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Jay

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22-Feb-2003
Last activity
29-Jun-2025
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2,437

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Post
#116777
Topic
Batman Begins
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/116777/action/topic#116777
Time
***Minor spoilers***

Saw it on Saturday night. I need to to see it again to know how it holds up to repeat viewings, but overall, it's my new favorite Batman movie.

I watched Tim Burton's Batman not too long ago after not having seen it in years, and it wasn't as good as I remembered it being. Honestly, I think it's one of the most overrated superhero movies there is, often regarded as genius when it really doesn't deserve that kind of praise. Michael Keaton is physically unbelievable as Batman, the Gotham scenes look like studio sets rather than dirty city streets, and the Batmobile is all about flash and appearance. It's a natural extension of the Batman TV series with Tim Burton's dark wit mixed in.

Christian Bale makes a great Batman--young, handsome, and fit. Gotham looks like a real city close-up, but has a slightly surreal comic book quality when viewed during the long shots. And best of all, the Batmobile, which I thought looked silly when Warner Bros. first revealed the photos, proves itself to be a vehicle built with utility and durability in mind. You believe it's a serious fighting machine that can handle the punishment it's dealt. Batman Begins is a faithful adaptation of the comic book Batman and is much better for it.

The film did a great job of establishing Bruce Wayne's fear of bats and then linking it to his parents' murder. This new Batman spent his adolescence tormented by anger, guilt, and fear, and is about 30 seconds away from becoming a mere vigilante until fate steps in. He then goes on a journey of self-discovery, learning to draw power from his fear and using it to instill fear in others.

The film also makes the heroes and villains believable. Unlike other franchises, which contain characters blessed with otherworldly powers, the Batman universe is populated by a bunch of normal people brandishing crazy outfits and psychological disorders, so it takes some creativity to turn these otherwise normal people into superheroes and supervillains. The revelation of Scarecrow is genuinely disturbing (I heard many people around me gasping and groaning, including my fiancee), but in the end, he's just a psychiatrist with a burlap sack over his face, and the method of his defeat, while seemingly lame, is appropriate given his lack of true power.

It's easy to see why Liam Neeson got the role he did. He's evil Qui-Gonn. I didn't go in expecting him to be a badass, but he was. Michael Caine was great as Alfred; kind, understanding, witty, and intelligent. A true father figure and friend to Bruce. Gary Oldman portrays Gordon as a beaten-down cop overwhelmed by dirty associates, and he's funny (but not in a Stooge way) when thrust into the role of hero later in the film. Katie Holmes was okay as the assistant DA. I would've chosen someone with a bit more character and presence though. I don't see her inspiring the good element of Gotham to rally around her to fight corruption.

The acting was very naturalistic by all parties and I think the performances were excellent overall.

I thought most of the one-liners were pretty funny, many of them lending a nice tongue-in-cheek attitude toward occurrences that are often regarded as normal in superhero movies. This movie took itself seriously, but it revealed a lighter side when appropriate.

Batman Begins is successful for the same reason Superman: The Movie and Spider-Man 2 were successful: it's a movie about character building, which is what draws you in enough to care about all the fighting and explosions and such.

The special effects were extremely well done, and unlike some other movies we're all familiar with, CGI is used in a way that keeps it from drawing attention to itself. There were a couple moments that could've used a bit more polish, but overall, CGI was utilized intelligently.

I'm not sure if I'll be going to see it again though. It's on the launch list for HD-DVD, and since I'm sure to be an early adopter, I'll probably exercise some patience and wait until it's available in HD.

My Batman movie ranking:

1. Batman Begins
2. Batman
3. Batman Returns

I pretend Batman Forever and Batman and Robin never happened.
Post
#116392
Topic
Pioneer CLD D 515
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/116392/action/topic#116392
Time
Quote
Originally posted by: MeBeJedi
"but used LD players are a crapshoot"

Tell me about it. The first one I bought off Ebay arrived DOA, and after spending 100+ dollars to fix after on top of what I paid for it with shipping, it stopped working again!

Annoying.


Your best bet is to find dedicated A/V classifieds, such as Audiogon and Videogon, and buy from someone who has some good feedback and can tell you about the history of the player. Even better if you can find someone local because then you avoid shipping. LD players are very heavy and their drive mechanisms are fragile, so they should never be shipped via ground. Only 2nd day air or overnight if you can afford it.

There are so many garbage LD players on ebay it's hardly worth the trouble.
Post
#116277
Topic
Pioneer CLD D 515
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/116277/action/topic#116277
Time
The Denon 2300 is a clone of the Pioneer 515.

Seems like a solid player. Dual format (PAL/NTSC), dual side play, AC-3 RF output for Dolby Digital (RF demodulator required). Missing some of the fancier video features, but nothing you'd really need. One glaring omission: no digital output (Toslink or coax), so PCM soundtracks can only be played back via the analog outputs. It also means no DTS LDs.

You'd have to check around and see what it's worth on the used market in your country. 200€ is about $250 US. Seems fair enough, but used LD players are a crapshoot, and in general, ebay Buy It Now prices are inflated.
Post
#116118
Topic
Message to Paramount Please fire Rick Berman!
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/116118/action/topic#116118
Time
Quote
Originally posted by: GundarkHunter
While I agree that Berman is grinding the franchise into the ground, I also think it needs a break. The original series ran for 3 years followed a few years later by the animated show, and The Motion Picture 10 years after the original series. Since then, we've had 26 years of nearly uninterrupted Star Trek. Time to give it a rest.


Agreed. I love Star Trek (probably more than Star Wars), but it needs some time off. Hopefully enough time off that Berman will find his way over the side of a cliff before Star Trek's return.

I'm going through the second season of TOS now and plan to pick up season 3 when I'm done. After that, I'm going to swallow hard and grab the 7-season set of TNG. I loved TNG back when it was on the air, and can't wait to see it all again. Actually, watching TOS has shown me that there were a lot of episodes I'd never seen, and with 7 seasons under its belt, I'm sure I'll be watching a lot of TNG episodes for the first time.
If I ever manage to finish it, I'll check out DS9, which I also really enjoyed during its first few seasons. I slacked off and stopped watching though.

Speaking of the animated series, is there any talk of it hitting DVD anytime soon? The LD box set sells on ebay for around $100. I'm about ready to cave.
Post
#116114
Topic
IMPORTANT: Forum software upgrade FAQs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/116114/action/topic#116114
Time
Quote
Originally posted by: Yoda Is Your Father
Until the OT is made available to the public, I don't see any need to change.


Tell that to my bank account, which has shouldered the burden of this site for the past two years.

Honestly, I'm bored with the site as a hobby and need it to evolve. Otherwise, I have little incentive to keep in going in the long-term.
Post
#114588
Topic
Revenge of the Sith DLP Digital THX
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/114588/action/topic#114588
Time
At what theater?

I went to Edgewater, NJ to see ROTS on DLP and they had an old first generation projector. Must have been an XGA (1024x768) because the pixel structure was horrible. Colors were dull compared to the film presentation I'd seen the week before, and the bulb was obviously beyond its rated lifespan because the picture was exceedingly dim.

HD broadcasts on my home projector (Optoma H79, 1280x720 DLP) easily beat ROTS on the DLP in Edgewater.

If Obi-wonton saw it on a more recent Barco, it probably was as stunning as he says.
Post
#113626
Topic
Kevin Smith interview in Rolling Stone on fans - Couldn't have said it better myself...
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/113626/action/topic#113626
Time
Kevin Smith is a dork who made one hip flick in college and has been riding on it ever since.

I used to be a big fan. His films haven't stood the test of time for me though. I get bored while watching them and don't bother finishing. I watched Clerks two years ago with an ex-girlfriend. Nowhere near as funny as I remembered it being when I was in college. I left the DVD at her place after we broke up and didn't think to get it back.

The best films grow with you and keep their charm. Smith's films are mostly immature bullshit.

Maybe he's sympathetic toward Lucas because, like Lucas, he's now getting trashed left and right for being a has-been. The best thing he's done recently is play the balding medical examiner in Daredevil.
Post
#113623
Topic
IMPORTANT: Forum software upgrade FAQs
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/113623/action/topic#113623
Time
Quote
Originally posted by: Darth Simon
Two related questions.

dont think these were asked yet, my apologies if they were
1) Will PM's be on by default? everyone is always making comments how most forum softwars have it on by default.
2) Will the limit on PM's in out inbox stay at 25 or will it be increased? if increased do you know what to yet.

-Darth Simon


PMs will be on by default. Max amount will probably be 100 messages.
Post
#112848
Topic
The Goonies
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/112848/action/topic#112848
Time
Spielberg produced. Richard Donner directed (The Toy, Superman, Lethal Weapon).

The Goonies is one of my all-time favorites because it was made back when kids in film were allowed to behave like real kids and not like stupid cartoon characters.

I bought the DVD the day it came out. It was a close call too because Warner Bros. originally planned it as a full-screen release. Donner found out right before its scheduled release and demanded they make it widescreen. I'd never seen it in widescreen, so the DVD was a real pleasure.
Post
#112442
Topic
Surround Sound Setup Help
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/112442/action/topic#112442
Time
Quote
Originally posted by: Bossk
However, I did do some reconfiguring and did get sound out of both rear speakers now. However, the receiver only recognizes them as one lump Surround setting instead of allowing me to configure each one as its own speaker (surround left and surround right). But at least they now have sound. That is a step in the right direction.


You can only get Dolby Pro Logic, which has one surround channel, via RCA connections. Dolby Digital is a 5.1 bitstream that needs to be fed to the receiver via optical or coaxial.

Quote
Also, the Google ads are pretty smart. When I opened up this thread to type this message, the ad was for Orb Audio. Not bad.


I noticed this also. I'm not making a fortune, but the ads should at least cover hosting costs based on the revenue from the first week of their implementation.

Now if I can just figure out how to get Google to pay me $80/hr for development time.
Post
#112374
Topic
6 DVD Box Set for this November
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/112374/action/topic#112374
Time
The only thing I really want is a remastered TPM. The transfer on that DVD is horrible and nowhere near as clean as AOTC and, presumably, ROTS.

I also think the ESB puppet Yoda is the most believable Yoda, but a CGI Yoda in TPM would be more consistent with AOTC and ROTS.

I'm hesitant to buy any Star Wars box sets, new content or not, due to the impending release of BluRay and HD-DVD. Lucas took his time with the DVD release of the OT so he could do some more work, but I think the HD releases will hit the market much sooner.
Post
#112282
Topic
Surround Sound Setup Help
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/112282/action/topic#112282
Time
Does the receiver have internal test tones for setting individual speaker volume? Do you hear those when cycling through them?

Do you have a calibration disc (Avia, Digital Video Essentials) with test tones, or a DVD that you're sure has a 5.1 soundtrack with active surrounds?

Does the little DD/DTS symbol light up when playing a DVD?

Does your receiver have multiple digital and analog inputs that need to be assigned to specific equipment inputs (DVD, TV, etc.), and if so, have you assigned the proper digital input (optical or coaxial) for your DVD player? Do you have the DVD player connected to the receiver via its digital connection?

There are so many possibilities that it can be tough to identify the problem. If I were there, I'd probably have it up and running in two minutes.
Post
#112151
Topic
all the new people
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/112151/action/topic#112151
Time
Jimbo was banned because he was an obnoxious bigot.

The only reason he was allowed to stay for so long was because he was a fan of the prequels and SEs, and he provided a minority opinion in an overwhelmingly pro-OT forum. It kept people talking, which is always a good thing for a forum.

It was when he decided to start insulting people based on their sexual orientation that he was permanently removed.

He was an immature jackass with a lot of growing up to do.