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Profile of Dean McIntosh

Dean McIntosh

Site Reviewer

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Vital Statistics

Age Group Old enough to remember when you could still get Betamax cassettes on rental.
Video Likes Progressive, progressive, progressive... did I mention progressive?
Video Dislikes Interlacing, standard definition.
Audio Likes Uncompressed or lossless. Good 7.1 channel mixes.
Audio Dislikes Lossy, but especially Dolby Digital. 5.1 or less channels when a film clearly could have been released with 7.1 (ie made in the last few years).
Favourite DVDs Kung Fu Hustle on Blu-ray. Resident Evil on Blu-ray. TRON on Blu-ray. TRON: Legacy on Blu-ray. True Blood on Blu-ray. Crank: High Voltage on Blu-ray.
Least Favourite DVDs Anything standard definition, interlaced, or with lossy audio as its sole option.
Most Eagerly Awaited DVDs Better efforts at The Blues Brothers, RoboCop, Total Recall, and Basic Instinct on Blu-ray. Repo Man on Blu-ray. Police Academy on Blu-ray. A better selection of Blu-ray Discs in general.

Opinions About Specific Movies and their DVDs

Titanic Not on Blu-ray, ergo irrelevant.
The Matrix Sat and watched the Blu-ray recently. I still do not get what makes trendies go so completely vacant over even the original film. For years after I first saw it, I was very bothered by something I could not put my finger on about it. Then I saw Tron again for the first time in around fifteen years and it hit me like what Marlon Brando once called a diamond bullet. I liked this story a lot better when it was called Tron.
Terminator 2 The Region B disc that we did get is actually not too bad. It recreates the aural power of the cinema experience quite nicely. The action sequences still hold up quite well, but the moralistic dialogue sequences were the first hint that James Cameron had started to lose something as a creative artist.
Star Wars Given the eye-burning quality of the prequel DVDs and the disrespectful presentation of the original trilogy so far, I foster severe doubts that the Blu-ray will be worth a lick of salt. George, why do you not go visit your friend Steven and get him to show you the Close Encounters Of The Third Kind BD so you can get an idea of what consumers have a right to expect?
Godzilla Which Godzilla, exactly? If you mean the American production with Roland Emmerich at the helm, then I have but one thing to tell you. Not going to buy it when it is on Blu-ray. Or ever.
Independence Day When I was younger and more petulant, I hated this film with a passion I have since managed to transfer to real people who deserve it. Now that I am older, and probably just as petulant, I still hate this film. Just less passionately.

Equipment

DVD Player Panasonic DMP-BD45 , using HDMI output
Display Panasonic TH-P50U20A . Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio Decoder Built in to amplifier/receiver . Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum.
Amplification Onkyo TX-SR606
Speakers Yamaha NS-45 Front Speakers, Yamaha NS-90 Rear Speakers, Wharfedale Xarus 1000 Rear Speakers, Yamaha NSC-120 Centre Speaker, Wharfedale Diamond SW150 Subwoofer

Top 10 DVDs

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1. TRON: Legacy (Blu-ray) (2010)
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2. True Blood-Complete First Season (Blu-ray) (2008)
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3. True Blood-Complete Second Season (Blu-ray) (2008)
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4. True Blood-Complete Third Season (Blu-ray) (2010)
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5. Fight Club: 10th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray) (1999)
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6. Die Hard: With a Vengeance (Blu-ray) (1995)
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7. Die Hard (Blu-ray) (1988)
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8. No Country for Old Men (Blu-ray) (2007)
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9. Labyrinth (Blu-ray) (1986)
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10. Species (Blu-ray) (1995)

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