I've always liked the Movies & used to go to the Cinema fairly regularly in my youth. However Since the availability of surround sound processors & amps a few years ago I decided to set up my own "home cinema" system. This consisted of a Yamaha DSP-E390 processor, Arcam Alpha 6+ amp, & Monitor Audio front & centre speakers plus Yamaha rears. It sounded pretty good to my ears but of course is nothing compared to what is available today.

    My current system comprises of a Pioneer DSX-D912 6 channel Dolby Digital & DTS surround amplifier, hooked up to a Panasonic DVD-RV32 DVD player. Visuals are taken care of by a Sanyo PLV-Z3 front projector & sound is taken care of with an Energy take 5 speaker system. At the moment I'm using a home built 4 foot "screen" but will soon be moving up to a full blown home theatre complete with 8 foot diagonal screen.

Update! (Jan 2006)

    I bought myself a new DVD player for Xmas, the one I bought is a Panasonic (of course!) DVD S77. This one was quite expensive by modern DVD player standards but one of the main reasons for getting it was the fact that it has a HDMI port so will plug directly into my Projector. Other good reasons are that it up-converts DVD to either 720p or 1080i (high def) as well as progressive scan of course. I had a demo in the store & in a side by side comparison the video resolution at 1080p & colour rendition using the HDMI port is far & away better than component video.

    So last weekend I got around to hooking up the new DVD player to my Projector via the HDMI port, I selected 720p on the menu & sat back to watch "Finding Nemo". You have to see it to appreciate it but the resolution & colours were simply stunning. Even Alex agreed that it looked at least as good as a Hi def Plasma TV broadcasting a Hi Def feed.

        You can read about my home theatre by clicking :

Here.

      OK, so we have the equipment will sometime later this year (2006) have a complete home theatre now all we need is something to watch. So with that in mind here is a small selection from our DVD collection of must see films by genre or as we call them "keepers", listed in no particular order.

Action & Adventure.

    Pirates of the Caribbean: Johnny Depp's best film, a riot to watch.

    Master & Commander: Great acting, awesome battle scenes, DTS sound, you need this one..

    The last Samurai: Yes, Tom Cruise I know, but if you overlook the holes in the plot it really is an epic.

    Das Boot: The best submarine movie ever made, period, watch it in the original German language with english sub (!) titles..

    The Indiana Jones Trilogy: Yup, I can't imagine that you don't already own this one but if not, why?

Pop Culture:

    Kill Bill vol 1 & 2: Written & Directed by Quentin Tarantino, need I say more?

    Pulp Fiction: Another great slice of Tarantino.

    From Dusk till Dawn: Yup, Tarantino had a hand in this one as well, how does a bank heist movie turn into a Vampire flick? watch to find out..

Animated.

    Finding Nemo: Great story, fantastic CGI animation & the colours are beautiful, Ellen Degeneres is excellent as Dory.

    Shrek: The first one is better than the second one, truly inspired & a ton of laughs..

Chick Flicks.

    Pretty Woman: Unlikely premise but I like this film a lot, Julia Roberts has never looked better..

Comedy.

    Austin Powers: Yes, all 3 of them, for me Mike Myers captured the 60's perfectly with so many British expressions & clichés you can watch them again & again & still laugh your ass off. Watch out for the backlit scenes, in the tent & in the Doctors examining room..

    Back to the Future: One of my favourite films, I love the story, the cast is perfect this one should be in everyone's collection. Christopher Lloyd is outstanding.

    Blazing Saddles: Fabulous politically incorrect film, my favourite Mel Brooks flick. "The new Sheriff is a Ni"!

    Home Alone 2: Yes I know it's Macaulay Culkin, but the real star of this one is Daniel Stern his antics will have tears rolling down your cheeks. "Wow! What a hole"!!

Comic Book.

    Spiderman 1 & 2: Brilliant cast, great chemistry between Toby & Kirsten, CGI is a but dodgy in places in the 1st movie but the storylines in both films more than compensate, the second movie is the best of the two.

    X Men 1, 2, & 3: All 3 films feature a strong cast with excellent storylines, I saw the third Movie in the theatre when it was released & recently added it to the DVD collection.

Horror.

    The Wicker man: Barmy old British flick about Pagan Ritualism but has genuine horror moments that Alex finds disturbing.

    The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, & Evil Dead 3, The Army of Darkness: From the schlock horror of the first one to the increasing dark humour of the 2nd film & finally to the hilarious final film of the trilogy these are the films that launched Sam Rami's career as a Director.

Fantasy.

    Excalibur: Not too mainstream this one but probably the best depiction of the legend of King Arthur.

    The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Brilliant film making, should be in everyone's DVD collection.

Science Fiction.

    War of the Worlds: That is the remake with Tom Cruise, top special effects & a real workout for your home theatre with the DTS soundtrack.

    The Chronicals of Riddick: Vin Diesel rules the Underverse.. Watch out for the prequel: Pitch Black to learn more about Riddick.

    The Fifth Element: This one should be in all Sci-Fi fans collections, stellar cast including Bruce Willis, Mila Jovovich, & Gary Oldman in a frantic race to save the Earth. My favourite Sci-Fi film of all time...

    The Matrix Trilogy: A favourite of mine, all 3 movies are classics & this trilogy should be in everyone's collection..

    Star Wars: All of them, yes sure some are better than others but overall these are timeless classics.

    Star Trek: Most of them, again some are better than others, actually a couple are complete dogs, the odd number curse rules with this series. Overall though you cannot deny how this series has endured through the years. My favourite one is "First Contact", the worst? Star Trek V, self indulgent crap.. I understand that a new film is being shot & that it is a prequel to the original series, I think they missed a opportunity to make a movie with the cast of "Enterprise", which is far & away the best series since TNG...

To be Continued (eventually)....