Facebook | The Gatecast

Facebook | The Gatecast



Yes folks the podcast I co-host with Alan is now on Facebook.
If you are reading this and are on Facebook then pay us a visit and lets be friends:)

QMX Death Glider

This Death Glider from QMX looks so beautiful but as always money is too tight not only to buy the piece but to cover shipping and UK import taxes, such is life.

SKY

Well what can I say, they offered me 12 months at half price and I have missed some of the sport and would certainly miss out on this summers 20/20 cricket so I am once again a subscriber, for a year at least.
There is talk of both the IP VOD and 3D services rolling out in the next month or so but I don't really care about them, just more HD movies and sports plus stuff from Disco, NG and History and I'll be happy.

Dr Horrible Blu-ray

Rather surprisingly Josh Whedons Dr Horrible is getting a Blu-ray release in June, perhaps it indicates a more attractive price for authoring and pressing Blu-ray disks but already owning the DVD I wonder if this new release will be priced cheap enough if offered in the UK or sold region free to warrant a marginal increase in PQ

Flash Gordon

At last the incredible and over the top movie Flash Gordon starring Sam Jones is getting a Blu-ray release in June. I'm a huge fan of the movie even though it's a really tongue in cheek cheese fest but it has a rocking sound track, killer babes and an uber bad guy:)

Disney Blu-ray BOGOF

No idea how long this offer will last but DVD.CO.UK are having a buy one get one free on Disney Blu-rays which include pre-orders. I've ordered Toy Story 1 & 2 for a bargain £17.95 which is a great price by any ones standards:)
Not a must have but I've also ordered Bolt and Enchanted on Blu-ray under the same deal, not as exciting I know but they will find a place on my shelf.

SGU Trailer

It's about time the show returned, the break imposed by Syfy can do nothing but harm.

Mini Movie Reviews

The Time Travellers Wife

An epic romance across decades is the background to the relationship between Henry and Clare a couple who are are destined to marry after their first meeting when she was a young girl and he a mid 30's guy. It's not the most intense movie but if you settle into the pace it's a good love story as both handle the knowledge they each gain and impart thanks to Henry jumping through time.

Black Dynamite

A throwback to the 1970's black exploitation movies which peaked with the brilliant Shaft.
Black Dynamite is a former CIA operative who can fight better than anyone, satisfy a woman or women better than anyone but remembers where he came from and the promise to his mother.
The film is funny and in your face but an acquired taste.

The Proposal

A Sandra Bullock romantic comedy, nothing special there and while I enjoyed the movie and damn she
still looks fantastic (loved the near nude scene) it was not "while you were sleeping" but a welcome return
to form for the actress. Ryan Reynolds was good as her characters assistant/fianance and always good to
see Mary Steenbergen.

SKY

It's been around 2 months since I cancelled SKY and I've had one mail shot offering packages at half price for 6 months and I just got a phone call offering half price for 12 months, turned both offers down.
It's not that I dislike SKY's product (I was a subscriber for 18 years after all) but it was always something I wanted but not needed and I still haven't gotten over the shabby attempt to gouge an extra £5 a month out of me.
It's a small thing but there are times the only way an individual can express their displeasure is to withhold money from a corporation, they may not even notice but hey it makes me feel better and so far I have seen pretty much everything I want to via other means.

Atlantis (Season 5)

I've finally given up on owning Stargate Atlantis on Blu-ray and can't be arsed with the "fans choice" release so ordered the fifth season from Amazon for a grand total of £15.65 which comes under the import tax threshold.
It'll take a week or two to get here but now I've finished my Chuck marathon I can go onto LOST or Smallville, loving me Blu-ray:)

Stagecoach (Criterion Blu-ray)

Fantastic news that the classic John Wayne/John Ford western masterpiece Stagecoach is hitting DVD and Blu-ray in an all new remastered Criterion edition later this year (May 25th).
Features include...

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer.
• Audio commentary by noted western authority Jim Kitses
• New video interview with filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich
• New video essay by writer Tag Gallagher

The only downside is that Criterion region lock their Blu-ray releases so I've no idea when a Region B edition will be offered our market. While my PC can handle multiregion discs I rarely do prefer using a standalone player and no player yet has impressed me enough let alone be hackable to replace the PS3 .

RIP Phil Harris

Phil Harris the skipper of the Cornelia Maria featured in the Discovery Channels "Deadliest Catch" died today after suffering a stroke while off loading his boat during the filming of the latest season of the show.

One of the great characters brought to our television screens thanks to this show and condolences to his two sons who sailed with him and the family he left behind.

Vancouver Sun LA Times

New Krypton

I'm not a regular comic reader but a good review over on ScifiDig prompted me to place an order for the first volume of New Krypton, it helps that Smallville is still going strong so I am receptive to Superman stuff:)

I have Smallville season8 on Blu-ray to watch or at least to start watching in the next week or so, mind you my Lost season5 Blu-ray came through the letter box the other day, so little time.

LOST Season 5 Blu-ray

Bargain time once again, Amazon UK has the fifth season Blu-ray listed for £20.97 which proves once again a little patience is always rewarded:)
It's a good thing I haven't got SKY, wouldn't have the time to watch all these boxsets I've been buying recently.

Sarah Conner Chronicles

Well the second season of the show had to many flaws for me to rush and buy the Blu-ray to go with the first season I already owned and the UK price of over £40 is taking the piss.
However Amazon in the US are selling the second season Blu for $24.99 and with p&p to the UK it comes to a very appealing £20.30 which is a bargain in anyones book:)
I have ordered it and the price (p&p not included) will come under the customs limit and negate the rip off Post Office handling charges.

Tromeo and Juliet

The classic version of the movie from Troma studios is getting a Blu-ray release at the end of March.
I love this retelling of the ultimate doomed love story with it's extreme violence, sex and nudity and all round Troma goodness:)

Never resist a bargain.

I've been holding back on a lot of Blu-ray purchases simply due to the price but I've splashed the cash on a few DVD boxsets this last week.
The Sweeney and Sapphire&Steel full series boxsets and the Third Rock from the Sun series boxset are now sitting on the shelf and all three together cost less than a lot of single season Blu-ray TV boxsets!

I finally got around to watching Star Trek:The Motion Picture (part of the Blu-ray boxset that was reduced in price before xmas) and I have to admit that for the most part it was a genuinely better picture than the DVD, it may not have a had a full restoration but at times the image was very nice. I loved the commentary track, it was one of the best I've heard in recent times being done by the Michael & Denise Okuda and Judith & Garfield Reese-Stevens.

Assessment

I had my annual work assessment the other day.
It went pretty good, no problems with my attendance nor performance in the warehouse and further training with fork lifts and administration are an option this year.

I finished watching both Supernatural (s4) and the first season of True Blood on Blu-ray, enjoyed them both immensely and now going to jump feet first into the Star Trek movies boxsets this weekend.

On a Gatecast note we finally managed to record the first show of the year after a week of trying, edit it this weekend and get back onto the thursday posting schedule, pay the cast a visit and let us know what you think:)

Work and other ups and downs.

So the first day back at work and it was cold this morning, lots of ice on the car but the roads were ok so got there in one piece. We did however have a gas leak from the boilers so no one could work in in or around the warehouse for a few hours, boy did it drag.
Well I'm back home now and for the first time in over 19 years I do not have subscription television, bugger all on the normal "free" channels but I've got a ton of movies and shows on disk to watch and thankfully the US schedules are going to pick up and my O2 broadband is so far so good.

Happy New Year

Well the start of a new year which hopefully won't have the ups and downs of 2009, pretty sure global politics and war wise nothing much will change but day to day the economies should pick up yet huge state debts will mean little joy for the majority of the population.

Gawd that's depressing:)


Congrats to Patrick Stewart for his Knighthood, that title suits him down to the ground.