Whoa, look at me, I got a new avatar!!!!!
Tonight we watched "The Shallows" with Blake Lively starring, and mostly just her and a honkin' BIG shark!!!!!
The PQ was really very good, beautiful location and water shots, beach shots, surfing shots and Blake shots!!!!!
The SQ was in 5.1 I believe and good enough to add to the movie, but nothing reference here. But solid.
Overall we enjoyed the movie, just the wife and I, the girlie was scared to watch it.
RECOMMENDED as decent come down off the football high entertainment.
And one thing to remember, it does have Blake Lively in it.
God Bless,
Wayne

Mixed bag here.
I watched "The Mechanic Resurrection" or Mechanic 2 last night.
It had Atmos and the surround sound check was a pretty interesting one, on my 7.1 setup. It sounded good. And the movie did default to Dolby True HD 7.1 for my theater.
Having said that, I did not notice it sounding all that great, nothing reference for me, but I do tend to get caught up in the movie and forget to listen for things.
PQ was swell with LOTS of eye candy, Jessica Alba stars along with Jason Statham, so something for the boys and the girls. More than that, some Thailand shots in here, beautiful beaches, etc and Jessica!!!! So I would rate PQ pretty high.
SQ was just fine, but the story, my my my. IF you could just be stupid, turn off your mind, "willing suspension of disbelief" it is called, and just roll with it, I GUESS you might buy in. But there were just some silly mistakes like a yacht being off Malaysia one day and then off Bulgaria in the Black Sea next scene.
And are we really to think that Statham will fall in love with Jessica Alba and be willing to give his life for her in just a couple of days???? OK, OK, it only took me less than 2 hours.
Some of the science here is REALLY suspect, and the bad guys cannot shoot for anything, whereas JS can hit everything and everyone.
IF you can get past the above silliness then, RECOMMENDED.
After all, it has Jessica Alba, even in an underwater swimming scene reminiscent of "Into the Blue" (a movie I enjoyed slightly more).
God Bless,
Wayne

Brahm's 4th Symphony.
Alright, to finish my report on the box set of all Brahm's 4 symphonies, last night I got to listen to the 4th, finally.
This last symphony was written in around a year and a half by the master, and it was debuted with him conducting. It was well rec'd but grew on audiences throughout the years, so that one of the last concerts in his life around 15 years later, he was there when the audience broke into applause after each of the 4 movements were played (you are not supposed to clap until the end), showing their appreciation for his genius.
This 4th is a little different than the previous 3, Brahms took more chances, innovated the most on this one.
It did not really move me nearly as much as the 3rd, but by the last movement I could feel it, get into it. This 4th sees the orchestra return to Dresden to their home concert hall. So the 1st and 3rd are recorded in Japan, 2nd and 4th in Dresden.
The conductor, Thielemann never looks at a note of the score throughout the whole 4 symphonies, has them all down totally by memory. He has an amazing grasp of exactly what he wants these symphonies to sound like. And they all have that HUGE, WARM, FULL ON German sound. I just love the sound!!!!
And it is just remarkable to watch him conduct for me. He is just well ahead of everyone else, he is conducting what is going to need to be played. This would have taken some real getting used to for me. Like a LED light, I turn it on and for a half second, nothing happens then finally the light comes on. He is just that far ahead of the players with his motions, movements!
The orchestra is fabulous, it just all really works. And in case you have forgotten, PQ is the BEST (right down to who has dandruff on his tux and who doesn't). At times the camera shoots between a couple of the players and right at their sheet music towards the conductor. You can see where we are in the score if you are better at reading music than I am.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED set.
Hope this helps, and waiting for Bro Rick to get his copy and let us know what he thinks?
God Bless,
Wayne

Hey, Wayne

Just got today Mariss Janson's Messa Da Requiem. The Brahms Blu-ray is coming from the UK, no delivery date yet. Still to come, reviews re the Requiem, Brahms, and The Hateful Eight. Hateful Eight first, probably tomorrow.

Looking forward to all!

Rick

The last two days were A/V treats! First, I finished watching Hateful Eight. Then I watched Verdi's Messa Da Requiem, and then in the afternoon, Brahms' Symphonies 1-4 arrived, finally. An auditory bonanza!

First, the movie Hateful Eight. I'll try real hard to avoid any spoilers. Wayne, I'll compare this ("8") to the Magnificent Seven ("7"), since your feedback led me to try 8 vs. 7. 8 is certainly a more "plot heavy" film. Where 7 is pretty clear about who the bad guys and the good guys are, 8 is more complex, more plot turns, less predictable. I could have done without some, maybe a lot, of the blood and gore in 8. I guess for me the biggest obstacle was"suspension of disbelief" for 8. My logical side kept trying to intrude and ask, "how can that confluence of weather, disparate group of people meeting up, and events POSSIBLY have happened in real life"? Getting past that, I'd watch it again (not with my wife, who does not like blood and gore!). I still like some of the SQ sequences in 7 better, and would use them as demo's anytime. I guess I'm a sucker for audio tracks that completely surround me with a sense of being right there in the middle of a big, engaging event, with the T1's and T2 surrounds just pounding, surrounding, aweing me, pulling me along for the ride!!! And the audio in several scenes in 7 did that. I thought the SQ in 8 was appropriate, good, though the constant wind sound during the storm got a little nerve wracking (probably it was meant to do that?). Bursts of wind sound now and would have worked for me....Maybe the next "number" movie ("Benign Nine???? ) will have a mix of plot, SQ and action that combines the best of both 7 and 8.

In the afternoon I played Verdi's Messa Da Requiem. It took a bit to settle in and get hooked. But Verdi's unsettled tour of emotions reaches out, played out on a grand scale. Moving is a word I would use. As someone who likes to be stirred by dynamics, the use of sudden bursts of bass drums against the chorals, solos and orchestra toward the end really resonated. A huge chorus and 4 soloists interwoven with the orchestra. Powerful! Something to both see and listen to! I wouldn't want to listen to this when I was yearning for "happy stuff", but it sure reaches into emotions, grabs you, pulls you along on Verdi's journey. I really liked it.

And then I served up Brahms' 1st Symphony in the evening. Overall reaction: hauntingly beautiful, absolutely sweet at times, majestic at others. I can understand why Brahms took some time to compose his first symphony, had to be thinking "Darn it, Beethoven did it all, what's left to do?". Comparing Brahm's first to Beethoven's nine symphonies, my initial impression was that Beethoven poetically pulls/transports emotions in more directions. But Brahms just owns using strings, winds, percussion together in mesmerizing, hauntingly beautiful ways in this piece. Rich, full sound! Some of the violin passages are the sweetest I've ever heard. Also loved when all the strings were plucked in unison, Sweet again. Loved it. Good stuff, Wayne! Can't wait to hear 2-4.

Happy listening!

Rick

Yeah, Bro Rick, great to read your report!!!!
Good insights here!!!!
I am so happy you liked the classical, it is a tough call what someone else will like.
But the sound (heck, the picture too) quality is totally first class, right? I agree, I am not listening to Beethoven, Brahms nor Verdi with the TV turned off, I love to watch the symphony play, see the conductor and hear the awesomeness as it is being made.
It is like being there without having to put on a tux!!!!!!

OK, I have two to report. First, Bro T. already reported on "The Secret Life of Pets" and because of your recommendation, I bought and watched it. My idea of pets are fish!
I am NOT a pet person at all. But this one was CUTE, a good family film. Especially in 3D, which was real and pretty well done. Animals flying outta the screen at your face. FUN.
We all enjoyed it. The sound was pretty good too.

Finally last night I watched "The Neon Demon" which stars Elle Fanning and even has Kenau Reeves in it. This must have been an artsy fartsy movie!!!! It is about the modeling industry and about beauty. It is a yucky movie and NOT RECOMMENDED by this semi-normal dude. YMMV. Soooooo strange and made no sense. And was gross!!!! But there was some homage to beauty if you care about that.
The PQ was quite stunning in some places, did not notice the SQ being anything to mention.
God Bless,
Wayne