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Alex DeLarge
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Alex DeLarge's Discussions
top movies of 2008?
Replied Dec. 20, 2008
Acting Legend Paul Newman Died (R.I.P.)
Replied Sep. 27, 2008
Alex DeLarge's Groups
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70's Cinema
64 members
-
Worst Movies of All Time!
17 members
-
Kubrick Appreciation
20 members
-
Unavailable Movies On ...
67 members
-
Super Hero/Heroine Movies
35 members
Film Reviews
The Limits of Control
Death is a Lone Man whose classic visage is a Greek tragedy, chiseled from living rock, a deadly Muse whose business is not revenge…but imagination. Writer/Director Jim Jarmusch tests the formal limits of cinema whose invisible boundaries have no center or edges like a crumbling universe, relying on subjective interpretations and opposing trite exposition. This stoic Man With No Name stalks the streets of Spain, meeting incongruous agents and holding clandestine meetings, receiving secret codes and ingesting the tiny notes. These desperate characters are artists, bohemians, scientists, musicians, loners on the road to creativity and creation, but oppressed by sullen ideals and seduced by superficial beauty. Each person he meets hides behind glasses, as if these soulless mirrors deflect rather than reflect the soul. Black helicopters are the ubiquitous antagonists that sting the narrative like deadly wasps, their venomous presence evoking a nuanced dis-ease. The Loner’s strange travels eventually take him to a stronghold in the middle of the desert, where one man is a castle unto himself, surrounded by powerful men in black and under constant surveillance: a man whose self importance will lead him to the grave. We hear the punctuation of an electronic code as this weary Capitalist enters his soundproof office, and suddenly the barely glimpsed numbers on minute paper notes makes sense: each conspirator adding their own numerical sequence to Death’s final equation. The musical scales balance, a guitar string holding its eternal note. The killer finally transforms, changing from his suave suite to casual attire, like the Reaper peeling away his robes to reveal an average man, again entering the World nameless and alone. Rimbaud’s freethinking introduction mirrors Jarmusch’s cinematic mantra: No limits. No control. (B+)
Thirst
Sang-hyun has fled the flaming light of religiosity and discarded his anemic beliefs, victim of a desire that burns deep in his veins. He is a priest who tires of the vapid ritual of death, a man who wishes to help others who suffer needlessly: he trades the invisible Sacraments for physical sacrifice. He offers his body as a tool to cure the dreaded Emmanuel Virus: a tongue-in-cheek name evoking the lascivious film, as the pleasures of the body will lead to his downfall. Sang-hyun suffers the torment of the damned and dies with righteous intentions but is mysteriously resurrected. He is the only survivor out of 500 patients and is anointed savior, as true believers flock to his side awaiting his healing touch. Director Park Chan-wook finally does to the Catholic Church what it has done to its own congregation. The film is darkly humorous, depicting a man without faith and a woman who never acquired it, and their mutual decline into an egocentric world of violence and ever-thirsting passion. THIRST is a morality tale, as the seductive Tae-ju pretends to be abused by her husband and convinces Sang-hyun to murder him: the road to heaven is paved with bad intentions. When he learns of the deceit, he again murders but this time reanimates their affair, as she imbibes his bloody Communion. Tae-ju sees a world full of sheep to quench her appetite but a final vestige of morality still infuses Sang-hyun and he fights these urges, promising never to kill for sustenance…but he’s already a killer. The ex-Priest must extinguish this mortal craving for a flesh and blood redeemer so he molests a young girl, destroying the misplaced hope of his followers: it is both a grim and perverted scene. Tae-ju’s nihilism versus his lapsed Catholicism leads them to a lonely cliff, the ocean beating its own life affirming rhythm against the rocks, and all becomes ashes to ashes, dust to dust. (B+)
Tokyo Sonata
Kenji’s family is a maelstrom of disharmony, the tonal hierarchy dissolving like random notes of a discordant sonata. Writer/Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa vivisects the living body of the nuclear family, the patriarchal authority fatally anesthetized. Though the film’s scalpel cuts deep into traditional Japanese values, it is applicable to any society whose moral foundation and family values are built upon the crumbling sandstone of sexism and social status. Kurosawa’s mise en scene and lighting are a force of nature because he conveys very little information through dialogue: the flashing of a passing L-train through bamboo blinds like a searchlight revealing lies, unemployed businessman sitting isolated on pedestals eating their borrowed lunch, or the mother trapped between the ocean and her calamitous past mirroring Antoine’s desperate escape. The eldest son decides to join the US Army, to forsake his lineage while the youngest child Kenji is mesmerized by the twinkling rapture of a piano. Though his father forbids his lessons, Kenji steals lunch money and begins his journey. Kurosawa never shows Kenji playing the piano, only thumping away on a broken keyboard, and it is unknown until the final scene if he is truly talented. Meanwhile, a house divided must fall and it falls hard into despair and suicidal impulses, Ryûhei scrubbing toilets and the mother running away. But incongruous events bring them together again in a literally broken home, silent in their own thoughts. Kenji auditions for a respected Conservatory and he gently shines moonlight upon the tearful joy of the audience. Kenji finishes, bows and walks away while his father finally reaches out and brushes his hair in the first gesture of love.(A)
Easy Rider
Creators Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda capture the tumultuous zeitgeist of the late sixties landscape as sea change drowns the status quo, seeking independence from political tyranny and fascist morality. The film begins with a rustic vignette of static junk, a drug deal in a timeless sweaty and grimy Mexican villa that match cuts to twentieth century technocracy, as sleek jets airliners dominate the sky above while the same drugs change hands: this time to a wealthy American businessman. Hopper films an interesting visual dichotomy between the poor farmer who is selling drugs to probably feed his family and the wealthy American whose aim is pure profit, the disease of rogue Capitalism. But the protagonists become a willing cog of the machine they despise, a vehicle that transports profit without remorse or morality, and Wyatt eventually realizes this conundrum. The systemic change cannot begin outside; it must begin in the mind and spirit of the individual but they hide their troubles and sorrows in the fog of opaque opiates and fractured lucidity. Wyatt is most at home on a simple homestead with an honest farmer and his large family, people living off the land with hard work. Again, Hoppe utilizes a great match cut between shoeing a horse and changing the rear tire on the patriotic Harley. The stunning cinematography by Lazlo Kovacs reveals bleeding sunsets and the jagged bones of unknown spaces, a seemingly alien landscape that shares an oblique existence with splintered ideologies. The superheroes partake in the runaway American Dream and their epitaph is a lonely chorus of the Star Spangled Bummer. Wyatt and Billy brutally learn that he not busy being born is busy dying…but it’s alright, Ma it’s life, and life only. (A)
Pickpocket
Michel deludes himself with Nietzschean philosophy, unable to sustain human connections and addicted to the adrenaline of the thief’s creed. Director Robert Bresson drains all emotion and vitality from Michel’s self-inflicted suffering: he becomes Tabula Rosa for the audience to project upon, the silver screen that reflects the dim light of apathy and dishonesty. Michel remains elusive and disconnected, his shock of dark hair and vapid features a template, a man who seems to care very little for others except in a way that is beneficial to him. He must be urged to visit his dying mother and it is revealed later that he stole from her too, and he is without remorse. He is truly happy when he joins in a conspiracy, finally able to share a common interest. Bresson films a fantastically choreographed fête of thievery upon a train where Michel’s elation is an orgasm of dishonest delight. Bresson’s use of a tight close-up of fingers massaging buttons, gently caressing jackets and deftly slipping inside for the payoff: an incantation of sexual energy. Michel’s audaciousness is contrasted with the Police Inspector who toys with him, unable to bring a probable cause affidavit but fueling Michel’s troublesome spirit with the specter of guilt and loneliness. Fearing arrest, Michel leaves the country and Bresson utilizes a vertiginous jump cut in time that makes the narrative seem disorganized and chaotic, much like the paranoid allusions of the protagonist. Bresson makes suffering the fire that burns away the sophisticated veneer of self-delusion, and it’s through grief and sorrow that his characters discover their true natures. Michel eventually returns and plays the odds…but the House always wins. His salvation is found through a lovely kiss separated by cold iron bars. (A)
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I thought it would be enlightening to discuss our favorite WAR FILMS and why they are interesting and important. War is a terrible thing but seems to be the one constant in our human nature.
I thought it would be enlightening to discuss our favorite WAR FILMS and why they are interesting and important. War is a terrible thing but seems to be the one constant in our human nature.
I thought it would be enlightening to discuss our favorite WAR FILMS and why they are interesting and important. War is a terrible thing but seems to be the one constant in our human nature.
I thought it would be enlightening to discuss our favorite WAR FILMS and why they are interesting and important. War is a terrible thing but seems to be the one constant in our human nature.
Profile Information
- Relationship Status:
- Married
- Are you a Netflix member?
- I Netflix therefore I am.
- Are you a Netflix employee?
- a) No.
- What is your (apx) "Reviewer Rank" Number?
- 240
- What is your (Anonymous) Friends Link? (the code on the right side of Invite Friends)
- http://www.netflix.com/BeMyFriend/P8Gd7agVO4I9rCdSvlJP
- What is your Outward Profile page URL (find yourself on one of your friend's lists, and click back to see yourself)
- http://www.netflix.com/StrangerProfile?prid=174455419&lnkctr=yo...
- A Small Set Of My Favorite Movies
- CITY LIGHTS (Chaplin), CITIZEN KANE (Welles), THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (Frankenheimer), BLADE RUNNER (Scott), 12 ANGRY MEN (Lumet), VERTIGO (Hitchcock), A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (Kubrick), THE CONFORMIST (Bertolucci), THE THIRD MAN (Reed), THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (Wise), 400 BLOWS (Truffaut) and a hundred more I'm too tired to type. I also enjoy thought provocking films by Kim Ki-duk and Michael Haneke.
- What I Snack on in Movie Theaters
- I watch movies in my home theatre and enjoy coffee with a film.
- About Me:
- I work for the the local District Attorney's Office as a Counselor, Investigator, and Victim's Rights Advocate under the Stop Violence Against Woman Act. I have been promoted to the Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Unit in 2005 and enjoy helping people and upholding the Rule of Law. I have seen many many terrible things; I never watch "true crime" shows on TV.
KOROVA AWARDS 2003-2008
2008
01. THE FALL (Tarsem Singh, UK)
02. IN BRUGES (Martin McDonagh, UK)
03. CHOP SHOP (Ramin Bahrani, USA)
04. 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS (Cristian Mungiu, Romania)
05. BREATH (Kim Ki-duk, South Korea)
06. FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLON (Hou Hsiao-Hsien, France)
07. FUNNY GAMES (Michael Haneke, UK)
08. THE EDGE OF HEAVEN (Faith Akin, Germany/Turkey)
09. MAD DETECTIVE (Johnnie To & Wai Ka-fai, Hong Kong)
10. PARANOID PARK (Gus Van Sant, USA)
2007
01. THERE WILL BE BLOOD (Paul Thomas Anderson, USA)
02. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (Joel & Ethan Coen, USA)
03. EASTERN PROMISES (David Cronenberg, UK)
04. WAITRESS (Adrienne Shelly, USA)
05. ONCE (John Carney, Ireland)
06. GRINDHOUSE: PLANET TERROR (Robert Rodriguez, USA)
07. THE HOST (Bong Joon-ho, South Korea)
08. PAPRIKA (Satoshi Kon, Japan)
09. THE BOSS OF IT ALL (Lars von Trier, Denmark)
10. TIME (Kim Ki-duk, South Korea)
2006
01. UNITED 93 (Paul Greengrass, USA)
02. MANDERLAY (Lars von Trier, Denmark)
03. BATTLE IN HEAVEN (Carlos Reygadas, Mexico)
04. L'ENFANT (Jean Pierre-Dardenne & Luc Dardenne, France)
05. THREE TIMES (Hou Hsiao-hsien, Taiwan)
06. SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE (Park Chan-wook, South Korea)
07. DUCK SEASON (Fernando Eimbcke, Mexico)
08. THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU (Cristi Puiu, Romania)
09. CAVITE (Neill Dela Llana & Ian Gamazon, Philippines)
10. THE PROPOSITION (John Hillcoat, Australia)
2005
01. 2046 (Wong Kar-wai, Hong Kong)
02. A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (David Cronenberg, USA)
03. OLD BOY (Park Chan-wook, South Korea)
04. BIN-JIP/3-IRON (Kim Ki-Duk, South Korea)
05. KONTROLL (Nimrod Antal, Hungary)
06. VOZVRASHCHENIYE/THE RETURN (Andrei Zvyaginstev, Russia)
07. OR (MONS TRESOR) (Keren Yedeya, Israel)
08. LAST DAYS (Gus Van Sant, USA)
09. LA NINA SANTA/THE HOLY GIRL (Lucrecia Martel, Argentina)
10. DARE MO SHIRANAI/NOBODY KNOWS (Hirokazu Koreeda, Japan)
2004
01. DOGVILLE (Lars von Trier, Denmark)
02. OPEN WATER (Chris Kentis, USA)
03. NAPOLEON DYNAMITE (Jared Hess, USA)
04. BEFORE SUNSET (Richard Linklater, USA)
05. KILL BILL VOLUME 2 (Quentin Tarantino, USA)
06. FAHRENHEIT 911 (Michael Moore, USA)
07. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (Michael Gondry, USA)
08. YING XIONG/HERO (Yimou Zhang, China)
09. SHAUN OF THE DEAD (Edgar Wright, UK )
10. THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD (Guy Maddin, Canada)
2003
01. ELEPHANT (Gus van Zant, USA)
02. LOST IN TRANSLATION (Sofia Coppola, USA)
03. 21 GRAMS ( Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, USA)
04. SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER...and SPRING (Kim Ki-Duk, South Korea)
05. AMERICAN SPLENDOR (Shari Springer Bergman, USA )
06. CIDADE DE DEUS/CITY OF GOD (Fernando Meirelles, Brazil)
07. LE TEMPS DU LOUP/TIME OF THE WOLF (Michael Haneke, France)
08. KILL BILL VOLUME 1 (Quentin Tarintino, USA)
09. LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (Peter Jackson, USA)
10. THE STATION AGENT (Thomas McCarthy, USA)
The Technology of the Korova Theatre
So what infernal devices make up the Korova Theatre? I'm glad you asked. If you are going to follow any of my recommendations based on PQ (image quality) or SQ (sound quality) then you need to know what equipment I use. Makes sense, dunnit? I have upgraded my theatre over the past few years because I believe it's important to watch a film in the particular way that the director envisioned: OAR (Original Aspect Ratio) only in my house! DVD has become the standard format replacing VHS in the past ten years. VHS was plagued by poor image and sound quality, almost every release was pan & scan, and a tape contained no extra content. They were also a bitch to rewind constantly which would wear out the tape. DVD came along with superior PQ and new 5.1 remaster audio for surround sound setups, and boat-loads of extras. But things change. Blu-Ray (BD) has won the war of competing High-Definition formats. These discs contain 1080p video remasters and new amazing PCM lossless soundtracks that are truly unbelievable!
COMING SOON!
JVC DLA-RS10 High-Definition Projector and 106 inch Draper M1300 White Screen with 1.1 gain. I am currently building a dedicated Theatre Room that will be acoustically treated with optimal light management control. The RS10 will be ceiling mounted and the screen permanently fixed to the wall. The room dimensions are 12 feet wide x 17 feet long and will seat eight people comfortably. All cables (speaker wires, HDMI, Subwoofer) are custom made from Blue Jeans Cables.
01. Mitsubishi 55413 CRT High-Definition Television. This is the centerpiece of the Korova. It is a lovely 1080i rear-projection unit with outstanding film-like PQ that can't be matched by fixed pixel displays (IMHO). This set has been professionally modified by Craig Rounds. He has twice done a complete calibration including the 2% overscan and which just takes the PQ to a whole new level. He has also calibrated the set to be compatible with all of the other components listed below.
02. Lumagen HDQ Video Processor. All of my componants pass through the processor via HDMI so I have one cable to my reciever and only one to the TV. Check out the Lumagen HDQ specs.
03. Denon 2930CI DVD Player. This player has been modified to be region free and has a standard 16 meg PAL converter. I believe this to be the finest region-free player under a thousand bucks! This is connected to the Lumagen through HDMI at 480i (yes, this Denon allows a pure 480i signal to be output!) and is then upscaled through the Lumagen to 1080i. The layer change in this machine is seemless too.
04. Toshiba HD-XA1 High Definition DVD Player. I have the latest firmware installed and the HD image quality is outstanding. I have compared HD discs to their DVD counterparts and the contrast is shocking: I did not realize how much information (re: quality) was missing on DVD due to the limitations of the format. The Toshiba is connected via HDMI to the Lumagen then passed through my Yamaha so it can decode all the high resolution PCM audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 is an epiphany. The Toshiba upscales better than the Denon surprisingly enough!
05. Playstation 3 Blu-ray DVD Player. I have the PS3 connected via HDMI to the Lumagen and then passed through the Yamaha. Lossless PCM is outstanding! BTW: I don't use the PS3 for video games and have discovered the usefullness of the optional remote. My only complaint is that it's not the best for upconverting DVD.
06. ONKYO TS-SR606 7.1 Home Theatre Reciever. This mid-priced Onkyo reciever is one hell of a bargain! It decodes all of the new lossless audio codes such as DolbyTrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital Plus, et al. It has a video Pass-Through mode that allows the signal to be passed unfiltered without clipping black/white levels and also passes 1080p 24/fps unmolested. With my external scaler, this reciever is useless for upscaling and I would not recommend it if that is your primary need. The 606 has 4 HDMI inputs which is very helpful so no switcher is needed (which can sometimes be problematic). The 90 watts per channel powers my 7.1 setup with accuracy and headroom while delivering a nice punch when needed. The Audyssey setup works quite well but a little tweaking is necessary. The only drawback is that this reciever has no Phono Input, but that is easily fixed. (See below).
07. Music Hall-PA 1.2 Phono Preamp (MM & MC). A very nice little preamp that allows a hookup through an unused Onkyo Stereo (red/white) input. Delivers a very smooth and warm sound, better than any built-in preamp in most recievers!
08. Audio-Technica AT-PL120 Turntable. Vinyl is not dead! I replaced the standard cartridge with an Audio-Technica 440MLa and the difference was astounding. Welcome to the warm and lush vibes of true vinyl sound.
09. Polk RTi10 Tower Front Speakers; Polk CSi5 Center Channel, Polk FXi5 Rear Side Surrounds; Polk RTi8 Tower Rear Surrounds: (7.1). These speakers are voice matched and sound great! I have these speakers bi-wired for optimal performance. I have the Onkyo speaker setting adjusted to Full for the Front Speakers while my Sub handles the LFE. All other speakers are set to Small with a 50-60hz crossover.
10. 12" Polk PSW505 300 Watt Powered Subwoofer. This powered subwoofer can shake the room. I have the crossover frequency set to 80hz and the speaker setting (on reciever) to FULL, but not DOUBLE BASS! I want my front speakers faithfully reproducing all the high and mid-range sounds and let this unit handle everything below the crossover. I have this floating on a Auralex SubDude isoaltion platform and the bass is less punchy and much more focused. What a great tweak for under $50!
2008
01. THE FALL (Tarsem Singh, UK)
02. IN BRUGES (Martin McDonagh, UK)
03. CHOP SHOP (Ramin Bahrani, USA)
04. 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS (Cristian Mungiu, Romania)
05. BREATH (Kim Ki-duk, South Korea)
06. FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLON (Hou Hsiao-Hsien, France)
07. FUNNY GAMES (Michael Haneke, UK)
08. THE EDGE OF HEAVEN (Faith Akin, Germany/Turkey)
09. MAD DETECTIVE (Johnnie To & Wai Ka-fai, Hong Kong)
10. PARANOID PARK (Gus Van Sant, USA)
2007
01. THERE WILL BE BLOOD (Paul Thomas Anderson, USA)
02. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (Joel & Ethan Coen, USA)
03. EASTERN PROMISES (David Cronenberg, UK)
04. WAITRESS (Adrienne Shelly, USA)
05. ONCE (John Carney, Ireland)
06. GRINDHOUSE: PLANET TERROR (Robert Rodriguez, USA)
07. THE HOST (Bong Joon-ho, South Korea)
08. PAPRIKA (Satoshi Kon, Japan)
09. THE BOSS OF IT ALL (Lars von Trier, Denmark)
10. TIME (Kim Ki-duk, South Korea)
2006
01. UNITED 93 (Paul Greengrass, USA)
02. MANDERLAY (Lars von Trier, Denmark)
03. BATTLE IN HEAVEN (Carlos Reygadas, Mexico)
04. L'ENFANT (Jean Pierre-Dardenne & Luc Dardenne, France)
05. THREE TIMES (Hou Hsiao-hsien, Taiwan)
06. SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE (Park Chan-wook, South Korea)
07. DUCK SEASON (Fernando Eimbcke, Mexico)
08. THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU (Cristi Puiu, Romania)
09. CAVITE (Neill Dela Llana & Ian Gamazon, Philippines)
10. THE PROPOSITION (John Hillcoat, Australia)
2005
01. 2046 (Wong Kar-wai, Hong Kong)
02. A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (David Cronenberg, USA)
03. OLD BOY (Park Chan-wook, South Korea)
04. BIN-JIP/3-IRON (Kim Ki-Duk, South Korea)
05. KONTROLL (Nimrod Antal, Hungary)
06. VOZVRASHCHENIYE/THE RETURN (Andrei Zvyaginstev, Russia)
07. OR (MONS TRESOR) (Keren Yedeya, Israel)
08. LAST DAYS (Gus Van Sant, USA)
09. LA NINA SANTA/THE HOLY GIRL (Lucrecia Martel, Argentina)
10. DARE MO SHIRANAI/NOBODY KNOWS (Hirokazu Koreeda, Japan)
2004
01. DOGVILLE (Lars von Trier, Denmark)
02. OPEN WATER (Chris Kentis, USA)
03. NAPOLEON DYNAMITE (Jared Hess, USA)
04. BEFORE SUNSET (Richard Linklater, USA)
05. KILL BILL VOLUME 2 (Quentin Tarantino, USA)
06. FAHRENHEIT 911 (Michael Moore, USA)
07. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (Michael Gondry, USA)
08. YING XIONG/HERO (Yimou Zhang, China)
09. SHAUN OF THE DEAD (Edgar Wright, UK )
10. THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD (Guy Maddin, Canada)
2003
01. ELEPHANT (Gus van Zant, USA)
02. LOST IN TRANSLATION (Sofia Coppola, USA)
03. 21 GRAMS ( Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, USA)
04. SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER...and SPRING (Kim Ki-Duk, South Korea)
05. AMERICAN SPLENDOR (Shari Springer Bergman, USA )
06. CIDADE DE DEUS/CITY OF GOD (Fernando Meirelles, Brazil)
07. LE TEMPS DU LOUP/TIME OF THE WOLF (Michael Haneke, France)
08. KILL BILL VOLUME 1 (Quentin Tarintino, USA)
09. LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (Peter Jackson, USA)
10. THE STATION AGENT (Thomas McCarthy, USA)
The Technology of the Korova Theatre
So what infernal devices make up the Korova Theatre? I'm glad you asked. If you are going to follow any of my recommendations based on PQ (image quality) or SQ (sound quality) then you need to know what equipment I use. Makes sense, dunnit? I have upgraded my theatre over the past few years because I believe it's important to watch a film in the particular way that the director envisioned: OAR (Original Aspect Ratio) only in my house! DVD has become the standard format replacing VHS in the past ten years. VHS was plagued by poor image and sound quality, almost every release was pan & scan, and a tape contained no extra content. They were also a bitch to rewind constantly which would wear out the tape. DVD came along with superior PQ and new 5.1 remaster audio for surround sound setups, and boat-loads of extras. But things change. Blu-Ray (BD) has won the war of competing High-Definition formats. These discs contain 1080p video remasters and new amazing PCM lossless soundtracks that are truly unbelievable!
COMING SOON!
JVC DLA-RS10 High-Definition Projector and 106 inch Draper M1300 White Screen with 1.1 gain. I am currently building a dedicated Theatre Room that will be acoustically treated with optimal light management control. The RS10 will be ceiling mounted and the screen permanently fixed to the wall. The room dimensions are 12 feet wide x 17 feet long and will seat eight people comfortably. All cables (speaker wires, HDMI, Subwoofer) are custom made from Blue Jeans Cables.
01. Mitsubishi 55413 CRT High-Definition Television. This is the centerpiece of the Korova. It is a lovely 1080i rear-projection unit with outstanding film-like PQ that can't be matched by fixed pixel displays (IMHO). This set has been professionally modified by Craig Rounds. He has twice done a complete calibration including the 2% overscan and which just takes the PQ to a whole new level. He has also calibrated the set to be compatible with all of the other components listed below.
02. Lumagen HDQ Video Processor. All of my componants pass through the processor via HDMI so I have one cable to my reciever and only one to the TV. Check out the Lumagen HDQ specs.
03. Denon 2930CI DVD Player. This player has been modified to be region free and has a standard 16 meg PAL converter. I believe this to be the finest region-free player under a thousand bucks! This is connected to the Lumagen through HDMI at 480i (yes, this Denon allows a pure 480i signal to be output!) and is then upscaled through the Lumagen to 1080i. The layer change in this machine is seemless too.
04. Toshiba HD-XA1 High Definition DVD Player. I have the latest firmware installed and the HD image quality is outstanding. I have compared HD discs to their DVD counterparts and the contrast is shocking: I did not realize how much information (re: quality) was missing on DVD due to the limitations of the format. The Toshiba is connected via HDMI to the Lumagen then passed through my Yamaha so it can decode all the high resolution PCM audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 is an epiphany. The Toshiba upscales better than the Denon surprisingly enough!
05. Playstation 3 Blu-ray DVD Player. I have the PS3 connected via HDMI to the Lumagen and then passed through the Yamaha. Lossless PCM is outstanding! BTW: I don't use the PS3 for video games and have discovered the usefullness of the optional remote. My only complaint is that it's not the best for upconverting DVD.
06. ONKYO TS-SR606 7.1 Home Theatre Reciever. This mid-priced Onkyo reciever is one hell of a bargain! It decodes all of the new lossless audio codes such as DolbyTrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital Plus, et al. It has a video Pass-Through mode that allows the signal to be passed unfiltered without clipping black/white levels and also passes 1080p 24/fps unmolested. With my external scaler, this reciever is useless for upscaling and I would not recommend it if that is your primary need. The 606 has 4 HDMI inputs which is very helpful so no switcher is needed (which can sometimes be problematic). The 90 watts per channel powers my 7.1 setup with accuracy and headroom while delivering a nice punch when needed. The Audyssey setup works quite well but a little tweaking is necessary. The only drawback is that this reciever has no Phono Input, but that is easily fixed. (See below).
07. Music Hall-PA 1.2 Phono Preamp (MM & MC). A very nice little preamp that allows a hookup through an unused Onkyo Stereo (red/white) input. Delivers a very smooth and warm sound, better than any built-in preamp in most recievers!
08. Audio-Technica AT-PL120 Turntable. Vinyl is not dead! I replaced the standard cartridge with an Audio-Technica 440MLa and the difference was astounding. Welcome to the warm and lush vibes of true vinyl sound.
09. Polk RTi10 Tower Front Speakers; Polk CSi5 Center Channel, Polk FXi5 Rear Side Surrounds; Polk RTi8 Tower Rear Surrounds: (7.1). These speakers are voice matched and sound great! I have these speakers bi-wired for optimal performance. I have the Onkyo speaker setting adjusted to Full for the Front Speakers while my Sub handles the LFE. All other speakers are set to Small with a 50-60hz crossover.
10. 12" Polk PSW505 300 Watt Powered Subwoofer. This powered subwoofer can shake the room. I have the crossover frequency set to 80hz and the speaker setting (on reciever) to FULL, but not DOUBLE BASS! I want my front speakers faithfully reproducing all the high and mid-range sounds and let this unit handle everything below the crossover. I have this floating on a Auralex SubDude isoaltion platform and the bass is less punchy and much more focused. What a great tweak for under $50!
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Thanks for the add Alex! See you around the boards:)Let me know if you have a friend spot open up! I'd like to match up.
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