camwjohn95

I'm glad that I've held out on dropping $200+ on the Blufans set on eBay. ...Granted, this set may very well cost $300+. Is anyone will to admit how much they spent on one of those "Blade Runner" groupbuys? Also, I did just drop $200+ on "The Green Mile" Blufans. Please, UHD Club, don't make me double-dip!

Yeah, are they? On one hand, I don't have a premium or 4K copy of "Shawshank". On the other hand... I just spent a dowry on the Blufans edition of "The Green Mile", and I don't want UHD Club to get on a Frank Darabont roll.

Week 16 SOME of my favorite films, in no particular order... And really only 10 movies I haven't done to death on these challenges! "Apocalypse Now" "The Godfather Trilogy" "Citizen Kane" "Gone with the Wind" "The Green Mile" (Just got the Blufans for Christmas!) "Titanic" (4K, Disney! Now!) "Almost Famous" "Best of Youth" (Needs me an English-friendly Blu-Ray) "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" "Fight Club" (For God's sake, Disney! 4K!)

Week 15! “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!” 1. "Jesus of Nazareth" (The reason for the season... Other than consumerism and a totally random designation of birthday. Still technically a Christmas movie!) 2. "A Christmas Tale" (My favorite Christmas movie, because I'm just that much of a snob) 3. "Haider" 4. "Siberiade" 5. "The Revenant" (Very oddly colored snow, but it's snow. Trust me) Next weekend or so, I’m watching stuff like "Fantastic Beasts 3" and "Something In the Dirt". I may also go see "Babylon" (Because I'm just that much of a snob), though I don’t know of anyone who would want to join me for a three-hour-long debaucherous tragicomedy about silent movies... As for the Christmas marathons in the background, we have "Rare Exports", "Miracle on 34th Street" (1947, of course!), "The Polar Express", "Klaus", "A Boy Called Christmas", various versions of "A Christmas Carol" and "The Grinch", etc.

Oh, shoot, I forgot to add my favorite animal. Way, way, way more than humans, it's cats!

Week 14! Animals! But seriously though! If I may continue to show off my TV collection from last week... "Game of Thrones" - Take your pick: Stag, Direwolf, Crow, Dragon, whatever... "Dances with Wolves" - Horse... Oh yeah, and a wolf, of course. "Fantasia" - Anthropomorphic magician mouse counts, right? "King Kong" (2005) - Surely, a giant gorilla counts! "Parasite" - Cockroach Okay, one more, because I'm such a stickler for semantics! "Parasite" - Human! Of course, in using "Parasite" again, I broke the "One Edition Per Entry" rule. Some stickler for semantics I turned out to be.

Week 13! My favorite TV Blu-Rays! "Boardwalk Empire" "Hell on Wheels" "The Leftovers" "Peaky Blinders" "Sons of Anarchy" Other great sets where that came from, but of the TV shows I want to be on Blu-Ray, there is... "The Americans" (Really, Disney, only DVD?) "Homeland" (Really, Disney, not even DVD?) "Roadies" (Well, I'm the only one who would want it on Blu-Ray/DVD anyway)

WEEK 12 Favorite directors… kinda! Denis Villeneuve! Actually might not be one of my all-time faves, but he's one of my faves today. More importantly, I haven't shown off his movies in my collection. #3 - "Prisoners" #2 - "Blade Runner 2049" #1 - "Dune" Sam Mendes! In honor of "Empire of Light"... which I hear is not that good. I'll believe that when I see it! #3 - "American Beauty" #2 - "1917" #1 - "Revolutionary Road" David Fincher! Okay, he's so overwhelmingly my favorite director that I can't bring myself to leave it at three… #7 - "Se7en" #6 - "Gone Girl" #5 - "The Social Network" #4 - "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" #3 - "Zodiac" #2 - "Benjamin Button" #1 - "Fight Club" (I know, it's a pathetic edition for one of the greatest works of modern art ever, but I'm holding out for a retailer beating Disney and putting out a premium that wouldn't require me taking out a mortgage) Still waitin' on "Mank" there, Criterion!

Week 11! Comin' down with that sequelitis! "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" - More mature than the previous movies, which were worryingly lacking in Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" - More nuanced pacing than "LOTR". I mean, it dragged, but it had its moments with characterization for that. "Skyfall" - So much more refined and well-written than pretty much any "James Bond" movie. I'm sorry, fanboys, but grow up! "Spider-Man: No Way Home" - Much more dramatically defined than its predecessors. "War for the Planet of the Apes" - A fantastic war movie that just happens to be about talking primates, instead of the simply well-made genre movies that preceded. As for movies that need a sequel… I'm sure there's one that's more qualified, but let's have Richard Linklater dump another few years into "Manhood". Ellar Coltrane needs the work, and Ethan Hawke needs to hit rock bottom with his workaholism. And a Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americans!

WEEK 10! Shoop, shoop! Please come again! Bring us bullets! "Sicario" - Various Firearms Now for Steelbooks, front and back! "The Departed" - Handgun "Kingdom of Heaven" - Sword And finally, because I love Russell Crowe so much... "Master and Commander" & "Gladiator" - Sword Now, it took me so long to get to this theme because I couldn't really think of any best or worst weapons. I guess I'll cop out and go with what's off the top of my head. For my bad weapon, well I recently saw "eXistenZ"... What was up with that stupid, creepy organic gun? It wasn't even that gory! Come on, Cronenberg! Lame! And as for favorite weapon... I dunno... Franz Daltrey's piano flamethrower in "Lisztomania"? I recently got a cool edition of "A Clockwork Orange", so I wanted to say that the bust Alex used on that cat lady made for a pretty effective weapon. But come on, people, let's keep it PG!

Week 9! For the record (As it were), I'm about as big a music buff as I am a movie buff... but I'm ashamed to say that I haven't had the money, need or property space to collect many physical copies of albums. Besides, collecting soundtrack albums has always seemed a bit too novel to me. I'm sure I've gotten a few somewhere along the way, but as far as getting something to complement my movie collection... I couldn't help but order what was then the most deluxe CD edition of Woodstock '69 along with my Blu-Ray of Michael Wadleigh's "Woodstock". ...That's it. That's the story. Otherwise, my soundtracks have been incidental extras with my movies. "Almost Famous" (Okay, it's just the Stillwater sampler CD. I may get the full soundtrack someday just because of my fervent love of the film.) By the way... Broadway... Uncool, man! "Gone with the Wind" (Sorry, another sampler) "Forrest Gump" And that's about all I've got. If I may use a loophole... nobody said anything about not including soundtracks that were a bonus feature on a Blu-Ray disc... "Inception" Yes, I know, my "Inception" steel is horribly outdated. Stay tuned to see if I get enough disposable income for a 4K premium.

Week 7 challenge failed! No! I need to get more horror movies! Week 8... I've got this! Red - "From Dusk Till Dawn" Orange - "A Clockwork Orange" (Why yes, I did just get it!) Yellow - "The Half-Blood Prince" Green - "The Order of the Phoenix" Light Blue - "Manchester by the Sea" Dark Blue - "Betty Blue" (Blue-blue-blue!) Pink - "Mr. Nobody" (Skin tone counts, right? I sure wish I had 2 grand to spend on "Fight Club" Manta OC) That's a pretty drab, mishapen rainbow. What the heck does that mean, Bear Vasquez?

Challenge #6 This one is tough. Let's go with… "Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The" & "Army of Shadows, The" "Milk" & "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" "JFK" (Not technically premium, but still a great set!) "Once Upon a Time in America", "Haider" & "Nicholas and Alexandra" (Standard Blu-Rays, but rare ones!) And… Erm… '95's "La Haine" & '54's "Seven Samurai" And now, the epic story of where I came up with the username camwjohn95! Picture this… It was a scorching day in Alabama in '95, and I was named Cam, with the middle initial W., by a couple whose last name started with John… And that's it. Did you catch all of the complex allegorical symbols in that Fassbinderian opus?

Challenge #5 I don't remember what I got or when I got it these past ten years, but I can think of some early gets that "evolved" me as a collector. 1. "Les Miserables" (Target) - "Oh hey, that's a fancy edition in this store. I should get more of these." 2. "Cleopatra" (Multi-Retail) - "Oh cool, a Japanese 'Premium' edition. I hope it's not cheaper on a separate website." 3. "Birdman" (FilmArena) - "I'm glad I spotted that. It's gorgeous. I should keep up with this website." 4. "Whiplash" (Kimchi) - "These things are awesome! I can't wait to get more!" 5. "Pulp Fiction" (Nova Media) - "I just spent how much for three copies of the same Blu-Ray? Just because they have different slip cases? Well, I guess this is my thing now..."

I really lucked up on an eBay purchase for a great price... even came with an Australian candy bar! I did keep all of the discs and got an inexpensive UK Blu-Ray. Oh, but I couldn't resist getting that "Complete Edition" Blu-Ray! And after all that trouble... The MAG release gets released, and I missed out on it! Why'd you have to remind me of that, man?

Challenge #4 Wow, it occurs to me that just about none of my Blus have vehicles on them. That's vehophobia for you. Here's the closest I can come up with. #5 - Plane on "Empire of the Sun" (Though that plane ain't transporting anybody now) #4 - Because someone has apparently established that horses count... "True Grit"! #3 - Tank on "Fury" #2 - U-Boat on "Das Boot" #1 - Motorcycle on "The Batman" (Because I keep showing off my new Manta Premium!)

Seems like I have better stuff, but these are probably the most unique extras I have off the top of my head. #3 - "Gladiator" Coin (Everythingblu) #2 - "Manchester by the Sea" Script... in Korean (The Blu) #1 - "Forrest Gump" amazing hardback book... with a big ol' "Alabama" on the cover! (Blufans) This is all on the idea that direct manufacturers' premium editions don't count. Remember, eons ago, when Warner Bros. put out enormous, gorgeous and fully loaded Blu-Ray giftsets? I have quite a few of those.

Y'all make me feel bad again about not getting the FS. ...But then I'll see the steelbook outside of my SL, and fall in love all over again marveling at the absolutely perfect color correspondence. And the picture on the back of the case has some great embossment anyways. I might have considered the OC if I had a small fortune to spare. Incidentally, I'm not hearing as much hype about the DL as everyone was anticipating.

Alright! I got my SL and it's amazing! My remorse for not getting the FL has been cured! You can guess who else was glad I got the Catwoman cover.

Oh, no! How embarrassing! I've had it for years and I think I've had a bad habit of mixing it up with the FilmArena editions! Last time I do one of these challenges before I get to work. Anyways, remedy... #4 "Sicario" (FilmArena, Czech... I'm sure of it, this time!) Also, that "Pulp Fiction" pic in my original post was an accident. Eh, it goes with that whole, "I really wanted to say 'Pulp Fiction' from South Korea" thing. Anyways, thanks for letting me know.

Challenge 2...Accepted! This is kinda random if I'm just doing five, with criteria. Let's do favorite... By country! #5 - "The Revenant" (Film Arena, Czech) #4 - "Manchester by the Sea" (The Blu, South Korea) [It's actually Nova Media's "Pulp Fiction" OC, but I had to have a non-steel...] #3 - "Spartacus" (EverythingBlu, UK) #2 - 1917 (Fanatic Selection, Honk Kong... Sorry to get political, but I'm calling it a country...) #1 - "Saving Private Ryan" (HDZeta, China)

I just realized that I don't have many lentis to choose from, but of the batch, I've got to give it to... "Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind"... ...TWICE! (Sorry about the picture quality) I managed to put together a wonderful little custom one-click through the years. And these two lentis might be neck-and-neck the best in my collection. Don't worry, I don't actually have them stuffed together in the box set; I just slid one into another to illustrate my point with these pictures. My favorite lentis are transitional... Changes up the photo, but not too much. It's easier on the eyes, sometimes even more so than depth lentis.

I couldn't resist the urge to track down some unboxings, and I have to say... I stand by my relief that I missed out on the DL. The SL seems to be more aesthetically organic with the steelbook and with the more prestigious tone that I appreciate in the movie. The DL is gorgeous and cool, but a touch too pulpy for my taste. I will say that I did recently get a FS copy of Manta's "Dune" (From eBay... Ouch, my wallet!), and now I kind of wish that I got that rad FS of "The Batman". I heard Manta had magnificent embossments, but holy cow! I'm still glad that I got my SL... or at least I will be when it's finally delivered...

If UHD Club announces their own release, y'all let me know. As it is, I've got that Criterion 4K that, y'know, actually has special features!

Of course! Where are my manners? Now, I'm not going to show much more. Don't want to spoil many of the goodies you'll get to see in-hand.