The Goonies Blu Ray

"Tell us everything! Everything!"

 

Fig 1. The Goonies from 1985

 

 

 

Got to be one of my favourite movies from the 80's, great plot and a very well put together cast along with a Cyndi Lauper soundtrack, hey what's not to like?.

Its a story of 7 kids plunged into an adventure of a lifetime with surprise's and action around every corner, a quest beyond there wildest dreams as it says on the back of the tin and do you know what it bloody well is.

Everything you want from a movie is in this from action to laughter to tears of sadness and joy, booby traps and a pirate ship full of the mysterious things but is that what they are looking for?,

(I'm trying so hard here not to give anything away), with bumbling baffon like bad guys trying to get ahead of the 7 adventures. Its a family kids classic from beginning to end, and presented by the master himself Mr Spielberg, but directed by Richard Donner. Go on add it to your collection and laugh all the way to the gold doubloons.

 

Fig 2. Four of the Seven Strong Band.

 

 

VIDEO ***

Presented in 2.40:1 Aspect Ratio at 1080p

Richard Donner's Blu ray disc is a pretty good transfer compared to the older DVD release, straight from the off-set the movie pops off the screen, colours are bright and edges are sharp without over doing it, in particular the opening scene looks very good as it pans around the harbours houses, Whites are eye popping and blacks stay true to the colour palette. It can look a little soft in places but most of that is from the original master. Warner Bros have released this as a 25th anniversary Edition and its Region Free for those who want to import from the states, and I've heard the transfer it a little better, if I find out you'll be the first to know. 3 and half stars out of 5 isn't that bad really is it?.

 

 

 

AUDIO****

DOLBY TRUE HD 5.1 is the order of the day along with Dolby Digital 5.1 English, English 2.0 Mono, Latin Spanish 1.0 and French 2.0.

Nicely remastered with our over seas friends catered for comes a good sounding spinner. Treble is bright but not ear piercing and the bass thumps quite nicely when it needs to and the underground scenes immerse you quite authentically. Nothing is to over powering and the musical score is exceptional thanks to Dave Grusin's music. As with most of the films I review the Audio is a main reason to own this disc. So its 4 stars out of 5 for me.. now where's my sword and eye patch?.

 

 

 

EXTRA'S

 

They have put together a nice little collection here

 

COMMENTARY

With hidden video treasure by Director Richard Donner and selected cast and crew

THE MAKING OF.

A featurette of the movie

DELETED SCENES.

A nice collection of scenes that didn't make it into the main movie

MUSIC VIDEO'S.

Cyndi lauper's 'The Goonies R Good Enough' Video

TRAILER'S.

The theatrical trailer from 1985 

 

 

 

 





What's A Receiver Or Amplifier ?

  JUST A BRIEF DESCRIPTION

A/V Receivers do all the things with the press of just one button, they are the hubs and nerve centre of all Home Cinemas big or small. Used to hook up Blu Ray players, Media Centres and DVD players as well as your normal CD players and alike. They can to most people be daunting and rather mind boggling but that is not the case, If you can plug a one end of a lead into another socket then your 99.9% there.. 'What that's it' I hear you say ?....yep that's it, so take a look below at the receiver I own and you'll admit it is a thing of High gloss beauty, If you want high-quality surround sound, you need a high-quality A/V receiver.

   Fig 1. The Pioneer VSX921

 

Put simply, you need an AV Receiver (also commonly referred to as a Home Cinema Receiver) to enjoy movie soundtracks in all their digital splender. A/V receivers offer at least five channels of audio amplification (but now even up to 11 channels can be driven), enough to power two front speakers, two rear speakers, and a centre speaker along with a subwoofer, hence the 5.1. (Most subwoofers come with built-in amplifiers.) Stereo Receivers, power only two speakers at once. If you're a music fan who doesn't care to much about watching movies in surround sound, a stereo receiver is the way to go, and many purists argue that stereo receivers are the best choice for high-end music. But, if movies are your thing, or you like the idea of a receiver that's designed to serve as a command centre for all of your audio and video components, then a A/V receiver is a must in my eyes. And keep in mind that A/V receivers offer a music specific features that stereo receivers don't even come close to. In other words, the answer is to get yourself down to your local dealer and have a demo, its as simple as that.

 

 

LOOK AT THE REAR ON THAT.

 

 

Fig 2. The rear of the Pioneer

 

This is where most people get a little 'Scared' as most of my friends say or put off, there is really no need to be as its ever so easy and that's the point of my blog to show you how easy and simple it really is. These days most components have a HDMI output and that is what sends the video and audio to your display, all you have to do is place your newly acquired receiver in-between the 2 and your away, what that's it?, yes honestly that's it. 99.9% of new receivers have a microphone that you plug in and press the start button and it will sort out all the room EQ and test tones for you 'Brilliant'

 

You can basically just do as you do on your home PC just plug and play. The only thing I would say is the amount of leads you need depends on how many components you own, my wife used to go on and on and on and well you get the idea, about the amount of wires around the back of our system and that's my point round the back is where they are, so all I can say is out of sight out of mind.

Below is the front of my Home Cinema in my lounge and the only lead you can see on display is my iphone lead, have a look

 

Fig 3. The Doctors Home Cinema (Lounge)

 

Prices here in the UK are now at there most cost effective as they have ever been(despite the recession ),and the VSX 922 the latest Mid-range receiver from Pioneer is now selling from anything from £269-£350.00 so there are bargains to be had out there for sure, as the new 2013 models come out early this year..as I am writing there is the SC 2022. prices from £589.00, so a price for and from every budget, however there are plenty of other brilliant brands out there and please check out the list I have set up below. I prefer Pioneer, but that's just personal preference.

 

 

THE OTHER BRANDS

 

Pioneer

Onkyo

Yamaha
Sony
Marantz
Denon

But please just go out and have a look around, ask your local dealer or should I say seek out your local Hi-Fi dealer and get yourself a demo, talk to them they are here to help you and the more you ask the more they'll explain. Richersounds (0333 900 0054) is a good place if you don't know your local dealer mine however is my very friendly staffed Technosound.(01908 604949) give them a call they are open to newbies or the experienced alike.

 

Next 'Speakers Big or Small?' and 'Do I Have Room?'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

James Bond 50th Anniversary Blu Ray Boxset

“No, I’m Just Looking.”

Fig 1. The Main Box.

 

What all 22 films now on Blu ray?. You better believe it, yes you have all probably seen it all over the internet and in the shops (well the one's still left open that is) and I must say it is a well put together medium sized Box set.

It measure's in at just over a 9" wide and 6" tall and holds 2 folder's with the 22 movie's themselves split over each, from the years 1962-1981 and 1983-2012 (not including Skyfall although there is a space for it in the set).

 

Fig 2. 1962-2012 so Everyone's covered no matter who your favourite bond is.

 

So on to the picture quality and first up with we do have a slight improvement on offer from the already released Blu Rays, as for the other films that are debuting in this set, the step up from Dvd is very good. Colours are bright, contrast is not to high as to hide shadow detail or wash out the blacks, this alone is a reason to add this to any collection. DNR is not that overused and has not been used to silly standard's not even in the much talked about Goldeneye, but if you look to closely yes you'll find a bit of edge enhancement, edge's are sharper and more crisp and I did feel like I was watching them for the first time with freshly cleaned glasses. Grain is there and that's a good thing these days as so many people expect Blu Ray's these days to look like Toy Story. The nine new additions are all fantastic and all in all i'm very impressed with MGM and there restoration team. The icing on the cake in this set is the Extra's Bonus disc with well over 120 hours of feature's, interview and behind the scenes footage to keep you up for, well!!! 120 hours..If you don't own it then shame on you my advice get out your cash and grab it today, you won't be disappointed.

 

 

Fig 3. Fantastic inside artwork and attention to detail.

 

 

The folder's themselves are in my eye's a thing of beauty and I think it's been well thought out with cult classic Bond's and Beautiful bond girls from every movie adoring every page in the set,

including a classic scene and the baddie who accompanied it.

 

 

 

 

VIDEO ****

Presented in 1.67:1, 1.85:1, 2.39:1, 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio's at 1080p

Most importantly they have been cleaned up but not messed up for the 50th year of our greatest hero,

colour's are accurate, and there are no compression issues which is a blessing these day's, niggles aside (yes i'm talking about Goldeneye) and the fact that I can't do a half star on my PC I would have to give this set a 4 and a half out of 5, because to me I don't think they could have done much more to these without ruining them.

 

 

 

AUDIO ****

DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 mix along with on most of the set English Dolby Digital Mono,

French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1.

A remastered DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless surround track, can blow you away in some scene's and leave you a little wanten in other's, which is a shame really but I guess you can't have it all as these are 50 year old film's and you can only do so much before things sound terrible, there is surround sound ambience on most of the older movie's but the newer one's do come alive a little more, but that's to be expected, bass is booming but not over blown and can make you smile when explosion's happen and ship's collide. All in all 5 stars is just a little much and 4 isn't enough so add a half to the top score.

 

 

EXTRA'S*****

120 hours of 00Fun inc.

 

WORLD OF BOND.

Six segment's covering five decades, A thrilling look at Bond's most unforgettable moments of danger, seduction and adventure.

BEING BOND.

All six actor's who have played the legendary 007 are brought together through fascinating and revealing interviews

DESIGNING 007:FIFTY YEARS OF BOND STYLE.

A unique showcase of key moments in Bonds history that reflects on the changing design and styles of the last 50 years.

PLUS MUCH, MUCH MORE.

 

 

 

 

The Collection Is Well On It's Way

Here is a look at my full collection, I will do a review of most of them including recent purchases and older buys. If there are any requests then let me know and I'll see if I have them and review them.

 

Thanks for looking but what about your collection's let me know in the comment's below

Captain America The First Avenger Blu Ray Steelbook

Fig 1. Front Embossed

Fig 2. Rear

Fig 3. Inside Artwork

 

Shiny and bold and I'm not talking about old Cap's shield. This steelbook is pure eye candy, from it's rustic looking front cover to its magnificent back cover this Blu Ray steelbook is why I guess there are so many collector's out there and why they are becoming more and more favoured by distributer's.

The title is embossed and inside artwork is probably about right.

 

 

 

VIDEO ****

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen at 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio.

Steve Roger's leaps off the screen in fine but not fantastic detail and looking quite dull and boring in colour. In this first outing for The First Avenger. Don't get me wrong there is detail there but damn it's hard to find amongst all the low contrast levels, sure Caps suit and bike look amazing with detail apparent and Red Scull's bright red face looks pretty authentic as do the U.S Army's uniforms and short jungle scenes. but for me there just isn't enough of it. Don't be put off with the lack of it though as the movie just about pulls you through.

 

 

'She was a nurse in a TB ward. Got hit, couldn't shake it' 

 

AUDIO *****

A English DTS Master Audio 7.1 mix along with French, German, Italian and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 also a English 5.1 audio descriptive track is there for the feature only.

 

Where the picture lacks the sound sure makes up for it. Explosion's, bike chases and a train scene to die for are all there if that's your fetish. I can't find a fault in this soundtrack. Machine gunfire along with futuristic weapon's all whiz around the 7 channels with a plom, pop yourself in the Red Sculls spaceship towards the end of the movie and the bass just throbs from the intergalactic engines. Voices stay locked to the front channel and are easy to hear amongst all the mayhem. Demo sequences galore for Home Cinema show offs. 'Nice' Thanks Paramount.

 

 

 

EXTRA'S ***

Not a lot to go on here folks

 

Marvel One Shot

A Funny Thing Happened on the way to Thor's Hammer (HD)

The Assembly Begins (HD).

6 Featurettes HD.

Deleted Scenes (HD)

Commentary by Director Joe Johnston, Director of Photography Shelly Johnson and Editor Jeffrey Ford

And More.

 

Do You Have Any Huge Collections?, Fancy Being Featured on My Blog? or Are You Thinking About Starting a Collection?.

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Do I Really Need That Many Speaker's

The most frequent question I get asked is 'Do I need all those speakers?' and 'what do they do?' .
Well I think I can try and answer both of those in a brief description and some pictures to show that big is sometimes beautiful,

CENTRE SPEAKER AND PLACEMENT

 

This speaker handles all or most of the dialogue along with the onscreen effects. And without it things can sound rather strange and unattached. If you already have one have an experiment and unplug it and start your favourite movie scene, to me it's kind of fun hearing just what this speaker means to our system's and just how Important it is.

It should be placed above or just below the screen and as close to it as possible. as this is where you expect to hear voice's and where your eyes will be driven towards.

If your speaker is big enough and your cabinet is not to high you can use this as the TV stand, and it might just bring your tweeter's in line with your left and right fronts.

 

 Fig 1. My Eltax Linear response  Centre Speaker
 

FRONT LEFT AND RIGHT PLACEMENT

 

Probably the easiest one's to place really, put either side of the centre speaker and between 2-6 feet from either side of it depending on your room size, and in line with the centre.

You can toe them in slightly aiming at the main listening position, but I have worked out that you only need to do that if the movement of sound isn't even across all three. There is nothing like hearing someone off screen start talking and as they appear onscreen it just blends in, or a car going from left to right seamlessly. All part of the front soundstage.

 

Fig 2. One of my Eltax Linear Response 10.5 Front Speaker's 

 

SURROUND SPEAKER PLACEMENT

let's picture the scene your in the street and from out of nowhere you hear a helicopter but you find yourself looking around as it's not quite in sight yet but you can tell it's behind you let's say your right ear, then as it drift's over overhead and into view you see it, but you heard it long before then and it came form your right ear over your head and out to the front of you, this is the job for these speaker's the effect's that are all around you until they appear right in front of you. From bullet's shooting past your head to bikes and cars speeding past you.. to me it's one of the best parts of owning a home cinema. Fantastic.

I know from experimentation and trial and error that these are the hardest to place but that shouldn't put you off. Alongside the listener is the best place (if they are NOT dipole's/Bipole's, Don't worry i'll explain later) pointing towards the listener and just behind you and just above head height when sitting down.

 

Fig 3. My Surround Speaker's

 

DIPOLE AND BIPOLE SURROUND SPEAKER'S AND PLACEMENT

 

Now these are what I use and they are placed above and behind or to the side of you, as these have drivers that fire from the sides. (not the front as in conventional bookshelf speaker's) This means they give you a more diffused sound and spread the sound out a little more that fills the room, but can be difficult to position, unless you have a very understanding partner. Yes that's you my dear wife.

If you look in your local cinema you'll find that they use these type of speaker's as there are more seat's so it need's to fill the room.

 

Fig 4. My Mission 77ds Dipole Surround's

 

THE SUBWOOFER PLACEMENT

Creating slam and hitting you smack in the middle of your chest is the main job of the subwoofer, a building explodes, a wave crashes into the beach even a machine gun cracking bullet's should be felt. this my friend's is the job of the subwoofer.  

You can pretty much position this near enough anywhere as bass is non-directional, but most people swear by it being next to them or in front alongside the main front three. To me it should go wherever it sounds best. Yes you can tuck it out of the way if you want but the bigger and more expensive one's tend to be a thing of beauty and for me I would have it on show, hell you can even use it as a side table. Just be careful as just plonking it in the corner of the room or close to a wall can make it produce a boomy effect and you start to lose any kind of slam and impact. about a foot from the wall is a good rule of thumb but most importantly experiment. When you can get your trousers to physically move from the amount of air being pushed from one of these it really is mind blowing.

 

Fig 5. The Q Acoustics 1000Si Subwoofer

 

Next  'What's A Receiver Or Amplifier'

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who Framed Roger Rabbit Blu Ray Steelbook Zavvi Exclusive

 

Fig 1. Got to be One of the Best Looking out There at the Moment

 



Just arrived today the Zavvi  steelbook of the very funny and extremely clever
'Who Framed Roger Rabbit 25th Anniversary Edition' for its time this film was ground braking and has become a family favourite in my household. Below is a short review on the picture quality and audio quality as well as any extra's. The steelbook itself is embossed/debossed (which is very hard to show in my pictures) and has a beautiful high gloss satin red sheen...to date this is in my top 5 Steelbook's. It's now highly collectable and on it's way to becoming very highly sought after.

VIDEO ****
Presented in (16x9) 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio

I have given this a rating of 4 stars from a possible 5. Colours are as rich as they could be for a film of this age, I did think they could have cleaned it up a little more (and no I don't mean picture grain, it's meant to be as we all know) as in some shots you can notice the set through some of the cartoon characters and if they'd have maybe injected a little more brightness to the colour palette then maybe I might not have noticed that but hey for what its worth. .it's a massive improvement on the older DVD release from a few years ago.

 

 

 'Nice shirt. Who's your tailor? Quasimodo?'
 

AUDIO ****
 A DTS Master Audio 5.1 mix as well as a French DTS Master Audio mix and Dolby Digital 5.1:German, Italian and Spanish.

For most of the movie I think you'll find yourself wondering 'I don't remember this sounding as full as this' and you'd be right, yes the bass is lacking in some scenes and a little heavy in others and the rears do get a very good work out especially with eddie driving through the toon streets and towards the later end of the movie as things heat up. I would have to pay a little homage to the directors score as its brought alive and for that its a solid 4 stars.

 

 

 

EXTRA'S *****

It's a straight 5 stars for me on the extra's front just for the sheer amount of it.

 

Digitally Restored The Roger Rabbit Shorts

Tummy Trouble, Roller Coaster rabbit and Trail Mix-Up.

Who Made Roger Rabbit

mini documentary hosted by Charles Fleischer, the voice of Roger Rabbit.

Audio Commentary

with filmmaker's Robert Zemeckis,Frank Marshall,Jeffery Price,Peter Seamon,Steve Starkey

and Ken Ralston.

Deleted Scenes

"The Pig Head sequence" with filmmaker commentary.

Before And After

Split screen comparison with and without animation.

Behind The Ears: The True Story Of Roger Rabbit

An exclusive, in depth, behind the scenes documentary.

Toon Stand Ins Featurette

Rehearsing with stand ins for the toons.

On Set! Benny The Cab

The making of a scene from the film.

 

 

 

Well that's about it for my first review...I hope you enjoy and please keep checking back for more

Do You Have Any Huge Collections?, Fancy Being Featured on My Blog? or Are You Thinking About Starting a Collection?.

Leave Me A Comment Below

Or Better Still Follow Me With Google +

 

 

 

 

Why Should I Get Into Home Cinema

Fig 1. My Home Cinema/Lounge

Everybody has a favourite movie, from a Hollywood blockbuster to an art house film. A home cinema surround sound system with its immersive audio qualities and hard hitting bass will bring all those memorable moments back to life, letting you relive them over and over again, all in the comfort of your own home.I started way back at the end of VHS and as with of us oldie Home Cinema fans there was only one movie that changed it all.'Star Wars',I hear you say...Nope not for me..
For me its was 'Jurassic Park' at my local multiplex..After that I made my way down to my nearest install shop.
Technosound in Milton Keynes.
And this is where my Additction,Story And Enthusiasm Began..
since that day I have had many components and seen formats come and go,but one thing stays the same..My love of Home Cinema...
In my blog im going to be looking at Blu Rays,Steelbooks and what you need to get started.
so Join me and lets explore together...

Fig 2. My Rear Speakers

 

I have managed over the years to upgrade my kit from Dolby Pro Logic to Dolby Digital and DTS and now with the new era of HD audio Dolby True HD and DTS Master Audio. This consists of a 5.1 array which for those who are new to Home Cinema means you have 5 speakers.

A left,Centre and Right speaker at the front of the system and in the middle is your display either a TV or if you have room a projector (more on that later) and to the rear is the 4th and 5th speaker just seated behind the listeners ears around ear height or just above (see above picture)

 

"Anybody hear that? It's a, um... It's an impact tremor, that's what it is... I'm fairly alarmed here"

Dr Ian Malcolm 'Jurassic Park'

 

The .1 of the 5.1 set up is in my opinion just as important as the centre speaker as it adds impact and depth to a movie. Ever been to the Cinema and felt your chest thump from an explosion or from a clap of thunder?, well that my friends is bass.

so there you have it 5.1 in a nutshell or case whichever your prefer

 

next up I will try to explain to you about placement and what each speaker should do in your system.

 

 Next  'Do I really  Need That Many Speaker's'