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Alex DeLarge
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Alex DeLarge's Groups
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70's Cinema
56 members
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Worst Movies of All Time!
17 members
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Kubrick Appreciation
20 members
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Unavailable Movies On ...
57 members
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Super Hero/Heroine Movies
35 members
Alex DeLarge's Discussions
top movies of 2008?
Replied Dec. 20, 2008
Acting Legend Paul Newman Died (R.I.P.)
Replied Sep. 27, 2008
Film Reviews
Hiroshima Mon Amour
Two desperate lovers become entwined and inseparable like twisted steel and melted concrete blocks, unforgettable remnants of Hiroshima’s explosive fate. Director Alain Resnais’ narrative is a complex design of flashbacks and gruesome stock footage of the Allied destruction, utilizing a female voice-over that is often contradicted. An eerie score irradiates the film, creating tension and a vague emotional unease between these disparate characters whose flesh has melded into one. Lui is a Japanese architect who is married with a family, but he has become suddenly obsessed with a French woman: an actress who has a small part in a documentary on Hiroshima. As she narrates the film’s beginning, she is subsumed by her role, speaking as if she were present during the droning doom of the Enola Gay, but Lui keeps reminding her that she wasn’t. Resnais doesn’t spare the audience the horrible images and effects of war, and does so without condemnation or acclamation...the judgment is ours alone. We soon learn that Lui’s parents were vaporized on that beautiful August day, and Elle begins to open up about her past in German occupied France. After the Liberation, she is castigated and shaven, flung carelessly into a basement prison for her traitorous desires towards the enemy, though she only saw love and devotion towards this man. Lui’s obsession grows deeper like toxic roots drawing water from a poisoned well, and we wonder if he is willing to give up his family, and Elle hers. We experience her young life through flashbacks, and in one powerful jump cut we see Lui sleeping and his hand twitch, and for an instance we see a dead soldier’s bloody face and last trembling gasp. HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR is a love story that can only end in the dissolution of the nuclear family, its atomic power destructive and all consuming. (A+)
The Fugitive Kind
Orpheus descends upon small town America lyre in hand, shedding his snakeskin Dionysian past, only to be terminally punished by the bigoted raving ones. Xavier begins the film by speaking to the faceless god of authority, charming this Hades-like figure into allowing him release from this steel caged underworld. Feet firmly planted back onto Terra Firma, he finds work in a dingy retail store, a silent sentinel amid the rutted main road and failing commerce of a rotting and rancid community. As he seeks to escape his past, it catches up to him in the comely shape of a nymphomaniac named Carol, a drunken and castigated inhabitant whose very presence causes clucking rumor. The wife of the sheriff is also smitten by this modern-day Apollo, a man who truly understands her paintings as a way of feeling the world through Art: a connection that decouples her from her marriage. But it’s the shop owner’s wife Lady Torrence whose emotional torrent leads to his fiery demise. Director Sidney Lumet embraces the vagaries of the dialogue with beautiful mise-en-scene; from a forlorn walk through a charred past, a simple painting above a newly made bed, or a tiny bird chirping in a skeletal tree, we are given visual clues to the narrative subtext and allowed to discover the characters instead of being told about them. Kenyon Hopkins sad score is eerily reminiscent of his work on 12 ANGRY MEN, and here it helps to underline the impending trauma like a gentle teardrop. Women always surround Xavier but he keeps his peace until he allows himself to be seduced, out of sorrow and pity, by the aging and lonely Lady. Her husband is dying upstairs, his room separated from the store by prison-like bars, and his final gasp of breath is to expel this stranger from his town. The local militia dowses Xavier’s fiery sexuality until only a tiny piece remains which Carol holds dear to her heart…while Lady holds something more precious. (B+)
Tropic Thunder
TROPIC THUNDER’S heart of darkness explodes with the shrapnel of irony, a cutting satire that excises Hollywood excess. Full of self-deprecating humor, each character is a shadow of the actor who hides behind the makeup: Robert Downey Jr. pokes fun at his own reputation as a “serious” performer, Jack Black at his penchant for playing “fat” roles, Ben Stiller and his perpetual “full retard” shtick, Nick Nolte as a growling “handless” veteran, and Tom Cruise as a bald slimy Producer with a “RISKY BUSINESS” song and dance homage. What seems to be a serious war drama with shades of APOCALYPSE NOW and PLATOON, soon becomes apparent that it’s a parody of popular war convention: jets of blood streaming nonstop from a head wound, guts spilled onto the ground, a soldier shot hundreds of times but keeps running, and his comrade that jumps from the helicopter to save him from the onrushing enemy. Of course, the brotherly dialogue as one man lies dying is meant to wrench your heart, and this whole sequence is played to perfect sidesplitting effect. But as the film progresses, it’s Robert Downey immersed as an Australian playing an American black soldier that carries the narrative weight: Kirk Lazarus must rise from the dead, his true identity hidden by the masks of comedy and tragedy: to save his comrades he must speak with his own voice once again. His dialogue with Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller) about his role of SIMPLE JACK is dead-on hilarious, never actually considering his own fault of going “full black”. A wink to Spielberg’s SAVING PRIVATE RYAN becomes fuel for laughter as Speedman scrambles in the dirt after an explosion, his hearing muffled as time slows down; his friends caught amid a hellish inferno. Finally, this absurd story comes full circle, a nexus of celluloid fiction and reality, and Speedman receives his accolades…for just being himself. (C)
A Streetcar Named Desire
A tattered curtain separates Blanche from the mechanical curse of nymphomaniacal desire, her body ridden like a streetcar, and the beckoning whisper of death. From the now deserted and lost ancestral home, her aging corpse wanders towards paradise…but no heroic spirits populate this Elysian Field. Stanley Kowalski is an abuser, an intensely possessive man who “always bangs things around”: a double entendre that reveals his impulse to supplant sex with violence. Stanley is a classic wife-beater: from extreme outbursts to sudden apologetic cries in the night, he has Stella completely under his control. He is a man who replaces love with dominance, and Stella confuses tenderness with submissiveness. Stella’s meek infatuation is assailed when Blanche appears and Stella becomes self-assertive. A homosexual riptide pulls the audience into the narrative depths as Blanche declares her scandalous past, the suicide of he effeminate ex-husband, testing the manliness (re: heterosexuality) of her suitor Mitch. Director Eli Kazan’s excellent compositions help this talky adaptation transcend its origins, framing Brando in tight sweaty close-ups while portraying the aging Vivian Leigh in darkness and shadows. Kazan brings the night alive with throbbing sounds and thick heat amid the ubiquitous whistling streetcar that trolleys its passengers through this barbaric Tartarus. The film’s subtext can be read as the dissolution of the patriarchal family unit, as Stella is finally able to escape her bondage and take the newborn baby boy upwards…from this pit of despair. (A)
Fast Company
High-octane absurdity fuels this noxious mixture of made-for-television dialogue and adolescent contrivance of easy women, fast cars, and mechanical caricature. This ridiculous narrative is structured around “Lucky” Lonnie Johnson, an aging race car driver who falls victim to the all consuming dictatorship of his sponsor; a man who replaces his morals with those of his unabashedly despicable manager. The resulting 91 minutes are an aberration for director David Cronenberg because the film’s frisson is turgid and hollow, full of supercharged hot air. The fiery finale is totally unconvincing and melts the story’s abject fiberglass structure, as our protagonist commits murder before a crowd of thousands…yet no police investigation ensues. Through the dense smoke of spinning tires and spitting flames, Cronenberg captures some striking visuals. The cinematography brings the viewer inside a funny car at over 200 mph while we watch the seconds tick by, their length heightened by the thrill. Cronenberg films on location utilizing real events and this contrasting montage adds glamour to the burning rubber and gas-drenched scenery, revealing the beauty beneath the growling beast. Unfortunately, FAST COMPANY should be quickly forgotten. (D-)
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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.
hey, my friend told me about this site to get free ringtones... just spreading the word check it out here
droppin in to say hi.
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!
Alex DeLarge's Photos
Comment Wall (60 comments)
- At 2:06pm on March 26, 2009, movieman said…
- droppin in to say hi.
- At 3:49am on February 20, 2009,
Just Gus said… - You might enjoy the Western Roundup!
- At 9:30am on February 14, 2009,
snackondanger said… 
- At 8:35pm on February 3, 2009,
beeswax said… 
- At 3:03am on January 18, 2009, snackondanger said…
Thanks for the add Alex! See you around the boards:)
- At 5:29pm on November 29, 2008,
The Professor said… - Thanks Alex, still interested! Page looks great!
- At 11:05am on November 29, 2008,
Aces said… - Hey Alex, thanks for mentioning Bob Le Flambeur to me. Your review is intriguing and I've put it in my Queue. I haven't seen Le Cercle Rouge yet. You must have seen the synopsis in the RSS feed from my queue. I like Melville and it sounds interesting to me too. Hope you had a good Thanksgiving.
- At 8:05pm on October 29, 2008, Aces said…
- Nice review of Downfall! I agree - it gave me a view of Hitler as a man that I've never seen before. Bruno Ganz did a great job and while I was watching it I thought "now I see why people followed Hitler!".
- At 1:15pm on October 18, 2008, The Professor said…
- Alex,
Let me know if you have a friend spot open up! I'd like to match up.
- At 2:49pm on September 17, 2008,
Pihk said… - Thanks for the kind words. And likewise, I'm an avid fan of your reviews. As for Hanake, I haven't given up on him just yet because I am still drawn to his thematic preoccupations. Hopefully, the execution of his ideas will continue to improve. That was an interesting take you had about Funny Games in your review; I intend to watch the remake in the near future to see Tim Roth's performance so I will keep your perspective in mind when I do so.
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