Warner Bros. Do Blu Only

The news Blu-ray supporters have been waiting for! Reuters confirms that Warner Bros. is to back the Blu-ray format exclusively!

"The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger. We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers, and most importantly, consumers," Warner Bros. Chairman and Chief Executive Barry Meyer said in a statement.

From Michael Bay on Blu-ray/HD DVD and Transformers

Director Michael Bay posted this message on the Official Michael Bay Forums:

"Well another studio down. Maybe I was right? Blu-ray is just better. HD will die a slow death. It's what I predicted a year ago. Now with Warner's down for the count with Blu-ray. That makes it easier for Wal-Mart to push Blu-ray. And whatever Wal-Mart pushes - wins. HD better start giving out those $120 million dollars checks to stay alive. Maybe they can give me some so I can give it to my Make-A-Wish charity, just to shut me up. Have faith people Transformers will come out in Blu-ray one day..."

Personally, I can't wait for Batman Begins, The Lord of the Rings and The Matrix trilogies! Where Warner Bros. leads, other studios will, ultimately, follow! Warner Bros. will continue supporting HD DVD until May 2008. However, after that time, the studio will be exclusively Blu. To read the full article, please click here.

Incidentally, whilst on the subject of Blu-ray and Reuters. Reuters has republished a post of mine, via BlogBurst, here.

If the Blu-ray Macworld rumours are correct, this will be a great month to go Blu!

Nickelodeon

In this era of digital content distribution, the notion of going to the cinema maybe considered antiquated (not that I'm an advocate). Sky movies offers 9 screens of 'near demand' movie magic. This is what I've been watching:

*Elf
*Underworld
*Freaky Friday (2003)
*HellBoy
*The Bourne Supremacy
*The Last Samurai
*The Matrix Revolutions
*The Cat in the Hat
*Pieces of April
*Two Weeks Notice
*The Stepford Wives (2004)
*Open Water
*Dawn of the Dead (2004)
*Resident Evil: Apocalypse

TiVo has announced that its portable media software will support transfer to iPod and PSP. It'll be interesting to see whether or not a future sky+ update will include such a feature too - otherwise the USB 2.0 port is nothing more than a glorified iPod/mobile phone battery recharger!

You can now shop for holiday gifts at my T-Shirt Shop.

Scissor Sister

When I first saw the advance poster for Underworld Evolution, the comparison with Edward Scissorhands and the surreal-enthused cinema of Tim Burton was unmistakable.



Whilst Underworld (2003) is far from satisfying and wholly derivative. It's a pleasing antidote to the banal Matrix Revolutions and tiresome Van Helsing. Kate Beckinsale's aloof Alice captured the character's detachment in Alice Through the Looking Glass (1998). Why they didn't ask her to reprise the role in American McGee's Alice is a mystery!

During tonight's Children In Need UK viewers were treated to the first official adventure with the new Doctor and Rose. A scintillating season/regeneration segue. The chemisty between the principles has not lost any of its spark.

Remember remember, the 5th of November

Now settling back into a sky+ viewing pattern. Recorded Big Fish, Star Trek: Nemesis, Spider-Man 2, Matrix Revolutions and The Bourne Identity in order to test the reliability of recordings and, most importantly, see these movies for the first time!

Tomorrow I'll be in Teignmouth and wish all UK readers a safe Bonfire Night.

Bay Route

I've no desire to compete with the likes of Harry Knowles and his 'writing' staff. But wouldn't it be dull if there was only an homogeneous source for movie musings, eh?

After wrapping up yesterday's post, I ventured over to IGN FilmForce and read the review for The Island (2005). The movie centres around Lincoln Six-Echo (Ewan McGregor) and Jordan Two-Delta (Scarlett Johansson) as they attempt to escape a NASA nightmare. My interest piqued, I downloaded the teaser preview from the official site.



The lauded freeway frenzies from The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) have been overtaken by director Michael Bay's custom coupe. Logan's Run (1976) meets Minority Report (2002) by way of Brave New World (1932) and big brands.

Want movies on the go? A veritable avalanche of UMD titles are now available for pre-order from Play.

Now that my podcast is listed in iTunes, I'm working on releasing an Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) sample sometime next week.