Music and Movies

War Movies

Colin — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:48:11 GMT

Sure we all want gorgeous scenery and moving music to show off the spectacular sensibilities of our home theater sound and movie systems to our dinner guests. But when the dishes are picked up, the wine glasses rinsed, a cold brew cracked and the feet up, what we really want is the pounding action and violence of a teeth-gritting war movie. We want “can’t take your eyes away” portrayals of glory, courage, pain and gore. We want sub-woofers to thump our chairs like mortar shells on Omaha beach, shake our walls like a firing range. We want to watch war movies. Here are my favorite, all-time best, “make no apologies, war is about killing” movies:

Saving Private Ryan

Schindler’s List

Star Wars series

Master and Commander

U-571

Gladiator

Starship Troopers

Saints and Soldiers

Hotel Rwanda

Platoon

Gallipoli

Braveheart

Atonement

Apocalypse Now

'Breaker' Morant

Flags of Our Fathers

Matrix series

Independence Day

Glory

Shaka Zulu

The Postman

Downfall

Patton

Tora! Tora! Tora!

Black Hawk Down

Troy

Syriana

Three Kings

Munich

Where Eagles Dare

Zulu

Gunga Din

Force 10 From Navarone

The Prisoner

Oblio — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:33:27 GMT

New series on AMC.

I was a bit dissapointed with the audio. Too early to say about the plot/writing, I'm hopeful though. Need to rent the original, haven't seen it for a few years.

Thoughts ?

Need a Movie Recommendation

x97lyons — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:43:21 GMT

So I now have my KG based surround sound running and I just love it. When I got the subwoofer I followed everyones recommendations and went out and rented U571 and it was amazing. I actually blew out my surround, they were about 15 years old, but I have replaced that now. I am ready for some more recommendations. I am looking for something that will both give the surround sound a workout along with the subwoofer. I have Enemy at the Gate on its way now with Netflix but would love to fill up my Queue with great sounding movies. I have not made the jump to blu-ray yet!! In Feb my wife was convinced our old 27"TV was good enough and I finally convinced her to just let me look at TV's. Seven months later I had a new TV and added surround receiver, 3 more speakers and a subwoofer. The Blu-ray should be added by Christmas.

G.I. Joe

Mr. RF62 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:12:46 GMT

Now this is a great action movie IMO! Cool effects, cool scenes, awesome moves, great explosions. Check it out.

The Ugly Truth

Mr. RF62 — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:14:02 GMT

If your significant other wants you to watch this movie, do it. It is not just a chick flick IMO, pretty funny from a male pov. Good movie.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Blu-Ray)

wuzzzer — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 04:50:59 GMT

According to NetFlix I'll be getting the disc Tuesday. I saw the movie in the theater and I have to admit that I did not like it nearly as much as the first Transformers. I don't know if I just wasn't in the right mood to watch it or what. The animation of the robots seemed worse than the first movie and the storyline was very weak. The theater didn't have the volume turned up very much, either.

I'll report back after watching it on Blu-Ray. At least I can turn up the volume as loud as I want at home!

new album of Shadow Gallery

wim hoppenbrouwers — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:33:34 GMT

Hallo,

I received this morning the new cd from Shadow Gallery: Digital Ghosts. . Amazing!!! and a very good quality of recording.

Are there Klipsch owners with interest of this kind of music?

wim

Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day

Islander — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:55:40 GMT

This movie, the second in the series so far, came out in theatres a couple of weeks ago. If you like the Trailer Park Boys, you'll really like it. There are lots of really funny moments and a few were even applause-worthy. The audience loved it and so did I.

They're a bit of an acquired taste, so here's the trailer to give you an idea of what to expect:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mrfqn7QsILE

In case you're unfamiliar with it, Trailer Park Boys was a mockumentary that ran for seven seasons and was very popular around the world. More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trailer_Park_Boys

Paranormal Activity review : non spoiler

superedge88 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:51:56 GMT

A little non spoiler info about the movie first. It is filmed like blair witch, though it doesn't have near the jostling of the camera that Blair witch had, so no dizzy moments for those that are sensitive to it. It is filmed like a documentary. So don't go into this movie with notions that it competes on the same level as other typical scarey movies.

The movie does a great job making you believe that the people shown are just normal people. There are a few points that you will have to suspend a little disbelief as far as comparing the main characters to yourself and how you would react, but definitely no where near that of a typical horror flick that has chase victims running upstairs instead of through the nearest door or window.

A BIG HEADS UP: This movie uses a lot of silence, as many of you audiophiles know, the use of silence in movie recordings can be very important. I would avoid whatching this one in a movie theater that is packed, especially with a bunch of highschool teens that can't keep from squeeling long after anything scarey has happened. It is a movie that is easily ruined by people that are talking, shuffling candy wrappers, or with people trodding up and down the theater stairs.

The documentary style story, and filming technniques are done well in a believeable manner. The movie sounded great to me, though this is subjective since I only saw it in one theater (AMC) I believe it could honestly sound amazing on a home theater that makes use of a solid subwoofer.

My recommendations since I rate the film at 4 stars out of 5, and given the sensitive use of silence and subtle sounds, I would recommend that you stay away from packed movie theaters, and enjoy this one once it come out on DVD/BR instead of running out to the movie theater.

Andrés Segovia meets U2’s Edge: Finger Picking Rock Star, Shaun Hopper, is in the House

Colin — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:28:49 GMT

Andrés Segovia meets U2’s Edge

Finger Picking Rock Star, Shaun Hopper, is in the House

By A. Colin Flood

The dream of tweaking audiophiles - especially those like yours truly, who can not play a single musical note - is to reproduce the sensations of live music in one’s own home. A friend of mine took this idea one-step further. Following the growing trend, she recently hosted a live concert in her home.

In a word? The event was awesome.

In 2007, the Atlanta Journal Constitution is voted Hopper the "Best Musician on the Rise." In September 2009, he won “Best of The Bay” from Tampa’s Creative Loafing magazine. They said the “Most Unassuming Monster” has “fingers of doom, no two ways about it. A true world-class talent on finger style, flat-top acoustic guitar, Hopper effortlessly channels Chet Atkins, Tommy Emmanuel and Segovia, blowing minds and dropping jaws everywhere between his twin home bases of Tampa and Atlanta. To top it off, he’s just as nice as could be, humble and without pretense, a true Southern gentleman whose nonexistent sense of entitlement contradicts his prodigious talents on the fret board."

Hopper’s live play list includes a number of covers, including the crowd pleasing sing-along, Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” He has a CD of course. But audio only CDs and iTune files fail to communicate his dimensions.

The setting for this house concert is unusually idyllic. With glimmers of blue lake visible through several acres of verdant Florida, the two-story cypress cabin is a garnet infused with rural peace and tranquility; a drop of red in a palette of urban greenery. Double French doors in her living room open the house to the screened lanai. It is a house of magic. There, with an intimacy impossible in any commercial venue, attendees were thrilled with Hopper’s performance.

For tweaking audiophiles, who care as much about the hardware as the music, Hopper projected his instruments with a black Bose L1® Model II professional audio speaker system. This single, five-foot high, tower is typical Bose. It has twenty-four of the tiny drivers, the ones that made their Jewel cubes famous, set in a line array as narrow as a hand. A bass module, like their home theater systems, stands next to the tower like a boulder near a tree. The system has four-channels with special effects. The effect is a tall and wide soundstage that filled the typical-size living room with a clear, balanced sound. In addition, Hopper used enough guitar pedals to resemble the cockpit of a single engine plane. With a handful of commercial endorsements, Hopper plays Larrivee guitars.

Unassuming, casually dressed, with a mop of curly black hair, Hopper clearly enjoyed the up front and personal nature of a house concert with two-dozen people. With self-deprecating humor and a vivacious wit, this son of the Deep South gave a uniquely friendly, funny and entertaining presentation. His darkly somber posters and Web site belie the upbeat and enthusiastic tempo of his performances.

Think classical guitar and the popular Spanish master Andrés Torres Segovia comes immediately to mind. Classically educated, Hopper can certainly channel Segovia. Yet he doesn’t just play classical music.

Think Irish rock band U2. The unique tonality of their popular guitar riffs are the creation of guitarist David Howell Evans, known as “The Edge.” Jimmy Page’s “It Might Get Loud” move shows that The Edge works hard to convert simple notes into distinctive and compelling sonic articulations. Yet Hopper doesn’t simply wow with special effects either.

Hopper uses long, clear acrylic nails with dual finger and thumb picks. He combines sparkling fingers with modern electronics. He merges Segovia with The Edge. The result is neither classical nor modern. It is neither merely physical virtuosity nor digital product. It is however, electric.

Hopper is a finger picking rock star. With the arms and shoulders of a wrestler, he didn’t just pluck the strings pizzicato style; he tapped, knocked and thumped the amplified guitar body like a drum. He stroked the shapely wood. He spanked the fret board. He clacked his ring on the back of the giraffe neck. He slid a metal train down its rails.

Hopper picked the top and bottom strings with such precise syncopation it seemed like two or three guitars playing simultaneously. He wove rhythms as tight as Moroccan carpet.

Hopper sings very few lyrics. Yet the talent of this consummate finger-painting virtuoso lifts the voices of angels to a higher plane. The highest achievements of the most talented artists approach this level of higher consciousness. Think Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Walt Whitman and Frank Lloyd Wright. With his rare gift, Hopper is no exception. Relaxing to the relaxing sonorous strings and escaping to this plane, there is a chill of recognition. He speaks the language of Olympus with his music.

Forget stadiums, bars and coffeehouses. A house concert is close to the venue for tweaking audiophiles. It a place to gather in friendship, enjoy gentle nature, freethinking people and the magic of accomplished artistry. I will not miss the next one.

Hopper plays next month at Tampa’s funky hippie bar, Skippers. It may not be the ideal venue for tweaking audiophiles, but I will not miss that one either.

More Information

Event photos: http://www.meetup.com/40andFun/photos/742562/

www.concertsinyourhome.com

Tampa house concerts: http://livemusic.meetup.com/96/

Host Judi Shila: http://www.livingartsstudio.com/

http://www.shaunhopper.com/

http://www.skipperssmokehouse.com/

Anvil The story of Anvil

whamo — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:35:55 GMT

Hey all. You've got to see this movie. This is one of the greatest Rock and Roll movies I've ever seen. It's an independent film so it's only been shown in select cities. Even if you don't like metal music the story is one of the most touching and compelling stories ever. Go out and buy all of the Anvil stuff you can! These guys deserve it. This movie gets two devil rock and roll fists up!!!

hello everyone!

ashley08 — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 06:10:59 GMT

Hi there! I just joined these forums and would like to take the time to let you know a little bit about me. I am Ashley, I'm 27 years old. And I am hoping to make some wonderful friends along the way. I hope to get to know everyone here. Hope to have a great time here. Nice to meet you all.

Anyone seen Watchmen?

jbsl — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 18:14:45 GMT

Going to rent this one soon.

Cutthroat Island - Blu-Ray

wuzzzer — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:13:41 GMT

I don't ever remember seeing this movie in the past. I was very impressed by the picture quality on Blu-Ray - its stunning! I'll give the movie itself 3/5 stars, picture quality 5/5, audio 4/5.

Feist - The Reminder ( Female Vocalists lovers will dig this )

xtreme4099 — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 08:43:00 GMT

http://www.amazon.com/Reminder-Feist/dp/B000NPE7YC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1252917555&sr=8-1

Listen to the Amazon Samples.

She sounds like a modern Joni Mitchell, love her voice. Listening to the Reminder on my setup right now, her other disc's are just as good. Former member from Broken Social Scene.

Delete please

iRONic — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:28:06 GMT

Jeff Beck Live at Ronnie Scott's

callmeishmael — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:59:11 GMT

I haven't listened to Jeff Beck in a while, but I caught this performance on TV the other day. I am always at a loss for words when reviewing...this is worth viewing.

Moody Blues CD's

CIGARBUM — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:04:11 GMT

Has anyone found a good quality Moody Blues CD. I love the group and most of the early stuff, but most is recorded badly. They do have some SACD's but not of the early stuff.

Anyone have some good suggestions??? or point me in the proper direction.

Thanks

For all the Band Of Brothers fans

jbsl — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:45:47 GMT

The Pacific

HBO companion series to Band Of Brothers.

http://www.pacificfans.com/trailer-videos

http://www.pacificfans.com/

WILCO Ashes of American Flags

askbob1 — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 17:19:47 GMT

I was watching an episode of Austin City Limits a few weeks ago when I came across the band Wilco. As I was watching, I started to DVR it since it seemed really good. I watched it the next day to make sure I just wasn't groggy hoping it to be good at 11 at night. It really was a great performance. Back in the late 90's I had bought their cd titled 'Being There'. After just a few plays, I dismissed it. Even though that album is still my least favorite after hearing most of the rest of them, I should've continued to listen. If you get a chance to see the ACL performance, do so. Their recently released dvd titled 'Ashes of American Flags' is superb. The way the whole idea of the film plays out is what most concert dvd's should look like. The audio is excellent, and the 'movie' style concert is also excellent. A must have!

The back story of the Woodstock generation's coming of age

Colin — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 18:24:12 GMT

Director Ang Lee has had some incredible hits (Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Ice Storm) and misses (Hulk). His latest is somewhere in between.

The 1969 Woodstock Music & Art Fair, held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in Bethel, New York is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most pivotal epochs in popular music history.

Lee takes the risky gamble of making a movie however, which is NOT about the music and the concerts. Instead, Taking Woodstock is inspired by the true story of Elliot Tiber and his family, who inadvertently play a pivotal role in making the famed festival into the pivotal event it was. What you get instead is an up-close and personal look at the seminal happening that changed lives, not just of popular music and culture, but of the people involved with it, especially Tibor and his family.

Anchored between the Chicago riots at the Democratic convention, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the disastrous Rolling Stone concert at Altamont and the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Woodstock was the vibrant blossoming of 60’s liberalism. It marks a decade that transformed a generation of young American adults, popular music, liberal culture and politics. Unbeknownst to them, it was the beginning of the end.

Taking Woodstock tells the back story of the beginnings and the end of life as Tibor and his family know it. If you are interested in some of the details of Woodstock and not the concert, you will enjoy this movie. No need to spend $10 to see it in the movie theater though, HT is enough.

Other than the interesting back story to Woodstock, a few stand out in this movie:

1 – Concert producer Michael Lang is unbelievably cool. Think James Bond with an Afro. Think Jesus on a white horse surveying a muddy field after a battle.

2 – Six foot, four inch Liev Schreiber (Scream trilogy, The Manchurian Candidate, Defiance, X-Men Origins: Wolverine) as a compassionate 240 pound transvestite.

3 – Yet another incredible performance from Imelda Staunton (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Vera Drake) as Tibor’s cankerous and greedy mother.

EDEN LAKE

cluless — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 01:24:26 GMT

Anyway Just watched Eden Lake...

Ranked of a "Lord of the Flies" knockoff,,,,erwererwere,

The 10 Best Football Movies

Colin — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:59:53 GMT

http://www.spike.com/blog/top-10-football/73015?page=2&numPerPage=1

Not sure I can agree with this list, how about you? What about "We are Marshall?" The Longest Yard?

Blu-Spec CD's

CIGARBUM — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 13:19:16 GMT

Has anyone listened to any of this format cd? Are they any better or just more snakeoil.

French Guitar Band: Morglbl

TNRabbit — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 19:59:49 GMT

I have a friend in Baltimore who promotes this group in the U.S.A.--they are a French band named Morglbl (pronounced MOR-GULL-BULL) and they are AWESOME~

They performed at Nearfest last year & will be coming back again next year to the U.S. for a (no affiliation personally):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9txQFPrnjvI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOHgAk2PI_M&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yr_YSnTbxM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxknq21-EM8&feature=related

http://www.sonicbids.com/morglbl