Yay! I can use a Z key again!
So suddenly, I had years worth of credit card points amassed and no need to hoard them for a new computer. I thought for a long time, looked over all the offerings, examined my few needs or wants, and opted to use them in the purchase of a Blu Ray player and home theater system.
I never really thought I needed a Blu Ray player until I noticed that individual DVDs are getting more and more sparse. The last two I bought had no extras - no commentary, no deleted scenes, no nuthin. I like the damn commentary. I think all movies should have commentary. I am super excited about the concept of doing my own commentary some day. So when the DVD I just bought has no commentary, especially when it's a movie that plays every five minutes on HBO so I really didn't need to own it to watch it - I'm looking at you, X Men First Class - I'm all sad panda.
It's gotten to the point where if you want any special features at all, you've got to get the Blu Ray. Those assholes. It's just like when you had to replace all your VHS tapes with laserdiscs and then replace your laserdiscs with DVDs. Not that I am old enough to know what those things are. I heard some rumors, that's all.
I got the Blu Ray player because it was almost free, but then I spent just as much money starting a new collection of Blu Ray disks. I got Star Trek, and that had the BEST special features. It's like a film school class on a disk. So then, even though I wasn't planning on building a collection right away, I went a little bananas.
Criterion had a sale, so I bought M and Yojimbo/Sanjuro because they are the awesomest old shit ever. Then I went to Ebay and found the Alien boxed set slightly used, which I am currently working through. After asking for suggestions on Twitter I bought Terminator 2 (the only reason I didn't already buy it is because we own the DVD. Now we own both! Huzzah!), Out of Sight, the Batman trilogy, and Expendables. Everybody seemed to agree that those had the best special features or commentary tracks of the movies I have enjoyed.
I also picked up Robocop because Beefcake is totally into that movie and how can you not have a copy of your favorite movie around?
Okay so mini rant. This has bothered me. He loaned his DVD copy to someone years ago who never returned it, and he thinks it's not a big deal because he can just watch it on Netflix streaming any time, but I'm like WHAT? It's you favorite movie? How can you not own a copy? How can you feel whole as a person without being able to smile knowingly at your favorite film on the shelf? HOW?
But that's a whole other thing and I could be a complete lunatic. Anyway, I took care of the need he did not know he had and now we have Robocop. This is a great relief to me.
I am so excited about all these special features. And speakers. It's nice to have speakers that don't blow out every time Al Sharpton is on MSNBC.
I have so much stuff to watch, I am in film nerd heaven right now.
I know it's too late but did you know you could have just replaced the keyboard on your laptop? Takes about five minutes and costs $15 (at least on most PCs I've used).
ReplyDeleteThanks, but there was a lot more wrong with it than the keyboard.
DeleteI got a Blu Ray player three or four years ago. I opted into the Netflix Blue Ray program, and settled back to watch my high-tech ultra-definition movies.
ReplyDeleteThen I started getting movies my Blue Ray player wouldn't play. I was supposed to "download software" from the Internet to correct the problem. And, of course, my DVD players isn't set up on the Internet.
Don't mean to rain on your parade, but unless things have changed --
Better get somebody to connect your Blue Ray to the Internet....
That sucks, Jack. I hope you can fix it. I got a wireless adapter, so I'm all set in that regard. I think the technology has gotten a lot easier in the last few years.
ReplyDelete