quote:

Originally posted by ElToro:
I live pretty close to NAS Pensacola ( where they teach navy pilots and the blue angels are based)

They had a special screening for the aviator trainees the other night. I thought that was very cool.

I saw the original in the theater several times the summer it came out when I was a teen. I may have go to a real theater for the first time in several years to see this

I think they have opened the Naval Air Museum up, I too live in Pensacola, it might be cool to go watch it on their big IMAX screen

Watched it last night with the Smokin' Hot Wife

I really enjoyed it, I'm sure a big part of it was nostalgia, us both being 80's kids. The theater surprisingly to me was about 2/3rds full. Mostly our age

It bothered me a bit that the "enemy" was unnamed, oh well, maybe it was Dr. Evil

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:

Yup, that Maverick was really good.

quote:

Originally posted by gearhounds:
Tom Cruise is a bit of a douche nozzle and is as nutty as Christmas cake, but to say he isn’t a good actor is nothing but personal bias.

He has shown the ability to be a good actor, but he consistently chooses parts that conform to his typecasting, so we have rarely gotten to see what talent he has.

And I try to leave my personal views about actors actual personalities at home, but Cruise is the one who makes that hardest for me. I just can't forget what a nut he is.

Tom has been busy. Another Mission Impossible.

Mr P.
I believe that Since the shooting, The NAS Pensacola Air museum is still closed as is the base in general unless you are active duty. However next Saturday June 4 they are doing a special to let non active duty in until it fills up and then closing it. My folks are visiting from CA next week and we may go. Check their website for details.

In the town of Luverne MN they are having the movie Friday night in the Drive-In. That would be pretty cool.

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:

For sure.

Is Blu-ray a thing anymore?
The streaming market is booming, but movie lovers are still buying DVDs and Blu-Rays. Collectors told Insider that physical discs offer higher movie quality than streaming services do. Even Netflix, which started in the DVD business, still makes money renting discs to customers.

Yep. I rent 1080p and 4k discs on the regular. Either puts streaming garbage to shame, especially in the audio department. I’ll be ordering Maverick later this summer when it releases on 4k disc in Dolby Cinema (Dolby Atmos + Dolby Vision). I haven’t been to the theater since 2019 when the smartphone use just pushed me out permanently. Streaming quality is good for episodic crap but not film. You want quality you get it on disc. 4k discs surpass most cineplexes resolution and picture quality and if you have an audio system, oh my. I’ll feel the need for speed when I can view at home with the subs and Atmos cranked up very loud.

^^^^ Exactly.

I spent a pretty penny on my sound system (speakers in the walls and ceiling, subwoofer) and the audio quality between streaming and a 4K disc is not even on the same chart.

The new Dune was streaming on HBO Max on day one. The audio was mediocre at best. I got the 4K disc and it was movie-theater experience.

That said, Maverick was great in the theater! Can't wait to get the disc and hear those jets going from front to back and side to side!

Top Gun was okay as an action movie until the last scene where the entire crew on the aircraft carrier comes out to celebrate old Tom taking out the Russians.... just a little too much .....

quote:

Originally posted by furlough:
^^^^ Exactly.

I spent a pretty penny on my sound system (speakers in the walls and ceiling, subwoofer) and the audio quality between streaming and a 4K disc is not even on the same chart.

The new Dune was streaming on HBO Max on day one. The audio was mediocre at best. I got the 4K disc and it was movie-theater experience.

That said, Maverick was great in the theater! Can't wait to get the disc and hear those jets going from front to back and side to side!

Felt the exact same way about Dune. Streaming was like ah it’s ok. Then rented it on 4k disc and was blown away so much that I bought it the next day and it’s now a reference film.

As a huge fan of naval aviation y’all tempted me to go to the theater for the first time in over 3 years. Ironically that’s when I built my HT or rebuilt it. It was chintzy before and now it’s pretty solid mid grade. 11 speakers, 2 subs, 7.2.4 with a DV Sony cinema Panel that while FALD, was so good Sony quit making it to push people towards OLED and higher prices. I checked my local cineplex. $16.50 but with online ticket fee the ticket would be $19.50. LMAO, uh hell no. I can just buy it for that when it comes out on disc in 90 days. Theater to disc is so fast now it’s pretty easy just to wait. I’m sure the 4k disc will be more than $20 on initial release but it drops $10 in 6 months so I’ll rent it as soon as it’s out and buy it at Christmas for the same price as the movie ticket and own it forever.

Saw it this afternoon while eating hot wings at one of those dinner movie theaters. I enjoyed it and concur with the OP.

Saw it yesterday at 1500. I was pleased.

What we wanted, we got. Emotion, adventure, and love.

This movie is an example of how other hero movies should be crafted. Understandable, dynamic, cathartic, and believable.

Not spoiling the plot but during the briefing, Maverick mentioned why not use the f35. Forgot why the answer for that.

I just got home from the theater and I thought it was a good movie. Well worth the price of admission.

quote:

Originally posted by stzd8:
Not spoiling the plot but during the briefing, Maverick mentioned why not use the f35. Forgot why the answer for that.

Spoiler......

Maverick actually was shot down at the end of the 1st movie and has been in a coma for 35yrs and the sequel is just his thoughts while in a coma.

This movie is the Empire Strikes Back of the Top Gun franchise.

Saw it tonight with the wife; FAR FAR better than the original.

ETA: overall it seemed much more professional and military and less “Hollywood” compared to the original, like the scene at the flight briefing where the one pilot is wearing a cowboy hat. That would have never been permitted in real life.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: PASig,

James Garner was the best Maverick!
...oh... not that one...........

It saw it yesterday and thought it was thoroughly satisfying. A welcome break from CGI fireballs coming out of the hands of interchangeable actors playing interchangeable superheroes.

The actors playing aviators went through flight school to learn how to fly F-18s. The dogfights were thrilling to watch and comprised of long takes; not the usual choppy series of edits where the filmmakers are trying to hide how phony it all is. Even the explosions were well-done and at least didn't look like CGI.

This is a movie that totally understands its assignment and fulfills it. Maybe it's a feel-good fantasy, but it's a feel-good fantasy we desperately need right now.

Cruise is excellent in this. His acting captures how the character's original arrogance has mellowed. This is a Maverick who still feels "the need for speed" but is acutely aware that no matter how fast he goes, he's not outrunning time.

Finally, and this is not a spoiler: it's well-known that Val Kilmer is in this reprising his Iceman role, and equally common knowledge is Kilmer's real-life throat-cancer battle. It's quite moving to see Kilmer and Cruise in a scene together. It wasn't quite as iconic as seeing Pacino and DiNiro share a scene in Heat, but both Kilmer and Cruise were hot young stars, poised for equal paths to successful careers when the original Top Gun came out. Seeing them together again in this film made me ponder the twists and turns of life; who wins and who doesn't when it comes to choices, health outcomes and perhaps most of all, luck.

Sounds good. I may watch if free. But I'm in no rush to see this. Don't like Cruise (although admittedly he's a good actor). And I don't like that these guys would work w/ prc funding (even though they later pulled out because the movie might be offensive to the party); the fact that they were willing to let prc into the production, well, screw that. There are a lot of things I can watch without having to cater to those who will take prc partners.