HD-DVD Movie buying suggestions wanted.

[Iguana Man]

Hey folks, I was looking for suggestions for my next buying frenzy of HD-DVD's. No, this frenzy will NOT put me anywhere close to the ownership levels of many here, but for little ol' me, it's gonna be alot.

So, here are my preferences in no particular order.

1) Horror, Sci-Fi, hard nosed Action, Suspense with gore and Comic movies.

2) Mostly modern, more recent stuff (last 5 years or so) plus top tier classics.

3) Eye popping video. For the record, I have watched Batman Begins a third time (last two sober) and concede the video quality is great now. OK?

4) Audio isn't as big a concern as video quality.

For now my list begins with:

300 (got it in the mail today!)
Apocolypto (thanks guys, this is Blu only! bastiches!)
Bourne Idenity
Smoking Aces
Black Snake Moan
Shooter
The Complete Matrix Trilogy
Pitch Black
The Chronicles of Riddick (wasn't there a 3rd one?)
Children of Men
Flags of Our Fathers
Training Day
Wolf Creek
The Departed
Serenity
Lucky # Slevin
A Scanner Darkly
Four Brothers
16 Blocks
World Trade Center
Poseidon
The Hitcher
Pat Metheny Group:The Way Up
Nine Inch Nails:Beside You In Time
Shaun of the Dead
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
The Frighteners
Goodfellas
Blood Diamond
The Host
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
The Matador
Miami Vice
Leon-SD for Reap'



-------
Suggest away....please!

[MooglePorn]

Black Snake Moan certainly has a few scenes of "eye popping video"... heh.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by Iguana Man

Apokolipto (sic) - Apocolypto

This flick is currently only on Blu-Ray in the US, however xploitedcinema.com is supposed to be receiving a shipment of this movie from Poland that will work fine with HD DVD players within a month or so.

That aside, I'd recommend:
300
Bourne Idenity
Bourne Supremacy
Smoking Aces
Black Snake Moan
Shooter
Corpse Bride
The Ultimate Matrix Collection or The Complete Matrix Trilogy if extras arent your thing
Pitch Black
The Chronicles of Riddick (sequel to Pitch Black)
Children of Men
Mission Impossible 3
Flags of Our Fathers
Sands of Iwo Jima
Training Day
Wolf Creek
The Departed
V for Vendetta
Living Landscapes: The Worlds Most Beautiful Places (based on your ownership of Planet Earth & Chronos - get Chronos if you dont have it!)
Nature's Journey
Serenity
Lucky # Slevin
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
A Scanner Darkly

This thread also might help:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=856119

Now IMO, every film gets benefit from being HD DVD and compression artifacts are very rarely found. So even the ones lower ranked on that thread will look significantly better than its DVD counterpart. That thread simply tells you how much better based on the quality of the master used for encoding.

Remember to update your firmware if your XBOX 360 isnt connected online (and why not??!)
Directions here: http://www.xbox.com/en-us/hardware/x...r/download.htm


Also, if you want I could bring over a bunch of movies (I have most of the popular ones) and you can check out how they look before you buy 'em!

[SilentBob]

OK i guess my list for you

Hot Fuzz
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (need to get myself)
Children of Men
Constantine
V for Vendetta
Four Brothers
The Mummy

[esc]

Just a few off the top of my head that have stunning video:

-Swordfish. Its bright, the video is amazing and absolutely pops, and the sound is wall shattering.
-Sahara. Same as Swordfish, except the audio is slightly less wall shattering.
-Mission Impossible III
-Smokin Aces
-Planet Earth

and my pick for the must own HD DVD of the decade is Nine Inch Nails:Beside You In Time. Both the sound and picture are utterly reference.

And you have to own The Fountain. Amazing film.

[Derb]

Originally Posted by esc

must own HD DVD of the decade is Nine Inch Nails:Beside You In Time. Both the sound and picture are utterly reference.

Not that I disagree or anything with that title but after watching many concerts in HD before that one I was kinda surprised the praise NIN got.

I'd recommend Slither.

Its got horror & the usual elements from horror, IE bad acting, bad plot, bad dialog, bad CGI, bad make-up, but the transfer is excellent.

Some others if you don't already own any of these, are a solid purchase,

16 Blocks
Unleashed
The Fast and the Furious
World Trade Center
Poseidon
The Hitcher
Mystery Men

[esc]

Originally Posted by Derb

Not that I disagree or anything with that title but after watching many concerts in HD before that one I was kinda surprised the praise NIN got.

Its the best picture quality that I have ever see my projector produce.

[Derb]

Originally Posted by esc

Its the best picture quality that I have ever see my projector produce.

Didn't you find the concert too dark. I dunno, it just wasn't a very eye-popping picture presentation mostly due to the low-light atmosphere. Well, gonna see it again next month when I get my BD version. Maybe, I'll have a second opinion.

[Iguana Man]

Thanks fellas! I've edited my list above based on your suggestions. If I left a movie out it is because I either already own it in HD, don't care to buy it again just for HD (Swordfish as an example), or can't watch because I hate TC (MI3).

Anyone else care to suggest something? I thought the Teminator series (especially T2) fell into my requirements?

Again, thanks!

Edited: is Poseidon the new one?

[Wirehed]

Don't forget Shaun of the Dead.

[sub780lime]

Serenity is just too obvious a choice. Purchase now.

[Iguana Man]

Thanks Sea'! SOTD added. And Sub', I got it on the list.

[MooglePorn]

Originally Posted by Iguana Man

or can't watch because I hate TC (MI3).

Hahaha... so silly.

[Pirate]

A few:

The Adventures of Robin Hood
Casablanca
Black Snake Moan
The Bourne Identity
The Bourne Supremacy
The Departed
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
The Frighteners
Goodfellas
Blood Diamond
The Host
Hustle & Flow
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
The Matador
Miami Vice
Out of Sight
A Scanner Darkly
Serenity
V For Vendetta
The World's Fastest Indian

[Iguana Man]

Originally Posted by MooglePorn

Hahaha... so silly.

It may be silly but it's my list and that's that for this cranky old F__K who can easily live without him.

[esc]

maybe we should try to limit our choices to 1 - 3 per person. or he's going to end up with a list of choices as long as the current HD release list.

you can guess my pick : NiN

Originally Posted by Derb

Didn't you find the concert too dark. I dunno, it just wasn't a very eye-popping picture presentation mostly due to the low-light atmosphere. Well, gonna see it again next month when I get my BD version. Maybe, I'll have a second opinion.

The concert was totally dark, but only in the areas that were supposed to be. Any time a strobe was going off or a spotlight was on Trent, the brightness of the light absolutely cut through the darkness and made that part of the screen bright white, while the black areas outside the light remained totally black. I'd almost use a technical term and say that those areas were dipping into the blacker then black levels. Also, FYI, I don't use my AutoIris when I am demoing this disc because of the strobes. I'm afraid the concert would break my proj if the iris was opening and closing as much as would be required for this show. The contrast between the dark and light areas and the definition between light and dark were razor sharp and thats what wowed me. There was no bleeding or blurriness between light and dark areas at all. Colors also especially popped because you are basically watching a black screen with white spotlights and strobes for a lot of the show. When a blue or red lighting effect comes along, they cut out of the darkness and are striking because of the lack of color used in the show.

I'd like to see it on your system now and compare it to mine to see the differences.
.
.
.
ok, I just put it in and had another look and I heaped a bit too much praise on it with the blacker than black assessment, but everything else still stands. You can count the drops of sweat on Trent's face for god's sake!

[Derb]

Yep it is a great transfer, & imo, Cream is just as good. HD football good.

Iggy,

Poseidon is the re-make & "Sands of Iwo Jima" is actually "Letters from Iwo Jima"

[Iguana Man]

Ok, edited again. 41 movies. DAYUM!

I think that might be enough for the next YEAR. I'm gonna review that list again, no Terminator? You guys suck!

I need to break that list down one more time before I pull the trigger, but for now, I thank you all! I really do. Thanks!

Iggy-now-broke.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by Iguana Man

Ok, edited again. 41 movies. DAYUM!

I think that might be enough for the next YEAR. I'm gonna review that list again, no Terminator? You guys suck!

I need to break that list down one more time before I pull the trigger, but for now, I thank you all! I really do. Thanks!

Iggy-now-broke.

Terminator 2 HD DVD from sendit.com!
http://sendit.com/video/item/7001000137511

Not exactly a film made "in the past 5 years" though

[Iguana Man]

I've re-edited the list to 36. Thanks again to everyone!

The Terminator series will have to wait since I'm hoping some kinda kick ass box set comes out this Christmas or sometime soon.

[jriseden]

AMERICAN ME.

the countless prison rape scenes are amazing in HD!

classic demo material.

[Derb]

Originally Posted by jriseden

AMERICAN ME.

the countless prison rape scenes are amazing in HD!

classic demo material.

[Iguana Man]

Originally Posted by Derb

And you wonder why you're cursed.

[Derb]

Originally Posted by Iguana Man

And you wonder why you're cursed.

Its no joke, I am.

I ordered The Host for Blu-Ray but got the HD DVD version.. but thats nots all.

The HD DVD case is an HD DVD case, but the artwork is for the BD version.

[Derb]

Originally Posted by Derb

Its no joke, I am.

I ordered The Host for Blu-Ray but got the HD DVD version.. but thats nots all.

The HD DVD case is an HD DVD case, but the artwork is for the BD version.

Edit

Further more, the HD DVD freezes at the 1hour 6minute 35second mark.

HD DVD really sucks.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by Derb

Edit

Further more, the HD DVD freezes at the 1hour 6minute 35second mark.

Mine works fine, as usual. I'm sure most everyone else's does too

Originally Posted by Derb

HD DVD really sucks for me due to my unescapable curse and knack for acquiring defective hardware!

Fixed.

P.S. - You should most definitely RMA your machine as you continue to have probs with it. Don't be a help-rejecting complainer.