Blu-Ray Review: FAST & FURIOUS 2-DISC SPECIAL EDITION (Universal)

Mike LoManaco

concealer404 wrote: »

I think the drama that's accompanying the threads could go away, that's for sure....


But am i the only one that enjoys these reviews?

I'll be completely honest here and say that i only NORMALLY read review threads if it's for a movie i have any interest in. But i read ALL of Mike's because they're entertaining, and way more in depth than the other review threads.

If i wanted to truly know what a movie is like (or at least one person's view on it was), i go to Mike's review. If i want a bunch of quick "I liked it." "I didn't like it." "This movie sucked." "Rent only." "I like pie." "Beyonce is HAWT!" Then i go read the other thread. I'm actually pretty happy that they DON'T get mixed.

Just my personal view. My world won't come to a crushing end no matter what gets figured out or what anyone else feels is right.

Thank you very much for the encouraging words, Concealer; EVERYTHING that '**** and others have said about me is COMPLETELY and UTTERLY wrong (as a PERSON) and I realize that no matter what I type here in defense of myself, it will be futile because of comments like Lightman's "panties up yer crack?" and it simply goes nowhere.

Just because I write something that includes the verbage "Lo Manaco's Recommendations..." DOESN'T MEAN that I feel self-important NOR DOES IT MEAN -- BY ANY STRETCH OF THE TERMS -- THAT I AM ATTEMPTING TO DISCREDIT OTHER PEOPLE'S FEELINGS OR REVIEWS ON A TITLE. AT ALL.

But I will NEVER get anyone to understand that, so back and forth we go every time I put up a review. But what I am trying to do -- as you pointed out -- is provide a more in-depth study of a title and then go into the technical aspects of the disc instead of your average "yeah, she sucked in this...and so don't buy it" rhetoric you so often see on boards; AND FOR THIS, I AM CALLED A "BOZO" BY MEMBERS ON HERE...

It's actually sad when you think about it -- trying to feel better about oneself by bringing someone else down; but I appreciate that you read the reviews and find them interesting! Thank you for the encouragement, and again, remember: I am NOT trying to discredit anyone else's work on here even when I review the same title. It's just different takes on it, that's all.

lightman1

Mike LoManaco wrote: »

and, again, contributing NOTHING.

You got me there. Spot on review!

Mike LoManaco

megasat16 wrote: »

Mike,

I don't want to hurt your feelings and I am not going to criticize your review. But can you make it a bit shorter and to the point? I don't have a whole night to read both post 1 and 2. A Summary of the review would be nice.

Thanks for your input, Megasat; I appreciate it. I understand where you're coming from regarding the length, and I'll do my best to edit these, but it's just my style of providing the review. I totally understand though that some just don't want to read the whole plot analysis; that's cool! If I can provide some information on the technical aspects of the discs under the analysis, it seems easy to skip down to that. I just provide my feelings on the plots in the first sections.

I've seen the movie and it's nothing there to put on the shelf at home.

FINALLY -- I would like to get this thread back on track about the FILM ITSELF and the Blu-ray Disc; did you see it in theaters? Were you a fan of the original film or the other sequels? Was there a specific reason you didn't care to own this one?

What's with the reporting Ricardo to the Mods? I am afraid we just don't do that in this forum! We have options including one to one brawl, etc.

Huh? One to one brawl? What is that?

The hurtful commentary by him was getting out of hand and it appeared to me that the "report" function was there for times like that; I didn't realize it wasn't used on this site. I have also contacted them privately.

Mike LoManaco

lightman1 wrote: »

You got me there. Spot on review!

Are you admitting that you contribute nothing to the thread? Because you clipped that part and simply pasted it into the reply out of context.

lightman1

Mike LoManaco wrote: »

comments like Lightman's "panties up yer crack?" and it simply goes nowhere.

You can call me Russ. And I do this for fun.
Resident Troll,
Lightman

Mike LoManaco

lightman1 wrote: »

You can call me Russ. And I do this for fun.
Resident Troll,
Lightman

Now THAT'S something to be proud of -- troll internet boards and piss all over other people's work and then ADMIT that you do it "for fun"...

Okay, Russ!

lightman1

Mike LoManaco wrote: »

Are you admitting that you contribute nothing to the thread? Because you clipped that part and simply pasted it into the reply out of context.

In the two years I've been here, I have contributed absolutely nothing of value to this forum.

Mike LoManaco

lightman1 wrote: »

In the two years I've been here, I have contributed absolutely nothing of value to this forum.

Gotcha. Makes total sense.

lightman1

****....

Mike LoManaco

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha........

lightman1

Mike, your reviews are MUCH appreciated. From here on out, I will f*ck with you.

lightman1

Mike LoManaco wrote: »

Now THAT'S something to be proud of -- troll internet boards and piss all over other people's work and then ADMIT that you do it "for fun"...

Okay, Russ!

This is the only internet forum I post on. And I piss in their yards, not on their work.



Trollin' Trollin' Trollin'..Keep those comments rollin' RAWHIDE!!!!!!

megasat16

Mike LoManaco wrote: »

FINALLY -- I would like to get this thread back on track about the FILM ITSELF and the Blu-ray Disc; did you see it in theaters? Were you a fan of the original film or the other sequels? Was there a specific reason you didn't care to own this one?



Huh? One to one brawl? What is that?

The hurtful commentary by him was getting out of hand and it appeared to me that the "report" function was there for times like that; I didn't realize it wasn't used on this site. I have also contacted them privately.

I've seen it at home on rental DVD. Sound track was pretty weak and recording was very poor IMO. I am a fan of F&F and have all 3 previous movies on DVD. This one, I am afraid is a BIG Disappointment.

I take you haven't been a participant of any type of brawling?

In this forum and everywhere else, people push buttons so growing a Thick Skin is a Must! Instead of PM to mods and reporting, try PM to the person who is a bit out of line and tell him about your feelings. It may get somewhere!

lightman1

F*ck off, Megasplat.....report this......

megasat16

Ok, wimpy skinny lighting man! Up yours!

lightman1

Skinny..yes. Wimpy...No.....
Your yard is not safe......

megasat16

From Rats or Raccoons?

lightman1

from me.......

megasat16

Ok, skinny man! I'll leave the lights on when going to bed tonight! You got to leave this thread alone and send me PM if you have a problem with me....

lightman1

It seems I've boogered up another thread....
Thank you all! Be here all week!!!

kuntasensei

Mike LoManaco wrote: »

My system HAS BEEN calibrated with a professional SPL meter and re-verified by not only me but a few professional installer friends.

Seriously? You had "professional installer friends" check your R20 and Onkyo 605 entry-level setup? You'll forgive me if I'm not quick to believe that, especially since you had to come here to the forum to ask very simple first-time-user questions about your system. That's like having Enzo Ferrari come check out your Chevy Malibu. Just sayin'.

Mike LoManaco wrote: »

When the issue of low dialogue has been brought up, they suggested -- and my ears agreed -- that the center channel level could be brought up 2dBs to compensate. For your information, this is NOT an unheard of process -- do a quick search and you will find many home theater system owners who have merely raised their center channel level to compensate for lower playback; it's NOT unheard of. Sure, the goal is for every channel to exhibit the same output at the sweet spot, but SOMETIMES some channels need some trim somewhere. Hence is the situation in MY room.

No "professional installer" or even enthusiast would haphazardly bump the center channel +2dB. NONE. If they do, then they are not very good at their job. Theatrical mixes are done to very specific standards and proper reproduction at home absolutely requires that the speaker levels be set the same way they are in the mixing studio and theater. It's not unheard of to bump center levels to work around acoustic issues in the room, but it's no substitute for actually correcting these issues. Moreover, if you're bumping the center level by +2dB, how can you make any critical assessment of the mix on these discs? Your system doesn't reflect proper setup per the existing standards, so that essentially negates the audio section of your reviews. You can't really critically comment on the audio of the source if you aren't ensuring proper reproduction of that source.

Again, I ask: Are you using Audyssey's room equalization? Because even the base 2EQ equalization found in your 605 should be able to account for any overshadowing of your center by the other channels by ensuring that audio in the typical vocal range is at the same levels in each channel. This would also help with any tonal mismatch by using different series speakers across the front soundstage, and roll off highs slightly to account for your smaller listening area and near-field listening. If you can't get one of your "professional installer friends" to show you how to properly mic the room using a tripod, I can assist you with proper mic placement and Audyssey setup to help fix your issue.

Mike LoManaco wrote: »

That is absolutely UNTRUE (that I am sensitive to being attacked when someone questions "things" about me) and I am only DEFENSIVE when I feel I am being attacked PERSONALLY. YOU YOURSELF have gone on about my style of reviews, their inability to hold your interest, and THAT has sparked a million spinoff comments IN THIS THREAD ALONE about how my style is off and the delivery is verbose and a host of other hurtful rhetoric, when there's really no need for it at all -- we're supposed to be in here DISCUSSING THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF THE DISCS OR THE PLOTS OF THE FILMS UNDER REVIEW. Yet, somehow, it always spirals into "You're a whining ****" or "Would you like some whine with that cheese?" when I am RESPONDING INITIALLY to someone else's harassing reply.

So, no, many of your comments are really not trying to "help me" at all.

You're still not getting it... You likely wouldn't GET those harassing replies if you would post your thoughts in the existing threads instead of trying to make this your own personal forum for your reviews. You're breaking a very simple cardinal rule of posting on this or any other internet forum, and clearly offending your intended audience by doing so. As far as you being defensive, your responses in the other threads speak for themselves.

Mike LoManaco wrote: »

When this set of speakers was first chosen, it was completely and comfortably recommended by the retail outlet I purchased from and discussed it with for hours on end before purchase; I was assured that the CSi center would work PERFECTLY fine with the Rs in terms of coherence across the soundstage, which I understand VERY well. It has been confirmed by the folks I had called in to re-asses my system settings.

For my money, "recommended by the retail outlet" should be your first clue that you were poorly advised. There's no way that the CSi30 will match with the R20s. They're from a different series, use different woofers and tweeters (both in size and response), and the CSi30's match would be RTi28s at the minimum (which I know because that was my previous front soundstage before going CSi40/RTi70). But the confusing part about your setup is that the CSi30 should theoretically be CLEARER than your other speakers with dialogue, considering the frequency response of each of your speakers.

Again, I maintain that you have issues with your room or setup. Since you started the thread about showing off your Onkyo setup, perhaps if you could post pics of your setup, we'd have a little better idea of what we're dealing with so we can help with your dialogue issues.

Mike LoManaco wrote: »

I am well aware of this. I wouldn't be doing Blu-ray and DVD reviews for other publications if I didn't understand this basic rule of HT. I really do not believe that the inclusion of a CSi center with my R20 mains is what is causing the dialogue delivery to be weak in comparison to other channels in some of the titles I review and own; other than that, there are NO other coherency problems with the front soundstage.

If anything, the CSi30 should be better with delivering dialogue than your R20s, considering it has a higher frequency response and should have better mid-range reproduction because of the mid/low bass being handled by multiple drivers. But for that same reason, you likely do have coherency problems with the front soundstage. One of my previous setups used R10s for the mains (which is from the same series as your R20s), and when I added the CSi30 to that system, it definitely did not match up.

And as an aside, I still think users here want to know what these publications are that you contribute to.

kuntasensei

Mike, I feel that I need to illustrate why I think you have system/setup/room issues that are coloring the audio portion of your reviews. I'm not doing this as an attack or a comment on your review, so please don't take it as such. I'm doing this simply to try to convince you that you have audio issues you need to address if you are going to review these titles critically.

On the dialogue in Fast & Furious, you said:

Mike LoManaco wrote: »

Dialogue volume also bothered me. All too many times, dialogue was much too low in the mix compared to when the action heated up -- an anomaly usually associated with Dolby Digital-encoded standard DVDs.

As I've said before, there is no such anomaly associated with Dolby Digital standard DVDs. Channel levels on Dolby Digital tracks, DVD or otherwise, conform to the same levels as the original mix, which is why proper setup and calibration is so important to properly recreating these levels in the home.

Also, on my personal setup (which is treated, EQ'd and carefully calibrated to properly reproduce the intended mix), I experienced no dialogue issues whatsoever with this title, even in the loudest of action sequences. Let's look at some other reviews from enthusiasts and press:

From Blu-Ray.com: "Dialogue, as expected, is delivered flawlessly."

From Highdefdiscnews: "Dialogue is excellently reproduced via the center channel with no instance of drop out or really anything that was hard to make out. Even Diesel’s somewhat softer spoken voice was easy to hear."

From NZone: "Dialogue is always balanced amidst the pounding score."

From DVDFanatic: "Dialogue is sharp, clear and crisp through the center channel. The soundtrack for the film is perfectly balanced, popping up to the right levels when called for."

From Highdefdigest: "Even though this aggressively mastered mix favors sequences of extreme calamity, it doesn't leave out the simpler scenes. Dialogue is clean and mostly front-centered, while everything is given a nice amount of atmosphere."

From Widescreenreview: "Dialogue sounds spatially realistic within each scene."

From DVDTalk: "Dialogue is easily understood (Diesel's growl is well represented), though some of the looped passages come off particularly thin, to a point of distraction."

Again, I'm not posting links to other reviews as some sort of personal attack on you or attempting to negate your review in any way. What I am saying, however, is this: If you're having issues with dialogue being low in the mix even with your center channel bumped +2dB above the other channels, you need to critically reassess your setup to fix this issue.

If you would like to post pictures of your setup and provide some information, I'm sure we can help you overcome the balance issues you're having with your system.

Ricardo

Russ, get out of LoMANACO's thread. It's entertaining enough without you in it.

lightman1

Ricardo wrote: »

Russ, get out of LoMANACO's thread. It's entertaining enough without you in it.

....:o
Just doing what I do best......