Posts made by Ezekiel

Over the weekend, I watched Prince: Sign o' The Times twice.

This movie is awesome. I quite liked Purple Rain, but it didn't funk and rock or have as much soul (I mean the genre) in its sound as this, as it was a story with musical numbers and not an eighty minute concert film. This has so much energy and the theatrics and seedy scenery set the tone so well.

I dug the way his performers acted out the music being played. Separately recorded clips interspersed between the songs and wardrobe changes kept the pace smooth.

I loved when Prince traded places with Sheila E., went up to do the drums while she got down on the stage and rapped in "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night," because I forgot Prince drummed or don't remember if I've ever even seen him drum. It was only briefly, though, because he's no serious drummer. "Not bad," Prince comments earlier, as she's rocking up there. "For a girl." I laughed out loud when Prince, out of nowhere, slid under this dancer with his guitar and ripped off her skirt.

The film was originally presented in six-track Dolby Stereo, but I think I honestly prefer the PCM stereo track with headphones over the DTS 5.1 track with speakers/sub. It had better clarity. Average video bitrate is 30 mbps, and it's a pretty good scan. There's one song in the middle with separately recorded footage that looks VHS quality, but I'm pretty happy with it overall, considering how poorly most older concert films have been treated.

Sign o' the Times is my favorite Prince album and of all the concert films I've seen Prince is also my favorite musician. This movie still exceeded my expectations.

Dropped Shadow of the Tomb Raider after being annoyed that I couldn't figure out how to navigate back to the main story (didn't try long) and started replaying Tomb Raider Legend. Tomb Raider shouldn't be open world. It just shouldn't. I don't think you can even call the newer games platformers anymore. They're shitty climbers.

Also spent the last week playing Sonic Mania again. Got all Chaos Emeralds as Sonic and then Knuckles.

I miss the simplicity of games like Sonic on Mega Drive and older Tomb Raiders.

@e_zed_eh_intern said in What did you just Buy/Receive?:

@ezekiel Goldfinger is one of my faves.

Looks like I won't be watching it for another week, because the first disc (Dr. No) is cracked. :(

Edit: I know what I'm gonna watch tonight. Been waiting a month for this import, released in January.

Some discs arrived today.

Seen Nikita twice, seen Halloween once on Blu-ray. Don't think I've ever seen any of the Connery Bond movies PROPERLY. Lady Snowblood because I remember finding the manga alright (read eight years ago) and wanted more 70s samurai stuff after recently finishing the Lone Wolf and Cub series.

@dipset Yeah, it is really light compared to my old bike. So light, I'm scared to turn as hard as I did with the old one. I love this gear/shifter system.

Aug 9, 2018, 9:19 AM

@ezekiel said in What did you just Buy/Receive?:

New bike! So much faster and lighter than my old, crappy used one. 130 at Wallmart. 28 inch wheels.

I don't know why I've always had mountain bikes up to now. I don't ride off-road.

Junk. The front gear system has been uneven and all screwed up for like a year, rattling on the chain, which costs more to replace than the bike is worth. The bike won't turn smoothly anymore, like there's something broken, bent or rusted inside the frame.

I bought a new bike yesterday. This time, I decided not to be cheap. It's a Giant Contend 3M. MSRP is 650 dollars, but the bike store I go to had it for 496. I put my old petals on. Also got a better lock.

I've never had shifters like this.

Ordered a stand for it.

Stop Making Sense (1984, Talking Heads)

I understood only some of the lyrics.

10/10

Best concert film I've seen and one of the few classics kept in good condition. Excellent separation of instruments and singers, with the surrounds mostly used for the audience. Satisfying low frequencies. Seems few changes had to be made for the Blu-ray, as (I saw in the credits) it was originally presented in Dolby Stereo, which is six channel surround. I already liked their music, but had no idea they were this entertaining live. As Leonard Maltin said in his review (which I didn't read but whose quote I found on Wikipedia), "brilliantly conceived, shot, edited and performed."

Queen Rock Montreal

As someone who barely knows Queen at all, I thought this ninety minutes was pretty nice. The band is so well synchronized, it sounds like an album.

This Blu-ray has some disgusting grain management, though. The grain swarms around the performers, follows them, as they move.

After watching Blond Ambition Tour again just now, I've decided it's my favorite concert film. Such a fun two hours. Really wish Madonna produced remasters of those early concert films. The quality doesn't detract from my enjoyment in a big way, but it's not good.

Still waiting for my copy of Prince's Sign o' the Times (which is also my favorite Prince album) to ship from the UK. Released last month. Don't know what the freaking holdup is.

Added, added. Was thinking about Stop Making Sense anyway, as I like Talking Heads.

@tokyoslim Added to my Amazon list.

Watched Madonna: Blond Ambition Tour (1990) on DVD, which I think is a bootleg of the laser disc. Paid 30 bucks for this after hearing it's the best Madonna concert film. I've seen three previously and can understand why it's so liked. Best number was probably Vogue.

Youtube Video

Or maybe Like a Prayer, can't decide.

@tokyoslim said in Last movie you watched:

@ezekiel Have you seen Queen Rock Montreal?

No, I haven't.

Michael Jackson Live in Bucharest (1992) on DVD.

So many Romanians passed out, holy crap. Cool entrance and exit, plenty of awesome moments in between, some of my favorites being the live gravity lean and crane ride.

Great show.

Army of Darkness - 6/10

I liked The Evil Dead and, to a lesser extent, Evil Dead 2, more, for not being as slapstick, and the first especially for still being a horror movie. I just didn't find this funny or clever.

@brawlman said in Anime! Who's watching what?:

Akira - Saw this as a send off to 2019. Still an excellent movie despite compromises with the story. The movie was made when the manga was yet to complete only on its 2nd volume. The movie has aged well despite that. The art, animation, and character designs I feel come to life out of the screen. The only thing aged about Akira is the original English dub from Streamline Productions. Thankfully, I'll never have to hear it, because of the 2001 redub from Pioneer. It's fun to hear Johnny Yong Bosch & Joshua Seth (Voice of Tai Kamiya from Digimon) got full ham.

Youtube Video

Youtube Video

Seems kind of backwards, listening to a dub when it's one of the only anime ever that has full lip sync.

Madonna: Ciao, Italia! - Live from Italy (1988)

Very nice representation of that era of her music, her first three albums. I loved hearing the band just jam out on some of those tunes, expanding on them more than in the album versions. She has so much fun on stage. Her energy, dancing and playful theatrics with the other performers make it so much more entertaining than if it was just a singer standing around. The crowd, evidently proud of her Italian ancestry (which she exploited by speaking to them in Italian at times and mentioning her family there), was crazy for her. What a showman! Would watch it again. I'd post the YouTube version, but it has much less clarity and pop than the DVD version and its 1536 kbps PCM track.

Half-Life 3. Don't know if I'll play it, though. Not interested in VR. But from prior entries it seems the most interesting of the bunch.

Jermaine Jackson - Dynamite

I like this duo with his brother.

Youtube Video

Actually, I like most of the album. Almost over.

Now the Pointer Sisters (album Break Out), also new to me.

Youtube Video

Youtube Video

Listening to some new '80 pop.

Charlotte Gainsbourg, 1986 - Charlotte for Ever (French pop. Nice!)

Just listened to Select by Kim Wilde. Till now, I've only ever known her as that Kids in America singer. I like her sound.

Youtube Video