What Emmanuelle Movie Did You Just Watch?

[BillyG]

I don't have Shaun or Hot Fuzz on bluray, so I will probably snag the three pack.

[Bobby Bear]

Avatar, Alien, and (perhaps unsurprisingly) Aliens would also feature in my favourite Blu-rays list. Possibly Star Trek and Inception as well.

[Matt]

Both STAR TREK films look great on blu ray.

[Bobby Bear]

What are the special features like on the Darkness Blu, Matt? I was too disappointed with the film to warrant a purchase, but a nice special edition release might interest me in a rental.

[Matt]

I hated it. HATED it. The only reason why I bought it was because I was anal about having my collection of ST blu rays complete. I tried watching it again and ended up buzzing through it to the parts that I liked. What I saw was gorgeous. I haven't bothered with the bonus stuff yet.

[BillyG]

I believe the bonus stuff was fucked. Like split across 4 different retailers, plus some UK exclusive stuff.

[Bobby Bear]

I didn't hate it, Matt, although there was an awful lot to dislike. The story was very messy and the same problems which marred the first one weren't addressed, like J.J.'s reliance on spectacle and a really generic villain (sorry, Cumberfans) to justify all the zipping around.

Attempting to reinvent the series is fine; I'd just like it to retain some vestige of the Star Trek 'feel' apart from form-fitting uniforms and transporters.

[Matt]

I didn't hate it, Matt, although there was an awful lot to dislike. The story was very messy and the same problems which marred the first one weren't addressed, like J.J.'s reliance on spectacle and a really generic villain (sorry, Cumberfans) to justify all the zipping around.

Attempting to reinvent the series is fine; I'd just like it to retain some vestige of the Star Trek 'feel' apart from form-fitting uniforms and transporters.

Well said. While I did hate it, I also must admit to enjoying the quality of the special effects AND the quality of the acting. The script itself is simply inexcusable, though.

[Matt]

STAGECOACH (1939)

We scratched another classic off of our list last night. I've wanted to watch this one for a long time, and I must admit that I was not disappointed with it. Solid acting, interesting characters, and a lot of grey area for everyone to play around in. Some of the stuntwork in that final action scene are jaw droppers.

Great movie.

[Bobby Bear]

Thanks, mate! Spock echoing (the original) Kirk's defining scream was almost a squirm-inducing moment for me. It seemed to typify the wider problems with Abrams and chums' approach to Star Trek - a sloppy approach to storytelling that's more concerned with remixing beloved moments and characters while providing little to enrich the series.

[Anderson]

STAGECOACH (1939)

We scratched another classic off of our list last night. I've wanted to watch this one for a long time, and I must admit that I was not disappointed with it. Solid acting, interesting characters, and a lot of grey area for everyone to play around in. Some of the stuntwork in that final action scene are jaw droppers.

Great movie.

That was some Yakima Canutt stuntwork.

Nobody gives this flick the credit it deserves in the modern critic pool.

[Matt]

That was some Yakima Canutt stuntwork.

Nobody gives this flick the credit it deserves in the modern critic pool.

Really? I thought that this was hailed as one of the big classics of 1939.

[Anderson]

Really? I thought that this was hailed as one of the big classics of 1939.

It was a few decades ago, but now all the steam gets thrown behind The Searchers and Liberty Valence. Most of Wayne/Ford's work in the 1930s gets ignored.

Fuck, Ford in the 1930s was unstoppable.

[Matt]

This was right up there with, if not better than, THE SEARCHERS and LIBERTY VALANCE. Great stuff. Glad I finally got to watch it. The wife thought it was great as well.

I may pick this one up on Criterion, actually.

[Ben Thomas]

We studied Stagecoach. Because if nothing else, the final action sequence pretty much invented action editing in the US.

The only other Western we even looked at was Once Upon a Time in the West.