ysbreker

Movie/TV recommendations

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Yeah, and apparently the quality isn't that great, either. It's 1080p, but from the screenshots I've seen, the bitrate seems pretty low.

Also, I love that Norwegian consumer laws force them to offer a non-binding alternative, so i'll be able to sign up for one month, just to try it out. If it turns out they're offering a paid service that's inferior to piracy, I'll be TOTALLY FUCKING SHOCKED.

The quality is terrible so far, and they've said that HD is somehow only available to Samsung TV customers, for now. So I hope this gets better, but so far it's pretty shit.

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They're "rolling out HD to other platforms" as we speak, apparently. All this delay and they still have nothing actually ready on launch.. I would expect something like this from Netflix (and they did pretty well from day one) but HBO have a small selection of series and films and they should've gotten that right from the get go.

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I thought they sent in 1080p to everyone, but only Samsung TVs got 5.1 sound? Anyway, it'll be interesting to see where this goes.

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I don't know.. the stream on their website may be in a 1080 resolution, but it still looks like shit. They said it'll look less shit soon.

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Polisse. French cop movie, documentary style. Blimmin' great, if a little (well, ok, a lot) gritty. Very absorbing.

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I hadn't watched the Matrix sequels since I saw them in the movie theater, but the other day I saw the trilogy on sale for £10 on Bluray. Seemed like a great deal, so I picked them up and re-watched them all again, hoping to be less disappointed this time around. Interestingly, I was...

The first movie is still fantastic. It really holds up well. It's generally seen to be nowhere near as cool as once was, but I've realised that this is largely because of how the sequels tainted it. As an action/sci-fi movie by itself, this is up there with the very best of them.

The two sequels are really one (really) long movie, as it turns out. No wonder I didn't feel engaged when I went to watch it at the cinema, I could probably barely remember what the story was from the first (confusing) sequel.

Before I re-watch them this time, I tried to make sure I was going to get the most out of them, and watched all of the Animatrix (better than I remembered, but immediately took the "this is serious" tone that the sequels did -- could have been a lot more fun, but most of them were pretty good). And, as it turned, the most important thing I watched in preparation was the footage from ENTER THE MATRIX (the Video game that Shiny Entertainment rushed out the door, but which featured live action footage written and directed by the Wachowski's). This more than anything else, is what made the last two films more enjoyable to watch. Especially the third film, where you spend most of your time with Niobe, the lead character from ETM.

It's sad that the story they wrote for Enter the Matrix was lost to a sub-par game. (I'm surprised Shiny didn't try and actually properly finish it at a later date, and release it in a "Redux" version or something.)

While Reloaded and Revolutions were better, and a whole lot less confusing than I remembered, they were still totally different from the first film. Self-important, humourless and not much fun, it's almost like they're from a totally different film series. I'm guessing that creating the sequels set the Wachowski's up for life, but artistically they're dull and flabby. Merely competent were the first film shone -- and it's no surprise: They spent four years just polishing their script for the Matrix, whereas they bashed out the sequels in comparatively no time at all.

Despite enjoying the sequels more this time around, I still wish they'd not made them. The first film was just so brilliant that it would still have had a great reputation today, instead of being linked to an extremely uncool franchise.

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The first Matrix film is the only one I've ever tried to rewatch, and I agree: It felt tainted by the sequels. In the original, I thought the Baudrillard reference to On Nihilism* was a really interesting counterpoint to the protagonists. I thought the ending of the first was going to go in some really interesting directions in the sequels, but instead they disappeared into a completionist scifi wank about messianic prophecies.

Also, The Matrix trilogy ruined long coats for men.

* The hollow book Keanu Reeves keeps discs in is Simulacra and Simulation. It falls open to this chapter.

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The matrix series was fine right up to the release of the second movie. The Animatrix was quite excellent.

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Also, The Matrix trilogy ruined long coats for men.

This is so true! I actually thought this when I re-watched the first one again. After I came out of the first Matrix, long black coats seemed like a really cool fashion statement. I'm sure I even considered buying one. Then the sequels came out and it was like, "So glad I didn't go down that route!".

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A couple of days ago (whilst on a scotch egg hunt in my local supermarket) I very almost uttered 'there is no spoon' to a Asian guy wearing a full length black trench coat/monk robe thing. It was a very fashion forward look... But yeah, no one can pull that look off for the next 50 years because of the matrix

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Hobbit was good, but I fear what the Extended Editions of an already 2h30m movie will be.

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Yeah, this is one of those times you'd wish there was a Producers Cut or something..

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Yeah, this is one of those times you'd wish there was a Producers Cut or something..

Read the book with the soundtrack on, boom.

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I watched Tu Sera Mon Fils last night. That's worth a go too. It convinced me to order a bottle of wine with my dinner, a decision that I'm regretting as I have a 3 hour drive ahead of me.

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Laaate to the party but quite enjoyed John Connor. Space dog best dog.

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