What Blu-Ray did you watch last night?

[Graham Ritchie]

This is a film I am always a bit reluctant to watch its a tough one. "Out Of The Blue" 2006 is a new Zealand film, based on actual events here in the South Island town of "Aramoana" on the 13th November 1990. David Gray shot dead thirteen including a policeman and young children with a high powered automatic weapon before being later killed by a arm defenders squad sent down from Christchurch. Its not just a story of a man and a gun, its also a story of a person with mental illness, losing his mind, and as such control. I first watched it at the cinema when it came out, it was draining to watch, afterwards after that screening I thought what I had just watched could happen again. The film is very well made and careful with the subject matter keeping it in check.

Its been out for a few years now on DVD and is a New Zealand film I feel worth watching.

[Ed Gordon]

... If you get a chance to see it I would certainly recommend it. Shot in Black and White the acting, story is all first class.

I recently watched Morituri also. I agree with your assessment!

[Graham Ritchie]

Although I don't have "Morituri" 1965 on blu-ray I did watch the DVD projected with the Panasonic. I had never heard of this film before but its really good, so thought I would mention it here. If you get a chance to see it I would certainly recommend it. Shot in Black and White the acting, story is all first class.

[Osi Osgood]

The color is brilliant there, Graham. Though there is a strong love for the original 1977 version of Star Wars in my heart, ( and I don't like the changes ), the one sad thing about the 77 version, is the colors look "70's tired", that is, it looks old, where "Empire" and "Jedi" don't look aged in comparison, but the remastered blu-ray of Star Wars has a fresher, more vibrant look to the color that doesn't make it look as dated, as your screenshots show

[Graham Ritchie]

Sometimes you just feel like another blu-ray viewing using the Panasonic VP with its new lamp has been great

[Ed Gordon]

That film should have had a wider showing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Well towards the end as it shows that a virus can mutate to become less dangerous and that things could improved. If shown too early and encouraged people to take risks earier on that wouldn't have been good.

Your observation that in might have "encouraged people to take risks earlier on that wouldn't have been good" is spot on. A lot of people would probably taken up Sterno and aspirin as a defense against the virus.

The scientists learn that the current form of Andromeda grows only in a narrow pH range; in a too-acidic or too alkaline growth medium, the organism will not divide. Andromeda's ideal pH range is 7.39–7.43, within the range found in normal human blood. Jackson and Ritter survived because both had abnormal blood pH (Jackson acidotic from consumption of Sterno and aspirin, Ritter alkalotic from hyperventilation). However, by the time the scientists realize this, Andromeda has mutated into a form that degrades the lab's plastic seals and escapes containment. Trapped in a contaminated lab, Dr. Charles Burton demands that Stone inject him with a "universal antibiotic"; Stone refuses, arguing that it would render Burton too vulnerable to infection by other harmful bacteria. Burton survives because the mutated Andromeda is no longer pathogenic.

[Brian Fretwell]

That film should have had a wider showing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Well towards the end as it shows that a virus can mutate to become less dangerous and that things could improved. If shown too early and encouraged people to take risks earier on that wouldn't have been good.

[Graham Ritchie]

Watched this one the other night, highly recommend it.

[Graham Ritchie]

Last night the blu-ray movie was "Dirty Harry", tonight "Jurassic Park 2" using the Panasonic VP. There are some movies I never get tired watching, those two are on that list It was running the 35mm JP2 at Ferrymead park along with other films last weekend for folk that did prompt me to watch the actual feature. However as well as 35mm trailers I did include some of our old cinema ads as well. This one shown below from Telecom New Zealand, I did tell folks at the park watching that 2000ft reel, that although this ad came out a while ago, the message behind it is sadly still very relevant today.

[Steve Klare]

Just Five Minutes until Show-Time: let's head to the snack bar!

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Not a BluRay at all but a DVD with over an hour of Drive-In movie daysets. It showed up today so I put it through the VP just to check it out.

The basic idea is when we have people over to see a show, we start this as soon as we see that first car so there's a little movie-atmosphere while they walk in the door and get settled. It's odd content on screen: really just for atmospherics, but still the same interesting enough that sometimes you can't help but watch for a minute at a time.

The images run through all sorts of quality levels including lines and fade all the way to really nice. Normally this might detract from the experience, but in this case it adds to the nostalgic feel of the whole thing.

The imbedded count-down clocks are meaningless: it was "three minutes to show-time" several times over about 20 minutes! (Don't set your watch by this!)

It's some astounding stuff! For somebody who lives in a neighborhood with a couple of really good pizzerias the very idea of Drive-In Movie pizza is kind of disturbing. Still the same, the adds are full of 1950s and 1960s cars which more than make up for that pizza!

There is actually a practical purpose being served here. I often show film shorts and then a video-based feature or concert. Once or twice I've gone to roll the video and found nothing but "HDMI#1: NO SIGNAL" on screen. After that, it's wiggling cables in front of a sitting audience (-and every so often correctly re-routing them! -Oops!) until the picture wakes up. (-not the greatest showmanship.)

By having this disk run at the beginning of the show, I know that audio and picture are both working: everything is plugged into the right place and fully seated, too!

[Graham Ritchie]

Picked up this blu-ray today and watched it on the Panasonic VP tonight. I wasn't expecting to much, as the film had mixed reviews, enjoyed it, better than I thought

[Brian Fretwell]

The start of the Dr Who season 25 set, Remembrance of the Daleks, upscaled from PAL 625/50 with new Dolby 5.1 sound (the origianl was two chanel audio) with original effects (there is an option for updated effects that I will watch later). Good picture but when projected it does show that one camera on location had a fault giving faint fine vertical lines on the picture . This set will take a long time to watch as there are ectended version too, plus commentries!

[Ed Gordon]

Yesterday I watched Despicable Me 4. Lots of laughs for kids and adults.



Watched the 1080p version with my 4k projector; the image was impressively good.

[Osi Osgood]

We started watching the complete series, on blu-ray, of the 90's cartoon show , "Samurai jack", which, along with Ren and Stimpy, were the best cartoon shows, made for TV, in the 90's and beyond, even to this day. I always admired the graphic style of this cartoon.

[Graham Ritchie]

Tonight watched all 27 videos listed below, using the Panasonic VP, great music from a great time