Saturday, August 23, 2014

Weekend Open Thread

You guys have the conch.

I said a few weeks ago that I wanted to do these open threads more regularly. As much as I like reading the responses to our weekly topics, I also like to read the conversations that spring up when you're free to talk about anything. So have it.

73 comments:

  1. Anyone else seen Kidnapped (2010)? I watched it recently on Netflix streaming and I'm having trouble with it. On the one hand it is a technically very well made home invasion flick. Lots of long tracking shots and even some cool split-screen stuff. On the other hand it is the most unpleasant and mean-spirited movie I've ever seen. Seriously it makes Funny Games look like Sesame Street. If there is a message or meaning behind it I am not smart enough to find it. Maybe put it in your queue for Scary Movie Month (if you want to ruin your month).

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    1. I ruined my Scary Movie Month last year with The Collector due to its mean spiritedness. Not going to do that again.

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  2. ASM 2 for me this week, and I was bored stiff by the superhero parts, so let's leave that aside. What I did love is pretty much any scene where it's Peter and Gwen; could someone resurrect Billy Wilder so he can write these two a proper romantic comedy? They really do have lovely chemistry on screen and I just wish more of the movie was about them, because anytime we get back to punchy punchy land I start shutting down with snores.

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    1. Agreed. One of the worst super hero movies I have seen. Watched Cap Amer WS this weekend - THE BEST super hero movie I have seen so far.

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  3. I haven't seen it for myself yet, but I'm just bummed that Sin City: A Dame to Kill For apparently isn't very good. But I guess I'm not surprised, given Robert Rodriguez's recent track record. I still want to see it, though. I really enjoy the first one.

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    1. Sadly it's not a good movie. I liked the first one too, but it appears Rodriguez has lost whatever skill he once had. He hasn't made a good movie in the last decade. Although to be fair part of the blame also lies with Frank Miller, who had years to write a couple stories that lived up to the expectations from the first movie, and couldn't come close to them.

      Most disappointing movie I've been to since Kick-Ass 2, which actually was disappointing in similar ways.

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    2. Yeah, I didn't like it either. I thought the segment with Joseph Gordon Levitt was pretty good though and Eva Green is pretty but that's about it.

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    3. I enjoyed Powers Boothe,, that guy could narrate the end of the world and make it sound interesting. Levitt was fine too, but his segment was meaningless in a way (and kind of a ripoff of The Quick and the Dead). The movie also suffered from the recasting and absence of wrap-around segments.

      Also I'm not the first one to say it, but is Jessica Alba the worst actress in Hollywood? At least Megan Fox can play the vapid airhead role (ala Jennifer's Body), but I don't think Alba has ever delivered a believable performance. Maybe the roles she takes are too challenging, but she makes the final story practically unbearable (beyond her looks of course).

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    4. I agree, unfortunately. Loved the first one but this one just seemed - unexciting. I think that's the best way I can describe it. The story lines were really kind of just dumb for lack of a better description and seemed to go nowhere. Just when you think the meat of things are going to happen, the results are either a let down or non-existent. Such a shame as I had pretty high expectation given that it's been almost 10 years since "Sin City".

      JGL just reaffirmed my earlier statement though that if they remade Die Hard, he'd be a my John McClane.

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    5. Hmm, dang, this seems pretty unanimous. Maybe I'll just see Guardians of the Galaxy again. :-/

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    6. This puts me in the minority here, because I really enjoyed it. Not as good as the first, not even as good as some of Rodriguez's other films like Desperado or Spy Kids 2, but I still had a lot if fun with it. Though I might just be a sucker for the art style ._.

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    7. I really wanted to like it because of the art style as well, but it just wasn't enough to sway my opinion. We desperately could use more movies in that vain (overly violent( I suppose, but for some reason they almost always disappoint (Expendables, Sin City, Machete, Sabotage, Bullet to the Head, Escape Plan, and so on).

      Has Hollywood lost the ability to create good big budget action movies with an R rating?

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    8. Yes. I may be forgetting one, but I'm pretty positive there were ZERO R-rated action flicks this summer. Shameful.

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  4. Just a thank you from me.

    Ive been here a month now and It is great to find a site like this with great members. contributers and hosts talking about stuff im interested in. Noone else I know cares about these old films I cherish. Just last week I watched Dr Giggles and it was mentioned on the next podcast I listened too. That's just so random its crazy. That would never happen anywhere else
    Im a big fan of Riskie business. Doug and his slightly twisted sense of humour. JB who seems to be like the yoda master with his crazy insights. Patrick who's a bit like a Stephen fry of films with his crazy encyclopedic knowledge. How the hell do you remember all that shit?
    And of course all the other contributers too. Great work. Roll on scary movie month. Im going to do a full month of 80s horrors. Not just the easy classics but lots of random rarely seen titles. Should be fun

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    1. We're thrilled to have you and welcome all of your contributions to the comments section! '80s horror 4EVA.

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    2. 10-4 Dennis - when I discovered F-This Movie a couple of years ago I was doing a search for some movie (can't remember which one) for a review and Patrick was the only one who had touched on it at that point. I was immediately drawn in and loved the kinship, insight and respect that this site has. Happy to know all of you. Okay, enough of the blubber.

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    1. Yes! I haven't even seen a trailer yet, but between the plot summary and the poster I am totally sold.

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    2. Yeah I saw the trailer in front of Boyhood and it looks intriguing to say the least. I think it's behind Inherent Vice and Gone Girl for my most anticipated releases for what's left of 2014'

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  6. I've been watching through the 8-movie Universal Monsters Blu-ray collection, and on one of the discs there's a short film called Boo! as an extra feature.

    It's a spoof of monster movies, consisting mostly of clips from Frankenstein and Nosferatu (sometimes speeded up, reversed and/or repeated for comic effect) with a wisecracking narrator's voiceover.

    I just can't get over how weird and crazy this film is! Not that the jokes and gags are funny (maybe they were back then) but I just can't stop watching this. And the fact they for some reason used clips from Nosferatu and not Universal's Dracula just adds to the weirdness.

    You can watch it on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ql2FNcJBqQ

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  7. I finally saw "Drive" yesterday. It blew me away. It's been a while since I had such a reaction to a film. It immediately becomes an all time favourite of mine. Just amazing. And today I purchased the Planet of the Apes Evolution Blu Ray collection for £20. Even though I already own the original 5 films in DVD, I couldn't resist at that price. Have a good week folks.

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    1. Drive was my favorite movie of 2011. You should check out Refn's follow up Only God Forgives. It's not quite as accessible or "fun" but equally interesting.

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    2. Thanks for the heads up. It's currently on netflix so will check it out asap.

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    3. Drive is my favorite movie since Fincher's Zodiac. I loved it since the moment I saw it, and that was before the overwhelmingly positive reviews came in, when I saw it at an early screening. Just a marvelous film, and of course I downloaded the soundtrack as well.

      Not sure if I have the gall to watch Only God Forgives though. I've heard a few people call it the worst movie they've ever seen. Maybe I should check it out anyway, but that seeing that might force to waver a bit on my thoughts of Drive.

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    4. Ah Zodiac, another DVD sitting on my shelf still in the wrapper. Need to amend that soon.

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  8. Are we ever going to get that new Q&A video we were promised a little over a month ago? Has it been delayed, what's up?

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    1. It was never actually filmed because we didn't get to it when Doug was here. He will be back next month and we'll film it then, possibly with a mix of those questions with some new ones. Good lookin' out, Leo!

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  9. This is an odd sort of question, but does anybody else have a hard time enjoying movies from one particular country? I've been watching a bunch of flick from Italy this month, and while I can respect the craft that guys like Fellini and Antonioni brought to the table, the collective philosophy and outlook on life hasn't grabbed me. Most of them seem to be about how pointless life is and how nobody was ever really in love. Am I totally missing the point, or are there others out there like me, orphans of a bankrupt culture who have just seen too many Westerns?

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    1. While you're not necessarily wrong about Antonioni's philosophy, I do somewhat object to the idea that he and Fellini represent the same philosophy (though this might just be because I like Antonioni and don't like Fellini).

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    2. You're absolutely right, they don't have the same philosophy. If I had to pick between them I'd probably go with Fellini, but it's still a lesser of two evils situation for me.

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  10. I'm shooting a new short film tonight! Just thought I'd let ya guys know.

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    1. Throw us a link when it's done! I'd love to see some movies or short movies made by F-heads.

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  11. I've been into Barry Lyndon lately. That movie is supremely underrated.

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    1. Amazing film. For years growing up, I ignored it thinking it must be lesser Kubrick since no one ever really talked about it. Boy was I wrong when I caught it on IFC one morning in the early 2000s.

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    2. If I remember correctly, Mark Ahn, Patrick and I are all sitting on unwatched DVDs/blu-rays of Barry Lyndon - if I watch a movie tomorrow, it's going to be that one dammit!

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    3. My unwatched DVD was upgraded to an unwatched Blu-ray at least a year ago.

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    4. It's the closest we'll get to his Napoleon. It really is a work of art. I don't think any other period piece, before or after, paid so much attention to detail as Barry Lyndon did.

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    5. It's definitely in my top 5 Kubrick films. Patrick, Mark, Sol, if you aren't busy and you're in a patient mood, I wholeheartedly recommend it.

      Hey, maybe there could be a Barry Lyndon podcast? EH?

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    6. I too have "Barry Lyndon" on an unwatched shrink-wrapped Blu-ray, along with a few more ("The Killing" Criterion, "Lolita," etc.). I'm holding until I'm ready to watch them because, once watched, there's no more new-to-me Kubrick movies to look forward to, and that's a sad thought.

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    7. Yes Kino, that movie is fantastic.

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    8. Loved Barry Lyndon - so glad I finally got to it. It's a great story and a beautiful movie - probably the best period piece I've ever seen - really captures the time and place - it's like you almost forget it wasn't actually shot in the 1700s.

      With that I only have Lolita, Spartacus and Eyes Wide Shut left on my Kubrick checklist. Don't worry Vargas - I think the great thing about Kubrick is you can watch them again and again and still find some "new-to-you Kubrick" in there somewhere!

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    9. I'm glad you liked Barry Lyndon!

      I'd reccomend saving Eyes Wide Shut for last. It might be because of the context in his filmography, but it has always had a sense of finality to it, in my eyes.

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  12. Listening to the Labyrinth soundtrack by itself is an even stranger experience than watching Labyrinth.

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  13. I've been on vacation in Arizona for the past week, where unusually rainy and cold weather put our plans to go river rafting on hold (too unsafe). As usual, during downtime, I sit my father, his wife and whoever from their circle of neighbors/friends is crazy-enough to agree to sit in front of their 80' Vizio HDTV and we watch new-to-them mystery movies (I don't tell them ahead of time the title or what kind of movie it is). The movies so far:

    --"The Notebook" (2014, Amazon rental): Loved it, they didn't even mind the subtitles. Perfect entertainment for middle-aged folks, especially if they're into cooking.

    --"The Purple Rose of Cairo" (1985, DVD): The annual Woody Allen feature (the only director whose work they've consistently liked) went more subdued and less laugh-filled than usual, probably because this is the first Allen movie without him appearing on-camera and their first movie of his starring Mia Farrow. They liked it though, and even my non-cinephile father referred to Allen afterwards as a "cinematic genius" (words he's never uttered before in his life).

    Samsara (2012, Blu-ray): Rock Fricke's "Baraka" was the first Blu-ray I ever forced my folks to sit in front of their TV and watch (back when it was 52" and a Samsung), and now the sequel to it blew away their minds on a new bigger screen. As diehard Costco clients let's just say the less-than-flattering cameo of the store in the movie was a troubling moment, but overall they liked it a lot.

    The Queen of Versailles (2012, Amazon Prime): The hit of the vacation so far. They were loving it as a train wreck even before "the twist" about the financial crisis putting a dampen on the Siegel's plan to build the largest privately-owned house in America changed the documentary's trajectory, and by the end they were mesmerized. They can't wait to show it to all their friends and families, which means they get to share my Amazon Prime account I guess. :-)

    --The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014, theater): The only movie we've gone out to a theater to watch. A fine, serviceable "Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"-type feel good flick aimed at older folks for whom summer movies are slim pickings. Nothing really wrong here but also nothing remarkable given it's a pet project from Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg. You'll leave the theater hungry for either French cuisine or more Charlotte Le Bon movies (she's adorable). I hate Lasse Hallström movies, but this one is his best work in years and tolerable.

    --"Gloria" (2014, Amazon Rental) and "The Lone Ranger" (2013, Blu-ray): Watched these two on separate nights and, well, to say my folks hated them would be an understatement. They have flat-out refused to watch any more movies since, calling them (primarily "Lone Ranger" but also the Chilean midlife-crisis romantic comedy featuring people their age) insults to their intelligence and proof they and I shouldn't ever sit and watch movies together ever again. They were polite and kind-enough to finish the movies, but they've now officially nicknamed the poop bags when we go out and walk their dogs 'Lone Rangers' and or 'Glorias' (as in 'the puppy made a mother of a "Gloria"' or 'Did you see the "Lone Ranger" Alfredo dumped today?')

    No apologies from my end though, I love these movies ("Lone Ranger" in particular) and will see what I can bribe my folks with in order to get the movie-watching train back on track before I return to Gotham early next week. Cheers from AZ. :-)

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    1. THE LUNCHBOX!!! 2014's "The Lunchbox," not "The Notebook." Oh, why do I write these so late at night with the time difference? :-P

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    2. I really want to watch The Lunchbox!

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  14. Did anyone catch the interview with Tarantino on the new El Ray network?

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    1. I saw the first part of the two parter. Nothing groundbreaking but the most enjoyable thing Robert Rodriguez has done in years.

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  15. So I just finished watching Stage Fright on Netflix and Patrick you were dead on in your review. While the movie has problems it gets so much right that the issues I have with it, well I could care less. The one thing I actually liked about Stage Fright is that the movie gets to actually breathe between musical numbers. This is a problem that seems to overtake a lot of big budget musicals (Im looking at you Les Miserables and Sweeney Todd) and of course if your a big musical fan you overlook all of these problems (i kinda do the same thing when it comes to jackie chan movies and their plots).

    So yeah guys if your looking for a great horror musical comedy check out Stage Fright its awesome

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    1. I watched it as a double feature with the new Phantom of the Paradise blu-ray and I had a blast with that. So much fun packed into two fairly short movies. I almost capped it off with the other slasher musical Don't Go In the Woods (which I still haven't seen despite tremendous affection for slasher movies, musicals, and Vincent D'Onofrio) but I decided to heed Patrick's review and not risk ruining a really fun movie day.

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    2. That sounds like the BEST double feature. Holy shit.

      PLEASE don't watch Don't Go in the Woods. I'm usually all in favor of everyone seeing everything, but I really think it would be a misuse of your time. It is not in any way the kind of horror musical you think. It's really not good, and it would ruin the amazing one-two punch of Phantom and Stage Fright.

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  16. Anyone else share my absolute hatred for trailers nowadays? I just got back from Sin City and holy crap. An 11:45 start time turned into 12:10. Not only are they way too many, but the trailers give away so much of the f-ing film that I might as well not even bother seeing the actual movie. I know we have talked about this before - just needed to vent.

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    1. Look at it this way. Think of all the money you are saving by not seeing some of those films now. Or divide the ticket price by the amount of trailers you saw with your feature and think of the bargain you got. :)

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    2. Haha, I see what your saying but I really want to see some of the movies WITHOUT being forced to already know 75% of them! My favorite movies that I see are usually the ones I go into blind and know nothing about.

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    3. Everyone I know says I am a crazy person (and they're not wrong), but I started a habit a few years ago of closing my eyes during trailers. At least, for movies I know I want to see already. Like as soon as I know what it is and that I'm interested I just shut my eyes until it's over. Otherwise, especially if you're a frequent movie-goer like me, you end up seeing huge chunks of a movie you're excited for 7-10 times before you get a chance to see it. No fun I say.

      It may sound dumb but it's been a great source of relief for me regarding spoilers for movies I am excited about.

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  17. RIP John Hammond. May you be reunited with the dinosaurs in heaven.

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    1. :( Sad, but he was 90, so that's a pretty good run.

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  18. Firstly RIP to the amazing Richard Attenborough from me too.

    I have a new syndrome for your consideration. In homage to JBs book of Eli effect. And the great Mark ahns creeping nolanism quote and many other classics here. I now have my own syndrome

    After just buying and watching the Omen 123 on lovely bluray. Part 1 i still liked. 2 kinda forgettable. 3 gets an ok pass cause i like Sam Neils performance. Then I realized something was wrong in the world. I cant settle. There is a part 4. The one about the girl. I could not move on. I had to buy and watch part 4 even though I remembered it was rubbish from before. I was still right. It is still pants. F that movie. But I had to see it either way. You cant jump in half way through a trilogy or quadrilogy and you certainly cant start a series and not finish them all. I had to watch a bad movie knowing it was bad beforehand and I had already seen it before. And I could not stop myself

    I am calling this "The Patrick Bromley Syndrome"

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    1. I thought I had this but now I'm not sure...the other day I successfully watched just Star Wars Episode III. I felt violently ill afterwards but I'm not sure if it was due to PBS or LSABFCWICTWDS (Lucas Sucks a Big Fat Cock When it Comes to Writing Dialogue Syndrome)...

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  19. In short PBS. If you have to watch from the beginning. And then have to watch them all. You also have PBS

    PS. its not cureable and the doctors cant help

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  20. Three bad movies and one DJ
    We be gettin' down with no delay

    Into the Storm (2014)

    The effects work is pretty good given the limited budget, and Sarah Wayne Callies gives an OK performance in a supporting role. Otherwise the movie is forgettable with problematic writing, directing, and acting. Someone should send a memo to the Directors Guild to let them know the DIY aesthetic of shakycams, GoPros, tripod-mounted camcorders, character confessionals, mock web videos, and faux videoconferencing does not generate a sense of heightened reality; it just looks cheap.

    When the Game Stands Tall

    The movie is made with sincerity, and Michael Chikless and Laura Dern are very good in supporting roles. Beyond that, the problems start with the opening scene and just keep going. Lead actor Jim Caviezel elects to play his character as inward-focused with a low key, flat delivery. Yet during the end credits we see a few minutes of the actual person on which the character is based (high school football coach Bob Ladouceur), and these short clips are more interesting, energetic, and moving than the nearly two hour portrayal.

    Beyond the lead performance, the movie introduces too many supporting characters and doesn't give (m)any cues regarding who will be more important as the story unfolds. As a result it was difficult for me to keep everyone straight. In addition, the first hour is overly melodramatic, the script is filled with clichés, and much of the dialog provides on-the-nose verbalizations of what we can already see.

    I disliked this movie so much I felt guilty and decided to see it again. Upon second viewing it was easier to differentiate the characters and follow the parallel storylines. As a result I felt more engaged and upgraded my assessment from strong dislike to neutral.

    The November Man

    Saw this knowing only that it stars Pierce Brosnan. He is fine, and Olga Kurylenko is more engaging than she was in last year's Oblivion. Critics are beating up this movie most especially for its treatment of women. I interpreted it as a statement against the male characters. However, at some point it becomes a statement about the filmmakers, too. Fans of 1980s and 1990s era [era] spy thrillers might be OK with the movie as shoot-em-up entertainment as long as they don't think about it too much.

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  21. Can I ask a technical question to you lovely F heads?

    I am from England uk. I have a multi region bluray dvd player thats plays region 1 dvds fine. But it only plays region 2 blurays. The multi region platform does not work for blurays

    So my question is are these fantastic scream factory blurays I keep seeing and wanting region coded or region free?

    There are loads on the site I want to buy but if they are region 1 I won't beable to play them. Has anyone got some of these and is there region coding on them

    Thanks in advance for any help

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    1. Hey Dennis - I took a look at half a dozen Scream Factory titles over at blu-ray.com and unfortunately they all say Region A (1) locked. You can always double-check there yourself if there are specific titles you're looking for but it would appear Scream Factory does not do region free. :(

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  22. Thanks for help Sol. I just looked at the scream factory website and it dosent say on there anything about region. I did not know blu-ray.com did so Thats good to know.

    Its a shame they are locked as there are a long list of titles on there I would like on bluray. I will have to look into wether I can get a multi region bluray player or if not just buy a american player maybe. Not sure if that would work with the difference in Ntsc and pal. It get confusing to work it all out. A Multi region bluray player if they make them sounds the best option then

    Massive thx for help. I'll check out bluray website too

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    1. No problem bud - I'm really not sure how the whole NTSC and PAL crap works - I assume it's okay as long as the player is compatible? I buy region free blu-rays from the UK all the time (boxsets are often a lot cheaper on Amazon.uk than here with the VAT removed) - they've never been an issue on my TV and obviously they play on UK TVs as well - presumably it works both ways? Anyway, good luck! Scream Factory stuff is amazing and worth a bit of effort!

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  23. Thank you. I agree

    I think im going to buy an american bluray player. They arent that expensive these days. Problem solved. There are far to many releases im missing out on now on bluray. Then im going to remortgage the house and just buy all the scream factory stuff. Starting with Evilspeak. The Burning. Sleepaway camp. Crawlspace. Too many to choose from

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  24. Im so happy. New American bluray player turned up a few weeks back. My first scream factory blurays turned up today. I cut off the plug and re wired to uk plug adaptor. And got the player working. Good start. But would my UK pal projector accept American NTSC output via hdmi? Holy crap. Yes. All works great. Im now up and running for Scream Factory blurays. The Burning for me tonight. I'm buying Evilspeak and Nightbreed next. So many to choose from. Cheers for help Sol.

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    1. Congrats! That's great news. Just be aware that SF discs are habit forming, and now you're a junkie like the rest of us...

      Very cool. Enjoy The Burning.

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