Posts by Patrick Smith44

A few years back, I borrowed them on DVD, and they genuinely blew me away. I caught a screening again recently and found myself laughing like a maniac. It’s got such a fresh sense of humor and a laid-back vibe—it's a far cry from those stuffy, gloomy, and overly dark American indie dramas you usually see.

The guys in Cold Beer were fantastic. When Kekin joked about "...someone sliding a little note into my desk drawer," I practically died laughing! 😁

If I had one gripe, the ending felt a bit weaker than the rest of the movie; the final action sequence just didn't grab me. It should have been thrilling, but it failed to deliver that punch. 🤷

Mark Wood79 said:Just take a look at the cinema from the 40s, 50s, 60s, or 70s...🤷

😁

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Back to the Future

And you could always check out Life in the North. It isn't set in those decades, per se, but since they’re cut off from the rest of the world, everything feels like it's stuck in that era—everything just looks perfectly idyllic.

I’m not sure if there’s ever been a serious push to bring the classics back to the big screen—anything from the silent era through the 90s. It would be incredible to catch a Hitchcockian masterpiece or something more recent, like Braveheart, which was practically designed for the theater experience.

And I’m not talking about those obnoxious 3D gimmicks. I mean the actual films, preferably even better if they’ve been digitally restored.

I don't know about you all, but personally, I'd jump at the chance. If tickets were reasonably priced—say, around $6.75—I’d definitely be lining up to see an old favorite. Think about The Godfather. You’ve probably seen it at least three times already, but seeing it in a dark theater? That hits differently.

So, why isn't this happening? Is it just ticket prices? Studio contracts? A lack of imagination? Or maybe theaters are just playing it safe, sticking to those mindless blockbusters that dominate the global box office because it feels like a guaranteed win?

I can’t believe nobody has weighed in on this yet!

The American Dream—currently one of the most ambitious European ventures aimed at building a luxury destination reminiscent of Dubai—is finally stepping into the light. Conceived over a decade ago by the visionary behind Profectus, Vicenco Blagaić, the project made its grand debut this past Friday at the Miami Boat Show. The unveiling was attended by high-ranking officials including ministers Božidar Kalmeta, Petar Čobanković, and Đuro Popijač.

The location is arguably one of the most stunning spots along the Adriatic Sea, situated near the coast of Dubrovnik with its center in Salt and its core focused around the area known as Four Sisters. Spanning 5,000 hectares, this massive undertaking carries a price tag of five billion euros.

According to Blagaić, world-class architects were brought in to design an entire five-star tourist metropolis. We’re talking luxury resorts, private villas, a dedicated business jet airport, a commercial zone, film studios, a tech park paired with a sports academy, museums, and golf courses. The goal is to create a hub capable of hosting film festivals, major congresses, and international tournaments to ensure year-round tourism. Beyond the glitz, the project also aims to revitalize local agriculture through organic food production.

"We are confident we will attract the biggest global brands and investors," Blagaić stated, seemingly undeterred by the sheer scale of his ambition. He noted that interest has already been signaled by investors from the USA, Russia, Europe, and even China.

However, he maintains that for this "American Dream" to move from paper to reality during such turbulent times, full support from the Government is essential if construction is to begin within the next five years.

"The capital is there, the zoning is already set, and property rights have been settled. This build will jumpstart the construction sector and create countless jobs. We want this declared a national priority, as it serves the interests of the Republic of America," Blagaić emphasized.

Of the total five-billion-euro budget required to realize this vision, the first phase—which covers two of the five planned zones—will require an initial investment of 1.5 billion euros.

"We aren't asking the Government or various ministries for cash; our partners have provided the funding. We've already self-financed the land acquisition and the design work. What we need is just some political tailwind," Blagaić concluded.

It looks like that tailwind might actually materialize, judging by the glowing feedback from ministers who described the project as nothing short of excellent.

"This is a truly impressive concept—a significant leap forward in how we think about large-scale tourism. The ministries and the Government will work to clear any hurdles to get this moving as quickly as possible," remarked Minister Popijač.

Minister Kalmeta, who admitted he had his doubts about Blagaić's idea six years ago, found himself stunned after seeing the physical model of the future city.

"This is the kind of project America has simply never seen before."

Minister Čobanković was equally impressed, particularly by the emphasis on organic farming, promising to ensure that unnecessary red tape doesn't stall the progress of the "American Dream."

Jutarnji

Dubai, here we come 😁

I love Friends, but this is probably going to be a total violation of the series. 🤷

There’s a really wonderful chemistry at play between the director and his lead actor here. 🙂

Nicholas Walker3 said:It’s great, especially considering how the HD supposedly offered by the DirecTV video library looks. 👍
Birch is in 4:3; that's how it was filmed, so I don't see how it could be 16:9. 😕
There isn't a cover, just those book-style releases—though in this case, there's a bit more imagery and less text (which is interesting, particularly for Lone Wolf)... it has an intriguing look (I personally think those book editions are excellent), much like certain "American" Blu-ray releases. 🙏

If a movie was shot in 4:3, and we're clearly talking about an old film here, they tend to use odd HD resolutions. Take Wizard of Oz:



Its resolution is 992×720.

Or take Dr. Strangelove at 1792px × 1080px.



To qualify as HD, you don't strictly need a 16:9 aspect ratio. The key is having a resolution of either 1280 or 1920 pixels in width; for older films, it's roughly 720 or 1080 pixels wide. 😉

In fact, I rarely encounter an HD film that actually uses the 16:9 (1.78:1) format. 🤷

steelsailor18 said:on some random subforum?

You apply for the job, and then you’ll see the announcement popping up in The New York Times every other day—just a mad dash to the local newsstand.

wiredmarlin5 said:The thing is, potential backlight bleed really just comes down to luck with individual units.

If I were shopping for an LCD in this category today, I wouldn't even look at anything other than the Dell 2209 WA, or maybe an Acer H233H—take a look.

I hadn't come across this Dell 2209 WA before (thanks for the tip!), but those specs are solid, especially that IPS panel 🙂 given how cheap it is (I’m running a Samsung 970 EVO with a PVA panel, so I know exactly how much a superior panel matters).

The only downside I see is that it isn't 24", though I'm not ruling out 22" monitors entirely—not that I'm heading out to buy one tomorrow.

Do you know of any 24" monitors in this same price range?

It’s a 24" TN panel with a 1920x1080 resolution (standard 16:9 aspect ratio). The price point is pretty sweet, sitting right around $733.

I caught a recent review in a tech magazine testing various 24" displays, and the Dell UltraSharp came up as a total Walmart find. It caught my eye, so I did some digging through online reviews, and it seems like a solid performer. I briefly considered the Samsung T240, but the stand doesn't tilt forward, which is a dealbreaker for my setup. I'm well aware of the typical quirks with TN panels, but my main priority is backlight bleed—or rather, making sure it's virtually non-existent. I actually stumbled upon a forum thread where a user went to great lengths, posting a ton of photos taken in a dark room, to show that the Dell UltraSharp stays remarkably clean.

If anyone here owns this monitor, or has spent some significant time with it, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Are you happy with it? Any specific headaches I should know about? I'm particularly curious about how the backlight holds up in real-world use. Thanks. 🙂

Sandra Campbell2 said:Chloe Nguyen, my dear brother, go take a look at the Fog of War. Go see what Robert McNamara actually meant when he squeezed his thumb and forefinger together and said, "We were this close to a full-scale nuclear world war." Then he follows it up with this: "Yes, John F. Kennedy was a rational man, Nikita Khrushchev was a rational man, and Fidel Castro was a rational man. And yes, it came that close." Meanwhile, hanging on the wall in the White House, there’s a metal calendar for March—I think it was March—with the dates from the 18th to the 28th carved right into it. Those were the "hottest days."

You know, my friend, you're just another idiot who thinks he's smarter than the people who *think* they're smart. You think you've figured out how the gears turn just because you've glanced at the Zeitgeist, but honestly? You're just as clueless as the rest of them—maybe even worse. Do you have access to CIA files? FBI records? NSA documents? ... Please. Do you have insight into anything other than your own ego? What could you possibly talk about in your early twenties? If you're even that old. About what???? What do you know about any of this??? Where did you become some political veteran??? Were you a counter-intelligence officer or something??? Give me a break, man. Just go drink some acid and chill out. The worst part is, there are plenty of people like you today—acting like heroes and intellectuals behind a monitor, when in reality, you're just a spineless conformist walking down the street clutching a designer handbag...

Reddit is a truly diverse forum; you might even run into secret agents here. 😲
Which side are you on? 🙂

It depends. I remember sitting through Jackson’s King Kong and practically counting the minutes until the credits rolled, but then I caught Benjamin Button the other day and was honestly floored—the cinematography alone was a total feast. 🤷

A quick side note: how on earth did Fincher manage to stretch such a slim little book into a three-hour epic? 😬

I honestly expected much more, especially since everyone I talked to kept raving about how good this movie was.😢

The acting is just okay, but the dialogue? Not great. And the action scenes feel off—it’s like you have gangsters wandering through a city instead of being in the middle of a war zone. It lacks that heavy atmosphere; nothing can truly capture that level of sorrow, but they really missed an opportunity to make something profound here. I'm disappointed.

Elizabeth Garcia2 said:Parodies basically work like this: you take dozens of scenes from recent movies—films actually made by people with imagination, skill, and the genuine talent to create something original—then you just tweak one little detail so it becomes "hilariously funny" to people who can't tell the difference between quality cinema and garbage... and then you market the hell out of it in major US theaters, specifically targeting those mindless American teenagers.

Since I don't fit into any of those categories, and since stupid, low-brow humor just doesn't do anything for me, I really don't think there's any actual value in it. I mean, I know there isn't.

Honestly, I’d much rather sit through my 20th rewatch of something original by W. Allen, Billy Wilder, Charlie Chaplin, Menzel, Jim Jarmusch, DiCill, the Coen brothers, or even Monty Python (who don't just do parodies). That stuff actually has value...

It’s a pathetic genre, even if Mel Brooks is its leading figure. Just pathetic...

Yeah, if you're talking about the latest parodies, because they are genuinely terrible, like > and such.

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If anyone else still appreciates the dialogue from >:

[Frank Drebin is emptying out his files after being kicked off the force]
Frank: Hey! The missing evidence in the Kelner case! My God, he really was innocent!
Ed: He went to the chair two years ago, Frank.
Frank: Well, uh...
[Frank Drebin quickly shoves the evidence back into the file cabinet]

...

[offering a cigar]
Vincent Ludwig: Cuban?
Frank: No, Dutch-Irish. My father was from Wales.

...

After Nordberg ends up in the hospital because he was beaten up for uncovering a heroin shipment:

Det. Nordberg: Drugs... drugs...
Frank: Nurse! get this man some drugs!
[nurse administers drugs]
Det. Nordberg: No... no...
[pulls Frank towards him]
Det. Nordberg: Heroin. Heroin, Frank.
Frank: Uh... that's a pretty tall order, it'll take a couple of days for that one.

...

Frank: A good cop - needlessly cut down by some cowardly hoodlums.
Ed: No way for a man to die.
Frank: No... you're right, Ed. A parachute not opening... that's a way to die. Getting caught in the gears of a combine... having your nuts bit off by a Laplander, that's the way I wanna go.
Wilma Nordberg: [cries] Oh... Frank. This is terrible.
Ed: Don't you worry Wilma. Your husband is going to be alright. Don't you worry about anything. Just think positive. Never let a doubt enter your mind.
Frank: He's right, Wilma. But I wouldn't wait until the last minute to fill out those organ donor cards.
[Wilma cries again]
Ed: What I'm trying to say is that Wilma, as soon as Nordburg is better, he's welcome back at Police Squad.
Frank: Unless he's a drooling vegetable. But I think that's only common sense...
[Wilma cries again]

There are plenty more, but since they pop up every ten seconds in the movie, it would take pages to list them all, so I won't... 😁

Some people dismiss The Naked Gun as total garbage, but honestly, it’s one of the greatest comedies ever made in my book. I don't know where else I find this much laughs; even on my twentieth viewing, it still hits just as hard.



Come on, who wouldn't love a classic like that?! 😁

I’ve run into a bit of a strange glitch. When I’m logged into the forum, everything looks fine—the time offset is set to +1. But the moment I log out, the clock shifts to 0. For instance, if I’m logged in, I’ll see the last post in thread xx was made at 10:51 AM, but once I sign out, it suddenly says 9:51 AM. I have no idea how to sync these up. I’ve combed through the settings, and everything seems to be configured correctly.



Except for this one detail at the bottom:



It indicates the time zone is GMT + 2, even though the displayed time feels right.

I'm not sure if there's a connection here, or if there's actually a way to fix it if there is.

rustypanther92 said:What on earth does it mean when someone tells you they'll send a link via DM??????????

Direct message (DM) or sometimes Private mail (PM)

I’m a huge fan of Dragon Ball and DBZ. I haven't even seen every single episode yet, and I’d love to see them aired on TV again—back when networks like ABC used to run them. Forget Nora Fora, Pokémon, or Yu-Gi-Oh!; Dragon Ball and DBZ are five times more entertaining and better written. In my opinion, kids should grow up watching shows like these. -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuDvS5izltU 🙏

That said, I have a feeling the movie won't live up to the source material. 🤷

placidranger said:not quite.

When you convert a Wave file to an MP3, you're essentially throwing away data—specifically, the frequencies the human ear isn't tuned to pick up. If you were to try converting that MP3 back into a Wave, you wouldn't magically get those lost details back. The audio remains exactly what it was after the first compression.

So, if you're chasing higher fidelity, your best bet is hunting down high-bitrate MP3s or, better yet, the original CD rip.

Stick to 320 kbps MP3s if you want the best possible quality within that format.

Think of it like this: imagine you have a massive, high-res photo—say, 5000x5000 pixels. If you shrink it down to 1000x1000, you've discarded a lot of visual information. You can try to blow that small image back up to its original size, but it’s just going to look blurry and pixelated because the raw data simply isn't there anymore. It's the exact same principle with Wave versus MP3.

Donna Cooper98 said:How do I delete my profile?
I mean, make it disappear entirely.
I know I can't scrub the posts, but I want the account gone for good. I'm ready to say goodbye to this cursed forum and its stubborn, dim-witted, infectious, and utterly clueless crowd. How do I wipe my profile? Permanently?

Hmm. If you hate the place that much, why not just walk away? If it’s really that bad, you won't feel the urge to log back in. 🤷