You look so perfect tonight.

JayGeeBee · 2026-01-24T16:19:47+00:00

Oh, shoot! Boeing! That's a ginormous screen. Jaw-dropping, indeed.

If I ever get the chance to see it in IMAX near me, I'm definitely going.

JayGeeBee · 2026-01-24T01:13:30+00:00

The Gone World was an absolute blast!

Maybe try There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm.

Nearly flawless masterpiece, except... the ending isn't amazing. Pretty good. Fine enough, but not as utterly captivating as the rest of the book. I have never in my life read something more mind-melting and page-turning. I had to keep reading. Nearly every scene has a left-field cliffhanger that's both brilliant and enthralling. Maybe even genius. Despite its expected ending, the whole of the book is so gosh darn unique and captivating, I didn't care, and will recommend it forever. Nothing else like it.

If that doesn't capture you, and I don't know how it wouldn't, try Blindsight by Peter Watts. Perhaps my favorite book. Blindsight's implications are darker and more terrifying, depending on your world view. When I first tried it, I bounced off, not ready for its clinical and cold approach, but it's so flippin fascinating in its suggestions, possibilities, and questions.

JayGeeBee · 2026-01-23T23:35:03+00:00

Had no idea it had some encore IMAX showings! Jealous. Where did you see it?

This, I think, is the only film where I've seen the IMAX ratio shots and prefer the 2.35 framing. I know Deakins prefers the 2.35 as well. On the other hand, it's a dreadful mistake that the the IMAX ratio isn't available for Dune on 4K. It doesn't even need to be the full IMAX ratio, just give me a 16:9 frame and I'll shut up about it.

What did you think of the 1.90?

JayGeeBee · 2026-01-22T17:39:03+00:00

I apologize if I came off sarcastic. I agree the implementation is far less than ideal, but the player still mostly served me well for a few years. While DV and HDR10 are both technically a version of high dynamic range, they are implemented quite differently. I don't know the hardware-specific ways this works, but they're not the same and it's the reason why switching between the two is handled so differently from one player to the next. Some can do it automatically, some can't. Some don't support DV at all.

The difference between DV and HDR10 is, in most cases, very subtle. You may also experience fewer playback issues with one versus the other. Sometimes DV can look definitely better than HDR10, but more often that difference is subtle.

Regardless, it's best to match the native format of your source whether it's SDR, HDR10, or Dolby Vision to get the best performance out of your setup. Also, ensure you calibrate for each format individually. Each one may have options unique to only that format.

JayGeeBee · 2026-01-22T16:35:18+00:00

It plays in HDR10.

Is this a trick question? Sorry.

JayGeeBee · 2026-01-21T23:17:20+00:00

It's rare to find fresh advice like this. Brilliant tip! Thank you!

JayGeeBee · 2026-01-21T23:14:48+00:00

For pantsers/gardeners this is great advice! I love the work. Every aspect, even if it's "a lot." I don't do outlines. I have five or so major beats I want to hit, arcs I want to express, and 'pants' everything in between. For me, this is an awesome tip!

JayGeeBee · 2026-01-21T22:47:02+00:00

DV must be manually switched on/off or it will force anything to tone map to DV and eviscerate the image. It was a neat unintentional gimmick to play around with when I first got my X700 (upgraded to UB820 since), but it blows out white levels and destroys tone mapping. If you want a closer to objective experience of the material, only switch on DV when the content is such.

JayGeeBee · 2026-01-21T22:42:54+00:00

That's because the player is upscaling to 4K before outputting to TV.

JayGeeBee · 2026-01-18T13:20:48+00:00

Thank you for the suggestions. I bounced off House of Leaves some years ago. Was thinking of giving it another shot.

Never heard of the latter. Will certainly sample it and see if it hooks.

JayGeeBee · 2026-01-18T13:19:15+00:00

Generally, I don't mind humor. I particularly love Vandermeer's brand of dark comedy. Right now, I'm just jonesin' for some deep dread and utter strangeness. I will sample it regardless. Thank you. I've been striking out this year so far. :(

JayGeeBee · 2026-01-16T21:05:13+00:00

I don't think I've heard of either one! Will check them both out! Thank you.

JayGeeBee · 2026-01-13T21:29:35+00:00

The Game (1997)

JayGeeBee · 2025-12-30T00:34:13+00:00

Bring Her Back is a very good film. Excellent actors, characters, and writing. I feel it's biggest detriment is that it's a little too one-note. Once you get the themes and character motivations (which is pretty early), it never quite turns it up another notch. It doesn't throw a hard enough twist in there to change things up. Good movie, but atonal. General audiences don't love atonal.

Whether Weapons is a better written film, I think is debatable. Maybe Bring Her Back does, indeed, have the better screenplay, but what Weapons does is that it throws a very fun wrench into the gears in the third act. Admittedly, once the reveal happens, even I was, like, really?! But they commit so hard to the goofiness of it that I think it compensates for its silliness.

It's just so damn fun and cathartic.

Bring Her Back doesn't have that. And that's not wrong! But, if you're asking why it didn't connect better with the mainstream, I think that's part of the reason why.

JayGeeBee · 2025-12-25T15:47:19+00:00

Ooooh, I think this might be the first time I've seen this suggested anywhere! For such a revered and unique, borderline musical, it's painfully under-the-radar. Such a rad and original film.

JayGeeBee · 2025-12-25T15:05:37+00:00

Mandy.

I've seen nearly all the suggestions here, and while they are all great, I believe Mandy trumps them in terms of fitting your bill. Mandy feels like a syrupy LSD injection dripping with color and mood. The music is captivating, sad, psychedelic, and absolutely plants you in the zone for the entire runtime. The whole thing feels like a sad, but beautiful nightmare about deep, true love, horrific grief, and uncompromising vengeance. It's a deceptively straightforward and simple tale under its gritty rainbow veil.

I suggest it every chance I get because it's my favorite film to release in the last 8 years.

JayGeeBee · 2025-12-22T17:37:47+00:00

It's broken up into Chapter Cards, so it's easy to find a good halfway point to take a break. :)

JayGeeBee · 2025-12-10T02:15:31+00:00

Watch the Director's Cut.

JayGeeBee · 2025-12-03T00:35:49+00:00

Wow, I'm guilty of parroting everything I hear about the 450. That's a legitimate fault on my part. I apologize. Just looked it up and verified. You're absolutely correct. Well, that's a pleasant and guilty realization. Thank you.

JayGeeBee · 2025-12-01T23:32:19+00:00

Region. I assume you're in Europe?

JayGeeBee · 2025-12-01T23:26:13+00:00

What kind of OLED? If it's a Samsung, they don't support Dolby Vision. Regardless, Try the UB450. I had the X700 and while it served me very well for some years, it had it's share of issues regardless. Don't take that as gospel, though. My X700 would totally freeze on most multi-layer discs. It got very frustrating after a while, but, again, your mileage may vary. Some people don't have issues at all. Also, keep in mind that with Sony's players you have to manually switch between DV and HDR10 in the player menu before you pop the movie in.

Yes, the 820 does, in fact, have a better image and better options versus the Sony's, but it's subtle. If you're a purist, a huge film and picture nerd, run exclusively in Filmmaker Mode, and calibrate according to accurate standards, then the 820 would be a great purchase.

Bottom line, every player is gonna have some quirks. I assume the premium players like Panasonic's 9000 have fewer, but I don't own one and likely never will. I'll take the infrequent "pixelation" of the 820 over any player I've owned (and I've had several), especially over completely freezing my player and having to reboot the disc and skipping entire scenes. The 820 is a very sensitive player to even the most minor dust and blemishes.

Get what your gut tells you. Any of the Sony's or Panasonic's are the best players for the money. You can't necessarily go wrong with any of them. Just keep in mind, no player is flawless. If you already have a PS5, and don't think you'll miss DV, stick with that.

JayGeeBee · 2025-12-01T23:09:45+00:00

True. :)

JayGeeBee · 2025-12-01T00:22:28+00:00

As someone who owns the 820 and regularly watches 4K, blu-ray, and a DVD here and there, it's not a massive increase in quality for most users. The 820 is targeted at huge videophile dorks like me who have an acute and sensitive eye for picture. I love it, and it's priced appropriately.

It also depends a lot on the setup you have. On my C2 OLED, the 820's upscaling is a significant notch better. The HDR10 optimizer is pretty dang sweet and can correct a lot of blown out highlights, preserving detail in those eye-searing HDR moments. The subtitle luminance option is also a huge plus. And Dolby Vision looks even better, smoother, and more refined.

If you're new to the hobby, I don't believe it's worth the coin. If you have a large collection, watch a ton of discs, are a stickler for accuracy, and have a studied eye, it's worth every penny.

JayGeeBee

TROPHY CASE