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Author Message
25 new of 342 responses total.
mcnally
response 305 of 342: Mark Unseen   Mar 9 00:53 UTC 2006

 I'm working on something like this for the telephone company I work
 for except that the video-on-demand servers live here at the phone
 company and not in your living room.  The Disney gadget sounds
 interesting..
nharmon
response 306 of 342: Mark Unseen   Mar 9 00:58 UTC 2006

The disney gadget sounds like it would be better suited for the one-way
communications that you typically find with satellite TV. My cable
company uses video-on-demand and the videos are kept on the cable
company's servers.
marcvh
response 307 of 342: Mark Unseen   Mar 9 00:59 UTC 2006

So, you buy a $200 box, then pay a $30 activation fee, for the privilege
of paying $2-5 per title.

There is absolutely no chance that Moviebeam could succeed in taking down
Netflix.  At best it looks comparable to the VOD offerings from many cable
companies.  Personally I don't think VOD will threaten Netflix any time
soon, not for technological reasons but for business reasons.
nharmon
response 308 of 342: Mark Unseen   Mar 9 01:02 UTC 2006

My digital cable box is owned by the cable company, and I didn't pay a
dime to activate it. VOD movies are $3.95/ea and I can watch one for 24
hours after purchasing it.

VOD is better suited for people like me who will only pay to watch 1 or
2 movies a month (if that). And my cable company throws in 4 free VOD
movie passes around Christmas time.
slynne
response 309 of 342: Mark Unseen   Mar 9 03:23 UTC 2006

I think VOD movies would have to get down to around $1-$2 to have a
chance at competing with Netflix. 
remmers
response 310 of 342: Mark Unseen   Mar 9 13:01 UTC 2006

And they'd have to offer something comparable to Netflix's huge catalog.
 Movie Beam restricts you to 100 current offerings, Netflix offers
thousands of movies.  They're simply not comparable services.
jep
response 311 of 342: Mark Unseen   Mar 9 13:30 UTC 2006

I wonder when Netflix will go to distribution by Internet?  It would 
seem that eliminating shipping costs would be worth a lot to them.
jadecat
response 312 of 342: Mark Unseen   Mar 9 15:03 UTC 2006

This weekend (+ 2 vacatgion days) was busy for movies... Saw a tv-aired
version of 'Gone in 60 Seconds' (when visiting someone with cable) and
it was okay. The cars were awfully pretty.

Also saw 'Unleashed' with Jet Li, Morgan Freeman and Bob Hoskins. The
story is that a small time Godfather (Hoskins) raised Li's character to
be a weapon- a dog to be unleased on those who didn't pay their debts.
Li even wears a collar and when it is removed he goes straight to
ass-kisking mode, until his 'Uncle' calls him off and replaces the
collar. This goes well until Danny (Li) meets up with a blind piano
tuner (Freeman). That meeting begins Danny's journey down the path of
redemption and discovery- of course. It's an entertaining movie, though
nothing particularly new in plot or dialogue. The fight scenes are fun
to watch- especially when remembering that Jet Li alters his fighting
style for every role, to work with the personality of the character he's
playing. That was fun to watch in The One wherein he played two
characters and both fought differently due to their personality
differences.  Anyway, 'Unleashed' was entertaining with some fun fight
scenes.

Oh, actually went to the theater and saw 'Chronicles of Narnia.' As the
hubby put it 'It was better than I expected.' I really enjoyed it, and
as one reviewer put it- the humans looked almost as real as the animals!
Aslan was fabulous! Oh, and I discovered that my new eyeliner is indeed
tear proof. ;) The characters were a great deal of fun, even when I
wanted to smack one or two- or just hurry them up. Tilda Swinton was, as
usual, wonderful. I love the story as well, the concept of having a
wardrobe that can take you to a magic land, and they did a wonderful job
in making the movie.

My brain did hurt though... First watched 'Domino' with Kiera Knightly.
It was more twisted than I expected, though not more violent (however, I
had better warning about that part). I'm not really sure I could say if
I liked it or not, but there were some aspects that I really liked.
Watching someone on screen with a wicked right jab- used on people many
in real life would like to hit- was fun. That said, I wouldn't want to
know that person in real life.

Then I watched the newly made 'Pride and Prejudice'- also staring Kiera
Knightly. The brain went ow. This adaptation... there were bits that I
really enjoyed- the casting for Mr Collins, as well as his
characterization decisions, was excellent. The giggliness of the Bennets
was nice to see, and Kiera Knightly did a fine job as Elizabeth Bennet.
Wickham... had the look, but he didn't come across as sympathetic enough
to me. Plus so much of it felt rushed to me in the beginning, even the
speed at which the characters spoke seemed rushed. From the middle to
the end it was better in terms of pacing. There were some extractions-
Mr & Mrs Hurst were no where to be seen, nor was Kitty Lucas. Those I
could live with. Overall I DID enjoy this version quite a bit. Matthew
MacFadyen did an admirable job as Mr. Darcy, even if he is no Colin
Firth. ;)  Rosamund Pike as Jane was very well cast, though I spent much
of the movie trying to figure out where I'd seen her before (as the
hubby did when I made him watch a few snippets). Turns out she was in
'Doom.' That probably would have hurt my brain more, but as I didn't
realize this while watching the movie I was okay. Jena Malone, seen in
'Saved' did very well as Lydia. Judi Dench as Lady Catherine was just a
fabulous choice.

And that I believe sums up the weekend. I'm sure others may like doing
more exciting things on their vacations- but I'm a fan of snuggling on
the couch with my hubby and watching movies. :)
edina
response 313 of 342: Mark Unseen   Mar 9 16:27 UTC 2006

Rosamund Pike is also a Bond Girl.
jadecat
response 314 of 342: Mark Unseen   Mar 9 16:34 UTC 2006

That's right, I'm sure I've seen that Bond movie too. Just wasn't coming
to mind- it's been awhile since I'd seen that movie, and only about a
week since I'd seen "Doom." She's quite pretty.
slynne
response 315 of 342: Mark Unseen   Mar 9 20:47 UTC 2006

I think that every version of Pride and Prejudice will have a hard time 
besting that BBC version with Colin Firth. I, too, liked this new 
version but not as much as the BBC version. 
jadecat
response 316 of 342: Mark Unseen   Mar 9 21:04 UTC 2006

Aside from Colin Firth (...takes a moment...) the BBC/A&E version also
has what, 6 hours to tell the story- not 2-3. That's a big advantage
right there. I've seen just about every version I can get my hands on...
the strangest Darcy I've seen was when he was played by Laurence
Olivier... All I'll say is that he would have made an excellent Bingley.
;) Hubby knew MacFayden from MI5- and just thinks he's brilliant, so he
didn't quite agree with my about Colin Firth. But what does he know? ;)

There's a modernized version, titled Pride & Prejudice, wherein the
characters are roughly college age, and I'm guessing Mormon. It was
actually a lot of fun. The 5 girls are roommates not sisters (well,
Lydia is Kitty's older sister), along with a few other changes, but it
worked for me.
edina
response 317 of 342: Mark Unseen   Mar 9 21:19 UTC 2006

Ah, but very little beats "Bride and Prejudice".
jadecat
response 318 of 342: Mark Unseen   Mar 9 21:23 UTC 2006

Very true. As far as modernized versions go- I have to go with Bride &
Prejudice as my favorite. All the way. With the colors and the dancing... 
edina
response 319 of 342: Mark Unseen   Mar 9 21:25 UTC 2006

"No life...without wife!!"
jadecat
response 320 of 342: Mark Unseen   Mar 9 21:41 UTC 2006

*laughs*
slynne
response 321 of 342: Mark Unseen   Mar 10 04:06 UTC 2006

I liked Bride and Prejudice too but I have to admit that my favorite
favorite modern (albeit loose) version of Pride and Prejudice is Bridget
Jones's Diary. That also has Colin Firth cast as "Mr. Darcy" 
jadecat
response 322 of 342: Mark Unseen   Mar 10 15:37 UTC 2006

I'm not real fond of people making a fool of themselves, over and
over... So Bridget Jones was fun once, but not something I'd want to see
multiple times. Though, I did, of course, love Colin Firth. ;)
tod
response 323 of 342: Mark Unseen   Mar 10 17:24 UTC 2006

I like Lizzy in the latest Pride & Prej
slynne
response 324 of 342: Mark Unseen   Mar 10 18:17 UTC 2006

One of the funniest reviews I read about the latest Pride and Prejudice 
was that they thought Kiera Knightly was a bad choice for Lizzy because 
she was too pretty. While Elizabeth Bennet isnt ugly, she was generally 
considered less beautiful than her older sister Jane. But, I have to 
admit that I thought Knightly was well cast in the role. I think she is 
very beautiful by today's standards but I think a more soft look was 
preferred in the early part of the 19th century. She has angular 
features. She also did a very good job getting Elizabeth's personality 
across. 
jadecat
response 325 of 342: Mark Unseen   Mar 10 19:29 UTC 2006

I agree. Plus they did a good job with clothing in that I thought Jane
Bennett was truly beautiful, moreso than Lizzy. That is one of my
problems with the BBC version- I just don't think that Jane is pretty
enough- in comparison to Lizzy- and the book is quite clear on the fact
that Jane is the best looking of the bunch.
tod
response 326 of 342: Mark Unseen   Mar 10 20:30 UTC 2006

Looks aren't everything
slynne
response 327 of 342: Mark Unseen   Mar 10 20:40 UTC 2006

No, but they are an important part of that particular story. 
tod
response 328 of 342: Mark Unseen   Mar 10 20:54 UTC 2006

Simply based on opinions of the viewers.
jadecat
response 329 of 342: Mark Unseen   Mar 10 21:13 UTC 2006

re #326- no, they aren't. However in this particular piece of fiction it
is noted (in the book) on more than one occasion that Jane Bennet is the
pretty one. Many, okay most, readers prefer Elizabeth- she's 'second to
Jane' in looks and age, she's also witty and more fun (in my opinion).
Jane is pretty, Elizabeth is witty, Mary is plain, Kitty is a follower
and Lydia is forward and silly.
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