Info and forum posts by 'Hulk Smash!'

RE: The Punisher War Journal

I`m looking forward to seeing this - I like the Punisher character (and seem to be the only person on earth to have really liked the 2003 version, lol). I don`t think it`s getting a UK cinema release... (I could be wrong though?), so will probably have to look "elsewhere" or wait for the DVD.

After all the good/great comic-book movies this year, I don`t think it will be very well received (or go down too well with the critics) - but really, sometimes all you want is a movie where you can switch your brain off, sit back and watch the "bad guys" get it... :)

RE: The Spirit

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I never visit AICN - do all the `reviewers` hide behind nom de plumes? If you`re going to write something like that (boring and self indulgent - I didn`t even read the whole thing) you should at least have the courage to use your real name and stand by what you say.I totally agree about the AICN reviews... And I know Harry himself *may* have some influence on the internet and certain movies - but his reviews are always full of swearing (which instantly loses a lot of credibility with me...) and most of the time filled with some inane back-story that seems to take up the first 15 paragraphs, before actually getting around to reviewing the film itself, lol...

This item was edited on Thursday, 18th December 2008, 14:28

RE: Star Wars the Musical

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And if John Williams was still alive I`d bet they`d hire him even though he probably wouldn`t be cheap
John Williams is still alive... :B

RE: The Dark Knight on BD....Whats going on???

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But then you don`t like the format anyway so it`s to be expected you`d think like this.
Well things like this are hardly warming me to the format, lol. I`m still undecided about BD to be honest... it has yet to "wow" me or convince me one way or the other - some BD`s are great - but others seem hardly any improvement over their standard counterpart... it`s hardly the "huge" step up from DVD I was expecting. And if they keep on releasing idiotic BDs like this, then my BD player etc. will be going straight on eBay. (...can you imagine if a similar thing were done for the standard-release DVD? No - they wouldn`t allow it...).

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It was shown at 2.40:1 theatrically and that`s how most people would have seen it. The IMAX thing would have been very limited and the BD isn`t actually preserving the `director`s vision` because it`s still cropped from the IMAX ratio. It`s an interesting experiment,
Yup... an experiment - that will annoy quite a few BD customers I`d imagine. I don`t care if this is how the director intended it to be (which I find hard to believe)... does everyone prefer Director`s Cuts or things like the new versions of Star Wars and E.T. because that`s what the director intended? This whole BD "Dark Knight" thing just seems more a case of common sense than anything to me... constantly alternating the aspect-ratio of the main film on a DVD/BD - and offering the customer no other alternative - is just perplexing in this day and age (especially given the capabilities of BD and the fact that they could probably have done it as a branching-feature). :/

This item was edited on Friday, 12th December 2008, 08:27

RE: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World`s End new footage

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This is a great mash-up of pirate related films in the new Pirates of the Caribbean: At World`s End extended trailer . I can`t believe this stuff was left out of the final film!
Sloth!! :x

RE: The Dark Knight on BD....Whats going on???

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I find it incredible that this is happening on blu-ray and you can`t watch the version you saw at the cinema and on DVD. Whether people prefer the IMAX or widescreen or whatever, surely all of those versions could have been user-selectable using some sort of branching? Certainly at least the choice to watch the full `normal` film or the normal one with bits of IMAX???????
Totally agree... to not even have the option of whether you want to view the Imax scenes or not, is ridiculous... Surely, they could have had the film in it`s standard widescreen - and have the Imax scenes as extras or an option of including them in the movie? It seems (again) as though BD is treated as more of a novelty, rather than the "ultimate" movie experience it professes to be.

Stoopid Blu-ray. :/

This item was edited on Thursday, 11th December 2008, 14:26

RE: Fight of the Year !!!

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I agree but I always thought Pac man would be too much for any over the hill fighter tbh
Going in, I don`t think Oscar was considered over the hill though: he was the odds-on favourite and still in many people`s/website`s Top 10 pound-for-pound fighters. Also, I have The Ring Magazine and they polled 20 trainers/boxers/journalists about the fight - 18 of them picked Oscar to win... only 2 picked Manny.

So when you take all that into account, his victory (and total domination) looks even more impressive! I`m not sure whether Oscar is that over-the-hill, or if it was more to do with the weight issue (similar to Roy Jones` up and down weight problems) - they said he had only gained 2 pounds after his weigh-in(?)... I think he must have miscalculated things as he just looked dead at the weight.

I agree about Pacquiao Vs Hatton - that would be an awesome match-up. I wouldn`t be surprised either to see Mayweather come out of "retirement" to take pac-man on either...

This item was edited on Tuesday, 9th December 2008, 14:32

RE: Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull what d`ya think thread.

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prequels and the cartoon movie however are abysmal....let it go floyd... let it go. ;)

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Heh, I like the Thrawn novels. They`re about the only EU books I ever read.I read all the "Dark Empire" comics... (not sure if they`re the same?). I would have loved to see them make a new movie/trilogy from them.

This item was edited on Monday, 8th December 2008, 16:43

RE: Recommendation on MP3/iPod Player

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But there must be tracks on there you will never, ever listen to?
It`s like having clothes in your wardrobe you`ll never wear, or DVD`s you`ll never watch.
Oh yeah - I know where you`re coming from.

There`s just something quite satisfying about having your whole collection available at the touch of a button (well, a few touches ;) ) - and I like it being there just in case I ever had a sudden urge to listen to it.

RE: Mark Kermode has higher respect for Uwe Boll than he does for Guy Ritchie!!!!

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Kermode`s serious presenting stuff is pretty good though, like the documentaries on Shawshank, Blade Runner and The Exorcist.
Oh definitely. I kind of wish he`d stick to the more serious-type presenting (he`s not bad on The Culture Show either. At times).

I even agree with his opinions on certain films like The Exorcist and Pan`s Labyrinth. It`s just some of the things he comes out with for certain films can make him sound so pretentious and... well, a bit of a nob*. ;)





*(or is that Knob... never know how to spell it....)

RE: I Got The Blu-ray Blues...

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I still rate the original Superman: The Movie very highly, especially given the technological constraints of the time
Best. Superhero movie. Ever. :D

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Then again, I like Superman Returns and prefer Ang Lee`s Hulk to Leterrier`s reboot, so what do I know?
Ssssshhhh.... me too.

RE: Recommendation on MP3/iPod Player

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I`m not going to carry around all my music on it, just the albums I want to listen to during that particular period. Having my whole collection on an MP3 player would serve no purpose whatsoever really.
With respect Ben - that`s what you personally want it for though, and I can understand that... If I mainly used mine "on the go" or took it with me everywhere, I`d probably have a much smaller one and just download particular tracks onto it.

I mainly use mine at home (like a walkman) while I`m working... having your entire collection at the touch of the button is fantastic. :D

RE: I Got The Blu-ray Blues...

Hmm... I must be the only one who thought that TDK was fairly ordinary and over-long. I wasn`t over-impressed by Ledger`s Joker - and Bale`s "Mr Growly" Batman was at times verging on the embarrassing. "The best superhero film ever"? Hardly... (it`s not even the best Batman film :/ ).

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This Batman is (almost) believable. He works in a world that`s pretty recognisable rather than a hyper-reality like the Burton version of Gotham City with its huge edifices.
I think that`s why I prefer the comicbook style of the Burton movies (and to an extent, Batman Begins)... everything in TDK is trying to be too serious and realistic. Urm... it`s a Batman movie, not The Godfather.

Oh well, I`ll give it another chance on BD...

RE: Bond 22 named - Quantum of Solace

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Casino Royale up there with the best Bond Films. QoS possable takes OHMSS off the bottom
:o ...you can`t be serious - OHMSS is one of best Bond films in the whole series - possibly even the best!

I agree about QoS though... after the first viewing, I`d put it around 20-22. I`ll see if it improves onece the BD (< see that Chris!) is out.

RE: Mark Kermode has higher respect for Uwe Boll than he does for Guy Ritchie!!!!

...does anyone actually care what Mark Kermode and his `50`s throw-back hair think anymore? He`s a self-admitted "snot-nosed critic" whose reviews are only worth listening to for a laugh these days... :/

RE: Satriani -v- Coldplay

...are there any links (or clips on YouTube etc.) that directly compares the two...?

RE: Fight of the Year !!!

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this is what boxing is all about and why it is THE ultimate sport...
...totally agree. There`s something about boxing - probably harking back to the old gladiatoral days - that gets me really excited/hyped-up compared to other sports... Some people still say it is too barbaric, but it can actually be quite beautiful at times. And there`s nothing like watching a big fight from the US live at 4 in the morning! 8)

And how about Pacquiao`s performance at the weekend? That was just incredible...

This item was edited on Monday, 8th December 2008, 14:21

RE: Recommendation on MP3/iPod Player

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I`ve only got an 8GB itouch, with everything on it ripped using lossless.
I`m nowhere near filling that, never mind 100GB!!!!!
I am quite selective though.
I`ll sometimes only rip one track off an album.
I don`t see the point of ripping tracks I`ll never, ever listen to.

Well it all depends on how many CDs you have and what you what you want the player for, I suppose... I wanted to rip my entire CD collection (about 800 CDs), all at 320kbps - took a fair while(!), but getting immediate access to any album/track is definitely worth it. :)

RE: WALL-E - Perfection

Ooh - I`m all excited now... Haven`t got round to watching WALL-E yet - I do love the other Pixar films though.

One thing - when I first saw a picture of WALL-E, I did think they had ripped-off "Number 5" from Short Circuit... they do look very similar!

RE: Mamma Mia - I don`t get it?

Although it`s not really my type of film, I did enjoy Mamma Mia... it was nothing special - but it certainly is good fun (and it helps if you like ABBA). After about an hour, my mind did start to wonder though...

And I don`t know why people are singling out Brosnan as being particularly "bad"... he was no worse than the other two - I`d say Colin Firth probably had the weakest voice.

(...but that`s really not the point, lol...)

RE: Star Trek (JJ Abraham) Anticipation Thread

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Caught the trailer on Sky One last night. Curiously it`s cooled me right off the movie again, which is sad. I used to be such a Trek-whore, but it`s same old, same old...
That`s the trouble with any new "Trek" really though... we have seen it all before. It`s the same with a lot of these long running franchises (Bond, Batman, Halloween, POTApes, Trek) - when they seem to have exhausted everything, they go for the "re-imagining".

Still, as said re-imagining, I do think it looks good. :)

This item was edited on Sunday, 23rd November 2008, 22:55

RE: Buying DVDs From American/Canadian Websites

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I`ve ordered the Alias 30 disc boxset and the Land of the Giants boxset both from Amazon USA and they got through without additional charges.
Seems to be potluck.
Yup - it really does seem to be potluck... I recently ordered 3 R1 boxsets together and wasn`t charged, even though the value clearly said $65 on the front. I have been stung a few times by Customs in the past, but have noticed - if you keep the value to about $80 or less, then (more often than not) you aren`t charged. Or maybe they just like me(?).

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Recently I find that star trek - the next generation dvd boxset is on my favorite dvd website（URL REMOVED BY MODS）. the price is reasonable and the after-sell is professional, you could make a try.
Lol - lauriebert.... the best "honestly I`m not a spammer, guv" in town... ;)

RE: Help with a Sky+ problem

Pat - I had this problem with my Sky box a bit a go. If you do the following, it might work (it did for me anyway):

- unplug the box at the wall
- remove any scart or HDMI leads, wipe over the sockets with a duster or cloth, then put the leads back in
- plug the box back in to the wall and switch the power on (at the wall)
- wait 5-10 minutes, then switch the box on

It might be worth trying? Good luck.

RE: I Got The Blu-ray Blues...

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I have to say I`m not overally impressed with it all! Sure , Cars is breathtaking but on playing the DVD version of it straight after I noticed that was also!? The other BD`s I have seen are hardly seperable from DVD`s.
Exactly... I`m not saying there is no difference - just that for a lot of people - possibly me too - standard DVD (upscaled on an HD TV) is/will be good enough. There`s also the fact that DVD itself is a relatively new format... I`m not sure how many people (ie. the "general consumer") will be willing to buy another player and into a new format again - especially one so similar to DVD (ie. the actual disc). I mean, two of us on here already have BD ( ;) ) players, and aren`t that impressed...

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Not being funny, but I really cannot understand how anyone could look at a DVD and a BD and say that they look the same unless they have issues with their eyesight...Lol - I can definitely see the benefits of HD on TV channels (eg. BBC HD)... the difference is quite noticeable there. But for DVDs (movies especially) you can get an excellent picture from a standard DVD upscaled etc. Basically, I don`t know whether BD is a big/great enough "change" from DVD to heavily buy into... I`ve got a feeling that it will remain more of a niche thing and not become the format/mainstream (similar to how DVD has/did).

Anyway - I don`t want to come accross as over-negative (...whadyahmean "too late"!?). I`m going to do quite a bit more BD watching/comparing etc. before deciding whether to sell-up or not...

This item was edited on Thursday, 20th November 2008, 08:25

RE: I-Pod Classic - Cover-flow problem (missing covers...)

Cheers Nick! It worked... mostly (there were a couple still missing so I just uploaded a different photo).

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I think your iPod can only arrange Cover Flow by name, not year.
Yup... I`ve gone all through the manual and can`t see anything to alter it (...they`re also listed alphabetical in the normal album/playlist to). Oh well...

RE: new hd-tv! advice and deals please!

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I will also add that there is no need for Full HD on a 32".
Hey Doc! :)

When do you think the size comes into it, in regards to Full-HD? I have a 42" Full-HD set, and the difference (when watching Blu-Rays) isn`t that noticeable (when compared to upscaled standard DVDs)... Is it mainly for "giant" screens (50"+)?

I-Pod Classic - Cover-flow problem (missing covers...)

I`ve just download about 90GB worth of albums onto my i-Pod Classic... and there appears to be a few covers missing (about 15) when I use the Cover-flow thing (and just play the albums as normal).

They are all there on I-Tunes/my PC, so any suggestions? Should I delete and re-load the cover-art or something?

Also, is it possible to have the Cover-flow (on the actual I-Pod) with the albums released by year? (at the moment they are alphabetical... they are by year on I-Tunes though).

Sorry if any of this is really easy and I`m just being thick(!).

This item was edited on Wednesday, 19th November 2008, 10:23

RE: Indiano Jones DVD - Poor direction/production?

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That said, I`m still crossing my fingers that we get an Indy 5.
Me too... is there any news on that front?

I heard that all three (Speilberg, Lucas, and Ford) would consider it - but I`m worried after the "mixed" reception this one got, they might not bother... :(

RE: I Got The Blu-ray Blues...

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Blu-ray has vastly superior picture to DVD; it`s not just a `bit better`. The audio is also far superior.
It`s not perfect, but it`s come a long way in the last 18 months and now delivers a superior experience to DVD/HD DVD in all areas.

Hmmmm... (I was going to start a new thread about it, but what the heck): Is Blu-Ray really that much better? I`ve had my (Panasonic) player for about 5 months now and I have to say, I`m not overly impressed... I have a 42" full-HD plasma (Panasonic again) and with a lot of BRs there`s hardly any noticeable difference... and I`ve never thought... "wow - that`s amazing" or anything.

The improved sound doesn`t really apply to me, as I`m quite happy/satisfied with DD/DTS 5.1, but as for the picture - there is a slight improvement (mainly in detailing/or when smaller things are on screen), but then a standard DVD - when played on an 1080i/p upscaling player is still very, very good... particularly with movies/things recorded on film. I also wonder whether BR is indeed "the future" or just more of a fad... I really can`t see many people adopting it if they feel the same as me - or are perfectly happy with upscaled standard DVD.

I actually did a test the other day playing Spiderman 3 and Casino Royal (I have both the SD and BR versions) - one on standard DVD upscaled, and the other on BR.. I kept switching between the two at the same time... you can tell the difference, but it certainly wasn`t vastly superior - and certainly not the biggest change since Black + White to Colour(!).

Maybe my DVD and TV is great at upscaling pictures, or maybe you just need a bigger TV (46"- 50" +) to really appreciate BR? I don`t know - but, what with the crappy packaging (and cases), the high price of the discs, the constant re-releases/double/triple-dipping etc., I`m seriously considering selling my BR player and sticking to good `ol standard DVD. :/


Rant over.

RE: Indiano Jones DVD - Poor direction/production?

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There seems to be a lot of people out there who wanted this movie to fail. Who were too ready to start jumping up and down chanting their "George Lucas Raped My Childhood" mantra and make out this movie is another Star Wars prequel disaster.
Exactly.

Like the Star Wars prequels, some people couldn`t wait to bash Indy - just "because". Fair enough if you genuinely don`t like it or think it has ropey effects, but there were people out there probably watching it with a notebook picking out all the faults etc. and missing all the cool stuff.

Some films get such a bad stigma attatched to them... when people look back at "the dreaded" Phantom Menace, they convieniently tend to ignore how awesomely awesome Darth Maul and things like the pod race was - and instead focus just on Jar Jar Binks and how "childish" it is. (the fact that they are not 10 years old anymore like when they first saw/fell in love with the original trilogy, doesn`t have anything to do with it of course... ;) ).