... I smell the work of Tyler Durden!
Response #127
By: Gowan McGland
Date: 10/20/01 9:26:47 AM
This past weekend on SNL, they did a spoof of the 30th Anniversary edition of the Willy Wonka DVD.
They included their own outtakes which had the actor playing Gene Wilder playing Wonka doing that scene and cracking up and saying, "Uh, this is supposed to be a KIDS movie, right?".
That scene always kinda freaked me out.
Response #128
By: WitchHazel
Date: 10/20/01 1:52:24 PM
Ooooh. I wish I would've caught that SNL episode!
Response #129
By: Cleotis
Date: 10/23/01 8:03:10 PM
I was majorly disappointed to see that the Willy Wonka DVD was full screen. Thanks for that info. I'm totally waiting for the widescreen version.
Now, let's hope it's ANAMORPHIC widescreen! I'm such a purist.
Response #130
By: Gowan McGland
Date: 10/24/01 11:23:18 AM
Ask and you shall receive:
Edition Details:
• Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
• Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen
• Audio Commentary With All The Wonka Kids
• Documentary, "Pure Imagination"
• Sing-Along Songs
• Original Theatrical Featurette
• Widescreen anamorphic format
• ASIN: B00005QJEF
Response #131
By: WitchHazel
Date: 10/25/01 8:49:31 AM
Gowan, you are a walking search engine.
Response #132
By: bob
Date: 10/25/01 10:57:48 AM
ok, is anamorphic where the shink the screen one way but not the other so people look like they are in a house of mirrors?
Response #133
By: Gowan McGland
Date: 10/25/01 7:56:39 PM
http://gregl.net/videophile/anamorphic.htm
Response #134
By: WitchHazel
Date: 10/26/01 10:30:00 AM
Damn. That was more than I ever wanted to know about my television set.
Response #135
By: bob
Date: 10/26/01 11:58:20 AM
good lord, that is complicated. and since i have a small tv, i guess it doesn't really matter
Response #136
By: WitchHazel
Date: 10/26/01 6:21:07 PM
You know what they say about guys with small TVs.
Response #137
By: Da Sissop
Date: 10/26/01 6:42:21 PM
My videos finally arrived. Update: "The End" starring Burt Reynolds is, indeed, funny, but it's not nearly as funny as I remembered it. It's probably worth a rental, but I wouldn't go to Amazon.com and buy it. On DVD. Like I did.
Marty Feldman's "In God We Trust" wasn't nearly as funny as I remembered it, either, but bear in mind, I remembered it as being utterly hysterically never-stop-laughing-ever-again funny. This one has some hidden surprises I had forgotten about, including a costarring role for Andy Kaufman as a televangelist, and a cameo from Richard Pryor as God.
Response #138
By: Da Sissop
Date: 10/27/01 7:45:52 AM
Dear DVD AnswerMan:
I know that VHS tapes are recorded using at least a couple of different video standards (NTSC or PAL), depending on your part of the globe, and a tape purchased in the UK is not going to play on your USA VCR.
Does DVD suffer from this same problem? I mean, I can see how the set-top *players* would still have to spit out an analog signal compatible with your television, but for those of us with our DVDs in our PCs, are there still regional issues? Can I buy a DVD from the UK?
Response #139
By: WitchHazel
Date: 10/27/01 9:15:44 AM
You planning to go Christmas-shopping in London?
Response #140
By: Gowan McGland
Date: 10/27/01 10:10:44 AM
The short answer is NO, for the most part you cannot play a DVD from the UK. This is for two distinct reasons.
The first is that DVDs have a coding system on them called "regioning". Regioning is put on DVDs because movies that are being released on video in the States may not have been released in theaters yet overseas. The studios don't want people to buy the DVD before they also shell out money in the theaters. There are 8 different region codes for different areas around the world. Here's a map: http://www.unik.no/~robert/hifi/dvd/world.html.
The US is region 1. The UK is in region 2. Most US DVD players will not play a DVD from another region. Some have menu shortcuts that will allow you to play different regioned disks. There are also all-region disks (usually called region 0) that are sold overseas and will play in ANY player. VCD, video CD, is another format that is very popular overseas. These disks are NOT regioned, but they do not hold nearly as much as a DVD and the quality is somewhere between a commercial VHS tape and a DVD. Most DVD players will play VCDs.
The second reason is the one you mentioned. There are different television frequency standards throughout the world. The three biggest are NTSC, PAL and SECAM. Most UK DVDs are released in PAL. They do occasionally release NTSC DVDs there, too, but it's not common. Most DVD players in the US will not play a PAL DVD. Actually, it'll play it, but it'll be unwatchable. There are a few players sold in the States that will decode PAL to NTSC. Some DVD-ROM drives and software for PCs will also decode PAL. A DVD player bought in the UK will decode NTSC to PAL, though.
The DVD-ROM in your computer may play a PAL DVD (you'll need to check your documentation, some do, some don't), but it does suffer from the regioning problem. Obviously, there may be a hack out there somewhere that will allow you to play a different regioned DVD on your machine, though.
Hope this helps.
Response #141
By: Homer The Brave
Date: 10/27/01 10:54:40 AM
I was under the assumption that whoever designed the DVD format was smart enough to store only the image data, with some frame-ratio data, and that the player would add the black bars as needed. Then the user could tell the DVD player how to frame that on their screen.
Silly me.
(This is yet another example of how far behind I am. I don't have a DVD player, so I don't know how poorly designed they are.)
Response #142
By: sooz
Date: 10/27/01 3:09:40 PM
I don't have one either, Homer. We don't even have cable TV.
Response #143
By: Gowan McGland
Date: 10/27/01 3:14:56 PM
Well, you DO tell the DVD player what kind of tv you have so it knows whether or not you need black bands for letterboxing. However, the programming on the DVD also has to be formatted for letterboxing. A lot of DVDs come with both a Pan-and-Scan or "full screen" image and also a widescreen letterboxed image. There's different types of widescreen, though, since people now also have teevees that are actually WIDESCREEN and don't need letterboxing.
Response #144
By: WitchHazel
Date: 10/27/01 7:26:08 PM
Jeeeez. How hard would it be to make a universal video format? Or at least a model that had a switch (NTSC = ON, PAL = OFF).
I'm with Homer. I am glad I haven't known how far "advanced" we are in the DVD world. (Unfortunately, Gowan just brought it to my attention.) ;-)
Response #145
By: bob
Date: 10/28/01 10:30:58 AM
gowan: i knew about the region incoding, but i was under the impression that it was somewhat of a new feature. that if you bought your dvd player a while ago it did not have it. was i misinformed?
Response #146
By: Gowan McGland
Date: 10/29/01 8:11:06 AM
Nop. DVDs have ALWAYS had regioning and the players have always had software to read the regioning. Some companies make region-free players, but they're generally sold overseas and not here in the States where our companies and corporations are a bit more litigious.
There has been talk of cancelling regioning because it can and is so easily gotten around. However, some companies went the opposite direction and created an enhanced regioning system which does some extra checking to make sure it is being played on a player from the correct region.
Response #147
By: rorschach
Date: 10/29/01 10:42:37 AM
true enough about the regioning thing, and it can be (and has been) hacked, expecially if you are using a DVD-ROM drive in a computer instead of a dedicated player. but the part about NTSC vs PAL vs SECAM is caca.... they are encoded using mpeg-4 and the data IS universal, it is the reader that makes it compatable with the specific analog (or digital in the case of your computer) signal output required.
Response #148
By: bob
Date: 10/29/01 3:43:33 PM
i will have to kill my former informant, then. thanks
Response #149
By: Gowan McGland
Date: 10/29/01 6:42:42 PM
From DVD Demystified, the book and the home of the DVD FAQ:
http://dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#1.19
Is DVD-Video a worldwide standard? Does it work with NTSC, PAL, and SECAM?
The MPEG video on DVD is stored in digital format, but it's formatted for one of two mutually incompatible television systems: 525/60 (NTSC) or 625/50 (PAL/SECAM). Therefore, there are two kinds of DVDs: NTSC DVDs and PAL DVDs. Some players only play NTSC discs, others play PAL and NTSC discs. Discs are also coded for different regions of the world (see 1.10).
All DVD players sold in PAL countries play both kinds of discs. These multi-standard players partially convert NTSC to a 60-Hz PAL (4.43 NTSC) signal. The player uses the PAL 4.43-MHz color subcarrier encoding format but keeps the 525/60 NTSC scanning rate. Most modern PAL TVs can handle this "pseudo-PAL" signal. A few multi-standard PAL players output true 3.58 NTSC from NTSC discs, which requires an NTSC TV or a multi-standard TV. Some players have a switch to choose 60-Hz PAL or true NTSC output when playing NTSC discs. There are a few standards-converting PAL players that convert from a NTSC disc to standard PAL output. Proper standards conversion requires expensive hardware to handle scaling, temporal conversion, and object motion analysis. Because the quality of conversion in DVD players is poor, using 60-Hz PAL output with a compatible TV provides a better picture. (Sound is not affected by video conversion.)
Most NTSC players can't play PAL discs. A very small number of NTSC players (such as Apex and SMC) can convert PAL to NTSC. External converter boxes are also available, such as the Emerson EVC1595 ($350). High-quality converters are available at TenLab and Snell and Wilcox.
There are three differences between discs intended for playback on different TV systems: picture size and pixel aspect ratio (720x480 vs. 720x576), display frame rate (29.97 vs. 25), and surround audio options (Dolby Digital vs. MPEG audio). (See 3.4 and 3.6 for details.) Video from film is usually encoded at 24 frames/sec but is preformatted for one of the two display rates. Movies formatted for PAL display are usually sped up by 4% at playback, so the audio must be adjusted accordingly before being encoded. All PAL DVD players can play Dolby Digital audio tracks, but not all NTSC players can play MPEG audio tracks. PAL and SECAM share the same scanning format, so discs are the same for both systems. The only difference is that SECAM players output the color signal in the format required by SECAM TVs. Note that modern TVs in most SECAM countries can also read PAL signals, so you can use a player that only has PAL output. The only case in which you need a player with SECAM output is for older SECAM-only TVs (and you'll probably need a SECAM RF connection, see 3.1).
A producer can choose to put 525/60 NTSC video on one side of the disc and 625/50 PAL on the other. Most studios put Dolby Digital audio tracks on their PAL discs instead of MPEG audio tracks.
There are actually three types of DVD players if you count computers. Most DVD PC software and hardware can play both NTSC and PAL video and both Dolby Digital and MPEG audio. Some PCs can only display the converted video on the computer monitor, but others can output it as a video signal for a TV.
Bottom line: NTSC discs (with Dolby Digital audio) play on over 95% of DVD installations worldwide. PAL discs play on very few players outside of PAL countries. (This is irrespective of regions -- see 1.10.)
Response #150
By: WitchHazel
Date: 10/29/01 9:09:35 PM
Damn.
Response #151
By: Da Sissop
Date: 10/30/01 5:14:41 PM
You da man, Gowan.
Yeah, I'm contemplating ordering a Neil Finn DVD, which is presently only for sale in third world PAL/SECAM countries like Great Britain nd New Zealand and the like. But my DVD player *IS*, in fact, my PC.
Response #152
By: WitchHazel
Date: 10/30/01 8:41:28 PM
Neil Finn!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Whoops. Sorry for the outburst.)