"Well, that's good news - snakes on crack."
Happy 2007 everyone. I hope you all had a good holiday(s). We did, seeing both my and Shade's family and even getting a few movies watched. We caught The Good Shepherd last week in a Rapid City theater. The film had its moments, but was ultimately disappointing, IMO, due to some poorly developed characters (the character played by Jolie was a bit of a waste), its length, and somewhat incoherent screenplay. The subject of the film was intriguing, don't get me wrong, but its execution was problematic.
What was more memorable for me, as a tech geek, was the presentation. This particular theater was running with DLP digital projection. This has been around for a while, but this was the first time I'd seen a movie projected this way, rather than with 35mm film (the theaters often don't advertise which rooms are using digital so seeking it out is not that easy). As you'd expect, the picture was free of any print-based wear/tear problems. I'd say it looked as good or slightly better than your average multiplex 35mm print, but not as good as a really fine 35 or 70mm presentation. It was very clear, though blacks could have been better (a fault that lies with the DLP technology). If you average multiplex is going to show mediocre film prints (and use under-trained staff to operate it) anyway, this kind of presentation should raise the quality level a bit. It should be said however that really good HD, via Blu Ray or HD-DVD, can easily rival the current quality of digital cinema. So, enough of that, let's get into what's out this week (such as it is):
Beer League Some real fine stuff coming out!
The Darkroom (2006)
Dark Portals: The Chronicles of Vidocq
Love's Abiding Joy There are so few DVDs this week, I'm reduced to posting a Hallmark channel movie!
Snakes on a Plane This one's going right into the queue!