From the Package insert: "Straight Outta Compton tells the true story of how five young cultural rebels-armed only with their lyrics, swagger, bravado, and raw talent- stood up to the authorities that meant to keep them down and formed the world's most dangerous group, N.W.A. And as they spoke the truth that no one had before and exposed life in the hood, their voice ignited a social revolution that is still reverberating today."

This was a good film and covered the rise and fall of NWA and the meteoric rise to fame of Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and other group members. It was certainly raw and a bit misogynistic. I'm sure it's not much different for rock bands on the road and backstage. The recent film about the Eagles certainly had parallels.

PQ and SQ were both very good. I'd give both 4/5. SQ was primarily showcased with the music and needless to say, if you're not a fan of hip-hop, you're probably not going to like the soundtrack. I will say that there is enough of a story that the movie should still be good even if you're not a fan of the music. There were times it seemed to skip over certain things and felt a bit rushed but overall, this was a pretty good film. Casting was good and production quality was first rate. YMMV.

Cheers,

T Cobe

Okay, getting caught up here. I've had the chance to watch a few movies this last weekend. Today I also purchased Bridge of Spies and The Last Witch Hunter. I'll follow up with those later. A couple of other movies I streamed that are hardly worth discussing were The Visit (another miss by M. Night Shyalaman) and Sinister 2 (a bad sequel to a decent movie). Anyways, this is a brief summary of The Walk.

From the product insert: "Twelve people have walked on the moon, but only one man- Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) - has ever walked in the immense void between the World Trade Towers. Guided by his real-life mentor, Papa Rudy (Ben Kingsley) and aided by an unlikely band of international recruits, Petit and his gang overcome long odds, betrayals, dissension and countless close calls to conceive and execute their mad plan."

Okay, that's a lot of marketing speak to upsell this movie. In the end, it's a heist movie without a heist. It was a bit of a mellow drama to me and seemed to take itself a bit too seriously. I'm just not sure I buy a tightrope walker as an artist and the tension seemed a bit overemphasized: like a teenage drama queen. Petit's "punishment" for his spectacle wasn't a decade in Alcatraz, it was having to put on another performance in Central Park. Other than taking itself way too seriously, it wasn't an altogether bad film. Character development was decent and Gordon-Levitt and Kingsley are always entertaining. They are masters of their art.

Due to the fact that there was not a lot of action, the SQ didn't really stand out. PQ was good and it was a convincing period drama set in the 1970s. I'd say 3.5/5 for both as there was really nothing that stood out to me. On the flip side, there was nothing distracting either. I'm not sure I'd go as far as to say I recommend the film, but it's not bad if you have some time to kill and it's available for free. YMMV.

Cheers,
T Cobe

How does a movie with Michael Caine, Vin Diesel, and Elijah Wood earn a 16% rating on Rotten Tomatoes? In a word: marketing. This movie was advertised very little and the few previews I watched were hit and miss. Granted, the dialogue was pretty poor as well, but the delivery was good.

PQ was excellent and supported by top shelf cinematography and special effects. This one was definitely eye candy and shines on a big screen. I'll give this a 4/5 for PQ.

SQ was interesting. I noticed upon opening the package that the sound format is DTS-X. Played on a normal system, the reproduction should be in DTS Master HD. My system seemed to be having some issues. I had to turn the volume up quite a bit but when I did, it wasn't bad. I'm going to reserve judgement on this one until I get my new processor. I'm going to watch this one again when DTS-X has been released. Speaking of processors, my new AVM 60 is due to arrive Friday. Fingers crossed...

In the end, I think this one is brainless fun and it is certainly better than the Rotten Tomatoes 16% rating. I'd bet they rated Sharknado better than that. That said, I don't expect Michael Caine to get any award nominations for this one.

Cheers,

T Cobe

I just finished watching "Fury", with Brad Pitt, a WWII movie about a Sherman tank crew battling their way through Germany towards the end of the war. (Has this been reviewed on this thread before? Didn't see anything recent. If a repeat, consider it another opinion.) The crew has grown increasingly hardened to the gore and violence of war, and is joined midway by a raw recruit who has no choice but to begin adapting also.

One of the reviewers, who describes himself as an armor historian, said that it was about the most accurate portrayal of tank battles he has seen. I can't speak to that, but did it seem real? Oh, yes. The American Shermans were badly outgunned by the German Tiger tanks, and several scenes show the American tanks getting chewed up. Sound quality? Holy crap! The envelopment of sound was amazing! The sound mixing sometimes pulls you right into the middle of the action. In one scene, a Tiger tank in back is exchanging fire with several Sherman tanks in front, and I could literally hear the shells roaring past me, the tanks in front and back firing and receiving fire... other times you can hear the ricochets off the tanks.

I played this Blu-ray once, before I had my current system, and I liked it. This time around, the sound was truly awesome, and I got totally absorbed in this movie.

Not for younger audiences, includes vulgar language and lots of violence. If you like realistic action/war movies, highly recommended.



Rick

Hey Guys, I have been away for a few days, in Cambodia, Phnom Penh, learning about human trafficking and all the groups working with and helping the victims. If you want to watch some interesting stuff about it, look here:


We want to start a ministry to exploited women and children here. We got some great ideas.
I got behind here but glad to see you guys carried on admirably.
Anthem, yours are still the only videos I cannot watch, I can watch everyone else's. When you are in the You Tube page, do you just copy the address line and then paste it here for us? That is what I do and it works.

Pol Pot REALLY did a number on Cambodia, as did the 30 year civil war afterwards. He killed off all the intelligentsia and artists. 85% of the population is illiterate and the country is WAY behind Thailand. I felt so sorry for the place.
Man is it great to be back home!!!!!
God Bless,
Wayne

Wayne: Same as you...copy & paste.
I still believe what Rick said earlier...your anti-jazz button is on.