Eric's DVD watching.

[Eric]

 

I had the feeling you were going to point this out Jimmy.  I've already watched one and posted my review and I will watch the other 3 before the end of the month but I wasn't in the mood for subtitled Japanese movies this week-end.

[Eric]

Otis




Overview: This dark comedy about a serial killer stalking a typical suburb is a cynical take on both American culture and family dynamics. When a young girl is taken prisoner by a sadistic killer, she uses her wits to escape. But her freedom is just the beginning of the gruesome, and oddly hilarious, downward spiral her family takes when they decide to get even with her abductor. It's a twisted ride that will leave audiences torn between laughing and covering their eyes.

My Thoughts: Sometimes on a thin line between horror and comedy this an enjoyable movie to watch.  Some scenes are a bit more on the real horror side and actually made me feel bad but some other parts are hilarious.  I'm glad I bought it.

My Score: 3.5

[Eric]

Backdraft




When I bought it I thought this was gonna look amazing in HD.............I was right .  Definitely worth buying since since it cost just about the same price as the popcorn and yogurt I had while watching it 

This is the HD-DVD movie I watch and so far I'm very happy I went for it.

[Emma]

Have Backdraft (In HD) in a pile of to watch DVD's I haven't watched many of them because the last few didn't look to great. Ill have to watch this at some point because ive heard a few good things.

[Eric]

Breach



Overview: Academy Award® winner* Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe, Academy Award® nominee** Laura Linney and Dennis Haysbert star in this spellbinding thriller. Eric O'Neill (Phillippe) is assigned to work with renowned operative Robert Hanssen (Cooper), the sole subject of a long-term, top-secret investigation. Determined to draw this suspected double agent out of deep cover, O'Neill finds himself in a lethal game of spy vs. spy, where nothing is as it seems. Critics are hailing Breach as "electrifying" (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone) and "suspenseful" (Ty Burr, The Boston Globe).

*2002 Best Supporting Actor, Adaptation.**2000 Best Actress, You Can Count on Me; 2004 Best Supporting Actress, Kinsey.

Review: This movie is based on the true story of Robert Hansenn who, as an FBI agent, betrayed his country for over 22 years by leaking information to the soviet union, including giving out the names of russian agents recruited by the FBI who were then called back to Moskow and shot. It's quite a good thriller keeping you wondering throughout the movie if Hanssen has spotted the agent they put on his tail as his new assistant.

Hanssen is depicted in the movie as extremely religious.........yet perverted in many ways including sexuality.  He is a bizarre character making people around him uncomfortable with his constant preaching, the movie conveys that feeling to the viewer and I found myself uncomfortable as well most of the time.  Breach is a good and effective suspense.

[Critter]

Where do you buy HD DVD's from? I never see them in shops, only blu-rays now.

[Jimmy]

Eric buy them from inetvideo, it's a French Canadian store (I think...)

[Critter]

Thanks Jimmy. Are they any different to blu-ray?

[Jimmy]

Not my domain at all
I think that the biggest difference is the fact that the HD-DVD aren't region code. I'm sure that someone else will give a more complete answer

[Critter]

I wish blu-ray weren't region code. I find them annoying.

[Jimmy]

No worry an affordable multi zone reader will certainly appear someday. The problem was the same with the dvd at first, but now any reader can be unlock (except for the Sony and the Panasonic).

And yes that's annoying, since it's a relic of the past...

[Emma]

HD DVD's play on HD DVD players.

its was HD vs Blu-Ray and Blu-ray won, however they were almost identical.

I have a HD DVD player so I but alot of HD DVD's they are very cheap now, I got mine from EBay and Amazon.

[Eric]

Jimmy is right.  I got most of mine from Inetvideo but also a few from Amazon.ca.  During the format war many people believed HD-DVD was better than Blu-Ray and now many people think that, just like the VHS vs Beta war, it's the lesser format that won.  

Some of the reasons for saying that are:

1: HD-DVD specifications are final, Blu-Ray's arent so if you buy a Blu-Ray player now it may not play future movies (I believe this is no longer the case).
2: HD-DVD is not region coded
3: Producing HD-DVD Players and discs is cheaper than Blu-Ray and should therefore be cheaper to buy.

I know many people refuse to buy into an obsolete format but I look at this differently.  A movie in HD is a movie in HD regardless of the color of the case, if I can get HD movies for a good price I see no reason not to do it just because they're going out, that's what makes them so cheap.

If one doesn't need a big investment to be able to play them then it's worth it.  I already had a separate Blu-Ray player and I've had a computer with a wireless keyboard connected to my HDTV for years.  I only needed to replace the DVD player for a HD-DVD one and you can get those on eBay for less than 50$ now.

With shipping & tax my Toshiba player cost me $60 CAD.  I bought 21 HD-DVD's, all but two were under 5$, many at only 2.49$, in total it cost me 83$ for all of them.  That comes to an average price of 6.81$.  There's no way I could have gotten all of those in Blu-Ray at 7$ each, many are still well over 20$.

As for Inetvideo.  They use to specialize in OOP and hard to find movies, now they've apparently changed that and became a regular online store which is not to be confused with the store I walk in sometimes.  It's the same owners bu they're actually separate businesses, the HD-DVD's are available online but not in the store.  They have offices in Canada and the United States and they ship worlwide.

InetVideo For Canada

InetVideo For USA

[Tom]

The reason I am not buying HD-DVD even if they are really cheap is, that I think the chances that I will be able to play Blu-ray discs for much longer than HD-DVD. Should my HD-DVD player (if I had one) break down, chances are that I won't get a replacement that easily. Also should another (CD-shaped) format come after Blu-ray, chances are that those players will be backward-compatible with Blu-ray discs but probably not with HD-DVDs.
This is why I waited out the format war before going blu. At a time I was also on the side of HD-DVD, but now I don't care which format has won. I am just glad that the winner has been decided.

[Eric]

You got a point there Tom.  It's true that there's a risk I may not be able to play those movies in the future.  What I have now is pretty much everything I'll ever own on HD-DVD and I'm not looking at expanding my collection in that format because they're getting hard to find.  That sale at Inetvideo just seemed like a good opportunity to get a bunch of good movies in HD for a good price.  I may have to replace them in a few years if my player breaks down but when I get there Blu-Ray's won't be as expensive as they are now and I will only replace a few of them.

But for now, I got 21 HD movies to watch for my 2 weeks Christmas Holiday for 143$ so I'm happy with that.