Technology, blu rays and mastering the home theatre system

Well the pre christmas buildup has begun. Time to cast aside my blu rays for the real deal. First out of the gate next week will be Enders Game. This will be followed by the Hobbit Desolation of Smaug.  Meanwhile my local entertainment emporium, will be flooded with christmas product all fighting for my attention.

It all seems daunting but last week I bit the bullet and treated myself to Pacific Rim and In 3D no less.  The presentation is jaw dropping, the sound incredible and the sheer detail on display just draw dropping.  For a 3D experience this disc is demo quality,  simply astounding. Colours pop, the spectacle is all there for you to see.

Yesterday I also treated myself to the Hobbit extended edition which again is a stand out presentation with brilliant supplementary material. Of course this is to be expected the precedence having been set by the Lord of the Rings extended editions. With releases this good then Christmas promises to be a real treat this year making up for a less than impressive year of movie going.

Thor the Dark World and my return to cinema going.

Well after three lacklustre months of lousy cinema, and having resorted to hiding away in my man cave devouring blu ray after blu ray and rediscovering the joys of gaming on my negleted PS3.

The last two weeks however have been a tonic to my cinematic hunger. Its almost as if the stars in alignment. Last week I sat through a wonderful ninety minute documentary on Ray Harryhausen which left me with a strong desire to sit through The Golden voyage of Sinbad. Why?, because its been quite a while since I have seen the film that haunted my youth up to the arrival of Star Wars. It was the Kali sequence that I found so exciting, but its one of many that sticks in my mind.

So After three months of watching some fantastic blast from the past finally a movie came along that screamed must see to me. So I took the plunge, braved the elements which this winter and spring in NZ have been particularly windy and extreme to venture out to my local Reading cinema to see Gravity in 3D.  I'm so glad I did, as a bold experiment in story telling and visuals it was a stand out and though I doubt its Oscar worthiness I cannot deny it grip, brilliant effects and masterful use of 3D.

So I am excited again,and today my second trip this time  to catch Thor 2 The Dark World. This is a film of noise, colour otstanding visuals , makeup and costumes all whizzed in a blender of wonderful CGI effects. To brilliant and entertaining effect , a sequel that really delivers and eclipsing the original to truly deliver as a comic book movie.

Its as if the Avengers has really kicked the marvel franchises into high gear at the same time truly embracing their comic book origins.  This film has a truly evil opponent for Thor is the guise of Christopher Eccelstons almost demonic Malekith and the film is perfectly paced with some outstanding action scenes culminating in a fantastic closing battle that is shere eye candy. Go see , enjoy and stick around right through the credits for two surprises.