Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds on Blu-Ray

When I got home from work Friday there was a package from Amazon that I had completely forgotten ordering. In the package was the Blu-Ray of Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds Live at Radio City.

I like music on DVD, mainly because you get a higher resolution sound and in most cases, surround sound. The Flaming Lips have put out two great discs so far with very aggressive 5.1 mixes. I was thinking that a Dave Matthews live performance in 5.1 would be pretty fantastic as well. The thing that I did not expect was a full acoustic performance with the rest of Dave's band. Just Dave and Tim. It still sounds great, although focused entirely with the front speakers, and of course the hi-def looks fantastic.

The performance runs about two and a half hours; I've made it through about an hour already and have been quite impressed. These guys are excellent guitarists and hearing Dave Matthews' songs are always great.

Years ago I was a huge fan of Dave Matthews Band and couldn't stop listening to them constantly. I must have gone a little overboard because I have slowed down quite a bit, even to the point where they're not in the regular rotation. What really killed it, I think, was the plethora of live performances coming out on CD, and the fact that they were all so identical. Listening to their marathon jam sessions at the end of some songs (with tracks reaching twenty minutes long) does not make for good random-play music, hence the removal from casual listening.

But, with this recent acquisition, their music may be played a bit more as I try and get all of their albums (I think I only own two, plus a live performance).

Rescue Dawn and Skating

Last night I watched Rescue Dawn; a movie that I had looked forward to seeing but just never got around to it, neither making the effort to go see in theatres or renting from the video store. Or even downloading, for that matter. But it's a good thing Nathan has it, although I question his motives because the last movie I watched there was also a prison movie.

While Papillon was a long, tumultuous look at prison life in France, Rescue Dawn takes a much speedier look at being held captive just before the Vietnam war. They are both excellent movies, and they both re-affirm the fact that I do NOT want to go to prison for anything; avoid it all costs. Papillon was almost depressing as you see some of the questionable things these guys went through: the hopelessness of the situation is back-breaking.

Rescue Dawn was really interesting because it brought the latest craze of survival into the fold, as when the characters escape from the prison, they are faced with the even more daunting task of just making it out in the jungle. It's quite scary out there.

So yeah, everything was pretty solid, I didn't question anything and I'm pretty satisfied with the movie. It gets a 7.5/10

And skating, of course. A few days ago I purchased some skates, which was an ordeal on its own, and today I finally strapped them on and went on the ice. Perhaps the lake isn't the greatest spot to start again, as it was a little bumpy, but the good news is that I did not fall, although it was close. The last time I went skating was in either 1994 or 1995. I know this because we had, in grade eight, walked over to a nearby arena from school and went skating, and on the way back I was discussing moving to Kingston, which happened in the summer of '95. At that time my skates barely fit, and I never did get another.

But people are getting excited by it lately and actually doing it, which gives just the right motivation to go out and grab an inexpensive pair and take to the ice. It was great, and it should get better as I learn to control myself a bit more. Good times!

End of One Hi-Def a Week?

I actually looked at the calendar in research of this "project" of mine and have discovered that this is actually week six, and I have basically failed. I've bought, what, four hi-def movies thus far? Where is five and six? They may be months away. I just can't bring myself to pay money for some of the stuff out there right now. And what makes it really tough is that there are no great releases coming out now, or in the foreseeable future, for that matter.

And it's all the fault of the main rule: don't buy crap. Just buy quality; can't be that hard, but it is. In the past few years my movie tastes have become much more refined: gone are the days when I would instantly go out and purchase every edition of Terminator 2 or various other "great" action movies of the eighties and nineties.

A movie has to really stick with me; it has to be good and all that, although some of my purchases are questionable. But it all comes down to: am I going to watch (and enjoy) this movie again? So perhaps this is just a lull in releases and more good stuff will come out later on, but for now, the project is on hold.