**Rerun's Movie Reviews**

[cariad]

We saw Skyfall!!! I had been told that the screen/theatre was small, so I was expecting no-frills for our 12 quid, but it was lovely! I found the screen to be quite big and it was concave which gave a nice depth to the whole thing.

I was giddy after seeing it! I actually enjoyed it, but what's more, I honestly cannot remember the last time I saw a film in the theatres that did not have talking animals, annoying bathroom humour, or gobs and gobs of cutesy child-protagonists. I don't think there was one person under the age of 20 in this film, and I liked how much of the focus was on what happens to a super spy when he gets on in years. The villain was delightful, and though I've always considered it faint praise, I agree with the critics who say it is the best Bond film ever (not that I've seen that many). I also liked that they finally treated Bond as a real person, we got a brief glimpse of what made him who he was. (And thanks to a serendipitously-timed visit to a National Trust property, the boys knew what a priest hole was). His backstory fit with why this Bond does not exactly have an English accent, and while he wasn't given free license to have a full-on Welsh accent for obvious reasons, it showed a hint of respect toward the Celtic actors who have embodied that part and the Celtic fans that they've brought with them, many of whom probably didn't have much time for the series when the character was played by an Englishman.

The boys were entertained as well, and they were not the only young children there. Dyl got so excited at one point that he jumped out of his seat. The violence was not too brutal (Dyl appreciated the Komodo dragon scene) and the sex was not graphic in the least. All in all, a perfect evening out for all of us to finish out our winter holiday!

They can shut the franchise down now. End on a high note.

[Poppylicious]

We saw Django Unchained yesterday.  I loved it, although it was defintely worth the 18 certificate with its bloody-ness and death scenes. Brutal, but thought-provoking and a little funny in places (as befits Tarantino's style). I can't quite get over how big Leonardo Di Caprio's head is getting now though. And Jamie Foxx did things to my nether-regions, but that's by-the-by. *oooh, missus*

 

[Chris]

Poppy, is the 18 certificates a rating system you have for films?
Makes me wonder how the rating of Pulp Fiction was then.

[Poppylicious]

Poppy, is the 18 certificates a rating system you have for films?
Makes me wonder how the rating of Pulp Fiction was then.

Yep, we have U (suitable for anybody), PG (suitable for children with mummy and daddy's blessing), 12A (only really suitable for people over 12, but under 12s can go with an adult), 12 (should be 12+), 15 (must be 15+) and 18 (must be 18+).  It's very rare for films to get an 18 certificate these days but I *think* that Tarantino's films are always certified as 18s due to the violence. Pulp Fiction was an 18.

The Hunger Games was a 12A at the cinema (they only showed the edited/cut version).  The DVD release was a 12 but the Blu-ray was a 15.  Blokey bought me the Blu-ray for Christmas but I can't understand why the uncut version needs to be a 15.  For some films the certification seems to have been decided by people who haven't even watched the film (maybe they haven't?) ... *shrugs*

[geoffcamp]

Really really like this tread!!  Kinda breezed thru it as a returning IHD member. So I have an iPad and Netflix any other suggestions on finding movies and TV shows on the cheap or at least reasonable? Also maybe a man list of must sees. Not that women don't like action adventures and spy flicks but I know I do!!  I'll be revisiting here often and downloading some cool stuff hopefully. I recently got the new Bourne movie and it was surprisingly good. **** 4 stars from me. Also watched Hitman, I watched years ago but enjoyed revisiting it again. I'm going back thru the posts and look for ideas. THX.

[MooseMom]

Really really like this tread!!  Kinda breezed thru it as a returning IHD member. So I have an iPad and Netflix any other suggestions on finding movies and TV shows on the cheap or at least reasonable? Also maybe a man list of must sees. Not that women don't like action adventures and spy flicks but I know I do!!  I'll be revisiting here often and downloading some cool stuff hopefully. I recently got the new Bourne movie and it was surprisingly good. **** 4 stars from me. Also watched Hitman, I watched years ago but enjoyed revisiting it again. I'm going back thru the posts and look for ideas. THX.

It's so funny that you'd mention Hitman; I had never heard of it, nor had I ever heard of the video game on which it is based.  I was flicking through channels yesterday afternoon, and I happened across it and watched a few minutes because it starred Timothy Oliphant, who I love in Justified.  I almost didn't recognize him!

Even though I'm female,  I love action movies and spy thrillers.  I love just about any sort of movie that is well written and has three dimensional characters.  My favorite movie of all time is Das Boot, which actually was a 6 part miniseries that was condensed into a feature length film.  At the time it was made (early 1980s), it was the most ambitious and expensive movie ever made in Germany.  If you want both action and incredible tension, along with characters you come to care about despite the fact that they're German submariners during WWII, have a look.  I'm sure it's available on Netflix.  If you watch it, be sure to come back and tell me what you thought of it!

[Poppylicious]

We saw Movie 43 today.  Please don't go and see it; it was terrible and very unfunny with a handful of cutesy gems which at least made me NOT want to get up and walk out, although it was very close. (Apparently the wraparound story is completely different in the US so it may make more sense to those of you out there. I have no idea why the wraparound is different though. The US version sounds a bit funnier.)

 

[geoffcamp]

Did anyone else find the movie Ted to be as funny as I did???  Most of my friends didn't find it as amusing as I did!!

[Riki]

Did anyone else find the movie Ted to be as funny as I did???  Most of my friends didn't find it as amusing as I did!!

Ted is a mix of incredibly stupid with incredibly funny.. I liked it.. I watched it in dialysis, and the nurses kept telling me to be quiet cuz I was laughing too much.... they did the same with Hysteria..

[Chris]

Did anyone else find the movie Ted to be as funny as I did???  Most of my friends didn't find it as amusing as I did!!

On my list of movies to rent or buy.
I got Dredd a couple weeks ago, waaaay different than Stallones version and longer. More gritty. I am still not sure about seeing Total Recall, but will have Argo and Skyfall in Feb to watch.

[geoffcamp]

Argo is GREAT. I really liked it it was based on a true story and even with Ben (his movies have not been great lately) it is smart suspenseful and well done!  Let me know what you think. I have to look up hysteria. Haven't seen anything about it. As a guy Ted made me laugh out loud a lot. And that's a good thing. Not a thinking mans movie just slapstick comedy an the story is original I thought and just made me laugh!!  Glad to hear someone else got a few laughs too!!  I bought on my iTunes/apple TV account I thought it was so funny. Probably watch it again in a month to see if it still cracks me up!!  So Dread (sp?) was good?  I like action shoot 'em up kind of movies too. So your review is good but long??  THX guys. I'll be looking at things you like so throw me a few of your faves and I'll look them up!!

[geoffcamp]

Did anyone else find the movie Ted to be as funny as I did???  Most of my friends didn't find it as amusing as I did!!

On my list of movies to rent or buy.
I got Dredd a couple weeks ago, waaaay different than Stallones version and longer. More gritty. I am still not sure about seeing Total Recall, but will have Argo and Skyfall in Feb to watch.

I got Dredd a couple weeks ago, waaaay different than Stallones version and longer. More gritty. I am still not sure about seeing Total Recall, but will have Argo and Skyfall in Feb to watch.  Skyfall is on my list also. Looks good.

So do you guys get movies like me?  I mostly use iTunes with Netflix mixed in but they don't seem to have much. A lot of Steven Segal movies!!!  LOL. Anyone use huluplus or any other ways of getting movies and TV shows?

[cariad]

So do you guys get movies like me?  I mostly use iTunes with Netflix mixed in but they don't seem to have much. A lot of Steven Segal movies!!!  LOL. Anyone use huluplus or any other ways of getting movies and TV shows?

We only use Netflix or LoveFilm for movies and television here - I was told by some authority here that I did not need to get a television license if I used those services.

In the US, I highly recommend AmazonPrime with their vast library of free instant films and television you can watch. It is about $80 for a year, and has the added benefit of free two-day shipping on any of their items that they ship. If there is a film you really want to see that is not offered free to Prime members, you can usually rent it for 24-hours for about $3, or buy it for $10-$15 and it will be stored in your account. (Sometimes you have to download it before a certain date or you lose it - you are allowed to download digital copies of films you buy to 2 different computers, but they are not Mac compatible, except with the iPad.)

We also used to subscribe to HuluPlus, which is much more focused on television. I only got HuluPlus to watch Daily Show and Colbert on my television with Roku. You can watch those for free over the internet in the US, but the whole point of Roku is to watch internet videos on your television. It was worth the $8 a month for us, and we could have watched old episodes of loads of popular shows from the US and Britain.

The nice thing about HuluPlus is that you get a 2-week (sometimes a full month) free trial, and you can always cancel if you find you're not watching it enough. I canceled ours when we moved to the UK because it does not work over here, and it was a simple few clicks on the internet and done.

If you desperately want to watch something for free, we use YouTube as a last resort. Often you can find full movies on there, but they can be a bit of a chore to watch since they are generally posted in 10-minute blocks. I would be very wary of torrent sites or any other unknown sites offering pirated material.

[geoffcamp]

I LOVE my Apple TV it's just like your box that hooks up to your TV and streams content. The Apple TV box is $99 from apple but I got mine by searching the Internet and got a brand new one for $85. More expensive than other options but has been GRAET for me because I have an iPad, iPhone and a Mac computer. So it all works together along with my big screen TV for watching stuff on multiple devices!!  Apple is expensive but I have acquired the devices over a few years from birthday or holiday presents. A credit card or debit card is required with iTunes for buying music, renting or downloading movies but I'm very happy with it. The Apple TV also supports your current huluplus membership and Netflix amoung many many other options including you tube. So it handles pretty much everything which makes it easy and it's very easy to use and the box is very small won't even notice it hook up to your TV!!  It's like 4 inches by 4 inches and about an inch thick. I highly recommend the Apple TV box forv$85 investment and the ipad 2 are available now refurbished directly from apple for $319 18 gig wifi one. I got the 64 gig to download more movies and it was under $500. But more memory is a MUST for being able to download multiple movies. I can send you links to look at the stuff if you want. Buying refurbished from apple direct saves you hundreds and still come with full warentee so I'll post links if anyone is interested. It's not easy to find discounted apple stuff but I have found ways and my parents and sister bought this was. Like a said hundreds less than buying at apple store online or in retail store or even best buy or Walmart.   G.

[MooseMom]

We love love love our Netflix.  I have 458 items on my queue.  We like popular movies but also enjoy foreign or more obscure flicks.  This weekend we've watched both Looper and Farewell, My Queen.  We're starting on the third season of Kingdom (with Stephen Fry).  If you like Bollywood films, be sure to watch Agneepath and Jodha Akbar.  So many movies, so little time.

I try really hard to see all of the films that are up for the major awards at the Oscars, Golden Globes and the BAFTAS before those awards are given out.  I am desperate to see Amour but haven't been able to find it here in the 'burbs.  We hope to see Zero Dark Thirty next weekend.  I just can't get up the enthusiasm for Life of Pi, though.

[MaryD]

I have just started going to see a film every fortnight with a friend of my son.  We saw Quartet last week.  I love anything with Maggie Smith in it.  Next weekend we are going to see Life of Pi - his choice, not mine.  Each of us has a veto - No way am I going to any sci-fi film.  They drive me up the wall.  I would not have gone to Pi by choice, but I wouldn't mind checking out the special effects.

[cariad]

I LOVE my Apple TV it's just like your box that hooks up to your TV and streams content. The Apple TV box is $99 from apple but I got mine by searching the Internet and got a brand new one for $85. More expensive than other options but has been GRAET for me because I have an iPad, iPhone and a Mac computer. So it all works together along with my big screen TV for watching stuff on multiple devices!!  Apple is expensive but I have acquired the devices over a few years from birthday or holiday presents. A credit card or debit card is required with iTunes for buying music, renting or downloading movies but I'm very happy with it. The Apple TV also supports your current huluplus membership and Netflix amoung many many other options including you tube. So it handles pretty much everything which makes it easy and it's very easy to use and the box is very small won't even notice it hook up to your TV!!  It's like 4 inches by 4 inches and about an inch thick. I highly recommend the Apple TV box forv$85 investment and the ipad 2 are available now refurbished directly from apple for $319 18 gig wifi one. I got the 64 gig to download more movies and it was under $500. But more memory is a MUST for being able to download multiple movies. I can send you links to look at the stuff if you want. Buying refurbished from apple direct saves you hundreds and still come with full warentee so I'll post links if anyone is interested. It's not easy to find discounted apple stuff but I have found ways and my parents and sister bought this was. Like a said hundreds less than buying at apple store online or in retail store or even best buy or Walmart.   G.

I know what you mean, I loved the Roku in the US. I could get one here, but we don't even own a television at the moment, so no point. We just watch everything direct on computers.

I have read that Roku is more user-friendly than AppleTV, though Apple has such a loyal following. I am not one of those Apple cheerleaders, though. My parents are - my father bought both my husband and me iPhones a few years ago because he just could not take knowing two people who did not have them. I have ranted til I could rant no more about the stupidity of a phone that can do remarkable things but drops calls constantly, so I'll spare everyone the redux. Even though we have a fair few Apple products, we mostly use PCs (I even have that new Windows phone) so I don't think we'd spend the extra for Apple TV. My husband recently won an iPad but I have not warmed up to it yet....

[Chris]

Even tho my blu ray player can have access to Netflix, hulu, and others, I just hate the occassional freeze during play. So I'm old fashioned and buy DVD's/ Blu-Ray and Music CD's, or I rent from Redbox or local chain. Renting is rare for me now because it's a long walk since they removed the Redbox kiosk across the street.


I like having a hard copy back up with the artwork. I rarely look at the additional features tho. Plus when I buy a disc, I look for the combo packs so I can add the movie to iTunes account, play it on a DVD player at friends house, or blu-ray at my house. My player can play 3D, but in no need of a 3D TV.
I don't spend enough time at the TV to justify setting my budget for a monthly bill yet. I buy movies from Amazonevery so often depending on pre order notification. I have the Prime, but never looked into the free stuff.


I was going to go see Gangster Squad this week, but plans are cancelled due to getting sick. Hopefully see it next week depending on doc.

[geoffcamp]

I fell like I couldn't live without my iPad!!  Hardly ever use my windows laptop except for work or even my Mac desktop!!  Love how I can take movies and music anywhere I go especially dialysis. I do all my banking bill payments and email from the iPad. The screen is perfect size for me and it has been rugged as I toss it around a lot and take it out a lot. I bought a nice case for it and the stylus is great for me instead of using fingers to touch the screen. I got the case for cheap at a big lots store too. Granted I have not tried to use any other tablets so there may well be better ones out there. My friend just got the new Microsoft one called surface and he will give me a review but that one is more expensive that the iPad. Like I said I use the Apple TV and I find it easy to use maybe because I am so used to apple products!! 

[Chris]

Regarding Dredd, I do not know which version is more closely based on original comic novel character. It is over 2 hours long, gritty, different story and characters. However actionwise it is less to me than Stallone's, but has a better storyline that centers more on supporting character to me. Violent yes, action not so much, but has moments.

[geoffcamp]

Even tho my blu ray player can have access to Netflix, hulu, and others, I just hate the occassional freeze during play.

I agree. I hooked my Apple TV by Ethernet cable right to router and it never freezes now. Had to get cable company to move equipment and hide it but it is much better than wireless.

[Rerun]

Even tho my blu ray player can have access to Netflix, hulu, and others, I just hate the occassional freeze during play.

I agree. I hooked my Apple TV by Ethernet cable right to router and it never freezes now. Had to get cable company to move equipment and hide it but it is much better than wireless.

I'm so glad you are back!   

[geoffcamp]

Feel a lot better being back!!!  So much has happened over the last several years. It's great to see that IHD is still here letting us vent, comfort and learn. Great job keeping it going!!  I'm sure it has been a challenge. I will be donating to the premium member fund again as soon as I can. This is the only place I've ever seen run by patients no holds barred talk. THX for keeping it up!!  Please extend my THX to everyone who has helped too. G.

[Poppylicious]

We only use Netflix or LoveFilm for movies and television here - I was told by some authority here that I did not need to get a television license if I used those services.

I think you can watch BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, and the like too. I used to be a staunch supporter of the licence but now think it's redundant, particularly because US folks can see such things as Dr Who and Merlin within hours of me seeing them, and as I sort-of pay for them to be made it irks me a tad!

 

[geoffcamp]

In America, at least where I live BBC is not free either. I have to pay a cable company to get that channel in would think in turn the cable company has worker out a deal with BBC for licensing. It's not we can buy a TV and just turn it on and get BBC America (that's what the channel is called from my service). When I moved I actually looked to make sure I could buy the package that BBC America came with. I pay $110 a month for my cable TV services and a halfway decent speed Internet connection. And it's only that cheap because I live in a condo and my condo association pays for a portion of my cable and Internet bill out of the monthly dues I pay. In my last house my cable bill was over $200 every month. Just curious how does your licensing system work?  And how much is it?  Like I said I am sure that the cable company pays to show BBC America and other things like TBS, USA any pro football games and ESPN. It is all just passed on to us thru the cable company we choose.  I curious to hear how your system works. THX G.