Shortage of good titles?

[Patt]

Has anyone noticed the somewhat limited number of good movies out there? Oh sure, there are many to choose from but how many are really interesting or family friendly?
Maybe it is due to the whole "Home Theatre" being somewhat new and in a growing stage. :huh:

[Lex]

When you throw in family friendly, it certainly limits the quality movies. It's a lmiited selection. Even reasonably clean, well, it's somewhat limited. With over 400 movies myself though, I can safely say at least half those are pretty good movies. Although if I set out to get rid of some movies, I'd probably have a hard time displacing more than 25 or so. I've often times thought, I've been really lucky in selecting good movies. I don't have very many "razzies" in movies.

Lex

[David Meek]

Pat, if you are talking about new releases then yes there has been quite a slow-down in "interesting" titles coming out. If you are talking about the entirety of the DVD catalog, then I really have to disagree. To date there have been over 23,000 titles released, and I find a huge number of them desirable. As of late, with a significant portion of the easily available movie catalog already having been put on the market, it makes sense that more and more of the DVDs being released will be of the more obscure and/or less successful films. At least IMO.

P.S. That 23,000 number is a year or more out of date, but it's the last factual count I've come across.

[Patt]

The only place we have picked up DVD's is the local Best Buy or Circuit City. We have about a 150 on the shelf and it seems we are watching a lot of the same ones over and over. Could be our taste is limited...not really into Horror or silly/goofy Comedy...pretty much into everything else.

I am curious where other people get their DVD's and would like to know if ordering online may be a good way to do it. Maybe limiting ourselves to these two stores may also be the problem........curious.......

[David Meek]

I'd say that 2/3 of my DVD collection came from online retailers. Primarily:

Deep Discount DVD
DVD Empire
Digital Eyes
Overstock.com
Buy.com
Columbia House

I have used (and still do) Best Buy for lots of instant gratification stuff, tho.

[George Bellefontaine]

My dvd collection is over 1000 now, Pat, and you know, almost half of them are older movies from the 40s 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, etc. I am very choosy on new releases. I only buy those I know I will want to view several times, and much of the new stuff coming out just doesn't fit that criteria for me. I tend to rent first now before buying.

[Nick M]

Recent (within the past year or so) :4:+ (my rating) "Family" films...
Off the top of my head...

Secondhand Lions
Robots (In Theaters)
The Incredibles
Harry Potter Films
LOTR Films (depending on kids age if you're a no-fun parent :P)

[Patt]

Thank You for the links David......

Hi George, Looks like I might need to check out some of the older titles too...rentals around here are not very well taken care of so we resorted to purchasing new. Out of 150 we only had about 10 duds so I figure that is pretty good.

Nicholas, I have what you listed already except LOTR. I wonder if it is as good as Harry Potter? I once heard LOTR is sort of mixed up and hard to follow the storyline....?

All this movie talk makes me want a 40"-50" plasma or better yet maybe a projector. Seems like for the same money a guy could just about get either one. Mmmmmmmmmm.

[Nick M]

Can't believe you haven't seen (or read) the LOTR trilogy! :E

Simply put, a small hobbit (halfling) becomes the owner of a powerful ring that he must destroy by casting it into a volcano guarded by bad guys. The three movies (9hrs long for the cinema versions, 12hrs for the directors cuts) follow this jouney along with those of his companions who try to protect him from the bad guys (who are searching for him to retrieve the ring).

:45: as a Trilogy, and a must own for any fan of the cinema.

[David Meek]

Hey, my pleasure on the links. :^x

Pat, Nicholas nailed the general sentiments about the LOTR trilogy. If you like fantasy, adventure, wizardry and/or epic films, these three will almost definitely become favorites - not to mention their downright stunning picture and sound quality. I like the extended editions over the theatrical versions. The extended versions (especially the first and the second) make for a much more cohesive and understandable story, along with a higher quality soundtrack in DTS.

[Patt]

OK...I'm sold, I may be going out this evening....any suggestions which LOTR episode to try first?

[David Meek]

Smartypants. :

[Patt]

No....really.....isnt it like a series?....I-II-III-IV and so on? Like Harry Potter...you wouldnt want to watch the last one first.

[Nick M]

Yes watch in this order...

1. Fellowship of the Ring
2. The Two Towers
3. Return of the King

Remember, you can watch the cinema versions which are on 1 DVD each and ~3Hrs (and usually what rental shops have), or the Director's Cuts which are like ~4Hrs and fill-in more gaps. Both versions are spectacular. If you're renting don't worry about seeing the short versions, but if you're buying make sure you get the Director's cuts.

For a true experience, you should watch the old animated film called "The Hobbit" which is like a prelude to the above trilogy and gives you the background on the character "Bilbo". It's usually like $10 in bargain bins.

[Patt]

Thank You......I'll give it a try.